In the sermon 'Christians Sorrow in Hope,' based on 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, Jason Dohm explores the unique way Christians are called to grieve. The Apostle Paul emphasizes that Christian sorrow should be characterized by hope, stemming from the belief in Jesus Christ's resurrection. This hope differentiates Christian grief from that of unbelievers, whose sorrow is often all-consuming and inconsolable due to a lack of hope. The sermon highlights that the resurrection of Jesus is central to the Gospel and underpins the promise of eternal life for believers. It assures Christians that their faith is not in vain and that they share in Jesus' victory over death. Dohm also addresses the misconception of 'soul sleep,' clarifying that upon death, a Christian's spirit is immediately present with the Lord. The sermon concludes with an exhortation to hold earthly things loosely and to fix one's eyes on Christ, fostering a heavenly focus that influences all aspects of a believer's life.

Our sermon text is 1st Thessalonians 4 verses 13 and 14. I'll be reading through verse 18. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

Then we who are alive and remain shall be called up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore, comfort one another with these words. Amen. The title of the sermon this morning is, Christians sorrow and hope.

So I think it would be a mistake to come away from our text thinking that this is a rebuke for sorrowing. It's not that. Christians aren't being exhorted to be emotionless when people we love die. It's not the point of the text. But it is the point of the text that Christians' sorrow in a particular way.

Christians have a sorrow that is characterized not by hopelessness, but by hope. That's really the point that the Apostle Paul is driving home in our text. And I hope we get it. Last week in verses 11 and 12, we were given three life characteristics for Christians to aspire to. In other words, as a Christian I should have an ambition that these three character qualities would be found in my life.

In The context of the whole section which began at the first part of the chapter was growing in pleasing God. In other words, Christians are those who are redeemed. They are bought by the blood of Christ and He has lavished His love upon them. So nothing's more fitting than for a Christian to learn how to please God more and more and more and more and more and then die. In other words, we're not to ever quit growing in knowing how to please the Lord and in learning how to walk in a way that God smiles upon.

And we're given the reason that we're to have these three life characteristics. It's that you may walk properly toward those who are outside. And that was really one of the key points from the text last week. That our walk, our pattern of life testifies to outsiders. Those who aren't in Christ, those who are still in the world, are looking on.

We're not of the world anymore when we're Christians, but we're still in the world, and we're still interacting with those who are not yet believers, and they're watching. And our pattern of life is like a billboard. It's testifying. And so we should have these Christian qualities about us so that we have a good testimony among those who we're looking on. This week we begin a new section, and it's about the return of Christ.

It's going to go to roughly the half point of chapter 5. We're just beginning it this week, we'll continue in it next week, and then we'll be in it several weeks. This whole section, The unifying theme of the section is the return of Jesus Christ. And specifically this week, we're looking at what will happen to Christians when Jesus returns. Those who have already died and those who are alive.

In other words, Jesus is going to come back, and there will be two categories of believers when he comes back. There are those who have preceded us in death. They've already died as Christians. What will happen to them? Well, next week we're going to look at what Paul says will happen to them.

And then there are those who won't have died. They'll actually be here when the trumpet sounds and Jesus returns. And what will happen to them? Paul and Silvanus and Timothy will tell us that next week. And so this is the section that we're beginning this week.

Jesus is coming back. Now what? Now what should we think about that? As we go to the text, let's go to the text, praying. Jesus I thank you for the sure hope of your return.

We are literally betting our lives and our eternities that your word is true and that you are coming again. That a day will really dawn when you return on that day. And it is a sure hope. It is not foolishness to bet everything on that. So God, I pray that you would use these weeks in considering the return of Jesus Christ to help us look to that return and love the thought of that return and hope for it and have some mornings of our lives where we wake up hoping that this will be the day.

Jesus breaks the clouds and the trumpet is blown. Give us a longing in our hearts for it. Help us to live in the shadow of it, Lord. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Two weeks ago we only had two verses. Last week we only had two verses, and today we only have two verses. So like those previous weeks, I just like to look at it verse at a time. I think that's the simplest way to go about it. So hopefully your Bibles are open to 1st Thessalonians chapter 4 and I'm just going to read verse 13 by itself and then talk about it.

