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Good morning to everyone. Please 
turn in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter 15, please. 1 Corinthians 
chapter 15. The Apostle Paul writes in Galatians 
5 chapter 5 at verse 1, Stand fast therefore in the liberty 
wherewith Christ hath made you free. And that's the text that 
this preacher is adopting this morning to preach the doctrine 
of the resurrection of Christ because as Protestants, we are 
not bound by any liturgical calendar to do so. However, it is a good 
thing to visit the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. It 
was an event that took place in time and in history and at 
a particular time of the year. And it is a blessed part of the 
glorious gospel of the blessed God, the resurrection of Christ. And so we are going to consider 
the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead, from 
1 Corinthians chapter 15. I'll read beginning in verse 
1 to verse 28. Moreover, brethren, I declare 
to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received 
and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold 
fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in 
vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also 
received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 
and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according 
to the Scriptures, and that he was seen by Cephas, then by the 
Twelve. After that he was seen by over 
five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain 
to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that he 
was seen by James, then by all the apostles, Then, last of all, 
he was seen by me also as by one born out of due time. For 
I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy 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. But I labored more abundantly 
than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with 
me. Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach, and 
so you believe. Now if Christ is preached that 
he has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that 
there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection 
of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, 
then our preaching is empty, and your faith is also empty. 
Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified 
of God that he raised up Christ, whom he did not raise up, if 
in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, 
then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your 
faith is futile, you are still in your sins. Then also those 
who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life 
only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable. 
But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the 
firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man 
came death, by man also came the resurrection of the dead. 
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made 
alive. But each one in his own order, 
Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ's at his 
coming. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God 
the Father, when he puts an end to all rule and all authority 
and power. For he must reign till he has 
put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed 
is death. for he has put all things under 
his feet. But when he says all things are 
put under him, it is evident that he who put all things under 
him is accepted. Now when all things are made 
subject to him, then the Son himself will also be subject 
to him who put all things under him, that God may be all in all. Amen. Our great God, we thank 
you that we can consider this passage this morning. Father, 
we praise you for the opportunity that we get to gather here to 
open up Bibles and to hear from your Holy Word. And we praise 
you for the risen Christ, because truly, Lord God, our faith depends 
upon Christ died and Christ risen. And God, we just ask that you'd 
help us now to consider this glorious doctrine, that we would 
consider the importance of it, the weightiness of it, that believers 
here, Lord God, would be comforted in the fact and the certainty 
of a resurrected Savior, and that unbelievers' father would 
bend a knee to the one who has risen and who has ascended to 
your right hand, who is the judge of heaven and earth. We ask, 
Father, that you'd be with us now as we consider your most 
holy word. Well, we have before us Paul 
writing of the doctrine of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, and of the resurrection generally speaking. And what 
we want to look at here is four things, or what we want to look 
at are four things. The importance of the resurrection, 
verses 1 and 2. The absolute certainty of the 
resurrection, verses 3 to 11. The implications if the resurrection 
is not true in verses 12-19 and the blessed realities because 
the resurrection is true in verses 20-28. But just a few observations 
before we get to the importance of the resurrection. You'll notice 
first off Paul's purpose in writing this particular portion of 1 
Corinthians. We notice what the purpose is 
at verse 12. Now, if Christ is preached that 
he has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that 
there is no resurrection of the dead? All throughout the book 
of Corinthians here is dealing with particular errors, particular 
sins, particular problems at the church in Corinth. And he 
gets to a major one here, not that the other ones were minor, 
but he certainly gets to a major one here, a central aspect of 
Christianity, a core doctrine of the gospel of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, that being His resurrection. So the purpose for writing this, 
we find at verse 12, and we will get to that a little bit later. 
And notice that this is not the first time, or this is not a 
first time declaration of this particular message. Verse 1 of 
chapter 15, Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which 
I preached to you. This is a gospel which had already 
been preached to the church that was at Corinth, which ought to 
underline the marvel and the amazement that we find at verse 
12 when Paul writes, How is it, or how do some among you say 
that there is no resurrection? from the dead. And a qualifying 
statement or observation with regards to verse 2, by which 
also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached 
to you, unless you believed in vain. Many who oppose our biblical 
doctrine of the perseverance of the saints, that all those 
who have been saved by Christ will persevere unto the end, 
go to passages like that one and others to argue against that 
blessed doctrine. But of course, even within our 
own letter, and within Paul's own letter, we have evidence 
against that, or in support of perseverance, 1 Corinthians 1.4, 
I thank my God, always concerning you for the grace of God which 
was given to you by Christ Jesus, that you were enriched in everything 
by Him, in all utterance and all knowledge, even as the testimony 
of Christ was confirmed in you. so that you come short in no 
gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, who will also confirm you to the end. And he continues 
that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
So that is not a proof text that anyone can go to to argue against 
our blessed doctrine of perseverance. Well, getting to the resurrection 
of our Lord Jesus Christ, we'll notice first the importance of 
the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And this ought not to be anything 
new to the Christian. Oh, the resurrection is important 
to Christianity? Of course it is. But it's good 
to revisit its importance. It is not the case that the resurrection 
of our Lord Jesus Christ is on par with the grain pattern of 
the wood in Noah's Ark. or on par with the shade of purple 
in Lydia's selling of purple. It is not on par with those things. 
