It Is Worth It | 1 Corinthians 15:23–34

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Amen. You may be seated. Well, good morning once again and uh welcome. Glad you're here. Uh excited to be able to get to God's word again this morning. If you're a guest with us, uh I'd love to introduce myself. My name is Andrew. I'm one of the pastors here, and uh it is uh an honor to have you with us and worship with us. We'd love to know you and uh meet you if you want to be met and serve you if you would like to be served. Our heart is that you would grow in your discipleship, which means you grow in your following of Christ, in knowing him and living to make him known, and we want to help you along that journey. One of the ways that we uh try to contribute to that journey is through the teaching and preaching of God's Word. So if you would take your Bible, let's open up to 1 Corinthians chapter 15. 1 Corinthians 15. It's not often that we have Easter Sunday where we focus our attention on the resurrection through the teaching and through a text, and then come back the next week and deal with it again. This year we're doing that because in our study of 1 Corinthians, we are in chapter 15, which is all about the resurrection of Christ. And so we're gonna read this, we're gonna unpack it again as Paul continues to unfold what he's trying to get across to the church in Corinth. If you don't own a Bible, maybe this is new to you. We give them away for free out at the Connection Center. It's the pergola outside. We'd love to give you that and let you have that for the next time you come. You'll have your own copy of the Bible. Some of these verses will be on the screen, but we take it pretty seriously around here because we believe the studying of God's word is what's imperative for us to grow as followers of Jesus. It is what we need, it is food to our soul, and we want to be helped by it. And so if you have 1 Corinthians 15, we'll talk about that here in just a second. It was a couple months ago, maybe several now, I can't remember exactly how long, but within the last year, Angela and I uh took a Monday. That's our day. Monday's our day. That's uh kids are at school, and if they're not, we don't really care where they are, that's our day. And so we get away, typically have breakfast or something along those lines, and then we we try to just either either hang out, do something together. It doesn't even matter what it is, it can be absolutely nothing. But some days we take an adventure, and one uh Monday we took a trip up to Mount Charleston and went on a hike uh up to Cathedral Rock. And a beautiful, it was it was uh colors. I think it was in the fall now that I think about it, colors were just about to change. So uh the little colors that we get in southern Nevada, we got right there. A few of the trees were beginning to change colors. It was beautiful, and uh, it's it's it's a hike, it's not anything grueling, certainly not Mount Everest. Um, it is um enough though to where as you're on your way up, it's got some parts of it where you're exerting some energy, especially if you're used to not used to being in maybe a little bit uh thinner air in the higher altitude. And on our way up, uh we were you know feeling it. We you never quite know. I have the all trails app, so I'm looking at my direction and trying to figure out where am I at? We're at 0.5 miles. Okay, if we get to that point, we'll be at two miles. And so as you're on your way up, people coming down, you you you ask them, right? You just ask them, hey, is it worth it? Like, is it worth it? Um I got another mile. Is it worth it? Or am I gonna get up there and be thoroughly disappointed? So you get up there, you know, people say things like, Yeah, it's worth it. You got and they try to encourage you, not much more to go. You're almost there, keep going, it's worth it. Just you're almost there now. Don't stop, don't quit. Um, and then on your way back down, you have people. I remember one couple in particular, they they looked like they were dying, and they looked at us and they said, Is it is it worth it? Is it worth it? And I and I thought about that. I told them yes. If you've never done it, it's it's a cool spot. Overlook the whole area. And I thought about that. That in in all journeys, especially ones that contain some level of difficulty, people wonder if the end of the journey makes the difficulties of the journey worth it. Is it worth it? I I we don't have the opportunity to talk to people who have necessarily gone to heaven or or died and passed into the presence of the Lord. Uh, we don't have an opportunity to talk to them. We can't pray to the saints. That's not a thing, that's not what we do, and they don't answer us, and we're gonna have conversations with them. But if we could, I think we would ask them, wouldn't we? Hey, I think if we had a conversation with Paul, if Paul was able to kind of zoom in and we put his mug up on the screen, we'd be like, hey Paul, we got one question. Was it all worth it? Or Peter, Peter, you you had some tough goes. Was it worth it? Maybe your loved ones, after they've passed and gone into um by faith, into the presence of the Lord, you might ask them if you had a chance to have a conversation with them. What's it like up there? Is it worth it? And we want to know that. We we want to know, is it worth it? All of the difficulties, all of the struggles, all of the journeys, all of the temptations, all of that, is it worth it? And what we have in 1 Corinthians 15 is Paul's declaration, inspired by the Spirit of God, in light of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the declaration that it is in fact worth it. So we're gonna look at that. What Paul has to say to us about it being worth it in light of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And so let's look at 1 Corinthians 15. We're gonna begin in verse 23. I just wanna, I know, I know we already read 