1 Corinthians 15:12-20

One day three preachers went fishing. One of the preachers was an old retired preacher. Another was a preacher who had been preaching for 15 years. The third was a seminary student. As they were fishing they ran out of worms so the retired preacher said, "I'll get some more worms." So he stepped out of the boat and walked across the water of the pond to the shore and came back the same way with more worms. After a time they ran out of worms again so the preacher who had been preaching for 15 years stepped out of the boat onto the pond and walked across the surface to the shore and then came back with more worms. When they ran out again the seminary student inspired by the faith of the two preachers stepped out of the boat and went straight to the bottom of the pond. As the two preachers pulled the seminary student back into the boat one said, "His faith is certainly strong but it helps to know where the rocks are.

The Christians in the church in Corinth were in a similar situation. They had faith, but they didn't know where the rocks were and they were in danger of missing a few of them and stumbling. You see they believed in Jesus and that he rose from the dead, but some of them found it hard to accept that we will all rise from the dead too. I mean how many people do you know who were dead for years and then were raised?

Most people in our society believe in some form of an afterlife. But most people in the ancient world did not. Even among there Jews there was a difference of opinion. In Jesus day there were two major groups within Judaism: The Pharisees and the Sadducees. The Pharisees believe is the resurrection of the dead, but the Sadducees did not; that's why they were so Sad-you-see. To the Greeks death was the end of any physical. There was no real afterlife with a body of any kind. The idea was ridiculous. So the society around the early Christians ridiculed them for their belief in the resurrection of the dead. -The belief in the afterlife is a vital part of the Christian faith. Paul knew that if they abandoned their belief in the general resurrection of the dead their whole belief system would be in jeopardy. If they threw out the resurrection of the dead then they would soon question the resurrection of Jesus. And without Jesus' resurrection then the whole Christian understanding of salvation was in jeopardy. It was like pulling a single card out of a house of cards. Some cards you can pull out without disrupting anything. But others will cause the whole house to come down. The resurrection was one of those cards that could cause the whole house to come down.

So Paul explained it to them. He drew attention to how illogical it was to say that Jesus rose from the dead and then say that other people cannot rise from the dead. Either we deny Jesus' resurrection or we have to acknowledge that people can rise from the dead because Jesus did. If Jesus did not rise from the dead how could he have conquered sin and death? If he did not conquer sin and death then why are we saying we believe in him? If there is no resurrection Jesus is just some old dead guy. But if there is a resurrection, then he is our Savior!

Back in Jesus' day most people did not believe in life after death, but today most people do. In fact according the BARA research group 81% of Americans believe in life after death. But that still leaves 19% who don't - that's about 1 in 5 people. So belief in an afterlife is not as much an issue now as it was then but it is still an issue. There may even be some Christians who don't believe in or who seriously doubt life after death!

Paul addresses those people in our lesson. Notice that he doesn't say you are not a Christian if you don't believe in the resurrection. He does say that if you say you believe in Jesus and you don't believe in life after death then your beliefs are inconsistent. So if we believe that Jesus rose from the dead, then it is only logical to believe in the resurrection of the dead. And the converse is true: if we do not believe that people can rise from the dead then the logical conclusion would be that Jesus, a person, did not rise. In that case he could not have saved us from sin and death.

Like I said most people today do not deny the resurrection of the dead or at least some form of life after death. But many people in the church today do question other basic beliefs. For instance it is popular for people today to believe that Jesus is not "the" way to salvation he is just one way. They say that all the world's religions are just different ways to get to God. Some even go as far as to say that no one religion is better than another. I have heard dedicated Christians say this!

I can appreciate and even applaud the desire to show respect to other religious groups, but I don't think people see how this train of thought logically leads to the rejection of Christ. The Bible tells us that Jesus died for the sins of the world. It says that Jesus is the way the truth and the life, and no one comes to the Father but by him.(John 14:6) In fact it says that we were unable to approach God because of our sin. Therefore God had to come to us. It also says that only a sinless sacrifice could possibly atone or pay for our sins.

So Christian belief says that Jesus had to die for us to be saved. That was the only way! If there were some other way, then why would God send Jesus to go through an awful death on the cross? If there were another way to salvation, then God should have told us! If Jesus is not the only way, then God was cruel to ask Jesus to die on the cross for our sins.

Now I am not saying that people of other religions cannot know of God. After all we have evidence in the Bible of Millennia of people who knew God before Jesus came. In Romans, Paul says that the Gentiles knew God through nature. (2:14) God has made himself known to people in every place and time. What I am saying, and what the Bible says, is that salvation from sin is impossible apart from Jesus. Anyone who has been saved throughout history was saved because Jesus died for the sins of the world. That is just as much true for Noah and Abraham, who lived thousands of years before Jesus, as it is for us who life thousands of years after. If Jesus' death on the cross is not the only way to salvation, then God was cruel to allow Jesus go through the crucifixion.

