THE GOOD NEWS (1): PROVIDED

(I Cor 15:3-4)
March 6, 2016
Read I Cor 1:1-4 Wives can be tricky. Gotta watch them. One day my wife
said, Theres one thing I want to make perfectly clear. I said, Whats
that? She said, The lawn, and handed me a rake! Clarity is important
whether its the lawn or a critical item of information, right? And theres
nothing God wants us more clear on than the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Sadly, we live in a day when the gospel has been terribly battered, abused and
twisted. Im sure if we polled this room wed get nearly as many opinions as
there are people as to its content. Its been equated with being good, practicing
religion, a ticket to heaven, the secret to health and wealth, a means of need
fulfillment, and a thousand other aberrations all of them wrong.
So, what is the gospel? Can we even know? One of the most influential voices
in the emergent church [McLaren] says, I dont think weve got the gospel
right yet. I dont think the liberals have it right. But I dont think we have
it right either. None of us has arrived at orthodoxy. Thats incredible,
coming from a professed evangelical. Is he right? No. He himself denies the
heart of the gospel which leaves him afloat on a sea of uncertainty. It need not
be so. The gospel is not hidden. And as Easter approaches, I wanted us to see
anew the pure, undiluted, clear gospel as Paul gives it in I Cor 15:1-8.
What is the gospel? The word literally means good news. In simplest terms,
the gospel is good news. Not just any good news, but the good news! Ultimate
good news. But good news implies bad news in the background, right? Like
the boy who arrived at the principals office and heard, Thats 4 times this
week. What do you have to say for yourself? The boy answered, Im glad
its Friday. Friday was good news against the backdrop of a failed week.
So the backdrop of Gods good news is the bad news of a failed world.
Evening news begins, Good evening, and then tells you why it isnt! The
gospel starts with, Bad news. You reside in a world where chaos, terror,
murder, perversion, pain and suffering reign. Furthermore, you are lost
pitting your will against the will of your Creator. You are unworthy of Him,
with no hope of changing yourself or your world. Thats straight bad news.

But heres the good news. Jesus came to fix everything you cant fix. If you
trust in Him, ultimate victory can be yours. There is no better news in the
whole world. That is the gospel we want to examine in detail in 3 sermons
looking at the good news Provided (3-4), Possessed (1-2) and Proven (5-9).
Note Pauls intro: 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I
also received. First importance Top Priority. Eternally significant. This
is imperative. On Christmas Day, 1776, Col. Johann Rall was in charge of
British troops at Trenton. A loyalist spy brought an urgent message that
Washington was crossing the Delaware River for a surprise attack. But Rall
was playing poker and had left word that he was not to be disturbed. The spy
finally wrote his message on paper which was delivered to Rall who stuffed it
into his pocket unread. Rall was still playing poker when Washingtons
troops completely surprised the British, gaining a much needed 1st major
victory for the colonists. We wouldnt be here today but for Ralls failure to
pay attention to a message of first importance! Well, Pauls ranks way higher.
And notice he received it. Its not his opinion. Its a truth he received. From
whom? Almost certainly from the apostles during his first visit to Jerusalem
15 years before. The form of the message suggests that it was a creed or song
developed to communicate vital truth in a brief, easy to remember form the
heart of the gospel in three vital parts Christ died, Christ was buried, Christ
arose all in accordance with the Scriptures. The disciples struggled to know
the purpose for His existence. But in the 40 days between his resurrection and
ascension, as Jesus taught them, they finally got it. His life and death had been
planned, prophesied and purposeful. Planned before time began, prophesied
hundreds of years in advance and purposed to save a fallen race. Those facts
are the heart of the good news. So, how is the gospel provided? 3 elements.
I.

