If you will remain standing and take your Bibles and turn to the book of 1 Corinthians. 1 Corinthians chapter 15. Our lesson today is in verse 29 to 34. 1 Corinthians chapter 15 verses 29 to 34. This is the word of the Lord. Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf? Why are we in danger every hour? I protest, brothers, by my pride in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord. I die every day. What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. Do not be deceived. Bad company ruins good morals. Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame. This is God's word. Let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank you for this day. and for the gift of your scripture and the gathering of your people. And now, Father, we ask that you stamp with your own seal of approval and blessing the reading and the preaching of your infallible word. Amen. Please be seated. Winchester, England, sits along the southern coast of the country in the vicinity of the seaports of the British Navy at Portsmouth and Southampton. The beautiful Winchester Cathedral is the tallest structure in the vicinity. Because of that, because the telegraph had not been yet invented, in the early 1800s the British Navy used to use the chapel as a signal point to send important messages by signal flags from the fleet afloat to hill to hill to hill until it reached London and headquarters. In June of 1815, in Europe, a battle of monumental and ultimately decisive importance was at hand. The British army and its allies, the Netherlands and Prussia, were commanded by the Duke of Wellington and were pitted against the French commanded by Napoleon Bonaparte. On a field in modern-day Belgium, at Waterloo, on June 15th, 1815, the British and its allies defeated the French, effectively ending the rule of Bonaparte in France. Well, a British naval ship was dispatched to deliver the news of the great victory to London. The ship sailed Pat's Portsmouth and put itself in a position to signal with flags the message of victory to the cathedral at Winchester. The first word was sent, Wellington. The second word was sent, defeated. And then a fog rolled in and the ship could not be seen. Jim's laughing, he's an old Navy guy. The news went out in England that the battle had been lost and there was great gloom in the capital and throughout the countryside. After several hours, the fog lifted and the signal came again. Wellington defeated the enemy and all England rejoiced. There was also a day not 200 years ago, more like 2000 years ago, when the body of the Lord Jesus Christ was placed in a tomb. People might have given up and said that everything has ended, all is lost, sin has won, and man is defeated. But then on the third day, when the fog lifted, Jesus Christ rose from the dead. It wasn't a defeat after all, but a victory. The truth has made its way into our hearts, and Jesus has defeated the enemy, the enemy of death caused by sin. This is what the 15th chapter of 1 Corinthians is all about. The resurrection from apparent defeat to total victory. The bodily resurrection of Jesus and as a result the bodily resurrection of all believers. Now we've been teaching and preaching about the resurrection in this chapter and the content of the chapter for the last three weeks. And after today, we've got two more portions to go in chapter 15. Today, we come to a portion of scripture, just six short verses that have been the subject of much discussion and varying interpretations. In fact, it's cataloged that there are about 40 classical interpretations of some aspect of this passage. On the surface, considering that the Apostle Paul has been examining the subject of the resurrection, it almost seems as though Paul may have been temporarily diverted from his main focus of the resurrection of Jesus and the believers. And he seems to want to suppress some of the aberrations in which some of the Corinthians might have been involved. Suffice to say, As I said, there are many interpretations of this passage, but in the end, I think we will see that it all comes back to the meaning and the importance of the resurrection. So let's go back to our passage beginning in verse 29 and take a closer look. Verse 29 says, Otherwise, Why do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf? Evidently, word had gotten back to Paul that there were some people in the Corinthian church who were being baptized on behalf of those who had already died. Perhaps there were a couple of different motivations. I give you case one. The person being baptized might not have been a Christian, but the person who died might have been a close friend or relative who was a Christian. And the non-believing person might have made the concession to be baptized in order to somehow please or comfort the recently departed. Or possibility number two. Perhaps the person who died was not a Christian and their Christian friend or relative decided to take their place and be baptized and in some way or manner transfer their baptism to the unbeliever. By the way, the Mormon Church actively promotes baptism for the non-believing dead. More about that later. So don't leave, OK? You're going to want to hear that. But Paul's question to himself and to the Corinthians is that if there is no resurrection of the dead for any kind under any conditions, then why are you baptizing yourselves for the dead? Doesn't make any sense. If after a person dies and that's all that there is. Then what is the point of baptism or anything else for that matter, like prayers to the dead? If the dead are not raised. No one except Jesus can save another person. Do you hear me? No one except Jesus can save another person under any conditions. Saving a deceased person by prayers or baptism is not taught in the scripture. The chasm between death and life is fixed. No spirit travel, no communication with another person, despite what you might read in your local Christian bookstore. None of that is scriptural. Even the indulgences dispensed by today's Roman Catholic Church on behalf of the dead, none of that