The Resurrection | Voddie Baucham

if you have your Bibles with you this morning please open them to the book of first corinthians first corinthians first corinthians chapter 15 for us great see in chapter 15 very familiar passage and i've taught on this passage a number of times in a number of different ways from a number of different perspectives and angles but i think it's like the rest of the word of god absolutely inexhaustible and if that's true of all the bible I believe it's particularly true here in 1st Corinthians chapter 15 in in the resurrection chapter and there are many aspects of this chapter that we could look at we're going to look at really those first 19 verses I'd say the first 20 verses but really concentrating on those first 19 verses and specifically verses 12 through 19 addressing the issue of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the resurrection is really the that the fundamental doctrine if you will in our faith and I don't say just a fundamental doctrine of doctrine but really the fundamental doctrine in our faith because everything else that we believe really hinges on that in fact there is this validation and verification of everything that we believe that we find there in the reality of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and I I don't want to just sort of make that argument and it's not just something that I'm saying as by way of an opinion but it's something that really is fleshed out here in first Corinthians 15 and you'll see and verses 12 through 19 this is the argument that Paul is making that this is the crux of the matter that there are so many other things that everything else really rises and falls with the resurrection everything else sort of rests on and hinges upon the truth of this doctrine as such Paul is making what I see as three arguments for the resurrection here I want to allude to the first two but then we're going to concentrate on the third the first argument is what I like to call an argument from Authority you find that in verses 1 and 2 and then there is an argument from history or evidence and you find that in verses 3 through 11 and then there is an argument from from logic a reason you find that in verses 12 through 19 and that's what we're going to be concentrating today and Paul offers all of these arguments in turn because they they all matter but you can't separate these arguments from one another it's not as though he would say yes we need to just make the argument from Authority and just leave it at that or the argument from evidence had to leave it at that or or the argument from Locke logic and just just leave it at that he puts all of these things together wrapped together in one as it were to leave us with the inescapable reality that not only is Christ raised amen but that means not everything it means anything right that's beyond everything it means everything so let's look first at the argument from Authority verse 1 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 here's this is the argument from Authority also some reminding you I'm bringing it to your attention you've heard from me before now let me put this in context you will see from the flow of his argument in first Corinthians chapter 15 that there are those surrounding the Christian community in Corinth who want to have their cake and eat it too they want to hold on to their worldview a worldview which excludes the very concept of resurrection according to their worldview the idea that anyone could be raised from the dead is ludicrous it doesn't work it's a non-starter for them they do not believe in the idea of Resurrection and this is very important because we live in a day in an age where the the predominant worldview in our culture is the worldview of secular humanism and in the worldview of secular humanism one of the foundation of secular foundations of secular humanism is the idea of of naturalistic materialism nature is a closed system and matter is all that matters if you can't see it touch it hear it smell it taste it write it and it's just not real it's not normal the only way we know things is is through our senses and through observation of that which is in nature and again nature is a closed system there is nothing outside of nature which means that by definition there is no supernatural so according to the secular humanist world view even though secular humanists will talk about God and higher powers and things of this nature but but according to the world view there is no supernatural so when we talk about God we're not talking about God in a theistic sense we're not talking about God in the supernatural sense we're talking about some theoretical feeling or power or spirit that unites things but not God in the supernatural sense so a to the the modern world view of secular humanism a person who was a secular humanist who wanted to attach themselves to the Christian community would be a person who on the one hand would deny even the possibility of something like a resurrection but on the other hand would want to hold Jesus in high esteem do we do we know people like this we most assuredly do I've studied under people like this I've taken courses from people who were magnificent instructors in you know Greek and New Testament and I started my journey I was a student athlete at Rice University came to faith late I did not grow up and Christianity I did not grow up around Christianity I was raised in the home of a practicing Buddhist never heard the gospel - my first year at University so having come to faith late and being a student athlete at Rice University rice is a secular institution but they had a religion program so I took some courses in religion at Rice as a new believer and I remember sitting in courses on the New Testament taught by men who knew the great New Testament backwards and forwards who had written books on the Greek New Testament you know who loved the literature of the Greek New Testament but who were unbelievers who did not believe in things like resurrection knew the Bible better than the 99% of Christians will ever know the Bible but did not believe and things like resurrection you have friends and family members like this who who on the one hand hold Jesus in high esteem right most other religions are like Muslims are like this Muslims hold Jesus were Issa in high esteem he's a highly honored and revered prophet resurrection absolutely not