Faith In Easter





Corinthians 15:12-22

This week we're going to cover one of the most pivotal events in all of

human history – the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the

dead. But we're going to cover it from a unique perspective. You're

going to see not only what the resurrection of Jesus means to you for

eternity but also how it helps you every day.



We're going to see why Easter has meaning and how that meaning impacts

your every-day life. We're going to begin this week why Easter having

meaning because of faith. Let's correct a big misconception about faith

before we get started on our Journey.



Faith is not a blind stab in the dark. Faith is not just believing

something because it sounds good. Yes, it is believing in some things

we cannot see, but we believe in things we cannot see because of things

we have seen. Christians don't follow Christ just because they hope

they might get lucky in so doing.



If you listen closely to explanations of faith on TV shows, in movies

and in a lot of literature you would get the wrong idea about what

faith is. That kind of idea about faith is dead wrong.



"Faith is not belief without proof, but trust without reservation."

(Elton Trueblood)



Faith in Christ is based on solid historical evidence: historical,

because the truths of Christ's life, death and resurrection can be

authenticated by the documented record; and because in the laboratory

of the lives of billions of people, faith in Christ has proven true as

well.



We're talking about faith that has a rock-solid foundation. That

foundation is Jesus and His life, death and resurrection. But the

message this week is not going to be about proving the resurrection of

Christ. That's a great study though.



This week we're going on a journey to see why and how the message of

Easter has an impact on your faith and why and how your faith impacts

your life.



Our Scripture is from Paul's first letter to the Christ followers at

Corinth in ancient Greece.



1 Corinthians 15:12 (NLV) We preached to you that Christ has been

raised from the dead. But some of you say that people are not raised

from the dead. Why do you say this? 13 If the dead are not raised, then

Christ was not raised from the dead. 14 If Christ was not raised from

the dead, then what we preach to you is worth nothing. Your faith in

Christ is worth nothing. 15 That makes us all liars because we said

that God raised Christ from the dead. But God did not raise Christ from

the dead if the dead do not come to life again. 16 If the dead are not

raised, then not even Christ was raised from the dead. 17 If Christ was

not raised from the dead, your faith is worth nothing and you are still

living in your sins. 18 Then the Christians who have already died are

lost in sin. 19 If we have hope in Christ in this life only, we are

more sad than anyone else.



20 But it is true! Christ has been raised from the dead! He was the

first One to be raised from the dead and all those who are in graves

will follow. 21 Death came because of a man, Adam. Being raised from

the dead also came because of a Man, Christ.


22 All men will die as Adam died. But all those who belong to Christ

will be raised to new life.



Let's stop right here and talk about the specific reasons the

resurrection of Christ, the true meaning of Easter, impacts your life

in positive ways.



1. Faith in Easter means you may live confidently. 1 Cor. 15:12-20



This is a very important and a very positive principle. Being able to

live with confidence is of great value to every one of us!



Let me show you how these verses give us confidence. Paul said in

verses 14, "If Christ was not raised from the dead, then what we preach

to you is worth nothing. Your faith in Christ is worth nothing." That's

how important this issue of the resurrection of Jesus is. Your very

faith hinges on whether or not Jesus rose from the dead. And in verse

17, "If Christ was not raised from the dead, your faith is worth

nothing and you are still living in your sins." You

are still living in your sins," means you are still walking around with

the sentence of death, which is the penalty for sin.



If Jesus didn't raise from the dead then faith in Him is useless. If

Jesus didn't raise from the dead then your hope is false and any and

all of the ways you've patterned your life around His teaching is

worthless.



But the Bible confirms in verse 20 that "it is true! Christ has been

raised from the dead!" Now here's the point. Since the resurrection of

Jesus is true, then those who follow Christ have confidence that His

ways are the right ways to live here and now. Christ followers have

great confidence that the way they are living by following the

teachings of Christ is the right way to live!



Christ followers need not be doubtful or gloomy! If you are a follower

of Christ you don't need to live in the shadows of insecurity and

paranoia. You don't need to withdraw from situations or settings when

you feel inadequate and inferior. We all feel those ways sometimes. If

you follow Christ you can live confidently! If you are a follower of

Christ you have a right to be confident and glad! As the Bill Gaither

song says, "Because He lives all fear is gone!"



Doubts come when we feed on the fears of our human nature and its

weaknesses. Confidence comes from following Christ. Because Jesus is

alive, He conquered death, hell and the grave so you can face life's

challenges. If Jesus weren't alive today you could throw your Bible on

the trash heap. Just toss it. But He is alive and His Word is better

than solid gold!



