April 12, 2026 – The Resurrection Changes Everything | 1 Corinthians 15:29–34 Baptist Bible Church, Sparta MI

You may remember in school, one of the best times in school is when you are in science class and the science teacher does the experiment in front of class.

Isn't that always a fun time in class?

The teacher gets out, gets out the big volcano, and adds in the different ingredients, the different chemicals, and pours them together, and then what happens?

Reaction.

There is a reaction of some kind.

And we look back and we say, wow, those were cool times when the teacher really showed us science.

Not science in a textbook.

We got to see it.

We got to see what happens when you combine certain ingredients together.

This morning, as we open our Bibles to the book of 1 Corinthians, chapter 15, tonight, or this morning I should say, is a little bit like the reaction at the front of science class.

1 Corinthians 15 · chapter mention

We have already established the reality as well as the significant ramifications of the resurrection.

Paul has labored the points to demonstrate, to show us that Jesus truly did rise from the dead.

And because of Jesus' resurrection, there are significant and eternal ramifications to this historical reality.

But Paul isn't finished.

Paul isn't finished talking about the resurrection.

And this morning we should think of our passage today like the reaction.

The reaction to the resurrection.

In fact, we could say it this way that the historical reality of the resurrection is meant to produce a reaction in you.

It's meant to produce a reaction in you.

And this morning we're going to notice in the text two reactions in order.

The first reaction to the reality of the resurrection is your conversion.

Your conversion.

It's meant to produce conversion.

But secondly, after conversion, it's meant to produce transformation.

Transformation.

So the reality of the cross, the reality of the resurrection, produces both conversion and transformation.

That's where we're going in the text this morning.

Let's open with a word of prayer.

Heavenly Father, thank you for today.

Thank you now for this opportunity to open up your word.

Father, help me as I preach, to preach with clarity, to explain what the text says in a way that intersects with our lives, in a in a way where we really see the Word of God bearing on us this morning.

We have to react and respond.

And so help us to do that this morning.

It's in Jesus' name I pray.

Amen.

First Corinthians chapter 15, read with me beginning in verse 29.

1 Corinthians 15 · chapter mention

Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead?

If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf?

Now, before we get into that verse specifically, I want us to note some textual threads that tie this passage together.

If you go all the way back to chapter 15 and verse 13, we notice the conditional sentence.

If you fast forward to verse 29, you'll notice we saw almost the exact same phrase, if the dead are not raised at all.

And then once again in verse 32, if the dead are not raised.

So we understand Paul is confronting this question.

Here are the ramifications to the reality of the resurrection.

So in verse 29, we have this reference here.

Which leads us to ask the question what does Paul mean by people being baptized on behalf of the dead?

Well, in Mormon theology, the deceased can still be saved.

According to Mormon theology, the Church of Latter-day Saints, they would teach that if you have passed away, there's still hope for you, that you can still be saved, and your salvation, or the salvation I should say, of the deceased person depends on you and your actions.

And so one way in which you can make sure that your uh your uh people that have preceded you in death, one way you can make sure that they uh get into heaven is by being baptized on their behalf.

And they would say, this is the verse that teaches that.

Is that really, though, what Paul means here?

In order to understand, we need to look at this verse that we would say is a fairly obscure teaching on baptism.

It's a very simple, quick, short reference, and we need to compare it to where Paul teaches a lot more on baptism.

And where we find that is in the book of Romans, chapter 6.

Romans 6 · chapter mention

So keep your finger there in 1 Corinthians 15, but turn with me to Romans chapter 6.

Romans 6 · chapter mention

Look with me beginning in verse 1.

Romans chapter 6, beginning in verse 1.

Romans 6 · chapter mention

What shall we say then?

Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?

By no means.

How can we who died to sin still live in it?

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?

We were buried, therefore, with him by baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

Here we notice Paul explaining the picture or the symbolism of baptism.

And what do we notice Paul saying here?

Paul is telling us that what baptism pictures is your union with Christ.

It's the outward physical picture of a spiritual reality that has already transpired in the life of the person being baptized.

It pictures, it shows that when a person places their faith and trust in Jesus, this is what happens to you and Jesus.

Together.

You become unified.

And Paul says in this specific context, he's speaking to the ramifications of that and says, you were baptized, which means you are united with Christ in his death, in his burial, and in his resurrection.

You are united with him now in these realities.

