The Christopher Columbus died in Spain. A monument
was erected in the city where he died. There's
a unique monument because it is depiction of
a lion destroying the motto of Spain at that
time. Spain felt that it was the fullest extension
of the civilized world, that there was nothing
beyond that. that the Atlantic Ocean marked the
end of the world. And so the motto of Spain was,
no more beyond. The monument erected by Christopher
Columbus shows a lion destroying the word no
in the motto. So that the motto began to say
from that point on, no more beyond. Because Columbus
had discovered, in fact, there was no world on
the other side of the Atlantic. Today, as we
think about the resurrection of Jesus Christ
in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, it is a reminder
to us that there is more beyond. There is more
beyond this life, and it is all rooted in the
historical resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
of the resurrection, far from being truthful,
is at the very heart of the gospel message, apart
from the resurrection, there is no Christian
gospel. Jesus said himself, for just as the father
has life in himself, even so he gave to the son
also to have life in himself. And he gave him
authority to execute judgment because he is the
son of men. did not rival at this for the hours
coming in which all glory and the tombs shall
hear his voice and shall come forth those who
led the good deeds to a resurrection of life,
those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection
of judgment. I think the truth of the coming
resurrection is a powerful incentive to right
living. I hope that you will grab a hold of that
thought that arises out of our text beginning
in verse 29 this day. The truth of the resurrection
is a powerful incentive to right living. As Paul
writes the words before us, he seems to have
three groups especially in mind. Those who are
lost outside of Jesus Christ. Those who are believers,
those who are saved. and third, those who are
backslidden, particularly because they have followed
false teaching. And what he wants to do here
is to show how the resurrection is an incentive
to right living for each of these three groups.
In the first place, becoming resurrection elevates
the lost to be saved. Look at verse 29. Otherwise,
What would those who are baptized, what will
those do who are baptized for the dead? I think
Paul is linking this back to verse 20, where
he says, now Christ is risen from the dead. Otherwise,
what will those do who are baptized for the dead?
If the dead are not raised at all, why then are
they baptized for them? Now here's an interesting
verse. It talks about the baptism for the dead.
It is a difficult concept to interpret. In fact,
I've read that there are over 200 different interpretations
of what the baptism for the dead refers to in
this verse. There's one that is very commonly
spoken of in our culture today. It is at the
heart of the reason for the existence of the
largest genealogical record -keeping database
in the world. I'm talking about that database
that the Mormon Church keeps regarding genealogies.
Some of you may have done research there, at
least through the internet. The reason the Mormon
Church has that genealogical record database
is because of their interpretation of the baptism
for the dead. Their doctrine says that a person
who is living today can be baptized in the Mormon
church on behalf of a dead ancestor and deliver
that ancestor from judgment. It is a proxy baptism
so that by my being a good Mormon and going to
the temple and being baptized, I can Redeem,
actually redeem, one of my ancestors who lived
generations ago, if he in the spirit world will
hear the gospel of Mormonism and believe. And
they actually teach that in so doing, I become
a savior. My Jesus was a savior. And that is...
a heretical idea of what the baptism for the
dead is about. That gives you an idea of how
this concept has been interpreted by some. What
is a possible interpretation of this that is
biblically consistent? What the Mormons teach
certainly is not consistent with the scriptures.
But what is a possible interpretation that would
be consistent with what the Bible teaches? Well,
one possible interpretation is that it's referring
to the baptism of new converts who took the place
in the ranks of the living of those who had died.
In other words, Paul is saying some of those
who had died, and in fact, he refers to that
in chapter 11. Some of them have fallen asleep.
And he says, or he may be saying here, that as
they emptied the ranks by their death. Now there
are new converts who are coming and filling the
ranks. They're being baptized because of their
faith in Christ and they're filling the ranks.
That will be consistent with what Scripture says.