The resurrection is primary. The resurrection is high. Matthew 
Henry said, of the resurrection, it is a doctrine of the first 
rank, a most necessary truth. It is something that cannot be 
separated from the gospel of Jesus Christ, in fact. And why? 
Because Paul writes here that it is the gospel or that it is 
certainly a part and inseparable from the gospel. He opens up 
by saying, Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which 
I preach to you. than at verse 3, for I delivered 
to you, first of all, that which I also received, that Christ 
died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that he was 
buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the 
Scriptures." The resurrection is of high rank, of the first 
rank, a most necessary truth. as our brother stated, and Paul 
tells us that here, because he's addressing the issue of verse 
12. He's affirming, he's asserting, 
he is arguing for, in a very strong way, the importance, the 
fact, the certainty of the resurrection. It is an important doctrine to 
be sure. Not only not only is it important 
because it is a part of the gospel, because it is inseparable from 
the glorious gospel of our blessed God, but we also see the importance 
in the fact that this is the message that was preached to 
unbelievers and is preached to Christians. Moreover, brethren, 
I declare to you the gospel which I preach to you. This is a part 
and parcel of the message that is preached. It's not just some 
sideline doctrine, it's not just some sideline aspect or truth 
or notion or idea that need not be considered or that is not 
essential. No, it is a part of the gospel which is declared, 
a part of the gospel which is preached. It is the content of 
the preaching of the apostles. If we go to the book of Acts, 
And we are to ask ourselves, what are the things that are 
preached to Jew and to Gentile? We would say, well, certainly 
we could use the summary statement, Christ Jesus and Him crucified, 
but we notice that time and time again in the message that is 
preached before unbeliever, whether Jew or Gentile, that the resurrection 
of our Lord Jesus Christ is present as an obvious and as an important 
truth. For Peter, of course, in Acts 
chapter 2, you don't need to turn there, I can just trace 
through these, but this is the content of apostolic preaching. 
Him, Peter speaking of Christ, being delivered by the determined 
purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless 
hands, have crucified and put to death, whom God raised up, 
having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that 
he should be held by it." And he goes on to argue, of course, 
for the fact that David was prophesying, not of himself, but of Christ, 
verse 32, this Jesus God has raised up of which we are all 
witnesses. Acts 3 at verse 14, but you denied 
the Holy One and the just and asked for a murderer to be granted 
to you and killed the Prince of Life whom God raised from 
the dead of which we are witnesses. Acts chapter 5, Acts chapter 
5 at verse 30, the God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom 
you murdered by hanging on a tree. Him God has exalted to his right 
hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel 
and forgiveness of sin. We trace through the book of 
Acts, time and again, as the apostles are declaring the riches 
of Christ Jesus, they are declaring the resurrection of Christ. Verse 
29 of Acts 13, Now when they had fulfilled all that was written 
concerning him, they took him down from the tree and laid him 
in a tomb. but God raised Him from the dead. And that is the 
blessed joy of the Christian. Those words, He is risen indeed, 
but God raised Him from the dead. The blessed joy of the Christian. 
We can recall Luke 24 when those disciples are walking on the 
road to Emmaus. And what is their countenance 
or what is their state? Well, they're walking along and 
they're sad. And the risen Christ pointed 
that out. Why are you walking along and why are you sad? And 
they go and they show their ignorance regarding the Lord Jesus Christ, 
regarding the Messiah, and what was actually supposed to happen 
to Him. And when they finally realize that it is the Lord Jesus 
Christ who was speaking to them, they say, we're not our hearts 
burning within us. It was the joy of those disciples 
walking along the road to Emmaus and then finally seeing the risen 
Christ as he appeared to them. It was their joy to see the risen 
Christ. And it ought to be our joy recognizing 
the importance of that doctrine. And again, Paul asserts its importance 
by attaching it to the gospel, by saying, I declare to you the 
gospel which I preached and then giving the strength of the witness 
to the resurrection. Not only is it the content of 
preaching, but again, it is the message that is received and 
it is a message in which believers stand. That's what the Apostle 
Paul says here, as verse 1 continues, which also you receive the gospel 
which was preached and in which you stand. Not only is it received 
and something in which the believers stand, but notice it is inseparable 
from salvation by which also you are saved. The gospel, the 
resurrection being a part of it, of course, is the gospel 
by which men and women, boys and girls, are saved. And the 
Apostle Paul then moves on to the absolute certainty of the 
resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice two things here 
that the Apostle Paul does. There's two things that Paul 
shows us in this text that strengthen the absolute certainty or that 
establish the absolute certainty of the resurrection of Christ. 
