All right, let's take our Bibles
and turn with me to 1 Corinthians 15. 1 Corinthians 15. Last Wednesday evening, instead of starting in verse
1, I looked at verse 8. So this morning, I'd like for
us to look and go back now and we'll pick up the first verse
of 1 Corinthians as we continue through this blessed book. You know, if there's anything
that a man or a woman ought to give diligence, anything they ought to exert
themselves and endeavor, it's this. to make their calling and
election sure. Let me give you, just ask you
a few questions. You just think about them and
answer them to yourself. Do I rest my soul on something
that I have done or do I rest in Him, the Lord of glory, who
has eternally purposed and done, finished, all that is required
for my salvation. Now you think about it. Is it
something I did in order to be saved, or is it something the
Lord has purposed to do and just save me, call me out of darkness,
and then Told me about it. Told me what he did. Did I choose God or did the Lord
choose me first? Did the Lord Jesus Christ die
at Calvary to make salvation possible for me or did he actually
secure my salvation? Did the Holy Spirit try to call
me out of spiritual darkness and whenever I decided to give
Him my heart, I went ahead and allowed Him to save me? Or did the Spirit of God irresistibly
come to me and reveal Christ in me? Well, if all of those questions
have been answered in the affirmative, the Lord chose me, Christ saved
me, Christ purposed to save me, then this is going to have to
be so also. Because until the Lord was pleased
to reveal Christ to me through the preaching of the gospel, and that's the only way, Some men will say, well I believe
that you can believe before you hear the gospel of God's grace.
Not according to these scriptures you can. Not according to these
scriptures. God Almighty saves a man, saves
a woman through the means of the preaching of the gospel of
God's grace and not before. I have cast away all my former
hope of salvation by my works and I consider them all to be
done. What does that mean? That means
that when I thought that I was nine years old and I walked down
the aisle and gave my hand to the preacher and prayed the sinner's
prayer and gave the Lord Jesus my heart My hope of salvation in that
is dung. It's dung. It's refuge. And I cast it away. Well, all of those questions
are answered for the believer in what Paul is talking about
this morning. we have concerning what we believe
about the Lord Jesus Christ. How did He die? How was He buried? How was He raised from the dead?
How does the scriptures say that those things happen? And what
relevance does it have to me? Well, let's just read what the
Apostle Paul, under the inspiration of God's Spirit, has to say.
Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel, which I
preached unto you, which also you've received, and wherein
you stand, and by which also you're saved, if you keep in
memory what I preached unto you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered unto you, first
of all, that which I also received, how that Christ died for our
sins according to the scriptures. and that he was buried, that
he rose again the third day according to the scriptures. Now, Paul declared unto the church
at Corinth, this is what he said in verse 1, Moreover, brethren,
I declare unto you the gospel The gospel, the message from
heaven that salvation is all of grace. That's the gospel. It's by the grace of God. And
it wasn't a message that Paul was unsure. He had been taught
the gospel directly by the Lord Jesus Christ. I certify, you
brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after
man. I neither received it of man,
neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. This gospel, Paul said, declared,
preached unto God's sheep. That's what I do. That's why
I say all the time, I'm not offering you anything. This is not an
offer for you to decide what you're going to do with it. I
declare unto you the gospel. The gospel that is received by
faith. One of the best illustrations.
I heard Don Fortner give this illustration so I'm going to
use it. He had a glass of water and he had a pitcher of water. He had a glass, an empty glass.
poured that water into that glass and filled up and got to the
top. He said, now, that glass just received that water. He
said, how much did the glass do? Nothing. Where did the water come from?
