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JESUS DIED FOR OUR SINS AND WAS RISEN

When Pastor Juan asked me to deliver message for this retreat, I had agreed but realized that March was going to be a difficult month for me. Jimmy, I asked myself, how are you going to be able to prepare a message while handling school at the same time in just one month? To be honest, I didn’t know how I was going to either when I accepted. Even though I have prepared and delivered message for CBF before, this was going to be my first time delivering message for a conference and I wasn’t sure if the quality of my message would be up to par. Yet, I realized from Paul’s words: I worked harder than all of them – yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. Paul reminds me that by ourselves, we are nothing but through God’s love and grace, we are lifted in victory. Have you been dealing with stress and anxiety in your difficult situation? Have you been feeling empty and unsatisfied with your life? Have you been feeling that you need Savior? I have good news for you! Jesus Christ died for our sins and was risen from the dead! I thank God for this opportunity to share this message and I pray that both you and me may understand why this gospel of good news is important.

Look at verse 1. “Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand.” We can see here that this letter was not Paul’s first interaction with the Corinthians. To provide some context, Paul met the Corinthians for the first time in his second missionary journey when he came to Corinth. There, he had preached the gospel to them for one and a half years and many of them had believed and been baptized. Imagine how much joy Paul must’ve felt when he saw his work producing fruit. Even though the Jews, his initial audience, had rejected the gospel, the Corinthians’ acceptance and faith must’ve been a great encouragement for him. Unfortunately, this was not the end. If we look in the previous chapters of 1 Corinthians, the church of Corinth had begun to stray from what they had been taught, and many inner conflicts began to rise. There was division amongst the church members, cases of sexual immorality and incest, believers holding lawsuits against each other, idol worship, not following the Lord’s super properly, and disputes over marriage, spiritual gifts, and resurrection. How did the Corinthians who had received the gospel turn out to such a state?

Look at verse 2. “By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.” Paul’s statement is both encouraging and scary, revealing the amount of seriousness Paul regards the gospel and rightfully so. The gospel has life-saving power if the Corinthians held firmly to the gospel, being capable of overcoming any hardship and leaving their life of sin behind. However, because they did not hold onto the gospel firmly, the church had become full of brokenness and sin, and it was as if they had not been saved at all.

Look at verses 3 and 4. Paul did not want the Corinthian church whom he cared and loved for to fall into sin, so he reminds them of gospel which he had personally received from Jesus and the Holy Spirit. He considers the gospel as first importance. Why is the gospel so important to us? It is because the gospel is the good news of great joy given to all people in the world. It is because the gospel is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes. Paul says, “that Jesus died for our sins and was raised according to the Scriptures.” The words, “according to Scripture” reveal that the gospel was not just a story made from man but from God. Jesus was not simply just a man or a prophet, but he was the Son of God who came to earth with a divine purpose. Ever since Adam and Eve sinned against God, humanity was under the curse of sin and death, separated from God. God gave his people laws to obey but no matter how many chances he gave, there was not one who could keep them perfectly. So, one would have to sacrifice a year-old lamb without defect every year for their sins which deserved death. God gave promises and signs through many servants and prophets (Genesis 3:15, 2 Samuel 7:12-13, Isaiah 7:14). Even though all of them came from different times and couldn’t have known each other, they all foretold the same message of a Savior to come and restore humanity God did not fail to fulfill each and every one of them through Jesus Christ.

