I invite you to turn in your Bibles now to 1 Corinthians chapter 15. 1 Corinthians chapter 15 verses 1 to 11 will be the text this morning. 1 Corinthians chapter 15 verses 1 to 11 will be our text today. Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I deliver to you, first of all, that which I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he was seen by Cephas, then by the Twelve. After that, he was seen by over 500 brethren at once, of whom the greater part remained to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that he was seen by James, then by all the apostles, then last of all he was seen by me also as one born out of due time. For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain. But I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was in me. Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach, and so you have believed. Would you join me in prayer? Heavenly Father, we come to You in prayer. We thank You for Your Holy Word. We thank You for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I pray, Lord, that You will help me to proclaim the Gospel effectively this morning. And I pray if there's anyone here today that has not yet believed the Gospel, that today would be the day they give their heart and life to Jesus. And so I pray your blessings upon the reading and preaching of your Word today, and I ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. You know, our world today is full of bad news. If you watch television, if you read the newspaper or even the internet, you know that there's a lot of bad news in our world today. Last year we had a lot of really bad hurricanes and perhaps we'll have some bad ones this year. Just last Friday, I believe it was, there was an earthquake in California that did a good bit of property damage. We hear of war and terrorism. We hear about mass shootings like the one that took place recently in Virginia Beach. We hear of flesh-eating bacteria that has killed someone recently when they were on Yes, the world is full of bad news, but I have good news this morning, and that is the gospel of Jesus Christ. In fact, the word translated gospel means good news. God has good news for you. loves you. God has provided a way for your sins to be forgiven. God has provided a way for you to be set free from the power of sin in your life. You can have a life full of love and joy and peace. You can have real meaning in life. You can have true satisfaction in life. Yes, the gospel is good news. And this morning I want to share with you the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ as Paul shares it right here in 1 Corinthians chapter 15. Now the gospel was not made up by the apostles. The Gospel was given by God Himself as Paul indicates in verse 1 as well as Galatians chapter 1 and verse 12. And so let's see this good news of the Gospel. First of all this morning, Paul gives us a summary of the Gospel in verses 3 and 4. And you know, the Gospel is not a philosophy. The Gospel is not a set of rules. The Gospel is based on a person and his name is Jesus Christ. The Gospel is based on the saving work of Jesus for us as we see in verses 3 and 4. Notice first of all that Christ died for our sins. Verse 3, For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. Normally the death of someone is not good news. But in the case of the death of Christ, it is indeed good news. And I want you to appreciate the suffering that was associated with the death of Jesus Christ. They arrested Him. And they beat Him. They spit upon Him. They mocked Him. and they put a crown of thorns upon His brow and pain was no doubt felt as the crown was placed on the head of Jesus Christ. And then they took Him up to Calvary and they laid Him down upon the cross and then they began to beat upon Him. on that cross of Calvary. Yes, Jesus Christ suffered and died as they beat upon Him. But as they drove those nails into His hands and drove those nails into His feet, you should understand that it was our hands that should have been crucified. It was our feet that should have been crucified. And so that leads to the question of why was he willing to suffer so? And it was as it says there in verse 3 that Christ died for our sins. For our sins. The word for means on behalf of, even in place of, as a substitute for. Jesus Christ suffered for our sins, the Bible says. He took the punishment that you and I deserve. 1 Peter 3 and verse 18 says that He died just for the unjust that He might bring us to God. He was just. He never sinned. And He did not die for His sins. He died for our sins. And again, as you look at verse 3, He died not just for, as a substitute, but notice the words, our sins. You see, the cross of Christ does not make any sense apart from the reality of sin. If sin is not a problem, if sin is not against a holy God, if there is no such thing as sin, then why would Jesus go to the cross and suffer the way He did? But He went to that cross and He did suffer and He did die because He was dying for our sins, as the Bible says. And how do we know that Christ died for our sins? Well, he says in verse 3 that he died for our sins according to the scriptures. You see, prophecy indicated that one would come who would die for our sins. In Psalm 22, we have a prophecy of the crucifixion almost a thousand years before Christ died on that cross. In Isaiah 53, we have a prophecy where it says that He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. And in the next verse it says the Lord laid on Him the iniquities of us all. Yes, the prophecies. The sacrificial system of the Old Testament, especially the Day of Atonement, all point to the One who would die for our sins, as it says here in verse 3. Back in the days of the Civil War, they would use sometimes rather