Would you turn to 1 Corinthians
chapter 15. I want to read verses 28 through 34. And when all things shall be
subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject
unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all
in all. Else what shall they do which
are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? Why
are they then baptized for the dead? And why stand we in jeopardy
every hour? I protest by your or my marginal
wreathing says our rejoicing, which I have in Christ Jesus
our Lord. I die daily. If after the manner of men I
fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantage it be if the dead
rise not? Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow
we die. Be not deceived. Evil communications
corrupt good manners. Awake to righteousness and sin
not. For some have not the knowledge
of God. I speak this. To your shame. Verse 34 says. Wake up. Wake up. Now hear the word. Means return
to one senses from drunkenness. become sober. They had become intoxicated by
false doctrine, by evil doctrine, by the influences of the world.
They had become intoxicated and they were in danger of being
deceived. Paul says in verse 33, be not deceived. Evil communications,
corrupt good manners. Now this could read literally,
wake up righteously. Do not be intoxicated by these
worldly influences. You ought to be, he says to the
church at Corinth, ashamed of yourselves. You look at the knowledge
God has given you. Not everybody has this knowledge.
Now, I'm looking at some people tonight who have been blessed
greatly with the knowledge of God. The knowledge of his gospel. How many people have been blessed
to know the things that you and I know? What a blessing. What a mercy of God. And he's
saying, I speak this to your shame that you've allowed yourself.
And he's speaking to believers. He's speaking to the church of
Corinth. He's speaking to believers. And he says, I'm distressed that
you've allowed yourself to become intoxicated by these wrong principles,
it's time to wake up and sober up. Wake up. And don't sin anymore. Make it truly, not just in word,
because you know it's the right thing to say, but make it your
ambition to sin no more. Now, that's strong language,
isn't it? the way Paul talks to them. He says, wake up, wake
up. And I was thinking, maybe it's
to me. I hope the Lord speaks to me
if it is, or to you. I don't know what the Lord's
intention is in this particular message, but it's time to wake
up. You know, sometimes a good slap
in the face is needed, isn't it? And you know something that really
scares me when I think about this? I'm thankful for the mercy
of the Lord toward us in speaking to us like this. He's got ways
of getting our attention that are more severe than this. That's
a scary thought, isn't it? It's a scary thought. And I don't
want to have to have a more severe way of getting my attention. Wake up. Sin not, for some have
not the knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame."
Now, what led Paul to speak this way to these people? Well, he's
dealing in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 with an error that had risen
in the church. Look in verse 12. Now, if Christ
be preached that he rose from the dead, How say some among
you that there's no resurrection of the dead? We've seen that
in the last several weeks. That's the error he was dealing
with in the church of Corinth. And so let's pick up in verse
29. In verse 29, he says, if there's no resurrection, what
shall they do which are baptized for the dead? If the dead rise
not at all, why are they then baptized for the dead? Now let
me say at the outset, that does not mean that they baptize dead
people. That's not what was going on.
Some say this is where infant baptism began, this verse of
scripture. Now, where do you get infant
baptism out of that? Well, this is what I read anyway. I thought
it was interesting. They said, well, when a baby would die or
if it was born dead, what they do is baptize it, which is wrong. I mean, Paul wasn't teaching
that, but people took this verse of scripture. and they abused
it, gave it a wrong meaning and said, well, we need to baptize
dead people and that way they'll be saved. That'll get them out
of purgatorial, that'll save them or whatever it is it's supposed
to be doing. So they went from baptizing dead babies to saying,
well, we ought to go ahead and get them before they die. So
let's just baptize them as soon as they're born and that way
we can cover their salvation. Now that's obviously ridiculous.
They didn't practice anything like that in the New Testament.
What Paul is talking about is baptism. What is baptism? It's death, it's burial, and
it's resurrection. Now, if there's no resurrection,
let's hold them down under. That's what that means. You make
baptism meaningless if there's no resurrection for the dead.
