What does the empty tomb have to do with active shooters?

The title of the sermon this morning is called “What does the empty tomb have to do with active shooters?”

On Sunday evening, last week, I pulled up the news on my phone to see the headlines one last time before I went to bed. I enjoy the news - I like to pick it apart, I like to ask critical questions like, “Why is this story on the news and that one isn’t?” or “Why did the editor word the title this way rather than that way?” I like to find the bias within the news story, because every news story is biased. Reading the news is normally enjoyable for me.

Sunday evening, it was not enjoyable. Not after I saw the headline that read, “Southern Baptists Refused To Act on Abuse, Despite Secret List of Pastors”. Once I read that story, and a few others about that same story, I thought that was the worst news we could possibly receive this week. Then come the news of Tuesday’s shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde TX.

(Because of the sensitive nature of that awful story, I’m not going to talk more about it from up front. If you’ve seen this, and you want more information on it or want my opinion about it, or if you want to know what our state Baptist leaders are doing to address it, please contact me privately. I’ll give you whatever information you want.)

And if you pay attention to the questions people are asking, this is what you hear: “How much worse will it get?” We don’t know. “What other tragedies are on the horizon?” We can’t answer that. As Christians we can’t answer those questions.

But there are some questions we can answer. We can answer questions like: “Where did we go wrong?” The answer is that human beings have rebelled against their Creator, and as a result two things have come in to God’s good creation: sin, and its consequence, death. Nothing has been the same since. Those two things entered in and brought chaos where they was peace and disorder and pain where there was order and joy. Created to love God and others, instead we disobey God and turn on others. That’s the root that sexual abuse and school shootings come from and every other form of brokenness.

And we can answer questions like this one: “Where will this end?”

What if we could be assured that one day all of this sin and death would be behind us? What if we had a hope that at some point in the future all of this evil would be destroyed? What if we were convinced that there was a divine answer to all of this trouble, and that one day God would reign supreme in a world in which everything that destroys His good creation would be gone forever? What if we could know that God has looked at all the sin and death and the world and has said, “Enough!”?

For the world around us, those things sound like wishful thinking. But not to believers. How can we know that? We can know that, because we know that Jesus is risen.

The empty tomb has everything to do with active shooters. With the resurrection of Christ, God has pronounced a death sentence upon death and all that goes along with it. Evil and death rage all around us. But death itself has been sentenced to death at the cross. Presently, death sits on death row, awaiting its fate. Because the tomb was empty, death will one day be fully put to death. Sin will be eliminated. Evil will be destroyed. The universe will be restored. And the resurrection of Christ is the divine signal that all of this has already begun to take place. Jesus

#1: The resurrection of Jesus from the dead

a. There were some in the Corinthian church who denied the resurrection, claiming that it wasn’t possible. People just don’t rise from the dead, they were saying. And what Paul has been doing up to this point in his letter to them, is laying out for the Corinthians the implications of an un-risen Christ. You say Christ is not risen? Here’s what things are like if that is actually true.

If there is no resurrection, then...

all preaching is pointless

all faith is pointless

we’re telling lies about God

there is no forgiveness of sins

all who have died are gone forever

First, all gospel preaching is pointless – in vain – empty. After all, the gospel centers on the death and the resurrection of Christ.

Second, all faith is pointless – in vain – empty. If Jesus was never raised, that means our faith in a risen Savior is empty, pointless.

Third, we are telling a lie about God. If God did not raise Jesus, and we say that He did, we are found to be false witnesses against God.

Fourth, there is no forgiveness of sins. If Jesus was not raised, that sin offering was unacceptable to God and ineffective for us. And that means we must bear all the unbearable guilt of our sins.

Fifth and finally, if the resurrection is untrue, then all the dead are gone forever. If Jesus has not been raised, that door to heaven remains closed.

This is how things would be if there were no resurrection – faith is in vain, preaching is in vain, no forgiveness of sins, loved ones are enduring God’s wrath. Pretty depressing? It’s no surprise, then, that Paul writes in verse 19-20:

1 Corinthians 15:19–20 ESV

If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

In fact, not only did Jesus rise, He is risen. Do you see that in the text? It doesn’t say “Christ arose”; it says “Christ has been raised from the dead”. In other words, Jesus didn’t just rise from the grave at some point in time which has no impact on us now today; no, not just that Christ arose; Paul writes, “Christ has been raised from the dead.” In other words, even now, living, acting, interceding, reigning from heaven, working through His church by the Holy Spirit.

The real importance of the resurrection is not so much that Jesus arose; the real importance of the resurrection is that He is still living. Jesus raised many dead people back to life during His earthly ministry – the daughter of Jairus and Lazarus, just to name two. They died again. Jesus, on the other hand, has risen never to die again! “I am the first and the last,” Jesus declares in Rev. 1:18, “and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.”

#2: Our resurrection from the dead

Now Jesus is risen. Does that have any impact on us who have trusted in Christ?

