#9 The “IF Series”

IF ONLY THIS LIFE!”

 

TEXT:      1 Cor. 15:12-26

 

INTRO:   The Christian faith rises or falls on Jesus’ resurrection and the possibility of life after death.  If there is no resurrection, then living a life of sacrifice, righteousness, and honor is meaningless.  If all we are is nothing more than another animal form of life then we should be like the rest of creation, “dog eat dog” world, or the “survival of the fittest.” 

 

This life without the promise of an afterlife also means lives that end early, or even at birth have no significant reason for having existed at all.  Death would be a very sad reality, no hope of seeing that person again, no future, no possible meaning except what ever living in the present could create.

 

It is still possible to have religion without faith in an afterlife, even in Jesus’ day the Sadducees who were the leading sect in Judaism had no belief in an afterlife.  They did not believe in a resurrection, or angels!  This required them to make up a story about Jesus after His resurrection that the disciples had only stolen His body – because if Jesus had actually rose from the dead everything they believed would be proved to be false!

 

If there is no resurrection, there is no God, and without Him this life would be horrible and everything permissible.   

 

ILLUS:      Dostoyevsky reminded us in The Brothers Kararamazov that "if God does not exist, everything is permissible." We are now seeing "everything." And much of it is not good to get used to.  -- William J. Bennett, addressing the 20th anniversary celebration of the Heritage Foundation. Christianity Today, Vol. 38, no. 7.

 

However, the very core of Christianity is based on the reality of Jesus rising from the dead, and the hope that this gives everyone who believes in Him that they too will rise from the dead one day.

 

PROP. SENT:   The Bible teaches us that the most fundamental truth that undergirds Christianity is the resurrection of the dead.  If Jesus did not rise from the dead, then we of all people are to be pitied, and would be miserable.  Resurrection separates Christianity from all other religions, for only Jesus defeated death, all other religions have their founders still in their graves.

 

I.   THE FACTS!   1 Cor. 15:12-19

 

A.   Reality!  1 Cor. 15:12-14

1.   The Christian faith is meaningless without a resurrection!

a.   Paul clearly states this to the Corinthian church.

b.   This truth is so critical that failure to have a resurrection means that we are foolish to be a Christian!

2.   The Corinthians were waiting for Jesus’ return for those who were living, but because some of their relatives had died they had lost hope of ever seeing them again!  After all, how can a body that has dissolved be raised from dead?

a.   The idea that someone could come back after their body had wasted away seemed ridiculous.

b.   While they knew Jesus had raised some people from the dead, those were people who only just died.  What about all those whose bodies had decayed already, like some of their own relatives or friends.

 

ILLUS:    A workman of the great chemist Michael Faraday accidentally knocked a silver cup into a solution of acid.  It was promptly dissolved, eaten up by the acid. The workman was terribly disturbed by the accident. The chemist came in and put a chemical into the jar, and shortly all the silver was precipitated to the bottom. The shapeless mass was lifted out and sent to the silversmith, and the cup was restored to its original shape.  If a human genius can do a thing like this why should we doubt that God can raise the dead? -- James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988) p. 166.

 

3.   If a brilliant chemist can reconstitute a silver cup that had completely dissolved, it is nothing to almighty God to raise a dead body again!

a.   Even though earthly bodies decay and the atoms scatter, God can raise the dead back again.

b.   It is the foundation to the Christian faith that there will be a resurrection from the dead.

4.   It is our blessed hope!

 

B.   Rejection!   1 Cor. 15:15-19

1.   Death only seems frightening because we can’t see the other side; but Jesus death and resurrection certainly gives us a glimpse of what is coming.

a.   Jesus had a real body when He rose again.  He could be touched, He ate food, He demonstrated that He was not a ghost, but real.

b.   The grave isn’t the final message!

c.   The disciples however were in a fog on that Easter Sunday morning, they were in hiding for fear they would be next.

d.   They had only seen defeat, but there was more to the message of the cross, there was also the message of the empty tomb.

e.   They had failed to see the whole message!