20, 21, and 22 last week. Let me just let me just read it. It's not gonna be on the screen. The screen's gonna pick up in verse 23, but let me get to verse 20 just so we can get the running start in the context, and we're gonna read on down to verse 34, where I think Paul is saying, in light of the resurrection, it's worth it. So let's read it. These are God's words for us, inspired and preserved for us today in Las Vegas in 2026. So may they come to bear on our lives, as he intends for them to. Verse 20. But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. The first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each, now we're on the screen, but each in his own order. Christ, the first fruits, then at his coming, those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end. When he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power, for he must reign until he has put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For God has put all things in subjection under his feet. But when it says all things are put in subjection, it is plain that he is accepted, who put all things in subjection under him. When all things are subjected to him, then the Son Himself will also be subjected to Him, who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all. Now don't worry, we're gonna explain that. Lot of pronouns in there. Who are we talking about? We'll get there. Verse 29. Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf? Why are we in danger every hour? I protest, brothers, by my pride in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die every day. What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus, if the dead are not raised? Let us eat, drink, for tomorrow we die. Do not be deceived. Bad company ruins good morals. Wake up from your drunken stupor as is right, and do not go on sinning, for some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame. Some random thoughts, it feels like at first. Some obscure sayings, some things that we need to do, some work to get to. But at the end of it all, or atop of it all, or over it all, I think it is clear what Paul is driving home to us. And that is this big idea that I want to sit over the top of this text. The Christian life is worth living because the resurrection is real. The resurrection is real. He says it, he declares it, we have evidence of it, we believe it by faith, the resurrection is real. Therefore, the Christian life, the life of the Christian, the life of the disciple, the life of following Jesus Christ is worth it. So if the guys that made it to the top could make their way back down the trail and say to us, in fact, Hebrews tells us we have a cloud of witnesses declaring this in essence. It is worth it. Don't lose faith. It is worth it, and it is worth it because the resurrection is a real thing. Both the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the resurrection of those who belong to Christ is real. Therefore, the Christian life is worth it. So what we believe about God affects the way we live for God. If we believe in the resurrection, what God has taught us about resurrection life, then how we live is going to be affected. And so we've got to wrestle with that a little bit. So the question I want to try to answer over the next couple minutes is this is why is the Christian life worth living because Christ is risen? Why? And I believe that Paul gives us three of them, three reasons, three key reasons for the worth living life, the Christian life being worth living because of the resurrection of Christ. Okay, so there's three of them, jot them down. I encourage you to get them. Let's wrestle with this with our heads and our hearts. May they come to bear on us as he intends. The Christian life is worth living because, number one, the resurrection secures our future. The resurrection secures our future. Now let's unpack this one at a time. So have your Bible open. We've got to be students of the word this morning. Here's what he says. So first, verses 21 and 22 is teaching. We know this. We talked about it last Sunday that we are either in Adam or we are in Christ. So let's just review this for a second. Adam was the first representative and he failed man. He brought sin and death into the world so that every one of his descendants would have sin and death. We all are descendants of Adam, so we all have sin and death because our first representative failed. Christ was the second representative. He succeeded in every way that Adam failed. Though without sin he died for sin. His death was a payment for the sins of those who belong to him. Then he rose from the dead, bringing life to those who belong to him. So all of Christ's descendants have life. All of Adam's descendants have death. So we likened it last week to the baseball team, right? It's imagine this, the bottom of the ninth. Game's on the line. And next up is a pinch hitter. Every person who has batted up to this point has struck out on three pitches. They haven't even come close to hitting the ball. They can't even foul tip the ball. So the pinch hitter comes in and the pinch hitter hits a home run and wins the game. Guess what happens to me who's on his team, even though I struck out on all three pitches every at bat? I win the game. Why? Because I did something? No, not because I did anything, but because I was on the team of the one who hit the home run to win the game. Tales in comparison, but gives us a little context to say we have somebody who won the battle, who fought the fight and won the battle and represents those who belong to him, those who identify with him. So Jesus was the one who stepped in and died and rose, defeating sin and death. I do not win because I did anything to contribute to the win, but because I am on the team of the one who won the battle, that is Jesus Christ. That's the picture that he's given to us. And what's the victory? The victory is over death. The end of verse 22. In