Critical Aid for Critical People

Well, have you ever had one of those moments where you're in a conversation with someone

and they start to tell you something and it's something that you already know?

Maybe they don't know that you know it.

Maybe you read the same news article that they did or you saw the same thing on TV,

but it's something that you've already heard before and you're kind of wondering in that moment,

do I interrupt and kind of tell them that I heard that too?

Or maybe they even forgot that they had already told you this in the past and they're telling it to you again.

Or do I just kind of listen respectfully and kind of, this is the first time I'm hearing this.

It's kind of a weird moment in conversation.

It doesn't happen often, but when it does, you kind of wonder, well, what do I do here?

Well, there's another kind of similar conversation where you might hear something that you already know,

but it's not because the person that's telling you doesn't think you don't know it or haven't heard it,

but it's because they think that you need to know it, even though you might not think that you do.

Maybe your mind goes back to one of those moments as a teenager where your parents were saying something to you

and you're kind of thinking in your own arrogant teenage mind,

why are they telling me this again?

You guys have told me this countless times.

Why are you saying the same thing again?

And yet from the parents' perspective, it's like I'm telling you this because even though you think you know it,

you think you've got this figured out, I see that you don't.

The quarter hasn't dropped yet.

There's something.

It's not because it's because I love you.

I want to help you see something in your life that I see that you don't see.

And meanwhile, you're kind of like, I know, Mom.

I know, Dad.

You know, like, just leave me alone already.

Well, that kind of moment is not just something that happens between teenagers and their parents.

It's something that happened between a church and the apostle that helped to start that church.

The apostle that I'm referring to is the apostle Paul, and the church is the church of Corinth.

If you have your Bible, please open it up to 1 Corinthians.

1 Corinthians.

Paul has had a very dynamic relationship with this church.

He starts off his letter with some wonderful descriptions of who they are.

He says that he writes to the church of God in Corinth,

to those specially set apart in Christ Jesus and called to be his holy people,

together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul, immediately after this,

Paul, acknowledges that God has enriched them in every way with all kinds of spiritual gifts.

In verse 9, he says that they are those who have been called into fellowship with Jesus.

Wonderful descriptions of who they are.

But then from there, he goes on to describe this church as a church wrestling with division.

Major conflict going on here.

They're fighting over who they follow.

They're chasing after worldly wisdom, he says.

He describes them as a church having some in it who are arrogant,

having problems with sexual immorality going on in the church,

and the church is not even doing anything about it.

Disputes are happening in the church,

to the point where members of the church are taking other members to court.

There's confusion in the church about marriage and divorce,

and whether Paul is even an apostle,

legitimately an apostle,

whether they should eat food sacrificed to idols.

He goes so far as to warn them in chapter 10

that they need to watch.

They need to look at their lives.

They need to be careful that they're not testing Christ with the way that they live.

He goes on from there to describe how they have been turning the Lord's table into a pig-out session,

an opportunity to get drunk.

And then on from there to describe how they have these spiritual gifts,

they haven't been using them in a loving and considerate and orderly manner.

And then finally, we come to where we're looking at this morning,

chapter 15.

He kind of goes right into it,

and he reminds them of the gospel itself.

He says this,

Now, brothers and sisters,

I want to make known to you the gospel I preached to you,

which you received and on which you have taken your stand.

By this gospel you are saved,

if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you.

Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

These are kind of striking words.

I mean, this is a church,

and he said these good things about this church,

but now it's come to the point where he feels

he needs to remind them of the gospel again.

The word remind is actually,

it's kind of an interpretive decision,

but the literal is,

I want to make known to you.

This is serious.

There's a problem here.

At one point in this letter,

he refers to himself as their father through the gospel.

He talks about them as his children,

and he goes so far as to say,

you guys are immature.

You guys are like babies.

You're not ready for the meat and potatoes yet.

You got to go back to the milk.

