Grace, mercy, and peace to you in the name of Jesus Christ, who is the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. Amen.

1 Corinthians 15:12-20 But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? ¹³ If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. ¹⁴ And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. ¹⁵ More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. ¹⁶ For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. ¹⁷ And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. ¹⁸ Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. ¹⁹ If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. ²⁰ But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

Compromise. Compromise can be a necessary ingredient in a successful marriage, business or in the world of politics. However, compromise can also become a slippery slope. It can lead to concessions, to waffling, to giving in and not coming up with a hard and firm decision.

A New York family bought a ranch out West where they intended to raise cattle. Friends visited and asked if the ranch had a name. "Well," said the would-be cattleman, "I wanted to name it the Bar-J. My wife favored Suzy-Q, one son liked the Flying-W, and the other son wanted the Lazy-Y. So we're calling it the Bar-J-Suzy-Q-Flying-W-Lazy-Y." "But where are all your cattle?" the friends asked. The man responded with a downcast look, "None of them survived the branding." 

Compromise can have serious consequences – in marriage, in business, in politics, and especially when it comes to God’s Word and our eternal salvation. Let me give you some examples.

Many times I have heard people tell me something like "God could have used evolution" or "God could have created the universe over millions of years." Also, some will say: "As long as we believe that God is our Creator and Savior, it doesn’t really matter what we believe about creation or evolution." My response back to them has always been, "It’s not a matter of what God could have done, but what he said he did!" If someone would say to me, "I don’t limit God to six days of creation. I allow him millions of years." I would answer that person by saying, "I don’t limit God to six days, but I limit myself to letting God tell me what he did and I limit myself by not trying to tell God what I think he did. And may I humbly suggest that you should stop telling God what he did and instead listen to what he is telling you."

If you compromise on six days of creation, you take away Adam and Eve, the fall into sin, that we are born in sin. You remove the need for a Savior and the first promise of the Savior (Genesis 3:15). You call God a phony because he tells us what he did and you call Jesus a liar because he refers back to Adam and Eve and Genesis.

Sadly, many Christians and churches have compromised on all kinds of doctrines: creation, resurrection, homosexuality, roles of men and women, Christian fellowship, close communion, and so on. Compromise can confuse a Christian and can tear apart a congregation. Just from a little compromise of doctrine.

Comprise was also going on in the Corinthian congregation. We have seen in past sermons that this congregation was truly gifted – many had the gift to speak in tongues, or interpret tongues, and speak in prophecy. Yet, in our text for today, Paul says that there were some within the congregation who were promoting the lie that there was no physical resurrection from the dead. This was a common perception in the pagan, Greek culture that was a part of the Corinthians background. Some of the Christians compromised and included this false teaching with their beliefs of Jesus Christ and the resurrection from the dead. Paul refutes this compromise in our text. Very carefully – and strongly – he lays forth the argument for the resurrection of believers because Jesus has risen from the dead.

A husband was telling a friend that marriage is all about compromise. He said, "My wife wanted a cat. I didn’t want a cat. So we compromised." His friend asked, "What did you do?" The husband answered, "We got a cat."

In certain situations, compromise is a good thing. Today we refute compromise in faith and doctrine by first asking the question, what if Christ has not been raised. Paul begins by arguing: "But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised." If they wanted to believe that their fellow believers were dead and in the grave and that is where they were going to stay, then they also had to believe Jesus was still dead and in the grave. What kind of Savior is that? One who is still dead, still in the grave. If he’s still dead, he’s not much of God, not much of a Savior.

He continues: "And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless …" The Bible makes the resurrection a central doctrine. The Gospels and the Epistles in the New Testament are all written to prove that Jesus was more than a good example to follow, but that he was the Son of God, the long-awaited Messiah. If you take the preaching of the resurrection out of the Bible – and it’s in the Old Testament, too – then you have gutted the main message of the Bible. You would have a collection of mutilated writings. Building churches, training pastors, sending out missionaries, telling children about Jesus – all of this means nothing if Christ has not been raised. If Christ has not been raised, then we may as well tear down the churches, burn all the Christian books and throw away the Bible because without Christ’s resurrection, they mean nothing.

"If Christ has not been raised … your faith is useless." We believe that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He is the Healer and Comforter. He blesses those who are poor and hungry and who weep and who are hated by men. We confess that we look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. But Paul argues that if Christ has not been raised, your faith is meaningless. You have nothing to hold on to during difficult times or even death.