Follow along as I read. 1st Corinthians chapter 4, 13. But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. Here in this verse we have an important matter not sorrowing like the world. So if you've got your hand out and you're filling in blanks, it's matter sorrowing.

An important matter not sorrowing like the world. And In a particular category, this is when a Christian dies. That is what is in view in our two verses. We see that clearly at the end of verse 14, which we haven't gotten to yet, but I'll just bring your eyes to it so that you're convinced we're talking about Christians who have died. It says, those who sleep in Jesus.

It's Christians, those who sleep in Jesus. So, we're not to sorrow like the world. And it's important that we not sorrow like the world. This is Paul speaking, and that's unusual for the letter. We have the first person pronoun, I.

It's almost always we throughout the letter. We, we, we, we, we, Paul, Sivanus, and Timothy together writing things. But now we come to this verse and it's one of two or three places in the letter where Paul breaks out from the pack and wants to say something on his own and press a point on his own. So this is Paul. And Paul thinks that it is important that Christians be taught this.

Here's the words of the text. But I do not want you to be ignorant brethren." In other words, Paul is saying it is important that Christians be taught about this. Christians should not be uninformed about what he is teaching on in verses 13 and 14. Christians should not be ignorant on this topic. And so Paul is writing to teach so that they are not ignorant.

These brethren are not ignorant. And here is what is in view. Those who have fallen asleep and how we as Christians sorrow when that happens. If you live very long you are going to know Christians who fall asleep. That means die.

And then what? What will your response be when that happens? It's likely that Paul's pressing this point is in response to a report that he received from Timothy. Remember in chapter 3, we learned that Paul and Silvanus had sent Timothy to the Thessalonians to go and be with them, and exhort them, and then to come back with a report. He comes back with a great report about their faith and love.

Their faith is flourishing, their love is flourishing. But I'm sure the report had more content to it than that. I think it's very likely that Paul is addressing this because Timothy saw a certain kind of sorrowing among the Thessalonians upon the death of a brother or a sister in Christ, and it requires Paul to jump in and teach. He doesn't want them to be ignorant. And the implication is that there are some patterns among them that say, that display that they don't understand this as they should understand it.

Turn to Acts chapter 7 verses 54 through 56. So I want to take us to a case study of what we're talking about. We're talking about a Christian dying. A Christian falling asleep. A brother in Christ or a sister in Christ who has lived and been loved by the people of God, dying, and then what happens?

So this is our case study that I'm bringing us to. It's Acts chapter 7 verses 54 through the end of the chapter verse 60 and it's the martyrdom of Stephen. This is a brother in Christ to you and me and to the church in Jerusalem at that time. And he's going to fall asleep. He's going to die.

And we're going to learn some important things that have a connection to our text. So this is Acts chapter 7, I'll begin in verse 54. Stephen has just preached a fantastic sermon that's been well received up until he says that the Gentiles are going to be included in salvation. When they had heard these things they were cut to the heart and they gnashed at him with their teeth. But he being full of the Holy Spirit gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God and said, Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God.

Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord. And they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the Witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul, and they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, Lord, do not charge them with this sin." When he had said this, he fell asleep. This is something that our author witnessed first hand on The wrong side of salvation.

This is back when he was still Saul, when he was still breathing out threats against the church, when he was a persecutor. And he witnessed this happening. Stephen being stoned. I'd like to draw attention to four things from this text. Here's the first thing.

The same terminology is used. Look at verse 60, the last verse. He fell asleep. So here we see again the dying of a brother or sister in Christ called not death but as a falling asleep. Jesus also used this terminology in Mark chapter 5.

You'll remember there's a little girl and she's dead and Jesus comes in and there's this loud mourning, wailing over the death of this little girl and Jesus says, don't mourn, she's just asleep. And they laugh at Jesus until he raises her from the dead and then they don't laugh anymore. Jesus used that terminology. Luke uses this terminology as he records about the martyrdom of Stephen. The same terminology is used frequently in the New Testament.

The second thing I'd like to draw your attention to is that Stephen sees the resurrected Jesus. So though he's dying a violent death, He dies with peace and without malice. So understand the death of this brother in Christ. It's the most violent death you can imagine. But Stephen doesn't die in a panic.