And Paul said that under the inspiration of the Spirit,

so I'm not suggesting that you go home

and tell your kids that they're immature,

that that may not be the most effective way

to get their attention.

But what has happened here

that Paul feels the need

to take them right back

and say,

I need to tell you guys

the gospel again.

The gospel,

I asked my daughter that this week,

what's the gospel?

And she didn't really seem to get it.

I said,

what's the good news about Jesus

that he died on the cross for our sins?

Suddenly it just clicked.

What is the gospel?

It's kind of a weird word.

The way I remember it is,

in the old English,

it's kind of God or good spell,

you know,

good news.

That's what the gospel is.

It's good news.

It literally means good news.

And Paul feels that he needs

to remind them

of the good news,

the same good news

that he preached to them

back in the day,

the same good news

that they received

back in the day.

Why?

I think there's

at least two reasons.

The first is kind of

an implicit reason

as we just looked at

how he's described this church

for the last 14 chapters

as having all of these issues.

You know,

this is how you guys are living.

And,

I mean,

the way that you're

treating one another,

it's,

have you really understood

the love of Christ for you?

There's a problem here.

Your lives,

the way that you're living,

it doesn't match up

to the gospel.

So I want to make it

known to you again.

I want to bring you

back to that.

And,

the gospel is,

it certainly doesn't,

the expectation is not

that you're perfect

or that you don't sin.

This church has got

all kinds of issues.

It doesn't stop Paul

from calling them

the church of God

and saying that those,

they've been chosen,

that they've been set apart

as God's holy people.

But,

there's a sense

in which you may think

that you,

you know the gospel.

But,

do you really know it?

That's why I'm,

I'm saying it to you again.

You,

you,

you may think you know it,

but do you know it?

I'm looking at your,

your life,

your,

your church,

the situations

that are coming out of

your relationships

and it doesn't match up.

And so I think

that's one reason

why,

why Paul

goes so far

as to take them

right back to the gospel,

to the,

to the beginning.

The second reason

is what,

what follows.

All of chapter 15,

it kind of points

to this,

this problem

that's starting to emerge.

There are some

in the church

in Corinth

who are having an issue

with the idea

of resurrection.

That there is

a resurrection.

And,

that's a big problem

because that undermines

the gospel.

people.

And so,

we're going to be

talking about that

in the next weeks ahead.

We're going to be

working through

1 Corinthians 15

as we lead up to Easter

and talking about

the resurrection

and just what,

what is the significance

of that

for our faith?

What's the importance

of that?

Why is this so critical?

verse 2.

This is the beginning

of Paul's teaching

on this issue.

And right at the beginning,

the first thing

he wants them to know

in verse 2

is that this is critical.

It's absolutely critical

that you get the gospel.

Why?

Verse 2.

By this gospel,

you are saved.

By this good news

about Jesus,

you are saved

if you hold firmly

to the word

I preach to you

unless you have believed

in vain.

The picture that comes

to my mind

is the picture

of a rope.

The gospel is like

a rope

that has been thrown

down to us

from heaven.

It's the way of escape.

It's the way

that we escape

the wrath of God,

the just punishment

that we deserve

for our sins.

And it's like he's saying,

you need to hold

on to that rope.

If you just kind of

let go of it

and move on

to something else,

embrace something different,

you're in spiritual danger.

Because this is the only way.

This is the only way

of escape.

The way to be saved.

The good news

about Jesus.

Holding on to that.

Believing it.

Unless,

he says,

you have believed

in vain.

Unless,

back in the day

when I first

communicated

all these things

to you,

you accepted it

and now you're moving

on to something different

and that's just kind of,

the gospel's just kind of,

that's old news.

Then,

then,

then what happened

back there?

Was that,

was that all for nothing?

You grabbed onto the rope,

you believed back then

that,

that,

that was the way

to be saved,

but now you're letting

go of it.

I mean,

that,

what happened there?

Was that,

was that just fruitless?

Was that just,

was that nothing?