Now, let's remember what baptism means. Baptism, the word means
immersion. It's the believer's public confession
of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the way I confess Christ.
This is my confession of Christ before the world. I confess my
only hope is union with the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what baptism
teaches. When I confess Christ in believer's
baptism, here's what I'm saying. I'm saying my only hope of salvation
is that when he lived, I was united to him. When he kept the
law, I kept the law. When He died under the wrath
of God, I died under the wrath of God because I was united to
Him. Whatever He did, I did. When
He was raised from the dead, I was raised from the dead. And that is my only hope. Such is my case. I think it's
very interesting there in Mark chapter 1 verse 4 where it says
they were baptized of him confessing their sins. That doesn't mean
they confessed their sins and then they were baptized. The
act of baptism was their confession of sin. I'm confessing when I'm
baptized that the only hope this sinner has is union with the
Lord Jesus Christ. I'm confessing that the only
hope I have is the life, the death, and the burial, and the
resurrection of Christ, and what a glorious hope that is. That's
the believer's confession of Christ. Every believer is to
confess Christ in believer's baptism. If you haven't been
baptized, what are you waiting on? so much as well i don't feel
led to you know that uh... that's a that's a role you know
when my dad said go do something i didn't say well i don't feel
led to what i would have said that that would have just he
would have blistered i wouldn't have survived that you know i
don't feel led to its obedience to christ every believer is called
on to obey christ in believers baptism i'll tell you what i
personally Well, it doesn't matter whether I personally feel this
way or not. I just don't have any confidence
in somebody who refuses to confess Christ and believe his baptism.
Whoso believeth and is baptized, the same should be saved. And
what I want to say to anybody who has not been baptized, if
you believe the gospel, what are you waiting on? What hinders
you? It's really plumb stupid, isn't
it? You know it is. You know it is. You know, every
time we have a baptism, I'd like to be baptized. I know you can't
be baptized again. I realize that. Somebody says,
I've been baptized three or four times. No, you haven't. There's
only one baptism. That's believer's baptism. You
might have gone under the water and come up six or eight times.
I don't know, but that wasn't baptism. You're only baptized
when you're a believer. It's believer's baptism. Now,
Paul is saying, If there's no resurrection from the dead, baptism
is a meaningless ritual. And let me also say this about
baptism. Turn with the Romans chapter six for a moment. Verse three. No, you not. that so many of
us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His
death. Therefore, we are buried with
Him by baptism into death that like as Christ was raised up
from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should
walk in newness of life. You know, if I'm not walking
in newness of life, That makes my baptism a meaningless religious
ritual, doesn't it? It really does. May God give
us grace to walk in newness of life. Let's go on reading back
to our text. He says, if there's no resurrection, what's baptism
mean? Then he says in verse 30, and
why stand we in jeopardy every hour? Now, because of Paul's
preaching, he stood in jeopardy every hour. He was always in
trouble in some form because men hated the gospel He preached.
Remember how He said in Galatians chapter 1, if I yet please men,
I wouldn't be the servant of Christ. But the message He preached
always got Him in trouble. He said, bonds and afflictions
await me anywhere I go. He says, now if there's no resurrection
of the dead, why am I even bothering with this? Why bother? Look how Paul was viewed by the
world. Let me read you a scripture from Acts chapter 24 verse 5. It was Tertullus who said, we
have found this man a pestilent fellow. He's a pest. I think
that's interesting. A pest. A mover of sedition. among all the Jews throughout
the world, and a ringleader of the Nazarenes. After his testimony
in Acts chapter 22, they all cried out, away with such a fellow
from the earth, it's not fit that he should live. Now Paul
said, why would I go through all this? And I mean, his life
was one... I mean, he'd go in one place,
get stoned, get up and go to another place, get beat. I mean,
it was a continual series of things like that for him. He
was always persecuted for the gospel of Christ. He says, now
if there's no resurrection, why would I even bother? Look in
2 Corinthians chapter 11, verse 23. Now he's comparing
himself to these false apostles. And he says in verse 23, are
they ministers of Christ? They claim to be, but I'm speaking
as a fool. I'm more. In labors more abundant and stripes
above measure, in prisons more frequent and deaths oft of the
Jews, five times received I forty stripes, save one." And I try
to picture what Paul must have been thinking when he was tied
up to that post and they were beating him with a cat of nine
tails and the flesh being ripped off his back. You reckon he wondered,
is it worth this? I guarantee you he thought that's
up. Now, by the grace of God, he continued, but can you imagine
what he went through with this? Look what else he went through.
