I want to be a bit confessional and autobiographical this morning. I have an agenda for us as a church, and I’m not trying to be trendy or trite when I say this. I want us to be a church where if people spend any time with us they say, “I feel like I know, understand, believe, and delight in the gospel more than I did before I spent time with the people of Cornerstone.” It really is my hope.
I am also fearful in this hope because everything fights against the gospel. For one, it is a message of foolishness to the world, isn’t it? We’re armed with a gospel that says that God the Son took on flesh, lived a perfect life, died on the cross for our sins, was raised from the dead on the third day, and if we repent of our sins and believe in him, we can be forgiven of our sins and live forever. That message, apart from the Holy Spirit opening our eyes to receive it, sounds foolish.
Also, our own hearts continually propel us away from the gospel. Our tendency is always to think we’re justified before God not on the basis of faith in the finished work of Christ but on the basis of how much good we’ve done or how much bad we’ve avoided. We sin, we confess, and yet we still try to punish ourselves or do works of penance, thinking that somehow it’s our efforts combined with Christ’s finished work that brings us sufficiency. That tendency in us is nothing less than a tendency to deny the sufficiency of the gospel.
Finally, though we could mention many other elements that battle against the gospel, there are a number of good things that are always pushing to be of first importance in the church and take the position that is solely reserved for the gospel. There are a number of implications of the gospel that should be crucial in our lives, like fighting against abortion, working for racial reconciliation and justice, and laboring to help the sick and dying. Each of these is an implication of the gospel. To believe the gospel is to be transformed in such a way that each of these issues (and others) become necessarily important to us. But none of these can ever rise to the place of the gospel itself. After all, if we forfeit the gospel while bringing a stop to abortion, bringing racial reconciliation, and solving poverty in the world, then we’ve merely allowed multitudes to comfortably go to hell. An anecdote I’ve shared before from one of Don Carson’s Mennonite friends is that one generation of the Mennonites preached the gospel, held tight to it, and lived out its implications. The next generation of Mennonites assumed the gospel and focused on the implications of the gospel. The third generation gave themselves fully to implications of the gospel but had lost the gospel altogether. We are always under threat of doing the same thing.
So, whether good or bad things, there are plenty of threats to the gospel. This is why in our service we take all kinds of intentional aims to make the gospel and Christ’s redeeming work explicit. We pray the gospel, sing it, read it, preach it, visibly demonstrate it with the ordinances, ask potential members to share the gospel with us in membership interviews, make pamphlets available that lay out the gospel message, and just talk a lot about the gospel as a church. All of that is intentional because if we lose it we lose everything.
And lest we think that it is a bit overblown to take such efforts to make sure the gospel is remembered, believed, and treasured among us, we have a chapter like 1 Corinthians 15. If anything, 1 Corinthians 15 should make us all realize we’re a little more fragile and a little less stable than we think we are. I mean, the church at Corinth was planted by Paul, the Apostle. And it wasn’t like he planted the church and quickly moved on from there. Acts 18:11 tells us that he spent eighteen months teaching the Word of God among the Corinthians. Moreover, he writes this letter of 1 Corinthians to the church at Corinth only two-and-a-half to five-and-a-half years after leaving, which is not all that long. We’re not even talking in terms of a generation later. Yet, some in the church were already denying the resurrection of the dead (1 Cor. 15:12).
Now, perhaps this thinking stemmed from the thoughts of their Greek culture, thinking that nothing physical could be part of a spiritual eternity. Consequently, there’s no need for our physical bodies to be raised; we can just live forever spiritually. But that’s not the Christian hope. The Christian hope is the resurrection of our very bodies from the dead so that we will live forever in a glorified physical body. But not only was the denial of the resurrection of the dead a threat to the teaching of Scripture about eternity, but it was also a threat to the gospel. After all, one essential element of the good news is that after Jesus died on the cross to pay for our sins, he was bodily raised from the dead on the third day. And the Corinthians had confessed belief in that. So, now Paul embarks on his attempt to open the eyes of those who were denying the resurrection and bring them to repentance so that they might line up with Scriptural truths, continue to hold to the very elements of the gospel, and have eternal life.
So, Paul starts out this section of his argument to convince them of the resurrection of the dead by noting the elements, working, and power of the gospel that they say they believe. And for us, it is always necessary to return to these truths and anchor ourselves more deeply in what the gospel is, how it works, and what is its power. So, that’s what I want us to see this morning.
However, in a bit of an odd way, this text makes best sense to me by thinking through the middle of this section first and then coming back to the opening verses, so that’s how I want to walk through it with you. So, first, in verses 3-8, note:
Paul starts out in verse 1 saying, “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you,” but it’s not until verse 3 that he actually lays out the explicit content of the gospel message that must be believed if one is to be saved. Paul writes in verses 3-8, “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 Scripture, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.”