Paul goes on

in verse three

to describe,

to answer the question,

well,

what is the gospel?

Because this is really

what's at issue here.

Well,

what is it

that you are

to hold onto?

What is that rope?

He says this,

for what I received,

I passed on to you

as of first importance

that Christ died

for our sins

according to the scriptures,

that he was buried,

that he was raised

on the third day

according to the scriptures,

and that he appeared

to Cephas

and then to the twelve.

After that,

he appeared to more

than 500 of the brothers

and sisters

at the same time,

most of whom

are still living,

though some have

fallen asleep.

Then he appeared

to James,

then to all the apostles,

and last of all,

he appeared to me

also,

as to one abnormally born.

So here Paul does

exactly what he says

he's going to do.

I want to make known

to you the gospel,

and this is it.

He lays it out for them.

But before he does,

look at the little thing

that he says there

in verse three.

He says,

what I received,

I passed on to you

as of first importance.

There it is again,

just this statement.

This is absolutely critical.

It's absolutely crucial

that you get this,

that you understand this,

that you hold to this,

that I'm about to say.

What is the gospel?

Three statements.

There's different ways

to divide it up,

but three.

That Christ died

for your sins,

for our sins,

according to the scriptures,

and was buried.

that he was raised

on the third day,

and that he appeared

to a whole bunch of people.

This is Paul's description

of what the gospel is.

And as I got thinking

about this,

you know,

this is a really bare-bones

version of the gospel.

It's kind of a stripped-down version.

There's not a lot of detail here.

And I kind of,

why is that?

If they need to know the gospel,

why isn't he

just taking them

into the depths

of the glory

of the love of God here?

And I think part of the reason

is because he's already

shared all of this with him.

This is the same thing

he proclaimed in the past.

This is,

it's kind of a quick way,

mental hooks,

to point them back

to what he already said,

you know,

that Christ died

for our sins,

that he was raised

from the dead.

This isn't the full story

of the gospel.

I mean,

those of us who were here

on Thursday night,

we saw closer

to the full story

of the gospel portrayed.

It's a big story.

There's a lot to it.

This is kind of

the absolute essentials,

highlights version,

kind of the headlines version

given here.

And without these parts,

then the news

is not much good.

If Christ hasn't died

for us,

then we're lost.

We're in big trouble.

If Jesus hasn't been

raised from the dead,

then we're going to find out

in the weeks ahead

that that has serious

implications.

But notice what's missing

from Paul's version

or description

of the gospel.

Paul doesn't say anything

about what we must do,

about the good

that we must do

to be saved.

Why?

Because the good news

is not about

what we must do

to be saved.

It's all about

what Christ has done

for us.

Period.

The rope

that they need

to grab onto

is simply

the news

that Jesus

has already done

it all

for you.

You don't need

to become

good enough.

You don't need

to do something

well enough

to be saved.

Jesus has already

done it all.

That's all

that we have here.

This news

that they must believe

is just

that Jesus

did.

That Jesus

did.

That Jesus

appeared.

By this,

by believing

this story

of Jesus

and holding

to it,

you are saved.

Isn't that

amazing?

But I want

to dig

for a moment

into that

first phrase.

We're going

to talk

more about

resurrection

in the weeks

ahead,

but that

first phrase

that Christ

died for

our sins

according

to the

scriptures.

When I

asked my

daughter,

what's the

good news

about Jesus?

That's the

first thing

she said,

that Jesus

died for

our sins.

We hear

it so often

that's kind

of the

easiest way

to say it

that sometimes

we just

lose the

beauty of

that.

The meaning

of it

just kind

of goes

over our

heads.

What does

that mean?

That

Christ,

the Messiah,

died,

was executed

as a

sacrifice

for our

sins

to be

forgiven.

That's it.

That's the

heart.

That's

what Paul

says is

what I

passed on

to you

as a

first

importance.

out of

all the

things I

could have

taught,

I could

have said

when I

came to

you,

I made

it the

top of

my list

to let

you know

this good

news that

Jesus was

executed on

that cross.

