1 Corinthians 15:3-6 - The Main Thing

You are listening to a message from Southwood Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama.

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You may have heard of the late Stephen Covey.

Covey was a really successful businessman, a big author, best-selling author,

and a very well-respected guy in the self-help industry.

He wrote books like Seven Habits of Highly Successful People.

That may ring a bell.

It's been adapted for organizations, for schools, for individuals of all ages.

Lots of wonderful advice in there.

One of the things that Covey says in that book, one of his bits of wisdom,

is the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.

If you write it out, it looks like the mess at the top of your bulletin that doesn't look like a word.

That's pretty good advice.

Find out what's important, what your priorities are,

and then make sure they're treated as priorities, like things that are really important, right?

It's a great bit of advice.

The challenge with it, I find, is that figuring out what's important can be so difficult.

There's just so much these days.

Priorities are so hard.

There's so much going on in my life.

When I try to figure out, okay, let's just make a list.

What are the important things I need to be doing?

And marriage, and work, and kids, and church, and hobbies, and friendships, and volunteering.

They all seem so important that they seem to crowd the list.

And don't forget to sleep and exercise, because you should take care of yourself.

That's important too, right?

Culture tells us priorities should be things like comfort and ease.

Fame, success, power, control.

And we work really hard for those things.

And then you're in a city like Huntsville with churches all over the place, right?

And so you've heard messages from churches, from religious institutions, what they say

should be really important.

You've heard them say that the main thing is personal morality.

Things you should not do, like don't smoke, or drink, or chew, or go with girls who do.

That's really important.

Don't do those things.

Or on the other hand, do some really important things, like go to church.

Read your Bible, pray.

You've heard that as something that is of utmost importance.

From other churches, you may have heard messages more of social or corporate morality.

Be pro-life.

Be Republican.

Be pro-Israel.

Or on the other hand, perhaps be tolerant.

Be inclusive.

Be benevolent.

Those are the most important things.

So we've heard all sorts of messages about what's really important, about what the main

thing is.

So the main thing may well be to keep the main thing the main thing, but in the muddle of

our lives and all those voices telling us what's so important, that may not actually help us

a lot.

It may not clear much up.

What really matters for me, for my family, for all of life?

And God's Word makes that clear for us in the passage we will read this morning.

In no uncertain terms, the Apostle Paul, writing to the church in Corinth, tells us the message

we should be hearing from churches as the main thing.

We'll see, it's actually remarkably good news.

This is 1 Corinthians chapter 15.

1 Corinthians 15 · chapter mention

It's Paul's classic writing on the resurrection of Jesus.

We're going to start reading at verse 3.

This is God's Word.

In a world of promises that fail you, the thing you can count on.

In a world where things fade, the thing that lasts.

In a world of imperfections, the perfect Word of God.

Paul writes,

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for

our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the

third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the

twelve.

Then He appeared to more than 500 brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though

some have fallen asleep.

Will you pray with me?

Father, thank You for these words, these words of life.

Thank You that they're unlike any other that we hear today.

We will hear in the next few minutes the words of a dying man, but we need to hear this morning

the words of the living God.

We need to hear from You.

And so, Father, would You speak to us clearly this morning?

That's what would make a difference in our lives.

We didn't come merely to be entertained.

We don't want simply to be happy for a few moments and then go about our way.

We would ask that You would speak to us.

That we would meet the living God and be different forever because of that.

Would You do that in this time that we have together?

Speak through Your Word, we ask in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Okay, so what's the main thing?

What's the main thing here?

One of the first things you notice when you read this passage, it says that there's something

of first importance, right?

Something that is the main thing Paul's going to remind the Corinthians is the essence of

Christianity, the basis of life.

The thing you notice is that it's about what God has done rather than what we do.

Look at the passage.

What's of first importance in this passage?

That Christ died.

That He was buried.

That He was raised.

That He appeared.

Over and over, this passage says what's most important, what's of first importance is Jesus'

performance, not yours.

The whole list is His.

Maybe you've missed that and what you've heard or perceived from churches before.

Or we're often so loud on the messages of personal or social morality that I mentioned earlier

that we muffle what God intended to be the clarion call of the church.

Christ has conquered.

Christianity is about what He has done for you, not about what you do for Him.

The main thing is not how well you've performed religious duties, how correctly you've voted,

how successfully you've balanced a full plate of responsibilities.