Another key belief of the Christian faith that many people, including Christians, deny is salvation by grace. People in general think that if you are good you get to go to Heaven and if you are bad you go to that other place. So they think that if they are either above average or exceptional enough they will be saved from Hell. But that's not what the Bible teaches. The Bible tells us that salvation is a gift from God that we do not and cannot earn. And we receive that gift by putting our faith in God.

Some will say, "But weren't people in the Old Testament saved by keeping the commandments?" No, they weren't. The commandments were meant to inform and guide their faith, but they were still saved by grace. The Bible says, "For no human being will be justified in his sight by works of the law."(Rom. 3:20) All the way back in Genesis it says that Abraham's faith was reckoned unto him as righteousness. (Genesis 15:6) It doesn't say he acted righteously. It says that righteousness was given to him. It was a gift of grace. And the means of receiving that gift was faith.

So there is no historical precedent for salvation by being good. In fact it is illogical. First of all, how good is good enough? You know at the fair they have these measuring sticks and if you are not tall enough you can't get on the ride. If there is a measuring stick for goodness to get through the pearly gates how tall is it? Is it just above average? Is it Mother Theresa tall? The Bible says that Jesus is the measure of righteousness. That standard is above all of us! So we cannot be good enough to get into Heaven. That is why salvation has to be given to us by someone who is righteous, and the only person to ever live a completely righteous human life was Jesus!

If you don't want to fall you need to know where the rocks are. There are a number of key beliefs that are rocks for our understanding of God and our relationship with him. We need to recognize those rocks and not miss them in our Christians walk. Now, don't misunderstand me. I am not saying that salvation depends on these beliefs. The Bible says that the only thing required for salvation is faith in God.

I am also not saying that you are not a Christian if you deny the resurrection or that Jesus is the only way, or that salvation by grace through faith, or the virgin birth, or anything else. I am saying that without these beliefs our understanding of God and HIS work in the World becomes unraveled. They are the stones that we can stand on in our Christian walk. Paul warned the Corinthians that they should not abandon their belief in the resurrection of the dead. I am sure leaving the resurrection out might in the short run make it easier to convince people in their day and age to become Christians. But in the long run they would stumble and fall.

In the same way we need to be careful that we don't let the theological trends of our society lead us to abandon key elements of Christian teaching. We believe in God the Father who crated all that is. We believe in Jesus Christ, born of a virgin, who suffered and died and then rose again. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the universal church, family of all believers, the forgiveness of sins the resurrection of the body and everlasting life. These are the rocks of truth that support us in our Christian walk. Let's keep our eyes on these rocks so that we don't stumble!

Jesus was a revolutionary. If you don't believe me just read the Gospels. Remember how Jesus began his ministry. He walked into the synagogue in his home town and claimed to be the Messiah. Then he told the people that God had sent the Messiah for the Gentiles as well as the Jews. His first sermon was so radical that it almost got him killed.

Then, like anyone leading a revolution, Jesus gathered followers. He started in Capernaum and traveled throughout Judea preaching in the synagogues. The Bible said that he proclaimed the Good News of the kingdom, so I imagine his sermons were similar to the one in Nazareth. He was spreading his radical doctrines and ideas. He also healed people and this attracted more people to Jesus.

When we meet Jesus in our lesson for today he has just chosen his 12 disciples. He spent time praying before choosing them. After picking the 12, Jesus descended the mountain. This revolutionary preacher and his 12 lieutenants. And as the came to a plain the people flocked to them. They came to hear him preach. They came to be healed from diseased. They came to be liberated of demons. And the crowds were reaching for Jesus. Hoping to just touch the hem of his robe. They thought that if they did they could be healed. And the power of God Almighty went out from Jesus!

Then Jesus spoke. "Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of heaven." Not "Blessed are the poor in spirit." That is what is in Jesus' Sermon on the Mount in Matthew. This is the Sermon on the plain. And Jesus is saying blessed are you that ain't got no money. And it's not "Blessed are the poor." It is blessed are you poor. He is speaking to the people in the crowd. He is saying "you who are poor are blessed." Why are they blessed? Because they have the kingdom of heaven. They don't have much, but the kingdom is for them. Well who will give it to them? I guess God. What about the rich? Well they are not blessed, in fact they are cursed. Why? 'Cause they already got stuff.