Not because

he was just

a good

teacher whose

culture wasn't

ready for

him.

He died

there so

that you

could be

forgiven.

of your

sins,

of the

things that

you have

done

against

God.

The other

details that

Paul includes,

I'm only

going to

mention two

of them

here.

He says

that

Christ was

buried.

Why does

he throw

that little

detail in

there?

Christ was

buried.

That doesn't

sound like

part of

the good

news to

us.

He was

buried.

The question

that we're

going to be

wrestling with

is these

guys are

wrestling with

the truth

of whether

there really

is a

resurrection,

whether that

actually

happened.

Paul kind

of sneaks

that in

there.

Yes,

he died.

All of

these men,

they saw

him die.

They saw

him buried.

Real people,

they took

the body

of Jesus

and they

went through

the process

of preparing

the body

for burial

and they

laid the

body of

Jesus in

a tomb

and shut

the door.

Yes,

he was

dead.

The next

thing that

we notice

is,

I kind

of thought

this was

strange at

first.

This is a

really weird,

disproportionate

statement of

the gospel.

I mean,

that Christ

died for

our sins

is half a

verse.

The crucifixion

is half a

verse in

verse 3.

And then

for four

verses,

5 to

8,

it's all

talking about

all these

people that

he appeared

to.

This big

list of

people that

saw him

after he

was raised

from the

dead.

And I

think Paul

is intentionally,

he's reminding

them of the

part that they

need to hear

the most.

Because they're

wrestling with

the truth of

whether,

resurrection is

even possible.

And so

Paul's emphasis

here,

absolutely,

this is true.

We all saw

him dead.

He was

buried.

And after

the third day

when he was

raised,

this is,

look at all

the people

that saw

him alive.

Peter,

he appeared

to Peter.

Then he

appeared to

the twelve

apostles.

After that,

he appeared

to more

than 500

of the

brothers and

sisters at

the same

time.

Then he

appeared to

James,

the brother

of Jesus.

And then to

all the

apostles,

and then

Paul says,

and last

of all,

he appeared

to me.

Think about

that statement.

I myself,

says Paul,

saw Jesus

dead.

and I

saw him

after he

died,

alive.

I

saw the

risen

Christ,

says Paul.

It wasn't

in the

ordinary

frame of

time that

the rest

of them

saw him.

He uses

this

abnormally

born

analogy,

you know,

kind of the

sense of

that is,

my new

birth was

a little

overdue.

It was

different.

But look

at this

list.

Look at

all these

people.

This wasn't

something that

just happened

in some

secret corner

of some

guy's house

that Jesus

appeared to

some people.

Look at

this group,

500 people

all at

once.

500

people.

This wasn't

a hallucination.

This wasn't

just a

vision.

This was

the real

deal.

They saw

him alive.

And I love

how he throws

in that

little detail.

Most of

them, he

says, are

still living.

You want

to look

into this?

You want

to, you

want to,

you can find

them, you

can talk to

them, they

can tell you

what they

saw, they

can tell you

that they

knew.

Yeah, it

was him.

This wasn't

something that

happened in

an obscure

place.

And it

wasn't

something that

just the

followers of

Jesus believed.

And I

think that's

the powerful

part of

Saul's own

testimony.

I was on

the road to

Damascus so

that I could

get some of

these guys

thrown into

jail when

the risen

Christ appeared

to me.

This wasn't

just bias,

this wasn't

just weird

hallucinations

because of

grief for

those who

had known

him.

I was

going after

the people

of Christ

and then

I saw

him.

After this,

Paul goes

on to reflect

a little bit

on that.

You almost

get the

sense that

even as

he's thinking

about his

own story

and how

he saw

the risen

Christ,

I could

just picture

him there

writing this

letter and

weeping.

He says,

for I am

the least

of the

apostles.

