sermon-archive – Page 48

how faith devotes us

I am concluding my series based on the book of Titus today. Titus is an epistle, and we have seen that its words were first written by Paul to Titus as a sort-of instruction manual for the missions assignment in Crete. Titus was a younger missionary, and Crete was a hard place to plant the church, so Titus needed all the help and encouragement he could get.

In his epistle, Paul described what the church should be in that hostile environment. He described church members who were disciplined so that they set the standard for the community around them, and devoted to Christ and the gospel, so that the Cretens would know where the difference came from.

Here is my translation of Titus 3:

¹ Keep reminding them to be submissive to their rulers and authorities, to obey them, to be ready to do every good work, ² to insult no one, to be a non-combatant, to be gentle, and to demonstrate consideration of all people. ³ Because we ourselves were once stupid, disobedient, led astray, slaves to our lusts and various pleasures, spending our lives by being mean and envious, hateful, hating one another. ⁴ But when the goodness and loving kindness appeared from our Saviour God, ⁵ it appeared, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, ⁶ whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Saviour, ⁷ so that having been declared not guilty by his grace we might become heirs, confident of inheriting eternal life. ⁸ The word is trustworthy, and I intend for you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are good and profitable for people. ⁹ But avoid stupid controversies, genealogies, arguments, and fights about the law, because they are unprofitable and useless. ¹⁰ As for a person who causes division, after warning him once and twice, refuse to participate with him, ¹¹ since we know that such a person has been warped and is being sinful; he is self-condemned. ¹² When I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, put forth your best effort to come to me at Nicopolis, because I have decided to spend the winter there. ¹³ Put forth your best effort to support and send Zenas the lawyer and Apollos; so that neither of them lacks the resources to join me. ¹⁴ And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so they can bring relief in these urgent cases, and not be unproductive. ¹⁵ The ones who are with me send greetings to you. Greet our friends in the faith. Grace be with you all. (Tit. 3:1-15 JDV)

Just as he did in chapter two, Paul sets the foundation for Titus’ ministry assignment in the gospel message itself. Nothing that Paul instructs Titus to do is arbitrary. Everything is based on what God had already done for us in Christ. Notice the elements of the gospel message here. In theological terms, incarnation, justification, regeneration and sanctification are all works of grace and they are the foundation of the church’s ministry.

Now, notice what Paul says the church in Crete should be doing because of what God in his grace had done for them. The faith that was given by God’s grace should produce a change in inner character and outer relationships.

Even in an environment known for its abuse of authority, Titus was to teach the Cretan believers to submit to those very authorities and obey them. The reason had nothing to do with the worthiness of the authorities. It had to do with the task of the church: to demonstrate God’s grace among the unbelievers. This was the reason that Christ submitted to the earthly authorities.

Also, in a world where you have to look out for number one or you will be stomped on, Titus was to teach the Cretan believers to be considerate and kind to others. Just like Jesus, who went out of his way to minister to the poor and marginalized, the church was to demonstrate God’s grace by being considerate of and kind to the unbelievers.

When it came top their relationships with each other, the church in Crete was to avoid division and promote unity. This was another way that they were to stand out among the various brawling groups in Crete.

We could all use a character makeover in the direction of mutual submission, consideration and unity. But this is especially true for members of Christ’s church, because that is how we demonstrate God’s grace within our context.

But let’s not forget the final words of Paul here in Titus. I know we need to be careful not to read too much doctrine into the travel arrangements that Paul is making for his fellow missionaries. But I see it as especially significant that Paul slipped so naturally into this subject while he was talking about demonstrating God’s grace as a church.

The missions mandate is present in every gospel presentation. It is part of every believer’s job description. The church is made up of those who serve as missionaries, those who send missionaries, and those who support the missionaries and missions work.

The servers particularly implied or listed in this chapter are Paul, Titus, Artemas, Tychicus, Zenas and Apollos.
The senders particularly implied or listed in this chapter are Paul and Titus.
The supporters are Titus and the Cretan believers, whom Paul calls “our people” (14) and “our friends in the faith” (15).