has any basis at all in scripture. Folks, you know this, don't you? You cannot save yourself. How in the world are you going to save someone else? As people of the book of God's Word, we know that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone and Christ alone. Ephesians chapter 2 verses 8 and 10 says this, For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing. It is the gift of God. not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For you are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." Someone else's faith cannot save you. Hebrews 9.27 says this, It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes what? Judgment. It is the Christian teaching that once a person dies, their fate is sealed. There are no alternatives and no seances, crystal balls, Ouija boards, no special fortune cards, or tea leaves, or palm readings, or any other nonsense that can put you in contact with the dead. And near-life experiences are, by definition, not death. I don't care how many so-called Christians have written books telling us that they've experienced death and then gone to heaven, followed by a return to the living. These people are false witnesses. They have been manipulated by others, or they may have eaten too much Italian food the night before, or they may have a profit motive even for a desire to influence others for their own benefit. And how do we know this? Because the Bible tells me so. The church at Corinth was messed up. They were mixing the solid Christian teaching they had received from Paul with the platonic dualism they had inherited from their Greek culture, and mixed in a heavy dose of paganism, all to come up with some heretical thoughts and practices that Paul never taught them. And so Paul's point in verse 29 is not about baptism for the dead. That's just a symptom of how off course they really were. And now, verse 30, why are we in danger every hour, Paul asks, and what he's saying is this. If there's not a resurrection with the dead and when you die, that's all there is. Why is anybody worried about what we're saying or talking about? Why am I being persecuted along with the others that share this same gospel message? If it's not true and it's based on a lie, then it'll never be proven out. And yet we are. We're being punished and persecuted at every turn. Paul is asking the Corinthian church, why do we apostles suffer constantly? Is it because we are masochistic? Is it because we love being beat up and thrown in jail? Is it a matter of self-idolatry? But Paul's own answer would be, if there is no resurrection, why should I be tortured? Why should I be confronted with great danger wherever I turn if there is no future? Why do we suffer for the gospel if there's nothing beyond the grave? We could expect him to say, it is all futility if there is no resurrection. Now verse 31, it says this, I protest, brothers, by my pride in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die every day. Paul endures possible torture and death every day, probably meaning at Ephesus, when he was spending three years there when this actual letter was written to the Corinthian church. But he endures the sort of sacrificial lifestyle he has embraced with all its dangers and uncertainties because he is living in the present with his gaze firmly fixed on eternity. The thing that gives him the greatest satisfaction is that despite many errors and false starts, the Corinthians are Christians who have arrived at eternal life through the work of Jesus and the obedience of Paul. Paul makes his boast in the Lord Jesus Christ. He realizes that he has often reproved and criticized the Corinthian church, yet he always boasts in their faith in the Lord. Yes, they have made mistakes and drifted from Paul's teachings. But most of them are hanging on to the core realities, and one of which, of course, is the resurrection. Well, on to verse 32, it says this. What do I gain if humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, Let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die." What does Paul gain if he has fought with beasts in Ephesus? The beast he refers to are probably those who opposed his work in Ephesus. As we know in Acts chapter 19, during this time Paul stayed in Ephesus and the surrounding areas for approximately three years. And he made enemies. Some of his enemies were leading citizens in the area. And they were threatened by what he was teaching. And this became especially heated with people whose vocation was making statues and idols and protecting those idols. One specifically, the great mother goddess of Ephesus, Artemis. who was the great goddess protector of the city. In fact, a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, and his fellow craftsmen were threatening the Christians in Ephesus because of the effective way that Paul and his assistants were spreading the gospel. He was cutting into their profits. And this was probably to whom Paul was referring when he spoke of the beasts at Ephesus. The ancient amphitheater at Ephesus, and I think some of you have been there. Kevin, you've been there? It was principally used as a theater, but on occasions there were gladiatorial events held as well. And there were beasts that were present, and people in the arena to fight them. So this is most probably what he's talking about, not his encounter with the beast, at least the non-human beast, but the others were giving him a hard time. He was defending himself from ferocious people who wanted him dead. And so he says, what would it have gained me to confront the idol worshippers in Ephesus if there were no resurrection from the dead? In fact, think about it, what is there to value or care about anywhere at any time at all if there is no resurrection from the dead? He answers his own question by taking the position of the Greek Epicureans, whose motto was, eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die. After all, what is really to gain? If there is no resurrection, just enjoy your time. If the space of a few years is all there is, we ought not to struggle, but