Verse 25, thrice was I beaten with rods. Once was I stoned. Thrice I suffered shipwreck.
A night and a day have I been in the deep, out in the water,
wondering if I'm going to drown. In journeyings often, in perils
of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by my own countrymen,
in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils
in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false
brethren. in weariness and painfulness
and watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often,
in cold and nakedness, beside those things that are without
the things which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the
churches." Now you look at what all this man went through. Now
somebody says, why? Well, turn over to John 15. Let
me remind you of something. Let me remind myself of something.
John chapter 15, verse 18. If the world hates you, you know that it hated me before
it hated you. Now, our Lord was not hated because
of his conduct. Never has a man been more gracious. Never has a man been more perfect.
Never has a man been more humble than the Lord Jesus Christ. He
wasn't offending men because of his character. He was offending
men because of the gospel that he preached. Let's go on reading. Verse 29, if you were of the
world, the world would love his own. But because you're not of
the world, but I've chosen you out of the world, therefore the
world hates you. Now remember the word that I
said unto you, the servant is no greater than his Lord. If
they persecuted me, they'll also persecute you. And if they kept
my sayings, they'll keep yours also. But all these things will
they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him
that sent me. If I'd not come and spoken unto
them, they'd had no sin. But now they have no cloak for
their sin. He that hateth me, hateth my father. Also, if I
had not done among them the works which none other man did, they
had not had sin. But now they have both seen and
hated, both me and my father. But this cometh to pass, that
the word might be fulfilled that's written in their law. They hated
me without a cause." Now, our Lord is explaining to us at this
time why folk, if I'm faithful to the gospel message, I'm not
going to win any popularity contest, am I? Not if I'm true to the
gospel message. Now, what Paul is saying is,
is if there's no resurrection, and this is the error that come
up in the church, if there's no resurrection, why would I
bother with this? Verse, let's go back to our text
in first Corinthians 15. Verse 31. He says, I protest. That's a solemn affirmation. I protest by your, or my marginal
reading says I rejoice, and I think that's what it means. Every believer's
rejoicing in Christ Jesus. I protest by your rejoicing which
I have in Christ Jesus our Lord. I die daily. Now, I protest by our rejoicing,
our rejoicing. which I have in Christ Jesus
our Lord." Now what's he talking about? Well turn with me to Galatians
6 for just a moment. Here the word rejoicing is translated
glorying. I protest by our glorying in
Christ Jesus our Lord. Look here in Galatians chapter
6 verse 14, but God forbid that I should glory saving the cross
of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto
me and I unto the world." Now, Paul says, I protest because
of... And he's looking at the Church of Corinth, and he's got
some problems with the things they were doing, with the doctrine
they were espousing, with a whole lot of things as you read this.
book of first Corinthians. I mean, he had all kinds of problems
with me. He brings them up. But he says, I protest by our
rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord. And in light
of the rejoicing we have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. I die every single day. Now,
what's he mean by that? Well, first, let's talk about
our rejoicing which we have in Christ Jesus our Lord. He's talking
about glorying in the cross of Christ. You know, I do rejoice. If you're a believer, you rejoice
in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, don't you? You glory
in it. You find confidence in it. Now,
you remember who's talking. It's Paul. The man God used more than anybody
else to expound the gospel. He wrote 13 books in the New
Testament. There's never been, as far as men go, there's never
been a greater man than the Apostle Paul. What a blessing he is to
us, and yet Paul says, God forbid that I glory in any of that.
