You can be seated and take out your Bibles if you'd like to follow along. Then we'll be in 1 Corinthians chapter 15. 1 Corinthians chapter 15 and we will read verses 12 through 22. But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless, and so is your faith. More than that, We are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if, in fact, the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either, and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile.

You are still in your sins. then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for his life we have hope in this world, we are to be pitied more than all men. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.

So, people all over the world this morning are celebrating Easter. And I guess, you know, as far as celebrating things, that's a good thing to celebrate. The word Easter is strange to me. I don't even like to use it up here because it has nothing to do with scripture whatsoever. It's actually the name of an old pagan festival that somehow over the last 1,200 years connected itself to the resurrection of Christ. So the word Easter means nothing. It has no value.

Borrowed name basically that as Christianity spread it connected itself to it So the world the word itself means nothing to us, but we are gathered not because of the word We are gathered for the same reason that we gather every week I Love the fact that people are gathering to celebrate the resurrection of Christ. I hope they're doing it truly from their hearts but when we gather Today, to celebrate the resurrection of Christ, it is no different than how we gather every single week.

We come here to worship our Lord Jesus Christ, his death, his blood, and his resurrection every week, because that is the only message that can do any good for any man. We are not here to tell you how to be better people. We are not here to tell you how to be a better mother or father or husband or wife. We are here to tell you that Jesus Christ is the only way to not be condemned by God forever. So we will talk about the resurrection today.

And it matters, obviously. The death, blood, and resurrection of Christ are all that matters. In true reality. In the truth of eternity. Nothing beyond that matters. Not for your soul. We are here to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, so we focus deeply and regularly on the cross. as we should. We focused often on the blood as we should. And we proclaim rightly that Christ died for the sins of his people. And it is my prayer that that's all we ever talk about.

But the resurrection, and this is true, Without the resurrection, the cross saves no one. It's a weird statement, but it's absolutely true. And it's not my opinion, that's scriptural. Paul says in what we just read in 1 Corinthians 15, 17, if Christ has not been raised, you are still in your sins. On the cross was the...

Every sin of every one of God's people was paid for. Through the blood and pain and agony and the true separation of Christ from his Father. Why have you forsaken me? Why have you left me so far from you? The wrath of God was poured out on him and justice was served fully.

And yet if the story ended there, where would those who are in Christ be? We would have a sacrifice, but no proof that it was accepted. We would have the payment made, but no receipt. And that's exactly what Paul is saying here. If Christ has not been raised, you are still in your sins. Why?

Because the resurrection is God's declaration that the work was finished, and accepted. And if the work was never accepted by the judge, then it would be pointless. But this resurrection is the proof that the work Christ did was fully accepted by the judge of all creation. This is the moment of victory. Without it, sin is not defeated. Death is not defeated without resurrection. The cross alone shows the suffering and the judgment necessary. The resurrection shows the victory.

And all of this boils down to our union in Christ. I need to look up somebody sometime, and I should actually do this, how many times in the scriptures it talks about being in Christ. And how important that is. Especially when we speak of the death of Christ and his resurrection. How important it is that God's people are truly in him. Scripture tells us this and tells us this specifically about those moments.

It says in Romans 6.6, it doesn't just say that we're in Christ, it says our old self was crucified with him. So it's not vaguely saying you, the people of God are in Christ. You were in him during the crucifixion. And that's important. It says, our old self was crucified with him. In Galatians, it says, I have been crucified with Christ. That means when Christ was judged, so were you. Our deserved penalty of death was carried out on Christ and credited to us as we were with him.

But there's the problem. If there is no resurrection, if Christ stays in the grave, so do we. If he is not raised, we are still dead. If He is not raised, there is no new life. You can't separate the crucifixion from the resurrection. Salvation is not just Christ died for me. It is I died with Christ and was resurrected with Him. Now all of this work is still his, but it's important to see that both matter. It says in Romans 6, 4, just as Christ was raised from the dead, we too might walk in the newness of life. So without the resurrection, there is no new life. And there are two situations you can find yourself in. You can find yourself still in this world between two categories, either dead in Adam or alive in Christ. Death or life. Adam or Christ.

And the only reason anyone, and this is the focal point today, that I am so incredibly grateful for, The only reason anyone is alive in Christ is because Christ is alive. He is risen. And as sure as he is alive, so are his people. It's so easy to doubt ourselves. Do you doubt? that Christ is alive. Are you in him? Then don't doubt whether you're alive. It doesn't hinge on you. It doesn't rely on anything about you. Did Christ defeat death?

Was he brought to life? Is he currently alive? Then so are you. and the surety of it. Who raised him from the dead? God, the Father, the orchestrator of everything. The I Am, the creator of time, is the one who did this. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, it says in Acts. God raised him up. Why does that matter? Because the resurrection is the power of grace in action.

We contributed nothing to the cross, and we contributed nothing to the resurrection. We were not waiting for him, we did not seek him, we did not help. In Romans 5, it calls us helpless, ungodly sinners. And yet God sent his son to die, and God raised him back to life.

That means your salvation, from beginning to end, is not only not your work, it is the perfect work of God. Find comfort and surety in that. Doubting ourselves is easy. Do you doubt the work of God? He is the orchestrator. He sent his son to die for you and he raised him to life and placed him at his right hand. That means everything about your salvation is sovereignly planned and perfectly accomplished by God himself.