Then Jesus says, "Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled." Not "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness." But blessed are those whose stomachs are empty and aching. Not those who have known hunger, but those who are hungry right now. Again it is not those who are hungry, but you who are hungry. Jesus is talking to the starving people in the crowd. At the moment they are feeling the pain of hunger, he is telling them they are blessed. How could they be blessed? They are blessed because they will be filled. They are blessed because they will have food. How will they get it? I guess God will give it to them. And all of us who had big breakfasts this morning ask our selves, "Well what about those who aren't hungry?" It says they will hunger.

Jesus added, "Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh." This one has no parallel in Matthew. But it still perplexes us. If someone is weeping, we imagine they have experienced a great loss. Perhaps a loved one has died, or they have lost their livelihood or have been violated in some way. How is such a one blessed? They are blessed because their weeping will stop and they will have reason to be joyful again. How can this be? Who will give them reason to laugh? Apparently, God will wipe their tears away and give them a reason to rejoice. Again what about those who aren't weeping? Well "Woe unto you, for you will mourn and weep."

What kind of radical talk is this? Up with the poor and down with the rich. It sounds like the slogans used by communist revolutionaries. Believe it or not some have used these words that way too. "But Preacher in Matthew it says, 'Blessed are the poor in spirit, and those who hunger for righteousness.'" Those words make more sense and we like them better. Isn't that what Jesus meant here? And these woes, we don't like them, they make us feel uneasy. That doesn't sound like the Jesus we know. Maybe we should just ignore them."

I like the words in Matthew better too. They are easier to understand. They don't make us uneasy. They are easier to accept. But these are different words. They may sound similar. But they have a different meaning. I believe that Holy Spirit inspired Luke to right down these words because this is what Jesus meant. Sure we like Matthew better at this point, but God is using Luke to tell us something.

Perhaps these woes in Luke make us feel uncomfortable because they are supposed to. Maybe Jesus intended to make the rich and powerful of the world squirm a little and think about their position. Let's take a closer look at the part of this lesson that makes us most uncomfortable: the woes. "Woe to the rich. - woe to those who aren't hungry." Should we who have things in this world be punished for our good fortune? Oh, being rich or just having enough to eat is not a crime against God. But failing to do what we can to feed the hungry and house the homeless is a crime. And all who are guilty of it need to examine their actions. "Woe to these who laugh." Is it our fault that we don't have something to cry about, should we be punished for that? Perhaps we have nothing to weep about because we ignore the suffering around us. If we were truly aware of the pain around us we would be weeping.

When you take a close look at this passage from Luke you see that Jesus was a revolutionary; a radical. He offered a revolutionary way of seeing the world and it was unpopular, and still is. Oh, it is popular today to talk about the poor. About their lack of motivation. About how to solve their problems. Now I could really talk about the poor! When my grandfather Alexander Stevenson, Sr. set foot on this shore, he didn't have a penny to his name and look where his grandson is now. He didn't have a 6th grade education and now his grandson has two masters' degrees. If a poor immigrant's son and grandson can go to college, anyone can. Anyone can make something of themselves in this country if they just work at it." But Jesus didn't talk about the poor or at the poor he talked to them. He and his disciples came down off their high hill and walked amongst the people. And Jesus said to the poor and the hungry and the distressed, "Blessed are you." They directly addressed their pains and their needs. And they made a lot of other people very uncomfortable.

If you do what Jesus did you will make other people uncomfortable. I knew a woman once who said that her house was Jesus' house, and he just let her stay in it. It had been her husband's house but he left her for another woman and she got it in the divorce. There was an apartment upstairs in that house. Whenever someone needed a place to stay it was theirs. Her estranged husband got cancer and was dying. And his girlfriend left him. This old man was dying and alone. This woman took him in, even though he had hurt her. And she took care of him until he died. I think her actions were a beautiful act of mercy. Through her actions she was saying blessed are the poor, the sick, those who have wasted their lives. Most would have cursed that man, but out of Christian charity she blessed him. People in that little North Carolina town say she's crazy. I think she is just a radical: like her Jesus.

If you follow Jesus like his disciples did, and seriously try to bless the poor, hungry and distraught, people will ridicule you. They will call you names like radical, revolutionary, bleeding heart, and many others. If they can't say something true about you they will even make up lies about you. They may even throw rocks at you and attack you. But if you decide not to follow this revolutionary Jesus, people will praise you. They will call you a clear thinker and level headed. And they will say nice things about you. But Jesus said, "Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, on account of the Son of man!" And he said, "Woe to you, when all men speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets."

Jesus was a radical. Are you?

top of this page

"There are two Ways, one of Life and one of Death, and there is a great difference between the two Ways." These are the opening lines of the "Didache" a first century Christian Document. The "Didache" was a book used to teach new Christians the essence of the Christian faith. What followed this opening is a description of Jesus teaching of the way of life and guidance on how to live it out. In a sense it was the first confirmation class literature or catechism for new Christians.