absolutely not Buddhists oh Jesus in high esteem as a wonderful man and teacher and wise sage and and spiritual man and prophet even resurrection not so much American politics is filled with men and women who were in churches today and in churches all the time when they're running for office who will talk about Christianity and Christian ethics and in the Bible and they want to and they want to they want to wrap the Bible in the cross in the flag and and and hold to a form of godliness but denied there of and don't believe in things like the resurrection and so don't think that this is some obscure concept that Paul had to deal with but we don't it is true today again some of you have friends and family members who revered Jesus but don't believe in the supernatural don't believe in the resurrection he was a good man he was a he was a good teacher but but no on the resurrection they want to hold to the moral teachings of Jesus but not the resurrection some of you don't just have friends and family members like this for some of you I'm describing you this morning Jesus is good man Jesus is a good teacher but the supernatural stuff this stuff was this stuff was added later there's an entire movement of scholars so-called Christian scholars and they have a group called the Jesus Seminar and the Jesus Seminar is filled with people with PhDs from high-powered places like Duke Divinity School and Vanderbilt and javed right who write you know Articles that appear in things like time and people and were they're essentially arguing that Jesus was a real historical figure but what has been added to this historical figure is this this sort of supernatural mythology that now exists surrounding him and we have to separate the Jesus of faith from the Jesus of history this is the kind of language that is used by these individuals who will make the same arguments that Paul is dealing with right here in first Corinthians and it's ironic because one of the things that they argue is the idea of Resurrection came later we'll deal with that but for now look at the argument from Authority all says I remind you brothers of the gospel I preached to you which you received in which you stand and by which you are being saved he preached it they received it they're standing in it and they're saved by it but there's an if clause if you hold fast to the word I preached it to you unless you believed in vain let me break down what all is saying here Paul is saying that if you believe the gospel that I preached and the way I preached it and if that is what you have received and if that where you're taking your stand then you are being saved however if you are believing something other than something less than or something more than the gospel that I preached to you then you've believed in vain your faith that your faith is empty your faith is meaningless unless you're believing the gospel that I preached you are not an insider but you're an outsider in other words Paul would say that an individual who calls themself a Christian while denying the essential doctrine of the resurrection of Jesus Christ is actually not a Christian at all your belief is empty it's futile it's vain let me illustrate it for you let's say for example that when I come up came up here that I've been sitting in a chair up here you know sometimes you have the open chairs and the pastors will sit in the PO for chairs and by the way thank you so much for not having that and and I you know I'm sitting here but you know I stand up and I deliver my message and the seat that was behind me somebody removed while I was standing here but I finished preaching you're not take up steps back and sit in that chair now here's the question do I believe with every fiber of my being that that chair is there will my belief in itself hold me up when I sit down no because the object of my belief would no longer exist your faith is only meaningful if the object of your faith is meaningful and Paul says if the object of your faith is a Jesus who was not raised your faith is meaningless it's MV it's Fame you are not a Christian you cannot deny the resurrection and be a Christian you cannot you cannot and if that offends you let me tell you two things right off the bat number one I don't write the mail I just deliver it amen being offended at me for saying that it's like being offended at the postman who brings you a bill that you don't like amen but here's the other thing imagine this if you will imagine if I stood up here you know and and and somebody was here and they had a you know yes sauced earlier today a USC license plate right and I came up to that person and I said let's see man fight on man of Troy they're like wait wait you you are you a Trojan I most assuredly am awesome they say well you know I graduated in whatever mm how about you say well I you know I never really I never graduated oh that's cool man you know you didn't god you're still a Trojan I mean you win you know you study there you were like excited even go wait what yeah no but you know I grew up in South Central you know and I lived close to SC always rooted for the Trojans right that's my team so you know that's how I'm a Trojan now if they looked at me and said brother I'm sorry but the University of Southern California reserves the right to only matriculate and graduate those who meet its requirements and standards you haven't done that so it's illegitimate for you to call yourself a Trojan would any of us be offended by USC for doing that the answer's no because we have more respect for USC than we do for God cuz when USC says nope there's a standard and a requirement you haven't met it you're not a Trojan we go that's right but when God says there's a standard for calling yourself a Christian you haven't met it therefore you're not a Christian were offended by God but not by USC that's the argument from Authority our first argument is you are not allowed to identify yourself as a Christian when you deny the essential doctrines of the Christian faith which means that those individuals in the Jesus Seminar who are professors of New Testament and professors of theology and you know with with PhDs and credentials and all of these sorts of things who are denying the essentials of the Christian faith they're not Christians and again I'm not saying this the Bible is saying this the Bible is saying this that's the argument from Authority there's a second argument