Don poured it in there. The glass was the receiver of
it. It received water, but the glass
didn't make any decision. All the decision was in the hands
of the one doing the pouring. He said, I'm telling you. He said, brethren, I declare
unto you the gospel, which I preached unto you, which also you've received. not by your choice, not by your
works, not by your decision, by God's grace, the one you received,
the gospel wherein you stand, wherein you're preserved, that
gospel by which you're saved, rescued from the penalty of sin. If you keep in memory, if you
hold fast in heart what was preached unto you, Unless you've believed in vain,
unless you've believed rashly, a belief that doesn't move a
sinner to continue in the faith, being kept by the power of God,
by which you're saved, unless you no longer have a desire,
a hunger, and a thirst after Christ, No longer do you want
to cast yourself upon the Lord for mercy. It's a vain belief. It won't endure. You can't keep
it. We talked about that treasure we just looked at a few minutes
ago. This is a glorious treasure to be desired. But unless the
Lord keeps it, unless He maintains it, gives us faith, it's just
vain. We just don't care. Now concerning
what Paul preached, what was declared, what they received,
that message wherein they stand. He said, here it is. I delivered unto you first of
all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our
sins according to the Scriptures. I received this of the Lord,
he said, and I'm delivering it unto you. Faithful preacher. that Christ died, now listen
to the wording of it, for our sins, according to the scripture. How that Christ died for our
sins, according to the Old Testament. Paul, when he wrote this letter
right here, there was no New Testament. So it was all Old
Testament. The Scripture sets forth clearly
in the Old Testament how that Christ died for the sins of His
people, for His elect. He placed Himself under the wrath
of Almighty God for His people. Let me show you. I'll show you
one. I'll just, for the sake of time, I'll show you one. Turn
to Genesis chapter 6. Genesis chapter 6. Genesis 6, 5. This is what the
scripture has to say about mankind. Here's the totality of mankind.
This is all of us right here. Genesis 6, 5. And God saw that
the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every imagination
of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Now that's the way it is. That's all of us. Look at verse
8. But Noah found grace. in the eyes of the Lord. What
does that mean? Noah was wicked. Every imagination of
Noah's thoughts was only evil continually. Noah? It doesn't say in verse 5, chapter
6, God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth
except Noah. and that every imagination of the thoughts of the heart
except Noah's was evil continually. That's not what it said. Noah
was found in that group. But God chose to look upon Noah
in grace and in mercy and in compassion. I will have mercy
on whom I'll have mercy. I'll have compassion. And Noah
was a recipient of the mercy and the love of God. Why? Because the Lord chose to. That's
what, that's revealed in Ephesians. You know that. Why does God do
what he does? Because he's pleased to. I just,
I love that answer. Because he's pleased to. You
know, you that have children, you ever, they'll ask you something.
Can I do so and so? No. Why? Because I said so. I don't have to answer. If I
decide to, I will, but I don't have to. I said no. Noah found
grace. Noah was just like all the rest. And then what happened? Look
at verse 13 of Genesis chapter 6. And God said unto Noah, The
end of all flesh is come before me, for the earth is filled with
violence through them. And behold, I will destroy them
with the earth, make thee an ark of gopher wood. Rooms shalt
thou make in the ark, shalt pitch it within and without. Look at verse 22. Thus did Noah,
according to all that God commanded him, so did he. Look at Genesis
chapter 7, verse 15, 16. And they went in unto Noah into
the ark, two and two of all flesh wherein is the breath of life.
And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh,
as God had commanded him. And what happened? And the Lord
shut him in. God put him in. That ark is a
picture of Christ, and you know it. That's a picture of Christ. Almighty God is getting ready
to pour out wrath upon all men. He is going to pour out His wrath
and His judgment upon all men. Except Noah. Noah too. Noah too. He is going to pour out judgment
on all of them. But there was one big difference. Noah was in the ark. And when Almighty God poured
out His judgment upon all mankind, including Noah, in that ark,
in that covering, in that atonement was a man, and his wife, and
his three sons, and their wives, and all those animals. And for
the sake of one man, Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Paul says, I declare unto you,
brethren, the Gospel. I delivered unto you, first of
all, how Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. He died for our sins. He died for the sins of His people. He died according to the Scriptures. Listen. How did He die? Where
in do I find my hope? Do I believe that Christ died
according to the sins of His people? According to the Scriptures.
