The Rest of the Story

I belong to. Now, if you take your Bibles, go ahead and turn to first Corinthians 15 and in just a moment, we'll be reading the first eight verses of first Corinthians 15. But before we read it, there's a few comments I'd like to make today. The gospel is not a message about a new religion. The gospel is not a new method or a new list of rules.

The gospel is not a new invention or philosophy or cause. The gospel about a person and that person is Jesus Christ. What fundamental doctrine could be more vital than the identity of the central figure of all that we believe? Jesus himself. And so through the centuries and even more so in recent times, the devil has attacked Christianity time and time again by attacking the character, the identity, and the work of Jesus Christ.

In John one, we learn that God became flesh and dwelt among us and his name is Jesus. Yet today and down through the centuries, there have been many false prophets who've tried to convince people that God that Jesus is nothing like God. That he is anything but God, anything but deity. Yet, the Bible is clear. Our savior is deity, equal with the father.

We learn also from John one that he is the creator of all things and then he is the Lord of all things. Well, what did Satan do to combat that? Well, he convinced people of a scientific theory called evolution. To try to replace the son of God with nature. And to remove him from the minds of our young people and explain away his lordship over his creation.

In Galatians four and Luke one and Matthew one, we learn that Jesus is the virgin born son of God. He is the promised seed of the woman come to defeat the plans of the devil. So, men, liberal theologians in particular, came along denying his virgin birth and telling us, well, that's not so important but it is. In Isaiah seven, it tells us that God himself will give us a sign, A virgin shall conceive and bear a son. That virgin was Mary.

That son is God in human flesh. Jesus Christ. He was crucified and he died on a cross for our sins not his own. And so what does the world do? They make movies and they write books that depict Jesus as a good person or somebody fighting for a a good cause.

But a sinless human being, not a not a sinless but a sinful human being like us. The only way Jesus could take our place if is if he was sinless and not sinful. And indeed, he came to die on that cross. And then he did what? He rose again from the dead to prove he was the son of God and to assure those who trust in him that one day, there's a resurrection awaiting us also.

So, the world, even his own people, the Jews, reject sadly his resurrection and therefore, his identity as their Messiah. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is pivotal. The gospel relies on the authenticity of a risen savior and Lord who forty days later ascended back to heaven to be with his father where he intercedes for us. Jesus Christ is more than just a central figure, a great teacher of Christianity. He is the risen Lord and savior of all to come, all who come to him in faith and repentance to forgive our sins and give us eternal life.

That was what among other things was on Paul's mind when he wrote in first Corinthians 15 to the church in Corinth. Let's read the first eight verses there. It says, moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also you have received and wherein you stand. By which also you are saved. If you keep in memory what I preached unto you unless you have believed in vain.

For I delivered unto you first of all, that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures and that he was buried and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures and that he was seen of Cephas, that's Peter, then of the 12, after that, he was seen of above 500 brethren at once of whom the greater part remain unto this present but some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James, then of all the apostles, and last of all, he was seen of me also. As of one born out of due time. Let's go to the Lord in prayer before we continue. Dear heavenly father, thank you Lord for your word and the reminder here today that Paul left us that we serve a risen savior that you came and you died according to the scriptures you buried and you rose again just as you foretold because you are the son of God and you are the Messiah of Israel and you are the savior of all who come to you in faith.

Lord, thank you for your word. Thank you for this opportunity this resurrection Sunday. To worship our risen savior. Thank you Lord for the opportunity to preach your word and to sing songs of praise into your name. Lord, may you draw many to yourself that they might be saved.

In Jesus name, we do pray. Amen. In first Corinthians 15, Paul is giving us in a nutshell what we call the gospel. That is the Jesus Christ came to Earth He died on the cross for our sins. He was buried in the tomb and three days later, he rose again from the dead.

That is the gospel. The gospel by which we are saved. For Paul says, for I am not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth to the Jew first and also to the Greek. Have you ever heard the statement? That's only part of the story?

Or maybe if you're my age or a little older, you might remember somebody on the radio named Paul Harvey. Paul Harvey had a daily radio show entitled The Rest of the Story and I enjoyed immensely listening to to his stories and I was saddened when he went off the radio because you would learn things about people in history that you might have heard of but you only had part of the story and when you got the other part of the story, it was like, wow, I didn't know that. That changes the whole complexity of things. Isn't it something how different our perception of some event is when we only know part of the story and not the whole. What if you heard only of Hiroshima and Nagasaki?

But you hadn't heard of Pearl Harbor or Iwo Jima. What if you heard only of the flood? But you didn't know about Noah. And the ark. What if you heard only of the Garden Of Eden?

