Good morning, everyone. Good
to see you here this morning. Today, I will be delivering the
final message of a three-part series on the gospel according
to the scriptures. And those of you who have heard
either of the first two messages, you heard in detail how the gospel
that Paul preached, God's gospel, the gospel that he wrote to the
Romans and said is the power of God unto salvation. The gospel
that here in 1 Corinthians 15, he says, is that which is according
to the scriptures. You heard in those first two
messages how it reveals not merely the historical circumstances
or reality of the truth that he died and was buried, but most
notably, you heard of the significance of what was accomplished thereby.
And so, we'll be the case again today as we'll focus on the significance
of the resurrection of Christ to believers. And as with those
first two messages, I hope you'll hear clearly again a unifying
theme, a common thread that has run through those messages, for
it's a truth that is vital to a right understanding of the
gospel of God's grace. And that vital truth is this,
that in his death, in his burial, in his resurrection, in all that
he did from his incarnation to his exaltation into the right
hand of the father. All he did, he did not act as
a private person for himself, but he was acting as a substitute
for a people, acting in their room, in their stead, in their
place for them as a representative in surety. So look again at the
portion of 1 Corinthians 15 that prompted this series, verses
3 and 4. Here Paul is describing the gospel
which he had preached to the Corinthians and which they had
received, and in verse 3 he wrote, 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 and that
he rose again the third day according to the scriptures. You'll notice
before I'm emphasizing that word how in verse 3 and that phrase
according to the scriptures in verses 3 and 4 to remind you
that the gospel were commanded to believe, that our faith, our
believing in that gospel goes far beyond some mere concurrence
with the historical facts or the truth that he died and was
buried and raised again by that miraculous power of God. And
so, as I pointed out with his death and with his burial, likewise
the significance of his resurrection is inseparable from the significance
of his death and his burial. It's one complete accomplishment
that's set forth in the overall gospel message. But this morning
we will focus on the importance of this aspect of the gospel,
and that is the truth and the significance of Christ's resurrection
to believers. And we'll do it in the context
of the overall gospel message. So, just as Christ, it says here,
he died and was buried according to the scriptures, likewise he
rose again according to the scriptures. So, as with his death and with
his burial, his resurrection was likewise prophesied and pictured
or typified in those Old Testament scriptures that were available
to them at the time Paul wrote this letter to the Corinthians.
As an example, in the previous message, you may recall that
I pointed you to Psalm 1610 as a prophecy of Christ's burial.
And if you recall, though, that verse, you'll remember it's likewise
a prophecy of His resurrection, for it says He would not be left
in the grave, that His body would not see corruption there. I didn't
mention it at the time, but you know Peter actually quoted that
same verse in his sermon on the Day of Pentecost in Acts chapter
2. And after quoting it down, when you get down around verse
31, Peter says there in Acts 2, he said, those words spoke
of the resurrection of Christ, confirming that as a prophecy
for us. So suffice it to say that through
a study of this and other Old Testament passages, you'll find
it's indisputable that the future resurrection of the promised
Messiah was certainly both foretold and typified or pictured. You
may want to study that on your own. I'm not going to turn to
many of those scriptures today, but three of the ones that are
probably most cited as prophecies of the resurrection, if you want
to look at them later and jot them down, are Psalm 1610, Isaiah
2619, and Hosea 6. Just like his death and burial,
there likewise, just as there are prophecies of the resurrection,
there are types or pictures that are set forth in the Old Testament
scripture. Among those you have the deliverance
of Isaac. You see, when Abraham was commanded
by God to offer up his own son on the altar and then delivered
as God provided himself a sacrifice. We have the burning bush that
God spoke to Moses. And Moses saw that bush burning,
but the bush was never consumed. We have Aaron's dry rod that
came alive, so to speak. It budded and blossomed. And
some of the types in picture do not—they go beyond just prophesying
of the fact that he would rise again, but they also are prophecies
or types that it would happen on the third day. as Paul said,
according to the Scriptures. You see, for example, Isaac's
deliverance, it took place on the third day after God had commanded
him to offer up his son on the altar, after Abraham had told
Abraham to do so, and Abraham had looked at him as a dead man.
