1 Corinthians chapter 15. We're going to be looking at
the first 8 verses. And I want to do something a
little different today. I'm just going to read through
these 8 verses, and then we'll go back and go through them. Moreover, brethren, I declare
unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also you have
received, and wherein ye stand, by which also ye are saved, if
ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have 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 and that
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 under this present, but some are falling asleep. After
that he was seen of James, then of all the apostles, And last
of all, he was seen of me also as of one born out of due time." Now evidently, some in the church
at Corinth were preaching and teaching and denying the resurrection
of Christ. This is the Sadducees. You read about the Sadducees
who approached Christ with the Pharisees. And they were a different
segment of the Jews, and they also denied the resurrection. And perhaps that's what was going
on here. There might have been some young
men who were raised in a home of the Sadducees and taught differently,
but they denied the resurrection. They preached a denial of the
resurrection. And in this chapter, Paul will
defend the doctrine of the resurrection. He's going to show its absolute
necessity. And then he's going to apply
it to the believer's heart concerning that great resurrection in the
last day. There's two things that all unbelieving
men deny more than anything else. The virgin birth. and the resurrection
of Christ. Now, they don't openly deny the
virgin birth. They'll celebrate it on Christmas.
They talk about it all year long. But they deny the necessity of
it. They deny the reason behind it. They deny the virgin birth. And the same thing with the resurrection. They deny that. They deny the
necessity of it. They deny the power behind it. They deny the reason for it.
That's what they deny. And if you don't understand something,
if you have no understanding of it whatsoever, it's impossible
for you to find any hope in it, any assurance in it, any joy
in it. And so men talk about these things,
but they have no joy in it. They don't rejoice in these things. Having come out of this kind
of foolishness, I now understand why they did it. The religion
of the damned, would it be okay to call it that? That's what
our Lord called it. The religion of the damned, false
religion, does not necessitate either one of these things. Freewill works religion believes
that there is an innate goodness in men. There's goodness in all
men. How many times have I read that
when I'm reading literature, studying a certain subject, I'll
come on this statement that there's a little bit of goodness in all
men. If that's so, then God is a liar. Because God said that He looked
down from heaven and there was none good. No, not one. There was none that doeth any
righteousness. No, not one. There is no such
thing as an innate goodness or an innate quality or a potential,
if you will, that renders man to be savable. They believe that
his will is free, that his mind is clear, so he can be persuaded
by natural reason. You can sit down with him one-on-one
and persuade him to do these things. In other words, you can
convert him through persuasion. You can change this man's course
of life through persuasion, through natural reasoning. You can sit
down and one-on-one just butt and hold him and sit there until
you convince him of the truth. They believe that his will is
free, that his mind is clear, and so he can be persuaded to
reform himself and turn himself toward God. And some even believe
he can then produce a righteousness which gains God's favor and gains
God's blessing. Well, a religion like this does
not demand a representative. There's no reason for God to
robe himself in human flesh and come into this world if man is
savable on his own. What would be the reason? You've
taken away all the reason for a divine representative. You've
taken away all the reason for a divine surety. You actually
deny those things when you say that man is savable. He is not
savable. With man, these things are impossible. Isn't that what our Lord said?
They are impossible. The Gospel of Jesus Christ, that
is Christ and Him crucified, Christ the risen Savior is given
and preached to men upon the premise that man is totally depraved. That's the first thing. He said,
what shall I cry? He said, cry all flesh as grass. That's the first thing. The gospel
is given to men on the premise that man is totally depraved.
Otherwise, he wouldn't need a representative. Otherwise, he wouldn't need a
substitute. Otherwise, he wouldn't need a righteousness, would he?
If he can produce one of his own. that is dead in trespasses and
sins. He tells us in Ephesians 2 verse
1, And you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and
sins. Now watch as Paul lays the groundwork
for his defense of the resurrection here. 1 Corinthians 15. Moreover, brethren, I declare
unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also you have
received, and wherein you stand, by which also you are saved,
if you keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless you have believed
in vain." Beloved, there is only one hope of salvation. Jesus
Christ, the Lord. He is the gospel. There is only
one hope of salvation. Forget about everything else
that you thought you knew. Forget about all these preconceived
notions that a depraved mind has swallowed. Forget about all
of these things and embrace Him. Life is in Him. He that hath
the Son hath life. And he that hath not the Son
of God, whatever else he has, hath not life. Life's in Him. Pardon's in Him. Rest is in Him. It's not Christ plus your obedience
to the law. Paul wrote to the Galatians.
That was the temptation that Satan's ministers brought into
that church. It was Christ plus your works
with the law. But he said if righteousness
comes by the law, then Christ is dead and banned. It's not Christ plus your works.
