Hell’s Most Horrible Hypothesis

This is the manuscript of the sermon delivered at Christ Church on Easter Sunday April 4, 2021.

One of Paul’s greatest strategies was to anticipate the argument of his opponent and then answer it. A hypothesis is defined as a supposition or proposed explanation made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation.

Here Paul presented the most horrible hypothesis that hell could ever manufacture in order to set the scene for an examination of the consequences.  Here’s the hypothesis from hell “Jesus did not rise from the grave, there was no resurrection”  

To hear an audio recording of the sermon click the YouTube link at the end of the manuscript.

To see a video of the entire service click this link https://youtu.be/J-spYgncJrk

Scripture Reading:

1 Corinthians 15:10‭-‬20 NIV But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. Whether, then, it is I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.  But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.  But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

Text

I Corinthians 15:14 NKJV And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. 

Introduction

One of Paul’s greatest strategies was to anticipate the argument of his opponent and then answer it. 

To the Romans he wrote, 

Romans 6:1‭-‬2 NIV What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? His answer, By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?

To the Galatians he wrote, 

Galatians 3:21 NIV Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Here was his answer, Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law.

Writing to the Corinthians, Paul anticipated an argument that, had it been valid, would have destroyed the foundation of the Christian faith. 

1 Corinthians 15:12 NIV But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

Corinth was a very cosmopolitan and sophisticated city and some in that sophisticated city were saying there was no such thing as a resurrection from the dead. 

This was also one of the major differences between the Pharisees and the Sadducees. The Pharisees held tenaciously to the supernatural and believed and accepted the fact of a resurrection. The Sadducees, on the other hand, much like the Greeks, had “thrown in the towel” and given up any hope for a resurrection and a life to come.

You can really see that differences come into play when Paul was confronted and arrested on one of his trips back to Jerusalem.   He used that difference of opinions to his advantage with the Romans. 

The entire incident is in Acts chapters 21 through 23  but I want to read just a brief portion.

Acts 23:6‭-‬11 NIV Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, “My brothers, I am a Pharisee, descended from Pharisees. I stand on trial because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead.” When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. (The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, and that there are neither angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees believe all these things.)  There was a great uproar, and some of the teachers of the law who were Pharisees stood up and argued vigorously. “We find nothing wrong with this man,” they said. “What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?” The dispute became so violent that the commander was afraid Paul would be torn to pieces by them. He ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force and bring him into the barracks.  The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”

With his keen logical mind, Paul saw that if there was no such thing as a resurrection of the dead, then the glorious news that Christ is alive must be labeled as false and untrustworthy. What would that do to the Christian faith? 

A hypothesis is defined as a supposition or proposed explanation made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation.

Here Paul presented the most horrible hypothesis that hell could ever manufacture in order to set the scene for an examination of the consequences.  

Here’s the hypothesis from hell “Jesus did not rise from the grave, there was no resurrection”  

I. Now, if that hypothesis is true, that  Christ is not risen, then our personal faith and witnessing is meaningless.

Think for a moment of the great preachers who have lived through the centuries. If Christ had not risen then these great men and women were fools, duped by their own egos, wasting their lives. Billy Graham’s crusades were not only a waste of time and money, but a spreading of false doctrine. These terrible things are true unless the historical fact of the resurrection is true.

Every effort that we have made to win the lost to Christ has been only foolishness and vanity unless Christ arose from the dead. If Christ did not rise from the grave we have received no true forgiveness because the price for our redemption has not been paid, because the resurrection of Christ was the one event by which God placed his approval on the sacrifice for atonement. Our loved ones who have gone on before are not with the Lord but have gone out into some dark and empty nothingness, if  Christ is not risen as it says in

1 Corinthians 15:19 NIV If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.

II. But wait a moment, thank God He did rise from the dead. 

Christ is risen! The grave could not contain him. The enemies of Christ could not prevent God’s acting in power. What is very interesting is that some who crucified him seem to have had more faith in his resurrection than some of his followers. 

Matthew 27:62‭-‬64 NIV The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.”

Very interesting that they would say this right? Why did they say it? Perhaps not so much that they feared the disciples, but they were afraid Jesus was actually telling the truth and had power to perform his words!

John 2:18‭-‬21 NIV The Jews then responded to him, “What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?”  Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”  They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” But the temple he had spoken of was his body.

Matthew 12:39‭-‬40 NIV He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.  For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Yes He did arise! 