to amuse ourselves until the end. But in fact, there is a resurrection for those who put their trust and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And there will be another resurrection for the rest of them who will be most unpleasant. Paul says in Galatians chapter 5, I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh. For these are opposed to each other to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident. Sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Verse 33, it says, Do not be deceived. Bad company ruins good morals. My mother used to tell me this all the time. Watch who you hang around with. Bad company ruins good morals. Here Paul warns some of the Corinthians that if they persist in their unbelief about the resurrection, that is where they too will inevitably drift. They are being deceived by the skeptics. The bad company mentioned in this verse. People, all people in all ages want a spirituality with no rules and no boundaries. But this is not the reality of God's word. The proverb that Paul quotes, bad company ruins good morals, is frequently experienced in life, isn't it? we become like those with whom we spend our time. Therefore, if the Corinthians were to give credibility or authority to those who have denied the resurrection, they would be corrupted by them into heresy and lose their good morals. Good morals that are grounded in God's truth. Paul says in Galatians, again in chapter 6, verses 7 through 8, Do not be deceived. God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And our last verse, verse 34. Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning, for some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame." Verse 34 is a strong and uncompromising conclusion. To deny the resurrection is both senseless and sinful. Paul was saying that the Corinthians needed to think through the implications of the false teaching that some of them had seemed so readily embracing, and to work out the logic of what no resurrection would imply. They needed to revisit the powerful historical evidence that proves that Christ is indeed risen from the dead. Denial of the resurrection clearly shows that many of them do not know God's great and gracious purposes. which he brought to completion in the death and resurrection of Jesus. Nor did they appreciate the end point of total fulfillment to which the whole plan of human history is irrepressibly and irresistibly moving. Their ignorance of these realities deprived them of both the motivation to live a godly life in the present and the certainty of the believer's future in a resurrected body in the kingdom of God. There can be no more important wake-up call. Now I have some thoughts for you that I want to pass on by way of application. The first point is back in verse 29. This idea of being baptized for the dead was mentioned by Paul. Paul didn't write or teach anything that would lead a person to believe that baptism for the dead was acceptable. To the contrary, he confronts these people who are observing the practice. Being baptized for the dead is one example, though, of the perversion of the scriptures by the Mormon Church. And here's what is written about this on their website. Not my words, theirs. We learned in the New Testament that baptisms for the dead were done during the Apostle Paul's time. And in parentheses, see 1 Corinthians 15 29. They just happened to forget to include that it was not approved by the Apostle Paul, he mentions it, but he doesn't approve of it. Back to their explanation, this practice has been restored. with the establishment of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The prophet Joseph Smith first taught about the ordinance of baptism for the dead during a funeral sermon in August of 1840. He read much of 1 Corinthians 15, including verse 29, and announced that the Lord would permit church members to be baptized on behalf of their friends and relatives who had departed this life. He told them, This is a quote from Joseph Smith, the plan of salvation was calculated to save all who are willing to obey the requirements of the law of God. And this is cited for you scholars out there in the journal History of the Church, August 15th, 1840. This is only one example of the gross perversion of the Mormons. It's not even close to being the worst of what they've come up with to spread their pathetic nonsense. They and their founder, Joseph Smith, made up their cult as they went along, so that being baptized on behalf of the dead is of small import when stacked up with the first-tier doctrinal heresies they continue to perpetuate. Beware of people who doctrinally support baptisms from the dead. That ought to be a huge warning. The second item I want to talk about is this. It's what we read in the seventh chapter of Acts, the book of Acts. I'm talking about the great confession of Stephen. He knew his fate. Yet he never hesitated to speak the truth to those who were bent on his destruction. We pick up Stephen's narrative in the 51st verse of chapter 7 in Acts. Here's what Stephen says. You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the righteous one, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it. Now, when they heard these things, they were enraged and they ground their teeth at him. But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus sitting at the right hand of God. And he said, Behold, I see the heavens open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. And then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And falling to his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, Lord, do not hold this sin against them. And when he had said this, he fell asleep. Now, let me ask you, do you think that Stephen believed in the resurrection? Of course, he did. He knew he would be delivered. And the third thing I have for you is this. I ask you, about all of the apostles, did they believe in the resurrection of Jesus and therefore the promise of their own resurrection? Of course they did. Not a single apostle ever renounced the firm conviction that each one