I don't think it's the best interpretation, but
it is a possible interpretation. The one that
I prefer is that he's talking about those who
have been saved. who have come to faith in Christ
and therefore have been baptized because of the
testimony of those that died. I have personally
known situations where people have come to faith
in Christ because of the faithful death of a
believer. The testimony of that one who had gone
to be with Christ so impacted their lives that
later sometimes right at the funeral they had
prayed to receive the Lord Jesus Christ, and
then gone on to be baptized to be a faithful
disciple of Christ. Personally, I lean toward
that interpretation of what Paul is saying here.
He's talking about those who have become the
faith in Christ who have been baptized because
of the testimony of someone who has died. And
therefore I see this as a a verse that talks
about the powerful incentive of the resurrection
for the lost. Because you see, the people that
have died have no hope. If they have perished
because there is no resurrection, then why believe
in Christ and be baptized and fill the ranks?
Why go through all of that if there is no resurrection?
and there's nothing beyond. And Paul is saying
here Christ has been raised from the dead. And
that's why there are those who are baptized because
of the testimony of those who have died. Because
there is hope. Because there is a future. Because
there is a heaven to be gained and a hell to
be shunned. Therefore there is a motivation in
the resurrection. for the lost to come to faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ. There's a second group
that Paul speaks to here besides the lost in
verse 29 and verses 30 to 32. He talks about
the resurrection being a power for 74 believers
when he says that the coming resurrection motivates
believers to be faithful. Notice what he says.
Why are we also in danger every hour? I protest,
brethren, by the boasting in you, which I have
in Christ Jesus our Lord. I die daily. If for
human motives I fought with wild beasts of Ephesus,
or disapprofitedly, if the dead are not raised,
let us eat and drink. for tomorrow we die. Paul
is here in these words telling us that the resurrection
should motivate us who believe in Jesus Christ
to live faithfully for Him. Paul had himself
suffered intense persecution for the sake of
Christ. In verse 30 he says he was in danger
every hour. He speaks about the wild beasts of
Ephesus, which may refer to an actual event when
he was facing wild beasts, or he could be using
wild beasts as a metaphor of the fierce opposition
that he faced in Ephesus. But whichever, it was
an intense situation. And he concludes by saying,
I die daily. But Paul is saying here that in
some spiritual sense, he died to self -meaning.
But Paul is saying here that every day of his
life, he faced the real prospect of dying. For
a long period of time, there was a contract out
on Paul's life. There were even those who took
a vow never to eat until they had killed Paul.
And so Paul faced every day the real prospect
of his own death. Why? Well, it's because he
dared to face the false teaching, the false ideology
of the world of his time. In 2nd Corinthians
4, he speaks about his danger in these words.
We who live are constantly being delivered over
to death. for Jesus' sake. He says in his own
experience in chapter 11 of 2nd Corinthians,
Are they the false teachers, the servants of
Christ? I speak as if I am sane. He says, I am
more so, that far more labors and far more imprisonments
meet in times without number, often in danger
of death. to think you've had a tough week. As
Paul looked backward every week of his life as
a Christian, he faced death head on. And his
point is here, if there is no resurrection, as
some of the Corinthians were believing, then
suffering for Christ makes absolutely no sense.
But what does make sense is the Epicurean philosophy,
the hedonistic idea Eat and drink. Tomorrow we
die. This world's philosophy of materialism is
legitimate. If there is no resurrection, without
an eternal hope in Jesus Christ, then people
have nothing to turn to but the gratification
of their own physical appetites. But the truth
of the resurrection allows us to live death in
the face. and to be free, to be free to lay down
our lives for Jesus Christ and to live faithfully
for Him, whatever the cost may be. The resurrection
is the hope of the martyr. It is the courage
for the dying and its strength for the persecuted.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ gives incentive,
motivates, those of us who are believers to Jesus
Christ, to lay it all down, to give ourselves
up entirely to Jesus, whatever the cost may be
to ourselves, because we know in the end the
Lord is going to raise us and there will be a
reward. Now if we don't really believe that,
then we ought to live as is suggested here. hedonistically,
and be honest about it. But we don't believe
it. We do believe that Jesus rose from the dead.