First, the witness of Scripture. Second, the witness of eyewitnesses. We have two things here, a two-pronged 
or a two-fold weight that assert the absolute certainty of the 
witness or of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, 
first off, the scriptural witness. Notice the language of the text. 
And we ought never to skip over the importance of what Paul is 
doing here. For I delivered to you, first 
of all, that which I also received, that Christ died for our sins 
according to the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that 
he rose again the third day according to the scriptures. Now, we have 
in the New Covenant Church, in the New Testament Church, the 
advantage, the blessing of the fact that we own the New Testament 
corpus, that we have the books of the New Testament that testify 
to the death, the burial, and the resurrection of Christ. You 
might say, well, yeah, Apostle Paul, of course Christ died for 
our sins according to the scriptures. We read that in John 19, 20, 
We can read of his death and resurrection and ascension. Well, 
of course they didn't have the New Testament at this particular 
time. They had the Old Testament. They had the oral declaration 
and preaching of the apostles, to be sure, of Christians, but 
they only had the Old Testament. And Paul is saying here that 
the Scriptures testify to a dead, a buried, and a risen again Savior. But the implication here is that 
these errorists, these doubters at Corinth, were calling into 
question the integrity and validity of the revealed Word of God. When he gets over to verse 12 
and he says, How do some among you say that there is no resurrection 
of the dead? There ought to be, or as those 
doubters, those errorists in Corinth would be reading this 
letter, There ought to be something driven in them, some sort of 
a stake, some sort of a nail, some sort of a spike or some 
sort of prick to their conscience where they're actually writing 
or they're thinking and preaching and propagating error against 
the revealed word of God. Because the resurrection is a 
certain thing because the scriptures testify to the fact that Jesus 
Christ would die, that he would be buried, and that he would 
rise again the third day. And the Apostle Peter, in that 
blessed sermon on the day of Pentecost, specifically preaches 
that, that the Old Testament wrote of, or that David in the 
Old Testament spoke concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. He cites 
Psalm 16 and Acts 2. excuse me, he cites Psalm 16 
in Acts chapter 2 and then he says clearly to the men of Israel, 
to the house of Israel at verse 29, men and brethren, let me 
speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and 
buried and his tomb is with us to this day. Therefore, being 
a prophet and knowing that God had sworn with an oath, to him, 
that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, he would 
raise up the Christ to sit on his throne. He, foreseeing this, 
spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that his soul 
was not left in Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This 
Jesus God raised up, of which we are all witnesses." The Old 
Testament spoke of a resurrected Christ, and of course we are 
speaking of the resurrection this morning, but certainly the 
Old Testament speaks about his death as well. John Calvin said 
that nowhere more clearly do the Old Testament Scriptures 
testify to the death of Christ than in Isaiah 53, Daniel 9, 
and Psalm 22. We know, of course, those blessed 
texts. Isaiah 53, the suffering servant. Daniel 9, that Messiah that is 
cut off but not for himself. And, of course, Psalm 22, the 
Psalm of the Cross, vivid language before crucifixion was instituted, 
the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ. So certainly the Old 
Testament Scriptures speak about the resurrection of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, and it is our Lord Himself who conducts that Bible 
study after He is resurrected with His disciples, saying that 
the Law and the Prophets and the Psalms spoke concerning That's 
one thing that he indicts those disciples with as he was walking 
with them and talking. He says, you fools and slow apart 
not to believe what the prophets have written concerning me. And 
it is something that the Lord Jesus Christ asserts three times 
in that particular discourse to his disciples, wanting to 
make sure that they understood and that rather than trembling, 
rather than being anxious, rather than being characterized by fear 
and sadness, it is Christ Jesus before them, resurrected, and 
the Scriptures foretold these things, you should have known. 
Christ indicts them at verse 25 of Luke 24, Then he said to 
them, those walking along the road to Emmaus, O foolish ones, 
and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have 
spoken, ought not the Christ to have suffered these things 
and to enter into his glory? He does it again when we get 
down when he's teaching the scriptures to the Lord Jesus or to the disciples. And we get it right at the very 
end of the discourse with the disciples. Then he said to them, 
these are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with 
you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written 
in the law and the prophets and the songs concerning me. And 
he opened their understanding that they might comprehend the 
scriptures. So, the resurrection of our Lord 
Jesus Christ is according to the scriptures, and again, it 
is in denying the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, and 
the resurrection generally speaking, that these errorists were calling 
into question the revealed will of God. They were calling into 
question God's infallible, inerrant, inspired Word. So it is the testimony 
of scripture that Paul uses to assert the absolute certainty 
of the resurrection of Christ. And then also he goes to the 
testimony of eyewitnesses. That's the second thing that 
we find here in our text. The Apostle Paul, after he says 
that Christ died according to the scriptures, that he was buried 
and he rose again according to the scriptures, he writes and 
that he was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that he 
was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the 
greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. 