And in the context of Romans chapter 6, Paul's point is that because you have been united with Christ in his death, you are now dead to sin.

Romans 6 · chapter mention

Sin has no rule or control over you anymore.

And because you have been united with Christ in his resurrection, he says, now you can walk in newness of life.

Did you see that at the end of verse 4?

We can now walk in newness of life.

What Paul here is saying is that you are a new creation.

You've been born again.

You're a new creation.

You have new life.

So you don't have to live anymore to sin.

In fact, you shouldn't.

You're now in Jesus, you're a new person.

And now you're called to live for Him, not for sin.

But in this teaching, we notice this is what baptism, the picture of baptism, is meant to communicate.

It's important to clarify here: baptism doesn't save you.

The action of baptism doesn't save you.

The action of baptism doesn't wash away sin.

The action of baptism isn't a means by which you receive God's grace.

Paul doesn't say any of that here.

Paul is teaching us baptism pictures your union with Christ.

You're now in Jesus, and Jesus is in you.

Now, it's interesting because if we keep going into verse 5, he says, if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.

So Paul points at present-day reality first and says, You're a new creation, you have new life in Jesus.

But then he says, baptism also pictures and shows that because you're united with Jesus, guess what is going to be your future reality?

You are united with him in his death, in his burial, and in his resurrection, which means one day you will be resurrected like Jesus.

So baptism is also a picture of resurrection hope for the believer.

And that employee badge communicates something, doesn't it?

It communicates, I work for this company.

It is an identifying marker.

You can think of baptism like the employee badge.

When you get baptized, you are publicly proclaiming your new identity in Christ.

This is my public proclamation.

Hey, world, I'm in Jesus now.

I've been united to him by faith.

I've been united to Jesus.

This is what baptism pictures.

His death is my death.

And his resurrection to everlasting life is my resurrection to everlasting life.

Now, with this understanding in mind, if we go back to 1 Corinthians chapter 15, I think we can make sense of what Paul is saying here.

1 Corinthians 15 · chapter mention

Remember his point.

If there is no resurrection, if there is no resurrection, if Jesus didn't rise from the dead, if we're not going to rise from the dead, if there is no resurrection, Paul's point is, why do people get baptized?

What's the point of people getting baptized?

Well, why were people getting baptized?

They were getting baptized as the public proclamation of their belief that they now have new life in Jesus, and that new life is everlasting, eternal life.

So Paul's point is there will be no reason to get baptized.

There will be no reason to get baptized.

And if we were to flip it, if we were to flip the statement around, we would say that the resurrection is the basis for your conversion.

Why choose to trust in Jesus if there is no hope that he can forgive you of your sins and therefore give you eternal life?

Can anybody give me a reason?

If Jesus can't forgive you, if Jesus can't make you right with God, if Jesus can't wipe out the debt that you owe God, if Jesus can't give you eternal life, why follow him?

Why trust him?

Why give your life to him?

He'd be a big liar.

He would say he could do those things, and his death in the and and and his burial and him remaining in the grave would show that.

So we understand this morning, it's it's like I mentioned last Sunday, the resurrection, it's like that Jenga piece on your Jenga tower.

That everything else rests upon, that that block, that foundation.

Take it away, everything else crumbles.

The resurrection is the basis by which you should trust in Jesus.

He walked out of the tomb.

Three days later, he walked out of the tomb.

That's all you need.

That's all you need.

The resurrection is all you need to place your faith and trust in Jesus for forgiveness and for eternal life.

Why?

Because he proved it.

He proved it.

He's alive today.

It's what makes him different than any other person in all of human history.

Every other founder of every other religion, guess where they are?

In the ground.

And there they lay.

But where's Jesus?

Seated at the right hand of the Father.

So the resurrection is the basis for your conversion.

It is the basis for your conversion.

This is Paul's point in 1 Corinthians chapter 15.

1 Corinthians 15 · chapter mention

There you see in Romans 6, baptism pictures union with Christ, and union with Christ guarantees participation in the resurrection.

If we take that now to 1 Corinthians 15, we would recognize all people are born dead in our sin.

We're dead.

Why get saved?

Why place your faith and trust in Jesus?

Because he gives life.

He gives life.

This is the basis upon which why someone trusts in Jesus and then gets baptized as the public proclamation of their faith in him.

That's interesting.

I think that you have to say that the gospel forces a decision.