We reject the idea that this world is all there
is. We believe there is more beyond. And because
of that, we're willing to sacrifice. We're willing
to do what we need to do for the sake of Christ,
and count it a joy, and count it a privilege
to suffer for the sake of needy. Affairably,
Paul speaks to those believers who are backslidden.
And he says that the coming resurrection motivates
the backslidden to be restored. Verse 33. Do
not be deceived, he says. Bad company corrupts
good morals. Become sober minded as you are and
stop sinning. For some have no knowledge of God.
I speak this to your shame. Paul exhorts here
the courtal Corinthian believers to awaken from
their backslidden stupor. He pictures them as
drunken on their worldliness. They are inebriated
by the liquor of worldly living. And so he gives
three curse commands to these believers who are
backslidden in courts. He says in the first place,
do not be deceived. Now the way that he puts
this, it means to stop something that was in
progress. Paul sees them as being deceived. And
so he says, stop being deceived. Do you know
that we Christians the seat. We can be beguiled
by false ideas like anyone else. The seat is
the devil's blueprint. He specializes in spinning
lies. By these lies he takes us out of orbit
so that we wander away from Christ and our backslide.
Paul reinforces the command in upbeat a scene
by referring to a familiar Greek proverb of the
day from the poet Menander. Menander lived about
400, 500 years before Paul and was a comedian,
actually. He wrote comedies. And one of the statements
that is still recorded that he wrote is this
one that Paul refers to here. Paul's point is
that associating with false teachers will lead
to problems, including moral problems. He is
saying here the wrong doctrine, wrong ideation,
thinking wrongly, will produce wrong living.
I want to say to all of us that it is very important
whose advice we seek. Bad company corrupts good
morals. May some people seek their advice from
secular psychologists who have no thought of
God, who believe in no supernatural, who think
that man is an animal. What kind of advice do
you think a secular psychologist is going to
give? It certainly won't be godly advice. There
are those who seek their advice from colonists,
given this paper, or from astrologers. And probably
most common of all are the, quote, best friends
at work. And sometimes best friends tell us,
in lights that is ungodly, is the opposite of
what God would say to us, but we buy into that
because we sense they care about us. And yet
there are people who have chosen the wrong path,
who have made disasters of their lives in their
homes because they listen to people at work.
Bad company corrupts good morals, and they're
so deceived by it. that they think they're going
in the right direction. They think they're doing
the right thing. I've even heard people say,
I am closer to God now that I'm doing this than
I was before. What they're doing is the exact
opposite of what Scripture says. And yet they
are so deceived. They think they're doing what
is pleasing to God, and they're closer to God
than ever before. That can't be. What it says
here is very important for all of us to grasp,
that we can be deceived and we must be careful
to whom we listen. We want to recover from being
backslid. That's the first step. The second step
is to become sober -minded. The NIV puts it,
come back to your senses as you are. This word
is found only here in the Greek New Testament.
Literally Paul is saying to them, awaken from
your hangover. It is a powerful word that pictures
the mental numbness that results from listening
to the voice of the devil. And it's false counsel.
Whatever the counsel comes from, you must speak.
It is the mental inebriation. The mental loss
of sense that comes from listening to bad teaching,
bad counsel. It is the devil's wine. And the
devil's wine in our culture today is the love
of self. The exaltation of self above God. The
exaltation of self above personal responsibility.
The exaltation of self above others. How many
lives and homes are destroyed today by this liquor?
And there are Christians who are as inebriated
on it as the world is. And the result is the
backslip. And maybe you, or me. That's what Paul
says here. We are to become sober minded. We're
to drink some good strong coffee of the Word
of God and come out of our stupor because of
the bad teaching, the bad counsel, the bad advice.