Both Adam and Christ are associated with something. Adam and Christ both accomplished something. What did they accomplish? Verse 21: “For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.” “…by a man came death”, meaning, the first Adam, the first head of the human race, all he managed to do was to bring death into God’s good creation. The second Adam, Christ, the second and true head of the human race, he brought life: “For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.”

Adam and Christ: what did they accomplish?

Adam, the 1st head of the human race: DEATH

Christ, the 2nd head of the human race: LIFE

Christ succeeds where Adam failed!

So Adam accomplished death. Jesus, the second Adam, accomplished life for us. Got that distinction? Adam = death; Christ = life.

Where do we come into that? Well, every human being is either in Adam or in Christ. And every human being shares in the thing that Adam and Christ accomplished depending on which they are in relationship with: note the contrast between us and Adam:“For as in Adam all died” - Adam, the first head of the human race; He was created to love and worship God and teach His posterity to do the same. Instead, Adam falls into sin and therefore death. And because we are in Adam up until we are saved and brought into relationship with Christ, then we read the rest of the verse: “So also in Christ [note that] all will be made alive.” Just as in Adam all have come to share in sin and death, so also in Christ, all can come to share in His salvation and resurrection life.

Are you “in Christ”?

“in Adam” - one w/ Adam & therefore spiritually dead, & alienated from God

“in Christ” - one with Him & therefore sharers in His salvation and life

Everyone can. But not everyone will. There is a condition, a limiting factor, a qualifier that we have to make concerning our resurrection from the dead. Did you see it? It is only “in Christ” that all are made alive.

You see, a person is either “in Christ” or “in Adam”. One or the other, never both. “in Christ” – one with Jesus and as a result enjoying the blessings of life and salvation – or a person is “in Adam” – one with him and as a result still spiritually dead and alienated from God. This is our default. You are born “in Adam”.

It is only those who are “in Christ” who will be made alive. Those who are “in Christ” are those who have come by faith alone to Christ for salvation. You say, “Dustin, that’s not far; that’s intolerant and hateful.” That’s what our culture would say. Is it what some of us would say? It isn’t popular but it is what the text of Holy Scripture says. This [Bible] sets forth the terms of our salvation. What are the terms? The terms are faith alone, in Christ alone, by grace alone. We do not set the terms of our salvation. It is God who sets the terms. We don’t set the terms ourselves. We either conform to the terms or we do not.

Now, those who are “in Christ” are one with Him, so that just as we died with Him, so also we will one day be raised because of Him. We must be raised, we will be raised, precisely because we are “in Christ”, the Resurrected One. We will have new bodies that will not get sick or die. New bodies that do not age or wear out or break down the way all of our bodies will one day do.

Verse 23: “But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits,” meaning Christ as the first resurrection then that guarantees our resurrection later on, “Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.” So we aren’t there yet. Jesus has risen. And His resurrection is the signal that God has broken into human history to change the course of human history. Our bodies still break down and wear out now; the day is coming when they will do so no longer. We will one day be given new bodies like Jesus’ own resurrection body. We aren’t there yet. But it’s coming. And Jesus’ resurrection is the promise, the downpayment, that the rest will come.

Okay, so that’s the resurrection of Jesus from the dead; that’s our resurrection from the dead as a result. Now notice with me, as strange as this may sound, it’s in the text: the resurrection of the universe from the dead.

#3: The resurrection of the universe from the dead

At the beginning of the sermon, I asked whether it might be possible for us to have certainty that one day all of the sin and all of the evil that we see in this world would be eliminated. The good news is that we can have this certainty. The good news is that our God simply is not content to leave us where we are in our slavery to sin and death, and so He provides a resurrection for us. He also is not content to leave His good world where it is in its slavery to sin and death, and so He is planning a “resurrection” of sorts for the universe as well.

But you have to use your imagination for this one.

How many of you are Star Wars fans? Let’s take a little quiz that will show who the real Star Wars fans are. I’m going to say a line, and it’s your job to tell me who it is that said it.

- “These aren’t the droids you’re looking for” - is that Luke Skywalker? Or Obi-Wan Kenobe?

- “Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobe. You’re my only hope.” Is that C3PO or Princess Leia?

-”Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid!”- Darth Vader or Han Solo?

-”Luke’s just not a farmer, Owen. He has too much of his father in him”. Is that Aunt Beru or Biggs Darklighter?

I am a fan now, but I gotta admit I haven’t always been. Here’s why I think it took me becoming an adult to like Star Wars. Watching and Star Wars and appreciating it requires you to sort of transcend this world and think about other possible worlds. You have to be able to use your imagination to see things in a new way.

How many of you have flown on an airplane?

If you’ve flown commercially, chances are you’ve flown in and out of a major city. Shannon and I went to a conference together Thursday and Friday of this past week. We were in the city of Winston-Salem. We found a coffee shop as we usually do, about two blocks from the convention center.