Christ. So think about it. In Adam all die, but in Christ shall all be made alive. So this is those in Christ shall be made alive. Okay, what's he talking about here? So he's going to show us how this is going to unfold. Look at verse 23. Each in his own order. The word order has this idea of sequence or appointed arrangement. Paul is saying resurrection then is not random or chaotic. It's a God fixed order. This matters because some in Corinth may have assumed that if resurrection is real, it should already be fully visible now. But since it's not already fully visible, it must not be happening. And that was what ushered in the false teaching that there is no resurrection of the dead. But God has an order to his saving plan. Verse 23, he says, each in his own order, Christ, the first fruits. Second time he's used that word. He used it in verse 20 as well. So what are the first fruits? Well, it's taken from Leviticus 23. It's the first portion of the harvest that was brought to God, and it represented the whole harvest, and it guaranteed more was coming. So think apple tree here. Stone fruits don't necessarily do well in Las Vegas. I get that, but some of you have been able to grow apples here, and some apples do better here. And think when that first apple shows up on the tree, it's not just one apple, but an indicator of what is to follow. Many more apples like it will come later. You don't think one apple came and no more apples are ever gonna come. This is the only one this entire tree with all of its blooms are gonna give. No, unless something drastic happened, it's gonna produce more of the same kind. Your apple tree doesn't produce one apple and then a bunch of oranges. That doesn't happen. It's the first fruits of many that are to follow. So first fruits is not just first in time, it's first of the same kind. So what happens to the first fruits will happen to the rest. So Jesus is not just proof that the resurrection is possible, he is the pattern of our resurrection. He was raised bodily. We who belong to him will be raised bodily. He was glorified, we will be glorified. He will not die again, we will not die again. We shall be like him, 1 John 3.2. So first Christ rose from the dead, follow the order, indicating what would happen to others who follow him. Then, see the chronological, then at his coming, those who belong to Christ. So he's coming first, and then like him will be others who belong to him. So, first question, gotta deal with. Already did, but let's talk about it. How does one come to belong to Christ? Remember that you belong to Adam by birth. How many here? Class, participate with me. How many of you here were born? Raise your hand. Good. Thank you. You all belong to Adam because you were born. That's the point. You belong to Christ by being born again. Adam is physical birth in the flesh. Christ is spiritual birth by faith. Remember, Nicodemus comes to him at night, the Pharisee comes to him at night and says, Listen, I want to know, I want to know about you, I want to talk to you. Nobody's been like you before. And he says to him, Unless you are born again, you cannot see the kingdom of God. Unless you're born again, you will not be resurrected. Life is not yours, uh, the kingdom is not yours unless you are born again. So this is the reality of what it means to belong to Christ. And we hear this regularly throughout scripture. In fact, let me just give you a few messages that were preached by the apostles about being born again and having this hope of resurrection. Mark chapter 1, verse 14. It says, now after John, John the Baptist was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God, the good news of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand. So repent and believe in the gospel. The gospel is the gospel of Jesus Christ, his death, his burial, his resurrection, which is which is unfolding before them. And he says, Repent, turn from your brokenness, turn from your sin, turn from whatever you're trusting in, and believe in the message of Jesus Christ, because the kingdom of God is hand. That which is representative represented as by life, that which means life is at hand, so repent and believe. Acts chapter 20. Says of the apostles or Paul testifying, he says, both to Jews and to Greeks, repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. This is what Paul's message was to Jews and to Greeks. Repent and believe. Turn from trusting in yourself, turn from trusting in your religion, turn from your sin and believe in Jesus Christ, and then the kingdom of God will be yours, resurrection life will be yours, new life will be yours, belonging to Christ will be yours. One more verse, Romans 5:17. For if because of one man's trespass death reigned through that one man, and that one man is Adam, much more will those who receive, that's faith, the abundance of grace, and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. So to receive him is to believe. It's faith, it's turning from and trusting in, it's turning from and trusting in that makes you born again to belong to Christ. And so those of you who have done that, those of you who have repented and believed, trusted Christ, and turned from Adam's ways into Christ's ways, you have the hope of belonging to Christ. And then, it says, then at his coming. So Paul says this those who belong to Christ, those who have repented and believed in Christ, will be raised to new life at the coming of Christ. Believers do not receive the fullness of bodily resurrection immediately after Christ's resurrection. There is a future moment of his coming. This refers to Christ's return at the point when those who belong to him will be raised bodily. Man, this is good news. The Lord will descend, cry of command, the voice of an archangel, the sound of the trumpet, first Thessalonians tells us, and the dead in Christ will rise first, and we who are alive and left will be caught up together with him