2022-04-10 I Cor. 29:15-24 How the Resurrection Informs Present Life

HOW THE RESURRECTION INFORMS PRESENT LIFE (I Cor 15:29-34) Date: ____________________ Read I Cor 15:29-34 - Sixteen years ago, as part of family research, Patty and I visited a young woman named Elaine who lived in SLC. We shared the same 3 great grandfather, John T. McNeff. He immigrated from Ireland in the mid-1790's. We found a marriage bond for him and Polly Wright dated 1797 at the courthouse in Washington Co, KT - same one where Abe Lincoln's Dad took out a marriage bond 6 or 7 years later. John T. was a bit of a rascal, and in 1804 Polly applied to the state legislature for permission to divorce him, tho John T. disappeared - presumed murdered on a horse-selling trip. Well, Elaine found out someone in the Mormon community had been baptized for John T. and Polly, thus joining them eternally from a Mormon perspective. Not being Mormon, Elaine was incensed, feeling if Polly didn't want him in life, she'd never want him in death! Of course, we put no credence in any of it. No one can be baptized for someone else, right? But then we come to our text where that seems to be exactly what is happening. So what gives? We know salvation is a personal matter. And when people come to faith in Christ, the first act of obedience in the Bible is baptism, showing allegiance to a new Master as He directs in Mt 28:19. Salvation and baptism go hand-in-hand. One can't be saved for someone else; so, it stands to reason one could not be baptized for someone else. But then we get this text, one of the most difficult in the Bible. I have found more than 25 explanations; some claim there are as many as 200 different explanations. No one knows for sure. But the beauty of expository preaching is, you don't get to jump over the hard issues. You have to deal with them. So on our multi-year journey thru I Cor 15 at Easter time, we've arrived here. So far Paul has given proofs for the resurrection in vv. 1-11. Then he shows how the Xn faith is vain if it is not true (12-19). Then in vv. 20-28 he shows how the resurrection addresses man's greatest problem - death - showing that Christ has triumphed over that. Now, in 29-34, he shows how the resurrection of Jesus relates to daily life by showing how it incentivizes us to Godly living. If there is no resurrection of Jesus, we could live any old way we choose. But the fact of His resurrection, providing definitive evidence of a life to come, motivates us to live Godly lives. So, let's examine 3 incentives we find here based on the resurrection. I. It's an Incentive to Salvation 29 Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf? This verse has been used to support many strange and heretical ideas. So, what does it mean? The fact is, Paul is referring to some practice which is lost in the mists of time -- locked away in obscurity. We can't be dogmatic about any interpretation, but we can be clear about some things it does not mean! For example, it cannot mean being baptized for dead loved ones in order to get them saved, such as practiced by an ancient 2nd century heretic, Marcion, or by the Mormon church today. The Bible clearly teaches that baptism is a personal, post-conversion act of obedience that symbolizes conversion but in no way contributes to conversion. We've seen it in Acts; people believe, and are baptized. Thus to be baptized was virtually the same as saying that someone had become a believer. The faith that produced conversion was internal; the baptism that reflected the faith was external. The two were closely linked, one being the reality, the other a ritual depicting of the reality. If dead loved ones could actually be saved by someone being baptized in their name, we should all be digging up as many ancestral names as possible and then being baptized "on behalf of the dead." But if that could truly be done, surely the NT apostles would have encouraged such a practice and even commanded it. No such instruction exists. Because it is simply not true. Others have suggested that while you can't save someone by being baptized for them, the Corinthians thought you could. The popular, pagan Eleusinian mystery religion was centered just north of Corinth, and they had such a practice. Perhaps the Corinthians picked it up from them, and Paul, without condoning it was just saying, "That would be a stupid thing to do unless there really is a resurrection." Perhaps Paul just used this false practice as an argument against those in Corinth who denied the resurrection. But it is hard to imagine, almost impossible, really, that Paul would refer to such a false practice, even for argument sake, without condemning the false hope that it offered. I do not think, therefore, that false vicarious baptism is in view here. Another suggestion is that heavy persecution led to some being killed right after they were baptized. But others bravely stepped up, were baptized and replaced those killed. Well, such heavy persecution did occur later, but not in Corinth at this time. Had that been true, Paul would've said so. For me that leaves 2 reasonable possibilities. Calvin took it that some in Corinth who had accepted Christ, and were in the process of being taught the basics of the faith prior to baptism unfortunately died prior to being baptized - early death being more common then than now. So, a friend was baptized in their place - not to save them, but to give testimony to the community at large in their name of their faith in Christ. Such a practice would have made no sense if there is no resurrection to which baptism testifies. We know of no historical precedent for this, and clearly it did not persist if it was done there. That leaves what I think is most likely. The word translated "on behalf of" (ὑπέρ) can be translated several ways including "for the sake of" or "because of" or "for." For example, in Acts 9:16, Jesus says He will show Paul, "how much he must suffer for the sake of my name." In II Thess 1:5 Paul speaks of God's kingdom "for which you (Thessalonians) are also suffering." If used in that sense in I Cor 15:29, knowing that baptism and conversion are virtually synonymous in the NT, the idea would be that some are being baptized in Corinth "for the sake of" or "for" or "because of" some who have already died - meaning some were accepting Christ and being baptized bc of what they have previously seen in the lives of others who have already died - perhaps even for the sake of seeing them again in heaven. Those being baptized because of the dead had come to Christ as a result of the life and testimony of someone who