And then I guess probably the most notable case of that's the
one we mentioned before as well, the story of Jonah, who was in
the belly of the whale for three days. And just as Peter confirmed
in Acts 2 that Psalm 16 was a prophecy of the resurrection, our Lord
himself confirmed that Jonah being in the whale and then delivered
three days later was indeed a type referring to his own resurrection
in Matthew chapter 12. Let's move beyond the circumstances
and truth that he arose again and consider the significance
of his resurrection. And to do that, I want to talk
about the blessings or the effects of his resurrection and its effects
specifically to and only to those to whom this gospel is revealed. Now, who are they? Well, they
are called in Romans 11 the election of grace. They go by many names
in Scripture. I like what it says in Luke 20,
verse 36, and I think it's appropriate to our consideration today. They're
called there not only the children of God, but I like this, the
children of the resurrection. You see, the significance and
the power of His resurrection to believers is indeed great.
You recall in Philippians 3, beginning in verse 9, Paul was
speaking how he wanted to be found in Him, speaking of Christ. not having mine own righteousness,
which is of the law, not based on my doing, but that which is
through the faith or faithfulness of Christ, the righteousness
which is of God by faith. In other words, that's what God-given
faith looks to is His righteousness. and look at verse 10 there, that
I may know Him and the power of His resurrection. So that's
what we're going to be talking about this morning, the power
of His resurrection. And you know, I'm almost always
compelled, and I hope I'm not so redundant that you tire of
hearing of this, but whenever we consider the significance
of His resurrection, I can't help but go to Paul's sermon
on Mars Hill as recorded in Acts 17. You see there we see how
the resurrection of Christ is foundational to a believer's
assurance. There at the end of his sermon
in verse 30 we read, in the times of this ignorance God winked
at. Now he's, remember he's speaking
to Gentiles there on Mars Hill. And he's referring here to the
fact that these Gentiles, up until now, they had had no prophets,
no teachers. They didn't have the old covenant
law, for that was restricted to God's chosen nation under
the terms of that covenant. But Christ now has come and he's
abolished that covenant by fulfilling. In other words, It was a schoolmaster
to point them to Christ, and the real McCoy had come now.
That covenant had been done away with, and so he continues, and
he says, but now God commandeth all men, that is, Jew and Gentile,
everywhere to repent. And then in verse 31, he explains
why. Why it is imperative that we
repent. He says it this way, because
he hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the world
in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained, whereof
he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he raised him
from the dead." You see, he says it's imperative we repent because
God's appointed a day in which he's going to judge the world
by a standard, and he tells us so clearly what that standard
is here, in righteousness. Now how righteous do we have
to be? We must be as righteous as that
person whom God ordained and has raised from the dead, the
Lord Jesus Christ. Christ said it in the Sermon
on the Mount, Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father
which is in heaven is perfect. So what we see here is the great
issue that determines what's going to be declared concerning
me, concerning you, at the judgment is this. Do you have a righteousness
that answers the demands of God's holy law and justice? And that's
important because this verse makes it real clear that's God's
standard of judgment. It's His resurrection, you see,
that confirms that for us because it's proof that God was satisfied,
showing that the righteousness He established by His obedience
unto death, it got the job done. That's what righteousness is.
He perfectly obeyed God's revealed will. And yet he did so, remember
now, as a substitute for sinners. And so the penal demands of God's
law had to be fulfilled too. That justice had to be satisfied
and that a debt due unto God's justice for their sins had to
be remitted. That's the perfect righteousness
that we must have. You see, The righteousness he
established truly got the job done, for just as sin demands
death, righteousness demands life. Romans 5, 21. So his coming
out of the grave shows us that it's his righteousness. It's
the merit of his accomplishment, which we must possess to inherit
heaven's glory. Well, how can I have that? I
can't produce that, and I did not produce this righteousness. We'll think, neither did our
Lord and Savior produce any sins, but he was made sin, according
to 2 Corinthians 5, 21. It's by that wonderful transaction
that's explained there. The scripture calls it imputation.