I do not

even deserve

to be called

an apostle

because I

persecuted the

church of

God.

I went

after the

very people

of God.

I tried to

get them

thrown in

jail.

I tried to

get them

killed.

I'm not

even worthy

to be one

of the

ones who

was sent

to make

Christ known.

But what

does he say

in verse

10?

He says,

but by the

grace of

God,

I am

what I

am.

I'm an

apostle.

I'm a

follower of

Jesus because

God just

gave me a

gift that

I don't

deserve.

He says,

I worked

harder.

He says,

his grace to

me was not

without effect.

I worked

harder than

all of them,

yet not I,

but the

grace of

God that

was with

me.

Verse 11,

whether then

it is I

or they,

this is what

we preach

and this

is what you

believed.

It doesn't

matter whether

you're talking

to Peter or

whether you're

talking to me

or any of

these people

who saw

him alive.

It's the

same news.

It's the

same gospel.

And this

gospel that

Christ died

for your sins,

that he rose

from the dead,

that he appeared

to all these

people,

believing this

is critical.

Why?

Back to

verse 2.

By this

gospel,

you are

saved.

if you

hold firmly

to the

word of

truth I

preach to

you.

Do you

hear the

warning in

that?

There's a

danger,

church at

Corinth,

that you

guys can

move on

from this

and you

can just

embrace

something

different.

If you

do,

your salvation

is on the

line.

this is

the only

way to

be saved.

Holding

firmly to

this.

And it's

a very

kind of

specific

thing for

their

church,

dealing

with,

do we

believe in

resurrection?

That's

possible.

I don't

think that

we're there

as a

church.

I hope

not.

But it

got me

thinking this

week.

What ways

are we

tempted to

move on

from the

gospel?

What's

your

attitude

towards

the

gospel?

How do

you feel

about the

gospel?

Is it

old news?

Is it

that thing

that I

think all

too easily

we get

into this

mindset

sometimes of

the gospel

is the

foundation,

it's the

elementary

stuff,

the basics,

it's the

door that

you go

through at

the beginning

and then

leave behind

and you

go on to

the more

advanced

stuff of

being a

Christian

and following

Jesus.

Sometimes

we, I

think, we

think that

way.

But as

we saw

last week,

where are

we going?

What's our

future?

What's the

snapshot of

our future?

It's us

standing

before the

throne of

God and

what are

we singing

about when

we get

there?

Worthy

is the

Lamb who

was slain

for us,

whose blood

was spilled

to wash

our robes

white.

Salvation

is of

our God.

That's what

we're going

to be singing

about for

the rest

of eternity.

the gospel.

And that's

why I

asked the

question,

how do

you feel

about the

gospel?

And I

want to be

careful here

because feelings

are not

always the

best indicators.

Feelings go

all over the

place.

Feelings are

affected by

stress,

they're affected

by depression,

they're affected

by trauma,

you name it,

hormones,

there's all

kinds of

factors that

disorder our

feelings,

that mess it

up and so

keep that in

mind.

But when you

hear the word

gospel,

does your

heart go

immediately

to the

reality of

God's love

for you?

is your

heart

stirred?

Or is

it something

that,

yeah,

I believe

that,

but I

like all

these other

things,

they're more

interesting to

me.

These other

teachings in

the Bible,

these other

ideas,

this other

theology,

this other

social issue,

listen to the

words of

Paul,

it's critical,

that we get

this,

of first

importance,

that Christ

died for our

sins.

This is our

main message,

this is the

core belief,

the gospel is

the center,

it's not

something that

we are meant

to just get

at the beginning,

grab onto,

it's something

we're meant to

hold onto

right to the

end.

I've used

this kind

of analogy

before here,

but I want

to say it

again,

the gospel is

like a

bottomless

well,

and you

can just

keep letting

that bucket

down deeper

and deeper

and deeper,

and yet

there's deeper

and sweeter

waters yet

to be drawn

up.