He dies with peace and without malice. He is actually praying that God wouldn't hold this sin against the people who are throwing the stones. So this would inform those who look on his death. If the one dying the death of a martyr isn't panicked, can die with peace and without malice, this should inform us about our sorrow. You don't want to be more troubled about someone's death than they were about their death.

So know how Stephen received his death from God. With peace without malice. Seeing the resurrected Jesus at the right hand of God. Of course that has a tie into our text. Because when we get to the next verse we are going to see that our hope, the reason we shouldn't sorrow like those who don't have a hope, is that Jesus was raised from the dead.

So Stephen is dying. These are his dying moments. And he looks up and he sees the resurrected Jesus. And it allows him to die with peace and without malice. This should inform us when a Christian dies about our reaction to that.

Here's the third thing I'd like to draw your attention to. His earthly body is being battered. Stephen's body is being battered. It is being destroyed. His body is dying.

But we get his expectation in verse 59. What is Stephen's expectation? Lord Jesus receive my spirit. His body is going to die but His expectation is as soon as the body is dead that Jesus is going to receive his spirit. I'm going to come back to that, but I think it's a really important point.

What was Stephen expecting as his body was dying? He knew what was happening. He knew the end of the story. As the stones are being hurled at him, his body is being battered and destroyed, he says, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. The fourth thing I would like to draw your attention to is the reaction of the brethren.

I haven't read any from chapter 8, but the story continues. So follow along as I start chapter 8 and read verses 1 and 2. Now Saul was consenting to his death. At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria except the apostles. And devout men carried Stephen to his burial and made great lamentation over him.

So now we find out in verses 1 and 2 of chapter 8, what did the devout men do about the death of Stephen? Were they emotionless? And the answer is absolutely not. They were filled with sorrow. These devout men, they carried him to his burial and they made a great lamentation.

And so what we learn here from Acts end of seven and into eight is that sorrow and grief is not forbidden when a brother in Christ dies, when a sister in Christ dies. We're not forbidden, It's not unlawful for us to grieve and to sorrow over that. In fact, it's completely human, natural, even good to sorrow. Here are a couple of other instances that let us know that what is not being taught in 1 Thessalonians 4 is that it's unlawful to sorrow. It's not teaching that.

There's not a rebuke for those who sorrow when a Christian brother or sister dies. Here's one, Philippians 2, verse 27. In Philippians 2, verse 27, Paul is talking about Epaphroditus, a fellow worker in the Gospel, who got sick and almost died. Listen to what he says. Philippians 2 verse 27, For indeed he, Epaphroditus, was sick, almost unto death.

But God had mercy on him, and not only on him, but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow." Paul is saying, if that guy had died, if that brother had died, I would have had sorrow upon sorrow. It is not unlawful to sorrow when your brothers and sisters in Christ die. It's expected. Of course you will sorrow when your brothers and sisters in Christ die. Or consider this, in John chapter 11, it's the resurrection of Lazarus chapter, John chapter 11.

Mary and Martha are grieving over their dead brother Lazarus. In verse 35, John 11, 35, it's the verse you always want to memorize, Jesus wept. That's the whole verse. You got that one memorized already. Jesus wept.

And In the very next verse it says, the Jews said, look at how he loved him. They attributed Jesus' weeping to his love for Lazarus. That might have been true, but I think it's more likely that they're misreading it, and that it was really the grief and the sorrow suffered by these sisters caused Jesus' heart of compassion to erupt into tears. But whatever the case, Jesus wept over the death of a brother. Know that.

Know that Jesus himself wept when Lazarus died. Here's what Matthew Henry says, and I think it sums it up and puts it well. Matthew Henry says, All grief for the death of friends is far from being unlawful. We may weep at least for ourselves if we do not weep for them. Weep for our own loss, though it may be their gain.

There is weeping. There ought to be weeping when a brother or sister in Christ dies. You know what? Often that is for us and for the living. For the ones that are close to them who are suffering because of this absence that has been imposed on death.

And so Matthew Henry rightly says, as he's commenting on our text in 1 Thessalonians, that it's not unlawful to grieve. We can weep for ourselves, and we can weep for our loss, even if it's their gain, even if we know it's their gain, it's okay to weep for our loss. So what is being forbidden? If sorrowing isn't being forbidden, what is being forbidden? Sorrowing as others who have no hope.