and this is the argument from evidence and he's explaining and expanding on his first argument he says for I delivered to you as the first importance remember remember what he says first right you say you believe the gospel that I preached right that's great if you're standing on that gospel and believing that gospel you're that doubt of that that's what saves you right but if you don't believe the gospel that I preached your faith is empty it's vain it's useless it's meaningless now he's going to expand on that 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 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 then he appeared to James then to all the apostles last of all as to one untimely born he appeared to me also for I'm 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 whether then it was I or they so we preached and so you believed look at that at the beginning of the end he says I delivered to you as a first importance how did he deliver it through his preaching and the last verse so we preached so you believed remember his first argument the argument from Authority you're saying you're a Christian which means you're saying that you believe the gospel that I preached and now he's saying here's the gospel that I preached and he summarizes it this is not everything that Paul preached but there these these are essential doctrines and the death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ essential doctrine in other words if you don't believe the death bearing a resurrection of Jesus Christ then you don't believe the gospel that I preached if you don't believe the gospel that I preached stop calling yourself a Christian now it sounds like he's just trying to be offensive but he's absolutely not because what's Paul's desire Paul's desire in preaching the gospel is not to shut people out but to welcome people in amen so when you hear this there's a kind of a sting of offense to this right but understand the perspective here Paul is not saying hey I'm a member of an exclusive club stop claiming to be part of this exclusive club you're not a part of this exclusive club here's Paul's heart Paul's heart is I preach the gospel because I want you to be a Christian but you're not believing the gospel that I preached which means on the one hand stop saying that you're a Christian and number two repent and believe the gospel that I preached cuz it's the only way in did you see the difference why wasn't I saying I'm a member of an exclusive club and I want you to stop pretending Paul is saying you must not have heard me correctly and I want you to hear me correctly and he uses the argument here from evidence what evidence quickly first he uses the argument of fulfilled prophecy look at verse 3 I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received the Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures it was buried was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures that's the first thing he goes to the scriptures I preached to you that Christ fulfilled the prophecies that we have in the scriptures that that's number one look at the second one he uses the prop that the eyewitness accounts and that he appeared to Cephas or Peter then to the 12 then he appeared to more than 500 brothers at one time most of whom are still alive though some have fallen asleep then he appeared to James to all the Apostles right here's the amazing thing here he's using he's using the argument of the you know fulfilled prophecy secondly eyewitness testimony now watch this if you do the math cuz again the Jesus Seminar and others they're saying then this idea of resurrection and the supernatural stuff this was added later that's their argument as the Christ of history and the Christ of faith this stuff was added later if you do the math here you add it up and there's over 500 people whom Paul references here I'm sorry over 600 people that he references here 500 we saw the resurrected Christ at once he says he appeared to more than 500 brothers at one time most of whom were still alive that's 251 people amen most of those people are still alive 251 plus the 12 right s 263 in this reference to all the Apostles probably referring to the hundred or so in the upper room right so we're well over 300 people why why is that significant here's why it's significant all is saying that at the time he's writing this there are over 300 eyewitnesses to the resurrection who are still alive which means that the evidence is falsifiable now that sounds like a bad thing right falsifiable this false is bad right falsifiable no no that's a good thing that's a good thing let's go to a courtroom shall we really quick there we go to a courtroom and you're gonna offer evidence right here's here's my testimony great your there's your testimony should we believe your testimony yes cuz I'm convincing no that doesn't help you very much but if you can say yes here's my testimony and there are over 300 people whom you can ask who could verify my testimony so don't just believe me if I'm lying you can right now go and find people who will tell you uh he's lying that's what it means for something to be falsifiable it means I'm offering you evidence that you can go right now and check and if I'm lying there are people who can and will say to you he's lying as opposed to you just need to believe me this separates Christianity from every other religion in the world this is not a man who had a religious experience who had a spiritual visitation who wrote with no corroboration and you just got to believe him he's saying right now today as I write this there are over 300 people and some of them he names you can find these people and put your hands on them and many of them also wrote about the resurrection so fulfilled prophecy secondly eyewitness testimony now let me just clear something up here he says he appeared to Peter then he appeared to the twelve and then people go whoa wait a minute uh uh he didn't appear to the twelve because Judas Judas had already hanged himself so he didn't appear to the twelve he only appeared to the eleven well if you have time or read the book of Acts into Acts chapter one and here's what you'll discover in Acts chapter one the Apostles determined that that number twelve was very important so they didn't just stick with eleven that the number twelve Jesus chose twelve there were twelve tribes of Israel right and he chose twelve apostles that