After that he was seen by James, then by all the apostles, then 
last of all he was seen by me also, as by one born out of due 
time." Now if you want to get someone 
to believe a story, Or if you want to try and get someone to 
believe a lie, you could probably just say, well, trust me, I saw 
it. If you want to get, oh yeah, I saw a massive space shuttle 
descend from the sky and land on highway number one. Trust 
me, I saw it. Well, I haven't heard of this 
from anybody else. Are you sure that happened? Oh, that certainly 
did happen, yeah, believe me. Paul doesn't just say here, I 
saw Christ resurrected as one born out of due time. He says, 
if you want to see or if you want to know the truth of the 
resurrected Christ, if you want to speak to eyewitnesses, you 
certainly can. And it's not just me. You don't 
just need to talk to me. Go talk to Cephas. Go talk to 
the Twelve. Go talk to James, the brother 
of the Lord. Go talk to over 500 brethren 
who saw the resurrected Christ Jesus. This was a certain and 
an absolute truth. following the crucifixion of 
our Lord Jesus Christ. And it is something that is asserted 
in the book of Acts. One of the things that always 
irks me, and it probably irks you too as a Christian, is when 
the revilers and the naysayers attack our Bible, attack God's 
Word as calling it just some fictitious book, some book of 
fables, an interesting book of stories, as if the theme, as 
if the character, as if the language of the book itself carries with 
it the notion of once upon a time. We read particular narratives, 
like the narrative of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Gospel of Luke, 
for example, and what do we get? And not only in just the New 
Testament, but in the Old Testament also. But we find the writers 
of Holy Scripture making sure, by divine inspiration, that the 
readers understand that it is an absolute and a certain message. 
Luke chapter 1 verse 1 to 4, Inasmuch as many have taken in 
hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been 
fulfilled among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses 
and ministers of the word delivered them to us, it seemed good to 
me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, 
to write to you in orderly account, most Theophilus, that you may 
know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed. 
Luke wasn't writing, he didn't begin his book with once upon 
a time. He began with asserting the certainty 
of the events that take place or that had taken place in the 
life and in the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. of which he 
was writing about. Also, in Luke's second volume, 
Luke wrote the book of Acts also, the former account I made of 
Theophilus, Acts chapter 1, of all that Jesus began both to 
do and teach until the day in which he was taken up, after 
he through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the holy 
apostles whom he had chosen, to whom he also presented himself 
alive after his suffering by many infallible proofs. being 
seen by them during forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining 
to the kingdom of God." It is with absolute clarity, and Luke 
doesn't hold back at all in making sure that the readers understand 
that these things are most certain, that the things that I am writing 
to you are the stuff of infallible proofs, and that Jesus Christ 
himself presented himself alive after his suffering. There is 
absolute certainty. The scriptures testify to a risen 
Christ, and the eyewitness accounts of many, not just one, testify 
to the risen Christ. And Peter in Acts also makes 
certain that the recipients of the preached message understand 
that same fact. In Acts chapter 10 at verse 39, 
and we are witnesses of all these things which he did, both in 
the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom they killed by hanging on 
a tree, Him God raised up on the third day and showed Him 
openly. not to all the people, but to 
witnesses chosen before by God, even to us who ate and drank 
with him after he arose from the dead. And he commanded us 
to preach to the people and to testify that it is he who was 
ordained by God to be judge of the living and the dead." And 
then again, an assertion of scriptural authority to him, all the prophets 
witness that through his name, whoever believes in him will 
receive remission of sins. The force and the weight of the 
evidence for the resurrected Christ is unavoidable. J.C. Ryle writes of that in his expository 
thoughts on the Gospels, The fact of our Lord's resurrection 
rests on evidence which no infidel can ever explain away. It is 
confirmed by testimony of every kind, sort, and description. 
