1 Corinthians 15:29-34

April 7, 2019

Lord’s Day Worship

Sean Higgins

Download the bulletin.

Download the Kid’s Korner.

The sermon starts at 15:15 in the audio file.

Or, Foolish Risks and No Restraints Without the Resurrection

One of the things I often say at the beginning of our liturgy is that we are meeting in the name of the risen Lord, and that changes things. We are not merely a club, a social gathering, a people looking for something extra to do on Sunday morning. If Jesus is not Lord, and more importantly, if Jesus is not risen from the dead, then we should go home and find the best distractions and forget about all the efforts that go into believing. If in this life only we have hoped in Christ, it’s too hard and we’re wasting a bunch of time we could be using to get drunk.

What we do really does come from what we believe. The fruit depends on the root; action grows out of creed and conviction. It is possible to mess this up, or to make it look like it’s messed up. There are many Christians who prioritize lining up their beliefs, like organizing tools on the workbench, who never actually build anything. I refer to these types as truth tubes, as if the goal of doctrine was to collect it, or switching the analogy back, to keep the truth-tools clean. But those Christians who study the Bible and take a lot of sermon notes and whose lives are unrighteous/miserable just demonstrate that what they believe is that right “beliefs” are important. It’s more important to outline and memorize the instruction manual than it is to plug the cord into the actual electric socket.

But, when we are hearing and doing the word well, we Christians appear foolish, especially to the world. Why do we do such weird things? Why are we willing to go through such difficult things? Why do we avoid so many things, and don’t just join them in the party? They are surprised that we don’t drown ourselves with them in the flood of decadence (1 Peter 4:3-4). The answer to all those questions is the same: Jesus Christ our Lord is risen from the dead.

Paul already said the preaching is stupid, and actually fallacious/false/bogus, if Jesus is still dead. He said that there is no forgiveness and there is no hope of reunion with our believing loved ones who’ve already died if there is no resurrection. But then he affirmed, “in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits” of all those who will be raised and the firstfruits of the kingdom that God has predestined to win through the Son’s resurrection.

Now in verses 29-34 Paul demonstrates three kinds of profitless behaviors if Christ isn’t risen. Why go through rituals, why face risks, and why pursue righteousness?

Why Submit to Rituals? (verse 29)

As a pre-question to Paul’s question, why would preachers try to preach this verse unless Jesus is risen from the dead? Ha! There are apparently some 40 different interpretations of this verse (Thiselton), and it is usually regarded as one of, if not the, most difficult verses to understand in 1 Corinthians. Even John MacArthur, usually known for putting his interpretive foot down even if it’s only on a thin pole in the middle of the pond, says that he’s unwilling to be dogmatic about what it means, and more comfortable acknowledging what it can not mean.

Here’s what it says: 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?

In the second century some heretics did start practicing vicarious or “in the place of” baptisms, and the Mormons still have it as part of their practice today.

But Paul loves baptism, he wrote about baptism in numerous letters, and he never says 1) that baptism saves (as in baptismal regeneration), or 2) that baptism can fix a lack of faith, or 3) that one person can be baptized as a substitute for someone else, [...]