Prepare the Way of the Lord, Lord I Lift Your Name On High, This I Believe (The Creed), Resurrecting, Lamb of God, Because He Lives

What makes it hard for you to believe in something that people claim to be true?
What convinces you to believe it?

Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; 7 then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; 8 and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.

When people ask us WHY we believe the Bible, Jesus, and all these things about our faith, how do we answer? In our study of 1 Corinthians, from the early chapters, we saw how Paul addressed problems – division, immorality, marriage, gray areas, food, idols, worship, even problems with spiritual gifts. This week, we look at problems concerning the resurrection. Hosea 4:6 states that God’s people are destroyed for “lack of knowledge”. Knowledge is so crucial. With problems on health, for example – not knowing what is wrong can mean life or death. Lack of knowledge is sometimes by choice – people sometimes say, “don’t convince me, I have made up my mind”. But the right kind of knowledge impacts many things, even our financial life, our work life, our relationships. We need to KNOW, BELIEVE, and LIVE the gospel!

1. KNOW

In 1 CORINTHIANS 15:1-2 Paul begins to bring up another matter – the gospel (Gk, Euaggelion, good news) made known (Gk. Ginosko, intimate knowledge) to Corinthians, which he preached (Gk. Euaggelizo, to pronounce) – it wasn’t an opinion, it wasn’t wishful thinking, and it was very important because it will impact one’s salvation. He even reminded them to HOLD FAST (to continually cling on) this truth. Paul clarified that he did not invent this, but that he received it directly from Jesus as he narrated in Galatians 1. He delivered the gospel to them as of FIRST IMPORTANCE (Gk. Protos, most important) (v.3). The gospel is very simple – Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; people die – but Jesus is unique. Jesus is the only Person who died for the sins of others! Not only did He die, He was buried, and he was raised (resurrected), according to the Scriptures. God loves us so much that when we fell into sin, He already provided a solution for our disobedience. According to Scriptures, as early as Genesis 12:3 and Genesis 22:18 – God declared every family in the world will be blessed through Abraham’s seed! The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls (1948) stopped the many years of attacks against the Bible’s accuracy – and crucial to this is the Book of Isaiah which contained important prophecies about the gospel. Isaiah 53 speaks clearly of prophetic statements about Jesus’ ministry – v.5 speaks of the Messiah who will be pierced for our sins or transgressions; v.6 declares that all of us have gone astray, but the Lord charged it to this suffering Servant; vv.9-10 describes even the death and burial of Jesus! Romans 1:3-4 summarizes this – Jesus Christ is the Savior (Messiah) who resurrected from the dead! Christianity is not a legend; Christianity is not a myth, but it is a REALITY. We must know, and not just know, but also BELIEVE.

2. BELIEVE

What does it mean to believe? Young people today will ask the most pressing questions, and we must all be ready to give them the firm answers. In James 2:19, we are told that believing is not only for Christians – even the demons believe, and they even shudder in fear and reverence. Our belief should flow from the mind to the heart! Don’t be surprised with people leaving the church or the faith, as John explains in 1 John 2:19, they do not belong to the body at all because they really did not believe what they initially believed. Matthew 24:12-13 tells us that we must endure to the end and not give in to the flow of this world. We must believe to the end – that’s the perseverance of the saints. Paul continued to tell the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 15:5-8 about further proof of the resurrection – there are eyewitnesses like Peter, James the brother of Jesus, and even Paul himself, as well as 500 more people! The apostles in the book of Acts, as they preached, always talked about the resurrection. Jesus died, and then rose again! In fact, these apostles died for this truth that they were proclaiming to others.

Famous lawyers like Simon Greenleaf, Lionel Luckhoo, and journalist Lee Strobel – initially did not believe in the resurrection and Christianity, but upon investigating, they found it to be true, and therefore believed. Christians who LIVED out the faith helped these individuals come to the faith!

3. LIVE

In 1 Corinthians 15:9-11, Paul talks about how he lived out his faith, laboring for the gospel and preaching to a great extent, because he would want others to know what he knew. He attributed it to the GRACE OF GOD. Will you choose to use Peter, James, and Paul as a leader? Many will say no because of their past. But grace was extended to them too! When we understand God’s grace, we live out the power of the gospel in our daily lives. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:12-19 that if you really understand the gospel, including the resurrection of Christ, your life will be different! If Christ has not been raised, everything we do is useless! But because we know it is true, our lives should be transformed and we must live out this love, grace, and abundant hope that we have in Jesus.

Peter saw the end times and he writes about it in 2 Peter 3:10-12 – and his encouragement was for us to change our behavior and live lives glorifying to God. Paul declared in Philippians 2:10-11 that at the end of the world people will bow down to Jesus and declare that He is LORD! If the resurrection is not true, Paul said let us just eat, drink, for one day we will die (1 Corinthians 15:32). But that is not the end – there is LIFE AFTER DEATH, and the great future awaits. 1 Corinthians 15:58 encourages us to be “steadfast, immovable, abounding in the work of the Lord” because it will never be in vain. It is a worthy cause! Have you shared this great truth with others? Let us preach the gospel and hope to others!

Based on 1 Corinthians 15, what is the gospel?

Why should you believe in the literal resurrection of Jesus Christ?

Give examples on how you will live out the gospel.

Ask the Lord to bring people to your mind that He wants you to share the gospel to.

Pray for them, and share with them the gospel, and why you believe what you believe about Jesus.

Live out the gospel by demonstrating the love of Christ to them.

• Worship God for who He is, what He has done, and what He will do in our lives.

• Upright and moral governance of public servants; repentance and salvation for government leaders and citizens for a Christ-centered Philippines.

• God’s help and comfort, salvation for Israel, wisdom for their leaders in government, military and their soldiers as they defend themselves against terrorists’ attacks.

• Rescue of the Israelites taken as hostages.

• War in Ukraine to end, loss of lives prevented; conflict in African, East Asian and Middle East countries to stop.

• CCFers would honor and love God and make disciples.

• Elders, pastors, dleaders, and families (holy, humble, harmonious, happy, heart-working).

• Ministries and churches expansion worldwide.

• Worship and Training Center

• Prayer Mountain

• Deeper intimate relationship with God.

• Righteous living.

• Salvation of family and friends.

3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.