He said it's not according to our works. but it's according
to His own purpose and grace which was given us in Christ
Jesus before the world began. It's not Christ plus your will.
He said it's not of Him that willeth. Isn't that what the
Scripture said? It's not of Him that willeth, but of God that shall with mercy.
As our eternal representative, He came into this world and took
our place before the holy law of God. And by His holy, loving
obedience, He wrought out a righteousness for every believer that renders
him or her holy..." Now listen to this, "...unblameable and
unreprovable in God's sight." Now that's righteousness. That's righteousness. "...everything
which the law demands from the sinner, Christ is provided by
His representative obedience. He is the end of the law. Take
it any way you want to take it. He is the end of the law for
righteousness to everyone that believes. And Jesus Christ took
away the sins of all those given Him by the Father. Here's what
the Scripture says. Once in the end of the world
hath He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. Now, did He make a down payment
on our sins, or did He put them away? Did He make an effort to
take them away? Did He just make it possible
for them to be taken away? That's not what the Scripture
says. It says He put them away by the sacrifice of Himself.
Hebrews 9.28, So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many,
and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time,
without sin unto salvation. That old high priest entered
beyond the veil with the atoning blood of the sacrifice. And all
with an interest in that atonement watched with expectation for
his appearance, watched for him to come back out through that
door of the tabernacle. So our Lord entered into the
holy place, not made with hands, and by His own blood obtained
eternal redemption for us. And as many as look for Him shall
He appear the second time without sin unto salvation." The gospel of Jesus Christ is
not another form of religion. It's the only way God can be
just and yet justify chosen sinners. Jesus Christ Himself is the way. When these early preachers preached
this gospel, they preached this. Neither is there salvation in
any other. For there is none other name
given under heaven whereby we must be saved. Acts chapter 4
verse 12. The gospel is not sinner save
yourself. It's not sinner make up your
mind. You take the first step. He'll
take the rest. The gospel is not, sinner, save
thyself. The gospel is not, sinner, come
to the front of the church. The gospel is not, sinner, make
your decision. The gospel is setting forth the
Son of God, our Savior, the Savior of all God's elect, as God has
set Him forth. Now watch this. 1 Corinthians
15.3. For I delivered unto you, first
of all, that which I also received. How that Christ died for our
sins, are you listening? According to the Scriptures. Now that's what's missing in
today's preaching. They talk about the sin bearer.
They talk about Jesus Christ our Savior. They talk about Him
taking away our sins. But they don't apply this to
the Scriptures. Paul said, He delivered unto
them that which He 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. The man or woman who has a saving
interest in the Lord Jesus Christ has had Christ preached to him
as God has set him forth in the Scriptures. Paul said in verse 1, I preached
it to you. Isn't that what he said? I preached
this gospel to you. And then he tells them, you received
it. You received it. You received what I preached
to you. Going back into 1 Corinthians
in those first couple of chapters, he said he used great plainness
of speech when he brought the Gospel to them. He told them
in great plainness of speech what these things were about. And he said, I did that that
your faith would not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the
power of God. I told you that Jesus of Nazareth
was the Son of God come into the flesh. I told you of His
divine appointments. I told you of His representative
offices. I told you of His substitutionary
sacrifice. I told you of His agonizing death
and of His glorious resurrection. I preached the gospel to you
and you received it. That's what He told. And it's the foundation upon
which your faith rests and wherein you stand. Isn't that what He
said? There's where you're standing. on what I preached to you, and
what you received, and wherein you stand. And you'll be saved,
he said, if you keep in memory what I preached to you. Otherwise,
your faith is vain. Just vain. Saving faith is a faith that
rests in Christ as God has set him forth in the Gospel of Jesus
Christ. And this gospel rests on the
testimony of God concerning His dear Son. He died for our sins
according to the Scriptures. While believers rest in Christ
alone, that Christ they rest in is the Christ sent forth in
the Word of God, not in some church creed or some confession. They hear it from a man. And
that man takes the Word of God, and he points them to the Savior,
and then he commits both his message and the hearer to God. Isn't that what Paul said he
did to them? He said, I shun not to declare
unto you the whole counsel of God, and now I commit these things
to God our Savior. I commit them to Him. Let Him
do what He will. I preached it. You received it.
You stand upon it, and you'll be saved if you keep it in memory.
Otherwise, you believed in vain. What is it to believe in vain?