It's a certain kind of sorrowing that is unlawful. There's a kind of sorrowing that is engaged in by those who don't have any hope that is out of bounds for Christians. It's clear to me that Paul is speaking of those who don't share the hope of the Christian. We're talking about unbelievers here. They don't share our hope.

We have a certain hope. They don't share it, and because they don't share it, there's a way that they grieve. It's incompatible with our hope. The way they grieve, out there, outside the people of God, because they have no hope, the way they grieve is incompatible with our hope because it's all consuming and it's inconsolable. Have you ever seen anyone grieve like that?

I have. I've known people who have grieved, who have had an all-consuming grief. Christians, that's incompatible with our hope. It doesn't mean that Christians don't sometimes do it. Christians do sin sometimes, but it does mean that it doesn't match our hope.

When we do that, when we have an all-consuming sorrow, an all-consuming grief, that's not compatible with the hope of a Christian. If we have an inconsolable grief, meaning we can't be consoled, we grieve on and on and on, and we just cannot get past the sorrow. An intense sorrow that's incompatible with our hope. And the Word of God addresses this from the earliest. There is progressive revelation, meaning The earliest of the Lord's people didn't know everything that we know now that we have the full revelation.

Now that the canon is closed. But that's not true in this category. The things being taught by Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4 were being taught by God to his people from the earliest days. Listen to Leviticus 19 verse 28. You shall not make any Cuttings in your flesh for the dead.

Deuteronomy 14 verses 1 and 2 says the same thing but expounds on it in a helpful way that understands what is at the root of this. Deuteronomy 14 verses 1 and 2. You are the children of the Lord your God. You shall not cut yourselves nor shave the front of your head for the dead for you are a holy people to the Lord your God. We are not allowed to have an all-consuming grief that would have us cutting ourselves and shaving ourselves in certain ways because of the grief.

Why? Because we're the Lords. Because we belong to Him and we don't have an earthly hope. We have a heavenly hope. It's those who only have an earthly hope that cut themselves and that deface themselves over the death of their loved ones.

That's taught in Leviticus. That's taught in Deuteronomy. In Ephesians chapter 2, of course Ephesians is written by Paul as well, Paul is describing the desperate condition of the unbeliever. In Ephesians chapter 2 verse 12 he describes the unbeliever as without Christ, having no hope and without God in the world. At the core, That is the condition of the unbeliever, without Christ having no hope and without God in the world.

It's the most hopeless condition you can imagine. That is the condition of the unbeliever, whether they recognize it or not. You tell an unbeliever, you are without Christ, you have no hope, you are without God in the world, and they say, that's not true. Well, the Bible says it is true. The Bible defines the unbeliever as a person without hope.

Having no hope and without God in the world. And so unbelievers may suppress that. Unbelievers almost always suppress their hopelessness. And they do that in a couple of ways. They play at hope.

Meaning They slap a happy face on it. They play at hope. They play at it. They just paint it over with happy face. If you've ever been to a funeral where everyone's going to heaven according to the preacher, you see that.

That's what's on display. They're playing at hope. If you've been to a funeral like that, you know how sickening it is because you know how paper thin what's being said from the pulpit is. It's paper thin. It doesn't uphold anyone.

Just painting a smiley face over the top of death. Then you have to go home. And then you have to get to sleep. So, it might have been a cheery thing to say during the funeral, but it never supports anyone. The hope of the Christian is real.

Our hope in Christ is real. It is a rock that we can plant our feet upon. It is not a papering over of death and hopelessness with smiley faces, with emojis, texted to one another. Sometimes unbelievers actually embrace their hopelessness, because they have a worldview that says all of the universe is random, and there's no meaning to it, and they just will acknowledge that there is no hope. They're the more intellectually honest.

But there are a lot fewer of them. Most play at hope. Christians don't have to play at hope. That's why sorrowing like this is incompatible with the Christian hope. Because our hope is a rock.

It's not paper thin at all. It is a mountain that you can stand upon. So Christians shouldn't do that. They shouldn't grieve in that way. Now let's look at verse 14.

Back to 1 Thessalonians 4. Now verse 14. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. Again, we are talking about Christians who die and there is a hope for us for them. Meaning there is a hope that keeps us from sorrowing like those who have no hope.

