Word of Salvation – Vol. 31 No. 34 – Sep 1986

 

The Resurrection And Consistency

 

Sermon by Rev. H. P. Phillips on 1Corinthians 15:29-34

Reading: Titus 2:11-3:8, 1Corinthians 15:12-34

Singing: Ps.H: 451, 249, 239, 20, 218, 493.

 

Beloved in the Lord Jesus Christ,

How many of us are truly consistent?  We say we believe in the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, but does our life reflect this belief?  Do we speak consistently, for example, or do we use language which reflects the views of the world?  Do we say: “That’s lucky!” when we should say: “God blessed us in that!”  Do we give the impression by our striving to accumulate material wealth that we believe this life is the only life worth holding onto or are we prepared to miss out on some of the material blessings in order to establish a spiritual basis from which we will be able to glorify God in eternity?  To be absolutely blunt – do you use this life as one who is passing through it, seeking the glories of the life to come and not distracted by anything this present life has to offer?

I.  Belief should Lead to Action:

Paul gives us an illustration of this point in the text we are considering this morning.  He argues: “Our action should reflect our belief.”

There were some in Corinth who claimed there was NO resurrection from the dead.  But the peculiar thing about these people was that they were prepared to be baptised for the dead.

Yet, if the dead are dead and there is no resurrection, what is the point of being baptised on their behalf?  The whole course of action is seen to be ridiculous!  And the same is true of the kind of actions we so often become involved in.

Take one of the illustrations we mentioned earlier.  If we say: “That’s lucky!” and not: “God blessed us in that!” there is nothing wrong with our intention – whichever form of expression we use we mean the same thing.  As Christians we certainly believe God has blessed us in the thing to which we refer.

But, the language we are using gives the impression that there is such a thing as luck.  That things don’t come to pass according to the providence of God but by chance happenings – some of them good and some bad!  At this point our language is inconsistent; as inconsistent as that of the people Paul mentions in our text.

If we believe in the resurrection, and if we see this as a sign that everything which happens to us, as Christians, is governed by the hand of our loving Heavenly Father, if we believe he governs these things so that we will finally be brought to share heaven with him, how can we ascribe anything to luck?  It is as inconsistent as to argue there is no resurrection and still be baptised for the dead!

And, suppose we look at any of the other things we do – can we see in them the same inconsistency?  Or are we more consistent when it comes to our behaviour?  I would not be at all surprised if we were to find many areas of our lives in which we would have to admit; “I’m not working out the implications of my belief in this area…!”

And it is partly because of this inconsistency that so many in our day can point at the Christian Church and set aside its testimony.  They look at the way we seek to gain credit for our intellectual ability with clever explanations about how the miracles were done and see there an attempt to explain away the miraculous – something only the unbeliever really wants to do.  And they say to themselves: “I though Christians were supposed to believe in miracles … maybe there isn’t such a difference between us after all.”  And all the things they interpret as inconsistencies, which have no real basis in Scripture, help them to avoid the thrust of our call for them to repent and turn to Christ for salvation.

“After all,” they reason, “if they believe the same as I do about luck and miracles, why should I imagine they really believe any different when it comes to salvation and repentance?  So, salvation means living a happy life – and I’m already happy – and repentance means being sorry for hurting others – and I am already – so why do I need to change?  I’m probably as good a Christian as they are!  And maybe I’m better – at least I don’t use strange language to describe ordinary things…!”

And, sadly, congregation, they’re right!  Our belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ should have such far-reaching effects on our lives that we do not live, or speak the same way as the unconverted.  We WERE dead in trespasses and sins; we formerly walked according to the manner of the rest of the world, but no more!  We’re washed in the Spirit, we’ve been regenerated!  And we’re new creatures!  How can we continue as before?

II  Belief DOES Lead to Action:

“But,” comes the response, “Other Christians do it, why shouldn’t I?  No one else is as consistent as you claim they should be – aren’t you asking something unreasonable?”

And the spectre is raised of fanaticism!  “We shouldn’t be TOO enthusiastic for this thing; we know how terrible fanaticism can be!”

Yet Paul was an ordinary human being.  He was as concerned as we are for living in peace and harmony with our neighbours.  He even said, “as much as it lies with you, live in peace and harmony with your neighbour.”  He would not be in favour of an inconsiderate berating the unconverted for their failings!  Nevertheless, if we take seriously what he says in the next section of our text we see that Paul gives himself, and the other Apostles as examples of those who live out of the reality of the resurrection.

“Daily,” he says, “we are in danger!”  And he adds, “we die every day!”  And, if the resurrection is not true, is this not the most foolish of situations to be in?  Wouldn’t it be much more sensible to “eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die?”

You see if we actually want to see Christianity as it should be lived we need to look, not at those around us those who so often are no better than we are but at the Apostles, at the Lord Jesus and the great heroes of the Church.  And the reason for that is because HERE we see those who are willing to take the Lord at this word.

And what do we find… an empty fanaticism?  An unattractive bigotry?  Not at all!  We find a group of people who are willing to sacrifice themselves for others!  Those who were prepared to be hated by their fellow-countrymen, stoned and left for dead, vilified for their beliefs and all this because they wanted to help their neighbours be right with God!