The third command for the backslidden is this,
stop sinning. Again, it's an action that's in
process. Hear that Paul sees here they are sinning
and he says, stop it. their sinful lifestyle,
the choices they had made. I've led them away
from the knowledge of God. And what Paul says
here, some have no knowledge of God. He's not
talking about the unsaved. I've heard this used
as an evangelistic thrust, or a missionary thrust.
Some have not the knowledge of God. That's not
what he's talking about. He's talking here about
believers who are backslidden in the cause. Their
lives are so messed up, they have lost touch
with God. And it's shameful. He says, I speak
this to your shame that you have allowed this
to happen. And what is the recovery? He says,
stop sinning. Stop sinning. Stop doing what is
wrong in the eyes of God. The powerful point
here in these verses is that the reality of the
resurrection and life after death should be a
forceful motive for all of us to be restored
when we're backslidden. We should stop and take
account of our lives as of what we're really
believing, and who we're listening to, and the
choices that we're making, and how we're living,
in light of the fact that one day we're going
to and to stand before Jesus Christ. And that
thought that we will stand before him should
motivate us to recover, be recovered from backsliddenness.
Come back to the place of obedience and faith
for us. The one who is going in which of the
groups you might belong to. The lost. If so,
then today the resurrection says to you, repent
of your sin and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ
for your salvation. There is more beyond this
life, but it's only in Him. Believe in Him. If
you're a believer who is seeking to be faithful
to Jesus Christ, carry on. Be confident that
your service, your suffering in this world will
be rewarded in that which is to come because
of the resurrection. And if you're a believer
who is excellent, then today the resurrection
says to you that it is now time to repent and
to be restored, and not to waste any more of
life's opportunity and to lose your eternal reward.
My friend, there is one thing for certain. There's
a lot of things that are not certain in this
world, but there's one thing that is for certain,
and this chapter points to it. We will all be
resurrected to stand one day before the living
Lord Jesus Christ. That's absolutely certain.
There's not one of us who will miss the resurrection.
His resurrection guarantees ours, whether we're
Christians or not Christians. We will stand before
Him to give an account for the works of our lives.
To give an account for the works of our lives.
And why don't we stop to think about that? When
we begin to grasp what the resurrection really
means, it will change the way that we live. So
that as we come to the Lord's table today, it
is time for us to examine our hearts and say,
Lord, I know which group I fall into. And today,
here's my heart and my event. I invite you to
pray with me. Lord Jesus, as we come to your
table today, may it be a time of decision for
us. A time when we reflect upon the direction
of our lives. A time when the Holy Spirit will
show us the And if today we are not saved, if
there be one here without Christ, I pray that
even at this moment, that one would open his
heart on her heart, and trust in the Savior.
And for those of us who have been deceived, we
backslid. are drunk on the philosophy of our
times, living worldly, somehow thinking it's
okay. Coming to this table may be a time when
we repent. And for those of us who are seeking
to be faithful, but who perhaps are discouraged,
I pray that you will encourage us as we come
to this table and remember the price that Jesus
or take the risk. Let us also rejoice that he
is alive and that we celebrate his resurrection
by these elements as well as his death. And that
there will come a day when we will sit down in
his kingdom and enjoy the lamb's supper, the
buried supper of the lamb with him. We anticipate
that day. May we be faithful. But it's remembering
his body of the church as well, and if today
there are those that wish to give to the elders
fund for those in need, then they may still have
place in your designated gift to that fund in
the box at the back. We would also like today
to give the right hand of fellowship to a number
of people, and those that are in this service,
as soon as I call your name, if you would come
out and stand right over here by the morgue,
then we would appreciate that very much. For
those of you who are present, we welcome you
in the name of the Lord. Let's stand together,
please. Be sure to go by and welcome him into
the body of Christ that we call Grace Church,
Roosevelt. Let's pray together. And now Lord
and Miss, Missus, I pray with the resurrection,
the bigger reality in our lives that will motivate
us to godly living, to faithful living in our
world, until that day that you come and take
us home, that place where there is no more night,
that place where For tens of thousands of years
to come, we will sing of your amazing grace.