Grace to You Weekend

John MacArthur: If the dead are not raised, let's eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. What is the point of serving the Lord? What is the point of sacrifice? If there's no resurrection, there's no motive for service. For sacrificial, enduring, suffering service.

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[00:26] [--Phil Johnson--] Hi, this is Phil Johnson, and you've found Grace to You Weekend, the Bible teaching ministry of John MacArthur. For 56 years, John was the pastor teacher of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, and for all of that time, he was the featured Bible teacher with Grace to You. And in fact, Grace to You will always exclusively feature John MacArthur's verse-by-verse Bible teaching.

[00:50] We're grateful for John's legacy of expositing Scripture in a way that was timeless. He did not load his sermons with illustrations tied to current events, but he consistently used the Scriptures themselves to interpret Scripture. And the Word of God never changes, and so by focusing on simply making the meaning of the Bible clear, John MacArthur's teaching ministry remains as practical and as edifying today as it has always been.

[01:18] As you may be aware, John went to heaven last year. In fact, it was one year ago last Tuesday. And as a timely way to reflect on our eternal hope in Christ, the hope that has already become a reality for John, we're looking to a series by John MacArthur that reminds us that for the Christian who dies, the end is not the end. And that's the title of this series from 1 Corinthians 15, "The End Is Not the End."

[01:46] And so with his message called "What the Resurrection Means for You," here is Grace to You Bible teacher, John MacArthur.

[01:54] [--John MacArthur--] We are returning to the 15th chapter of 1 Corinthians, and I want to read you verses 29 to 34 as the setting for the Word of God. Otherwise, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why then are they baptized for them? Why are we also in danger every hour?

[02:17] I affirm, brethren, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. If from human motives I fought with wild beasts at Ephesus, what does it profit me? If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.

[02:41] Do not be deceived. Bad company corrupts good morals. Become sober-minded as you ought, and stop sinning, for some have no knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame.

[02:59] That is a fascinating, fascinating little section. A number of questions and a very serious warning and indictment. Just exactly what is going on here? We find that he sees this as an incentive on three levels. An incentive, a compelling incentive on three levels, very fascinating portion of Scripture.

[03:26] Let me help you to see what those levels are. First of all, I think Paul is saying here that the fact that we will be who we are in glorified forms, we will be eternally ourselves, but in perfected reality in heaven, both soul and body, is a motivation to salvation.

[03:51] So you see, if we deny resurrection, we lose this great salvation incentive. There's a second incentive here that I think the Apostle Paul lays out for us, about which there is really no doubt. It's in verses 30 to 32.

[04:12] Why are we also in danger every hour? I affirm, brethren, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. If from human motives I fought with wild beasts at Ephesus, what does it profit me? If the dead are not raised, let's eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. What is the point of serving the Lord? What is the point of sacrifice?

[04:35] Why am I doing this? Why am I living my entire life in danger every hour? What is the purpose of dying every day? Why don't I just eat and drink and die? If there's no resurrection, there's no motive for service, for sacrificial, enduring, suffering service.

[05:01] And Paul served in the boldest way. He even identified himself as a soldier, as a warrior, as a boxer, as a wrestler, as a runner. Paul and the other apostles basically lived in peril their entire life. At any hour a blow of persecution could strike them down and did eventually.

[05:22] Why am I living like this? Why am I risking my life? Why am I in danger every moment from the very moment of my conversion when I was immediately viewed by the Jews as a traitor? Why did I have to be let down over the wall to escape the plotting of the Jews way back in Damascus at the very beginning of my Christian life?

[05:46] Why have I endured all the things that are listed in the letter to the Corinthians, the second letter to the Corinthians? Why do I have to be afflicted in every way? Why do I have to be persecuted, struck down? Why am I always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus? Why is this necessary? Why is death working in me all the time?

[06:14] Verse 31, I affirm, brethren, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. That's not some mystical spiritual thing. Literally, he says, "I expect every day to die, to actually die."

[06:34] When he says I affirm, this is a Greek particle that introduces an oath. He is literally giving an oath. I'm giving you an oath, and I have a right to declare this, I die every day. Why am I doing this so that I can boast in your faith if we don't rise?

[07:01] It isn't that he's proud of himself. It is that he is grateful for the work the Lord has done. The phrase "I die daily" or the statement "I die daily" is very, very strong. He is really saying, "I swear that every day for your sakes I stand at death's door." Why in the world am I doing this if there's no resurrection?

[07:29] What's the point of putting my life on the line? It makes no sense. If the dead are not raised, come on, let's just eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. Let's just be hedonists.

[07:46] That language, by the way, is directly quoted from Isaiah 22:13, where it is an expression of the hedonism of apostate Israel, apostate Israel was so hedonistic in Isaiah's day that they, they basically lived out this: Eat, drink, tomorrow we die. The kind of hedonistic godlessness.