Paul knew he was what he was by the grace of God. He said,
all I glory in, all I have confidence in, all I rejoice in, all I can
find comfort in is the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. Nothing
else. Glory in the cross. Here's my
confidence. God looks at me right now while
I'm talking to you as holy and unblameable and unapproved. And
if God looks at me that way, you know why He looks at me that
way? That's because I am that way. How can you say that? because of union with the Lord
Jesus Christ. If he's holy and unblameable
and unapprovable, I am too. And the cross accomplished that
for me. The cross of Christ washed away my sins, and this is the
only thing I have confidence in, not in the fact that I've
been used by God to write the scriptures, not because of the
revelations God's given me. Paul says, no, I just, I count
all that, doesn't even count. The only thing I glory in is
the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, he talked about his rejoicing
in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, and he said, I die daily.
I die daily. You know, in light of the cross,
look at Galatians 6, verse 14 again. But God forbid that I should
glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the
world is crucified unto me. It's a dead thing to me. It's
a crucified thing. And I unto the world." Now, in light of the cross, this world is just really not attractive.
It's not attractive in comparison with knowing the Lord, being
saved by Him, being found in Him. I know I'm supposed to say that.
I know there's something wrong with me if I do not say that,
and I know it's the right thing to say. In light of the cross,
I see this world as a crucified thing. But you know, I really
do. I really do. This world is nothing but a bunch
of vanity. And it's nothing in comparison
with knowing the Lord Jesus Christ simply being found in Him. Paul
said, I die daily. Listen to the words of our Lord
in Luke chapter 9 verse 23. He said, If any man will come
after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily. What's a cross for? It's for
death. Now, when he's talking about
taking up a cross, he's not talking about, you know, I've heard people
say, well, this is my cross. This is my burden to bear. I've got this
sickness or this problem and that's my cross to bear in this
life. No, that's not what that's talking about. The cross of Christ
that he calls us to daily bear is our confession of him that
brings on the hatred of the world. Now, he says, except I'm to deny
myself Self. What's the biggest problem you
have? It's yourself, isn't it? That's the biggest problem you
and I have. I'm to deny self, self-righteousness,
self-promotion, self-seeking, self-whatever. I'm called upon
to deny myself and to take up my cross I'm called upon to crucify
the flesh with the affections and the lusts. That means put
it to death. And you know you do that every day. Paul said,
I die daily. I die daily. You might have crucified it yesterday,
but it's alive again today, and you've got to crucify it again
today. I die daily. I'm called upon to deny myself,
to take up my cross daily, and to follow the Lord Jesus Christ.
Truly, to die is gain. You know, we live with the knowledge
that we will soon die. And isn't that a blessing? If you really believe that you're
going to soon die, you're not going to get too taken up with
the things of this world, are you? And we die to what this
world thinks. I die daily. I'm interested in the elections
and the caucuses. I read about what's happened
in Iowa, and I'm interested in those things, but you know, not
really. How interested is a dead man
in those things? I mean, whoever God intends to
be elected, that's who's going to be elected, and I don't worry
about it. I'm not even really much concerned
about it one way or the other. You see, I'm not a citizen of
this world. I'm a citizen of the king. And I'm just not concerned
about what's going on here. Boy, it's a blessing when I think
of things. Sometimes I get concerned, and I get miserable when I'm
like that. But thank God, you are dead. If you ask a dead man
what he cares about what's going on in this world, what's he going
to say? Well, he's not going to say anything. It's not even an issue with him.
It's not even an issue. He just doesn't care. You're
dead! Isn't it great to be dead? You're
dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who
is our life, shall appear, then shall you appear with Him in
glory. Mortify, he says then. Put to death, therefore, your
members which are upon the earth. Put them to death. Paul said,
I die daily. You know, the only way to live
is to die. That's the only way to live.