When you feel inadequate or inferior, when you just don't know what to

do in your relationships, in raising kids, on your job, wherever, where

can you find the confidence you need to thrive? Follow the teachings of

a LIVING SAVIOR and trust Him for the outcome!



If you hit a bump in life you don't have to worry. If you're following

Christ's directions and doing what He told you to do in His word you

can leave it all in His hands.



Because Christ conquered death as the fulfillment of numerous

prophecies and with verifiable documented testimony. The Christ

follower has unshakable confidence in the message of Christ! You may

walk down the path that follows the instructions of Christ with the

absolute assurance that you are going in the right way in life!



To know that the teachings of Christ are true and that when you follow

them you don't have to wonder whether or not you are doing the right

thing is invaluable! People pay big bucks to have others tell them what

life is all about. They spend lifetimes trying to find meaning and

purpose and all along Jesus provides these things.



You don't need to go on a pilgrimage to a holy site. You don't need to

seek a maharaja sitting on top of some snow-covered mountain. You can

have certainty that how you are living in your relationships and on the

job and at school and in your community and in the church are right as

long as you are living the way the Word of God instructs you to live.



Christ followers should not be more sad than anyone else, as Paul said

we would be in verse 19 if Jesus hadn't risen from the dead. We should

be more glad than anyone else because Jesus has conquered death, hell

and the grave! Living confidently is one of the birthrights of the

believer! If you are following Jesus you are on the right road!



Have you ever been traveling somewhere far away from home in unfamiliar

surroundings and for miles and miles you just don't see the landmarks

you think you're supposed to see and you begin to doubt if you're on

the right road? You wonder if you're going in the right direction?

That's a crummy feeling. The feeling that you're lost.



If you are following Jesus you don't have to experience that lost

feeling! You don't have to doubt. Landmarks may be few and far between

sometimes because life occasionally stinks, (I'll admit that) but

because Jesus is The Way (John 14:6) you don't have to worry or be

afraid!



Somebody at Corinth was trying to get the believers off of the right

road and Paul was writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to

tell them to stay on course. They were losing their confidence about

the very thing which they should have been confident!



1. Faith in Easter means you may live confidently!



2. Faith in Easter means you should live gratefully. 1 Cor. 15:21



Look again at verse 21 with me.



21 Death came because of a man, Adam. Being raised from the dead also

came because of a Man, Christ.



Trace your roots back to Eden. Your forefather Adam decided to disobey

God. He decided to sin, even after having been forewarned of the

consequence of sin, which is death. And you and I inherited his sinful

nature. You inherited the inclination or the predisposition to sin.



I think Bill Cosby's comedic routine back in the 80's personifies our

tendency to say and do things that get us into trouble about as good as

anything. He said he knew that when his mother was angry she would

always start with the words, "I am just sick and tired."



Cosby says, "Worst beating I ever got in my life, my mother said, 'Well

I am just sick,' and I said 'And tired.' I don't remember anything

after that."



Have you ever wondered why sinning comes naturally to you? You think

and say and do wrong and hurtful things without even having to try. It

is thinking and saying and doing the right things that often takes

effort, at least until you have matured and begin to respond correctly

out of the habits you have formed in your life. And even then it takes

the Supernatural power of the Holy Spirit to assist you in living right.



This problem stems from your membership in the human race. You are a

son or daughter of Adam. And the Bible emphatically states that death

came because of a man, Adam. But the Scriptures immediately follow that

bad news with good news! Being raised from the dead also came because

of a Man, Christ.



You owe your ability to conquer death and to conquer the lifestyle that

leads to death, to Christ. Once you make a faith commitment to Him you

are given the power to overcome the penalty of sin, which is death. You

are given the power to live a resurrected lifestyle!



But before that power becomes yours, you must admit that it was your

sins that put Jesus on the cross. "Before we can begin to see the cross

as something done for us, we have to see it as something done by us."

(John Stott)



My sins nailed Jesus to the cross. Your sins put Him there. The whole

world is guilty, every one of us. Therefore each of us deserves the

penalty for sin and death. But Jesus loved you so much He took sin's

penalty for you. Greatest love ever known is the love of God displayed

on the cross on Skull Hill.



That kind of love should be returned with gratefulness. One stormy

night in Lake Michigan, a side-wheeler steamboat was rammed by another

boat. The steamboat sank just a mile offshore from the village of

Winnetka, Illinois. Out of 393 passengers on board, 279 drowned.



A man named Edward Spencer after seeing the situation unfold plunged

into the lake and swam to the drowning people. He towed one person to

shore and went for another. In all, he brought seventeen people to

safety. However, the strain on this young man caused him to collapse.