The plain unvarnished story which the Gospel writers tell about 
it is one that cannot be overthrown. The more the account they give 
is examined, the more inexplicable will the event appear, unless 
we accept it as true. If we choose to deny the truth 
of their account, we may deny everything in the world. It is 
not so certain that Julius Caesar once lived as it is that Christ 
rose again. Let us cling firmly to the resurrection 
of Christ as one of the pillars of the Gospel. Amen. The evidence of our resurrected 
Christ, our great Savior, is unavoidable. It is massive, it 
is weighty, and it is inspired by God Most High. And it is only 
by prejudice, it is only by prejudice that men reject the resurrected 
Christ. It is not out of lack of evidence, 
certainly not. Certainly not. We speak of that 
with regards to general revelation or creation and providence, and 
we speak about it often, and we ought to. It's not just the 
annoying reverberations of a preacher when he always points to Psalm 
19 and says, the heavens declare the glory of God, the firmament 
shows his handiwork. day after day utter speech, night 
after night reveals knowledge. Why? Because the unbeliever in 
rejecting God rejects evidence that is all around him. But it's 
not the evidence that's the issue, it's the condition of the heart, 
it's the ethical disposition of the sinner that rejects the 
risen Christ. It's not because the scriptures 
aren't clear. It's not because the testimony 
of the eyewitnesses is unclear and that it's not weighty and 
sure and certain, but it's because of their prejudice. They're dead 
in their trespasses and in their sins, and they do not want to 
go there. They like the darkness. They 
do not want to come to the light, lest their deeds should be exposed. So they will heap up to themselves 
any amount of evidence that would try to prove away a risen Christ. but they cannot do it. It's like 
the weight of the heavens. It's like the weight of the glories 
of the firmament. It's like the weight of creation. 
It's like the weight of the day-after-day testimony and the night-after-night 
testimony. Christ is surely risen and Christ 
will come again. And when J.C. Ryle writes that 
the resurrection of Christ is one of the pillars of the gospel, 
Unbeliever, you need to realize that your rejection of him right 
now is because of your prejudice and your disposition, not because 
of the lack of evidence. And you need to bend the knee. The resurrected Christ is a part 
of the gospel, yes, to be sure, but it is also evidence that 
there will be a judgment one day. There will be a judgment 
one day. You may be getting getting away 
with your disbelief. You may be reveling in your sin, 
reveling in your rejection of a savior, of this resurrected 
savior. But there will be one day when 
you will stand before the judge of heaven and earth and you will 
realize your transgression and your knee will be forced to bend 
to the king of all the earth. The witness of Luke in the book 
of Acts tells us that this resurrected Christ, a blessing to believer, 
will also be that harsh judge to those who would reject him. 
Acts chapter 17 at verse 30, Truly these times of ignorance 
God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, 
because he has appointed a day on which he will judge the world 
in righteousness by the man whom he has ordained. He has given 
assurance of this to all by raising him from the dead. The resurrection 
of the Lord Jesus Christ is proof to you, unbeliever, that there 
will be a judgment. And it will be a judgment by 
a God who judges in righteousness. His judgment against you, if 
you reject Him, if you reject His Son, if you reject the Gospel 
of Jesus Christ, His verdict against you will be a righteous 
one. Depart from me into the presence of the devil and all 
of his angels. Or depart from me into the lake of fire. You'll 
be thrown into the lake of fire. with the devil and all of his 
angels. And it won't be the actions of 
a capricious and an unfair God, it will be the righteous actions 
of a just God, who renders according to His righteousness and His 
holiness. The eyewitness accounts, again, 
the second aspect regarding the certainty of the resurrection 
of our Lord Jesus Christ. And we have the implications, 
thirdly, if there is no resurrection, the implications if there is 
no resurrection. What Paul has already been doing 
in 1 Corinthians is he's been setting forth the infallibility, 
the fact, as we've already said, uncertainty of the resurrection 
of Christ. So when we get to verse 12, there 
ought to be something. I'm sure there was something 
in Paul of that Galatian marvel. Remember, Paul was marveled at 
the Galatians. I marvel that you have so quickly 
turned from the gospel, or from the grace by which you recall, 
by the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. He marveled at their 
departure from the glorious gospel of the blessed God, a gospel 
of amazing grace. So he ought to marvel when he 
gets to this point, having already expounded, having already unwrapped 
the infallibility of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, Verse 
12, now if Christ has preached that he has been raised from 
the dead, how does some among you say that there is no resurrection 
of the dead? What's going on? He must have 
marveled at this fact. He has already preached it. He 
has already declared it to the church at Corinth. He's already 
preached with might and with power by the Holy Spirit that 
Christ Jesus died, He was buried, and He rose again for the salvation 
of sinners. So what's going on? How does 
some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 
And again, the force of Holy Scripture. The force of Holy 
Scripture and the force of all of these eyewitnesses. Have you 
heard that He appeared to Cephas? Have you heard that he appeared 
to James? Have you heard that he appeared 
to James, the brother of the Lord? Or to Cephas, then the 
Twelve? James, the brother of the Lord? 