The important thing is that this statement is the context in which the rest of the teachings of Jesus and His church are framed. There are two ways, two choices, two possible directions in life. One of these ways leads to death, destruction, dare I say, "Hell!" The other leads to life, health, - "Heaven!" And Jesus is the way to life while all other ways are the way to death.

Perhaps in our theological sophistication we have lost sight of this truth. We are so busy trying to apply the Gospel to all the problems of modern life that we have lost the big picture. And the big picture is simple: There are two ways in life. The Gospel leads to eternal life and all others lead to eternal death. Everyone in this world that is not headed Jesus' way is going the other way - the way of death.

Of course the "Didache" is not the Bible but the Bible says the same thing over and over again. Jeremiah identified these two ways. "Thus says the Lord, 'Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals." They are cursed because they trust in themselves and make mere flesh their strength. Ancient Israel did this by placing their trust in allegiances with earthly kings instead of their covenant with their heavenly King. Often these treaties were ratified by worshipping false gods and tolerating worship of those gods by the Israelites. These who choose this way are like trees that are planted in the desert. By planting their hopes on earthly kings and armies the Israelites were planting themselves in a waterless place. Their hopes would shrivel up and die like a bush in the desert.

And later Jeremiah said, "Blessed are those who trust in the Lord." This is the way that leads to life. Those who place their hopes in the Lord will be like a tree planted by a stream. If Israel in their time of national crisis would put their trust in God they would find the water of life.

There are two ways. The way of trusting in our own abilities, the way of self-reliance, the way of materialism. That way leads to death. The other is the way of trusting in God, they way of faith, the way of life.

The psalmist knew all about these two ways. In fact the first psalm tells us about them. The psalms were not listed in the order in which they were written, but more by their content just like our hymnals. There is a reason why Psalm 1 is Psalm #1. It, like the first line of the Didache, frames all that follows. It puts the rest of the Book into perspective.

And that is that perspective? First of all, "Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked." Their delight is in the law of the Lord. They meditate on it day and night. As Jeremiah said they are like trees planted by a stream. Not only do they find water but they bear fruit.

On the other hand, "The wicked are not so." They are like chaff that the wind blows away. They are useless and without substance. And when the winds of judgment blow they will be blown away.

Psalm 1 adds some dimension to these two ways. Jeremiah speaks of them in the context of national crisis and he speaks of faith. Psalm 1 is more personal and individual and he adds a moral dimension to it. The way of life is not just trusting God but seeking to do his will. It involves meditation of God's will and law. It means seeking understanding so that one can live right before God. The way of death is the way not just of faith in humanity but the way of wickedness, which scoffs at God's law.

Jesus spoke of these two ways also. He described these two ways in his first teaching to his followers after choosing the 12 disciples. Once again this concept is first. It is the beginning of the sermon on the plain. It is the context in which Jesus and Luke frame all of the teachings that follow.

Jesus said, "Blessed are you poor," "Blessed are you hungry," "blessed are you who weep." Then he ends with "blessed are you when people hate you and revile you because of the son of Man." Why are you blessed? Because God will give you the Kingdom of heaven. God will satisfy your hunger. God will give you Joy. God will reward you. Right on the heels of that Jesus says, "Woe to you rich," "woe to you who are full," "woe to you who laugh." And in conclusion, "Woe to you when people speak well of you." Woe to you because you will be poor and hungry and weeping and suffer the same judgment as the false prophets.

You see, Jesus has come at the issue from a different angle. Those who are poor and hungry and persecuted are those who have not sold themselves to the lords of this world. Instead they have placed their faith in God. They will be blessed like trees planted by the water. Those who are rich and full and spoken well of are those who have put their trust in the armies of Rome and Herod. They will face judgment.

Jesus adds a third dimension to these two ways. It is a social dimension added to Jeremiah's faith and the psalmist's morals. Not only is the way of life about trusting in God and following God�s laws it is about living out our lives sacrificially with the needs of others first in our hearts. And not only is the way of death about trusting people and despising God's laws it is about living materialistically and self servingly. This dimension is unsettling to those of us who had a plate full of grits for breakfast, but it is true. The way of life is a way of sacrifice and suffering.

There are two ways: one that leads to life and the other that leads to death. The way of life is the way of Jesus. It is about placing our trust in God. It means seeking God's will and trying to live it. It means following him to a sacrificial cross. It is the way that leads to eternal life.

The other way is the way of death. It is the way of self-reliance. It is the way of immorality. It is the way of self-indulgence and immediate gratification. It leads to death and hell.

Which way are you going? You are going one way of or the other. Standing at the crossroads is also the way of death. Are you trusting in God each day? Are you seeking his will? Are you sacrificing for others?

There are only two ways: one leads to life, the other to death. Which way are you going?

top of this page