Forgetting important details in your life can get you in trouble. Birthdays and anniversaries are the standard biggies demanding close attention. Here’s a freebie – guys... next Sunday is Mother’s Day. We try numerous devices to shore up our forgetfulness be they low tech like a string on the finger or a high tech Palm Pilot®. But even with technology’s aid, I still forget appointments, names and numbers. Ed constantly had trouble remembering things. His wife signed him up for a memory course, one which taught you to associate simple objects and pictures with items you needed to remember. The course was wonderful. Ed’s memory improved, so the couple told everyone: relatives, friends and neighbors about this memory course. Some months later, a neighbor approaches Ed as he tends his garden and inquires: "Say, Ed, what was the name of the instructor of that memory course you liked so much?" "Well, it was...hmmm...let me think a minute... What's the name of that flower, you know, the one that smells so nice, but has thorns on the stems...?"
Forgetting that which is important can have disastrous results. What is true in marriage, business, or school is also very true in our Christian lives, both as individual believers as well as a church body. Paul knew that we forget the essentials of the faith all too easily as well. When he wrote to the church in Corinth he covered a variety of important issues facing that church which struggled with divisiveness, immorality, proper behavior in worship, the use of gifts in the body of Christ. But the answer to these and other problems came back to the final topic of his lengthy letter. The gospel, the good news of Christ was central to all he had to say. For that reason he wished to remind them once again of its importance.
Each and every week we gather to worship to be reminded of that which is very important. In this one hour out of 168 I seek to remind you of a truth which will provide sanity to the constantly conflicting messages from a fallen world. We all too easily forget. In an effort to keep our church on tract, the Session worked out a vision statement for Cornerstone, an encapsulated outline by which we can ascertain whether we have forgotten what we are all about. About 2½ years ago we examined this statement, some of you more recently have looked at it during Cornerstone Chats, our new members class. For the next four weeks I wish to review the four corners of Cornerstone Church’s vision statement. Our vision is what we believe guides and directs this church. There are four corners to this vision. The first is that we must realize the need for the gospel to be central in one’s life. We must not forget the centrality of the gospel - verses 1-3aThe Gospel is central because it is our foundation Paul sees the need to remind them of this truth. In this chapter Paul corrects misguided thinking about the resurrection of the dead. The Church adopted the prevailing notion of the day that when we die that’s it, there’s nothing more. The answer to such a hopeless philosophy is the foundation of Christian truth: Jesus Christ died and was raised. The opening verse strikes a note of embarrassment as Paul reminds the people of Corinth of that which they ought never to have forgotten. There’s a gentle rebuke here. As adults we differ little from small children except in size. We need reminders. With children there is the common exasperation which sets in as you say the same thing over and over. You wonder if you’ll have to follow them to college to tell them when to get up, clean up their room, do their chores. Let’s face it, maturity does not change us that much. So Paul reminds them of the foundation upon which their hope is based – the gospel The word gospel comes from the old English good spell, tale or message which is not much different from the Greek euangellion or good message. This gospel was not just content presented to them, but it was truth received by them. They received it at a point in time, but that is not all they did – it changed their lives ... "on which you have taken your stand." There Paul uses the perfect tense, indicating a past act with present consequences. This gospel, which we’ll define in a moment, is the basis of how the live. What we focus on at Cornerstone is this truth. There may well be many good things I could say to encourage you, but none will change your standing before God, except when I lay before you the work of Christ and call you to personally respond in faith. The vision for Cornerstone begins at this point because of the centrality of the gospel as described here. The foundation of this body is the good news of what Christ did. If we forget that, if we imagine it is about anything other than Christ’s perfect obedience to the law imputed to us and our sins credited to Christ – if we hold on to anything instead of, beyond or in addition to that truth – then we might as well go home. Nothing else matters. The Gospel is central because it is our salvation The gospel answers the fundamental need we all have – how can I be accepted by a holy God? Through the gospel, by means of the good news of what God has done we can stand before a holy and just God, declared righteous and made acceptable. This work by God is not just a possibility or a temporary solution – by this gospel you are saved. This salvation is assured yet still to come, to be fully realized at some future point. The great truth of the gospel is that God’s grace and mercy were yours in eternity past when God chose you, it was yours 2000 years ago when Christ died for you, it is yours today as you are sealed by the Holy Spirit and it will be yours as the triune God brings it to past for all eternity. If our grip on the gospel is such that we