How the Scriptures set forth. We could go example after example
after example. We wouldn't get through all these
verses, but we could. He died for the sins of His elect,
for the sins of His chosen, for those that found grace in His
sight, in His eyes. How did He die? According to
the Scriptures. I'll tell you how He died. He
died as the submissive Savior. Submissive Savior. How did He
die? Isaiah 50 verse 6, I gave my
back to the smiters and my cheeks to them that plucked off the
hair. I hid not my face from shame and spitting. How did he
die according to the scriptures? Submissively. In the New Testament,
he said, I lay down my life for the sheep. How did he die according
to the scriptures? He died as the victorious savior. He shall not, Isaiah 42 verse
4 says, fail from lack of strength, he won't be discouraged because
of the menaces of his enemies, till he has set judgment in the
earth, till he has fully satisfied the justice of God for the sins
of his people. How did he die? According to
the scriptures, he died as the Redeemer of the elect. He died submissively. He died
victoriously. He died truly as the Lamb slain for His sheep before the foundation
of the world being their righteousness whenever Adam and Eve put fig
leaves around them to cover their nakedness before God. What did
God do? He took the skins of an animal, killed an animal,
covered him, setting forth that Christ is the righteousness of
His own. He died as the Passover, a Passover
spared from the plague. He died as the Passover when
that blood, that animal was slain, And that blood was applied to
the two side post and the top lentil. What did that say? When I see the blood, I'm going
to pass over you. He died as the sin bearer, the
scapegoat on the day of atonement. Two goats were brought to Aaron.
He cast lots. Whichever lot fell on one goat,
that was the goat that was going to be slain. And that goat was
slain, that blood was taken and applied into the Holy of Holies. One day that he could go in.
How did he die? He died as the substitute of
his people. But he also died as the scapegoat
that took him away. Aaron put his hands on top of
that goat and confessed all the sins of his people. In tithe they were transferred
in reality they were to Christ. How did he die? He bore away
the sins of his people. How did he die? How did he die? He died as the way of safety. When Almighty God opened up that
Red Sea, that Red Sea, it was ramped, opened up. And the people
of God, Israel, walked across on dry ground. It was amazing
to me. Dry ground and they walked over.
And when the Egyptians came through, their wheels got hung up in the
stuff. Drug heavy. People. How did he die? According to
the passage of the Red Sea. I am the way. How did he die? It's the smitten rock from whom
flows rivers of living water and the manna, which is the bread
of heaven. The one lifted up, that serpent,
that brazen serpent, that snake, those serpents that was biting
the people and killing them. That was a picture of Christ
being made sin, what was biting the people. He died. according to the Scriptures.
He died for our sins according to the Scriptures. He died in
particular. He died submissively. He died
under the judgment of Almighty God for those that He everlastingly
loved. That's what the Scripture says.
But also in verse 4 it says, and that He was buried and rose
again the third day according to the Scriptures. He was buried. Why? Because He truly died. He
died. How was it? How was it that He
died? How was it that He was buried?
Well, Isaiah 53.9 says He made His grave with the wicked and
with the rich in His death. Matthew 27. Matthew 27. If you
want to turn there, Matthew 27 verse 57. This is what the Scripture says.
Now Isaiah 53 says he made his grave with a wicked. That's what
the Scripture says. Matthew 27 verse 57, When the evening was come, there
came a rich man of Arimathea named Joseph, who also himself
was Jesus' disciple. He went to Pilate and begged
the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body
to be delivered. And when Joseph had taken the
body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, laid it in his own new
tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock. He rolled a great stone
to the door of the sepulcher and departed." How was he buried? According to the scriptures.