The main thing is that Jesus has performed perfectly, that He has done everything that

was necessary.

So you can exhale for a minute this morning.

Before we even dive into any details, that's the good news.

He's carrying the load.

What is it exactly that Jesus did that was so important?

What does this passage tell us?

Paul summarizes it in these verses with two primary events.

Two primary things Jesus did and they each have a special confirmation of their reality

attached to them.

The first is Jesus' death.

Look at verse 3.

Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures.

Jesus went to the cross.

We've considered that this week.

He suffered the pain and the agony there of a cruel death.

The wrath of God being poured out on Him on the cross.

And why did He do it?

Why does it say He died?

It says, for our sins.

You may notice this is actually the one time that our actions come into the of first importance

list.

Our sins.

That's where we make it in.

Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures.

There's a lot of Scriptures that talk about that.

One of the most beautiful places in the Old Testament where we read of Christ dying for

our sins is Isaiah chapter 53.

Isaiah 53 · chapter mention

Let me read you just a portion of it.

It says,

Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.

Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted.

But He was pierced for our transgressions.

He was crushed for our iniquities.

Upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace.

And with His wounds, we are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray.

We have turned everyone to His own way.

And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

Do you hear what's happening there in that passage?

All our punishment laid on Him.

Everything we deserved, He takes.

You see, the amazing thing about those five little words,

Christ died for our sins,

is that died and sins go together.

You should often see them in the same sentence.

That's exactly what has always been true of sin,

that it deserved death.

A holy God must punish sin.

The punishment for sin against a holy God is death.

From the beginning it has been.

Someone must die.

The glory of these words,

and you can see it, this is not complicated,

is what we just read in Isaiah 53.

Everything we deserved, He takes.

Christ died for our sins.

That's the part that is not supposed to be that way.

We should die for our sins,

but Christ does instead.

Picture the judge coming out from behind His gavel,

having cast the guilty verdict.

And yet, before He reads the sentence,

He steps out from behind the gavel

and takes the place of the convict

and says,

I'll take the sentence that's due Him.

That's what happens.

The just judge says,

sin deserves death.

And then He says,

but I'll be the one who takes it,

not you.

Amazing.

Amazing that He would do that for our sins.

And Jesus really died.

Really, truly died.

The confirmation of that in this passage,

of course, is His burial.

Jesus' burial is mentioned.

Having been confirmed dead on the cross

by Roman soldiers,

He's placed in a tomb

with a large stone in front

and a Roman guard placed in front of it.

He didn't die figuratively.

He really died, Paul is saying,

and He was buried.

And now we make it to Easter.

I know, you're as anxious as I am.

Skip that part.

It's Sunday morning.

Come on.

Let's get to verse 4.

What happens next?

Of course, it's Jesus' resurrection.

Verse 4,

after being in that tomb Friday night,

all day Saturday,

Sunday morning comes,

the stone is rolled away,

and Jesus walks out of the tomb.

He is risen.

And it's of first importance

that this happened, Paul says.

Why is it in the list?

Why is it so important?

I think among other reasons,

because many, many people

in the history of the world

have died and been buried.

Many of them.

There's lists and lists

of those who have died

and been buried

in the history of mankind,

but it's not at all common

to talk about what happens

when someone walks out of the tomb.

If Jesus remained in the grave,

then He's just one more guy

among a long, long list.

One more person

who succumbed to death

in the end.

He may have done

some interesting things,

but if that's the end of it,

He's just like the rest of us.

There's no value to us

in His death

if that's the end.

In fact, Paul will go on

to say in this chapter

that if Jesus didn't rise

from the dead,

we're still in our sins.

The claim that Jesus died

for our sins

that's so wonderful

that we were just talking about,

if He didn't rise from the dead,

it's unhelpful.

It's untrue.

He didn't defeat sin,

death, and the grave for us

if that's the case.

But if sin's just punishment,

death can't hold Jesus,

then He has conquered sin for us.

He's paid our full penalty.

He's risen triumphant.

And the Father says,

yes, I accept that offering.

Sin has been defeated.

So the joy of the resurrection

is that Jesus walked out of the grave

in His glorious body,

conquered sin, death, and the grave,

that now death is being reversed

and life brought in its place

to those who deserved death.

There's hope for us again.