It is based upon the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In this verse we have the basis of our hope, the resurrection of Jesus. If you're filling in blanks on the handout, it's hope resurrection. The basis of our hope, the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Our hope stands or falls based on our older brother Jesus Christ.

If you're in Christ, if you've been joined to Him, He's your older brother. And as it goes with Him, so it goes with you. This is the clear teaching of Scripture. We are joined to Christ. We are in union with Christ.

So as Christ goes, we go. If Christ was raised, we're raised. If Christ reigns, we reign. If Christ has inherited all things, then we have inherited all things as co-heirs. This is glorious.

What is being taught in this verse is glorious. We share in everything that is His and it starts with the resurrection. Everything that is His we share in it because we are His brethren. He is not ashamed to call us brethren. That is Hebrews chapter 2.

It is one of the most precious verses I know of. Jesus is not ashamed to call us his brothers and sisters. And it makes us co-heirs to everything that he's inherited. And he's inherited everything. And The beginning point of this is His resurrection.

He is resurrected, therefore we are resurrected, therefore we don't sorrow like those out there. That's the whole point. Do you understand how central belief in the resurrection is? The resurrection of Jesus is to saving faith. So you have faith that saves, And at the center of faith that saves is the resurrection of Jesus.

Listen to Romans 10, 8-10. If you can get there fast enough, you are welcome to, or you can just listen. This is Romans 10, 8-10. Paul writes, but what does it say? He's talking about the Word of God.

What does the Word of God say about saving faith? That's the context. What does the Word of God say about saving faith? But what does it say? The Word is near you, in your mouth, and in your heart.

That is the Word of faith which we preach. That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. That is a radical boiling down of the Gospel to the irreducible things. If you take the Gospel and you simplify it down to a point where you can't simplify it anymore, that's what you get in Romans chapter 10 verses 8 through 10.

What does the Word of God say about saving faith? It says this, if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and you believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Now why? Why is the resurrection of Jesus so central to the Gospel? By the way, when we do baptism interviews, and we ask, tell us your understanding of the Gospel.

This is the thing that gets missed one time after another, after another, after another, after another, and I would be guilty of the same thing. To us, the Gospel is about the holiness of God and the unholiness of man and how the death of Jesus fixes that. And the resurrection is just over here somewhere. But that's not true of Paul. You understand that?

That's not true of Paul. Paul does not view the resurrection of Jesus Christ as a peripheral matter. He says it's right at the core. Why is that? Well, because to believe in the resurrection is to embrace that God has accepted the sacrifice.

Do you understand? That's what the resurrection means. That the sacrifice made was received by God. That He was satisfied with it and he considered it payment in full. If it is not payment in full, Jesus is still dead.

But it is payment in full. His death was payment in full and God received it and raised him from the dead. To believe in the resurrection of Jesus is to embrace that Jesus has conquered death on behalf of his people. That's how you can know that you'll be raised too. Because the resurrection of Jesus Christ set forth Jesus as the conqueror of death.

He has conquered it for his people. Not just for himself, but for his people. So death doesn't have a sting anymore. We're going to spend more time in 1 Corinthians 15. We're going to spend some time there this week, and then more time there next week.

But it ends by saying, death, where is your sting? It doesn't have a sting. Why not? Because Jesus conquered it. His resurrection declares that Jesus has conquered death.

In short, to believe in the resurrection of Jesus is to embrace that all that Jesus said he would do he has done. It's done. It's fulfilled. It is finished. And now he is at the right hand of God interceding for his people.

That is all based on the resurrection. So it is central to the gospel, not peripheral to the gospel. Beware of all those who claim to admire Jesus but don't believe in the resurrection. There are a lot of those people out there. Admiration for a historical Jesus, but a rejection of the Bible's testimony that God raised him from the dead.

Stay a million miles away from them. Romans chapter 1 verse 4 says that Jesus was declared to be the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead. That's what the resurrection is. It's Jesus being declared to be the son of God with power by the resurrection of the dead. There is no gospel without the resurrection.

There is no good news without the resurrection. Here's what commentator Gene Green says, Their grief should be tempered and informed by the hope they held based on the resurrection of Christ and the promise of His coming. He is commenting on our verse in 1 Thessalonians 4. He is saying that Christians have a tempered grief. It's not an inconsolable grief.