You see, by he bore the sins. He came to possess them. He who
knew no sin. He who, it says, was offered
up without spot. He came to possess them in that
they were imputed or charged to his account so that he could
bear the just penalty due unto them. And so likewise, all that
he merited, his perfect righteousness, is imputed or charged to their
account, these objects of mercy and grace, these children of
the resurrection. So secondly, as we consider the
blessings or the effects of his resurrection, I want us to think
about what took place as a consequence of and following Christ's resurrection. What happened? He stayed on earth
a while, confirming his resurrection to those witnesses, and then
he ascended in his mediatorial glory, based in the book of Philippians,
it tells us, based on an earned exaltation to the right hand
of the Father in heaven, and there we're told in Hebrews 7.25
that he ever liveth to make intercession for those he saves. As we saw
in the first series of this message, a sinner's reconciliation before
a holy God who cannot commune with sin. And listen, all the
other blessings of grace we saw there are by the death of Christ,
yet it's because he arose. It's because he lives that all
whom he represented, all whom he substituted himself for, they
experience the enjoyment of those things in their respective lifetimes
in each generation. You see, it's his life to which
the whole of salvation as we experience it is attributed. As we read in Romans 5.10, for
if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death
of his son. It doesn't say if when we were
enemies It doesn't say if, when you decided to believe Jesus,
or you accepted Him, or you became serious about religion, or you
exercised your faith, or whatever, that you were reconciled. No,
you were reconciled when you were enemies to God, and that
on the sole basis of the death of His Son. Much more, being
reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And that's speaking
of that aspect of salvation that we experience. You see, the same
power that raised him from the dead raises a spiritually dead
sinner in the new birth so that they will come to know him and
they will come to know the power of his resurrection. Christ said,
all that you've given to me, Father, they will come to me.
And thereby, you see, they're able to worship him as he is,
right. And thereby, they're able to
bask in the certain assurance of salvation. based on it being God's way of
salvation, the only way of salvation, as set forth in God's gospel,
the gospel of grace. Now grace does not mean salvation. God graciously made it possible
that if you would do something, you could be saved. Now grace,
like mercy, infers an unmerited favor of God by the object of
that mercy and grace. And so is the case here. We're
speaking of a salvation that is conditioned solely on the
Lord Jesus Christ, meaning He met every requirement and condition
of the salvation of these children of the resurrection. Well, thirdly,
I want to talk about Romans 4.25, for there we see that justification
is connected with the resurrection. It speaks of Christ as He who
was delivered for our offenses and was raised again for our
justification. Some, including yours truly here,
have indicated that the four-hour justification there would be
better understood if we read it this way, because of our justification. And I still think that's true
in the context. If you look at the first part
of that verse, We see that we use that word even in our language
today. We use that word for to mean
because often. We would say, you wouldn't say
he was delivered for our offenses like as if in order that we might
offend. No, you'd say that means he was
delivered. He was delivered to the death on the cross because
of our offenses. So it stands to reason that that
is what's intended here. I just say that because in doing
a word study of this, I'm just, I'm not 100% sure about the Greek
literal translation, and I'm no Greek scholar, of that word
for, but meaning because, but I think the context and the rest
of scripture teaches us that. We now see that Christ's resurrection
did not procure the justification of his people. You see, they
are justified, declared not guilty before God on the sole basis
of his obedience unto death. The scriptures cleared we are
justified, and the word is, by the blood. But his resurrection
does testify of the truth of justification to his people,
so that it might fully appear unto them that their sin debt
was paid in full. And that the everlasting righteousness
which was prophesied of in Daniel 9 truly has been brought in by
the doing and dying of our substitute, the Lord Jesus Christ. You see,
that resurrection, as I've said, it tells us God was satisfied.
And now Christ is mediator. He ever lives to see to it that
the effects of that justification. the effects of having righteousness
imputed to a people are realized. And those effects include the
gift of spiritual life, regeneration and conversion, the new birth
that shall take place, see, for all these children of the resurrection
who will be birthed without fail. So in that sense, he was raised
for our justification in the sense that we might behold it
in the person and work of Christ. And so fourthly, regeneration
or the new birth itself is another effect or blessing of the resurrection. Just as Ephesians 2 teaches us
that the elect were all quickened or made alive with him so as
to be raised together You say, how can that be? I wasn't there.
No, but in the person of your representative and substitute. Then likewise, we see from scripture
that the elect are also quickened or made alive in regeneration,
in the new birth, by virtue of his resurrection. For example,
the words of 1 Peter 1 verses 3 and 4, they teach this. As
it reads, blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus
Christ. which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten
us again. That's born again. Unto a lively
hope by what? The resurrection of Jesus Christ
from the dead. To an inheritance incorruptible
and undefiled and that fadeth not away. reserved in heaven
for you." You see, all of the elect of God, they have a reservation
made for them in heaven's glory. And they're birthed so that they
become aware of this lively hope. John 14, 19, Christ was speaking
there to his disciples of his pending death and the subsequent
resurrection when he said this, Yet a little while, and the world
seeth me no more. But ye see me. And he said, Because
I live, ye shall live. So we see here that the security
and the assurance of a believer, that lively hope they have, is
not in their view of Christ, but it's in Christ himself. Their
faith is not in faith. Their faith is in Christ, for
it's because He lives that I shall live. It's not because—I can
do no more to birth myself spiritually than any of you had anything
to do with being born into this world physically. The same principle
holds. And then lastly, one of the fruits
and effects of Christ's resurrection is the resurrection of His people
at the last day. And that's a resurrection that
is assured by His having a rose. His resurrection's like the earnest
money. It's a pledge. And listen, you
know, it's common in our day for charities to solicit funds
and they offer the opportunity for people to make a pledge.