Paul spends the rest of this chapter

talking about how important

the resurrection is,

how it makes all the difference

in the world

if Jesus really did walk out of the tomb.

And He begins by giving confirmation

to this historic event.

He gives Jesus' appearances,

some of them,

listed in verses 5 and 6.

Paul gives names,

eyewitnesses,

numbers of people

who witnessed the same encounter

with a risen Jesus.

And he makes the point of saying

that most of them are still alive.

Go talk to them, he's saying.

Refute this incredible claim

and shut this upstart movement down.

Go talk to these people

and see if they are just making this up,

if they all have different stories.

Or join in with Jews, Romans.

Pick anybody there

who'd love to produce his body

and end this crazy movement

that's driving them mad.

All those in power,

when it stopped,

go do that.

You can talk to them.

Unless, of course,

as you talk to one witness

after another,

you find it to be credible

and true.

Jesus' appearances

are meant to confirm

that He really rose from the dead.

Just like He really died,

that He really rose from the dead,

that that's the most important event

in human history.

But they're meant to do

something else too, I think.

His appearances begin to confirm

some of the personal impact

of the resurrection.

Look at the first name in the list.

You may not recognize it.

It says Cephas.

It's a strange name.

That's Peter.

That's Peter,

the one who denied Jesus

three times.

His disciple who,

in his leader's

greatest moment of need,

in the big game,

Peter lets him down.

Peter fails.

Peter denies Jesus.

And after His resurrection,

Jesus' appearance to Peter

is like many of His appearances

to people.

He meets people

right where they are.

And the fact that He's risen

changes everything.

It changes everything

for Peter.

He's no longer defined

as a failure,

as one who's let Jesus down

because when a risen Jesus

walks out of the tomb,

Jesus is one without Peter's help.

Peter may have failed

in the big game,

but Jesus conquered.

He won.

And so now,

rather than being defined

as a failure,

He's reinstated as a friend

and a leader,

as one Jesus loves.

Jesus meets Thomas

in his doubts

and says,

touch my hands

and my side.

See and believe.

The resurrected Jesus

changes everything

for Thomas,

doesn't He?

Jesus meets a woman

named Mary

in the garden

just outside the tomb.

She's fearful.

She's grieving.

She's uncertain

about the future.

Her Lord,

the one she followed

is gone.

She doesn't know

what's coming next.

And Jesus calls her by name.

He says,

Mary.

Mary.

Don't be afraid.

I'm alive.

I'm here.

The resurrected Jesus

changes everything

for Mary.

I don't know what each of you

is facing this morning.

I'm sure that there are

those here who are

struggling with failures,

ashamed of things you've done.

Those who are struggling

with doubts.

Certainly,

those struggling with

fear and grief

and uncertainty

about the future.

Probably many more emotions

and situations

in your life

than that.

I couldn't possibly

know them all.

But I can tell you,

the resurrected Jesus

lives

to meet you there.

To call you by name.

To remind you

that because

He lives,

everything changes.

You don't have to be afraid.

He reigns over all

and protects you.

You can trust Him.

You aren't defined

by your mistakes.

Even your bad ones.

Even the ones

you wouldn't admit

to anybody

this morning.

He died for sins.

Conquered sin.

You're welcomed

into His family

whether you have

a religious resume

you're proud of

or not.

What He has done

far outweighs

what you do.

See,

the implications

of the resurrection

are intensely personal

like that.

Easter really does

change everything.

Easter cannot be

merely a footnote.

It either changes

everything

or nothing at all.

Claiming that someone

died and then

walked bodily

out of the tomb

is not just

oh well that would be

nice I wonder

we ought to go

think about that

occasionally.

It's not an event

with a one day a year

kind of impact.

It can't fit

that category.

Either it is

an absolute fairy tale

that shouldn't matter

at all

or it changes

every moment

of every day.

It's of first

importance.

That's what Paul

means when he says

these are matters

of first importance.

that it's a matter

of life and death.

Issues of

eternal significance.

Because Christ

has indeed

been raised

from the dead.

Amen?

He has.

Because that's true

Easter changes

everything

for all of us.

For all of us.

Not just

those who are

considering Jesus

for the first time.

Not just the

first moment

we trust Jesus

but

every moment

of every day

for all of us.

the resurrection

remains

of prime importance.

Paul says this

in verse 1

before what we read.