Paul begins this section noting that the gospel he preached to them is of first importance. Nothing else took top priority over the gospel when he came to them. And the gospel he’s passing along is what he received. Now, we know from Galatians 1:11-12 that Paul actually received the gospel through a revelation of Jesus Christ. He says in Galatians, “For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.” And he later adds that when he spoke with Peter, James, and the others in Jerusalem, they all agreed on the content of the gospel message, which is not surprising since they’d all received it from the Lord himself.
So, this gospel message, the good news, was revealed by Christ, to his apostles, and then to us through the apostolic writings we call Scripture. Consequently, it’s a consistent message that doesn’t vary though we change geography and time passes by.
And here it is, Paul says this gospel that he preached of first importance that he’d received from the Lord himself is that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and was raised on the third day, appearing to many. This is the good news that must be declared to someone if he is to be saved. It is not enough to proclaim that Christ died, for many people have died. Nor is it sufficient to claim that Jesus was crucified. Many have met their death via crucifixion as well. So what is so unique about Jesus of Nazareth dying, hanging from a cross? It’s that he died “for our sins,” as Paul says. That is, he died in order to pay the penalty for our sins. His death was an act of atonement. On the cross, Jesus died in order to bear God’s wrath for sinners which we had merited by our sinful rebellion against God. This is why Jesus had prayed for the Father to let the “cup” pass from him in the garden. The cup, in Scripture, represents God’s wrath. Multiple times the Lord refers to his enemies drinking the cup of his wrath. Well, on the cross, Jesus drank down the cup of God’s wrath, every drop of it, for those who believe, so that there is none left over for us. This is what Paul means when he says that Christ died for our sins.
Nor is it enough, however, simply to stop there. After having died, which is shown in the fact that he was buried, Jesus was raised from the dead on the third day. Without the mention of the resurrection, we simply have not sufficiently presented the gospel message. Many have claimed to die, even for glorious causes, but only Jesus has died and been raised to live forevermore.
And of course we know that because of the reality that being raised never to die again is miraculous, it’s been challenged by unbelievers since that Easter Sunday morning. Some have suggested that Jesus merely passed out on the cross, coming alert in the tomb a few days later. But of course, one difficulty is that he had a spear stabbed clean through him prior to being laid in the tomb. That makes it more than a little difficult to believe he’d just passed out. And when you add to the fact that he would have had to roll away the stone that Matthew 27:66 says was sealed to the tomb, making it secure, it’s an embarrassing suggestion by people who want to deny the miraculous.
Of course, it’s also been suggested that his body was stolen away. This lie was created almost immediately upon realizing Jesus’ body was gone from the tomb. But Paul mentions that he appeared to many after the resurrection. Nor did he appear merely to Peter and the twelve, but also to James, others, five hundred at one time (who at the time Paul wrote that were still living and could tell you about it), and then to Paul (who was like one born past term in that he saw the resurrected Christ even after Jesus’ ascension). He truly died for our sins and then was bodily raised from the dead, never to die again.
And this was no accident. Jesus didn’t just happen to die and then the Father try to figure out a way to reverse this tragic mistake. Paul says that Jesus died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures and was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. This redeeming work of Christ in living, dying, and being raised was God’s very plan from the beginning, as recorded and prophesied in the Old Testament Scriptures. That message is the gospel, and it’s central and most important to us as believers. But I also want us to see what I can best describe as:
By that I mean, how the gospel works. What is the Lord’s design for this message of good news about Christ’s life, death, and resurrection to actually bring us forgiveness of sins and eternal life? Paul answers this question in the first two verses. He writes, “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain” (vv. 1-2).
There, we see the mechanics or process of the gospel, don’t we? First, Paul notes that he preached this gospel message to the Corinthians. In fact, our entire text is bracketed by Paul’s reference to preaching the gospel. We just read it in verse 1, but down in verse 11 Paul mentions it again, saying, “Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.” The gospel is to be preached.
Now, when we hear the word “preach,” we typically think of what I’m doing now. And indeed, it is true that when someone is preaching in this formal way, I think without exception the content of the gospel that we just covered in verses 3-8 should be explicitly spoken. But when Paul speaks of the gospel being preached, he doesn’t simply envision this formal act of preaching where one stands behind a pulpit in front of a congregation of people. He means that the gospel must be declared or heralded. That is, he’s simply saying that the gospel must be spoken.
Living a life that exemplifies the gospel and provides a good example of a gospel-shaped life is good, but it is not sufficient. People who see you live a godly life but never hear the gospel will go to hell. The gospel message must be spoken. It must be preached. Paul will say in Romans 10:14-15 that if the gospel is to be heard, someone must preach. And if we are to preach, then we must be sending individuals to speak to those who haven’t heard.
Last Sunday we prayed for Timothy and Haley O’Day as the time is getting closer to when they will go to the Salt Lake City area. Why send them away from people they love, away from family, and away from this church? The answer is because there are people who haven’t heard the gospel in that area, and the gospel must be preached there. And how will they hear without someone to preach this gospel message to them, and how will someone preach to them unless they are sent to them? This is why they are going. As believers, we all must be preachers of the gospel.