Our church has a long history of missions involvement. We have those who have served, senders, and supporters. Jesus commissioned his apostles to make disciples of all nations, and we understand that commission as extending down to each disciple and each church. Our faith directs us into a relationship with God, and also devotes us to reaching others with the gospel.

So, there you have it. The little book of Titus in the New Testament. It turns out to be more significant that we might have thought. It challenges us to confirm what we believe by living up to the gospel, and by sharing it with others.

how faith dignifies us

In this series, we have been looking at Paul’s letter to Titus. We have seen that Paul is writing from the standpoint of a veteran missionary, giving some instruction to Titus, who is now on the field in Crete, managing the new church plants there.

In what we know as chapter 2, Paul gave specific instructions to Titus relating to what kinds of things he should be teaching, what his chief activity should be as a missionary, and the focus of his ministry toward others. Here is my translation of that chapter:

“¹ But you should say what fits in with healthy teaching. ² Teach older men to be balanced, dignified, self-controlled, healthy in the faith, in the love, and in the perseverance. ³ In the same way, teach older women to be reverent in how they act, not slanderers or slaves to a lot of wine. They should be good teachers, ⁴ so that they can train the young women to show love to their husbands and show love to their children, ⁵ to be self-controlled, devout, hard workers for their families, good, and submissive to their own husbands, so that the word of God may not be accused of being useless. ⁶ In the same way, encourage the younger men to be self-controlled. ⁷ Offer yourself to be a model of these good works in every way, demonstrating in your teaching integrity, dignity, ⁸ and a healthy message which is beyond criticism, so that anyone wanting to oppose you may be put to shame, finding nothing worthless to say about us. ⁹ Teach bondservants to be submissive to their own employers in all matters; they should be satisfactory, not argumentative, ¹⁰ not embezzling, but demonstrating that they can be trusted to do all kinds of good, so that in everything they make the teaching about God our Saviour attractive. ¹¹ Because the grace of God has appeared, announcing salvation for all people, ¹² training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly lusting, and to live self-controlled, fair, and godly lives in the present age, ¹³ waiting for our blessed hope, the glorious appearance of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ, ¹⁴ who gave himself for us to redeem us from every kind of lawlessness and to purify for himself a remnant people who are enthusiastic about doing good works. ¹⁵ You should say these kinds of things; encourage and reprimand because you have every right to do so. Do not let anyone wonder about your right to teach them.” Tit 2:1-15, JDV

It is very important to see that there has been no change to the core gospel message. The basic teaching about who Jesus is, what he did, and what our hope is has not been altered. The gospel in summary is that Jesus is the Son of God who was sent to die in our place on the cross, and because he has done that, we who believe in him are now redeemed from sin’s penalty, and look for the day when we can live eternally with him when he returns. That was Titus’ faith.

The beautiful thing about Titus chapter 2 is that Paul uses that gospel truth as an overlay, and proceeds to give Titus his job description as it relates to all the various people in the church he will teach.

Teach older men to be balanced, dignified, self-controlled, healthy in the faith, in the love, and in the perseverance (2).
Teach older women to be reverent in how they act, not slanderers or slaves to a lot of wine. (3a) These older women should be good teachers, (3b) so that they (not Titus) can train the young women to show love to their husbands and show love to their children, ⁵ to be self-controlled, devout, hard workers for their families, good, and submissive to their own husbands (4-5).
Teach younger men to be self-controlled (6).
Teach bondservants to be submissive to their own employers in all matters; they should be satisfactory, not argumentative, not embezzling, but demonstrating that they can be trusted to do all kinds of good (9-10).

Showing integrity and dignity in all our relationships is how Christians back up what we believe about Christ.

Titus himself had to be the model of that lifestyle, as well as its proponent.

