Where O Death is Thy Sting?

 

Read 1 Corinthians 15

 I begin with the trilemma that C.S. Lewis left us years ago.  Jesus is either a liar, a lunatic, or the Lord. He proffered this in response to many saying Jesus was a great moral teacher. He was really good but he wasn’t God.

A summary of Christian apologetics on this quote gives us this:

Lewis's trilemma is an apologetic argument traditionally used to argue for the divinity of Jesus by postulating that the only alternatives were that he was evil or mad. One version was popularized by University of Oxford literary scholar and writer C. S. Lewis in a BBC radio talk and in his writings. It is sometimes described as the "Lunatic, Liar, or Lord", or "Mad, Bad, or God" argument. It takes the form of a trilemma — a choice among three options, each of which is in some way difficult to accept.

Paul begins what we mark as chapter 15, telling the Corinthian believers to stick to the gospel that they heard from him. Despite all of his corrective counsel, this was something of an affirmation, though its delivery was a bit didactic.

They are saved by the gospel that Paul noted he delivered to them. Their salvation is in Christ alone. Elsewhere, Paul notes that there is no other gospel.

We get a little history. A few followed Jesus for about three years. They were his disciples when he walked the earth as a man. Paul didn’t come into his apostleship until later. He was the odd man out.

He told these believers that for that reason, he worked even harder. He had persecuted believers until Christ revealed the truth to him. He didn’t list his credentials as he did when he wrote to the church in Philippi.  There, he said if you want to compare resumes among the apostles, bring it on, but I count all of those titles and things of religious status as nothing now that I serve Christ.

I serve a risen Savior!

However, some questioned whether Christ had risen. Paul challenged those who said they believed in Jesus as Lord but doubted his resurrection to check their thinking.

If Jesus did not rise from the dead then what is the point of worshipping a dead Savior. His death was essential to our salvation. Our sins are no longer held against us.

But is this life all there is? If Jesus did not rise from the dead, what should we expect for ourselves?

If this is all there is, why not eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow you may die?

Our salvation hinges on the fact that God loved us enough to send his own Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins and that on the third day he was raised from the dead.

It’s what Paul summarized for us in his letter to the believers in Rome.

 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.”

 The doubters and naysayers asked how. What kind of body will we have?  There are some unanswered questions. I’m not sure that I want to believe until I get some answers.

Paul gives some analogies here. The seed and the plant that comes of it look different. Eventually, the new plant will produce seeds, but the seed ceases to exist as a seed as it becomes a plant.

Jesus liked to compare the things of this world to those of his Father’s kingdom. Paul took his shot at the same.

Thinking about seeds and the plants that come of them, consider that our bodies are perishable. Some parts wear out faster than others, or hurt more until they wear out. Know this: these earthly vessels were not made for eternity.

We will receive an imperishable body. That means a lifetime guarantee—and that’s a good deal when you will live forever.

Here it is again in Paul’s words.

So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.

If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

This last line is a rhetorical presentation of the premise.  The people knew that there was a physical body. Paul notes that the believer in his or her profession of faith has stated that there is a spiritual body.

God raised Jesus from the dead, and he will raise us as well. We must firmly establish this in our hearts and minds, and all arguments to the contrary must be dismissed.

Paul offers further analogies with Adam and Jesus. The sine qua non here is that without Jesus and his death and resurrection, we are living our lives fully subservient to our sins. Sin rules.

But we know better.  Yes, we still sin but we are no longer sinners. We are a new creation. Our identity is no longer in the world but in Christ Jesus.

Again, let us consider Paul’s words to the believers in Corinth.

I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

I have talked to you about pagan symbols in the church. I’m not talking about bunnies or trees, but the symbol of the power and authority of the world. We bring it into our sanctuaries and put it front and center in most cases.

You know that I am talking about the cross that is always before you.  It was the symbol of Roman might and what might happen to you if you messed around with the Big Dog of the day.

Why would we bring such a symbol into our sanctuaries?

Because on that cross Jesus overcame the world. He did it willingly for us. He is no longer on that cross or even in the tomb. He lives, and in him so do we.

The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, took away our sin. He did it all.

“Where, O death, is your victory?

    Where, O death, is your sting?”

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

For all the problems the church in Corinth experienced, salvation was still theirs through Christ Jesus. They should be neither discouraged nor dissuaded.

They should respond to this fantastic gift by giving themselves, their work, their words, their worship, and everything they were to the Lord. Jesus is Lord. We belong to him.

In him alone can we claim victory over sin and death.

Despite all of the trials, tribulations, and turmoil that we experience in the postmodern world, we claim the same victory.

Jesus has won the victory for us. Let us live victoriously in him

“Where, O death, is your victory?

    Where, O death, is your sting?”

We are forgiven. We belong to God himself. He will not abandon us. He loves us with an everlasting love that we in this age know best through Christ Jesus.

Let us live in his victory by bringing glory to God and enjoying him so very much.

We think that we struggle in this life, and we do, but not to obtain salvation and life. That victory is won.

Consider the runner who gives it his all and almost collapses at the finish line. He still has energy for that victory lap. He is instantly refilled once the race is won.

We are in our victory lap. We are redeemed and refilled. The pressure of sin and death impacting our eternal destination is off. God’s got us. We trust him.

Trouble and tribulation will come and go, but we know that weak or strong—let’s be strong, ill or healthy—healthy is still preferred, rich or poor—having a little money does help, that in any condition we are victorious.

We will be with the God who created us and loves us beyond measure for eternity.

We are now free to live as we are designed to live, unencumbered by fear of damnation.  We live in love and perfect love casts out fear.

Let us never shy away from sharing the love of God, salvation that we know in Jesus, and victory over sin and death with all we encounter during this earthly journey.

Let us live as forgiven people. Let us live as victors in the battle with sin and death. Jesus won this battle for us!

“Where, O death, is your victory?

    Where, O death, is your sting?”

Amen.