Your neighbor’s dead heart won’t be given life by your kind service, good conversation, hospitality over dinner, or even sacrificial gifts. His only hope is that he hears you preach the gospel to him. And the tribe of people who are cut off from most civilized people will only have hope if someone preaches to them. We must be people who speak the gospel message.
But there is also responsibility on the part of those to whom we speak. They must believe the gospel. Paul uses the word “receive” in verse 1, saying, “The gospel I preached to you, which you received.” But “receive” is just another way of saying “believe,” which is confirmed in verse 11 (as in verse 2) where Paul repeats the idea of verse 1, saying, “So we preach and so you believed.” The gospel must be received in faith. It must be believed.
The response to hearing the gospel message isn’t to say, “Okay, I’ll try to do more good deeds.” The Lord demands perfect obedience. So, that’s a hopeless path. The only response is to trust and believe that what Jesus did is sufficient for you and rest in him. It is to believe that he really did live a perfect life, died for your sins, and rose from the dead, and to trust in him wholly for your salvation. The response to the gospel is to believe. We are saved by grace through faith, as Paul says to the Ephesians.
So, when we preach the gospel to someone, we also plead with them to believe it. The response we long for is faith. We preach, and they believe.
But we can also add that they continue in faith. When we baptize individuals, we say that they’re professing their faith in Christ. They are professing that they believe. Baptism is the visible means the Lord has given us to publicly proclaim our faith in the gospel. But it’s exactly what we say it is – a profession of faith. How do we know if it’s real? Well, there will be change. There will be a desire for holiness. And we’ll talk about that more when we look at verses 9-10. But we can also say that we show our faith to be genuine and real by continuing to believe.
There is a kind of faith that is temporary and then dies out. Paul refers to that as believing in vain at the end of verse 2. But true saving faith is faith that perseveres. This is why Paul continues, “which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you” (vv. 1-2). There is a demand that we continue in faith and hold fast to our confession.
Now, when I was growing up, I was taught that my present assurance of salvation was based on how sincere I was when I first believed. Well, you can always doubt the sincerity of a past decision. And I did, and I was gripped with doubt and anxiety about my salvation for most of my life growing up. I would even have moments when I would say, “Maybe I wasn’t sincere,” and I would confess my faith again, wrestle with whether or not to be baptized again, and then with the passing of time, start doubting again. But Paul says that we don’t look back to the sincerity in our hearts when we first believed but to our present faith. We hold fast to the gospel. That’s the sign of whether my profession of faith was in vain. Do I currently believe? I look to my present faith. And if I presently do not believe, then no sincerity in the past can make up for it. We must hold fast to our faith.
And, yes, the Lord holds us fast, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t responsible to hold fast to faith as well. It’s the same as saying, “God graciously opens our eyes to believe the gospel,” but we’re still right to say that we are all responsible to believe the good news upon hearing it.
So, these are the mechanics of the gospel, if you will. We preach the gospel. The gospel then must be believed. True faith will then show itself in continuing, persevering faith. And when we believe, we are saved, forgiven of our sins, credited with the perfect righteousness of Christ, and given the Holy Spirit, what Paul refers to as being “saved.”
But there is one more element concerning the gospel I want us see from this text, namely,
As Paul lists all the individuals to whom the resurrected Christ appeared, he mentions himself last. After all, the resurrected Christ appeared to Paul after he had already ascended back into heaven as Paul was on his way to Damascus. This is why Paul says in verse 8, “Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.”
Then, Paul begins to reflect on his past life before Christ and his life since. He writes in verses 9-10, “For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.”
You see, Paul speaks of the grace that comes through the gospel message in a couple of ways. First, it brings cleansing and forgiveness. And lest we think that there are certain sins we have done that are beyond forgiveness, Paul notes that he persecuted the church of God. He made it his aim in life to persecute Christians. He even stood nearby and facilitated their murder. But, he was made an apostle. “By the grace of God I am what I am,” he says. Grace brings thorough forgiveness and cleansing. It takes one who was a persecutor of the church and says you are an apostle. And Paul was never a second-class citizen because his previous sin was so heinous. Saving grace only creates first-class citizens in God’s kingdom.
But grace isn’t simply some kind of passive work. It also transforms us, reshapes our desires, and moves us toward holiness. This is why Paul can say that grace came to him, and it was not in vain but that he worked hard in obedience to the Lord, before adding, “Though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.” Grace cleanses, forgives, and then works in us to produce holy living. It changes our hearts and desires.
This is the miracle of the gospel. It’s why nothing can ever take priority over this glorious message in the life of a church. Nothing else can bring forgiveness, cleansing, and transformation. Nothing else can cause our dead hearts to come to life. Nothing else can move us from condemnation to justification. Nothing else can produce faith in our hearts so that we can live our lives from a place of being approved of by God before God. This must be preached, it must be believed, and it must be held to and delighted in.
Therefore, as we go through life and as we as a individuals find ourselves involved in a number of tasks, many of which will be direct implications of the gospel, let us never simply assume, always hold fast to, and be quick to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. This must be of first importance to us as a church. Let us even proclaim it now visibly as we come to the table. Amen.