“Offer yourself to be a model of these good works in every way, demonstrating in your teaching integrity, dignity, and a healthy message which is beyond criticism, so that anyone wanting to oppose you may be put to shame, finding nothing worthless to say about us” (7-8).
“You should say these kinds of things; encourage and reprimand because you have every right to do so. Do not let anyone wonder about your right to teach them” (15).

He had to encourage those who were getting it right, and reprimand those who were getting it wrong. Otherwise, nobody would want to believe the gospel.

Here is the point I am trying to make: The gospel is not about being good; it is the story of God’s grace given to us who dare to believe it. But Christians are encouraged to live good lives of integrity and dignity because otherwise those who are looking at us are going to miss the gospel. Our goodness cannot save us. But our goodness can attract others to Christ – who is the world’s only Saviour.

If you are a believer in Jesus Christ today, and there is anything wrong with your relationship with someone else, I urge you to make it right, because the devil is using that problem to keep others out of the kingdom.

But, if you are not a believer in Jesus Christ today, I have only one message for you. Believe the gospel. Don’t wait around until you find a group of perfect Christians, because you are not going to find them. We came to Christ because we knew we were not perfect, so we are trusting in him. And that’s the only way into the coming kingdom. Believe the gospel. Then, the Holy Spirit can make you into a better person. Your faith in Christ can give you a life of integrity and dignity.

how faith disciplines us

This sermon series is based on Paul’s letter to Titus. Paul was writing as a missionary who was overseeing the churches in Crete. He wrote to Titus, because Titus was the missionary Paul had left in Crete to finish the work of establishing the church groups there. The whole idea of establishing and perfecting a church work suggests that our faith is supposed to change us. I wanted to use the letter to Titus as a model to talk about how being people of faith should change us.

Today we are going to look at a section of the letter which describes what Titus was responsible to do.

Titus 1:5-16

⁵ This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you- ⁶ if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. ⁷ For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, ⁸ but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. ⁹ He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it. ¹⁰ For there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party. ¹¹ They must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach. ¹² One of the Cretans, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” ¹³ This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, ¹⁴ not devoting themselves to Jewish myths and the commands of people who turn away from the truth. ¹⁵ To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled. ¹⁶ They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.

TITUS’ JOB DESCRIPTION

Titus was not a local pastor hired by the believers in Crete to preach sermons and manage their church’s ministries. He was a missionary, appointed by Paul, and under Paul’s direction. In verse five, we see what Paul had left Titus in Crete for.

…so that you might put what remained into order,

and appoint elders in every town …(5).

Titus had two basic functions as a missionary. He was responsible to straighten out the things in the churches which were disorderly, and dysfunctional. He was also responsible to develop leaders who would lead the church groups which were being formed in every town. As the gospel spread throughout the island, more and more groups were being formed, and these groups were going to need local leadership. Titus was not responsible to preach every message, and lead every group. If Titus did his job well, he would make himself redundant.

THE ELDERS’ JOB DESCRIPTION

There are a lot of good studies of the qualification lists for elders like we see here in Titus and also in Paul’s letters to Timothy. I wrote one myself and used it to train pastors in the Philippines. There is another recent one written by my friend Geoff Paynter who lives on the South Island. He wrote his to train church elders in Africa. Usually these studies focus on the moral qualities and leadership skills needed to lead churches and serve in church ministries. The lists do focus on those moral qualities and leader skills. But notice what Paul said was the function of these elders once appointed to lead church groups:

… so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine,

and also to rebuke those who contradict it. (9).

Paul’s primary concern was not that Titus pick out some good moral people with good leadership skills, and just turn the church over to them. No, Paul had planted the church in Crete by bringing people the gospel message. Paul wanted to protect the gospel from being replaced by some other teaching. Paul was confident that if a church keeps preaching the gospel of Christ crucified, then it would stay strong and keep leading people to Christ. But Paul was also aware that something else could happen at Crete. The wrong doctrine preached could lead to the wrong kind of elders being appointed.