In this sense, the gospel forces a decision, doesn't it?

The resurrection and the message of Jesus' resurrection, it forces a decision on us today.

You may say, um, it can't just be yes or no.

Decisions aren't binary.

There's always another way.

There's always another decision to be made.

If I said you can choose to have ketchup on your hot dog, or you can choose to have mustard.

You know that there are 15% of Americans that would say, I choose mayonnaise?

That is a legit statistic.

Gross.

Gross.

What's wrong with you people?

Mayonnaise?

Not a hot dog.

There's a third option.

There's a third choice.

With Christianity, with the message of the gospel, with the resurrection.

There is no third choice.

It forces, it confronts you with a decision to either say, okay, I believe everything Jesus said, and therefore I'm going to place my faith and trust in him, or I reject him.

There's only two options.

There's only two options.

And the resurrection is the basis upon which we can choose to say, I do trust in you, Jesus.

I do trust in you for salvation.

He is the means by which we can have eternal life, and the resurrection is what proves it.

So we noticed first this morning the reality of the resurrection, or the reality of the resurrection is the basis for conversion.

The reality of the resurrection is the basis for conversion.

But this is not the only thing Paul says here in the text.

It is also meant to produce transformation in you this morning.

It's meant to change you.

It's meant to transform you.

We see that if we keep going in the text in verse 30.

Why are we in danger every hour?

I protest, brothers, by my pride in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I die every day.

What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus, if the dead are not raised?

It's interesting.

We notice here Paul making the point that the resurrection transformed his purpose and mission in life.

If you look at Paul's history, if you look at Paul's life, when you can see him share some of those details in the Gospels, we can see it, some of it recorded in the book of Acts, that Paul used to be a persecutor of the church, and he would go around and he would seek to persecute.

His goal was to stamp out Christianity.

And how then, how does he go from that kind of view of Jesus and Christianity and the church to then becoming one of the greatest church planters to have ever lived?

That's a pretty remarkable transformation, wouldn't we say?

That's a pretty remarkable change in purpose and mission and goal in life.

That's more than just a midlife vocation change, isn't it?

That's more than just a midlife change in careers, isn't it?

I mean, you're talking about one end of the spectrum to the complete other end of the spectrum, a complete and total overhaul of who Paul was, what he found important, and what he gave his life to.

And what was it that Paul did give his life to?

What is the mission Paul embraced?

Gospel mission.

Gospel mission.

The mission of taking the good news of the gospel and sharing it with whoever and wherever he could.

Indeed, we would recognize this morning this is the mission of you and I this morning.

And this doesn't mean necessarily full-time ministry or missions, although it could.

It could.

But it doesn't necessarily mean full-time ministry.

It does mean that we have been given the mission of telling others about Jesus.

That's what Paul says in the book of 2 Corinthians.

That we have been entrusted with the message of reconciliation.

You, you have been entrusted with something precious.

The message of the gospel.

The message that a person can be made right with God.

God has entrusted that with you.

And now we are then called as believers to take that message and to share it with others.

To share the good news of Jesus with others, with the people that God has brought into our lives.

This is your mission as a believer this morning.

And you would say, What's the basis?

What's the basis for having this mission in life?

It's the resurrection.

It's the fact that Jesus rose from the dead.

Notice that Paul embraced this mission regardless of the cost.

Do you see that?

He would say, What point would I have for giving up everything to do this if there was no resurrection?

He says, We're in danger every hour in verse 30.

He says in verse 31, I die every day.

In verse 32, fighting with beasts at Ephesus.

Most people believe this is a reference to human opposition, which was so often the source of Paul's afflictions in his life.

People opposed to him.

If you just look at a brief survey of Paul's life, you would notice that he was routinely harassed, opposed, persecuted, physically threatened and harmed, beaten, stoned, ridiculed.

He was brought before government officials.

The target of violent mobs and riots.

He was imprisoned.

Nature itself conspired against Paul in the form of a dangerous storm that left him shipwrecked.

No, the life of Paul was not for the faint of heart, was it?

He risked all of this.

But understand the logic of Paul's argument.

The resurrection is true.

The resurrection is reality.

And because Jesus died and rose again, and because I have eternal life in him, because this is now true, therefore, no matter what earthly thing it may now cost me to live on mission for Jesus, it's worth the cost.

The cost is worth it because I now look at my life now, this very short, small, tiny drop in the bucket, compared to the eternal joy that I have waiting for me, compared to eternity.

