The Futility of Fatih

Opening

Good morning everyone, it is my humbled honor to be able to share God’s word with you today. I would like to start this morning with asking you a question. It is a question that I know I often have to stop and ask myself. It may be a question that many of you have asked yourselves but have not put much thought into. Or it may be a question that you have put time and thought into. Yet, it is still a question that I believe needs to be asked. Why are you here? Why are you here today?

On this day that Christians around the globe remember as the day that Jesus had victory over death, why are you here? Are you here because this is what you do every Sunday? Easter is traditionally the second highest attended Sunday of the year behind Christmas and before Mother’s Day. So why are you here today? Do you come for the fellowship? Are you here out of obligation? Are you here because on Easter morning you wanted a chance to reminisce about days gone past when the world did not seem so crazy? Why is it on April 17th, 2022 did you chose to come to Burr Oak Baptist Church at the corner of 200 S and 50 W?

Sitting here right now you may or may not be able to answer this question. Yet, it is this question that I want us to ponder as we work through our message today and even beyond today. As we go forward from this place I want us to be asking ourselves, why are we here, what is our purpose? For our text today we are going to be looking at a portion of 1 Corinthians. Before we get to our passage I want us to consider some background information about Corinth.

Background

In the time around the first century the American Dream did not exist. Yet within the Graeco-Roman world there was a similar spirit that was alive and well. We could call this the Corinthian Dream. Corinth was a prosperous city that was home to two major harbours. Being the master of these harbours allowed Corinth to be home to trade from both Asia and Italy. Julius Caesar established Corinth as a Roman colony after the Roman conquest of Greece. Corinth became the home to freedmen and Roman veterans. Many immigrants including Jews found their way to calling Corinth home giving it a population of 80,000-100,000 people.

Corinth was also home to the Isthmian Games. These games were a precursor to the Olympics and operated more like festivals in which horse races, athletic competitions, and musical contests took place. The prosperity of Corinth allowed for people to flourish financially. In Corinth a free man could buy whatever his heart wanted, worship whatever he chose, and be entertained by the theater, the games, and other activities of a bustling city. Corinth could equate to any major modern city here in America.

Christianity came to Corinth in 50 AD when the apostle Paul visited there on his second missionary journey. After spending 18 months there he continued on his journey. We know from scripture that reports had gotten to Paul about issues within the Corinthian church. His first letter which the church does not have, did not fully address all the issues. It is believed that what we call 1 Corinthians is Paul’s response to the Corinth church who had reached out to the apostle for clarification on several issues.

Christ Risen From The Dead

One such issue is the central topic of what we remember on this day…the resurrection of Christ. Please turn in your Bible with me to 1 Cor 15. If you do not have a Bible there should be a blue covered one on the back of the pew in front of you.

1 Corinthians 15:1–8 ESV

Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.

Yet Paul does not stop with the evidence that Christ is risen, for he also spells out what the implication of this fact is. It is this that we are going to spend most our time on. As we ponder our questions of why are we here, what is our purpose we want that to be framed on the bedrock of the fact that Jesus is risen. Please pick up with me in verse 12.

1 Corinthians 15:12–19 ESV

Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

To give some background context. In the first century Graeco-Roman world they believed that the soul was immortal. When a person died the flesh wasted away and the spirit lived on forever. In Paul’s correction to them he states that if that is true then Jesus himself could not have been resurrected. Following this Paul lists out several negative implications of this. What Paul tells them is that if Jesus has not been raised then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. That in fact those preaching that Jesus is raised are misrepresenting God. If the resurrection of Jesus is not true then those believing in it believe in futility.

That is a really strong statement. Have you guys ever thought about that? That if Jesus did not raise from the dead our faith is futile. You all know what that means for something to be futile? Who here has seen the movie Pirates of the Caribbeans? You remember the opening scene of the first movie where Captain Jack Sparrow is on his boat and he sees the shore on the coming horizon, then he hops down from the crow’s nest and begins to bucket out the water that is leaking in from the underside of the boat? This is followed by him smoothly walking off the mast onto the dock as the boat sinks to its resting place.

I want you to imagine for a minute that that is you on that boat. Except that instead of seeing the shore on the horizon all you see around you is endless sea. You begin to bucket the water out of your sinking boat hoping and praying that land soon comes in sight. Now instead of a sunny day with bright blue skies a storm has come in that is going to dump inches of water on you and your little vessel. You frantically begin to bucket out the water hoping and trying for a better outcome, but regardless of how hard you try your efforts will not succeed. Between the water coming in from the bottom and the water coming in from the top you will do nothing more than die tired from your efforts.

That is what futility looks like. Working tirelessly to improve your outcome with no chance of it happening. This is what Paul is saying. If Jesus Christ has not been risen from the dead then your faith is not saving, you have not been saved from your sins, and every change of life that you have made in attempt to glorify God is absolutely meaningless! Paul finishes this section by making this point. That if faith in Christ is only to produce hope for this life and not for the life to come, then those who bear the name Christian are to be pitied more than anyone else.

Paul then moves to counter this reasoning. Please pick up with me if you will in verse 20.