Two scholars who were devout skeptics were determined to destroy Christianity by research. One chose the conversion of Paul and the other the resurrection of Jesus. After months of honest study and investigation, each one of them confessed he had become a Christian. The one who investigated the resurrection of Jesus said, “All the evidence vindicates the claim. No doubt about it, Jesus arose.”

The purpose of my message today is not to prove the resurrection but to proclaim it. Others have already proved it Read their works, study the evidence, but then remember one thing: you cannot be saved by believing with just your head. You must accept the truth with your heart, which means full commitment to the resurrected Christ.

Romans 10:9‭-‬10 NIV 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.

III. Do you have that “burning heart” that believes?

Luke recorded the conversation between Jesus and two disciples on the Emmaus road. That entire encounter is recorded in Luke 24:13-32.   

At first they did not recognize Jesus, but later, after he had revealed himself to them and then disappeared here’s what they said;

Luke 24:32 NIV They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”

When the resurrection is accepted by faith, a power comes into our lives that is possible no other way. It is this “burning heart” that sends evangelists into the streets, missionaries into very dangerous situations.  This burning heart is what compels people to risk their lives to worship Jesus in certain countries.  It’s this burning heart that inspires men and women  to “count all things but loss” for service in God’s kingdom. 

Here's what Paul said;

Philippians 3:7‭-‬9 NIV But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.

Christianity is founded on the resurrection of Christ. Unless he arose, we have no motive in executing the Great Commission which he commanded His followers to do;

Matthew 28:18‭-‬20 NIV Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Yes, Jesus did arise! The evidence is irrefutable. 

Conclusion

The hypothesis that Jesus did not arise is not true! The satanic forces have done their best to persuade the world, but the evidence is irrefutable. 

Earth’s blackest day, Calvary, and earth’s brightest day, the resurrection, were just three days apart. Jesus went for a short time into the realm of death that he might come back forever as Lord of life.

This was no accident! God acted in history! Death took hold of the manhood of Jesus and killed him. God took hold of death, and death died! 

Here's the message of Easter: Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead. And the resurrection of Jesus was the death of death. The resurrection of Jesus says that we can live beyond the grave.

1 Corinthians 15:20 NIV But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

And here’s what we know: our resurrection bodies that God will give to us will be similar to the resurrection body of Jesus.

When Christ rose, He still bore in his hands the marks of the crucifixion. He still ate food. He still was flesh and blood. At the same time, He did things He hadn’t done previously, like enter a room without using the door.

John 20:26‭-‬27 NIV A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”  Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

1 John 3:2 NIV Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

And this is the best news of all: If you have loved ones who died in faith, you will see them again. Your loved ones who have gone to Heaven are not just a part of your past; they’re also a part of your future.

Death died when Christ rose.

There’s a poem by M. Ethel Anderson that I want to read to you.

Seek ye the Lord?

Search not the cold and empty tomb;

He is not linked with night and gloom;

He is not bound by death and strife:

His name is Light and Love and Life!

He lives; Is risen; Go find ye then

The Living Lord—in the hearts of men!

Hell’s most horrible hypothesis fails the test of experience and validity. The resurrection is true! Jesus is alive! 

The fact is that the resurrection was, initially, as unbelievable for the first disciples as it is for many today. When some disciples were told of Jesus’ resurrection, they didn't believe it.

Luke 24:9‭-‬11 NIV When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense.

Yet when they witnessed his resurrection, either at the tomb like Peter

Luke 24:12 NIV Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.

or in one of the resurrection appearances of Jesus 

Luke 24:36 NIV While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

In any event their lives were transformed. 

They moved from fear to faith, from alarm to action and from despair to hope.

As a result of the resurrection you can face the future with confidence:

Christ’s work didn’t end at the resurrection. Instead, he gave us the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit continues to remind us how much he loves us, and the sacrifice he made for us. So this year, celebrate Resurrection Day a grateful heart, and remember the love Christ has for you.

Thank you, Lord, for the resurrection of Jesus. Thank you that I can face the future with hope and confidence because you are alive and with me.

Lord, thank you that through Jesus’ death and resurrection I can know that I am forgiven. Thank you that I live in the age of the Holy Spirit. Thank you for how the events of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit have transformed my life and transformed this world. May the eyes of the whole world be opened to see these remarkable events with awe and amazement.

Sermon Audio