I.        INTRODUCTION

A.      What is the most important element of the religion of Christianity?  Some would say faith, and others would say grace, love, forgiveness, obedience, or any of the other core elements of the gospel.

B.      All of these answers have merit, but none of them would matter if Christ had not come in the flesh, died on the cross, and been raised from the dead.  Therefore, it is the truth of what God has done in Christ that is most important to Christians.  Every other part of the gospel stands or falls on the Bible’s record of what Jesus did.

II.      FIRST THINGS FIRST – THE DEATH, BURIAL, AND RESURRECTION OF CHRIST

A.      In the first century A.D., some of the Christians at Corinth were saying that there is no resurrection of the dead (1Cor. 15:12).  They did not realize that this assertion was a denial of their faith in Christ.

                                                             1.      This denial provoked the apostle Paul to write by inspiration the greatest treatise on the resurrection ever given.  This is found in the fifteenth chapter of 1Corinthians.

                                                             2.      Paul explained, "But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain” (1Cor. 15:13-14).

                                                             3.      As it was, those Corinthians who denied the resurrection were mistaken, for "now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep” (1Cor. 15:20).

B.      Indeed, the truth concerning the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ is at the core of everything a genuine Christian believes.

                                                             1.      This foundation is stated by Paul in 1Corinthians 15:1-4:

Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.  For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures…

                                                             2.      The first part of Paul’s statement (vv. 1-2) is a reminder to Christians of how they have been affected by the gospel.  He mentions five points involving the gospel.

a.       The gospel was preached, which means that it was given from one to another by word.

b.       The gospel was received, which means that it was accepted and believed by the hearer.

c.        A receiver of the gospel (a Christian) stands in the gospel, which means that he is resolute in his belief of the gospel that has lifted him from his formerly fallen state.

d.       A believer in the gospel is also saved by the gospel, which means that he is spared from the destruction that otherwise would have been his fate because of his sins.

e.        All of this hinges on the condition that the believer holds fast to the word of the gospel, which means that he does not move away from the original message that was preached to him.

                                                             3.      The next part of Paul’s statement (vv. 3-4) is a declaration of the first principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ that he had preached and the Corinthian Christians had received.

a.       Paul says that he delivered what he had received.  He did not invent this account of Christ, but rather he received it directly through a revelation of Christ (Gal. 1:11-12).

b.       He says that these matters are of "first importance” (v. 3, NASB) or were "first of all” (KJV, NKJV, ASV).

i.         The term "first importance” is from a single Greek word prōtos, which can mean first in time or place (as in Matt. 5:24) or it can mean first in rank (as in Matt. 6:33).  In the case of 1Corithians 15:3, both may be true, but by the context there is no doubt that Paul is saying that these facts matter more than anything else.

ii.        By being of first importance, these facts take priority over all others.  Nothing else about the gospel has importance unless these facts are true.

c.        The essential truth that Paul taught was the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.

i.         These are the actual, historical events that give the gospel its power.  These events really happened, and there were many witnesses to prove them as we will notice shortly.

ii.        These events were foretold and foreshadowed in the Old Testament Scriptures.  Jesus fulfilled all the prophecies concerning the Messiah, and for this reason these historical events are of first importance.  They prove He is Christ.

iii.      It is for this reason that Paul described his preaching by saying, "For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified” (1Cor. 2:2).  Everything he preached was on the basis of these facts.

C.      All who would be saved must believe in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, but it is the substance of our belief and not the act of believing itself that brings salvation.

                                                             1.      In our postmodern culture of relativism, it is commonly thought that sincerity and strength of conviction are more important than truth.  This is a false concept that is rejected by the gospel.

                                                             2.      Some Christians may be weak in the faith at times, but it is Christ who saves and not the strength of the believer.  The issue is not whether a believer is strong enough to be saved but whether Christ is strong enough to save the believer.  Of course, He is (John 10:27-29; Rom. 8:31-39).

                                                             3.      There are strong believers in all other religions, but they will not be saved.  This is because only the gospel of Christ "is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Rom. 1:16).

III.   HE APPEARED TO WITNESSES

A.      The death, burial, and resurrection of Christ aren’t myths, but they are real events witnessed by real people.

                                                             1.      In 1Corinthians 15:5-8, Paul listed many witnesses to Christ’s resurrection, including himself.

a.       Four times, Paul used the phrase "He appeared,” and he named the people to whom Christ appeared – Peter, the apostles collectively, James, "more than five hundred brethren at one time,” and himself.  These witnesses saw Christ over the forty days between His resurrection and His ascension (see Acts 1:3) and even later (Acts 9:1-9).

b.       Most of these people were still alive when Paul wrote 1Corinthians.  They were still available to testify of what they had seen.

                                                             2.      Pagan myths also contained stories of resurrections, but none of them ever involved real people or live witnesses who could testify of the truth.

B.      The New Testament is written by eyewitnesses and others who heard their accounts and wrote them by inspiration of the Holy Spirit.  The records of these writers give evidence of the facts of our faith in Christ.

                                                             1.      Peter wrote, "For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty” (2Pet. 1:16).

                                                             2.      The apostle John wrote, "What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life – and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us – what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also…” (1John 1:1-3).

                                                             3.      Luke wrote, "Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things accomplished among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, it seemed fitting for me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you in consecutive order, most excellent Theophilus; so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been taught” (Luke 1:1-4).

                                                             4.      See also John 20:30-31; Acts 1:1-3; 5:29-32; 10:39-42; 1Peter 5:1.

                                                             5.      Most of these men suffered tremendously for what they had seen.  They were willing to suffer because they knew it was all true.

a.       When threatened and commanded to stop preaching Christ, Peter and John said, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:19-20).

b.       Paul was willing to give his life for these facts.  He said, "For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day” (2Thess. 1:12).

IV.    CONCLUSION

A.      The death, burial, and resurrection of Christ are of first importance to Christians.  Everything else written about Jesus is important as well, but nothing else would matter if these historical events had not happened.

B.      Paul’s preaching was not "Jesus Christ, and Him born to a virgin,” "Jesus Christ, and Him a good man,” or "Jesus Christ, and Him a great teacher.”  He preached of first importance "Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.”

C.      Therefore, let us keep first things first.  If we have faith, then it must be founded on the truth of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.