Have you heard that he appeared to 500 brethren at once? Have 
you bothered, in your efforts to propagate heresy, have you 
bothered to actually check with those who saw the risen Christ, 
who were able to touch his wounds? who were able to look upon the 
risen Christ with great joy, with great heartwarming, and 
were actually able to eat with him, to touch him. That was one 
of the kindnesses of the risen Christ, where he said, not only 
look upon me, but touch me and see that it is I. And one of 
the things that is so glorious, and I wanted to get there in 
a moment, but I am moved to go there now, is in John chapter 
20. and the risen Christ as He is 
attached to our own personal religion. And this ties in, of 
course, to the force of eyewitness testimony, but the glory of eyewitness 
testimony and what it must have been for Thomas on that day when 
he saw and was able to touch his Saviour. John 20 at verse 
26, And after eight days his disciples were again inside, 
and Thomas with them, Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood 
in the midst, and said, Peace to you. Then he said to Thomas, 
Reach your finger here, and look at my hands, and reach your hand 
here, and put it into my side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing. And Thomas answered and said 
to him, My Lord and my God." And in that statement, you have 
probably heard it before or read it before in the context of theology 
regarding the deity of Christ, in the context of Christology 
regarding the character and the person of Christ, But what about 
with regards to personal religion? My God, Thomas says. My Lord 
and my God. Yes, the deity of Christ. Yes, 
rich Christology that comes from that statement. But my Lord and 
my God. And Thomas was able to touch 
his Lord, to touch his God. And these Corinthian doubters 
propagating their error. Why don't you ask Thomas? Why 
don't you ask Thomas if there is no resurrection from the dead? 
He doubted, sure. He doubted. But he was able to 
touch. He was able to see his Lord and 
his God. Go ask Thomas. And he'll rebuke 
you until the sun goes down. And he'll receive you warmly 
if you repent. But go ask Thomas. doubters, these errorists in 
Corinth, were rejecting the resurrection to the marvel of Paul. And then 
what Paul does is Paul does something brilliantly. He lays out the 
logical, the necessary implications if there is in fact no resurrection 
of the dead. It's not just, oh, you know, 
we got this doctrine and then, you know, we're just going to 
live our lives and things are well. No, these are the implications, 
actually, errorists at Corinth Or, believers, if you're being 
pulled away by these errors, these are the implications. If 
there is no resurrection of the dead. Verse 13 and forward. But 
if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not 
risen. We have no living Christ. If 
there is no resurrection of the dead, then there is no living 
Christ. And that's no small thing, that's a big thing. Because if 
there is no living Christ, then we don't have one who intercedes 
for us. We don't have a mediator who 
intercedes for us. We don't have a resurrected Christ. 
We don't have a living Christ who walks amongst His lampstands, 
who rides in victory for His people. If Christ is not risen, 
then our preaching is empty, and your faith is empty. The 
preaching, the validity, the integrity of the preached message 
at Corinth, anywhere, whether Apostle or Christian, is empty. Without the resurrection of Jesus 
Christ, the preaching of Christ, the preaching of the gospel, 
is empty. And not only that, but your faith 
also is empty. Which should be obvious to each 
and every one of us. A Christ-less faith is no faith 
at all. A Christ-less faith is no faith. 
And their faith, their so-called faith, if they believe that there 
is no resurrection of the dead, is empty. and we'll see why in 
a moment. But faith without Christ is an 
empty faith. Yes, and we are found false witnesses 
of God because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ 
who He did not raise up if in fact the dead do not rise. They 
would be calling Paul a false witness. That's certainly the 
implication that Paul preaching a resurrected Christ is a false 
witness. Not only that, but all of those 
before him, after him, who preach are false witnesses concerning 
truth and concerning proper and right religion. And they've already, 
by implication, written off the revealed will of God in saying 
that there is no resurrection of the dead because the scriptures 
testify to that truth. So that is an implication. Paul, 
who labored at Corinth, Paul who labored for these people, 
is being called by implication a false witness. of God. For 
if the dead do not rise, verse 16, then Christ is not risen, 
he reiterates that, and if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile, 
you are still in your sins. The blessed reality that we have 
our sins forgiven by a crucified and a resurrected Christ, His 
saving work, that blessed reality is stripped away by these doubters 
if in fact Christ is not risen, if in fact there is no resurrection 
of the dead. That blessed truth My sin, O 
the bliss of this glorious thought, my sin, not in part but the whole, 
is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more. Praise the Lord, 
praise the Lord, O my soul." These Corinthians couldn't sing 
that, because they would be still in their sins by implication. 
Their faith is futile. You're still in your sins if 
Christ is not risen. But He is risen indeed, blessed 
words of the testimony of Holy Scripture. And our sins are forgiven. your sins are forgiven if you 
believe in such a Saviour, died buried and resurrected. Then 
also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in 
this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the 
most pitiable. One of the hopes of the Christian 
is that, verse 18, first off, that those who have fallen asleep 
in Christ have not perished, but they've been brought into 
the presence of the Lord, an eternal reward. It's one of the 
blessed hopes. When we have our family members, 
our friends, our fellow church members, our brethren, die and 
go on, it's not a being thing. It's not an unhappy thing. Yes, 
we grieve. We've lost our brother, our sister. 