 

ILLUS:      It was June 18, 1815, the Battle of Waterloo. The French under the command of Napoleon were fighting the Allies (British, Dutch, and Germans) under the command of Wellington. The people of England depended on a system of semaphore signals to find out how the battle was going. One of these signal stations was on the tower of Winchester Cathedral.   Late in the day it flashed the signal: “W-E-L-L-I-N-G-T-O-N---D-E-F-E-A-T-E-D- -.” Just at that moment one of those sudden English fog clouds made it impossible to read the message. The news of defeat quickly spread throughout the city. The whole countryside was sad and gloomy when they heard the news that their country had lost the war. Suddenly the fog lifted, and the remainder of the message could be read. The message had four words, not two.  The complete message was: "W-E-L-L-I-N-G-T-O-N- - -DE-F-E-A- T-E-D- - -T-H-E- - -E-N- E-M-Y!" It took only a few minutes for the good news to spread. Sorrow was turned into joy, defeat was turned into victory!   So it was when Jesus was laid in the tomb on the first Good Friday afternoon. Hope had died even in the hearts of Jesus' most loyal friends. After the frightful crucifixion, the fog of disappointment and misunderstanding had crept in on the friends of Jesus. They had "read" only part of the divine message. "Christ defeated" was all that they knew. But then on the third day--Easter Sunday--the fog of disappointment and misunderstanding lifted, and the world received the complete message: "Christ defeated death!" Defeat was turned into victory;  death was turned to life!  -- James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988) pp. 165-166.

 

2.   Jesus wants us to know that our preaching is not in vain or foolish.

a.   The Corinthians were missing an important truth.

b.   Without a resurrection, we could only live for the moment.

3.   And this would make life miserable.

 

II.  THE FIRSTFRUITS!   1 Cor. 15:20-24

 

A.   Restoration!   1 Cor. 15:20-22

1.   This reality of death is painful!

a.   Paul likens death in sin to a “sting” (1 Cor. 12:56)

b.   The poison of sin is like a sting; it hurts, and can even kill.

c.   But Jesus took the sting of sin so that we could be free from death’s power, and eventually death’s penalty as well.

 

ILLUS:     A little boy and his father were driving down a country road on a beautiful spring afternoon. Suddenly out of nowhere a bumblebee flew in the car window. Since the little boy was deathly allergic to bee stings, he became petrified. But the father quickly reached out, grabbed the bee, squeezed it in his hand, and then released it. But as soon as he let it go, the young son became frantic once again as it buzzed by the little boy. His father saw his panic stricken face. Once again the father reached out his hand, but this time he pointed to his hand. There still stuck in his skin was the stinger of the bee. "Do you see this?" he said. "You don't need to be afraid anymore. I've taken the sting for you." And this is the message of Easter. We do not need to be afraid of death anymore. Christ faced death for us. And by His victory, we are saved from sin. Christ has taken the sting! First Corinthians 15:22 asks:  "Where, oh death, is your sting?" Christ has taken the stinger for us. He has risen! Fear is gone. New life is ours.  -- James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988) p. 167.

 

2.   Jesus who knew no sin became sin for us, so that we could be free from the power of sin, and thus the penalty of sin which is death.

3.   The promise we have is of a future resurrection.

4.   This truth is unlike any other religion on earth, for every other religion on earth still has their founder’s body in their grave, all except Christianity.

5.   We do not live for only this life; there is a life to come!

a.   If we only lived here and now, why live unselfishly?

b.   It would not matter how we lived if there is no future.

c.   The Sadducees had no hope for a future, and had no joy in serving God.

 

B.   Reward!   1 Cor. 15:23-24

1.   Christ is the first fruits – meaning His body is the first of those resurrected!

a.   There had been others raised from the dead; but all of them died again, they were only risen with their existing bodies intact.

b.   But our resurrected bodies will be more like Christ after He rose from the dead.

c.   Jesus could eat, be touched, but walk through solid walls, and rise to heaven, His body was different, He is the first fruits of those who will be resurrected one day.

2.   Jesus’ body will never die and neither will ours one day.

a.   The reward of faith in Christ will be eternity!

b.   The reward is forever, all we need to do is embrace the one who saved us, and we then belong to Him!

 

ILLUS:     A small orphaned boy lived with his grandmother. One night their house caught fire. The grandmother, trying to rescue the little boy asleep upstairs, perished in the smoke and flames. A crowd gathered around the burning house. The boy's cries for help were heard above the crackling of the blaze. No one seemed to know what to do, for the front of the house was a mass of flames.