1 Corinthians 15:20–28 ESV

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “all things are put in subjection,” it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all.

What we see Paul do here in a few short sentences is remind the Corinthians of God’s plan. In the beginning God created everything and the culmination of that creation was mankind that was created in God’s likeness and image. God saw that everything was very good. He had placed man in the Garden of Eden and gave mankind the direction to subdue all of creation and to be fruitful and multiply. God had intended for man to dwell with God and operate as his vice regent here on earth. Yet, Adam the first man fell into sin separating himself and all his offspring from God and causing death to reign over the earth. But God undid the plan of death by sending his own son to die in place of man.

The ultimate defeat of death came in Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. God out of his love for man and his desire to see that no one should perish, has ordained a time in which to give man the opportunity to repent of their sins and to be reconciled to God through faith in Jesus Christ. For all of those that do, they receive the forgiveness of sins and the guarantee of eternal life with Christ resurrected from the dead just as he is. At the second coming of Christ those who are in him, both the dead and the living will be untied with him and receive a new glorified body. At that time sin and death and destruction will be put to an end under Jesus’ reign and rule.

Following this Paul has a series of rhetorical questions he poses to the Corinthians. Please pick up in verse 29.

1 Corinthians 15:29–34 ESV

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? Why are we in danger every hour? I protest, brothers, by my pride in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die every day! 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.” Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.” Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.

Paul’s first question to the Corinthians is about baptism. Baptism is the symbol that someone has died to there old-self and there old ways and chosen to follow Jesus. Listen to what Paul tells us in Romans.

Romans 6:3–7 ESV

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin.

The Corinthians while denying the physical resurrection where still practicing the act of baptism. Paul was showing them the inconsistency of their thought and practices. Paul then moves to himself as an example stating that all he has done has been in vain, if Jesus has not been raised from the dead. Paul then sums up this section in this following statement. If the dead are not raised…if Christ is not raised, if we do not have the hope of resurrection…then let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die. If Christ has not raised from the dead, then that means there is no hope in anything of the Christian faith. It means that Jesus is not who he says he is and that God’s word is not true. If this is the case, then let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die.

And to these rhetorical questions Paul has this rebuke. “Wake up from your drunken stupor and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.” Do not let your thoughts and actions be inconsistent with each other for this will show your lack of knowledge. Stop being deceived do not be corrupted by bad company, repent of your sins!

Application

So where do we go from here? How does this passage in 1 Corinthians apply to us today? From this passage there are three biblical truths I see that we need to take away.

Consistency in Knowledge and Action

First, for the Christian there must be a consistency in knowledge and action. This is the clearest truth to take away from this passage. This is what Paul’s rebuke to the Corinthians “Wake up from your drunken stupor and do not go on sinning” is grounded in. As Christians we are to be growing in our knowledge and understanding of God, his truths, and how he wants us to live. And as we do this Scripture rightly commands us to watch how we live in front of others. Why? Because when there is inconsistency with what we profess and how we live then hypocrisy sets in and damages the testimony of the Gospel.

So what does this mean? It means if you know lying is wrong but you are a liar, you need to start telling the truth. It means that if you know stealing is wrong but you’re a thief, you need to start earning money and giving back. It means that if you know you are to be tithing and you’re not, you need to tithe. It means that if you know you are to be serving and you’re not, you need to serve. It means that if you know God has created an order of authority for the home and you do not operate within the position he has given you, you need to come in alignment with that position. It means that if you know God has created an order of authority for the church but you do not want to operate under that created order, you need to come into alignment with God’s design. In every instance God is calling us to stop sinning, stop rebelling, to wake up and do what is right.

Yet we cannot do this on our own. The history of mankind has shown that man cannot muster on his own the ability to do what God requires. I want you to think for a minute back to the book of Genesis. After Noah and his family settles after the flood what do we see? The tower of Babel. Man came together in attempt to make a way for themselves to reach to the heavens and make a name for themselves. As we look at an overview of redemptive history what is it we see int he Old Testament? While God called a people out to himself to be an example to all nations, in which God gave them his written word so they would know how to live, what happens? Man ends back up in Babylon. Something greater than man was needed so that man could live in accordance to God’s will.

For this to take place something new needed to happen, a new covenant. Under this new covenant Jesus’ death and resurrection paved the way for man to be reconciled to God and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit has sealed the believer in God’s family. Jesus said this concerning the Holy Spirit.

John 16:7–15 ESV

Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

We cannot please and honor God on our own. We need the help of the Holy Spirit, he is the guider of truth and righteousness. If we are not keeping in step with the Spirit we are walking in rebellion. For this we must repent and do what is right. Will we ever get it 100% correct, no. That is why we understand this process to call called progressive sanctification. Little by little as we keep our eyes on Christ we become more and more like him. This brings me to the second truth we can understand from this passage.

Be a Forward Looking People

In the opening I asked if one of the reason you might be here today is to reminisce about a time when the world did not seem as crazy. I find that far to often here in America, especially within conservative circles we are continuously trying to get back to the way things used to be. We constantly are looking backwards. This brings me to the second truth. As Christians we are to be a forward looking people.