Christ Died

Death is good news!? Hitlers, maybe! But how can death be good news?
John Donne didnt think it was. He knew deaths devastation: Each man's
death diminishes me, / For I am involved in mankind. / Therefore, send not
to know / For whom the bell tolls, / It tolls for thee. So, how can my eternal
destiny be impacted positively by any death, let alone one 2,000 years ago?
Paul gives 2 profound answers. First, Christ died in accordance with the
Scriptures. Clue # 1. Christs death was part of a premeditated plan of God
that He prophesied hundreds of years beforehand. So it must have a divine
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purpose. The assassination of Pres Kennedy was a senseless, tragic accident of

history. The assassination of Julius Caesar, Ghandi, Abraham Lincoln all
surprises to the victims and meaningless intrusions of small, insignificant
nobodies into the course of history. Not the death of Jesus Christ. His death
was planned, prophesied, purposeful and submitted to by Him with full
knowledge of what was going on and why. Because it had been prophesied.
Listen: Psa 22: 14) I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of
joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast; 15) my strength is
dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the
dust of death. 16) For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles
me; they have pierced my hands and feet 17) I can count all my bones
they stare and gloat over me; 18) they divide my garments among them, and
for my clothing they cast lots. Written in 1,000 BC at least 400 years
before crucifixion was invented. And only divine revelation can explain the
precision of Davids description of Jesus death a death planned and
prophesied years in advance. God was in charge of every minute detail.
But that still doesnt explain why Christs death is good news. How is it good?
Pauls got that covered as well. Look again: Christ died for our sins in
accordance with the Scriptures. Weve seen the plan and the prophecy, but
now we see the purpose. He died for our sins. Thats the phrase that gives
His death meaning. It was a substitutionary death. Like a soldier falling on a
live grenade to save his buddies, His death has meaning beyond himself. It
was for our sins. Our who? Our anyone who believes in Him.
Our world doesnt buy that. In Nov, 1993 at a Reimagining God conf, Prof
Delores S. Williams of Union Theological Seminary said, I dont think we
need a theory of atonement at all. I dont think we need folks hanging on
crosses and blood dropping and weird stuff. I doubt that God appreciated
that effort to reimagine Him. He doesnt need to be reimagined, just believed!
Take Jesus payment for sin out of the Bible like that, and you simply have no
Bible left. Substitutionary sacrifice is everywhere -- in Eden when God kills
the first animals to cover Adam and Eve. It extends to Gen 22 where God
provides a lamb to take Isaacs place as the sacrifice God was requiring of
Abe. It continues to all the lambs sacrificed to prevent the death of the
firstborn Israelites during the Exodus. Moses sacrificial system was always
teaching, sin means sacrifice. Sin means sacrifice, and either you pay, or the
substitute God provides. Thats how Jesus understood his own life. Mark
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10:45, For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to
give his life as a ransom for many. Christ died. Meaningless tragedy? No
purposeful, redemptive act for fallen humanity. Fail to grasp this and youve
stuck Gods most critical message to you into your pocket unheeded.
Under Oliver Cromwell a soldier got the death penalty for desertion -execution to occur at the ringing of curfew. The man was betrothed to a
beautiful young woman who pled with Cromwell for his life, but to no avail.
An example was needed. That night the sexton rang the bell, but no sound
came. The young woman had climbed the tower, wrapped herself around the
clapper and absorbed the repeated attempts to ring the bell. Battered and
bruised she was hauled before Cromwell. When he saw what she had done, he
was moved with compassion to commute the sentence. A poet described the
incident: At his feet she told her story, / showed her hands all bruised and
torn, / And her sweet young face still haggard / with the anguish it had
worn, / Touched his heart with sudden pity, / lit his eyes with misty light. /
Go, your lover lives, said Cromwell; / Curfew will not ring tonight. Nor
will the curfew of Gods judgment ever ring for we who believe, because
Gods judgment has already fallen on Him who died. Christ died!
II.

Christ Was Buried

The importance of this phrase is not apparent to us. Burial is assumed. So why
is it included in this little creed? Why not just Christ died and Christ rose?
Wouldnt that suffice? Well, there are 2 reasons burial is critical. First, the
burial was also in accordance with the Scriptures. Isa 53:9: And they
made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death. A grave
was prophesied, and a burial there must be or God has missed on prophecy
and the whole of His revelation comes down like pulling one block out of
the bottom of the carefully constructed pile. Prophecy cannot fail.
But hidden in this prophecy is the 2nd reason burial is critical. Note He was
with a rich man in his death a reference to the generosity of Joseph of
Arimathea in providing a tomb for our Lord. Thats important. The Romans
typically denied burial to executed convicts routinely leaving their bodies to
rot on their cross. The Jews hated this practice and, if they could get a body,
usually buried it in a common field potters field in the Hinnom Valley
Jesus probable fate as a convicted blasphemer if the Romans released Him.