He says now

I would remind you

brothers of the gospel

I preached to you.

The gospel you received

at first

and also

the gospel

in which you now stand.

The same one.

That's how he sets up

this list

of first importance.

The thing you first heard

when I came to you

that was so important

I had to tell you

and it hasn't changed.

It's still

what's so important.

That's

the gospel.

The good news

is what you receive

and

now

stand in.

It continues

to shape

every day.

Easter speaks

into every

situation.

So what does that

look like

Will?

What do you mean

Easter can't be

a mere

footnote

but

instead

it changes

everything?

How is the

gospel

the good news

of Jesus'

life

death

and resurrection

the most important

reality

in every moment?

What does that

look like?

I want to admit

to you

before I explain it

that this passage

was written

pre-Iron Bowl.

Okay

and that is

true

and I know

that's a really

important

event

at least

once a year

but I also

want to tell you

I don't think

God's unclear

on what's

most important.

I don't think

it would change

how Paul

put the list

together

because it's

not all the

temporary

passing priorities

that we give

our time

and energy

to that are

of first

importance

is it?

They're just

not there

there's no

room for them

on the list

and man

I struggle

with that

because I

honestly feel

like my

agenda

is so

important

I love

schedules

and plans

and the

things I

want to

see happen

and plus

there are

many days

where you

could look

at my

life

and say

I'm pretty

sure if

Clemson

were to win

the national

championship

and may

it indeed

happen one

day

that you'd

look at my

life and think

that would be

the best thing

that could

happen to him

that would be

the most

important thing

that would be

the highlight

of his year

y'all even

saying those

words I feel

the emptiness

of it

that that

would be the

best thing

that could

happen to me

but there's

a long list

of things

that I'd

love to see

happen that

probably more

quickly get on

my list of

what's most

important

but Jesus

resurrection

changes everything

because it

redefines what's

really important

doesn't it

we don't have

to wring

everything out

of this life

anymore

when his

resurrection

promises there's

life beyond

the grave

when you go to

work tomorrow

morning the

ultimate goal

can't be

it can't

possibly be

to make

the most

money or

to accumulate

the most

toys when

there are

eternal riches

offered to

us by a

risen savior

it can't

in your

relationships

this week

the most

important thing

can't be

your fame

your recognition

how well you

fit in how

many people

like you or

your Facebook

picture

if there is

actually eternal

life lasting

success permanent

acceptance

offered to you

by a risen

savior

it changes

that

the most

important things

remember are

are the things

that he has

done

not things we

do

and that

shakes me up

because it

challenges my

natural feelings

that on the list

of most important

things is is being

a perfect parent

because man that

seems important

when you've got

three little kids

making the right

decisions for where

they'll go to

school for figuring

out how to

discipline them

that those many

moments of many

days feel like the

most important

things and listen

Easter the gospel

being of first

importance tells me

my kids need not

merely a good

parent or a right

set of rules but

a righteous risen

savior that's what

they need

this challenges my

natural feelings

that on the list

of most important

things is planning

well for retirement

managing my money

well

listen Easter

the gospel being

of first importance

tells me that if my

heavenly father was

willing to give up

his only son for me

how will he not also

along with him

graciously give me

everything I need

he's got it

what he has done

is most important

not how well I

manage it

it frees me up

it does

there's great freedom

there

Easter frees me up

from the pressure of

performance and

record keeping with

God to invest

deeply in every

aspect of creation

and every person

he puts in my path

for me to love

see it's not that my

job or my family

my finances don't

matter anymore

that's not the

point

it's that I can

approach all of them

differently now is

now that Christ has

taken care of what

matters most

it changes the way I

approach those things

because he has risen

he's remaking all of

his creation isn't he

Jesus is the first

fruits and now he's

remaking our bodies

our relationships

our neighborhoods

hey outer space

he cares about all of

it and we get to

participate in that

every day what I do

matters because it's

not the most important

thing it now has a

place where it does

matter

my daughters have been

trying to convince me

this weekend that we

should keep celebrating

Easter this coming week

I think it's not because

they're so spiritual but

because they really want

to keep eating candy and

playing all of the fun

games together and I'm

actually really okay with

this idea honestly because

the jelly beans that I

put in the Easter eggs

over the next few days

will be ones I got on

clearance and so it

really it's a great idea

I think to to keep

celebrating that that's

something that they would

be excited about and it's

funny to consider and we

probably will do some more

Easter egg hunts through

the week but ask yourself

seriously does Easter change

tomorrow for me is Easter