It's not an all-consuming grief. It's a real grief. Jesus wept when Lazarus died. Paul would have had sorrow upon sorrow if Epaphroditus had died. The devout men did make a great lamentation when Stephen was martyred.

But they weren't consumed by their grief and they weren't inconsolable because their grief was tempered by the hope that we have because of the resurrection of Jesus. Now Paul has expanded on this point at length in 1 Corinthians 15. Turn to 1 Corinthians 15. There's actually 58 verses all on this topic in 1 Corinthians chapter 15. So I would encourage you to spend some time in this in the coming week.

We'll come back to it again next week because it has a bearing on next week's text as well. This week I'd like to read the first 23 verses. That's sort of suicide for any sermon to try to take on that large of a text, but it's so relevant to what we're saying here that I just can't resist. So I'm going to read a grouping of verses, and then I'm going to try to summarize it and tie it to our text, and then I'll read another group, and so on. And we'll see how it goes.

It probably means I will never do this again, but we'll see. 1 Corinthians chapter 15 beginning in verse 1. Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preach to you, which also you received and which you stand, by which also you are saved if you hold fast that word which I preach to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received, 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. He was seen by Cephas, then by the Twelve.

After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remained to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that he was seen by James, then by all the apostles. Then last of all he was seen by me also as by one born out of due time. For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain.

But I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preached, and so you believed." Let me make just a couple of comments here. Paul says, this is my gospel. He's reducing the gospel down again. He's boiling it down where you can't boil it down anymore.

It is at the absolute fundamental parts of it. What does he say it is? That Jesus died for sinners according to the Scriptures and that he was buried and rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures. The Scriptures say that Jesus would die and that he would be raised again, and that is the Gospel. And then he speaks of eye witnesses to the resurrection.

He says that Jesus appeared to Peter after he was raised from the dead, and then to the twelve after he was raised from the dead, and then to more than five hundred at one time after he was raised from the dead, and then to more than 500 at one time after he was raised from the dead, and then to all the apostles, after he was raised from the dead, and then to Paul after he was raised from the dead. And of the 500 at once, he says, most of them are still alive now. So Paul throws down the gauntlet in 1 Corinthians 15 and says, I dare you to contradict me. I have 500 eyewitnesses. I dare you to contradict me about the resurrection.

And I'll bring a string of eyewitnesses that will blow your mind. I'll bring hundreds of eyewitnesses to Jesus raised from the dead. Why is he doing that? Because it's central to the Gospel. Continuing in verse 12.

Now if Christ has preached that He has been raised from the dead, how does some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty, and your faith is also empty. Yes, and if we are found false witnesses of God, yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ whom he did not raise if in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise then Christ is not risen and if Christ is not risen your faith is futile you are still in your sins.

Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable. In this section in verses 12 through 19 we see how much our faith hinges on the resurrection. You understand that saving faith totally falls apart without the resurrection of Jesus. Totally falls apart.

It makes Paul and Peter and the other disciples and Silvanus and Timothy false teachers. Because they are preaching something that isn't true. Paul says, if Jesus wasn't raised, then I am a false teacher. That's what he says here in 1 Corinthians chapter 15. He says, if Jesus hasn't been raised, then the dead have perished eternally.

Look at verse 17 again, and if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile, you are still in your sins. You haven't really been parted from your sins if Jesus isn't raised from the dead. Now three more verses, or four more verses, 20 through 23. But now Christ is risen from the dead and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by man also came the resurrection of the dead.

For As in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order, Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ's at his coming." So here at the end of the section which we're going to look at today, we won't go any further this week, but we will next week. Christ is set forward by Paul as the first fruits. What are the first fruits? The first fruits in the Old Testament is what you bring to God from the harvest, the first and the best, that is brought before God for purposes of thanksgiving and as a representative of all that will come after.

That's the first fruit. The first and the best, as a representative for all that would come after it. So Paul says, Jesus is that for His people. He's the first and the best, and He's the representative that He's not alone in resurrection, but all that come after Him follow in the model of his resurrection. Now I want to quickly pile up proofs that this is central to the Gospel and that it is a cornerstone of saving faith.