in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will be with the Lord. So at his returning, he will raise to life those who belong to him by repenting and believing in the gospel. Now look at verse 24 in your text. Then comes the end. When he delivers the kingdom to God the Father. So the Messiah, the one who is responsible for redemption, comes at the end, the final blow of redemptive history. Outlined for us in Revelation 20, 21 and 22. You should study it. It's not the end in the sense of annihilation, but the completion, the consummation, the climax. This is where history is going when he will at the end deliver the kingdom to God the Father. This means Christ, as the mediatorial Messiah, the Messiah who died, brings his redemptive mission to its complete goal. He's conquered his enemies, he's redeemed his people, he's brought all things into proper submission. Then he presents the perfected kingdom to the Father. This is Christ fulfilling his mission at the end. This is what we have to look forward to. And when the end arrives, the Son will hand the kingdom over to the Father. When the kingdom is given to the Father, history as we know it will be over, and the resurrection of believers will occur. And this will happen after, look at the text, after destroying every rule and every authority and power. These words likely refer to every hostile power opposed to God's reign. This is characterized, I believe, in Revelation by Babylon. Everything opposed to God, every spiritual, demonic, and cosmic power, all of that which is opposed to him. Paul's point then is that Christ's work is not partial. He doesn't merely send his special forces down into a hostile environment and redeem us and then leave the wickedness to just run its way. No, he subdues it, he brings it into subjection. This includes rebellious human structures, satanic opposition, and death itself. For he must reign, verse 25, until he has put all his enemies under his feet. So he, being Christ, is reigning now, even though the fullness of his reign is not known. It was inaugurated at his death and resurrection. But now he is reigning and yet he is not fully seated on in power because there are still enemies that he's bringing under his feet. This is the fulfillment of Psalm 110, when God said, Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool. So he's reigning. His resurrection launched and inaugurated this, but yet it's not fully realized until he has put all enemies under his feet. That means there is coming a day when the reigning Jesus will have all the enemies of Satan and demons and world forces and politics and presidents and terrorist groups will all sit underneath the reign of Jesus Christ in submission to him. This is not negotiation. This isn't an agreement because they had peace talks. This is total and decisive victory over all of the enemies against Jesus Christ. And the last enemy, get this, to be destroyed, verse 26, is death. Thank God for that. Death is an enemy because it entered through sin and stands opposed to God's design for life. Listen, we as Christians don't have to pretend that death is good. Death is not good. Death is dreadful. Death is intrusive. Death is an enemy. And there are many enemies, but death is the final one to be abolished. It will be destroyed. Not merely reduced, softened, or managed. It will be destroyed. Now he says a couple interesting things. Let me try as quick as I can to get through 27. It says, For God has put all things in subjection under his feet. Okay, so this is Christ in Messiah authority. But when it says all things are put in subjection, it is plain that he is accepted who put all things in subjection under him. So here's the logic. I don't really know why. But he's just like, hey, listen, in case you're confused, God the Father is not in subjection to God the Son. Just so you know. Okay? Amen? All right. Good. We got it, Paul. Thank you. Verse 28. But when all things are subjected to him, the Son, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him, the Father, who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all. So here it is. Listen. Don't get confused with the pronouns. They're confusing. When the Father subjects all things to the Son, the Son will then take his rightful place in subjection to the Father. That's all it's saying. This does not mean that Christ will cease to be divine, nor that he becomes less than the Father in essence. Paul is speaking of Christ and his role as the incarnate, mediatorial son, the God man who came to accomplish redemption. And once his redemptive mission is brought to completion, he will present everything in perfect order to the Father. This is functional subjection within the accomplishment of redemption, not an ontological inferiority or inferior in essence. It's not saying that he's going to be inferior to the Father. It means that he's going to take his place in subjection to the Father. Some have called this written whole books on this topic for us to understand it, and we still don't understand it. Okay? Here's what we know that when the Son is done, when the end comes and Christ has beaten the victories, and the Father has subjected all the enemies under his authority, Christ will take his place in subjection to the Father, and the triunity will form, and then God, in his fullness, in his full triune glory, will be all in all. That's what the text ends. That he, God, may be all in all. This means that God will be utterly supreme. This is the goal of history, that there will be no rival power. There will be no remaining rebellion. There will be no enemy left standing. There will be no death remaining. God's rule, again, read it. Revelation 20, 21, 22. God's rule, glory, and presence will be fully manifested and uncontested. This is the perfect kingdom, the consummated new creation. The resurrection then is not an isolated doctrine. It is part of God's big grand plan to bring all things under