Oftentimes, this chapter in scripture is known as the "Great Resurrection Chapter," because in this very lengthy chapter, the apostle Paul tells us about the resurrection. Very specifically today, with these eleven verses, Paul tells us about the resurrection of Christ.

And so, the message that I preach to you is almost like a pre-Easter message, as we look forward to and head into the season of Lent, where we specifically look at Jesus' death, and look forward to the end, not only with His burial, but also with His resurrection.

After all, we have everything to gain by believing in the resurrection of Jesus from the grave. And on the other hand, we have everything to lose, if we don't believe in the resurrection of Jesus from the grave. Because, a faith without Easter is a vain faith.

Paul tells us, in our text for this morning, that if we don't believe in the resurrection of Jesus from the grave, then we have believed in vain. Or, as we just finished singing in that Easter hymn before the sermon, the refrain said,

"Had Christ, who once was slain,

not burst His three day prison,

our faith had been in vain."

Also just a few verses after our text for today, (a confirmation verse that our seventh and eighth graders just recently learned), Paul said,

"If Christ had not been raised,

your faith is futile

and you are still in your sin."

I. Notice the Stress Paul lays on the Gospel

Notice the stress that Paul lays on the Gospel, in the opening paragraph of our text this morning. Paul tells his hearers, (and he also tells us today),

"I want to remind you of the gospel

that I preached to you."

The Gospel is the Good News

and in order to be saved

we must stand on the Good News of the Gospel.

The Gospel is the ground on which we must stand.

Take this illustration for example, that helps us to understand what it is that the apostle Paul was talking about.

In our country we have many open prairies. And, during the hot and dry months of the summer, a little spark can quickly start a prairie on fire, particularly with a brisk wind. Listen to the account written in a cowboy's diary of what took place, when a wild fire sprung up on him. This cowboy was out on his horse, riding the prairie, when a fire sparked and quickly spread, and because of a sustaining wind, quickly was closing in on him. He had his horse take off, in a dead run, in the opposite direction of the fire. But, that wild fire was traveling faster than that cowboy could, on his horse. He stopped his horse, got off, and started his own fire. That fire, too, went in front of him, consuming the prairie, in front of him. And before that fire behind him could reach him, he and his horse stepped onto the ground that had already been burned. And that prairie fire that was trailing behind them, quickly fizzled out, because there was nothing left to burn.

That cowboy and his horse were saved from that prairie fire, because he stood on ground that had already been burned. It saved him.

Well, we also are saved from the fires of Hell, when we stand on the ground of the Gospel.

II. Observe what the Gospel is

Paul reminds us of what that Gospel is. That Gospel simply is the Good News. The heart and core of that Gospel message is "that Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day, according to the scriptures."

That is the ground on which we stand. And that is the ground on which we are saved.

Paul reminds us, today, "that Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures." We know that Jesus died for all of our sins, but sometimes it is important for us to look at a very specific list of sins and to see how they so easily condemn us. One of those lists is found in Galatians, chapter 5, where it talks about the acts that come forth from our sinful nature. And here in another of his letters, the apostle Paul says, "The acts of the sinful nature are idolatry, and witchcraft, hatred and discourse, jealousy and fits of rage, selfish ambition and dissension, factions and envy, drunkenness and the like."

We can go through that list of sins. Each of those cuts right to our hearts. We see

how we have been idolatrous, putting things or people in front of God,

how we have shown hatred instead of love,

how we have lived in discord, instead of harmony, and

how we have been drunk, instead of sober.

Paul tells us,

"I warn you,

those who live like this

will not inherit the Kingdom of God."

But Paul also reminds us of the promise of the Gospel. The Good News, according to the scriptures, that Christ died for our sins, and so the God through the words of the Bible rightly forgives us of our sins, when it says,

"We have been made holy

through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ,

once and for all."

Christ did die for our sins, according to the scriptures. But, it is also more than that. "He was buried, according to the scriptures." Back when Paul wrote these words, there were discussions over if Christ had actually been buried. When the Romans crucified individuals, oftentimes they would leave people in an open grave, without a proper burial. But, scriptures tell us that Christ was buried, as Joseph of Arimathea, and Nicodemus went to Pilate, asking for Jesus' body, so that they could give Him a proper burial. And along with seventy-five pounds of myrrh and aloe, they properly buried Jesus.

And then also, Jesus rose from the dead, on the third day, according to the scriptures. Jesus prophesied to His disciples and He had prophesied to a group of Pharisees that He would rise again, on the third day. And the sign that we have is the sign of Jonah. Just as Jonah was in the belly of a huge fish for three days, so also the Son of Man would be in the heart of the earth, and then on the third day would rise forth. Jesus’ death for our sins, Jesus’ burial, and Jesus’ resurrection is the heart and the core of our Christian faith.

Because a faith without Easter,

is a vain faith.

III. Observe how this truth is confirmed

Now, observe how Paul confirms this truth. When Jesus rose from the dead, it wasn't a mystery, and it was not a secret. But, there were many people that Jesus, physically, appeared to, including Peter and the disciples, including a group of five hundred brothers, including James and Paul, himself. Jesus confirmed His resurrection to over five hundred people, prior to His ascending into Heaven.

Yes, this certainly is the "Great Resurrection Chapter" in scripture, in which Paul stresses the Gospel and what it is. The truth being confirmed, as Jesus rose from the dead, that He did die for our sins, according to the scriptures, that He was buried and that on the third day He rose from the dead, according to the scriptures.

Paul knew that he did not deserve the grace of God in his life, because before he came to faith, he persecuted the Church. And yet, Paul says,

"By the grace of God,

I am what I am."

We, too, acknowledge this same thing today where we also can say we don't deserve the grace of God, because of our sin. And yet, God is loving, He is gracious to us, and He is forgiving. So we, too, can say, "By the grace of God, we are what we are." (We just sang that earlier today, in our hymn, Amazing Grace.)

Jesus' resurrection from the grave is one of the most well attested facts in all of history. And, thank God that it is, because a faith without Easter, is a vain faith. This is the message that we preach. It is the message that Paul preached to the people in his day. It is the message that has been proclaimed for the last two thousand years, and it continues to be a message that we proclaim today.

It also continues to be a message that we believe.

Amen.