Embracing the Resurrection

Resurrection Past/Present/Future  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  44:17
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Jesus is Risen

1 Corinthians 15:1-19

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Me:
Teaching Children
One of the most frustrating things as a parent is to continually teach my children something which I absolutely know is important without them responding to that knowledge. I have spent many years understanding various topics, spent time in school, and have believed whole heartedly that the truth of what I was believing was important enough to tell someone else about it. Their lives could be changed by the information I shared with them.
When children are young, many of the things I share with them are about their safety. How not to hurt themselves in life due to the experiences I already went through. After investigating my actions and seeing how the results affected my life, I wanted to pass on to my children the knowledge of things which may protect them. My wife, Cassie, does the same thing when she is working with the kids learning their school subjects.
Our goal is to give them the knowledge that would help them through life in a way where they can know things ahead of the time we knew them in order to help steer them on a better path. However, all children do not grasp onto the message in the manner we desire. Sometimes, they may never learn the subject until someone else teaches it to them. When those times happen, instead of getting frustrated, it has often occurred to me that there were many outside influences happening with that person or myself to create noise between the speaker and the listener.
Teaching Others
There have also been times where the message being delivered is not received by the listener due to the way it has been given. Perhaps I did not know my audience well enough to investigate what would be the best way to present the information. In the Christian life, when people are listening to the words which are spoken, many times they are watching my life afterwards to see if I believe the same things which I speak about. I have recognized there have been times when my actions have taken away from what I have said.
However, I have also recognized there is a duty upon the listener to investigate what has been spoken about to search for the truth even if the speaker may not have won them over in their personality. Many people did not like to hear what Jesus had to say and they crucified him for his teaching. This does not make his words any less true.
Understanding the truth of the Resurrection for me is one of the most important pieces of information which should enact change in myself. I have worked through many investigations into the Resurrection and followed through with the belief of what occurred. There is still more to do than for me to believe it for myself. The encouraging command is that upon belief I say that information to others so they may hear the truth as well.
We:
How many couples have had conversations with their spouse without actually understanding what was said in the conversation?
The times in our lives where we were either listening to information being given or were the one delivering the information, If our concern were that the message being given were so important that we would follow up on how it changed the person’s life you gave it to, how would we investigate how the message had been applied. When our children turn away from the things we hold dear to, do we question the ways in which the message has been delivered to see if we are appealing to our own pride or to how the person’s life will be changed?
Many of us have children who we have watched grow up and we have loved them and given them the information to change and direct their lives. There are many of us who have volunteered in various programs to give children an opportunity to learn the truth the church has to give. Many of us work in fields where it would be much easier if the people we worked with took some of the information we were willing to share with them and apply it to their lives.
Some of us have given financial advice to others only to watch them squander away savings without listening to truthful advice. There are others who participate in daily safety talks where people walk away from and injure themselves on the job. What other areas of our lives do we give information and receive information without investigating how truthful the information may be? In the atmosphere of the church, it is no different and God has provided us messengers to speak the truth to us in order that we may investigate the information to see that truth. Once we embrace the truth of what we discover, the change in how we believe this will overflow into our lives.
Understanding the truth about the Resurrection will guard us against the attempts of the world to persuade us that there are many truths out there. It will prepare us to stand firm in our own belief when we have investigated why the Resurrection is true and how to apply that truth to our own lives. Jesus claimed He is the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the father except through Him (John 14:6). This is a bold claim for someone to make and the implications for us are great if they are true.
God:
God’s messenger for the truth of the Resurrection to the Corinthians came at a time when their commitment to the belief of the message was wavering. There had been outsiders attempting to persuade the people of the Corinthian church that the Resurrection was not possible. If it were not for Paul’s willingness to persevere in his commitment to follow up on his message, we would not have the letter he wrote to the Corinthians encouraging them to look to the truthfulness of the Resurrection.
People outside of the church consisted of many different belief systems attempting to understand who Jesus was and what his Resurrection meant. If he were just a man whose body could not be found after the Resurrection then he could be dismissed as another prophet and great teacher. If the death itself could be verified as false, then Jesus could be presented as a fraud. However, the documentation within the Bible and outside the Bible speaks to the truthfulness of the death, burial, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Because this is true, Paul claims that this is the first thing which is of most importance. Let us look at the text:
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Information

Paul’s Gospel Message

1Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand,

2by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.