I'm going to give you five, sort of in rapid succession. So just write down the references as we go if you are taking notes. You can look back at them later. The first is John chapter 6 verses 39 and 40. This is the will of the Father who sent me, that of all He has given me, I should lose nothing but should raise it up at the last day.

And this is the will of Him who sent me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have everlasting life and I will raise him up at the last day." Jesus promises that if you believe in him that you will be given everlasting life and that he will raise you up at the last day and that is the will of God. That is what is being said in John chapter 6. You want to know what the will of God for Christians is? Here's part of it. Jesus wouldn't lose you and then he would raise you up at the last day.

Listen to John chapter 11 verses 25 and 26. This is the second text. John chapter 11, 25 and 26. This is Jesus speaking to Martha, and this is that text about Lazarus being raised from the dead. This is just before he raises Lazarus from the dead.

Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die." Do you believe this? He is actually calling forth a confession from Martha that she believes that Jesus is the resurrection and the life. And that anyone who believes in Him, though that person would die physically, they would never die Truly.

Whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this? Number three, John 14 verses 1 through 3. John chapter 14 verses 1 through 3. Jesus says, Let not your heart be troubled, you believe in God, believe also in me.

In my Father's house are many mansions, if it were not so I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself that where I am, there you may be also." Jesus said He's going to prepare a place for us. If He does that, then He will come to receive us, and He will bring us to where He is. That is exactly the same thing as what is being taught in our text.

Number four, Romans chapter eight, verse eleven. Paul writes, �But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you." So here in Romans chapter 8 verse 11, Paul is making an argument about the indwelling Holy Spirit. And He says essentially this, you know what that spirit did? That spirit raised Jesus from the dead. And if he raised Jesus from the dead and if he lives in you, he will raise you from the dead.

We have the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead and will also raise us up by his power. Linking Jesus' resurrection to our resurrection. The point of The piling up of these five, and I didn't have to stop at five, believe me. The point of piling these up is that this is the hope of Christians. And This is why though we do sorrow, we don't sorrow like those who don't believe.

If anything in the New Testament is true, this is true. It's said so firmly, so categorically, so repeatedly in the New Testament. If you don't believe this, there's not a point in believing anything in the New Testament. God raised Jesus from the dead, and because he raised Jesus from the dead, he'll raise all of Jesus' brothers and sisters from the dead. So that gives us a radically different outlook on things when a brother in Christ dies or when a sister in Christ dies.

It must make us think differently about their death. Now, all of this can be misunderstood. And the misunderstanding is known as a false teaching called soul sleep. It's not that prevalent, but I want to talk about it for a minute because that is not true. The doctrine of soul sleep says that when a Christian dies, all of their being remains in a sleep state until Jesus comes back.

So there is no consciousness from the point of death for the Christian until Jesus comes back. And you could read any of these texts in isolation, and any of these texts in isolation could mean that, but don't have to mean that, and can't mean that based on other very clear texts in the New Testament. And a waterfall of them, a deluge of New Testament texts and Old Testament texts, make it impossible to interpret these verses that way. I want to give you three that blow up the false doctrine of soul sleep. Christians when they die they just lose consciousness until Jesus comes back.

That is not true. That is not what the New Testament teaches. The first is 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verses 6 and 7. In 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verses 6 and 7, Paul says this, So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight.

We are confident, yes, well pleased, rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. At 2 Corinthians 5 verses 6 and 7. Paul is talking about the death of the human body. And he says, we can be confident, even in the face of the death of the human body, because we are well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. Meaning that your soul separates from your body at the point of death and It goes and is present with the Lord upon the death of any Christian.

Immediately. Soul and body are separated. Body dies, soul doesn't die, soul doesn't sleep. Soul goes to be with Jesus immediately upon death. Listen to what he says, something very similar in Philippians chapter 1 verse 23.

Listen to this. Philippians chapter 1 verses 23. He is talking about longing to die. For I am hard pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better. You'll remember this passage.

He's sort of wrestling within himself. I really want to go and be with Jesus. But I also really want to live a fruitful life that blesses the Lord's people. Do you remember this passage? I don't know which I should want more.

That's the tenor of the text. I'm not sure which I should desire more. I really, really want to go be with Jesus, But it's a blessing to be fruitful and to go and pour myself out for the people of God. But he says, I have this desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. That makes no sense if soul sleep is true.