But we can rejoice because of the hope of the resurrected Christ. 
That those who die in Christ go to the presence of Christ. 
And that thief knew it well. And his Christ warmed his heart 
by that truth. Today you will be with me in 
paradise. There is a resurrection. Christ 
rose and we will rise with him if we believe, if we are in him. 
and that is a blessed state. And it is the hope of Christians. 
And these doubters were stripping that away. If those, or then 
also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished, no they 
haven't. No they haven't. If in this life 
only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable. But then we move on to the but. Paul is the master of that word 
and that transition. is in Ephesians chapter 2, so 
many places where he introduces an implication, or he introduces 
a reality, but then he says this, like, but now, in Ephesians 2, 
when he sets forth the fact that men are dead in their trespasses 
and sins, that we were dead in our trespasses and sins, children 
of wrath, just as the others, but now. according to the mercy, 
the love, all of those blessings of God, we are alive or have 
been made alive in Christ Jesus, by grace you have been saved. 
We have a but here in our passage. After we read the implications, 
if there is no resurrection, we have this, verse 20, but now 
Christ is risen. We have Paul saying, all of this 
stuff you guys are propagating, here's the implications, but 
the blessed reality is this, but now Christ is risen from 
the dead. And has become the first fruits 
of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, 
by man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all 
die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. the blessed truth. He sets forth the fact, the certainty 
of the resurrection. He marvels and he refutes their 
errors by setting forth the logical implications, those necessary 
implications, if it isn't true. And then he confirms and he builds 
up the faith of believers by coming back to reality, coming 
back to blessed truth. But now Christ is risen from 
the dead. And some of those blessed realities 
for the Christian that we have because of this truth, we have 
our regeneration tied to the living, to the resurrected Christ. 
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who 
according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living 
hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Our regeneration, of course our 
salvation is tied to Jesus Christ, but those aspects of our salvation, 
our regeneration is tied to our Lord Jesus Christ. Our justification 
is tied to a resurrected Christ. Our justification. Of course, 
Pastor Butler praised it many times. We have been delivered 
up, or he was delivered up for our offenses. He was raised up 
for our justification. Our justification depends on 
a risen Christ. Our sanctification depends on 
a risen Christ. Romans chapter 6. Romans chapter 
6, our sanctification. What shall we say then? Shall 
we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not. How 
shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not 
know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were 
baptized into His death? Therefore, we were buried with 
Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised 
from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should 
walk in news of life. Our sanctification, just as Christ 
was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so, 
we also should walk in newness of life. Because of the saving 
work of Christ Jesus, we have been made alive by God, by the 
power of the Holy Spirit, and because of that truth, we can 
now walk in newness of life. We're not dead in our trespasses 
and our sins. We've been made alive in Christ 
Jesus, and we now put to death's end. We live no longer in it, 
and we live unto righteousness. by the power of the risen Christ, 
we walk in newness of life. And it's a glorious truth, and 
it's a glorious truth that the reverse of those implications 
are all true for the believer. The reverse of the implications 
that Paul sets forth that the resurrection wasn't true. Now 
that the resurrection is true, and that we know that it's true, 
Paul writes, but now Christ is risen from the dead. All of those 
things are the reverse of them, are true. The preaching is full. 
The preaching of the apostles isn't empty, it's full and it's 
rich. Christ Jesus and Him crucified, Him resurrected, Him ascended 
to the right hand of God. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ 
and you will be saved. The preaching is not empty, it 
is full. What does Paul say in Romans 
chapter 1? That it is the power of God, the gospel. the power 
of God unto salvation for everyone who believes. Preaching isn't 
empty. Our faith is not empty. Our faith 
is full. Our faith is full, not because 
of our activity or our performance in faith or of faith, our exercise 
of faith, our intellectual activity in faith, but our faith is full 
because of the Christ of our faith. because of the Christ 
of our faith. Some theologians, when they're 
talking about justification and faith in relation to justification, 
they talk about a ring. That faith is the ring. It's 
a ring wherein the gem of justification is put, and that is Christ Jesus, 
his perfect obedience. See, faith isn't that which justifies 
us, it is Christ, by faith, justifying us. His obedience, His perfect 
obedience unto death upon a cross. We are justified by faith, yes, 
because it is Christ who, by that faith, justifies us. And 
so, our faith is full, not because of our own activity in it, but 
because of our rich and our excellent Christ. We, the apostles, are 
not false witnesses of God, they are true witnesses. Our faith 
is not futile, and we are not in our sins, we have been forgiven. 