Well, you and I, we might not keep that pledge. Circumstances
may change between the time we made it and the time it comes
due. But this is a pledge from God.
And being from God, it cannot fail to come to pass. So his
resurrection gives assurance of the future bodily resurrection
of all these children of the resurrection. We see this, I
guess, most clearly in this very chapter that spawned this series,
our text, 1 Corinthians 15. So today I want you to consider
with me some of the verses beyond verse 3 and 4. And in the interest
of time, we'll skip down to verse 12 and begin our consideration
there, where we read, now, if Christ be preached that he rose
from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection
of the dead? You see, this chapter's major
focus is on the resurrection here. And from these words of
verse 12, it's clear that there were some in the Corinthian church
who denied the future promised resurrection of believers. And
so Paul is beginning here a beautiful and a really indisputable chain
of reasoning on this foundational truth of the gospel as he continues
saying here in verse 13, but if there be no resurrection of
the dead, then is Christ not risen? Now I want you to notice
his words here, God's words inspired by the Holy Spirit. He doesn't
say, if there be no resurrection of the dead, then perhaps maybe
Christ really didn't arise. He didn't say, maybe we ought
to think about that. No, it's a declarative, inescapable
conclusion that Paul is setting forward. If you don't believe
it, you just don't believe God here. You will see as we go through
this, he's going to repeat this same unbreakable connection here. If there be no resurrection of
those for whom Christ lived and died, then Christ is not risen. God states it as fact, and Paul
here is showing them that if you insist on believing that
there would be no future resurrection from the dead for those for whom
Christ died and arose, and we know that's who he's speaking
of later on. We'll see here he speaks of those in Christ, that
is, made one with him. in union with him. He's saying
then it must follow, see, that by virtue of this inseparable
union between Christ and those he represented, that simple reasoning
would force them to conclude that Christ had not risen. And
see, that was a conclusion that these Corinthians knew to be
false. We skipped over verses 5 through
11, but in some of those preceding verses, you would see how Paul
had just reminded the Corinthians of a truth that they actually
were well assured of. It was a truth that was not even
being questioned. You see, they knew that Christ
did, in fact, rise from the grave. He mentions there how Christ
was seen of Cephas, meaning Peter, and all the apostles, and he
said, and over 500 of your brethren, many of them who are still alive
today. And so, We see that he's told
them that, and that fact, that could be corroborated by these
folks still living. And it was not even being contested. You know, it's much like today. those who go under the banner
of Christ, who call themselves Christian, that fact's not contested. Why, the almost universally,
if not totally universally in the quote Christian church, you
know, Easter is celebrated every year to celebrate the truth,
if not the significance, but the reality that Christ rose
again. But we see here in this passage
that Paul immediately confronts their heresy by showing how if
it were true, that there was no life after death for those
for whom Christ died and rose again, then one must logically
deny that Christ himself as the head of the body had risen. You
see, Christ and those he represented, they're inseparable. They were
inseparable in that victory that he won over the grave, for he
won it not for himself, but for a people as their representative
and on the behalf of his sheep. So if one concludes that Christ
did indeed arise from the dead, it defies all logic to believe
that even one of those for whom he died and for whom he arose
would not also arise from the dead. See, Christ is not only
the pattern and the pledge of a future resurrection by virtue
of his having arose, But he's also effectively the sole meritorious
cause of the resurrection of the dead. And listen, that certainly
unto a bodily resurrection unto heaven's glory as is most directly
speaking to here in our text, but also unto spiritual life
as we've seen. And so, in verse 14, Paul begins
to set forth some undeniable implications of there being no
resurrection. And he does it by beginning with
a for the sake of it type of an argument. In other words,
let's just suppose for a moment that we do deny what you know
to be true because we have to deny that, you see, if there's
no resurrection for any for those for whom he lived and died. He
hypothetically says, OK, let's say Christ has not risen. And
that's what he begins in verse 14 with, and if Christ be not
risen, then is our preaching vain. Paul is saying the gospel
that we preached, not just the truth of the resurrection, but
the whole gospel, it's empty, useless, worthless. And that's
the gospel you received. And so your faith is also vain. Yea, and we are found false witnesses
of God. We've been, we're going around
here telling a lie, he's saying, and we're persecuted for it.