David and

I,

we had

supper

together

last night,

we had

pizza,

that's our

favorite food,

we have that

in common,

and this

is a dim

analogy,

but pizza

is my

favorite food,

I mean,

I could eat

pizza every

single day,

I love it

that much,

and every

time I have

it,

it just

increases my

enjoyment of

it,

it just

reinforces how

much,

yes,

this is so

good,

and the

next time

my anticipation

is just even

that much

bigger,

and I get

to eat it

again,

like wow,

this is

amazing,

and I think

that's a

picture of

how the

gospel should

be to

us as

followers of

Jesus,

it's just,

it's something

that's not

meant to

get old,

or,

you know,

well,

I've heard

lots about

that,

let's have

something else,

and so I

want to ask

you,

how do you

feel about

the gospel?

We're coming

into Good

Friday and

Easter in

three weeks

here,

and I don't

want to end

this message

by giving you

something to

do,

because the

gospel is

that Christ

has done

it all

for you,

but how

can we

increase

our

enjoyment

of the

gospel?

gospel?

What

prevents

us from

feeling the

love of

God in

the gospel?

It's a good

question to

ask.

If you feel

like your

heart is not

connected to

that love,

that the

gospel has

kind of

grown old

or stale

to you,

what's

preventing

you from

feeling that?

It's a

question you

need to

ask yourself.

Is it

pride?

Is it

that teenage

attitude?

I know

that.

I don't

need to

hear any

more about

that.

Is it

that you

haven't read

the gospel

or meditated

on it in

a while?

You haven't

been in

the word.

You haven't

been thinking

about what

it's all

about.

I don't

know what

that answer

is for you,

but one

simple thing

that we can

do in the

weeks ahead

is as we

draw near to

Easter to

increase our

enjoyment of

the gospel

and to see

you fresh

is just

simply to

take the

time where

we read

the word,

hopefully that's

daily,

to read

through the

story of

Jesus again.

Paul gave

us kind of

the two of

the highlights

that he died,

that he rose

again, but the

gospel is bigger

than that.

We watched

the movie the

other night,

but I encourage

you in this

season leading

up to Easter,

maybe it's not

even in the

right order in

your Bible

reading plan,

but you can

shift the

order around

a little bit.

Pick one of

the gospels,

read through

it again,

ask the

Lord to

show you

just again

afresh his

love for

you.

Maybe you

want to

read the

book of

Romans instead,

that's kind

of like a

commentary on

the gospel,

it explains the

details,

maybe you

want to

read the

book of

Hebrews,

all good

places to

go in

the season

ahead,

and so I

would encourage

you to do

that, not

as something

to do so

that you

are in a

better standing

with God,

but faith,

deeper faith

comes by

hearing,

and hearing by

the word of

God.

God.

So if you

want to

grow in

your faith

and hold

more firmly

onto it,

get into the

word of God

this Easter

season.

And my

hope and my

prayer, I'm

going to do

this too, I'm

going to read

the gospel of

Matthew, it's

out of my

plan, but I'm

going to do it

anyway, and

my hope and

prayer is that

that will just

grow sweeter

to us, the

love of God.

may we never

move on from

that.

This is

critical that we

get this.

By this

gospel, we

are saved, if

we hold firmly

to the word

that's been

preached to us.

Let's pray.

Father in

heaven, thank

you so much

for what you

have done for

us through

Christ.

Lord, we

confess that it

has got old to

us at times.

We confess that

we oftentimes

haven't felt

about it as

we should, but

we ask that you

would make new

and sweeter

and deeper

your love to

us, our

understanding of

your love to

us.

May we not

just know it

in our heads,

Lord, but may

you take it

right to the

depths of our

heart.

Lord,

Lord,

Lord,

Lord,

Lord,

Lord,

Lord,

Lord,

Lord,

may you

bring forth

praise from

us and a

passion to

share that

news, that

gospel with

others who

also need to

be saved.

We ask this in

Christ's name.

Amen.