There was a time when Christians were on the front lines of innovation. We created schools and universities. We built hospitals and orphanages. We did this to glorify God and to share the love of Christ to those around us. We wanted to make an impact in our communities. We want to ease pain and affliction. Yet somewhere along the lines the church fell into the background. Now churches all across America are struggling to stay open let alone make an impact in their communities. Life-way research had a study come out in which they showed that in 2019 in America alone 3,000 new churches open. That is impressive. Except when that same study showed that that same year 4,500 churches closed their doors for good.

The biggest cause of this is decline in membership. As churches continue to look to how things have always been done instead of looking to how can we connect with the current cultural climate, they simply fade away once the funds have dried up to keep the doors open. This does not mean that the church needs to compromise the Gospel absolutely not. But the methods and means by which the Gospel is communicated they should be able to connect and impact the lives of those around us. One way to know where you church stands is to ask the question, “If my church closed it doors today for good, what would be the impact for my community?” Would they be devastated? Would it be missed? Would it be noticed? Or would life click on like nothing had happened?

I want you to understand that this does not mean we do not look back to remember. Paul showed at the end of verse 8 that he remembered. He knew what Christ had done for him. He was as one untimely born. Yet, he did not stay in that moment. He moved forward focused on the work at hand and at the return of Jesus. It was the resurrection of Christ and the promise of life after death that motivated Paul. It was that future hope that encouraged him to face all the trials that he had. It is that future hope that is to be our motivation as well.

Hope is Anchored in Christ

This brings me to the last biblical truth for this morning. As Christians our hope is anchored in the future. Paul tells the Corinthians in verse 19 that if faith in Christ only produces hope for this life then we are to be pitied above all others. While we are to live in accordance to God’s commands as a testimony of God’s glory and grace, our hope is not in this life. While when people live out the commands of God and allow for love and grace to flow it can be a wonderful thing, it is only a taste and that is all that it will ever be. Until the second coming of Jesus this life is condemned because we all are born of Adam. It is only once we are born of the Spirit can we even begin to taste what the next life might be like. It is this next life that our hope is to be set on. The time when death and pain and destruction are done away with and we dwell forever in the presence of God. Yet, this hope is to produce something within us now.

I was recently asked how I feel about the direction the Walt Disney Company is going? It is not my preference but it does not surprise me. They are a secular company operated by a secular spirit why should I expect anything different. As I watch what is going on around the world and in our own country I am saddened but not surprised. My heart breaks for the individuals that experience such tragedy but I am not surprised. I would not be surprised if someday America as we know it crumbles. God’s word tells us that all of this is within his plan and he has control. Do I worry about what the future may look like for my kids? Sometimes, yes. But I worry more on if I have set an example for them of the love and grace of Christ so that they may come to know him and have their hope firmly anchored in him as well, because honestly, to navigate this life they are going to need it.

Closing

As we ask ourselves why are we here and what is our purpose as Christians we need to keep these three thing in mind. There needs to be a consistency in our knowledge and actions, we need to be constantly looking forward, and we need to have our hope firmly anchored in Christ. It has been said that the quickest way to become a Christian is to try and disprove the resurrection. The resurrection is the bedrock of the Christian faith, this is the point Paul is making to the Corinthians and to us. If the resurrection did not occur then eat and drink for tomorrow you die. But if the resurrection did occur then we need to recailbrate ourselves to God’s will.

In reading his commentary of 1 Corinthians Thomas Schreiner stated this, “the theme of the book is not unity, nor is it holiness: unity is the antidote to conflict, and holiness is the cure for compromise. All the themes broached in the book have to be read against the horizon of the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the grace of God which is granted to believers. Every area of dispute and every matter dividing believers must be recalibrated and rethought, and lived out in the light of the truth that Jesus Christ is the crucified and risen Lord.”

Every aspect of life must be recalibrated. There cannot be a division of church and home, or church and work. You cannot separate how you run your business. You cannot separate out how you are as an employee. You cannot separate out how you are as a husband, wife, father, mother, or child. Everything, every aspect of your life must be calibrated on the fact that Jesus is the crucified and risen Lord!

If you profess to be a child of God but today find yourself to be operating outside of God’s will in some areas of life I repeat for you what Paul said to the Corinthians in verse 34.

1 Corinthians 15:34 (ESV)

Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning.

While this may seem harsh, there is a grace that comes in the form of a straight forward truth. A grace that continues to push and pull us along our path as we walk with our risen Lord.

If you have never professed faith in Christ and today you have found yourself to be in sin and separated from God and you are wanting to be reconciled to him. Place your faith in Christ come to know him as your Lord and Savior. For he is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and mercy. Come to know the hope that you can have in him. For in a world that was doomed for hell, he gave hope.

John 1:1–5 ESV

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

John 1:14 ESV

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:16–18 ESV

For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.

John 3:16–17 ESV

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

If you have never placed your faith in Jesus there is no better day than today to begin living a new life. If you are not sure what steps to take I am more than happy to speak with you after service today.

CLOSE IN PRAYER