The nerves in his legs were so completely destroyed that he could never

walk again. He was an invalid wheel chair victim for his entire life.



On his eightieth birthday, someone asked him to relate his most vivid

memory of that dreadful day. He replied, "Not one of the seventeen

returned to thank me."



Don't live without thanking Jesus for the sacrifice He made for you!



1. Faith in Easter means you may live confidently.



2. Faith in Easter means you should live gratefully.



3. Faith in Easter means you may live hopefully.



1 Corinthians 15: 22 All men will die as Adam died. But all those who

belong to Christ will be raised to new life.



When you read in First Corinthians which was written in the first

century you realize that doubts about life after death aren't new. For

centuries man has wrestled with the concept of immortality. Is this

life all there is? Or is there something after? The Bible clearly

teaches that this life is only temporary but it will be followed by

eternal residence either with God or apart from God.



Your preparation needs to be focused on spending that residence with

God. And you also need to do everything that you can to get others to

spend their eternal existence with God.



Why should you believe this? Why should you believe what the Bible says

about life after death? Isn't this "pie in the sky" stuff just the

fanciful by-product of man's wishful thinking? Don't you have to be a

weak person to believe in an afterlife because you're naïve

and you fear death?



Before we answer that question let me ask another? Aren't people who

don't believe in an afterlife engaged in wishful thinking? It could be

that they are hoping that there is no accountability when they die and

that there is no authority over their lives before that time.



Psalms 10:4 (CSB) In all his scheming, the wicked arrogantly thinks:

"There is no accountability, [since] God does not exist."



Non-belief in God is a convenient way for the agnostic and the atheist

to stick his or her head in the sand. God won't go away just because

people don't believe in Him. Suppose tonight a burglar breaks into your

house. As he steps into your bedroom, thinking you are asleep, you take

your gun out of the drawer in the nightstand and say, "Stop right where

you are or I'll shoot."



Now suppose the criminal replies, "But I don't believe in the existence

of guns." Will his disbelief do him any good? I don't think so. Are the

teachings of heaven and hell just intricate dogmas concocted by church

leaders to keep people in line? Isn't the Bible just one of many holy

books? What makes Christianity distinctive? WHY SHOULD YOU BELIEVE?



For one thing, the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is a

distinctive of Christianity! And that's why faith gives Easter meaning.



"Death is man's greatest enemy, and it has conquered all men but

Christ. No matter how brilliant or rich or strong he may be, no man is

wise enough to outwit death or wealthy enough to purchase freedom from

death or strong enough to vanquish death. The grave always wins the

victory, and man sooner or later returns to the dust.



"In fact, the…triumph of death applies not only to man, but

to all things. Animals die and plants die, and even whole species

become extinct, and then fade away. Cities and nations, like people,

are born and grow for a season, and then fade away. Homes and

automobiles and clothes wear out and must eventually go back to dust,

just as do their owners. Even the universe itself is running

down…" (Many Infallible Proofs, Henry Morris)



Death is such a universal absolute that the Bible says in Romans 8:21

(NLT) All creation anticipates the day when it will join God's children

in glorious freedom from death and decay.



Freedom from death – that is what Jesus offers!



If you are a follower of Christ you are going to live forever! If

you're in what is commonly referred as mid-life, don't sweat it. The

other day it occurred to me, since I'm going to live forever, there's

no such thing as midlife! If you're in your senior years remember that

you'll be young again in heaven! Forever!



In his book, "God Said It, Don't Sweat It," The Christian Psychologist

Neil Clark Warren tells about a Christian man who came to his office

contemplating suicide because his wife was leaving him. Warren shared

with this client the promise of eternal life in Christ and how it

trumps even the serious and weighty problems of life.



And then he wrote something in his book that fascinated me. He said

that through the years of counseling thousands of clients not one of

them had committed suicide. He kept pointing his clients toward the

hope of heaven and where's there's hope there's always a reason to go

on!



Faith in Easter means you can live hopefully.



1. Faith in Easter means you may live confidently.



2. Faith in Easter means you should live gratefully.



3. Faith in Easter means you may live hopefully.



The most important question to ask your self then is, "Do I have faith

in Easter?"



Have I placed my trust in what Jesus did by dying for me on the cross?



I want to give you an opportunity to do that today. "Jesus I

thank you for dying on the cross in my place. I realize that you took

my place. I'm a sinner but I want to become your follower. Forgive all

my sins and give me eternal life. Give me the confidence and the hope

that I need to face not only eternity, but every day. In Jesus' name.

Amen"