the reign of Christ so that the glory of God fills everything. You're like, okay, what's the point? What are we getting at here? Let me summarize it this way. Listen to this Christ's resurrection in the beginning, or it was the beginning, of a guaranteed sequence of events. God's not making this up as he goes. There's a guaranteed sequence of events. Here it is. Then will come the end when every enemy will be defeated. Right now, Christ is reigning, and he will continue until even death itself is destroyed. And in the end, all things will be brought under his rule, so that God's reign is fully and finally established. That is the decisive, secure end and future of all who belong to Christ. So this is all pointing to the undeniable reality. Listen, that the future of those who belong to Christ is secure because of Christ. Now, listen, there are some details. This text is not meant to give you a specific eschatology. That's not the point. So all of you pre-trib millennial pre-trib believers and all of you Aw Mil believers and all of you that want to kind of argue over this, that's not the point. He's not getting into that. All he's doing is he's pointing to the undeniable reality that there are some things to be certain. And here's what we can all agree on. Whatever you agree with, how this is all gonna unfold, let's agree to this and amen. This Christ will return. Amen. All his enemies will be destroyed, including death. Amen. The kingdom will be presented to the Father, amen. The Son will finish the work he set out to do, amen. And God once again will be all in all. Amen. Amen. Now the enemy loves it. When we argue about the details, unrevealed or unclear, rather than celebrate together in a unified amen with each other over that which is clear, which is in the end, Nikao. Christ wins. Victory is his. So the Christian life makes sense and is worth living because we know that our future is secure. Because Christ rose again. And if this is true, if Christ is risen, if your resurrection is guaranteed, if death itself will be destroyed, then your future is not uncertain. Stop living like it. Stop worrying like it. Stop fretting over it. Does that mean death is not painful? No, it is. It absolutely is. Does that mean the doctor's diagnosis isn't hurtful? No, it is. And it's scary and it's frustrating and it causes all kinds of worry and turmoil. It is, but that does not mean that your sec your future isn't secure. Your future is still secure. And so you have hope in the midst of those situations because Christ rose again. So is it really worth it? Yes. Yes, Paul is saying. The Spirit is saying yes. The Christian life is worth living because, number one, the resurrection secures our future. Okay, there's a second thing I need you to see. The last two, I'll get through rather quickly, is this the resurrection then also justifies our sacrifice. The resurrection justifies our sacrifice. Paul is going to now deal with practices and sacrifices of Christians in light of the resurrection. So, in essence, he's saying if we believe in the resurrection, then we will react accordingly. Now he says something tough. Let me just preface something. If the first verses we read already weren't hard to kind of wrestle with, verse 29 is going to be equally or more so. Otherwise, he says, look at it, verse 29. What do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people being baptized on their behalf? Much debated verses in the New Testament. The Mormon Church has built a practice of baptism for the dead on this passage, meaning that living people can be baptized by proxy for those who have died, so that those who have died can go to heaven because I was baptized for them. Catholic Church is also a similar teaching with indulgences, which would be paid to the church to help loved ones get out of purgatory. Now we can be confident, let me just say it as clear as I can, that this verse is not teaching that. Let me just say why we can say this is confidently true, not true. Because no one can be saved or helped in their salvation by somebody else being baptized for them. That's never taught in Scripture. Baptism itself doesn't even save you, it's not a requirement for salvation, nor does it produce salvation. And if a person cannot save themselves by being baptized, they certainly cannot save someone else through the act of baptism. Salvation then is always personal. It comes through faith in Jesus Christ alone. It is clear in Ephesians, for by grace you have been saved through faith, it is the gift of God. So your salvation does not come by being baptized, it comes by, like we already said, repenting and believing in Christ. Baptism is the expression of that reality. So not only can you not work your way to salvation, someone else cannot work your way to salvation. That's not in the Bible anywhere. So I think what this is saying, best understanding, though we're not positive, there's like 50 something different interpretations of this verse alone. But I think we can be certain is this that people were being saved, baptism being the sign because of the exemplary lives and witnesses of faithful believers who had died. It was because of the testimony of believers who had died that they were being baptized. And he's like, listen, if they died and are gone, why are you being baptized based on their testimony of faith in Christ? Their faith was empty, their faith was pointless, they were to be pitied, not followed. Why would you be baptized following their example? Now again, many interpretations. Paul does not explain the practice and he does not command it. What he's doing is this, though. We don't build doctrine here. We follow his logic. His logic is this if the dead are not raised, why are people doing this? He's not saying the practice is correct. He is saying this practice only makes sense if the resurrection is real. This action that they were participating in, whatever specifically it