And you'll be a lot happier. You want me to give you the key
to being miserable? Seek to be happy. If that's your
goal, if that's your, I just want to be happy, I want to be
happy, you're going to spend all your time miserable. But if you
die to yourself, you're going to be happy. I guarantee you,
you will. Somebody says, I don't believe
it. Well, try it. Try it. If you die to yourself,
if I die to myself, my ambitions, my plans, just die to self, it's
a blessing too by the grace of God. Look what Paul said in Acts
chapter 20. I love this verse of scripture. Verse 22, And now, behold, I
go bound in the Spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall
befall me there, save that the Holy Ghost witnesses in every
city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. But none of these things
move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might
finish my course with joy. and the ministry which I've received
of the Lord Jesus to testify the gospel of the grace of God.
Now, how is it that you're going to finish your course with joy?
By not counting your life dear to yourself. May God give us grace to do that.
To die daily. Let's go back to our text in
1 Corinthians 15. He says in verse 32, if after
the manner of men I fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantage
is it to me if the dead rise not? Let us eat and drink, for
tomorrow we die. Now evidently, at Ephesus, Paul
was thrown into a ring with wild beasts because of his confession
of the Lord Jesus Christ. You've heard of what they did
back in those days. They'd put gladiators in rings
and they'd have to fight off wild beasts. Well, evidently,
Paul had to do that. I can't help but thinking of all the
things that he went through in order to preach the Gospel. But
he's saying, now, I was in Ephesus. They threw me in a ring with
wild beasts to fight them off. Now, why would I even bother
to do that if the dead rise not? Let's eat and drink and be merry.
Have a good time. Go for the gusto. If the dead
rise not, if right now is all there is, go ahead and have a
good time. Give yourself to that. You're going to die tomorrow.
Have the best time you can here now, if the dead rise not. But
everybody deep down knows that that's not so. There's an eternity. This hidden life, this is just
temporary. It's going to be over soon enough.
Now, he says in verse 33, be not deceived. Evil communications
corrupt good manners. Now in the context, he's talking
about this false doctrine that there's no resurrection. False
doctrine. No resurrection will corrupt
right living. Understand this. Now listen real
carefully. False doctrine always corrupts. It is evil. It's anti-God and
it will live in its way through the whole lump. False doctrine
always leads to sin. There is always, without any
exceptions to this, there is always an evil motive behind
false doctrine. And it always corrupts. Always. Don't look at false doctrine
in any form as harmless because it's not. It always corrupts. Evil communications corrupt good
manners. This is also talking about companionships. You make your companions people
of this world and they will always bring you down. You will never
bring them up. They will always bring you down. Now, don't be deceived by this.
You make people of this world your friends. Now, understand.
We're to be salt in this world. We're to be a witness in this
world. I'm not talking about having some kind of holier-than-thou
attitude where you'd stay away from me. I'm afraid you'll corrupt
me. I'm not talking about that at all. You know that. But if
I make my companions men of this world, they'll always bring me
down to them. Evil communications corrupt good
manners. Now, he says in verse 34, Awake
to righteousness and sin not. For some have not the knowledge
of God, and I speak this to your shame." Don't be intoxicated
by the corrupting influence of false doctrine. Do not be intoxicated
by the corrupting influences of people who do not love Christ. Be sober. Wake up. Live righteously. Do not sin. Now, I know every time I say
something like that or the Bible says something like that, somebody
says, why would you say that when all we can do is sin? Well, what else
are you going to say? Oh, it's okay to sin? No, it's
never okay to sin. It's never okay. These things
have I written unto you that you sin not. Well, what about
the evil nature I have? Wrong question. Wrong question. Yes, sure, you've got an evil
nature, but these things have I written unto you that you sin not. May God give us the grace to
truly, from the very depths of our hearts, make it our ambition
to never sin again in any way. Awake to righteousness and sin
not, for some have not this knowledge of God that you have." And I'm
speaking this to your shame. And I got to thinking about this
thing of the knowledge. And I'm not just talking about
a speculative knowledge where I've been educated better than
somebody else. I'm talking about a saving revelation
of Christ. I'm not just talking about I
know something that you don't know. And you know, with the world,
knowledge is power. If I know something you don't
know, I've got power over you. I'm not talking about that kind
of stuff. That's foolishness. That's the knowledge of this
world. That's the knowledge that corrupts. Knowledge puffeth up. Charity builds up. I'm talking
about the precious saving revelation of Himself that He's given us.