3For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,

4and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,

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Paul was defending the resurrection of Christ due to some of the people in Corinth speaking falsely against the resurrection.
How logically have you prepared your witness to those who disbelieve?
Voddie Baucham recently mentioned that Paul prepared his message to the Corinthians with the intention of proclaiming the truthfulness of the resurrection based upon a logical argument, historical evidence, and personal testimony as an eyewitness.
Even before Jesus was raised from the dead, there were the Sadducees who professed that resurrection was impossible.
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Credible Witnesses

Who are the witnesses claiming they saw the living raised Jesus Christ walking around?
Cephas (Peter)
the twelve
the 500
James & all apostles
Paul
What are some of the historical trends to disprove the testimony of the witnesses?

5and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.

6After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep;

7then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles;

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8and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also.

9For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

10But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.

11Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

Doubting the Resurrection

12Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

13But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised;

14and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain.

15Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised.

16For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised;

17and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.

18Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.

19If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.

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Knowing Your Testimony

How well have you prepared your own testimony and belief in the Resurrection of Jesus?

Study to know the truth

Paul’s claims are that the gospel message had already been preached to the Corinthians. They had listened to the message, but they had not embraced the message. They had not studied the message completely enough to see that it was the truth which they should hold onto. Their lives had not been changed by this message.

Follow up with those who you have taught

How do we know that their lives were not changed? Paul addresses those facts throughout the previous fourteen chapters in Corinthians. He addresses those who profess there is no Resurrection in verses 12-19 after he presents what he knows about his good news he had previously delivered to them in verses 1-11. Before addressing whether the actions of the Corinthians, Paul gives the evidence of the truthfulness of the Resurrection through different arguments.

Does this information reflect the Scriptures?

We see that he provides the Scriptures as proof that the Messiah was to suffer and die for the sins of others and be raised. (Isa. 53). Jesus proclaimed himself that he would die and be raised (Matt. 16:21-23). Paul later believes this to the point that he was put on trial for his belief in the Resurrection (Acts 23:1-10). Jesus gave those ahead of his death a glimpse of what the Resurrection would be with the story of Lazarus (John 11:17-27).
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Is there anything which has caused you to doubt the accuracy of the resurrection?
You:
Our taking this belief to heart is of utmost importance in our going forward into the world. As a church body, Paul was discouraged with the commitment of the Corinthians to hold fast to the message of the Resurrection as it had been given them. His follow up with them to once again persuade them to investigate the truthfulness of the Resurrection is an encouragement to the church today to see where we need to work on our delivery of the truth.
1 Peter 3:15 states, “but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;[1]” Paul was ready to give the defense for what he believed. The people he had spoken to previously had not prepared themselves to give a defense and instead were persuaded differently. You too will be challenged when you go into your lives with how you believe. Everyday the world comes against your belief system. Believing in the truthfulness of the Resurrection has far more importance for your belief in the rest of the Bible’s truthfulness as the claims that Jesus made were verified and sealed upon the death, burial, Resurrection, and ascension to heaven.
Once you have made that decision that the Resurrection is indeed true, then your commitment to knowing the truth in your heart will be less easily moved when people come against you with various belief systems. How many of you have read some type of self help book or have been persuaded by the beliefs there are many ways to eternal life? There are plenty of messages out in the world to persuade you against believing in the truth that Jesus is the only way to eternal life.
[1] New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), 1 Pe 3:15.
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Empty Tomb