[08:14] Hey, if there's no resurrection, if I don't exist in the future, then why am I doing this? Why, why am I hoping for a reunion with the noblest and best of all humanity, those that have come to know the true God and live for Him? Why am I giving my life? Why am I sacrificing anything? It's foolish.

[08:39] If there is no resurrection, then let's live like animals. This is what was, I think, haunting Solomon in the writing of Ecclesiastes. Listen to the words of Ecclesiastes chapter 2. This is human wisdom, humanly speaking.

[08:58] There is nothing better for a man, Ecclesiastes 2:24, than to eat and drink and tell himself his labor is good. That's it. Eat and drink, that's all there is. Chapter 3, verse 12, I know there's nothing better than to rejoice and do good in one's lifetime, and that every man should eat and drink and see the good in his labor.

[09:27] In chapter 5, verse 18, here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat and drink and enjoy oneself in all one's labor in which he toils under the sun during the few years of his life which God has given him, for this is his reward. That is absolute hedonistic cynicism.

[09:51] In the eighth chapter and the 14th verse, we read, "There is futility which is done on the earth. That is, there are righteous men to whom it happens according to the deeds of the wicked. On the other hand, there are evil men to whom it happens according to the deeds of the righteous. I say that this too is futility. So I commended pleasure, for there is nothing good for a man under the sun except to eat and to drink and to be merry, and this will stand by him in his toils throughout the days of his life which God has given him under the sun."

[10:23] Everything is under the sun. And if all there is is what's under the sun, and you're just protoplasm waiting to become manure, what's the point of serving God, sacrificing?

[10:37] Go then, chapter 9 of Ecclesiastes, verse 7. "Eat your bread in happiness, drink your wine with a cheerful heart, for God has already approved your works. Let your clothes be white all the time, and let not oil be lacking on your head. Enjoy life with the woman whom you love all the days of your fleeting life. For this is your reward under the sun."

[11:02] Jesus told us about a rich fool in Luke 12 who said, "Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die." Classical literature is full of this. This infected the Greek world, the Roman world. But if there is a resurrection, then there's every reason to serve and to receive a full reward.

[11:25] We will rise. 2 Corinthians 5, we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens, another eternal body, a resurrection body.

[11:49] But if there's no resurrection, there's no incentive for a reunion. So if you're just going to go out of existence, it's pointless. There's no incentive for service. If this is all there is, you might as well suck up all the pleasure you can.

[12:08] There's a third incentive that Paul mentions. Not only is an incentive in the resurrection to salvation and service, but to sanctification. This is very important. Verses 33 and 34.

[12:21] Do not be deceived. And that is a very common warning. Galatians 6:7, "Don't be deceived. What you sow, you'll reap." 1 Corinthians 6:9, "Don't be deceived." James 1, "Don't be deceived." It's a present tense. It could be read, "Stop, stop being deceived."

[12:44] Bad company corrupts good morals. Incredibly important statement. Bad company corrupts good morals. Now, you see the word company in English. I don't know what your version might say. But that is not really the best translation.

[13:01] Company is too benign a word. This is a much more profound word. It is the Greek word homilia. Homilia. Its basic meaning is association, communion. In fact, it is used only here in the entire New Testament, but when it is used in the Greek Old Testament, the Septuagint, in Exodus 21:10, it has reference to marital intercourse. A very significant kind of association.

[13:37] But more than that, it is used again in the Old Testament, and only those two places, in Proverbs 7:21, and there it is translated seductive speech. So what it is, it has overtones of seduction and even sexual behavior.

[14:00] This you must know. Bad associations, bad exposure to seductive speech, and in other Greek writers, it refers to a lecture or a lesson or even a sermon. We could sum it up and say this: Bad teaching corrupts good morals. Bad theology corrupts good morals.

[14:30] Bad associations corrupts good morals. What kind of associations are we talking about? The answer comes in Psalm 1. "How blessed is the man who doesn't walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers." You don't walk in the counsel of the wicked. You don't listen to their instruction. You don't stop and stand and connect with sinners, and you don't sit and be instructed by scoffers.

[15:03] Bad doctrine, bad perceptions, bad information corrupts good morals. And here's some bad information: There is no resurrection. That corrupts good morals. If you have the hope of Christ welcoming you into his presence, then you'll understand 1 John 3:3.

[15:30] Verse 2, we're the children of God now, but it hasn't yet appeared what we will be, but we know that when he will appear, we will be like him, a person, recognizable. And we'll see him as he is. And everyone who has this hope on him, purifies himself just as he is pure. The hope of resurrection, reunion with Christ is a purifying hope.

[16:00] Bad theology, bad instruction, bad teaching, bad belief corrupts good morals. People live their theology, they live their convictions, they live what they believe. Evil companions, evil associations expose you to bad theology, bad doctrine, and that corrupts good morals.