Paul said in 2 Timothy 1.12, I know whom? I have believed, and I am persuaded
that He is able to keep that which I have committed to Him
against that day." Now isn't that precious knowledge? What
about this knowledge? Romans 8, 28, and we know. They
may not, but we do. We know that all things work
together for good to them that love God, to them who are called
according to His purpose. 1 John 3, 5 says, we know that
he was manifested to take away our sins. Isn't that precious
knowledge? And in him is no sin. That means that if I'm in him,
if I'm united to him, I have no sin. In 1 John 3, 2 we read,
we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him. For we
shall see him as he is." What wonderful knowledge. This is
wonderful knowledge. Paul said in Romans 7, I know
that in me, that is in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing. Isn't
it precious knowledge to know you're a sinner? And to know
that, you know, I know I'm a sinner. I know that in me, that is in
my flesh dwelleth no good thing. I know that. And knowing that,
it makes it easy for me to trust the Lord as my righteousness.
What precious saving knowledge. In 1 Corinthians 2.12, we know
that we may know the things that are freely given to us of God.
Isn't it a blessing to know that everything you have is given
to you freely? That means without a cause in you? God didn't have
to find a reason in you to do it. He does what He does freely. 1 Corinthians 15, 58, you know
that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. 2 Corinthians 5,
1, we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle fall,
we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal
in the heavens. Isn't that precious knowledge?
Peter said in 1 Peter 1.18, you know that you were not redeemed
with corruptible things. You know that, don't you? You
were redeemed with the precious blood of Christ. In Ephesians
3.18, Paul spake of knowing the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge. In Philippians
4.18, Paul said, I know both how to be abased and how to abound. That's precious knowledge, isn't
it? I know how to be abased. I know how to see myself as nothing
but sin. You know, it's precious. You know,
when I see myself as nothing but sin, it's so easy to trust
the Savior as my righteousness before God. It gets hard when
I see myself some other way. That's when it gets hard. I know
how to be abased and I know how to abound. If God gives me the
grace to honor Him, I know it was grace that enabled me to
do it. If God gives me some liberty in prayer, I know it's because
He gave me the liberty in prayer. If God enables me to preach,
I know it's because He enabled me to preach. If God enables
me to be kind to somebody, I know it's because He enabled me to
do it. I don't have any, it's not I, but Christ in me. You
really, but I know how to be abased and I know how to bow. That's precious knowledge, isn't
it? Paul said in 1 Timothy 1.8, we know that the law is good
if a man use it lawfully. Now with this precious knowledge, precious knowledge, not just information, not just
right data, not just knowing the facts. You can know the facts
and split hell wide open. It's a saving knowledge of the
Lord Jesus Christ. He says, not everybody has this.
Not everybody has this. Some have not the knowledge of
God. And I speak this to your shame,
He said. And you think of the knowledge,
the saving knowledge the Lord has given you. Don't you want
to not be intoxicated by this world, by the doctrine of this
world, by the maxims of this world, by the principles of this
world, by the way... Love not the world. Neither the things that are in
the world. If any man loved the world, the love of the father
is not in him. And if you're a believer, you
don't love the world. That doesn't mean you don't love
or appreciate nice things. Nothing wrong with that. but
this world that hates Christ, that hates his gospel. I don't
care whether it's the religious world or the irreligious world.
You don't love this world. And if any man does love the
world, the love of the Father is not in him. So here's what
my desire is. Lord, give me grace to do this. I die daily. Don't you want to
die daily? Die to yourself. and live under the Lord Jesus
Christ. Awake to righteousness and sin
not. Let's pray together.