Sermon Tone Analysis

What should Christians believe about life beyond the grave?

There are a lot of different perspectives in our culture.

Some think we become angels who somehow watch over our loved ones.

A lot of people in our culture believe this but, the Bible does not teach this.

In fact, the Bible commands us NOT to try to contact the dead, calling it a detestable practice (Deut 18:10-12).

Some think we reincarnate and come back as another person or animal - again - that is found nowhere in the pages of the Scriptures.

This concept was never on the radar of Jewish followers of Yahweh and it shouldn’t be part of your worldview either.

And then, there are some, like many people in Paul’s day, who thought that we are just disembodied souls who float and fly around; some even say we are just absorbed into ‘the universe’ - like some sort of cosmic cake mix where we all become part of the same consciousness.

Once again, this is NOT Christian teaching.

So, what IS our Hope Beyond the Grave?

What will happen at the end of all things?

That’s what we’re about to find out!

CATCH THE CONTEXT

Last week we saw the significance of our Resurrected King.

If He didn’t rise from the dead, then Jesus or his disciples were LIARS.

Paul says that if Jesus didn’t rise from the dead then...

1 Corinthians 15:14–15b (CSB)

and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation is in vain, and so is your faith.

Moreover, we are found to be false witnesses about God, because we have testified wrongly about God that he raised up Christ—whom He did not raise up...

1 Corinthians 15:17–19 (CSB)

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

Those, then, who have fallen asleep in Christ have also perished.

If we have put our hope in Christ for this life only, we should be pitied more than anyone.

But…if He rose from the dead, then we can trust what He said.

Paul noted that many people - including himself - saw and interacted with the risen Jesus.

1 Corinthians 15:5–8 (CSB)

and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve.

Then He appeared to over five hundred brothers and sisters at one time; most of them are still alive, but some have fallen asleep.

Then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles.

Last of all, as to one born at the wrong time, He also appeared to me.

And because Jesus IS alive, there is Hope Beyond the Grave!

1 Corinthians 15:20–23 (CSB)

But as it is, Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead also comes through a man.

For just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.

But each in his own order: Christ, the firstfruits; afterward, at His coming, those who belong to Christ.

So…buckle up…here we go!

And we kick off with one of the most unusual verses in all of Scripture:

1 Corinthians 15:29 (CSB)

Otherwise what will they do who are being baptized for the dead?

If the dead are not raised at all, then why are people baptized for them?

What in the world is THAT about?

Mormons think they know; this is why they have baptisms for the dead - thinking that a substitute - a living person - can stand in for the dead person who was never baptized as a Mormon.

This is taught NOWHERE in all of Scripture.

So why does Paul write about it?

First of all, Paul is not talking about baptizing someone into Mormon faith since it didn’t begin until the 1800s through Joseph Smith.

Paul is not commanding baptism of the dead - whatever that meant to the Corinthians.

Nor is he condemning this Corinthian practice here in this text (he might have addressed this at another time).

Instead, he is using this Corinthian tradition to point to this Christian truth - that those who have died have hope beyond the grave.

Beyond all that, think about baptism for a moment.

What’s it a picture of?

Death, burial, and....RESURRECTION!

Further, Paul asks another pretty good question.

1 Corinthians 15:30–32 (CSB)

Why are we in danger every hour?

I face death every day, as surely as I may boast about you, brothers and sisters, in Christ Jesus our Lord.

If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus as a mere man, what good did that do me?

If the dead are not raised, Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.

If this life is all there is, why would Paul and other Christians do things that put them in danger to face death every day?

Paul writes about this in other places and focuses on our hope beyond the grave.

Romans 8:18 (CSB)

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us.

2 Corinthians 4:17 (CSB)

For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory.

But if this life is all there is, and the dead are not raised, then we should live for this life only - not sacrifice for others or do things that will invite persecution - but follow the ancient slogan - Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.

(Is 22:13; Ecc 2:24)

‌If there is ever an ancient slogan that has found its way to our culture - it’s this one - Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.

But Paul calls out that mentally in what he writes next.

Those who believe there is NO RESURRECTION will be-living like there is no resurrection.

And hanging out with those folks WILL impact our morals and our influence.

1 Corinthians 15:33–34 (CSB)

Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.”

Come to your senses and stop sinning; for some people are ignorant about God.

I say this to your shame.

Paul, being the learned man that he is, is likely quoting this line from a play which is now lost to time (Thais by Menander).

[F1]

But this quote “Bad company corrupts good morals” - is exactly what has been happening - followers of Jesus have been deceived by those who don’t believe in the resurrection of the dead, those who live by “Let us eat, drink, for tomorrow we die”.

Their bad company has corrupted the good morals of Christians.

Paul wants Corinthian Christians to put and end to that, to wake up from the deception and come to their senses.

The Greek here Christians who live with HOPE beyond the grave also know there is JUDGEMENT beyond the grave.

Christians are to live like Jesus has risen and is returning, and then to influence the people who are ignorant about God, rather than being influenced by them.

So, what’s all this resurrection of the dead thing going to be like - you ask?

You ask great questions!

And because of the difficult language in the rest of this text, I’m going to shift to the NCV (New Century Version) for clarity.

Paul now borrows from Genesis 1-2 as he mentions how God created the heavens and the earth, all the plants, animals, and humans.

Plants

1 Corinthians 15:35–37 (NCV)

But someone may ask, “How are the dead raised?

What kind of body will they have?”

Foolish person!

When you sow a seed, it must die in the ground before it can live and grow.

And when you sow it, it does not have the same “body” it will have later.

What you sow is only a bare seed, maybe wheat or something else.

Paul is using an illustration that a farmer would quickly understand.

When you plant/sow a seed, you plant something in the ground, that will eventually live and grow again.

The dormant seed does not have the same body as the plant that rises out of the ground.

Paul continues with with this thought now reminding the reader of how God created...

People & Animals (Land, Sea, & Water)

1 Corinthians 15:38–39 (NCV)

But God gives it a body that he has planned for it, and God gives each kind of seed its own body.