number was important so what did they do in Acts chapter one in Acts chapter one they elected Matthias to replace Judas so that there would be twelve but in order to elect someone to replace Judas one of the qualifications was they had to have seen the risen Christ so this reference to the twelve is a reference to the twelve that includes Matthias not Judas and I just say that because there's always somebody and by the way that's not a bad thing amen via Berean but there's always somebody comes over you and you know what you you said he appeared to the twelve and I got a friend of mine at work that I tried to share this passage and they come up and they said wait a minute Judas had already hanged himself and he doesn't you know this reference to the twelve includes Matthias and one of the requirements for replacing Judas was you had to have seen the resurrected Christ let's move on to the last piece verse eight last of all as to one untimely born he appeared to me he appeared also to me the last piece of evidence that he uses it's his personal experience know the difference between him and us not only do we lead with that but we don't offer anything else my personal story is everything no actually it's not and without the other pieces of evidence his personal story would carry very little weight it's the fulfillment of Biblical prophecy that's the eyewitness testimony and oh by the way it's me there's me but here's what we want to get to is the argument from Authority then there's the argument from evidence and now here's the argument from logic and this is powerful Paul basically argues that if there's no such thing as resurrection there are seven things to seven things that follow that must follow as inexorably as night follows day and this is incredibly important for those people who say they by secular humanism for those people who say you know I don't believe in resurrection Jesus yes resurrection no there are seven things that you are arguing whether you want to or not there are seven things that you are saying whether you intend to or not these seven things have to be true if there's no such thing as a resurrection look at verse 12 now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead right remember that's the that's the problem that he's addressing that there are people there hanging around the church in Corinth who are arguing there's no such thing as resurrection and he's saying but if there is no resurrection of the Dead number one then not even Christ has been raised that's number one if there's no such thing as resurrection then not even Christ has been raised now hold onto that one and put it in your pocket because that one is everything there's number one if you're arguing that there's no such thing as resurrection but that just doesn't fit in your worldview then number one you're saying Christ has not been raised number two verse 14 and if Christ has not been raised then our preaching is vain that's number two if Christ has not been raised and we preach a resurrected Christ then our preaching is vain it's useless and here's where it gets interesting right because people who deny the resurrection they don't want to come back and say listen preaching is useless no no no no no no preaching is good preaching is important it's important that people go to church and it's important that people hear sermons it's important that you know preachers help people to be good and to be moral and it's important it's important that you do that and and you believe that so it's really important to you I respect to your faith no actually you don't because my faith isn't a resurrected Christ and I preach Christ crucified and read directed and if I preach a resurrected Christ and if that is the foundation upon which my preaching is built then anyone who argues there's no such thing as resurrection is arguing that my preaching is vain vain meaning empty whether you want to or not thirdly and your faith is vain your faith is meaningless number one Christ is not raised number two preaching is empty number three your faith is empty why because the object of your faith is non-existent there is no resurrected Christ in whom you can place your faith your faith is useless without a resurrected Christ oh no no but faith is important why why is faith important faith is only as important as the object of your faith and if the object of your faith is non-existent then just having faith is a useless exercise number four we are even found to be misrepresenting God because we testified about God that he raised Christ whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised is number four is you're calling me a liar and again people don't like this no no I would never say that you're a liar cuz I know that that is a meaningful part of your faith and that you believe that but if I believe something that's not true and if I'm telling other people to believe something that's not true I am lying to them and someone who lies to other people is all together now a liar I might be a well-meaning liar but I'm a liar nonetheless if there's no such thing as resurrection but it's worse than that guys I'm a blaspheming liar cuz I'm not just lying unlike on God it's one thing for me to just lie it's a whole other thing for me to lie on God because I'm saying that God did something that he did not do and again I've never run into anyone who denies the resurrection who intends to call me a liar but you need to understand that logically speaking you have no other choice because if there's no such thing as a resurrection and my entire life and ministry is built on the proclamation of the life death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ I am a blaspheming liar verse 18 I'm sorry verse 17 here's the fifth thing and if Christ has not been raised your faith is futile and you are still in your sins that's the fifth thing if there is no resurrection there is no forgiveness of sin if there is no resurrection you are still in your sins if there is no resurrection then that great exchange didn't happen if there is no resurrection we are arguing that man fell in Adam and that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and that sinful man left to himself can face nothing but the justice of a righteous God and the wrath of a righteous God and that by definition a holy and righteous God must punish sin he has to and we are saying that what has happened is that God