severe punishment to keep people in line. It's hard for us to imagine today the kind of punishment that was inflicted, but one of those punishments was to brand people. for what they had done wrong. Webb Garrison in his book, The Amazing Civil War, says that sometimes a deserter would be branded with a D on his back or on his hand. A thief would be branded with a T. A coward would be branded with a C. and other brands were used to inflict someone and to shame someone for the rest of their life for what they were accused of having done wrong. Aren't you glad that because of Jesus you don't bear your sins for the rest of your life? But they are removed. They are forgiven. He died for our sins. And then furthermore, He rose again from the dead, as it says there in verse 4. And that He was buried. And that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. Now if Christ had died and been buried and remained dead, there would be no good news. Because if He had remained dead, then no doubt He was a sinner. He died and is still dead. But the fact is, He did not remain dead. As we will see in just a moment, there is overwhelming proof of the fact that Jesus rose from the dead as proclaimed by the Gospel in verse 4. And it is good news for at least two reasons. One is, the resurrection declares that God accepted the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Romans chapter 4 and verse 25 says that He was delivered up because of our offenses and was raised because of our justification. We know that we are now justified because Christ was raised from the dead. And secondly, the fact that He rose from the dead is good news, and that He is alive, and that He lives within the believer, and by the power of His resurrection life, we can live victoriously, and we can serve the Lord in His power. The power of the risen life of Christ. In verse 2 it says, you are saved. And it's a present tense. You see, salvation is not just something that takes place in the past. It is something that is dynamic. It is a salvation that we continue to experience over the power of sin each and every day by the indwelling life of Jesus Christ. Folks, that's good news. Christ is risen. And so, because of what Christ has done, that He died for our sins, He was buried, that He rose again from the dead, we have good news. But how do we know? How do we know that this is true? There are those that deny that Christ died for our sins. There are those that deny the resurrection of Jesus Christ. How do we know? Well, we see not only the substance of the gospel, but also the substantiation of the gospel right here in chapter 15. There are seven evidences of the resurrection in particular that are given right here in our text of Scripture and I want to share those with you. The first is Old Testament prophecies. Not only did He die according to the Scriptures, but also that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. If you were to look at Psalm 16, Psalm 110, and other prophecies, you will find prophecies of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And not only do we see more explicit prophecies like those, but also in typology, we see prophecies of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Do you remember Aaron's rod? It was Dead wood. But out of the deadness of that dead wood, it budded forth with leaves and flowers. A picture of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus himself pointed to the topology of Jonah. how He was as good as dead for three days and three nights, but He came forth out of that sea creature with new life on the third day, typifying the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And so yes, He rose again according to the Scriptures. We have prophetic evidence of the resurrection. Furthermore, we have the testimony of the empty tomb. Now he mentions that he was buried in verse 4. And there is significance in that statement. Because it indicates that yes, he was dead. But also, it proves and gives further evidence of the resurrection. You see, God providentially arranged Jesus not to be buried as criminals normally would be buried, but buried in the rich man's tomb. A tomb that was hewn out of solid rock. And there was only one way out of that tomb or into that tomb, and that was the entrance. And yet, there was a situation that that creates. And that is, that tomb was sealed with a large stone, it was sealed with a Roman seal, it was guarded with a Roman guard. And yet, we know that on the third day, the tomb was empty except for the grave clothes. Now how do we explain that? Or some say, well the disciples came and stole the body of Jesus. Well you mean these scared disciples would have somehow overcome this guard and stolen the body of Jesus? You think they would have dug through solid rock to get to the body of Jesus? I don't think so. No, the resurrection of Jesus Christ is also affirmed by the burial of Jesus Christ. Do you think they would have died for a lie if they stole the body of Jesus? Absolutely not. And so there's the evidence of the empty tomb, but there's also the evidence of the apostles in verse 5. And that He was seen by Cephas and then by the twelve. The first apostle to see Jesus was Peter, the leader of the apostles. And Peter gave testimony that Jesus was alive. He had seen Jesus. And how do we know that Peter was telling the truth? I'll tell you how we know, and that was by the change in his life. I mean, he was a coward before a servant girl just the night before Jesus died, and yet we find him boldly proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus Christ even to the risk of imprisonment and death. Yes, the testimony of the apostles is convincing evidence. But not only did He appear to Peter, but He appeared to the others of the