1 Corinthians 15:1-11

There’s so much to talk about. So many things to write about. So much to discuss and debate and maybe sometimes argue. As Christians, church members, we never run out of topics and issues and perspectives. We all have our views about what worship should look like, from the order of the elements of worship to the types of songs we should sing to the kinds of instruments we should play to the topic of the sermon to how well the minister spoke on that topic.

We’ll talk about the condition of our nation, how our country has walked away from the Christian, or even the religious, foundation it was planted on. We shake our heads and complain about the courts and the congress and the president and the presidential candidates. And we mourn how far we’ve fallen away from what God wants.

And we think about our denomination, and we think how we’ve changed, and we talk about what we think about these changes. Maybe we like some of the changes, and maybe some of the changes frighten us, or make us angry.

And we think about our community, the concerns we have for the economy, the loss of jobs, the crime and corruption and crises that hurt so many people. And we shake our heads, and we just wonder where all this is going.

This is what we talk about. This is how we think. And sometimes we think we have the answers, and sometimes we wonder what exactly we can do.

And Paul breaks into our conversations and discussions and arguments and he says, in verse 1:

It’s easy to get distracted by everything that’s going on around us. And we quickly forget how to see the world around us, our nation, our community, our denomination. And we’ll talk about these things using all kind of words and arguments and rationalizations, but what we won’t come back to is the gospel. When we talk about all these things, without the gospel, that’s when we start to become frightened and discouraged and angry.

So, we’re reminded to get back to basics. It’s the gospel that we have received, many of us, when we were very young. We heard it from moms and dads and grandparents. Before we even knew how to speak, we were hearing them talk about this gospel. As we got older, as we went to Sunday School and Gems and Cadets and Young People’s, we kept talking about the gospel. Many of us went to a Christian School, and we had the gospel fleshed out and applied to every area of life. And we’ve heard the gospel preached twice each Sunday, Sunday after Sunday. We’ve received the gospel.

And we’ve taken our stand on this gospel. This is our foundation. It’s how we’re able to not get shook up when we watch the news and read about the church and talk about what’s all going on. It’s the gospel that gives us that certain hope. The gospel is how we know it’s all going to turn out okay. We’ve decided to take our stand on the gospel, and that was a good decision that has never failed us yet, and will never let us down. Verse 2:

The gospel, THE gospel, not some artificial, fake gospel. But the real one. A false gospel might look really good. It might be well argued, and maybe will even use Bible verses to make it sound true. But fake is fake, and a false gospel will fail us.

The true gospel, though, will save us. And now we come to the question. What is the true gospel? We talk about all those other things, issues that seem so important. What is the most important? What should we be talking about more than anything else? Verse 3:

There it is. Jesus died for our sins. He came back to life. He has appeared to human beings and made them His followers. That’s the gospel. This is what we have grounded our lives on. This is the foundation our church is built on. And this is how we think about and talk about and discuss what goes on around us, through Jesus’ death and Jesus resurrection and the changes He’s making in our lives.

I’m afraid that sometimes we think this is simplistic. I mean, this is good, right, that Jesus died and rose again. But what does this have to do with the big, serious issues facing our nation and our churches and our own selves? Jesus died and rose again and made a way to get to heaven, but what about right now.

Well, Paul gives a great example. Him! Look at how the gospel changed him. Verse 9:

Think of who Paul was. He had so twisted and perverted God’s truth that he rounded up men and women and children who loved Jesus and put them into jail, and said he was obeying God by doing it. He stood there, watching the men pick up stones and throw them at the head of Stephen, because Stephen loved Jesus. He held their coats so that they could really wind up and hurl those stones. He was a heretic and a murderer.

And look what happened, because of the gospel. Paul went from destroying the church to building churches all over the world. He went from twisting and perverting God’s truth to teaching and explaining God’s truth. He changed from supporting and encouraging the stoning of one of Jesus’ followers, to himself being stoned and left for dead, because he was a follower of Jesus.

How did all this change? How did Paul go from one such extreme to the other? The gospel. What did verse 10 say?

I’ll say!

Jesus died , and Jesus came back to life, and look what a difference it made. Paul says:

Paul’s not bragging that he worked harder than James and Peter and John and the rest of the disciples. But he is saying that the saving work of God, through His grace, had amazing effects.

And if Jesus dying, and Jesus coming back to life, and Jesus appearing to each of these persons could have that kind of effect, then that’s what Paul is going to spend his time on. It’s interesting that Paul focuses most of his attention on Jesus dying, Jesus rising, Jesus transforming. He’ll mention some of the concerns in the churches, some of the sins in the world of his time. He recognizes that there are problems, and he address them.

But each time, he comes back to Jesus death and Jesus resurrection and the work Jesus is doing, through the Spirit, to change and transform and purify human beings. Paul is focused, he’s driven, to preach the gospel, that gospel, the true gospel. Earlier in this letter, in 1 Corinthians 2:2, Paul even spells this out:

Because Jesus dying and Jesus rising and Jesus showing up in people’s lives is how this world is going to be put back together again the way it’s supposed to be. That’s why, verse 11:

Is this what we preach? Is this how we talk? How often, as we talk about what we talk about, does the death and resurrection of Jesus come up in our conversation? Just imagining ourselves, at the coffee shop, on the phone, in an email, saying or writing those words seems a little strange, doesn’t it? Like if we said it, our friends would look at us a little weird and then tell us we sound like a minister or something.

It’s just, and here’s the thing…we’re just wasting our breath trying to figure out all these problems when we forget Jesus’ death and resurrection. There is no other answer. The gospel tells us how Jesus is putting everything back right. The gospel describes how Jesus is making everything perfect.

So the gospel must be part of our discussions. As we’re talking about the election, about global warming, about a possible, or current recession, as we’re talking about the purity of our denomination, we turn to Jesus’ death and resurrection. What is it about the election, or global warming, that Jesus died to put to death? What sin in the economy, what impurity in our denomination, was nailed to the cross with Jesus’ feet and hands? What brokenness in our community has been killed when Jesus was killed? Sin looks very alive and well, right now, and that’s what has us scared. But sin was put to death when Jesus was put to death. Let’s remember that, let’s recognize that, let’s talk about that, let’s preach that. As we start to recognize the sin, and as we remember that that particular sin was killed, we start to become more hopeful. Jesus already won the victory, when He died.

And as we remember this true gospel, we start to see what Jesus is bringing back to life. As we talk about illnesses, mental illness, cancer, heart troubles, MS, and when we remember that even sickness was put to death on the cross, we start to see new life resurrecting. Even when legs are weak, we feel alive. Even facing dangerous surgery, life is strong, unthreatened. Even the most frightening illnesses, Alzheimer’s, leukemia, even those scary words don’t shake us, because we have received the gospel and we’ve taken a stand on the truth. Sickness, crime, broken relationships, splits in a church, none of it will drag us down. Because Jesus died. Because Jesus came back to life.

This coming week is set apart to recognize and remember and rededicate our support for Christian Education. Like we said before, the Christian school is one very important way we hear the gospel. We support and we pray and we love the Christian school, because we love to hear the gospel.

So, this week, as you’re having your conversations, bring the gospel in. Make these words a part of your talk. Because Jesus died, because Jesus came back to life, this is what’s going to happen. If we’re hearing someone else from church talking, and they don’t bring in the gospel, then you do it. Say, "Remember 1 Corinthians 15? Remember the gospel that we received? Let’s stand on that." I know that sounds corny, at least at first. But the other choice is to get nervous and angry and a little freaked out. What would you rather do? Be scared, or speak the gospel?