And the thing which made the difference was the reality of the resurrection.  The Apostles were a defeated band before Jesus actually appeared in their midst!  Paul was a persecutor of the Church before the Lord appeared to him on the Damascus road!  Paul was a Pharisee convinced he was chosen for heaven before the risen Lord showed him how wrongly he assessed the heavenly kingdom!

But afterward!  What a change!  And how important it is for us to be better acquainted with the lives of the great saints of the past!  There we see the love of Christ at work in a way which cannot be denied!  You see, we are practising our faith, not just for our own selfish gain!  We are being consistent also for the honour of our Lord; our Lord who has given himself for us so that we might be zealous for good works!  And these good works are seen in the way we strive to help others.  Why was Paul in danger every day?  He didn’t HAVE to wander all over the world in order to have his salvation did he?  Didn’t Jesus die for him?  Was there anything he could add to the sacrifice of Christ?  Of course not!  He was saved quite apart from his works!  So, goes our human reasoning: having been guaranteed salvation surely all he had to do was wait until he died (maybe not being involved in any gross sin) and he’d go straight to heaven – automatically!

But Paul doesn’t reason this way.  “Christ loved me and died for me, while I was a sinner!  And he has been raised from the dead and given all power in heaven and on earth.  He is presently reigning until all his enemies are conquered!  Surely I can do something to hasten the day when all acknowledge him as Lord!”  And the desire of his heart – the love of Christ which burns in it – drives him out to speak for his Lord.

And can it be any less with us?  Can we see what God has done for us in raising Jesus from the dead – demonstrating his acceptance of the sacrifice given for us – and sit at home or make only a token attempt to change our lives?  Can we REALLY believe in the resurrection and NOT change our whole approach to life?  Of Course not!

III False Belief Corrupts…

So how is it that we so often fall into the traps we noted at the beginning of this sermon?  How is it we often fail to speak or live in a way that is radically different from that of the world?  The answer is also given in our text.

In the original of verse 33 Paul says: “Bad conversations corrupt good ethics.”

Now the modern translations have nearly all taken this as, “Bad company corrupts good morals.”  Yet the original word “conversations” has more in common with sermon-making than with a way of life and friendship.  Paul is telling us that we need to be careful of the things we listen to and accept as true.  Things which have an appearance of rightness and which are (in fact) likely to lead us astray.

And what happens is hinted at in the language of the next verse: we become intoxicated by the clever hints and implications of the Devil and so fall into sin.  Think of how this is done, and you’ll see what I mean.  Let’s say you become convicted that your desire to own a large house with a fine swimming pool is really a sign of covetousness.  You begin to worry about this and take it up with one of your elders.  He comes to the conclusion that, in your case, it might be best to sell and buy something a little less grand without a pool.  His conclusion is based on his knowledge of your spiritual maturity and the kind of temptations YOU are faced with all the time.  He is concerned for your weakness and wishes you to flee from the path of temptation at this point.

Now, having been given this advice by your elder, you then discuss with a friend maybe even a Christian friend.  And this friend tells you – quite rightly – that it is possible to be rich, to have a grand house and pool, and not sin.  He, or she, reminds you of the people in the Bible who were rich and who used their riches for the blessing of the people and for the glory of the Lord.  And, having listened, you begin to think the elder was not right in his advice.  To this point there is no sin.  But what we need to be aware of is the fact that covetousness has been given an opening which it CAN exploit to bring you into sin.

You go and speak to your elder who acknowledges the truth of what the other person has said, but adds: “For you, at this time, it would be a bad thing to hold onto your house – maybe at a later time when you’ve overcome your covetous attitude it will be alright – but not for now.”  And he quotes you the example of the rich young ruler.

Back you go to your friend and he tells you that the elder has no right to say such a thing, that it’s probably his own covetousness that’s behind the claim that you should sell and, anyway, how do you know that you will be able to buy such a good house again?  And, do you know what happens?  You find yourself agreeing with your friend possibly in all things said!

• And sin has led you captive if not the sin of covetousness, then the sin of pride and gossip! The bad conversation has corrupted your willingness to deal with an area of sin you had been shown by the Lord! And this is the common experience of the people of God.  The Devil uses any and every means (some of them quite innocent in themselves like your friend’s first comments) to lead us from the truth.  And the sad thing is that we should be able to recognise what is going on!  That we don’t, shows the truth of the picture of intoxication.  We’re quite sure we can cope with the onslaughts of the Wicked One just when we are least able to – and the culprit is the bad conversations we indulge in.

We forget that God is a holy God, that he demands holiness of his people.  We become contented to be inconsistent in our speaking and our actions.  The Apostles did not fall this way – or if they did, they tell us so we will be prepared to avoid the same traps ourselves.  And the Lord Jesus warns us, in spite of the fact that he never fell – showing us how to avoid the pitfalls.

But, one way which can be a help for us all is to ask ourselves: How does this proposed action help me to be more like the Lord Jesus?  How does the truth of his resurrection bear on this matter?  Will he, as my judge and Lord, be pleased with the course of action I am about to pursue?  Will I bring honour, or dishonour on his name this way?

All these questions have one basic thrust: How can I live a more consistent Christian life?  Demonstrating in it the belief I hold in Christ, my risen Saviour, who loved me and died that I might live with him in eternity forever!  And, as we strive to that end, we may expect the blessing of the Lord who is conforming us to his image – to whom be the glory forever…!

AMEN.