"WE GO AROUND TWICE!"

In the early 70s, Schlitz Beer used to air these cheesy ads on TV with an unforgettable slogan that said, "You only go around once so go for the gusto.”  In other words, “This life is all there is so live it up in the here and now.” 

Now be honest, that mentality sounds appealing, doesn’t it?  And I will be the first to admit to you that if this life is all there is, this should be our mentality.  If it’s true that this life is all there is, we should live it up in the here and now—we should eat, drink and be merry because tomorrow we might die and be gone forever. 

But here’s the truth.  Scripture teaches, “We don’t just go around just once; WE GO AROUND TWICE!”  All of us, every human being who has ever lived has this life to live which is temporary and the life to come, which is eternal.  That truth changes everything.

"Quote" of the Week

"If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied."  1 Corinthians 15:19 

"WHAT'S SO IMPORTANT ABOUT THE RESURRECTION?"

There are many within Christian circles today who do not think that the Christian faith is in jeopardy if you take the resurrection away.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  Truth is, if you remove the resurrection, you no longer have Christianity.  Scripture is clear that if Jesus is still in a tomb somewhere in the Middle East, Christianity is sunk because, without the resurrection, we are without hope. 

In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul gives six consequences that we are faced with if there is no resurrection.  He says, if there is no resurrection… 

·         OUR PREACHING IS POINTLESS

¹⁴ And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain.

What Paul means here is that if Christ is still in a tomb somewhere in the Middle East, then the efforts of pastors and church leaders around the world are of no value to anyone.  Why?  The Bible is clear that the Gospel itself is built on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  If you take one of those away, then you have removed the core of Christianity.  Therefore, if Jesus is not raised, then any time spent speaking about him is pointless. 

The second point Paul makes is that, if there is no resurrection of Jesus…

·         OUR FAITH IS FUTILE

Paul says, at the end of v. 14,

…and your faith is in vain.

In 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, Paul explains the Gospel in a nutshell.  He says, “Christ died, He was buried and He rose again.”  So again, if the death and resurrection are at the heart of the Gospel message and you take one of those away you have no Gospel.  Therefore, your faith is futile.  If there is no resurrection, we should stop believing right now because the heart of what we believe is not true.

The third point Paul makes in this passage is that if Jesus is not raised then the…

·        OUR TESTIMONY IS UNTRUE

¹⁵ 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.

Paul tells his readers, “If God did not raise Christ and we said he did, then we are saying God did something he didn’t do; therefore we are misrepresenting Him and our testimony is untrue.” 

There is a fourth consequence Paul gives, and it is found in v. 17.  Paul says that if Christ is not raised…

·         OUR SINS ARE NOT FORGIVEN

Paul says,

¹⁷ And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.

If Christ did not rise we are without salvation.  Paul says in Romans 4:25, that Christ was “raised for our justification.”  It’s through His resurrection that we are made right with God; without it, we are still in our sins and things remain as they were in Adam. 

If Christ is dead, we have no perfect priest who lives to stand for us and have no perfect representative who makes us righteous—if Christ stayed dead, death put the stinger in Christ instead of Christ putting the stinger in death.  If he did not rise we are still in our sins without a hope in the world.

If Christ is still dead the…

·         THE DEAD ARE PERISHING

¹⁸ Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.    

This point is closely connected with the previous point.  Paul is saying, “If Christ is not raised then your faith is futile, and you are still in your sins awaiting condemnation and your loved ones who have died are perishing.” 

The sixth and final point is found in v. 19.  Paul says that if Christ is not raised…  

·         BELIEVERS ARE TO BE PITIED

¹⁹ If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

I have heard it said by some, “Even if Christianity is proven false--even if Jesus did not rise from the dead, I would still be glad I gave my life for the faith, because I’ve lived a moral life and have been a courteous and helpful member of society.  If this is a hoax, so be it, I’m fine with that.”

The Apostle Paul completely disagrees with this mentality.  He says, “That’s crazy!”  If Christianity is untrue—if we are giving our lives to something that is a sham, we are miserable and pathetic human beings.  If this life is all there is, then there is no hope.  So why live like there is?