was, assumed what their theology was denying. They were doing something as if something that they didn't believe was actually true. Let me illustrate it this way. You might be a person who says, I don't believe in retirement. But you give money every month to a 401k. So your action is, I'm going to give towards my retirement, but I don't believe in retirement. So the logic would be then why are you doing that if you don't believe in it? Why are you contributing to something that isn't true? Why are you doing something in practice that doesn't line up with something you believe? His point is it doesn't make sense. Your actions assume what your theology is denying. Whatever exactly they were doing, it was involving concern for the dead, connection to future hope, and some belief that death is not the end. So what they were doing was practicing something that didn't line up with what they were teaching and claiming. And that's Paul's point. What's the big what are you doing this for? And then he asks a question. Listen to this. Great question in verse 30. Why are we in danger every hour? Why are we going through this? Why are we doing all of this? Paul's ministry constantly put him in harm's way. Persecution, imprisonment, physical violence, public hostility. Read 2 Corinthians chapter 11, verse 23 through 28 sometime. Labors, imprisonments, countless beatings, near death. Often five times he was beaten with the lashes like Christ was beaten with. Three times he was beaten with rods. He was stoned and left to die. He was shipwrecked and floated a day and a night, a night and a day at sea. He was in toils and hardships and sleepless nights and hunger and thirst without food. On top of all of that, all of the anxiety he had for the churches. And Paul is asking a question right here in our text. If Christ is not risen, why would we live like this? If there is no future resurrection, this isn't noble, this is reckless, this is wasteful, this is irrational. Sacrifice of time, sacrifice of comfort, sacrifice of reputation, sacrifice of security. Paul is saying this only makes sense if something greater is coming. Now look at verse 31. I protest, or I swear is kind of the word he's using. It's kind of a telling you absolute truth. I swear I'm telling you the truth, brothers, by my pride in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord. I die every day. I'm constantly dying. I'm dying to self. I have the threat of death on me constantly. I'm constantly being threatened. I'm constantly being beaten. I'm constantly trying, people are constantly trying to kill me. I'm constantly denying myself and dying to myself spiritually every day. Like a like a soldier in a high-risk military zone. They face danger not once, they face danger daily. He said, I face danger daily. And look at verse 32. Here's his logic. What do I gain? Well, why would I do that if humanly speaking, I fought with the beasts at Ephesus? Now, you want one more thing that we just don't know what he's talking about? Here it is. Who are the beasts at Ephesus? Now, maybe he had a couple of faces in mind, or maybe he was wrestling dogs in Ephesus. I don't know. We don't know. We don't know for sure, but his his logic is I was wrestling with some beasts. I was wrestling with some opposition. You can read in Acts the account of his time in Ephesus, and you can probably put pretty close in Acts 19, there was a riot, there was hostility, there was a threatening chaos. So probably what he was talking about here was a metaphorical for brutal opposition. And so he says, Listen, I fought with beasts at Ephesus, but his logic goes like this even though I have endured extreme suffering, if the dead are not raised, why? What's the point? In fact, here it goes even better. Let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die. So I love Peter's uh Paul's logic here. I'm dying daily. I'm wrestling with beasts, I'm putting up with shipwrecks and being beaten and stoned. And so if Christ is not raised, I'm quitting all of this and I'm going to the bar and I'm getting drunk. Why do all of this? Let us eat and drink. I'm going to the buffet. I'm going to have a bottomless mimosas and bottomless brunch, and I'm just going to die because it's not point. There's no point. This is as good as it gets. If death ends everything, if there's no accountability, if there's no future, then maximize pleasure now because this is the best you'll ever have. This is as good as we're going to ever have it. Let's enjoy it. That's Paul's point. Here's the reality of the gospel. Listen, for those who are in Adam, this is as good as it's ever gonna be. But for those who are in Christ, this is as bad as it's ever gonna be. And we have a future hope. So there's two worldviews. No resurrection, live for now. Avoid sacrifice, pursue comfort. Resurrection is true, sacrifice is rational. Suffering has purpose, faithfulness is worth it. So Paul's argument is simple and forceful. Even your practices assume resurrection. My life of suffering only makes sense if resurrection is real. Otherwise, the only logical way to live is pleasure now before death ends everything. But Christ has been raised. That's his point. He has been raised. And because he has been raised, your sacrifice is not wasted, your suffering is not pointless, and your obedience is not in vain. The resurrection doesn't just secure your future, it justifies your sacrifice, it calls you to sacrifice. When the call is, take up your cross and follow me, it is a call to living a life that ends in eternal glory. When he says, All who live for Christ will suffer persecution, it is a call that ends in eternal glory, in eternal life. And he says that in Romans 8:18, he says that I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. It's not even worth comparing. You're like, well, how's it gonna compare? Is it worth it? Paul's like, it's not even worth talking like that. As Paul is there ahead of us, writing