•I Corinthians 15:12-19
•If Not True
•Corinth
12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.
(I Corinthians 15:12-19, ESV)
Main Points
• Paul utilizes logic to show the ramifications of a belief certain Corinthians have
• If Jesus has not been raised there is no good news
•Their sins are still unforgiven, and any sacrifices made are for nothing
• If this life is all there is, then they should be most pitied
Application Points
• If Not True
– Paul has begun a logical argument concerning the resurrection of Jesus
– We often believe that faith is completely blind trust
– He is no ta God who demands blind trust, but has continued to prove to us that He is worthy of that trust
– He does not expect anyone to simply believe
– What He accomplished through Jesus allowed belief itself to flow
– It leads to our entire life experience being redeemed
– The whole of human experience is redeemed by the work of Christ
Application Points
• If Not True (2)
– We would not think little of using reason in order to work through important issues
– He is all knowing and has utilized wisdom
– It is good for us to utilize our reason when it comes to understanding who God is and what He has accomplished
– Knowing what God has accomplished can help us wade through the decisions of our own beliefs
– When we see Paul utilizing reason and logic here it should not cause us to groan
– In order to make clear and rational arguments for the sake of the Gospel is no small thing
– The time of logic and reason did not end with Paul
– We should rejoice in those who came before us whom God used to show the concreteness of His plan of redemption and salvation
Application Points
• If Not True (3)
– One such individual is Blaise Pascal
– He died at the age of 39
– He invented the first barometer
– He was not always a faithful individual, but had an experience which solidified his faith
"When I see the blindness, the wretchedness of man, when I regard the whole silent universe, and man without light, left to himself, and, as it were, lost in this corner of the universe, without knowing who has put him there, what he has come to do, what will become of him at death, and incapable of all knowledge, I become terrified, like a man who should be carried in his sleep to a dreadful desert island, and should awake without knowing where he is, and without means of escape. And thereupon, I wonder how people in a condition so wretched do not fall into despair. I see other persons around me of a like nature. I ask them if they are better informed than I am. They tell me that they are not. And thereupon these wretched and lost beings, having looked around them, and seen some pleasing objects, have given and attached themselves to them. For my own part, I have not been able to attach myself to them, and, considering how strongly it appears that there is something else than what I see, I have examined whether this God has not left some sign of Himself."
-Blaise Pascal, Pensées, Section XI: The Prophecies, 692.
Application Points
• If Not True (4)
– Pascal searched and continued to find the evidence of this Designer
– He created what is known as “Pascals Wager”
– There are two options before us
– Either God exists or He does not exist
– Each has two potential outcomes
– 1). If He does not exist and you do not believe in Him you lose nothing but also gain nothing
– 2). If He does not exist and you do believe in Him you lose certain pleasures or joys, and you gain nothing in the end
Application Points
• If Not True (5)
– If God does exist and you do not believe you gain a little pleasure here, but lose infinite pleasure
– If God does exist and you do believe, you lose a little pleasure in this life, but gain infinite pleasure
– Any rational person would have to take seriously whether or not God exists based upon these outcomes
– When we consider the possibilities of all that we see and experience…we should believe just based on the logic of it
– For even a potential for an infinite amount of joy is worthy any limited joy sacrificed in this life
– Paul utilizes such logic and reason to make his points thus far
– Why does he utilize such logic?
– If Jesus is not raised, the whole of the Gospel falls apart
Application Points
• If Not True (6)
– With Christ, the theme of death is overcome because of the resurrection
– A rejection of the physical resurrection is thus a rejection of the Gospel itself
– We highly prize the “spiritual” rather than the “physical”
– Death is always an enemy
– It goes against what we are made to be
– Death is a separation of body and soul
“16 Then they journeyed from Bethel. When they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel went into labor, and she had hard labor. 17 And when her labor was at its hardest, the midwife said to her, “Do not fear, for you have another son.” 18 And as her soul was departing (for she was dying), she called his name Ben-oni; but his father called him Benjamin. 19 So Rachel died, and she was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem), 20 and Jacob set up a pillar over her tomb. It is the pillar of Rachel’s tomb, which is there to this day. 21 Israel journeyed on and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder.”
Genesis 35:16-21, ESV (Emphasis Mine)
“28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” 29 A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. 30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” John 19:28-30, ESV (Emphasis Mine)
Application Points
• If Not True (7)
– In both of these situations we see the separation of body and soul is what death is
– When He created humanity it was as a physical being with a soul
– The soul persists, the body decays, but originally it was meant that both should continue
– For there to be no physical resurrection would mean that death had not been conquered
– There is no hope for a future because death simply persists
– We, the Apostles, all believers, are most to be pitied
– It means that all we live for…is annulled and meaningless
– Let us not forget the greatness that is the resurrection of the physical body
– Without he physical resurrection, all is lost
– Let us hold firmly to the reality of who we are as human beings
– If not true, then we are most to be pitied, if it is true, then we are the least to be pitied
•Application Points
•The Gospel of Christ
–Origins
–Where we began
–Fall
–What went wrong
–Redemption
–How it is fixed
–Glorification
–Where it at leads