Why, that would make a lot of sense, wouldn't it? And he says, because we've testified
of God that he raised up Christ. And here he makes that connection
again. Whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. For if the dead rise not, then
is not Christ raised. And if Christ be not raised,
your faith is vain. Ye are yet in your sins. You
see, if Christ didn't rise again, their faith is empty and useless
and worthless because they're yet in their sins. It would mean
he did not win a victory over sin that demanded he come out
of the grave. And so they can have no confidence
whatsoever that their sins have been taken care of. Then they also which are fallen
asleep in Christ, these believers who have already died, are perished. And he says in verse 19, if in
this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most
miserable. Think about that. Here we are.
plagued with the presence of sin until we leave this body
of death, as Paul put it. Here we are experiencing the
consequences of sin. Dying, dying, dying. You see? Oh no, there's not much
hope if there's no hope after this life. Now, as we get to
verse 20, Paul shifts gears here, and he moves from showing the
implication of their false notions to declaring the truth. It's
as if he says, well, we know that's not the case. But now
is Christ risen from the dead? And they would have all said
amen. But he adds this, and become the first fruits of them that
slept. You see, he's saying Christ is
the first fruit and that guarantees the rest of the crop is going
to come in. There's that inseparable bond, union there. And he says,
For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection
of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even
so in Christ shall all be made alive. Now, Nick, I'm going to
spend a little time here just talking about this because this
is exciting to me. It is a great assurance that
Christ arose from the grave. You see, as sure as you're gonna
die and I'm gonna die, I don't think there's anyone here that
doesn't expect to die someday. We're gonna experience a physical
death. And listen, we experience, we come into this world experiencing
being dead spiritually, for the scripture's clear on that. We
begin our life here as spiritually dead sinners. And the scripture's
clear that all of that is due to Adam as the federal head and
the representative of all the human race. It says, when Adam
sinned, death passed upon all men, the scripture says, in that
all sinned. Whether you like it or not, the
fact that you're going to die is proof that we were represented
by our father Adam. So it was all due to his being
our federal head and representative of the human race. You accept
that fact, I'm confident that you're gonna die, physically. Well then see here that with
the same certainty, that without fail, all who are in Christ shall,
without a doubt, be made alive, and that both spiritually and
eternally raised to heaven's glory. Consider that, if you
come into this world a sinner, as the scriptures declare you
do, involved in sin and certainly enduring the consequence of sin,
the consequence of Adam's demerit, his fall. And that includes a
physical death to die. And all of that by reason of
being born of the race of Adam. Then likewise, if I'm born of
the seed of the Lord Jesus Christ, I must be included in his merit. his wrought-out righteousness.
So the natural question that comes to us, or comes to me,
is, okay, what experiential evidence do I have of my relationship
to these two God-appointed representatives? Well, the first one's easy, isn't
it? If you're here, if you pinch yourself and you feel it, you're
still breathing today, you know you're of Adam's race, and it's
a race of sin. and you're being born of his
corrupt stock, you're sinning. You see, you're not a sinner
because you sinned. You sinned because that's what
you are. You're a sinner. It's your very
nature. And so, we sin as he sinned,
and we feel the consequence of it as he felt. You know, I don't
have to look any further than the bathroom mirror each morning
to see the aging effects of a body that's in the process of dying.
Now, apart from the fact that I exist, I'm a human being, a
descendant of Adam's by natural generation. I couldn't know of
my involvement in his sin as the head of the human race, but
the consequences are just too obvious. Even though I was not
there, I was there in him. God set it up that way. You may
not like it, but that's just the truth. Well, likewise, unless
I've experienced or have an experiential, I'll put it that way, evidence
that I am Christ by regeneration, I can't lay claim to all the
blessed consequences of His death, burial, and resurrection. So
look at those words again in verse 22. Says, for as in Adam
all die, that means everyone he represented is going to die.