"Quote" of the Week

“If Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept all that he said; if he didn't rise from the dead, then why worry about any of what he said? The issue on which everything hangs is not whether or not you like his teaching but whether or not he rose from the dead.”  -Timothy Keller

THE POWER OF EYEWITNESSES

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. 1 Corinthians 15:5-7

During a trial in a court of law there is nothing more convincing to the jury and more damaging to the defense than an eyewitness testimony.  Especially if you have more than one and if they are intelligent, competent, sound in mind and ethical.  In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul gives evidence for Jesus’ resurrection by making mention of hundreds of eyewitnesses who all testified to seeing the risen Christ. 

In v. 5, Paul says, “He appeared to Peter.”  Think about Peter for a moment.  In the hours leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion, Peter was having a difficult time.  We are told, on three different occasions, that he denied Christ.  Now you would think having ended his time with Jesus in this tragic way, our Lord may have just skipped Peter and appeared to and commissioned someone else.  How amazing is it then, that He appeared to Peter—the one who denied Him angrily with an oath.  If Jesus’ resurrection were a hoax, Peter would not have been a likely candidate to conjure up this story. 

Paul says at the end of v. 5-6,

"...then (he appeared) 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."   

Can you imagine if, during a trial, the prosecution had eyewitnesses lined up out the door and down the street all saying the same thing?  Notice Paul says, “Jesus appeared to the twelve and then to more than five hundred, most of whom are still alive.”  Paul says, “You got hundreds of eyewitnesses, alive and well that you can go ask, and they will tell you the same thing.”

Paul continues in v. 7 by mentioning the fact that Jesus also appeared to James.  Now he doesn’t specify which James here, but I don’t think he has to.  I think by singling out James, it is obvious that he is talking about the brother of Jesus.  The brother who in John 7:5 we are told did not even believe that his brother was who he claimed to be.  The brother who in Mark 3 tried to restrain Jesus from doing the things he was doing because he thought he was crazy. 

James like Peter would have been another unlikely candidate to fabricate a resurrection.  He was a cynic and a skeptic.  Yet Jesus appeared to James, and he believed and became the leader of the Jerusalem church and later referred to himself in James 1:1 as, “James a servant of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 

For more evidence of Jesus' resurrection click HERE and listen to the sermon, "CONSIDER THE EVIDENCE FOR JESUS' RESURRECTION."

"Quote" of the Week

The evidence for our Lord’s life and death and resurrection may be, and often has been, shown to be satisfactory.  It is good, according to the common rules for distinguishing good evidence from bad. 

Thousands and tens of thousands of persons have gone through it piece by piece as carefully as every judge, summing up on a most important cause.  I have, myself, done it many times over, not to persuade others, but to satisfy myself.  I have been used for many years to study the histories of other times and examine and weight the evidence of those who have written about them.

And I know of no one fact in the history of mankind which is proved by better and fuller evidence of every sort to the understanding of a fair enquirer than the great sign which God has given that Christ died and rose again from the dead.  -Dr. Thomas Arnold, Oxford University

THE IMPORTANCE OF ORDER IN WORSHIP

After graduating from College, I moved back home for a semester to save money before leaving for Seminary.  One way I decided to make money that semester was by substitute teaching. 

On my first day, I was called to sub in a kindergarten classroom and the teacher that I subbed for had a student teacher who had been assisting her for the spring semester.  Because her student teacher was also sick on that day, I had to use notes left by the teacher for the student teacher and those notes were written in code.  They might as well have been written in Spanish because I had no idea what was being said. 

 

So, here I am my first day of teaching using notes left for another teacher trying to teach this class.  And after forgetting the pledge and unknowingly skipping their review of the alphabet, the kids began to act like any kid does when you throw a wrench in their routine.  It wasn’t ten minutes into the day, and I had already lost control of the classroom.  As a result, the class was anything but orderly. 

What I needed, more than anything on that day was a clear and comprehensible set of instructions written in a way I could understand.  Because I was clueless on the way the day was supposed to flow and on what was to be taught, and the way things were to be organized, the classroom was chaotic which resulted in each kid leaving that day having learned little to nothing from me.  Because of the chaos and disorder in the classroom, the time I spent with them was unfruitful and futile. 

 

The same is true of a disorderly worship service.  If when the church gathers together, there is little to no structure, and this “go with the flow” “whoever feels led” attitude, those attending will benefit little to nothing from the service—believers will not be built up.

"Quote" of the Week

"Disorder (is) a threat to the unity of the body and (is) incompatible with the God 'of peace'" (1 Corinthians 14:33).  -R.C. Sproul