Says Paul in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, verse 20, which we read, it says, but in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. The first fruits means he's the first of many. Like the first fruit off of a tree is usually the best piece and there's many to follow. The first fruits, not just one, the first of many, that he rose from the dead, the first of many. That means if he rose, so have his people. He's the first fruit of resurrection to new life. He did it. And in him, so have all of his people. Not maybe, not hopefully, certainly. There's nothing uncertain about this.

But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. Paul is saying that yes, he's been raised from the dead, the first to do it, and the rest that he has died for are guaranteed to follow. This means death is no longer the end for God's people. It is a doorway to eternal life. The grave is not final. Judgment that for so many waits on the other side of death is gone for the people of God. That does not wait for you. Death is over. Spiritual death is gone. When Christ was resurrected, It was fully defeated.

For the believer, the worst thing that can happen to you, which is to be judged according to who you are and according to your sins by God himself, has already happened. It happened to Christ in your place. The worst thing that can happen to man has already happened and been cleared for God's people. And the best thing that can happen to you, to be cleared of your guilt that deserves death, to be raised from that death after it has been defeated, and instead be given life that is only deserved by someone who's perfect, has already happened. It has already been accomplished and it has already been done for you. So the worst thing that could happen to you has been wiped away and the greatest thing that could happen to you has been guaranteed by the blood of the Son of God and the sovereignty of His Father. This is why it's called the good news. There is no better news. Because he lives, your sin is forgiven. Your standing in front of God is secure. And your eternal future is certain. And then it says, in 1 Corinthians 15, 22.

For as in Adam all die, but so also in Christ shall all be made alive. This is basically the whole story of all of humanity in one verse. Two men, two representatives, two outcomes. In all, in Adam, all die, and that's where all of us begin. Adam stood as our head, as our representative to God. And when he sinned, he didn't fall into death alone. All of humanity fell with him. Understand, there are two heads we're gonna be talking about, and this is Adam, the first head, the representative. And when he fell into death, all were in him.

That's why death is universal, not just physical, but spiritual death, separation from God, condemnation under sin, total inability to improve our standing. Total inability to save ourselves. This is where we ended up by being in Adam from the first sin. You didn't become a sinner because of your sin, you were born a sinner. Now we're all extremely good at adding to it. But it started with Adam.

And because of that, death isn't just likely, it's certain. Without intercession from God, death for eternity is certain for all mankind. But in that very same sentence, for as in Adam all die, so also in Christ. To say that that changes everything is an understatement. Everything changes when you go from Adam to Christ. God, in his sovereign mercy, chose to not leave his people in Adam. There are certain statements that sometimes just make me so, I can't find enough gratitude. We belong there, we belong in Adam. It's our nature, it's where we're born. On our own, we would have no chance of ever leaving that position, that place.

But God, out of love and mercy and grace, chose, according to his will, not to leave his people there. He sent a second Adam, as Christ is called, a second head, a second representative for the chosen people of God. And just like Adam represented everyone in his fall into death, Christ represents all of his people in his ascension to life. And then comes the promise later on in that same piece of scripture, that same statement by Paul.

It says, and all will be made alive. Not might be, not hopefully will be, not could be. It is the most powerful statement. All will be made alive. Why? Because Christ is alive. And his people are in him. If he stayed in the grave, no one is saved. But because he walked out of that tomb and ascended to the throne of all creation, Eternal life, and this is a fact, eternal life in the presence of the Father and of the Savior is now unavoidable for the people of God. Unavoidable. We can't change its course. We can't add to it. We can't take away from it. It is truly finished.

We talk about how there are two heads. The head is essential to the life of the being. If the head is dead, as in Adam, so are all of its members. But that holds true for Christ as well, and for the people in him. If the head is alive, so are all its members. You cannot have a living head and dead members. Christ lives. That is an incredibly powerful and important statement.

And if you are in Christ, and if you're not sure about that, go to him. There's nothing tricky about this. There's nothing complex about salvation through Christ. You don't have to know a certain amount. You don't have to understand certain things. Are you a sinner? Do you need salvation? Go to Christ and ask for it. He will say yes to you. And then, if you are found in him, if you are in Christ, who is alive, His life guarantees yours. It is such a simple and powerful and profound statement. Without the spilling of blood on the cross, no sins would have been forgiven. But without the resurrection of our Savior, there would be no life to experience.

And really what it all boils down to is it all belongs to Him. Where do you wanna go? Who do you wanna go to? Go to Christ. This is so simple. You are a sinner. Christ is the only way to find salvation. He is the sacrifice. He is the blood. He is the resurrection. He is the life. You don't have to understand all of that or any of it. Go to Him. He is the Savior. And if you already have, go every day. Just keep going back. Look to Him. He is everything. His death, His blood, His payment, His victory, just go to Christ.

That is the best advice we can give. That will never be the wrong thing to do. Let's pray. Our Father, we are at times at a loss for what you've done for us. We are so thankful, our dear Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We love you so much and we thank you so much for somehow choosing a people out of this humanity to give yourself of, to give yourself for, to take away what darkness and sinfulness that we have and take it upon yourself to only turn around and give us your light, your perfection.

It is the perfect design of salvation for those who in no other way could be saved. And we are simply blessed. We are the dead who have been given life. and you are the one who has done it all. We worship you, Lord. We thank you. You are glorious and lovely and perfect. And we are so thankful and grateful that you love us. And we pray this in Jesus' name, amen.