"If Christ has not been raised … we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead." If Christ is still dead and in the grave, you and I are a bunch of liars. Later in the service we will sing, "His battle ended there; death was overcome. Jesus, alive again, wore the victor’s crown." We have an empty cross. We partake in the Lord’s Supper where we believe that Christ actually comes to us with his body and blood in the bread and wine. But if Christ didn’t rise from the dead, then we are all liars. We are believing a lie. Every Sunday we are perpetuating that lie. And then Jesus is a big, fat liar, too.

"If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins." One of the most comforting thoughts in the Bible is the assurance that God forgives our sins. He removes our sins as far as the east is from the west. He does not treat us as our sins deserve. He has compassion on us as his children. (cf. Psalm 103:9-12) He does this completely and totally because Christ died for our sins. The Bible tells us that the blood of Jesus purifies us from every sin. Jesus forgave Peter, the paralytic, the woman caught in the act of adultery, and the thief on the cross. And we are just like those people – those sinners. We are in need of forgiveness. But Paul argues that if God the Father did not accept the work of Jesus Christ and left him to rot in the grave, then you and I are still in our sins. We are unforgiven, condemned to eternal destruction in hell.

"If Christ has not been raised, then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost." Our fellow believers who died believing in Christ are still in their graves. There is no hope of us ever seeing them again.

"If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men." Most of you probably remember the A-Team’s B.A. Baracus whose trademark phrase was "I pity the fool!" If Christ is still dead, why not "eat, drink, and be merry?" Why not live like animals who have no morality and no sense of right or wrong. Why bother coming to church, taking time out of our busy schedules to read our Bibles, give our hard earned money to the church, if everything is a lie. And if it is a lie, you and I are fools for believing it. Paul could be the first century B.A. Baracus, "I pity the fool if Christ is still dead!"

That is pretty much Paul’s argument. In the last verse of our text he makes a major shift in his discussion of the resurrection. He turns away from the tragic implications there would be for people if there were no resurrection by emphatically stating: "But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep."

A father and his little girl were staying in a hotel. During the night the girl became very ill and without warning she died. The father was heart-broken. He had already lost his wife and now his precious little girl was gone. Only two people followed the body to the cemetery—the father and a minister. The father’s grief was great. At the grave he took from his pocket a key, unlocked the casket and looked on the face of his child once more, then silently closed the casket and handed the key to the keeper of the cemetery. On the way back to the city, the minister quoted Revelation 1:18: "I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades." "But what is that about the keys?" asked the grieving man. "It means this," said the minister. "You think the key to your little girl’s casket is in the hands of the keeper of the cemetery. But let me tell you something. It’s not true! The key to your little girl’s grave hangs at the side of the Son of God. And He will come some morning and use it to open that casket!" Then the light broke through the man’s tears and he saw the glory of the resurrection.

That is the comfort from believing that Christ is alive, that he has risen from the dead. Christ has indeed been raised from the dead. Christ arose with a glorious body, no longer bruised and bloody, but complete and perfect and no longer confined to space and time. And when he shall appear on that glorious morning to unlock our caskets, he shall raise us from the dead. Then we will be like Jesus. All deafness will be gone. All blindness will disappear. All weakness in our arms and legs will vanish. Gingivitis and pimples, cancer and Alzheimer’s will all be a thing of the past. Death will no longer have any hold over us. All this is possible because Jesus was raised from the dead.

He is the "firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep." Jesus is the first of the resurrection crop. You and I and all believers will come later.

What does all this mean for you now? It means that because Jesus finished his Father’s work, your life has worth. Because he was forsaken, you will never be alone. Because he was buried, you can be raised. Because he lives, you don’t have to be afraid. Because he was raised, you can be strong. Because he has reached down to you, you don’t have to work your way up to him. Because his promises are always true, you can hope!

It is said that politics is an exercise of compromising. We are encouraged to vote for candidates whose values don't measure up with our core beliefs. Far-reaching policies are designed not on what is morally right, but on financial gain for fear of social suffering. Give a little, take a little, as long as the end justifies the means.

Sadly, some Christians are too politically minded, inclined to let the end justifies the means. Living together outside of marriage, divorce for unscriptural reasons, allowing for evolution, conceding on points of doctrine, etc., are either winked at, or worse, encouraged.

Clear teachings of Scripture are not to be compromised, for they are the bedrock foundation upon which our faith is built. The world may not understand absolutes, but God’s Word has given us many absolutes for the sake of comfort, confidence, forgiveness, love, and eternal life – all centered in Jesus Christ, our risen Redeemer. To compromise biblical teachings, absolutes of grace, is to compromise our salvation.

As Paul argues, Jesus Christ is alive. That means you and I will live, too. There can be no compromise. Amen.

Again, Jesus comforts us with these words: "I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades." Amen. (Revelation 1:18)