[16:23] So in verse 34, he says, "Become sober-minded as you ought, and stop sinning, for some have no knowledge of God, and I speak this to your shame." If you're following these people who are completely ignorant of God and you're following their bad theology, you should be ashamed of yourself. Stop sinning. Wrong doctrine produces evil behavior.

[16:51] Thucydides tells how when the deadly fatal plague came to Athens, people committed every unimaginable, shameful crime. He says they snatched every lustful pleasure because they believed life was short and there was no resurrection. They would have to pay no price for their vice.

[17:17] The Roman poet Horace wrote this: "Tell them to bring wines and perfumes and the two short-lived blossoms of the lovely rose while circumstances and age and the black threads of the fates still allow us to do so." The fates indulge.

[17:42] One of the most famous poets, Latin poets, is Catullus. You can Google him and you'll find some interesting things. Catullus wrote this: "Let us live, my Lesbia." Lesbia was his pseudonym for his lover to whom he wrote a lot of poems that are still around. "Let us live, my Lesbia, and let us love, and let us value the tales of austere old men at a single half-penny." In other words, cheap and useless.

[18:11] "Suns can set and then return again, but for us, when once our brief light sets, there is but one perpetual night through which we must forever sleep. Let's live, let's love before we go out of existence."

[18:32] Take away the thought of life to come, take away the thought of resurrection, take away the thought of accountability, take away the thought of punishment, take away the thought of reward, and life becomes a hedonistic disaster. A metaphor for that is simple and visible to all of us. Watch the news. When riots happen in an inner city and the people know that the police can't stop them, they tear the place down because they know there will be no consequences.

[19:10] The ultimate consequence, of course, for the unbeliever is hell. The ultimate hope for the believer is heaven. Both of those lay a heavy, heavy claim on how we live our lives.

[19:25] So, verse 34, "Become sober-minded." Think clearly. Live righteously. Stop sinning. Stop your shameful conduct. Does the resurrection matter? Of course it matters. We're going to live forever. The resurrection of Christ is a reality and because He lives, we will live.

[19:50] Salvation then can be sought in the hope of resurrection, reunion and resurrection life. Service can be given with suffering and even martyrdom because it will produce an eternal reward in the resurrection. Sanctification should be the goal of our lives here, purity, the goal of our lives here, because we will be rewarded eternally in the presence of the Lord. Anything less than this is a shameful deception.

[20:24] We thank you, Lord, for the promise of life that takes all the emptiness and uselessness of living under the sun away and replaces it with hope for how we live here, how we love here, how we serve here, will show up again in our eternal blessing whereby we will be able to enjoy and glorify You forever and ever. May our hearts be eager to embrace the life that is to come and may we hold lightly to the things of this world. These things we ask in the name of Christ. Amen.

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[21:08] [--Phil Johnson--] You're listening to Grace to You Weekend, featuring the Bible teaching of John MacArthur. And this week, which marks one year since John went to be with Christ, it seemed right to focus on the eternal hope that every believer has, a hope that is now reality for John MacArthur. So we've been looking at the sting of death that Christ defeated on the cross, and the glorious hope of resurrection that He made possible. We call our current series "The End Is Not the End."

[21:37] Now, throughout his many decades as a Bible teacher, John wrote dozens of books, and arguably the one that has been the most influential is "The Gospel According to Jesus." It was John's love for the Gospel of the Bible and his concern for people who are self-deceived about their salvation that prompted him to write this book. The publisher had modest expectations for "The Gospel According to Jesus" when it was released, but it became a bestseller, and it really struck a nerve throughout the evangelical movement, and it still creates a buzz today.

[22:11] And so if you've never contacted Grace to You, we want to send you a free copy of this classic volume, "The Gospel According to Jesus." This offer is available for a limited time, so request your free book today. You can call us at 800-55-GRACE weekdays from 7:30 to 4:00 Pacific Time, or request your copy online anytime at gty.org. Again, we'll send you a free copy of John's classic book called "The Gospel According to Jesus" if you have never been in touch with us before. So call or go online and request your free book.

[22:48] If you've been in touch before, "The Gospel According to Jesus" is reasonably priced, and shipping is free. Again, to order "The Gospel According to Jesus" or to request your free copy if it's your first time contacting us, call 800-55-GRACE or go to gty.org.

[23:07] And at our website, you have access to all of John's sermons, that's more than 3,600 messages, free to download in MP3 and written transcript format. You'll find the sermon archive and much more at gty.org.

[23:24] Now for our entire staff, I'm Phil Johnson. Remember to watch Grace to You Television Sundays on Direct TV Channel 378, and then be back next week when John MacArthur begins his compelling study called "The Transforming Power of Scripture." It's another half hour of unleashing God's truth one verse at a time on the next Grace to You Weekend.

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