of them had, that one day they would be resurrected and reunited with their Lord and Master. It's what allowed them to go on to their death and never surrendering their beliefs. Not as helpless sheep, but as confident warriors in the faith. So let me conclude with a few words about a group of people from long ago. The Covenanters of 17th century Scotland. Who were they and what did they want? Well, let me give you the quick version. And this will be a few minutes, but you might find of some interest. From the 13th century on, the English tried to conquer Scotland. Sometimes they succeeded, sometimes not. The Scots were fiercely independent, not only politically, but also religiously. In the middle of the 1500s, A former Catholic priest named John Knox brought the Protestant Reformation to Scotland and the Presbyterian Church was born. The English kings not only wanted to subdue Scotland as a part of a greater Britain, they also wanted to substitute the Anglican Church in place of Scottish Presbyterianism. The Scots pushed back. In 1638, they signed a national covenant that made its way all the way from the upper highlands to the borderlands and all over the East Coast and everywhere in Scotland with people, ordinary people and lords and nobles signing the covenant. And the covenant was a promise to maintain the independent Church of Scotland. They renounced any attempt by England to impose Anglicanism, which was one of the goals of the English king. And they forever rejected an English king as the head of their church. The Scottish Presbyterians became known as the Covenanters. At the end of the 1600s, the English kings Charles II and James II attacked and occupied large areas of Scotland. The Covenanters in these areas were harassed by the English army and driven from their churches. By this time, the Scottish people were only permitted to worship in the Anglican style in Anglican churches. Many Scottish Presbyterians, the Covenanters, made a stand for political and religious liberty that led to almost a century of persecution and their widespread migration to Ulster, and to the American colonies. The Covenanters, remaining in Scotland, if they were true to their faith, as most were, sought to maintain the church of their belief according to the scriptures. Above all, there was to be one head of the church, Jesus Christ, and they refused to accept the king in the role as supreme head of the church. They were forbidden by the occupying English to assemble in any building for the purpose of worship, anywhere. So they took to the countryside to worship under big oak trees and in thickets down by the marsh of the rivers, to elude the soldiers who had orders to break up any such gatherings. These church meetings were sometimes For the Scots, they've always been called conventicles. Conventicles. It means to get together with fellow believers. And if a Covenanter was found to be part of a conventicle, he or she could be arrested, imprisoned, or even legally executed on the spot. And this happened many, many times. One word stands out in a description of the character of a Covenanter. earnestness. They were earnest about their faith. George Gillith in his book, The Martyrs and Heroes of the Covenant, describes them this way. They were terribly in earnest. The passion that was in them, like all great passions, refused to be divided. Their idea possessed them with a force and a fullness to which we find few parallels in history. It haunted their sleep. It awoke with them in the morning. It walked with them like their shadow to business or to pleasure. It became the breath of their very own nostrils and the soul of their soul. Richard Cameron, 32 years old, was just such a Scottish Covenanter. He was a brave soldier, but on July 22nd, 1680, faithful Richard Cameron and some of his men were surrounded by a mounted patrol of the English king's dragoons. He was executed there on the spot by the soldiers, shot in the back of the head, made to kneel down with his hands tied behind him. His head and his hands were cut off. and taken to Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Before his murderers committed the barbarous act of publicly displaying his head and hands upon the Netherbo port, they first had one further act of anti-Christian cruelty to perform. And here is the historical account. His father, Cameron's father, was in prison for the very same cause. And they carried Richard Cameron's head and hands to him to add grief to his great sorrow and asked him if he knew them. And taking his son's head and hands, which were very fair, being a man of fair complexion like himself, he kissed them and said, I know, I know them. They are my sons. my own dear sons. It is the Lord, good is the will of the Lord, who cannot wrong me or mine, but has made goodness and mercy to follow us all the days of our lives." And after this, by order of the council, Richard Cameron's head was fixed upon the Nethermore port wall with his hands beside it and the fingers pointed upward. That's the historical record. Richard Cameron had said many times to his people that he did not expect to live a long life, at least not in his present circumstances. But he said he was fully expectant that he would be arrested and executed. But he also expected to be resurrected and by some means would find his way to the great conventicle presided over by the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's pray. Our Lord and Father, our great God, you have honored us by calling us through the proclamation of the gospel, not by human wisdom or reasoning, but by your consummate power. Remind us that all that we are and will be is tied to the reality and truth of the crucified and resurrected Christ. Help us to run our race that is set before us, that we might somehow be able to claim the prize that is imperishable, our resurrection from the dead. Make us more like Jesus. Give us courage for what you have set before us. Make us into the people and the church that you intend us to be. Be our sword and our shield in the authority of Christ, we pray. Amen.