have already died, perhaps due to a promise made to a dear loved one on their deathbed. The motivation of such conversions is questionable, but some are certainly genuine. Nothing focuses the mind on eternal things like being confronted with the reality of the brevity of life, particularly the life of a loved one. Seeing Xns "die well" can be a great motivator to unsaved friends and loved ones. I had a student once at Biola, a young woman, Ellie, who was diagnosed with cancer and given a short time to live. Her response was amazing -- not regret or bitterness but joy at the prospect of being with her Savior. Her confident faith in the face of death led many to consider Christ and some to profess faith in Him. Her sister wrote a short biography which strengthened the faith of many and led others to Christ. Death focuses the mind like nothing else. I think it's possible - likely even -- that the first seeds of faith were planted in Paul's heart by the testimony of Stephen, whose death the young Paul witnessed and whose confident faith and dying testimony Paul heard. However one interprets this passage, the main point is clear. What good is a profession of faith in Christ expressed in baptism if the resurrection isn't real?! Why bother?! There's no hope of seeing anyone beyond the grave unless it's all true, unless Jesus did arise. But since He did!: "our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself" (Phil 3:20-21). Aristides, a 1st century Greek philosopher marveled at how Xns faced death. He wrote a friend, "If any righteous man among the Christians passes from this world, they rejoice and offered thanks to God, and they escort his body with songs and thanksgiving as if he were setting out from one place to another nearby." And so it is, Beloved. That's why we do not mourn as those who have no hope. Jesus' resurrection affirms that we will meet believing loved ones again. His resurrection is the greatest possible motive there is to place faith in Him so that you are not left out when this life ends. As He rose, so will all who believe in Him. And what a reunion that will be. II. It's an Incentive to Service Now Paul moves on to highlight his own life in Christ - "in danger every hour" - "fought beasts at Ephesus". His road was not an easy one. The "beasts" in Ephesus were probably not literal lions. As a Roman citizen, Paul could not be sentenced to such a fate. But he'd seen a full-scale riot there! New believers were so numerous that the idol-selling business took a huge hit. So in Acts 19, Demetrius, a silversmith, stirred up a frenzy against Paul. Acts 19:29: "So the city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed together into the theater, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul's companions in travel." Death was imminent for a time. But whether it was that or something else, Paul faced beatings and jails everywhere he went. II Cor 11:23 ff; He'd seen "countless beatings, and often near death. 24 Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; 26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; 27 in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure." "You think I'd endure that if the resurrection weren't true?" 32 What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die." He's saying, "If there's no resurrection, let's party on! But - there is a resurrection, and that drives me to serve. Anything I suffer here will be way worth it later.". Rom 8:18: "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us." Resurrection caused Him to wisely live with one eye on tomorrow. Nietzsche wrote, "He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how." Do you have a why to live for? Lack of a why made Nietzsche crazy. Not Paul. His why was the resurrection which made any cost bearable. Jesus, too. He didn't go the cross because it was pleasant. It was a horror of horrors. But Heb 12:2b: Jesus, "for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." He served others bc He knew resurrection was coming. Paul served bc he knew resurrection was coming. He wanted to take as many as possible with him. That same expectation ought to encourage us to endure any hardship, bear any mockery, suffer any inconvenience to love on others for His sake. III. It's an Incentive to Sanctification Paul adds one more issue to counter the Corinthian resurrection-deniers : 33 Do not be deceived: "Bad company ruins good morals." In other words, wrong theology leads to wrong behavior. What we believe determines who we act. Denial of the resurrection inevitably leads to sinful behavior. Corinth, "Sin City" of the ancient world didn't lack opportunity. And some of the Corinthians were all in on the evil around them - from drunkenness, even at the Lord's Table, to condoning the immorality of other members, to visiting the temple prostitutes themselves. They were up to the eyeballs in corruption. So Paul says, "Wake up, stop sinning. You live like you don't know God. Indeed, if you reject the resurrection, you don't know God. You've bought the lies of the enemy; now to your shame, you're living like him." But when When you grasp the truth of the resurrection, and the accountability it implies, it will change your life. It's the greatest incentive to right living there is. Conc -- The Greek historian Thucydides reported that when a deadly plague came to Athens, "People committed every shameful crime and eagerly snatched at every lustful pleasure." They believed life was short and there was no resurrection, so they would not answer for their vice. So why not indulge? Get all the gusto you can. If there's not hereafter, why not?! But once you investigate and grasp that Jesus truly rose from the dead, that He really is "the way, and the truth, and the life," once you grasp that and open your life to Him, everything changes, and for the better. C. S. Lewis said it like this: "[God] will make the feeblest and filthiest of us into ... a dazzling, radiant, immortal creature, pulsating all through with such energy and joy and wisdom and love as we cannot now imagine, a bright stainless mirror which reflects back to God ... his own boundless power and delight and goodness ... that is what we are in for. Nothing less." How can we believe such a thing is possible? Because He already did it in bringing Jesus back from the dead. And now He tells us that same Jesus: "will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself." (Phil 3:21). Believe that and it will change you forever from the inside out. Jesus is alive! Now it is for us to live in the good of that wonderful truth. Let's pray. DONE 7