The blessed truth of the gospel again. And we should always, 
brethren, revisit, as we consider many topics from the pulpit, 
as we consider many topics on Wednesday night, as we consider 
many topics Sunday morning, We always, Lord willing, and 
may the Lord be sure, bring a message back to that simple ABC of Christianity, 
the forgiveness of sins. That certain and that absolute 
statement that Christ Jesus came into this world, sinners to save. 
Blessed truth. Blessed truth. The reverse of 
all those hypotheticals are true for the believer and for the 
unbeliever, Well, first off, this is very interesting, just 
before we close, but with regards to the declaration of those who 
are opposed to Christianity, all of these things are true 
for their faith. Because of the fact or the truth 
of Christianity and its exclusivity, the fact that Christ Jesus died, 
was buried and rose again, the fact and the truth and the certainty 
and the absolute nature of Christianity as truth, Any message that opposes 
it, their preaching is empty. Their faith is empty. They are 
false witnesses. Their faith is futile. They're 
still in their sins. Those who have fallen asleep 
like them have perished. And of all men, they are the 
most pitiable." We don't approach them in snobbery, like, oh, you 
are of all men the most pitiable, you pathetic losers. No. We approach them with that mercy, 
with that grace, and with that fear of God, and we declare to 
them, Jesus Christ came into this world, sinners to save. 
There is such a God in high heaven who, yes, is angry with sin, 
but blesses those who repent and believe his gospel richly 
in Christ Jesus. There's nothing you can do. You 
have violated the righteous precepts of a holy God, a sovereign God, 
but Christ has done everything. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, 
and you shall be saved. And of all men you won't be the 
most pitiable, but in Christ Jesus you will be richly blessed. And for the unbelievers, if you're 
an unbeliever here, notice the language of the text. The language 
of the text sets forth this risen Christ as one who has all authority. Verse 23, But each one in his 
own order, Christ the first frees after those who are Christ's 
is coming. Then comes the end when he delivers the kingdom 
to God the Father, when he puts an end to all rule and all authority, 
for he must reign till he has put all enemies under his feet. The Lord Jesus Christ to believers 
is not an enemy, he is a friend. He is like unto Thomas, our Lord 
and our God. But if you do not believe in 
this Christ, he is opposed to you. In Psalm 2 we read of kings 
and those who are in authority who are in opposition to Christ. 
And the commandment of the psalmist there is to kiss the sun, lest 
he be angry, and you perish in the way. Well, anyone who rejects 
the Lord Jesus Christ, anyone who is an unbeliever, again, 
flies the banner and the flags of those kings and those authorities. 
You oppose the sun. You reject his lordship. You 
reject his Godhead. You reject His deity, you reject 
His salvation, and it is not a healthy place for you. Believe 
on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved. The glory 
of the Gospel, the glory of the Declaration of the Apostle Paul 
of the Apostles of Christians throughout the ages is verse 
3, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 
verse 4, and that He was buried and that He rose again the third 
day according to the Scriptures. believe that message. It's a 
simple message. There is a lot in our Bibles, 
but there is the simple message of the Gospel. Believe in Christ 
and you shall be saved. Might he be the chief object 
of your affection? That is the pleading of every 
parent, the pleading of everyone in this room who owns our Savior, 
who has come to know the grace of God, is that you children, 
that you unbeliever, would have Christ Jesus as the chief object 
of your affection, that you would know our Redeemer at an early 
age. Don't put off and don't have, 
no I'm going to put this person, this sports hero, this music 
artist, this video game, this hockey card, this hockey goalie, 
this whatever before the risen Christ. All of those things, 
when it comes to the last day, will be cast away, will be burnt 
up, will be as dust, will be rotten. They are rotten now compared 
to the richness and the excellency of Christ Jesus. Believe on our 
blessed and our powerful Christ and you will be saved. And believer, 
rejoice in him today. Christ is risen indeed. Christ 
is risen indeed. Let's pray. Father, we thank 
you so much for the Holy Scriptures. We thank you for our risen Christ. 
God, truly, we repent of all of our sins. We repent, Lord 
God, of all those things we have done in deed and in heart and 
all of those things, Father, against your righteousness and 
your holiness. But, Father, we praise you. Your 
saints praise you and thank you for redemption as it is in Christ 
Jesus. We thank you, Father, that the 
grave had no power over him, but that he rose again the third 
day, that he ascended to your right hand and that he ever lives, 
Father, to make intercession for us, your people. We pray, 
God, that we would each and every day remember that blessed ABC 
of the Gospel, that Jesus Christ died according to the Scriptures, 
that He was buried and He rose again the third day according 
to the Scriptures, and that we would know, Father, that our 
preaching is full, that our faith is full. And, God, we pray that 
we would live each and every day looking forward to the hope, 
knowing the hope of a risen Christ, and that we will one day look 
upon the face of our blessed Emmanuel, and we will sing His 
praises forevermore. We pray in the name of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, Amen.