And so no matter what I give up in this life, leading up all the way up to my very life, it's a cost I'm willing to pay.

Because the resurrection is true, because it's reality.

It's why we read, Paul says in Philippians chapter 1 and verse 21, to live is Christ, to die is gain.

Philippians 1 · chapter mention

2 Corinthians chapter 4, verse 17.

2 Corinthians 4:17

This light, momentary affliction.

Do we often think of our suffering, our trials in life in that lens?

Do we think of suffering for Jesus in that lens?

Light and momentary?

No.

Okay, and I'm not saying that there isn't real hard things in life.

I'm not saying suffering isn't real.

I'm saying, notice how Paul framed it in this light momentary affliction, he says, is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.

Which means whatever suffering I may endure in this life for Jesus is nothing.

It is a light feather when compared to what?

The eternal weight of glory that's to come.

The reality of the resurrection makes this equation make sense.

It makes it make sense.

Sense.

You can do the math this morning.

It makes sense.

Can somebody say amen?

This if you suffer for Jesus in this life, it's worth it.

It's worth it.

Church, are you willing?

Are you willing?

Would you pay the price to live life on mission?

Is it a price you're willing to pay this morning?

I think it's easy to acknowledge the reality of the resurrection.

It's easy to acknowledge it, isn't it?

I believe it.

I believe in the reality of the resurrection.

But does your life prove that you believe it?

Or does your life prove that you actually deny it?

Does the equation not make sense?

And when you actually do the brass tacks and think about how I'm now going to live my life, does your life deny that you believe the resurrection to be true?

We see it real.

This is real.

This is actual, like Paul actually risked something.

He actually put his life on the line because he believed it.

Because he believed in the reality of the resurrection.

And it got a hold of him and it completely changed everything about him.

It changed him.

There's a famous missionary by the name of Jim Elliott.

Many of you are probably familiar with him and his story.

He was killed in 1956 when he was seeking to reach a people group in Ecuador.

Lived his life on mission.

Died for it.

But it's interesting if you go back and look at his personal journal, he wrote a statement a few years before he gave his life.

This is what he said.

He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.

He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.

The reality of the resurrection makes living life sold out on mission for Jesus worth whatever it costs.

In fact, it's a trade we would make day after day after day and twice on Sunday.

Because we believe it.

Not only does the reality of the resurrection transform your mission and purpose in life, it also changes your entire outlook on how you live your life.

It's a little bit like if you are someone this morning that needs glasses, and maybe you go out and you don't have your glasses on or you don't have your contact lenses on, and you look, and if you've got really bad vision, things look very blurry, don't they?

Sometimes I like to try to test Liz.

Hold up my fingers.

How many fingers am I holding up?

Just testing.

Blurry, blurry.

But when you put glasses on, what happens?

You can see.

You can see with clarity.

You can see reality.

And so, Paul's point here, if we were to use this illustration, we would say that there's a time before we know Jesus, before we believe in the reality of the wrecking, we see things one way.

But the reality of the resurrection should put glasses on you to now see with clarity.

It should change how you view things.

And specifically in this context, it should change how you view sin.

It should transform how you view sin, not blurry-eyed anymore, but with clarity, seeing sin for what it really is.

He says in verse 32 if the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.

Do not be deceived.

Bad company ruins good morals.

Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning, for some have no knowledge of God.

I say this to your shame.

This is a quotation at the end of verse 32.

It's a quotation from the book of Isaiah.

It's used here to describe the mindset of the person who denies the reality of the resurrection.

We would refer to this today as the YOLO mindset.

Have you heard of YOLO?

It's an acronym.

You only live once.

So YOLO.

YOLO.

You only live once.

What's the mindset?

What's it communicating?

If this life is all there is, then live it up.

Live it up.

Do what makes you happy.

Do the things that are going to fill you up and satisfy you.

Try to have as many great experiences as you can in this life.

And you need to do it fast.

You need to do it quick because this is all there is.

And when this life ends, you would simply blink out of existence and you're done.

You don't want to miss out.

You don't want to miss out on these amazing experiences, do you?

You don't want to miss out on all the things money can buy, do you?

You don't want to miss out on the pleasures of the material life because this is all there is.

This is what Paul means.

Let us eat, let us drink, let us be merry, let's live it up.

Because tomorrow we die.