Suddenly a stranger rushed from the crowd and circled to the back where he spotted an iron pipe that reached an upstairs window. He disappeared for a minute, then reappeared with the boy in his arms. Amid the cheers of the crowd, he climbed down the hot pipe as the boy hung around his neck.

Weeks later a public hearing was held in the town hall to determine in whose custody the boy would be placed. Each person wanting the boy was allowed to speak briefly. The first man said, "I have a big farm. Everybody needs the out-of-doors." The second man told of the advantages he could provide. "I'm a teacher. I have a large library. He would get a good education." Others spoke. Finally the richest man in the community said, "I'm wealthy. I could give the boy everything mentioned tonight: farm, education, and more, including money and travel. I'd like him in my home."

The chairman asked, "Anyone else like to say a word?" From the backseat rose a stranger who had slipped in unnoticed. As he walked toward the front, deep suffering showed on his face. Reaching the front of the room, he stood directly in front of the little boy. Slowly the stranger removed his hands from his pockets. A gasp went up from the crowd. The little boy, whose eyes had been focused on the floor until now, looked up. The man's hands were terribly scarred. Suddenly the boy emitted a cry of recognition. Here was the man who had saved his life. His hands were scarred from climbing up and down the hot pipe. With a leap the boy threw himself around the stranger's neck and held on for life. The farmer rose and left. The teacher, too. Then the rich man. Everyone departed, leaving the boy and his rescuer who had won him without a word. Those marred hands spoke more effectively than any words. -- James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988) pp. 119-120.

 

III. THE FUTURE!   1 Cor. 15:25-26

 

A.   Reigning!   1 Cor. 15:25

1.   We will rule and reign with Christ forever!

a.   Because Jesus took our place and paid the price for sin we no longer have to fear death.

b.   The reward of those who put their trust in Christ is a forever life!

c.   We don’t live for just this life, we live now to prepare for the forever!

2.   What gives our life meaning today is the fact that we are indeed preparing for an existence that goes beyond this world.

3.   This is what makes life so important.

a.   The very way we live is a statement of faith in the future.

b.   Even how we prepare for death makes a statement of our faith.

 

ILLUS:    Winston Churchill chose to believe. Churchill arranged his own funeral. There were stately hymns in St. Paul's Cathedral and an impressive liturgy. But at the end of the service, Churchill had an unusual event planned. When they said the benediction, a bugler high in the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral on one side played Taps, the universal signal that the day is over. There was a long pause. Then a bugler on the other side played Reveille, the military wake-up call.  It was Churchill's way of communicating that, while we say "Good night" here, it's "Good morning" up there. Now why could he do that? Because he believed in Jesus Christ, who said "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me though he were dead, yet shall he live." When a man steps out of his own grave, he is anything that he says that he is, and he can do anything that he says he can do. -- Robert Russell, "Resurrection Promises," Preaching Today, Tape 151.

 

B.   Restored!   1 Cor. 15:26

1.   The final enemy we face is death!

a.   But death has no power over those who belong to Christ.

b.   Amazingly, we will be restored; only better than we are now.

c.   In eternity we will have bodies like Jesus’ resurrected body, without pain, without weakness, etc.

2.   It will happen when the trump of God sounds and Jesus returns again.

a.   For those who had died already, we will be raised.

b.   For those alive at the time Christ returns they will be changed instantly.

3.   Notice that Paul’s whole argument is that our life today cannot be all that there is.

a.   There is more after death.

b.   There is therefore no fear about death.

c.   Those who perish before Christ returns we will see again.

 

CONCLUSION:  “IF ONLY THIS LIFE” was all that there was we would be a foolish people to live a sacrificial and godly life today.  In fact, if there is no future resurrection, it doesn’t matter how we live now.  But down deep all of us have an aversion to death – because written into our hearts is a sense that we are not like the animals around us, they simply live and then die.  There is something more in us because God make us to live with Him forever.  Sin destroyed that; and the result of sin was death, spiritual death – which brought physical death with it.  But in Christ we have a savior who took our sins and will one day raise us up to live with Him forever.  There is much more to come!