That makes zero sense. If you just lose consciousness until Christ comes then, Paul undoubtedly would rather live to be a thousand and serve the Lord's people. Finally, I'd like to offer up what Jesus said to the thief on the cross. Remember, there is a thief on either side. One of them actually trusts in him while he is on the cross.

And here is what Jesus says to him, Assuredly I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise. Today you will be with me in paradise. Not your soul will sleep until it has been two thousand years. Jesus hasn't come back yet. The thief who was on the cross, who believed in Jesus on the cross, he's not in an unconscious state for two thousand years.

He was with Jesus in paradise on that day. When a Christian dies, his or her body undergoes corruption. That body returns to dust. Little by little, it becomes dust again. But his or her spirit goes to be with Jesus just like the thief on the cross.

That day you are with him in paradise. Here's the conclusion. This is why it matters a lot. This is why Paul says that Christians shouldn't be ignorant of this. Listen to Colossians chapter 3 verses 1 and 2.

I think this goes right to the heart of the matter. Colossians chapter 3 verses 1 and 2. Paul says, If then you were raised with Christ. So now He's writing to the Colossians and he's using past tense. He's looking back in time and saying, if you were raised with Christ, past tense.

So that can't be talking about physical resurrection. That has to be talking about being born again. Spiritually resurrected from the dead and joined to Christ. That has to be what it is. If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God.

Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. This is why it matters. When Christians are spiritually resurrected, their focus changes. Unbelievers have earthly hopes. They hope for this, that, or the other, and it's all bound to the earth.

It's all under the force of gravity. Locked down to planet earth. That's where their hopes are. And Paul is saying in Colossians chapter 3 verses 1 and 2, not so for the Christian. When you are spiritually raised from the dead, you have to set your mind on things above.

Jesus is there. The resurrected Jesus is there at the right hand of God. So you fix your eyes there and not only will it not let you sorrow like earthlings, it won't let you do a thousand other things like worldlings. Like unbelievers. You don't sorrow like unbelievers, but you don't do anything like unbelievers because your eyes are a different place.

Your eyes aren't on earthly things anymore. This is why it matters so much for Christians. This will keep our sorrowing for the death of our loved ones from being all-consuming. That is inconsistent with our hope. We already have something that's all-consuming and it's not grief, It's not sorrow.

It is passion for Christ who is seated at the right hand of God. It gives us a disposition of holding earthly things loosely. That's what this is about in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. It is accepting as part of our Christianity, as part of our faith, it is accepting a disposition that holds earthly things loosely. Including loved ones.

Including brothers and sisters in Christ who we love and we give ourselves for to help them and to bless them in this life, but when they die we don't sorrow as unbelievers. We learn to hold down, even them, loosely. Two quick applications. Number one, grab hold of the doctrine of the resurrection of Jesus and cling to it with all your heart. Grab hold of it.

It's right at the center of the Gospel. It's not a peripheral matter. We have to stop thinking that the resurrection of Jesus is peripheral, is on the edge of the Gospel. It is right at the heart of the Gospel. As we saw in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, if Jesus wasn't raised from the dead, then your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.

But Jesus was raised from the dead, so your faith is not futile and you are not still in your sins. It's one or the other. And the outcomes couldn't be further apart. They're poles apart. So we've got to grab hold of this doctrine and cling to it with all our might and not have it on the fringes of the gospel because like Paul doesn't even recognize that gospel.

We can't be holding to a gospel that the Apostle Paul wouldn't recognize. Number two, fix your eyes where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Are you feeling too worldly? Are you feeling like you hold too tightly? Too worldly things?

If that's true, and that is true, to a greater or lesser extent of all Christians until they die, the antidote for that, the remedy for that, the medicine for that illness, is to fix our eyes on Christ who is seated at the right hand of God. It will give us a disposition to hold this earth loosely. Much more to come next week. There's a lot more to say. Father, I thank you for this text.

I pray that we would grab a hold of this doctrine, this glorious doctrine, the resurrection of Jesus that is joined to us being co-heirs with Christ and inheriting all things with Him because of our union with Him. We would see and feel the glory of it, and we would rejoice in it, and it would make our hearts sing. God I pray that this would be true of us in Jesus' name. Amen.