But imagine claiming resurrection of a body buried in a common field! How

could you ever be sure?! Josephs gracious act had far more significance than
he could have imagined when he claimed Jesus body. He provided a gravesite
that was well-marked, clearly established, openly public and eventually
certifiably empty! God planned it, Joseph executed it, and as a result, the
resurrection of Jesus was clearly established. But the burial was key. Without
it, resurrection would have been impossible to establish. Christ was buried.
III.

Christ Was Raised

This is the whole ballgame! Its great that Christ died for our sins and was
buried, but if He was not resurrected, Hes just one more religious guru with
nothing to offer but a few platitudes and a bit of inspiration. Instead, Jesus
offers victory over mans greatest enemies sin, Satan and death. He
defeated them all. The resurrection proves it.
Some early believers struggled with this. Whos ever seen someone come back
from the grave? And, Greek philosophy was dualistic. It taught the universe is
composed of two equal and opposite forces good and evil. Spirit is good,
material is evil; mans soul is good, but his body is evil. So, some Gentile
believers supposed the resurrection referred only to the spirit of Christ.
But Paul is adamant. The resurrection was physical. He was buried (physical).
He was raised on the third day. Important because in those days it was
considered that after 2 days death was definite. Burial and resurrection on the
third day clearly infer the physical reality of the resurrection.
And again, it is in accordance with the Scriptures like Psa 16:9-10:
Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh
(physical) also dwells secure. 10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,
or let your holy one see corruption (physical). This isnt Greek philosophy;
this is divine reality! Pauls saying, Theres an empty tomb outside
Jerusalem, and your whole faith rests on that spiritual and physical fact.
Jesus is alive.
I Cor 15:17, And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you
are still in your sins. . . . 20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead,
the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. Not only is Christ raised, but
because He is, you will be too. No news ever compared to this. No wonder it
is of first importance. Everything rides on this. Even the grammar illustrates.
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Christ died and was buried. past tense. He was raised perfect tense =
past action with continuing results. Died once. Buried once. Lives forever!
This was the crowning message of the apostles. The climax to Peters great
sermon was Acts 2:23: this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite
plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of
lawless men. 24 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it
was not possible for him to be held by it. You crucified; God raised. You
said, Guilty. God said, Not guilty. You gave a verdict; God dramatically
overturned it. He undid the whole rotten mess. But His blood is on your
hands. No wonder 3,000 came to faith in Christ in one day. They were driven
to repentance by the empty grave that lay just outside town.
So resurrection was at the heart of all the apostolic sermons. Acts 3:15:
whom God raised from the dead. Acts 4:10: whom God raised from the
dead. Acts 5:30: The God of our fathers raised Jesus. Acts 10:40: but
God raised him on the third day. Acts 13:30: But God raised him from the
dead. Get the message? There is no Christianity without a resurrected Christ.
But there is a living Christ. The impossible happened. The tomb is empty.
Jesus lives, and the way to the Father goes straight thru Him alone.
Conc Before the 1934 baseball season, crazy Dizzy Dean predicted that the
Cardinals would win the pennant and he and brother Paul would win 45 games
between them. Accused of bragging, Diz replied, It aint braggin if you can
do it. And he did, winning 30 while Paul won 19 (total 49) and the Cardinals
won the pennant. Muhammad Ali used the same line when he predicting the
round when hed knock out an opponent. It aint bragging if you can do it.
The story of the gospel is God can do it. For nothing is impossible with
God (Lu 1:37). A virgin birth, a perfect life, and an atoning death and burial
-- all to save a condemned human race that had no hope without Him. Then,
a resurrection to seal the deal. Years ago, a friend went off to school at
UCLA. Within the first year, he came back questioning everything hed ever
been taught and asking what he thought was the ultimate question: You think
youre right. But the Hindus and Buddhists and Muslims and Mormons all
equally think they are right, too. What makes your faith any better?
Ill tell you what separates Christianity from any other religion? Two things
It all happened in accordance with the Scriptures. Fulfilled prophecy.
What God predicts, God delivers, in space and time. And secondly, the
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resurrection. Buddhas dead. Muhammad is dead. Joseph Smith is dead.

Zoroaster is dead. But Jesus is alive and well. That news is just as good now
as on the day it was first announced. So dont take this gospel of first
importance and stick it in your pocket unheeded like Col Rall. Gods provided
good news. Now its over to us what we do with it. Lets pray.