Because this is all there is.

If you deny the reality of the resurrection, this kind of lifestyle actually makes sense, doesn't it?

If this is all there is, that kind of a lifestyle makes perfect logical sense.

But notice again how the resurrection transforms everything.

It changes you.

It should.

It should change your outlook to no longer say, I don't have to live it up in this life and live according to the world standards.

I don't have to do that.

Because I know there's life to come.

And the life to come is magnitudes better than anything this current life has to offer me.

It transforms how we view life, it transforms how we view sin.

The drunken stupor imagery is meant to illustrate a person who has lost their sensibilities.

This is a description of a Christian who has embraced this kind of a mindset.

If you're here this morning and you're living like this is your only life, you're in a drunken stupor, Paul says.

You have lost your mind if you are living like this is your only life.

Or we would say it this way: you're living as though you don't believe in the resurrection.

So the challenge is what?

Wake up.

Wake up! Do you need to wake up this morning?

Do you need to wake up?

How do you wake up?

You remember.

Resurrection is true.

This isn't my only life.

So I'm not gonna live for this life.

I'm gonna live for the life to come.

That's returning to your sensibilities.

That transforms how you view sin.

There's a lot of places in scripture we could go to.

I've got a few references there for you on the screen.

Because I now have life everlasting, and the life I have in Jesus is so much better than a life lived in sin and rebellion, therefore I'm going to stop sinning and I'm going to instead live for Jesus.

This is how the reality of the resurrection transforms how you view sin.

We see all these places in Scripture where this point is brought up.

Sin brings shame, it doesn't bring satisfaction.

Sin doesn't bring life, it brings death.

The joy of sin is fleeting, whereas joy in Jesus is eternal.

Sin may promise freedom, but it only enslaves.

True freedom is found in Jesus alone.

If you believe in the resurrection, this is how your view on sin is transformed.

The reality of the resurrection has ramifications, doesn't it?

It should.

It should produce conversion.

It's the only thing we need to know I'm going to place all my faith and trust in Jesus to save me.

But it doesn't stop there.

It doesn't end there.

So I would say this morning, if you've never placed your faith and trust in Jesus, you have everything you need to know.

He's worthy of your faith and trust.

But maybe you're here this morning, maybe you do, maybe you do believe in Jesus for forgiveness, but has the resurrection transformed you?

Has it really changed you?

Is it in the process of changing you this morning?

Is it changing how you think about what I'm doing with my life?

What I'm spending my time doing?

What efforts I'm pursuing?

What things I'm giving my time to?

Am I living for this life?

Or has my mission and purpose been radically transformed?

To say, I've got a message I need to tell people about.

I've got disciples I need to go make.

The resurrection is the basis for a transformed life, transformed mission.

And it's the basis for turning away from sin.

It's the basis for waking up and saying, This life is not all there is.

There's a life to come, so I want to live for that life.

Put away sin.

See it for what it really is.

And instead enjoy my eternal life in Jesus, which is so much better than the temptations that sin offers us in this life.

Do you acknowledge the reality of the resurrection this morning?

Do you believe in the resurrection this morning?

Church, do you believe?

Do you believe in the resurrection this morning?

Amen.

Father, thank you for today.

Thankful for the opportunity to open up your word and to recognize the kind of change the resurrection is meant to have on us.

When we really believe, when we really believe that this life is not all there is, but that we have everlasting life ahead of us.

Father, it is the basis upon which we choose to believe in Jesus.

If Jesus was dead in the grave today, there would be no reason to believe his promise of eternal life.

But because Jesus is alive today, is at the right hand, that's everything we need to know.

To believe in him, to place our faith in him.

But Father, we also recognize this morning that the reality of the resurrection should have a major transformative effect on us.

And we look to Paul's life, Paul's testimony as an example.

Paul says, Why would I risk my life if this life was all there was?

But because the resurrection is true, whatever the cost is, Father, whatever the cost is, we want to pay it to follow Jesus, to live life on mission for Jesus.

Whatever the cost, it's worth it.

Help us to see the logic of that math.

Help us to believe it.

Help us to believe it when it comes to living in purity and holiness.

We're not missing out on anything.

There's no temporary joy or pleasure that sin can offer us in this life that's worth it.

It's just not.

Not when we have eternal joy and life in Jesus.

I pray the resurrection would transform us this morning.

It's in Jesus' name I pray.

Amen.