Even so, in Christ, everyone who he represented shall all
be made alive. Well, how do I know I'm in Adam? Well, I'm dying. The fact I live
tells me that, my tangible existence. I became something I was not.
And likewise, the scripture sets forth evidences of spiritual
life, and most notably, those inseparable graces of faith and
repentance. You see, one who's been made
alive spiritually has likewise become something they were not.
They've entered a new realm of existence. All they still have,
old sins, nature that's hanging around and will until we leave
this body. But you see, there is something
real different. They've begun a walk of faith in which their
perspective concerning God and how God saves sinners, their
gospel, is radically changed. That's why, as we read in Acts
17, God calls on all men everywhere to repent. That is, there's a
way that seems right to us, but the Proverbs tell us that's a
way that ends in death. We're heading in one direction,
and all of a sudden, our eyes are opened with the faculties
of spiritual life to behold something we couldn't see before under
God's means, this very gospel that's preached. So we see there,
he says, all men are called upon to repent. We have before us
this truth of the resurrection of Christ that proves that it
was his very everlasting righteousness that merits and demands everlasting
life before this holy God. It was proven to have gotten
the job done because he arose from the grave. Satisfaction
to His justice was established, and it demands life for all for
whom it was established. As Acts 1731 teaches us, it's
that righteousness that's going to be the standard of ultimate
judgment. Now this is, as I close here, I want you to see some
things that were impressed upon me in my own study here. Some
of you may have already seen this. It's really kind of obvious,
I think, but I had not at least appreciated it in the same way
that I do now. And that's this, that Paul's
reasoning here with the Corinthians is just as relevant in our day
and time, and in ways I had not appreciated at least. And just
think of the vast majority who call themselves Christians, much
like these who were in the Corinthian church. Yet in our day, many
of them believe that Jesus Christ lived and died for everyone who
ever lived. And yet they believe, and rightfully
so, because the scripture says it's true, that most of those
will perish. They will not be raised into
heaven's glory. Then Christ, you see, do you
see if any one of them? Now the Corinthian church believed
that perhaps there was no resurrection for believers, okay? But there's
no difference when you consider that Paul's argument's based
on this union. And so, if even one of them for
whom he lived and died could fail to live eternally, then
Christ also must fail to live. You see? And that's so because
of that union, that inseparable bond between Christ and all those
he represented. Salvation is not contingent upon
your believing. And yet, as Christ said, all
that you've given me, Father, they will believe. They'll come
to me. And if you've been delivered from your unbelief to belief,
that is, your false belief, which is unbelief, it is by the blood-bought
gift of God-given faith. In other words, it's a product
and a result of the salvation Christ finished for you on the
cross of Calvary. Faith or anything else done by
you, even by the power of God's Spirit, If it's done by you,
in you, or through you, the sinner, know this, it is not the cause
or ground of your salvation. And if you imagine, if you imagine
that it's your believing or anything else that is derived from you
that makes the difference, that will mean that this is why I'm
going to heaven while others shall perish. then I want you
to see that the implication is exactly the same as Paul set
forth to the Corinthians in today's text. You see, if anyone for
whom he lived, died, and rose again should perish for whatever
reason, it would mean Christ failed to justify them before
the Father, that His righteousness and His obedience unto death
on their behalf just didn't get the job done. If any for whom
he died and rose again failed to be resurrected into heaven's
glory, it would follow Christ really did not arise from the
grave. And so many of us used to believe
those very conflicting facts. I pray God will show men and
women, as he showed some of us by his grace, the illogical contradiction
of believing that Christ arose while still imagining that any
could perish for whom he lived, died, and arose. You see, sadly,
to persist in such notions means that it could accurately be attributed
unto you the same indisputable conclusions that Paul related
to the Corinthians, that such a faith is indeed vain. It's
empty, it's useless, it's worthless. And it would mean that you too
are yet in your sins. Well, this morning I pray better
for all who hear this message. I pray God's grace will shine
upon you as surely as it does ultimately upon all for whom
he lived and died. You see, true believers come
to see some things. They come to see the necessity
and the truth of their sin debt being paid in full by his shed
blood on the cross. He died for our sins. They see,
secondly, that those sins were really put away completely to
be remembered no more. As Amy was playing that beautiful
hymn, There Is a Fountain Before the Service, I was thinking of
that refrain. It says, lose all my guilty stains. You see, they see that those
sins were buried within And thirdly, as surely as he arose from the
grave, because he lives, they too shall live also. Now that's
the gospel truth according to the Scriptures.