But did not hear of the fall of man into sin. What if you had only heard of Ishmael? But not Isaac. Or if you'd only heard of Saul and not Paul. What if you had only heard of the story of David and Bathsheba but never heard the story of David and Goliath?

What if you heard only of Jesus Christ that died but not of Jesus Christ who rose again from the dead. Doesn't that put a different slant on things? Indeed, it changes our perspective greatly. How important is the resurrection of Jesus Christ? How important is the reason for which he came and for which he died.

First of all, Jesus came to save the lost. That's why he came. He didn't come to make a name for himself. He didn't come to to a wield authority. He didn't come to slay the enemies.

He came to save the what? He came to save the lost. John three sixteen, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God sent his not his son into the world to condemn the world but that the world through him might be saved. That's verse 17.

We don't often quote verse 17. Luke nineteen ten says, for the son of man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. First Timothy 115, this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Whom I am chief. In Matthew, we're told that his parents were told to call his name Jesus for he came to save his people from their sins.

That is why Jesus came. The Bible is abundantly clear. Like the one like the one lost sheep that the shepherd leaves the 99 safe in the fold to go after or the lost coin that the housewife searched diligently for. We are the lost sheep. And the lost coin.

Which Jesus spared no expense to find and to save. To save us from death and hell, for the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. To save us from ourselves, to save us from eternal slavery in sin. It's important that we know why he came. And what did he come to do?

Well, he came to die on a what? He came to die on a cross. For that was the means by which the only way means by which that you and I can be saved is through the cross of Jesus Christ. In Philippians two reminded, he became obedient unto death even the death of the cross. The four gospels depict graphically what happened on that day.

He suffered there for our sin. As he bore our penalty in our hell. I have three little sub points under this. The first is this, and I mentioned it if you've watched the Good Friday video that I put out a couple days ago. He suffered unimaginable torture for us.

They scourged him which means they took a cat of nine tails with nine tails whip. And pulled the skin and flesh off of his body. They beat him in the face. They plucked out his beard. They took a crown of thorns.

Thorns probably about that long. I had some from Israel when I went to visit there and they pushed it on his head and then they hid it into his scalp further with reeds. And that was all before he got to the cross and they drove the nails in his hands and he hung there hardly able to breathe. Secondly, we see he suffered extreme humiliation. Hoisted up on a cross, betwixt heaven and earth for all there to see and scorn as most did.

The governor put a sign on top of the cross and said, this is Jesus, the king of the Jews in mockery. The chief priest and the crowd mocked him and jeered at him and said, you you came to save others. You healed others. Save yourself. Come down from the cross and we'll believe you.

The soldiers gambled over the robe they had put on him to mock him. Even the thieves, it says, reviled him. He didn't just suffer physical pain. No, he suffered humiliation of the highest degree that should have been mine. And then number three, he suffered the wrath of his father, poured out upon him for our sins.

As he cried, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? God the father poured out his wrath for sin upon his son who took it for me. And then he cried, it is finished. And then he died. Yes, he died.

Attested to by the soldiers who who pierced his side but chose not to break his leg because he was already what? He was already dead. At the point of his own choosing. Romans five eight says, but God commended his love toward us and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Yes, he came to save sinners.

He came to do so by dying on the cross, by dying not for his sins but for whose? For ours. For he hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. Second Corinthians five twenty one. But he was wounded for our transgressions.

He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him and by his stripes, we are healed. Isaiah 53. In first Peter three eighteen, for Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that is the innocent for the what? The guilty.

That he might bring us back to God. Being put to death in the flesh but quickened or made alive again in the spirit. Yes, the sinless son of God took your place and mine on the cross to atone for our barbaric sinfulness. He is the only way. Into a relationship.

Once again, with our heavenly father. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the father but by me. But how sad would it be to believe in Christ's death as a rebel and not know who he really was or for what he died. There are many people today that know the name Jesus.

There are some that use it haphazardly in worship. There are some that read about it. There are some that use it as a curse word. But Jesus Christ was not just a rebel. Who died?

He was the son of God who died for sinners. And how sad it is that so many people out there at Easter. Think about bunnies and eggs and maybe they know the name Jesus but they really don't know Jesus and they really don't know who Jesus is or what he came to do. Jesus didn't did not just die on that cross for a good cause. He didn't just die on that cross to start a new religion or a new way of life.

He didn't die on that cross for a delusion. He didn't die on that cross for breaking the law. He didn't die on that cross for blasphemy. He didn't die on that cross just to set a good example. He died on that cross to pay the price for my sin.

So, I didn't have to spend an eternity separated from God in a place called the Lake Of Fire. He died on that cross to pay my debt and yours. Thank the Lord for his incredible, indescribable gift. For without it, we would forever be lost. But then finally, he did something else.