back, if you want to say it that way, through the text that God preserved for us, he's like, it's not even worth wrestling. There's not even a scale that is equal able to justify is the suffering worth the glory that's awaiting us. Oh, it's worth it. It's worth it. In fact, in 2 Corinthians 4 17, he says it this way for this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison. Beyond all comparison. I like how he calls it this light momentary affliction. Compared to eternity, this is a light and momentary affliction. Does it feel that way right now? No, it feels heavy and long. But compared to eternity, he says it's light and momentary. Why? Because it's worth it. Because Christ rose from the dead. I want to give you one more verse, and I have to get here and it's gonna take a second to do it. But remember Job? Good old Job lost everything, take it from him. Trial. Some of you have likened your life to Job. I just feel like a modern-day Job, right? Lost his family, lost his wealth. Towards the end of it all, here's the words he said. Just listen to these words. I don't have them on the screen. I should have, but I just want to lay them over you. Here's what Job says, for I know that my Redeemer lives. What Redeemer, Job? I I don't think he knew. I don't think he was able to articulate all of the truths of Christology. He just said, I know my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold and not another. And he says, in response to that, my heart faints within me. This is too much for me to hold. I'm just I wait, I can't even take it. That after all of this, it's not even that bad compared to the fact that I'm going to see my Redeemer who lives. Suffering is justified. I'm not trying to belittle the affliction you're going through. I just want you to know that I feel the heaviness and the longness of it, but compared to eternity in light of the resurrection, it is a light momentary affliction. Because one day you will experience the glory that all of this isn't even worthy to be compared to. That's what Paul's saying. Get it? That's good, right? Thank you, Paul, for that. And if that's true, if the resurrection is real, if eternity is coming, if your life matters beyond this moment, then it's not just how much you sacrifice, it's how you live. And so that brings us to number three. The Christian life is worth living because. Number three, the resurrection demands our holiness. So now Paul is concerned with this false teaching about the resurrection and what it is doing to their behavior. So what he's gonna drive home is this stop. This is it. If you want to get the one the one phrase for this point, stop listening to bad theology because it leads to bad behavior. How you think affects how you live. What you believe affects how you live it out. Verse 33 do not be deceived. You are in danger of believing something false. Not just the bad theology of there is no resurrection, but the bad theology of how you live doesn't matter. Paul says that is deception, and he gives us a great principle that we should teach to all of our children. Bad company ruins good morals. This is likely a well-known proverb, possibly from Greek literature. Paul uses it here. Company means companionship or friendship or influence, and bad means immoral or not as it should be. So the issue he is talking about is not just who you spend time with, but who is shaping the way you think. Because in Corinth, false teachers denied the resurrection, the church tolerated, and behavior was being affected. So here's his logic: bad theology leads to distorted thinking, which leads to compromised living or ruined morals. This is not weakens or inconveniences or slightly affects, it corrupts, spoils, and destroys. You cannot surround yourself with wrong voices, wrong teaching, and wrong influences, and expect right thinking and right living. That's that's not just for teenagers and kids, by the way, that's for you adults as well. When what you allow to influence the way you think, you are allowing to influence the way you act. Friendships, media intake, online voices, theological influences, the question is who is discipling you? Who is speaking into the way you think? And so the Corinthians' doubts about the truth of future resurrection indicates that they are listening to the wrong people and are susceptible to being deceived. They're listening to people with bad theology growing out of their bad morals. And once again, we are reminded that bad thinking and bad living usually go together. So whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm. So what does he say? Verse 34 Wake up from your drunken stupor. Wake up, you drunks. Listen, I don't think they were literally drinking. Maybe they were. Maybe they were. Maybe they were living with no resurrection in mind, so they already went to the bar and they were having the bottomless mimosas. I don't know. But his idea is wake up, come back to your senses, start thinking right about righteous things. Stop being spiritually confused, morally dull, and theologically. Fogged. Start thinking clearly. That's what false belief was doing. By believing those false teachings, they were starting to think broken. And he says, Come to your senses in light of the resurrection. Do not go on sinning. Don't live in a pattern of sin. You've been resurrected to new life. You have a new master. Read Romans chapter 6. You have a new ruler. You have a new opportunity to use your body as instruments of righteousness. Don't go on living in sin. There is a future hope that you have. Because some in you, look at the end of verse 34, some of you, for some among you have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame. So he speaks to the church and he says, Some among you don't truly know God. I think not lack of information, but lack of relationship. So I think what he's saying is that there is the possibility that a church can gather and be full of people in