It's to believe in the doctrine of something and deny the power
of it. It's to profess faith in Christ but follow another
way, walk another way. To believe in vain is a hearing
in word only without any conviction of the heart and soul. The Gospel
sets before men a living, dying, resurrected Savior, a victorious
Savior, an all-sufficient Savior. And because of who He is, because
of His divine appointments, because He's both man and God in one
person, because He rose victorious from the grave and ascended to
the right hand of God, He is able, He alone is able to save
them to the uttermost. that come unto God by Him. And people who trust in Christ
do not deny vital doctrine concerning Him. This is where their hope
rests. Here these men come in here and
they pick the resurrection out and they're talking about the
resurrection in an abstract way. They separated the resurrection
from everything else and are over here denying the resurrection
and talking about that last day and talking about the dead being
raised and how foolish that was and all of these things. Paul
said, that's not the gospel I preach to you. That's not what gives you hope. And that's not where you're standing.
And you are a fool for even considering such a thing. The gospel sets before men a
living, dying, resurrected Savior. A victorious Savior and an all-sufficient
Savior. Because He is both man and God
in one person. Because He rose victorious from
the grave and ascended to the right hand of God. because He
ever liveth to make intercession for us. He's able to save to
the uttermost. And people who trust in Christ
don't deny these things. The gospel is not merely speaking
the name of Jesus Christ and then just leaving men to their
depraved imaginations to see Him any way they please. You'll
never find it. All you have to do is take your
Bible and go back and read the Book of Acts, read through the
Gospels, read through the New Testament epistles, and you'll
see that when those men preached, they applied that truth that
they preached. They didn't just speak in generalities
and let men go out the door to interpret that any way they wanted
to. It's not just speaking the name of Jesus Christ and then
leaving men to their depraved imaginations. The Gospel does
not simply talk about salvation without defining what that salvation
is. It tells you what it is. Jesus Christ died for our sins
according to the Scriptures. And the Scriptures say He put
away sin by the sacrifice of Himself, Hebrews 9.26. The Scriptures
say that we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus
Christ once for all and that by one offering He has perfected
forever them that are sanctified. Hebrews 10, 10-14. He was buried and rose again
the third day according to the Scriptures. The resurrection
of Christ is according to the Scriptures. He was delivered,
Paul said, for our offenses and was raised again for our justification. Am I justified before God? What
if somebody off the street asked you that question? Are you justified
before God? I remember a man that Brother
Mahan went to seminary with. Hadn't seen this man in 20 or
25 years. And this man got transferred to a little church up there in
Ashland, and he was walking down the street, and Henry was walking
to church that morning, and they passed each other on the street,
and Henry recognized him. Called his name, and they struck
up a conversation for a minute or two, and that man said, Henry,
he said, are you still saved? Henry said, is God still on the
throne? Is Christ still on the throne?
See, that's our hope. We're justified in Him. In Him. You take away that divine union,
you take away that representative character of Christ, there's
no hope. There's no hope. You're left to yourself. You're
left to yourself. Well, God will give me a helping
hand. He's done more than that. He saved us. He saved us and called us with
a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to
His own purpose and grace given to us in Christ before the world
began. The resurrection of Christ declares
the full, free, gracious justification of all those for whom Christ
died. Paul said, listen to this, Ephesians
1, verse 6, "...to the praise of the glory of His grace wherein
He hath made us accepted in the Beloved." Accepted in Him. Justified in Him. Looked upon
as righteous in Him. In Ephesians 2, verse 6, speaking
of our quickening together with Christ, he tells us, "...He hath
raised us up together." Why is this resurrection important?
Because He raised us up together with Him and seated us with Him
in the heavens. To deny the resurrection would
be like watching that old high priest enter into the tabernacle
with the atonement for Israel, their names upon his shoulders
and over his heart, never to come out alive to yield the blessing
of God unto His children. The resurrection is a vital doctrine
and one necessary to understand and believe. And to deny this
doctrine is to deny the truth of the gospel and the life it
promises in Christ Jesus. And I tell you this this morning
with all sincerity, beware. Beware men who deny the plain
teaching of the Word of God, the all-sufficient risen Redeemer
who has performed and fulfilled all the redemptive will of God.
for his elect. Beware of them. Beware of them. Isn't that why Paul wrote those
Colossians? Beware lest any man beguile you with natural reasoning
and logic. He'll come in and he'll start
reasoning things out. I was listening to a man this
morning on the TV and he was He had all those future prophecies
all lined out, and this meant that, and this meant that. He
had his charts and his chalk. Boy, he was really going to town
on there. Talking about God's elect throughout
the whole thing. You know, our Lord said there's
a day coming when the very elect of God would be deceived if it
were possible. But it's not possible because
the Holy Ghost won't allow it. God give you understanding of
what I've taught here this morning. Thank you.