are not trusting Christ, our belief is groundless, empty. Question: What is the present value of the cross? How does Christ’s death, burial and resurrection affect you today? If you struggle with answering that, if you aren’t sure how it is that the gospel is the means by which you are now being saved – you have forgotten something very important. We must not forget the content of the gospel - verses 3b-8 The content of the Gospel is the answer for our ultimate problemIf I were to ask you to take time now and list out all the problems with which you struggle in your life...better yet, if I were to ask your spouse, kids or parents to make a list – what would be on the top? What is the primary, ultimate issue which we must deal with in our lives. The solution to those issues which matter the most, which are of ultimate concern is boiled down in v3ff. What God has done is packed so tightly in verse 3, that all Scripture expounds this simple truth. Christ: Remember what this title means: the anointed one. Paul certainly could have truthfully said "Jesus died for our sins" but the impact of "Christ" can not be overlooked. In the OT those who occupied the offices of prophet, priest and king were those who would be symbolically given God’s blessing to accomplish the task he assign them to do. Jesus is the Messiah, the anointed one of God. Before we proceed any further with defining the good news we have to be certain of this truth – God incarnate accomplished this work for us. Died: It does us no good if God came to teach us to be better and left. It is of no ultimate use if Jesus is nothing more than a moral teacher and nothing more. The core of Christianity is not how we live, but that Christ died. A punishment was necessary for God’s Law was broken. There is in the gospel not talk of love, but an action of love which took on punishment for offence against God. For: This simple preposition carries with it profound theological significance. Here we see that the death of Christ is substitutionary, an exchange takes place. Christ’s death was not that we would feel sorry for sins, he died in our place as the sacrifice for sin. This is what Paul means when in Romans 5:8 he says that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Our: Martin Luther said the heart of the gospel are personal pronouns and that is indeed true at this point. Christ’s death was not just for sins in general or the concept of sinfulness, but it was for our sins. It is this very personal nature of the gospel which we must never forget. Sins: This is the harsh realization that we have offended a holy God. The word sin is one which we all would rather forget, but there is no proclamation of the gospel which does not explain the link between human sin and the death of Christ. There is no usefulness to the death of Christ unless sins are dealt with once and for all. The gospel is not just about Christ’s death, it is also about the resurrection. It too is critical Paul describes it here not in the active "Christ rose", but in the passive "he was raised" pointing to the Father’s activity, signifying the acceptance of God the Father with the sacrifice of the Son. What is more, the tense is again perfect. Christ was not raised only to die again, but the tense used here to go beyond the event to tell us that he continues as the risen Lord. Paul lists some of those who witnessed the resurrected Christ. It was not a fluke of imagination, a longing by depressed converts. The content of the Gospel must be our ultimate concern When discussing the gospel we often make reference to the old Reformation formula of the five solas, the five "alone"s. When Paul speaks of this gospel we can see them in the text. Scripture alone Repeated in verses 3-4 is the reminder that cross and empty tomb were not just fortuitous events, random acts which we try to reinterpret to suit our desires. What happened 2000 years ago was predicted long before it occurred. According to what Scriptures? Perhaps the clearest is Isaiah 53 which we read earlier where the Servant of the Lord is pictured as a sacrificial lamb, taking on the sins of those who have offended God. The resurrection likewise is described in Isaiah 53:10-12. For this reason at Cornerstone we seek to orchestrate our worship around the Word of God, to hear it read, preached, studied. All we all and all we do has the Scripture as our basis. Christ alone As we saw earlier – the gospel is not about what I do, but what Christ has done. When we look at the Word we should see Christ’s work for us. With Scripture alone and Christ alone we have the basis of how we are to read God’s Word. It is not designed to be an instruction manual to make me a better person, but it reveals what Jesus Christ has done for me. For that reason it points me to trust him alone. We must not forget that what will ultimately help us is not pop-psychology, but Christ’s work for us. Faith alone The importance of faith is brought out in verses 1 and 11 as Paul reminds them that they received the gospel, that is, faith, belief, trust are vital to a right standing with God. What is more, it is faith alone. We bring nothing but our sin to God, so our works, while demonstrating that faith, are not combined with faith to make us acceptable before God. Without faith it is impossible to please God, but so often we imagine that we must still do something, add some element so that God will see we are really worthy after all. Grace alone In a moment we’ll see how critical grace is to the mix as Paul describes God’s work of grace in his life so that Paul would then, by God’s grace, live a life which pleases God. Grace is not just God overlooking sin, but grace is God’s dealing with our sin, removing the stain and power of sin