Just exactly the way the scripture says. And then the scripture
says, and he rose again the third day, according to the scriptures. In the book of Jonah, the scripture
declares this marvelous story of this man that disobeyed God. God put him in a whale, you remember
that. And how did he get in there? Well, Jonah, I'll read this,
Jonah chapter 2 verse 12. I'm sorry, Jonah chapter 1 verse
12. He said unto them, take me up, cast me forth into the sea,
so shall the sea be calm unto you, for I know that for my sake
this great tempest is upon you. Nevertheless, the men rode hard
to bring it to the land, but they could not, for the sea was
wrought and tempestuous against them. Wherefore, they cried unto
the Lord and said, we beseech thee, O Lord, we beseech thee,
let us not perish for this man's life. Lay not upon us innocent
blood, for thou, O Lord, hast done as it pleased thee. So they
took up Jonah, cast him forth into the sea, and the sea ceased
from her raging. Then the men feared the Lord
exceedingly and offered a sacrifice unto the Lord and made vows.
Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah, and
Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. That's what Scripture says. How
did Jonah get out of that fish? Well, Jonah chapter 2 verse 9
and 10 says, I will sacrifice, it's Jonah speaking, I'll sacrifice
unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving. I will pay that I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord. And
the Lord spake unto the fish and it vomited out Jonah upon
the dry land. How did Jonah get out of the
whale? By the word of God. The Lord
spoke to the fish. Now let me tell you the significance
of that. How that Christ died for our
sins, was buried, and rose again the third day according to the
scriptures. In the Gospel of John chapter
10, John chapter 10 and verse 17 and 18. Listen to these words. Therefore
doth my father love me because I lay down my life that I might
take it again. No man taketh it from me, but
I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down and
I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received
of my father. Whenever the Lord Jesus Christ,
who just said, I lay down my life, I have power to lay it
down and I have power to take it back. Whenever he came out of the grave, how did he come out? He spoke it. I have power to lay it down,
I have power to take it back. God Almighty spoke and it is. He truly died according to the
scriptures, was buried and was raised again. Who are we dealing
with here? We're dealing with God. God Almighty. Before any man thinks that he
has the power to raise himself spiritually to life by his own
will, only one has that power, to raise himself to life. He died, was buried, and three
days later, three days later, I'm going to wrap this up, Luke
chapter 24. Three days later, Luke 24, verse
13, the whole two of them went the same
day in a village named Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem, about
three score furlongs, and they talked together of all these
things which had happened. It came to pass that while they
communed together, And reason Jesus himself drew near and went
with them, but their eyes were holden that they should not know
him. He said unto them, what manner
of communications are these that you have one to another as you
walk and are sad? And one of them, whose name was
Cleopas, answering, said unto him, art thou only a stranger
in Jerusalem and hast not known the things which are come to
pass in these days? And he said unto them, what things?
They said unto him, concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was
a prophet mighty indeed in word before God and all the people,
and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be
condemned to death and have crucified him. But we trusted that it had
been he which should have redeemed Israel. And beside all this,
today is the third day since these things were done. The apostle Paul sets forth.
Beloved, he says, I declare unto you the gospel,
which I preached unto you, which also you have received, wherein
you stand, by which you are saved. If you keep in memory what I
preached unto you, unless you believed in vain, I delivered
unto you, first of all, that which I also received, how that
Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. He was buried. He rose again the third day according
to the Scriptures. And that he was seen of Cephas,
then of the twelve. After that, he was seen above
five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain
unto this present, but some are falling asleep. After that, he
was seen of James, then all the apostles. And last of all, he
was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. He died,
he was buried, he rose again, not to make salvation possible.
He died as God's lamb. He actually put away the sins
of his people. He actually was buried. When
he came out of that grave, he conquered death He conquered
death by dying. He conquered it. He conquered
the grave by being buried. And He rose from the dead. According
to the Scriptures. That picture of Jonah. According
to the Scriptures. He absolutely saved His people
from their sins. Satisfied God. Paul said, I delivered
that Gospel unto you. That Gospel that you've received.
That gospel you believed, that gospel by which you kept, unless
you believed in vain, unless it's been an empty, and if Almighty
God's ever given you life, you didn't believe in vain. You're
kept. You're kept. If one walks away and says, I'm
not going to have anything to do, his belief was vain. There
was no life in him. I pray that God keep us. Lord,
teach us fresh. Comfort us with this message
for the glory of God and for our eternal good. Amen.