An ancient stone that could hold the earliest known reference to Jesus outside the Bible has turned the archeological world upside down. The item in question is a stone coffin discovered several years ago in Israel. An inscription in the stone ossuary identifies the body inside as belonging to James, the brother of Jesus. Some archeologists say wording claiming the person inside was the brother of Jesus was added after the person’s burial. Others claim the inscription is original, but note the names James and Jesus were common in the first century, so the inscription proves nothing. Some authorities claim the find will build up the faith of believers, while others view the find as controversial and potentially destructive to believers in Jesus.
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We

Be Prepared, Be Respectful

15but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;

Paul introduced his whole letter to the Corinthians in a manner which pleaded with them to understand the message which he had originally given them in his earliest visit.
When we are giving the message of the Gospel again to the people who have once proclaimed to have heard it, how are we delivering it?
If our actions are to continue speaking at the person without listening for confirmation of understanding, then we are a noisy gong (1 Cor. 13:1).
Our duty as believers is to investigate the doubts we have about the occurrences we come across in the Bible. If we are not solid in our own understanding of the faith, then how will we provide to the community a clear message in what we believe as a church?
But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong. (1 Cor. 1:27)
This is where the historical data attempts to steer the believer to discount the credibility of the witnesses.
Gary Habermas, known apologist for Christianity and Anthony Flew, a known atheist sat down for a lengthy discussion regarding the validity of the resurrection. Over time, Habermas concluded that Flew’s position moved from atheism to theism due to the evidence for the resurrection and their discussions.
This conversation was not the only conversation that Habermas and Flew had concerning the resurrection. Another well known atheist, Lee Strobel met with Habermas to discuss the historicity of the resurrection. After acknowledging the mountain of evidence supporting the resurrection, Strobel surrendered himself to the belief that the resurrection was true.
Once Lee Strobel surrendered, God utilized his gifts as an accomplished author to spread the message of the Gospel to the world.
Habermas, and Flew. Resurrected? : An Atheist and Theist Dialogue. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2010. Accessed February 16, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central.

The Church must be a place of truthful teaching and humbly correcting our doubts

Belief is a lifelong commitment to be examined

Committing to the belief in the Resurrection is not a once and done commitment. It is a lifelong commitment and Paul’s words to the Corinthians here provide us an example that continuing to study the truthfulness behind what occurred on that morning over 2000 years ago still has implications for the church today. Furthermore, if we do not commit our beliefs to the fact that Jesus is raised, then everything else we preach, teach, and follow up on in the church is said by Paul to be pitiful.

We search for further understanding ourselves so that we can provide answers for others

As a church body, we commit ourselves to further providing an atmosphere where people can bring their doubts, concerns, and questions. When we have those who hold firm to their beliefs, it will be evident throughout their lives as a testimony to others that we do follow through with our commitment to the truth of the Resurrection. We understand also that we are not perfect in our attempts to do this on our own and we do need someone to follow up with us along the way to correct us when we have been persuaded by an outside belief to steer away from the truth of Jesus Christ.

When people have questions or do not respond correctly we must follow up humbly and with grace

When we follow up with people, it is to restore them to the belief in the message we give them, that Jesus Christ was raised and reigns as the sovereign King of both heaven and earth today. That means we as a church have an obligation to live according to the message of reconciliation between God and the people who acknowledge their sin has separated them from Him. This message of Resurrection provides the proof that our message is not in vain and that the church does have a viable message for those who are seeking the truth in the world.
When we as the church come together to understand better our community and the questions they have regarding understanding the message of the Resurrection, we will be better prepared to provide the answers and defenses people need. From the children who attend our preschool, to the kids attending AWANA to the adults gathering for the various services we offer, our commitment to teaching the truth of the Resurrection is important in grounding our faith.
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I don’t know if the coffin really belongs to James, the brother of Jesus, but I do know that you never find one with the inscription Jesus, the brother of James—at least not one that refers to Jesus Christ—because the grave couldn’t keep Him. He is not there. He is risen! He is risen indeed!
— www.tcpalm.com, Faithful unfazed by artifact, October 22, 2002. Submitted by Jim Sandell.
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