We walked to that coffee shop probably 2-3 times. We got to know the street pretty well. We knew what color the buildings were and saw the street signs.

But what if we were to fly into Winston-Salem? You wouldn’t see that individual street, would you? You’d see the entire city at a glance, from above. The view from 10,000 feet, right? Without dolng so, you have to use your imagination. What would Shelby look like from above?

I guess the point here is that there are some aspects of salvation that require us to use our imagination. Can you imagine what it will be like to live in a world where our loved ones don’t get dementia and where marriages don’t crumble? A world where religious leaders don’t cover up abuse? A world where 18-year-olds don’t barricade themselves inside classrooms with nine-year-olds and shoot them point blank? Don’t you long for this, church? Say Amen if you do.

Do you know what the beautiful thing is, friends? The world that everyone longs for in fairy tales where evil is defeated forever and truth and righteousness and bravery win? That world is coming.

Look with me at verses 24-28. Now this is a lot and we can easily get lost. If you don’t have your Bible open, I need your eyes up here so you can follow me. This is heavy. I have every confidence that you can grasp it. But you have to actually see the words, not just hear them.

1 Corinthians 15:24–28 (ESV)

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.

That’s what Paul means when he writes verse 24-27: “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.”

Now, to really understand this, we have to go all the way back to the beginning – all the way back to Genesis. Because the fact is that Adam’s sin had not just personal consequences for him but cosmic consequences for the universe. We all know the story of the Fall into sin. Adam and Eve were told not to eat from the tree in the middle of the garden, but Eve did, and she gave some to Adam, and he ate from the tree, too, and there they were, just standing in the garden all naked and eating their little special fruit and thinking that they’re really something else because they’re eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Then something happens – they suddenly realize they’re naked, and they feel ashamed. Then something else happens – God Himself comes walking through the garden – and instead of running to Him, they’re running away from Him. Something is definitely wrong with Adam and Eve. But something is about to be wrong with creation, too. Because when God catches up – and He always does, don’t try running from Him – when God catches up, He drives them out of the Garden, yes, but before He does that, He also does something else: He pronounces a curse.

Interestingly, He doesn’t curse Adam and Eve. He curses two things: 1) the serpent, and 2) the ground. “Cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you” (Gen. 3:17b-18a). “Cursed is the ground [cursed is the earth!] because of you.”

Do you see what’s happening here? Because of Adam and Eve’s sin, their relationship to the earth, to the universe, has changed. No longer are they in harmony with their environment. Because of their sin, something has gone wrong not just in their hearts, but in the universe itself! You don’t have to look far to see evidence of this: tornadoes, hurricanes, massive fires, floods, disease, starvation, death. This world has been under a curse ever since those days. And so we come to Romans and we read in chap. 8 verses 18-25, and what we read there makes perfect sense in light of what we’ve just sai

a. So there it is – one day death itself is going to be defeated. No more disease – no more starvation – no more plane crashes, no more terrorism – no more war. Life eternal will reign eternally. And all of this is for one grand purpose – the glory of God. Look at vv. 27b-28:

i. 1 Corinthians 15:27b-28 (NASB) But when He says, "All things are put in subjection," it is evident that He is excepted who put all things in subjection to Him. 28  When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all.

So after death is defeated, after death has been subjected to Christ as one of His enemies, then Jesus is going to do something incredible: He is going to hand off the kingdom to His Father, and God will reign over all things for His own glory and our good. That’s what He means when He writes, “So that God may be all in all.” In other words, that God might have the ultimate supremacy, that God might have all the glory, that God might reign without a rival.

Conclusion and call for response

So what does this great message of the gospel, the amazing message of Christ crucified for us and the world, what does it mean for us? What kind of a response does it call forth from us?

Tips for living in a fallen world:

Mourn with those who mourn

Rejoice in & share your hope

Fix what you can fix

Surrender what you can’t fix

Trust in God’s promises

Wait eagerly for the new creation

We have to choose whether to align our lives with this message, or not. To align your life with this message is to respond in repentance and faith. To repent means to do a 180 degree turn; to repent means to do an about-face. It means to forsake your current way of life and pick up a new way of life that pleases God. To respond in faith is to trust Christ alone for your salvation. If you do this you will be saved even as the world is destroyed and made new. That’s one response.

The other response is to choose not to align your life with this message. Let me tell you what will happen to you if you do not align your life with this message: You will walk away a little more hardened to the message than when you first arrived this morning. That means the next time you hear the gospel, it won’t have as much of an impact on you. It will be harder for it to get through to you, because you’ve added a layer of hardness to your heart.

God can break up a hardened heart, and my prayer is that He will, but that’s no guarantee that He will. My prayer instead is that you would choose the way of life this morning – that you would choose to walk away beginning to align your life with the message of Christ crucified and risen for your sins, for the sake of the world, and for the glory of God. Will you stand with me as we pray?