going to make any difference

the rest of this week is

it going to matter in your

life tomorrow morning when

you wake up doesn't it have

to if it matters at all if

it matters at all in this

moment enough to to come

into a church building then

it has to matter tomorrow

morning we don't have time to

tease out every situation of

life and every occupation

maybe you can do that in

your small groups these

Sunday school classes that

are starting next week I'm

so excited about because

that's what they're going to

do they're actually

specifically designed to

talk about that and what it

looks like in your life but

you get the joy the

privilege of thinking about

what Easter means where God

has you in your life and

I'll be honest it seems so

much easier to me to think

about waking up tomorrow and

just carrying on with life the

way I always have as though

nothing has changed that that's

where the momentum will carry

me it doesn't seem like that'll

take much effort but God says

everything has changed someone

has walked out of a tomb Jesus

walks out of the tomb and says

I'm only the first fruits you too

will live forever this creation is

being remade so face your job your

family your sin struggles your

fear of death your hatred of

brokenness and pain and the world

around you all of that in light of

my resurrection don't forget the

main thing Easter changes everything

and some of us really hate that

about Easter and about Jesus it's one

of the most common complaints about

Christianity from people who don't

believe in Jesus it's it's that

frustration that Jesus messes with

my life and tells me how everything in

my life should be that's a huge

complaint against Christianity and

I'll be honest it's not entirely

untrue but listen there's something

that actually is really significant in

that if you feel that way today or if

you've ever felt that way before and

that's this Jesus doesn't come to you

telling you how to live your life he

comes to you laying down his life for

you and that's a huge difference he

doesn't come and say the first thing I

want to tell you is how to live your

life this is the first thing I want to

do for you is lay my life down for you

that's where it starts that's the

difference between good news and good

advice the main thing is to keep the

main thing the main thing is is good

advice but when the main thing is that

someone else has done everything for

you then it becomes good news that's a

really significant difference because

there's lots of good advice out there

tips on how to handle stress how to find

fulfillment in life how to find success

but good news is something entirely

different good advice by definition

tells you something to do or to do

better good news by definition tells you

something that has already been done

something that has already happened

good advice is don't forget to take your

medication good news is the surgery went

well and you have a clear report good

advice is hang on tight to that life

preserver good news is I've jumped in I'm

here to rescue you Buddha's dying words

were keep on striving now I know most of

you aren't Buddhist but I think that

would work well as a slogan for our

American society wouldn't it just just

try a little bit harder just put your

mind to it learn more you can make it

happen Jesus is dying words where it is

finished it's the difference between your

slogan being just do it and come to me

like Jesus says I've done it it's

finished come to me good news Jesus says

you've messed up miserably you've failed

but I've died for your sins and risen from

the grave to offer you not a second chance

to do it but to give you a new life the

Bible doesn't say because Jesus rose we

better start acting like it and do better

it says because he rose we will rise to to

new life the good news of the gospel there

are a lot of places you can get good advice the

main thing is to keep the main thing the

main thing is is really good advice I hope

you haven't heard good advice this morning I'll

be honest with you I'm just not that smart or

helpful to dispense good advice Jesus offers

you good news he says the main thing is I

died for your sins was buried rose from the

dead to conquer sin and death for you and

appeared to many and my resurrection changes

everything that's good news let's pray

Jesus could that could that really be true

would the headline that we're reading this

morning really say sins forgiven death

defeated eternal hope daily purpose true

freedom oh thank you thank you that Easter is

good news that it's what you have done for us

that we're not struggling to find our way out

of the grave that you've walked out for us and

now we will to forgive us father we we forget what

is most important we regularly get confused would

you change our hearts would you change our lives as

we begin to consider this message would you change our

neighborhoods and our our workplaces and and this

city because you are alive and at work and that's what's

most important oh Jesus that gives us great hope we don't

feel like we could change even ourselves much less the world but

if you're risen living Savior and King you can and you

would with that great news give us great joy today and tomorrow would it

inspire us to live as you've called us to oh Jesus change us change us may we

never forget the good news of what you've done for us we ask in your name

amen for more information visit us online at southwood.org

at southwood.org

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