FALSE AND TRUE ELDERS CONTRASTED

Notice the way Paul contrasts those who are false elders with those who are true elders.

False elders

True elders

upsetting whole families (11)
devoting themselves to Jewish myths and the commands of people who turn away from the truth (14)
They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works (16).

… hospitable,
a lover of good,
self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. (8).

False elders destroy families by inciting people to divide over doctrinal differences. But true elders are peacemakers. They help to stabilize families.
False elders focus on insignificant trivial differences. True elders devote themselves to what is good for everyone.
False elders tell one thing and show another. True elders live self-controlled lives. They have been disciplined by their faith.

That brings me back to the title of today’s message: “how faith disciplines us.” Paul expected Titus to find and train and appoint elders to take over the leadership of all the new groups being formed on Crete. Where did he expect to get those true elders from? There was no bible college or seminary on Crete. He had no denominational recruiter with a list of vetted ministry professionals from which he could pick his choices. No, Paul expected the church itself to produce its own leaders. By focusing on preaching the gospel of God’s grace demonstrated by Christ crucified, a church should automatically produce next generation’s leaders. I’m not saying that there is no need for intensive training. But I am saying we should stop using these qualification lists as disqualification lists. Look in your heart. Is your faith genuine? If your faith is genuine, you have what you need to lead someone else to genuine faith. Let that genuine faith discipline you into the kind of person you should be, then dare to lead others into that same kind of genuine faith!

Rescuing Christmas

Philippians 2:5-16 ESV

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. 14 Do all things without grumbling or questioning, 15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.

I want to begin with a story that is found in the prophet Zechariah:

Zechariah 7:1-3 NLT “On December 7 of the fourth year of King Darius’s reign, another message came to Zechariah from the LORD. The people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regemmelech, along with their attendants, to seek the LORD’s favor. They were to ask this question of the prophets and the priests at the Temple of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies: “Should we continue to mourn and fast each summer on the anniversary of the Temple’s destruction, as we have done for so many years?””

This was an important question. We should ask ourselves this questions about all the traditions that we are following.

This was God’s reply: Zechariah 7:4-7 NLT “The LORD of Heaven’s Armies sent me this message in reply: “Say to all your people and your priests, ‘During these seventy years of exile, when you fasted and mourned in the summer and in early autumn, was it really for me that you were fasting? And even now in your holy festivals, aren’t you eating and drinking just to please yourselves? Isn’t this the same message the LORD proclaimed through the prophets in years past when Jerusalem and the towns of Judah were bustling with people, and the Negev and the foothills of Judah were well populated?’ “”

God reminded his people that those traditions were part of the problem, not the solution, because they were being followed for selfish reasons.

God’s prescription for the problem was this:

Zechariah 7:8-10 NLT “Then this message came to Zechariah from the LORD: “This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: Judge fairly, and show mercy and kindness to one another. Do not oppress widows, orphans, foreigners, and the poor. And do not scheme against each other.”

God said if they really want to follow a tradition, they should make a tradition of being good to others. They could rescue the fasts by showing mercy and kindness to one another.

Christmas is a tradition that needs to be rescued as well.

Until Christ returns, there will always be two Christmases. There will be the Christmas of this “crooked and twisted generation.” That is a Christmas that people celebrate for celebration’s sake. The world will continue to pile tradition upon tradition on top of that Christmas, because they do not know about the true Christmas. They will enjoy the show, then pack it up until next year.

But for us believers, there is another Christmas. It is a story that we cannot pack away, and we cannot afford to forget. It is a story of a loving God who gave his only son so that we might have everlasting life.

Paul’s words to the Philippian Christians are about authentic Christian living. It is by authentic Christian living that we can rescue Christmas.