twelve. Including, by the way, Thomas, who according to the Gospel of John, did not believe in the resurrection until he saw Jesus alive with his own eyes. Yes, all the apostles went forth proclaiming that Jesus Christ is alive. You cannot explain the existence of the church apart from the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Strike the shepherd and the sheep are scattered, as the prophecy says. If Christ had remained dead, the apostles would have just gone on home and dispersed and the church would never have come into existence. Many of you hold in your hand a Bible. That New Testament that you have in your hand would have never been written apart from the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The testimony of the apostles. And also the testimony of the 500. Verse 6, After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remained to the present, but some have fallen asleep. This is the only place where we read that Jesus appeared to 500 at one time. Now where did this take place? Probably Matthew chapter 28 verse 10, sometime when Jesus appeared in Galilee, probably in a remote area of the mountain regions where they would not be seen, 500 gathered together at one place and Jesus appeared to all 500. And Paul says many of these folks are still living. You can talk to them if you want to. Many of these 500 no doubt went forth as missionaries giving testimony of what they had seen. Jesus alive from the dead. Yes, the testimony of 500 witnesses was powerful evidence of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. You know, any trial lawyer would love to have two or three witnesses. And yet here, we have 500 witnesses of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. But that's not all. He also mentions a testimony of a skeptic in verse 7. After that, he was seen by James. Now which James is this? Is this James the brother of John? No, I believe it is James the half-brother of Jesus. Probably when Paul went to Jerusalem and met with James, who became the lead pastor of the church, he found out about what happened. According to John chapter 7 and verse 5, James and his brothers did not believe in Jesus. And yet now, They're proclaiming the resurrection. Well, what happened? Well, Jesus had a special appearance to his brother James. And he, who was an unbeliever, became a confirmed believer. You know, when you have a body that needs to be identified, who do they call to identify that body? A family member. And so, a family member of Jesus was one who testified that yes, that was Jesus that we saw alive from the dead. What compelling evidence we have. And then furthermore, we have the testimony of a former enemy of Christ. Not only a skeptic, but even an enemy became a proclaimer of the resurrection. In verse 8 to 10, he says that I, who was a persecutor of the church, Jesus appeared to me at a later date and gave me a special appearing of Himself. And I saw Jesus alive with my own eyes. He could have said He was blinded for three days by that glory, but He was healed and able to see again. The Apostle Paul. who was the chief persecutor of the church, became a proclaimer of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And how do we know that? The same reason we know Peter was true, and that is that Christ changed his life. Verse 10, he talks about the tremendous change in his life by the resurrection and by the grace of God. And so Paul also bore witness to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Oxford historian Thomas Arnold said this, I know of no one fact in the history of mankind which is better proved by the fuller evidence than the great sign that God has given us that Christ died and rose again from the dead. No fact of history has the kind of support that the resurrection of Jesus Christ has. But that's not all. Though that's all that Paul mentions here explicitly, but implicitly he talks about another evidence of the resurrection, and that is the testimony of millions of Christians. He talks about these Corinthians. who came to know Jesus as their Savior, who became believers. And by the power of forgiveness, the power of God's grace, the power of the resurrection life of Jesus, their life was radically changed. If you were to read 1 Corinthians 6, verses 9 and 10, you would read that these Corinthians were at one time extortioners. They were idolaters. They were adulterers. They were fornicators. They were homosexuals. They were thieves. But Christ changed their life by the indwelling power of Jesus Christ. And to their testimony could be added the testimony of millions and millions of believers for the last 2,000 years. And there's an old hymn that says, you ask me how I know He lives. He lives within my heart. He changed my life. He changed the lives of so many sitting in front of you. And if you would indeed affirm that Jesus Christ is alive by your own experience, would you say amen this morning? Amen. Indeed, the evidence is overwhelming. And so Paul says, the Gospel, the good news is that Christ died for our sins, He was buried. He rose again according to the Scriptures. He gave strong substantiation of the Gospel. And then finally this morning, let us see how to receive salvation offered by the Gospel. Now I believe that Christ died for all, but Not all are going to be saved because each person has to respond to the gospel. And so what must we do in order to be saved? Well, first of all, we've got to receive the message of the gospel. Look at verse 1, Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which you stand. I have proclaimed the Gospel this morning, but the question is, have you received the Gospel? And that word received means to take to oneself as one's own. You know, it's one thing to hear. The Bible says faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. You must hear the Gospel, but are you receiving the Gospel? I hate to use this illustration, but I will. We husbands are accused at times of audibly hearing our wives, but we're not really receiving what they're saying. We're audibly hearing, but we're not receiving it. And you know, we've got to do more than just hear the Gospel. We've got to receive it into our hearts and into our minds if we are going to be saved. There are too many people who have just heard it but haven't received it, folks. You've got to receive it. But secondly, you've got to receive salvation as a gift. Verse 10, But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain, but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was in me. Now he's mainly talking about God's enabling grace there, and the word grace is found three times in that one verse, but the fact is we're saved by grace. Ephesians 2.89 says, By grace you are saved. Romans 6.23 says, The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. These blessings of forgiveness and eternal life and love, joy, and peace, a changed life. All of these blessings are a gift of God's grace. And so salvation is a matter of receiving salvation as a gift. But you know, to hear so many other religions that tell you that if you want eternal life, if you want to have a good life, then you've got to do all of these religious works and then hopefully you will finally attain it. You'll finally attain it. Folks, that's not good news. Now let me ask you a question. If I were to come to you Let's say some of the younger folks in particular and say, you know, I've got good news. You can be a millionaire. And yeah, that sounds good. Well, tell me how I can become a millionaire. Well, all you got to do is get a second job and work yourself to death, put away $10,000 every year at 6% interest for about 40 years, and at the end of that 40 years, then you will have a million dollars. Well, bless your soul. You know, you'll be so old by the time you have the million dollars you won't be able to enjoy it. You know, there's no good news in that. But I'll tell you what would be good news is if my cousin out west puts me in his will And when He passes away, I get like a million dollars. You know, that is good news. That's more like good news to me. But that's what it is. Christ died for you that you might have these blessings as a gift of His grace. And then finally, receive salvation by faith in Christ. By faith in Christ. He mentions in verse 11, Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preached, and so you believed. These Christians were saved because they believed the gospel. And so, if you are going to be saved, you must receive salvation as a gift by faith. Ephesians 2.8 says, For by grace you are saved through faith. We must believe the gospel. We must trust the gospel. Don't trust in what you can do. Don't trust in what your church will do for you or a priest perhaps can do for you. Trust in Christ. That is the way of salvation. But we must be careful because of what Paul says in verse 2. By which you are saved if you hold fast that word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. Paul mentions a possibility of believing in vain. There's a sense in which you believe, but yet it's vain, it's empty, it doesn't bring about the desired result. And how can that be? Well, first of all, if you believe just intellectually, that's not saving faith. James 2.19 says, you believe there's one God, well, the demons believe and tremble. It doesn't save them. Furthermore, we can believe in vain when our faith doesn't produce a changed life. If there's no real repentance, if there's no true surrendering to Jesus, not only as Savior but also as Lord, a true faith will change your life. And thirdly, a true faith lasts. It endures. In the last of verse 2, he talks about holding fast that word which I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain if you don't hold fast. I tell you what, somebody that gets baptized, makes a profession of faith, say that they believe in Jesus, and yet six months later, they're not following Jesus, there's something wrong with their faith. They believed in vain more than likely. Make sure that you have the kind of faith that Jesus talks about in John 8 31. If you abide in my word, then are you my disciples indeed. Do you have saving faith? There were a couple of boys standing in front of a frozen pond one winter day. And one said to the other, Billy, I believe that we can walk on that pond and play on that pond. And the other boy said, okay, if you believe that, get on the ice. Oh no, I'm not going to do that. I don't think I want to do that. Well then you don't really believe, do you? And that just illustrates that real faith always is associated with action. That real faith will result in a profession of your faith. Real faith will result in a baptism. Real faith will result in a changed life. A committed faith. Have you truly been saved this morning? The Bible says, but as many as received Him, them gave you the right to become children of God. Have you received Christ by repentance and faith? If not, we invite you to do that this very morning. Would you bow with me in prayer? Heavenly Father, thank You for the Gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ. And I pray that as we have gathered here this morning to worship You and to hear Your Word, that if there's anyone here today that has not yet been saved, I pray that today will be the day when they experience the transforming power of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Lord, help their faith to have feet and to profess their faith in Christ and follow you in baptism. And I pray and ask this in Jesus' name, amen.