WHY JESUS DIED & ROSE FROM THE DEAD?
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
1 Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News (Gospel) I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it. 2 It is this Good News (Gospel) that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you—unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place. 3 I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died (cross) for our sins, just as the Scriptures said.4 He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. 5 He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. 6 After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. 7 Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles. 8 Last of all, … I also saw him. 9 For I am the least of all the apostles. In fact, I’m not even worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted God’s church. 10 But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his special favor on me … it was not I but God who was working through me by his grace. 11 So it makes no difference whether I preach or they preach, for we all preach the same message you have already believed.
QUESTION #1: WHAT IS THE MESSAGE OF THE GOOD NEWS (The Gospel)?
ANSWER #1: THE MESSAGE OF THE GOOD NEWS OF JESUS (The Gospel)
- Jesus is
- Jesus
- Jesus was
- Jesus was
- Jesus was seen
- Believing in Jesus is what saves us
1 Corinthians 15:12-27
“12 But tell me this—since we preach that Christ rose from the dead, why are some of you saying there will be no resurrection of the dead? 13 For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either.14 And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless. 15 And we apostles would all be lying about God—for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can’t be true if there is no resurrection of the dead. 16 And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. 18 In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! 19 And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world. 20 But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died. 21 So you see, just as death came into the world through a man (Adam’s sin), now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man (Jesus). 22 Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam (human race), everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life. 23 But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back. 24 After that the end will come, when he will turn the Kingdom over to God the Father, having destroyed every ruler and authority and power. 25 For Christ must reign until he humbles all his enemies beneath his feet. 26 And the last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27 For the Scriptures say, “God has put all things under his authority.” … so that God, who gave his Son authority over all things, will be utterly supreme over everything everywhere.”
QUESTION #2: WHY DID JESUS DIE & RAISE FROM THE DEAD?
ANSWER #2: SIN NEEDED TO BE PAID FOR AND DEATH NEEDED TO BE CONQUERED
- Adam’s sin brought the
- Jesus’s death
- Jesus rose from the dead as the ‘
- We will raise from the dead through our
“HE PAID A DEBT”
He paid the debt He did not owe, I owed a debt I could not pay;
I needed someone to wash my sins away.
And now I sing a brand new song, “Amazing grace”,
Christ Jesus paid the debt that I could never pay.
He paid the debt on Calvary, He saved my soul and set me free;
I’m glad that Jesus did all my sins erase.
And now I sing a brand new song, “Amazing Grace” the whole day long;
Christ Jesus paid the debt that I could never pay.
Someday He’s coming back for me; I’ll live with Him eternally.
Won’t it be glory to see Him on that day
And then I’ll sing a brand new song, “Amazing Grace” the whole day long;
Christ Jesus paid the debt that I could never pay.
QUESTION #3: WHAT IF IT ISN’T TRUE?
ANSWER #3: FAITH & PREACHING ARE USELESS, WE ARE LIARS & TO BE PITIED
- There is no
1 Corinthians 15:30-58
“30 And why should we ourselves risk our lives hour by hour? 31 For I swear, dear brothers and sisters, that I face death daily. … And if there is no resurrection, “Let’s feast and drink, for tomorrow we die!” 33 Don’t be fooled by those who say such things … 34 Think carefully about what is right, and stop sinning … 35 But someone may ask, “How will the dead be raised? What kind of bodies will they have?” … When you put a seed into the ground, it doesn’t grow into a plant unless it dies first. 37 And what you put in the ground is not the plant that will grow, but only a bare seed of wheat or whatever you are planting. 38 Then God gives it the new body he wants it to have … 42 It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. 43 Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength. 44 They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies … 50 What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever. 51 But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! 52 It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. 53 For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies. 54 Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: “Death is swallowed up in victory. 55 O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 56 For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. 57 But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.”
QUESTION #4: SO WHAT NOW – IF I BELIEVE?
ANSWER #4: BE STRONG/IMMOVABLE IN FAITH & ACTIVE IN YOUR WORK FOR GOD
- Don’t look to this
QUESTION #5: SO WHAT NOW – IF I DON’T BELIEVE?
1 Corinthians 1:18-31
“18 The message of the cross (Gospel) is foolish to those who don’t believe. But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. 19 As the Scriptures say, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and discard the intelligence of the intelligent.” 20 So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish. 21 Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our ‘foolish’ preaching to save those who believe. 22 It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom. 23 So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense. 24 But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 This ‘foolish’ plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s ‘weakness’ is stronger than the greatest of human strength. 26 Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. 27 Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. 28 God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. 29 As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God. 30 God has united you with Christ Jesus … Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin. 31 Therefore, as the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.””
ANSWER #5: CHOOSE WHO YOU WILL BELIEVE
- There is no middle ground – it’s either