has done that he has punished sin in Christ as our substitute who died a vicarious substitutionary atonement for sin once for all the just for the unjust in order that he might bring us back to God as isaiah says all we like sheep and gone astray each of us had turned to his own way but God has laid upon him the iniquity of us all that Christ died for sin he was the sinless one the perfect Lamb of God the Son of God wrapped in flesh whom God made him who knew no sin to be sin for us and so on the cross Christ dies as a substitute for thousands of years lambs were brought Bulls were brought to the altar so that God could show us a picture that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin but these things were just a foreshadowing of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world so that Christ the God man dies for sin and God pours out his wrath on his own son so that he might forgive my sin but beyond that Christ didn't just die vicarious death he lived a perfect righteous life so that God made him who knew no sin no sin to be sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God into him so that he could make us righteous through the vicarious righteous life that Christ lived so my sin is imputed to Christ on the cross his righteousness is imputed to me on the cross and the only evidence that God has accepted this great exchange is that Jesus didn't stay dead if he had sins to bear he would have stayed dead but because he was sinless and because his vicarious death was accepted on my behalf God gave me a receipt for that great exchange and the receipt is the resurrection of Jesus Christ if there is no resurrection there was no great exchange if there was no resurrection my sin is not forgiven 6 verse 18 and those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished if there is no such thing as a resurrection your loved ones who have died truly are lost they're gone the dead like dogs you'll never see them again isn't it amazing in the one hand people want to argue that there's no such thing as resurrection but when somebody dies they want to talk about people arresting in peace they want to talk about seeing them again someday but if your worldview does not have room for resurrection Christ is not raised preaching is vain faith is vain I'm a liar you're still in your sins and the people who have before us are lost and will never be reunited with them again you can't have it both ways but even the people who want to deny resurrection want to have hope when they stand before a closed coffin but you can't if there is no resurrection of the Dead seven if in Christ we have hoped in this life only we are of all people most to be pitied we are the most pathetic lot on the planet if there is no resurrection what are we doing here today what are we doing every day why not just end it all or eat drink and be merry for tomorrow we all die this is the argument from logic but again at every point people who would deny the resurrection would want to say well no no no I'm not saying that we yes actually you are but but but but here's the thing look at the beginning of verse 20 but in fact Christ has been raised from the dead you know what here's the beauty the argument from Authority is based on the fact that Christ is risen the argument from evidence is based on the fact that Christ is risen which means that when he gives the argument from logic he's saying here's seven things that you have to be saying if you are arguing against resurrection but oh by the way I've already proved through authority and evidence that Christ is raised which means you actually get to flip the script there is resurrection which means number one Christ is risen he is not dead he is alive Christ is risen which means number two preaching is not but it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes number three your faith is not vain but you've actually placed your faith in Christ himself who is raised and in the same power that raised Christ from the dead number four I'm not a liar I'm a truth teller and I am telling the most important truth that any man has ever told to another man number five I'm not in my sins but they were buried with Christ and I am forgiven number six those who have died in Christ are not lost to me I know where they are and I will be reunited with them and number seven you are going to hear a rumor one day that vodi wacom is no more don't you believe it don't you believe it don't you believe it because though I die I will rise with Christ it will not be the end of me because Christ is raised and I too will be raised with Christ that is why he is called the firstborn from the dead folks you don't talk about a firstborn unless there's others who are born after him don't you pity me you pity the one who wants to hold on to Jesus without holding on to the resurrection you pity the one who has absolutely no hope because they have no resurrected Christ don't you dare pity the one believes and the death burial and resurrection of the only begotten Son of God because they are in need the only people who have hope that is hope Christ is raised I've had the privilege of standing in his empty tomb Christ is risen you know the amazing thing about standing in the empty tombs is here we are in the middle of the old city in Jerusalem it's hustling and it's bustling and there are people all over the place just outside of this area and the overwhelming majority of them are going about their lives oblivious having rejected the Messiah and all the while here I am standing in his empty tomb because He is risen and one day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ not was but is Lord to the glory of God the Father and the reason he is Lord and not was Lord is because Christ is [Applause] I don't know how you came here today or why you came here today I don't know what you came here believing today or hoping in today but if it is anything other than the finished work of Jesus Christ turn from that turn from that flee to Christ pray that God would grant you eyes to see that he would grant you faith to believe not only that Christ is risen but that he died for sin and that by faith I can include your sin

Channel: First Baptist Church of the Lakes

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Keywords: voddie baucham, resurrection, 1 Corinthians 15

Id: viCCRMYWe_Y

Length: 48min 4sec (2884 seconds)

Published: Tue Apr 30 2019