Paul said that Jesus was in the form of God, so he deserved a crown in heaven. Instead, he took upon himself the form of a man, and chose to serve. He served us as no other being could ever do. He served us by being obedient to God’s will and going to the cross. His service meant dying as our substitute in order to pay the price that we owed. The wages of sin is death, so Jesus had to die for us or we would all die in Gehenna hell.

God probably will not ask you to die for someone. But he does ask us as believers to humble ourselves like Christ did and serve others. Having the mind of Christ means wanting to serve others in Christ’s name. Wouldn’t Christmas be different if every believer went out of his way to serve others during this season?

Paul said that God is working in the Philippians to make them desire and do that which pleases him. He encouraged the Philippians to cooperate with God by working out their salvation with fear and trembling.

These verses have been adopted by those on either side of the sovereignty/ free will debate. But Paul was urging believers to live up to what God had begun in them. Here we see both sovereignty of God in giving us new life and our responsibility to cooperate with him and work out the details of that new life.

How does this relate to Christmas? Christmas is one time of year where everyone tends to socialize. This is a time when the real us is probably more visible because there is more stress. That makes it especially important that we live up to the Christian principles we profess.

Paul said that believers are to shine as lights in the world. What better time to shine than when the world is claiming to celebrate the birth of our Lord?

In many places this time of year neighbourhoods will have competitions to see if they can outshine each other. What would happen if we Christians would make a concerted effort to outshine each other in the sense that Paul uses the word?

What does Paul mean by encouraging the Philippians to shine?

Listen again to verses 14-16.

• 14 Do all things without grumbling or questioning. Wouldn’t it be a brighter Christmas for everybody if we decided to go about our business cheerfully instead of turning into Ebenezer Scrooge?

•15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation. Wouldn’t it be a brighter Christmas if we decided to act with integrity. It is not the Grinch who stole Christmas. It is the Devil. This Christmas, let’s shine by doing the right thing.

•16 holding fast to the word of life. Wouldn’t it be a brighter Christmas if we used this holiday as an opportunity to share the Gospel?

One of my favourite Christmas traditions is “A Charlie Brown Christmas” in which Linus told Charlie Brown about the true meaning of Christmas.

Linus Van Pelt (Lucy’s brother) just quoted the story of Christ’s birth from Luke 2, King James Version. But something magical happened. Suddenly Christmas was not about putting on a show. It was about Christ.

The Vann family wishes you and your family the happiest of times this Christmas. God bless you.

_______________________

LORD, help us this year to tell the world around us about the Christmas that we know. Help us to confess the name of Christ, who is no longer a babe in a manger, but is now the Lord of the universe. Every tongue will soon confess his name. Help us to confess his name now.

confidence in the gospel

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”” Romans 1:16.

Penny and I worked as professors at Oro Bible College in the Philippines. Every year just before the students were due to graduate, we brought the candidates together for one final oral exam. One of the questions we regularly asked each student was “define the gospel.” We were consistently amazed that after four years of biblical and theological training, our students had problems with that simple question. Perhaps we should not have been so amazed, because most evangelicals do not really know what the gospel is.

Oh, they know that if they believe in Jesus they can receive eternal life (and that is certainly true). But most would be surprised to discover that this conditional statement misses a great deal of the heart of the biblical good news. The Good news that the Bible teaches is that, but it is also something else. Consider, for example, the following texts which contain the word euangelion:

“Jesus traveled throughout the region of Galilee, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness.” Matthew 4:23 NLT

This first occurrence of the term in the New Testament is remarkable for what it does not say. It does not say that the gospel is a theological concept that someone must believe. No, the good news is not about a theological decision one makes (or prayer that one prays) as much as it is about a kingdom that one can join. Jesus himself is the king of that kingdom. He teaches about himself, and then proceeds to back up that teaching about himself with miracles that prove he is who he says he is. The gospel here is not as much about what you and I believe as it is about who Jesus is.

“Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has one will also be told in memory of her.” Matthew 26:13 ESV

When Jesus commanded us to proclaim the gospel to the world, he was not referring to another gospel: a gospel other than the one he was preaching. Yet he had not been proclaiming his death and substitutionary atonement. As important as that truth is, it is not the heart of the gospel. The heart of the gospel is something else.

“But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might

finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.” Acts 20:24 KJV

Paul called his message “the gospel of the grace of God.” He was set apart to teach and proclaim this gospel. It was the good news – not that we can do something for God (like believe in his Son) – but that God has graciously done something for us. The good news is Jesus himself – a gift of God’s grace.

Knowing this gives the reader a fresh perspective on how Paul describes the gospel in Romans. If the gospel that is the power of God for salvation is the person of Christ himself, then the faith that leads to the righteousness of God is not just acceptance of his forgiveness. It is acceptance of all that he is, all that he has done for us, and all that he will do. The gospel does not simply draw our attention back to the cross. It also draws our attention to the eternal ramifications of the cross. It is good news, because God has intervened definitively in the person of Jesus Christ. Christ is the revelation of God’s deliverance – his righteousness.

The righteousness of God revealed in the gospel is not simply the fact that God regards us as righteous because of what Jesus did for us. It is a righteousness that is accomplished by his grace, and imparted by sanctification, and realized by faith in future glorification. So, we can have confidence in the good news for at least three reasons.

We can have confidence in the gospel because of God’s grace

Jesus died for me. I have been saved from my sin by the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. My sins are atoned for by his death. They are forgiven. I am no longer on the list of those whose destiny is eternal death. When Paul talked about God’s righteousness being revealed, he was using a very old Hebrew use of the word “righteousness.” In that context, it means the same thing as salvation, or deliverance.

We can have confidence in the gospel because of our own growth

Jesus teaches me. I stand forgiven, and have access to the Holy Spirit to affect true change in my behavior. I can now live in victory over sin, and grow in the likeness of Christ. The key to living this life is the gospel message that Jesus proclaimed when he was on this earth. He gave commands which can drastically alter my life. But I have to learn and obey those commands. I am a disciple of Christ. I must choose to live like one. The gospel is the gospel of the kingdom. If I choose to live outside of the principles taught in the gospel, I have not responded to the gospel, regardless of what I believe about the atonement.

We can have confidence in the gospel because of its promise of future glory

Jesus will make me immortal. I have an eternal destiny that will begin the day Jesus breaks the clouds and returns from heaven. On that day, if I am still alive, I will be transformed, and never taste death. If I die before that happens, I will be raised to life at Christ’s command when he returns, never to die again. The gospel is good news because it shows us the destiny that is ours beyond the grave. It does not deny that death is real. It shows hope beyond death.

“Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you – unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures” 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 ESV.

This explains why Paul’s most extensive presentation of the gospel is found in a chapter entirely dedicated to the resurrection. There is no gospel without the resurrection. Because Christ was raised, we now can have victory over the penalty of sin in the past, and the power of sin in the present. Because Christ will raise us from the dead, we now have an eternal destiny – a future besides destruction in hell.

You cannot really understand the gospel without this perspective on the future, and that is exactly what the problem was in Corinth. The believers in Corinth had lost the good news of the resurrection. They had lost the gospel.

“how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 1 Corinthians 15:12b ESV.

Not knowing the future God has for us can severely cripple us. Knowing our future can free us to truly live in the present.

“In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.”” 1 Corinthians 15:52-54 KJV.

The resurrection is God’s victory, and ours. The gospel is the good news about that victory. It is the story of God entering this world of sin and pain through his Son, and taking on that sin and pain through the atonement on the cross. It is the story of the crucial battle won on the cross, and demonstrated by Christ’s resurrection. It is the story of the final victory over sin and pain through the resurrection at Christ’s return. Coming to faith in Christ is entering into that story. We know how the story ends. That is why we can have an eternal perspective. This coming year, we should not live recklessly – like there is no tomorrow. But may we live fearlessly, because there will be a tomorrow. The gospel assures it.