from our lives. God’s glory alone This is best seen in the final verses of our passage, where we see the power of the gospel. When it comes to the gospel, God’s glory is most clearly seen as the power of the gospel is at work in our lives. We must not forget the power of the gospel - verses 9-11 When commentators deal with the witness to the resurrection they often point out how this extensive list provides good courtroom evidence to the reality of the resurrection. But when they come to verses 9-10 they breeze over what they see as Paul’s rabbit trail when talking about himself. I think we too easily dismiss what Paul is saying here both in the list of witnesses as well as his own life’s story. The list is by no means complete. The Gospels mention the women who are not found here. That may well be because in the ancient world a woman’s testimony was not valid. But to start with Peter says something we shouldn’t miss. The resurrection appearance to Peter is the confirmation that the effect of the death of Christ for Peter was complete. His denial is atoned for, he is accepted. This list is a list of grace given to the unworthy. The apostles we read about in John 20, locked in the upper room, frightened were given reassurance of God’s peace when the resurrected Christ came. Thomas, doubting though he was, still saw and believed. We are not sure which James Paul is referring to, but since the 12 are listed earlier, most consider the James of verse 7 to be Jesus’s brother. This brother who during Jesus’s life mocked him and thought him insane, with the resurrection was among those in the upper room on Pentecost. God’s grace in the resurrection changed his life. Then Paul comes to himself, as the last one, abnormally born. What does he mean? The term used here referred to a child born too early whether through miscarriage or abortion. But such a horrible image is strange as such a child born early does not seem to apply to Paul who was later then the rest, the last and least as he calls himself. The NIV’s translation as "abnormally born" may well suit here. He is one who came into the band of apostles unnaturally, violently, in such a way it repulsed those around. The other apostles had a proper time of gestation, of nurture. Not he. He came undeveloped, repulsive, a freak. When Christ appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus, Paul was utterly devoid of spiritual life, a violent persecutor of Christ and of Christ’s followers. Nevertheless, despite his background, despite his sinfulness and unworthiness – God’s grace worked in him to make him what he was not. The power of the gospel is most clearly seen in God gracious working in us to honor him with our lives. Verse 10 makes it clear that God’s grace at work in us will make us then work. Grace has an effect, the power of the gospel will be seen in our lives. Paul does not stop, collapsing in a heap of sinfulness – stating that sin leaves him useless. Sin...yes. But grace changes him, it empowers him. The word used to describe his work is a labor to weariness. This expression came originally from the joyful pride of the skilled craftsman. Only the grace of God overcomes such demerits. Grace is lavished only on unworthy persons The only response to grace is total commitment with every fiber of one’s body. If God’s grace does not produce such energetic single-mindedness, there is something seriously lacking in our faith. Grace will change us. The gospel will alter our lives It is our desire at Cornerstone to be so focused on God’s grace To know grace we must first know our sin. Grace is not just another word for God’s love, but implies that we receive good while we deserve evil. If we imagine we’ve done nothing wrong, how can we ever appreciate all God has given us. To be ungrateful is to deny grace. Of all people we should be the most ready to acknowledge our sin, our need of a savior. The false pretenses of self righteousness must be set aside so that we gladly point out our own foibles and sins so that we can show what a wonderful savior we have. After renowned missionary Jonathan Goforth (1859-1936) had spoken in a chapel in southern China, a man asked to talk to him. He said "I have heard you speak three times, and you always have the same theme. You always speak of Jesus Christ. Why?" The missionary replied, "Sir, before answering your question, let me ask, 'What did you have for dinner today?'" "Rice," replied the man. "What did you have yesterday?" "The same thing." "And what do you expect to eat tomorrow?" "Rice, of course. It gives me strength. I could not do without it. Sir, it is --" the man hesitated as if looking for a strong word. Then he added, "Sir, it is my very life!" The missionary responded quickly, "What you have said of rice, Jesus is to our soul! He is the 'rice' or 'bread of life.'" The Christian faith is focused and centered on Christ. Christ, and Christ alone, is of first importance. It is indeed our desire that this good news permeate every aspect of our lives, all aspects of our church, our homes. There are times I wait and wonder if you all will grow weary and tired of hearing Christ. I become concerned that you could become inoculated with the gospel, so that you hear the words but they mean nothing to you. I worry you will forget. But then I realize that none of use ever becomes tired to breathing air, we never grow tired of eating. As long as we live, as long as God’s grace is at work in sinners such as us, there is nothing we more want to hear than this truth. The analogy Jonathan Goforth used stands behind the Lord’s Supper. In this simple meal we are spiritually fed, bread and wine nourish our bodies and the gospel our souls. I invite you to eat and drink the gospel together. |