intermingled among them who don't really know God. And as a result, they're teaching false things about God, and those who associate with them are starting to live in a way that their life denies the resurrection. So they live in sin and immorality because of the influence of bad thinking. That's why we've got to anchor our thoughts in Scripture. That's why we've got to be rooted in Scripture. That's why we've got to be surrounded with right teaching and right thinking because what we believe affects how we live. It always does. And Paul's concerned about that. He's like, listen, listen, I'm not just worried about you being encouraged. I'm not just worried about you being worried about the future. I want all of that to be true, but I'm also worried that you're living in such a way that is marked by immorality, as if there's never gonna be a day when Christ returns and resurrects the saved. But regularly in Scripture, we have a way to live in light of scripture, in light of the resurrection, rather. Look at one couple verses. I'm gonna skip a couple. I have four on here. I want you to think of Colossians chapter 3, verse 1 through 4. Let me read this to you and then we're gonna wrap this up. If you then have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on the earth. That's the immoral, sinful ways. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Set your mind on things above. Titus 2 is a good one. I'm not gonna read it. Titus 2, 11 and 14, Romans 13, 11 through 14. If you're in the habit of following up and checking what I say, I'd encourage you to read those. But let me wrap this up. Here's what we need to get to. Listen, what we believe absolutely affects how we live. It absolutely affects how we live. We must get what this passage is teaching, or else we will forget that our future is secure. We don't have to lose heart. We don't have to worry and fret. The closing of the Strait of Hormuz does not have to send you into a tailspin. World War III does not have to end all of your. We already know, we know how this ends. We know what lies ahead of us. We've got to be careful that our joy and our delight is anchored in the reality of the future resurrection, not the turmoil of the waves and winds around us. And we've got to get that from this text right here. We can have total confidence that there is an order for how the future is definitely going to unfold. Is it before or after or during or is or that or a mill or pre-mil or post? Listen, I get all of that, but in the end it's gonna happen the way God ordained it to happen, in the order that He set out. So I have a hope in a reality of a future that is secure because of the resurrection. Amen? If we don't get what this passage is teaching, then we're not going to be able to endure through suffering and sacrifice. Sacrifice is gonna be an inconvenience and a ridiculous thing. Why would we endure hardship and find joy in suffering? Let's just go do something different. Cancel church, let's go drink some beers and play golf. That's what he's saying. But if it's true that the resurrection of Christ happened and that we will be raised, then all of our sacrifices are justified and even worth making. Let's make more of them. Let's give more, serve more, sacrifice more, deny self more. Why? Because resurrection is real. This life is not the end. Lastly, we must get this passage and its teaching, or else we will allow the other voices in our world to influence our thinking. And what influences our thinking influences our acting. And if the resurrection is real, since the resurrection is real, then how we live matters. Holiness is not pointless, it is in anticipation of the return of Christ, at which time we will rise to everlasting life. Amen? Amen. Truth to life. Three quick questions. Do I belong to Christ? Do you? I hope so. Y'all raised a hand a moment ago and said, I've been born, therefore we know all y'all belong to Adam originally. If I were to ask the follow-up question, I'm not going to, but raise a hand. If you have been born again and belong to Christ, could you raise your hand? And if you could not raise your hand, then I'm gonna plead with you, come repent and believe in Jesus Christ and trust him as your savior. Stop playing the game. Don't come to church as if you believe in the resurrection, but not place your faith in Christ, who is the first fruits of the resurrection. You either believe or you don't, don't go through the actions. That's what they were doing, and Paul said that's not right. Number two, are my thoughts influenced? Are my thought influencers good? Are my thought influencers good? Get the point? Bad thought influencers, bad companionships, corrupt morals. But if my thought influencers are good, that means I'm letting scripture be the primary voice and God's people and the gospel lead me and guide me, then my thought influencers are good. That's number two. And number three, am I living like I believe it? Am I living like I believe it? Am I telling people like I believe it? Am I preaching like I believe it? Am I sacrificing like I believe it? Am I pursuing holiness like I believe it? May we be a people who do so. Amen? Amen. The Christian life is worth living because the resurrection is real. Let's pray together. Father, thank you for the reality of the resurrection and the truth that it establishes for us. That this life is worth living, that there is a future secure for those who belong to Christ, that suffering is justified for those who belong to Christ, that holiness is right for those who belong to Christ. So, those of us who belong to Christ, may we be motivated, encouraged, and informed by the resurrection of Christ. And the person that's in this room, or many that don't belong to Christ, I pray that today they would repent and believe and come to trust Christ as their Savior, so that they might too have the hope of everlasting life. Do that work among us, please, in Jesus' name. Amen.