Not only did he die on the cross for our sins, but he rose again from the dead on the third day. In Matthew 28, it says, he is not here for he is risen as he said. Come see the place where the Lord lay and go quickly and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead. He is risen from the dead. What a change that made.

His disciples were all gloom and depressed because their their their Messiah had died. But their Messiah was now what? Alive and risen and when they saw him and when they believed, it changed everything. Reminded by Paul here in first Corinthians 15 that Peter saw him and then the 12 and then over 500 people at once saw the risen Lord and then James and then all the apostles and then last of all, Paul himself saw Jesus on the road to Damascus that day. When Jesus stopped him in his tracks, when Paul looked up to heaven and was blinded by the glory of God.

As he saw and heard from the risen savior. Jesus Christ rose again just as he foretold. In Luke twenty four seven, Jesus said, the son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day, what? Rise again. Jesus foretold his own resurrection.

He not only foretold that he would rise again but he foretold when he would rise again. Matthew 12, Matthew chapter twelve thirty nine and forty, but he answered and said unto them, an evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign. And there shall no sign be given to it but the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the well's belly, so shall the son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Jesus said to the Pharisees and to others that were clamoring for more miracles and and more signs.

Jesus said, I have given you enough. I will give you no more. I will give you no more except for this one. The sign of the prophet Jonah. After I've died and buried after three days and three nights I'm gonna do what?

I'm gonna rise again and he did. Proving himself to be the son of God. He rose again bodily from the tomb. How do I know that? Well, because when the disciples came to the tomb and others, Mary, guess what?

They didn't find there. They didn't find a body. He didn't just rise as a spirit. He rise, he rose again in a glorified body because his body wasn't in the tomb. He rose again and was seen by hundreds of people.

And he rose again and returned to his father in heaven. We read about that in Acts chapter one. We won't take time to turn there but I would like to read a verse from Romans eight thirty four where Paul reminds those he's writing. He says, who is he that condemneth? Thus, who is our judge?

Who is our judge? Jesus Christ is our judge. Who is he that condemn it? Who is the judge? It is Christ that died.

Yea, rather that is risen again. Who is even at the right hand of God who also maketh intercession for us. You see, we serve a risen savior who came to this Earth to die for my sins and yours. We serve a risen savior who took that punishment upon himself that should have been ours. He paid the debt that we could not pay.

So that we could be forgiven and pardoned. And then he proved who he was. He rose again from the dead. He is a living savior. And one day, he will give us new glorified bodies like unto his own.

But today, where is he? Well, he's in heaven. What is he doing there? Well, our risen savior is preparing a place for who? He's preparing a place for us.

As he said in John 14. What else is he doing there? Well, he is our advocate in heaven. He is interceding in my behalf. So, that when I sin, I have an advocate with the father, Jesus Christ, the righteous.

And because I serve a risen savior and he's at the right hand of the father. I can have confidence in my relationship with God through Jesus Christ, my Lord, who pleads his blood in my stead in heaven today. He is my risen savior. That is the rest of the story. One day, he's coming again.

The question today is this, is he your savior? You see, Jesus Christ came to die for sinners. Are you a sinner? The Bible says, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Paul said, he was a sinner.

He said, he was chief among sinners. But I think we all could say the same. We have missed the mark. We fall short of the glory of God but there is one who didn't fall short. Jesus Christ, who came in obedience, died, lived a sinless life, died on the cross.

To atone for our sins. Is he your savior? Have you received his gift of everlasting life? You can today by faith. For Jesus Christ came to die for you.

And if you will receive him by faith, if you will call upon him to be your Lord and savior, to save you from sin and hell, he will do that very thing. The Bible says in John 112, as many as received him, to them gave you power to become the sons of God even to them that believe on his name. We do not deserve that. He does. But he died.

So that we could attain that. Through faith in him. And not by our works. Romans ten nine says that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth, the Lord Jesus, shall believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Who is Jesus?

Who is God talking to you? Two, he's talking to you today. Will you be saved? You can. Let's pray.

Dear heavenly father, thank you Lord. That we serve a risen savior. Thank you Lord as we we pray here today that we've been told we can come boldly before the throne of grace because you have torn the veil into that we might receive mercy. Oh Lord, that is what we need and we thank you for it today and we thank you that you're there in heaven to hear our prayers, that you're there in heaven to intercede in our behalf. And we pray Lord for those who don't know you.

That they might come to receive you soon. In Jesus Christ precious name we pray. Amen. You take your hymn books, turn if you would to 243. 243 and let's close with the hymn, there's room at the cross for you.