He lived his life blamelessly and without fault, without sin while bringing people back to God because he loved us. Many people were blessed through his miracles during his ministry: healing of sickness, driving out of demons, raising of the dead, feeding the five thousand. Yet, people rejected Jesus, the Savior from God. They were willing to crucify him on the cross, a punishment that was reserved for the worst criminals to die in the most painful way. As king, Jesus wore a crown but not of gold or jewelry but of thorns, each barb digging deep and drawing blood. He was flogged cruelly by soldiers before being forced to carry a heavy cross that he could not carry by his own strength to the very place where he would be killed. There, he was nailed to the cross, hands and feet where death came slow but painfully. He was mocked and cursed all throughout like a criminal. Jesus was completely innocent and easily could’ve resisted if he wanted to but had allowed himself to die. Why? Because Jesus wanted to forgive us from our sins. Because Jesus wanted to save us from death and give us eternal life. Because Jesus wanted to heal us from all our sicknesses and wounds. Jesus prayed on the cross: “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.” Because Jesus died for us according to the Scriptures, our sins were forgiven, and we were healed. Isaiah 53:4-5 say, “Surely, he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.” Every strike, every step, every insult, Jesus endured everything and shed his blood till death all so that he could pay the wages for our sins as one without sin himself.

His death was important as through his blood, all of our sins were taken and buried alongside with him, making us cleansed in the process. However, his death was not the end as after three days, he resurrected from the grave, proving his complete victory and power of sin and death. Jesus has risen from the dead and gave us eternal life, final victory, and hope on the kingdom of God. Because of Jesus, we now have new life that isn’t under fear from sin and punishment from the old law but rather filled with Jesus’ loving forgiveness and grace.

Verses 5-8 reveal how the resurrection of Jesus isn’t simply just a myth or fable made by people; he had revealed himself to many witnesses – Peter, his disciples, and 500 others – as proof of this event. If Paul wanted to lie, he could’ve given a smaller number but for there to be this much witnesses willing to testify about Jesus’ resurrection and not be any disagreement or discrepancies amongst their testimonies, it is proof that Jesus had indeed been resurrected. Through his death on the cross and his resurrection, we have been granted life in his blood.

Paul describes his personal experience with the risen Jesus in verses 8-9. Paul’s many great accomplishments and his zealousness for the work of God is undeniable through Acts and the Epistles. However, he never became proud about himself or what he has done. Instead, he remembers the time before he had met Jesus Christ and how he used to persecute the church (Acts 8:3, Acts 9:1-2). Usually, people try to hide their dark past or weaknesses in order to better appeal to other people. For example, I don’t go introducing myself as “Hi, I’m Jimmy. I’m 24 years old who failed nursing. Nice to meet you!” Maybe it’s just me but I don’t want people seeing me in my lowest when I’m vulnerable but rather when I’m at my best. However, Paul understood that as Christians, we are glorified not through our strengths but through our weaknesses, that our weaknesses does not bring shame to God but rather God’s work is able to shine clearer. In verse 10, Paul emphasizes that it is only by the grace of God that he is the apostle we know him for now. Not once in the bible does Paul ever think of himself as great or that it was by his own effort that he was able to come this far. Instead, he remembers “that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures (verse 3).” (Jesus Christ died because he loved us while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8). Do you think of yourself as a sinner? No matter how good we think we are, we have nothing in us that deserves to be saved. Without the gospel, we are simply sinners waiting to be condemned. We are the ones supposed to be punished but instead, Jesus did. Who else would die on the cross while being naked, scorned, and tortured? No one but Jesus Christ. His love was greater than our sin and because of him, we can experience the grace of God, confessing that Jesus is our personal Lord and Savior.

I know that many of us may have heard the gospel already and are thinking, “Jimmy, why are you telling me this when I already know about the gospel?" However, so did the Corinthians as well and looked at what happened to them! It’s not enough just to know but as Paul said, we must hold firmly to the gospel and take our stand on it. Through this gospel, Jesus offers life, eternal life that not just starts after our lives on earth but now! If we do not hold firmly to the gospel and obey Jesus’ commands and words, we can easily be distracted from the truth of the gospel just like the Corinthians. Today, people can indulge themselves with many sources of entertainment that can be found on the internet such as playing games, watching shows or videos. They could also listen and be inspired by one of many famous people or public influencers for their charisma or knowledge of certain topics, even following their ways on how they should act or what they should believe in. Some people are simply too busy handling responsibilities that pressure them whether it be from work, school, family, or even the church. Following Jesus may look unappetizing or hard to focus on when compared to these things, becoming relegated to the back of our minds. Of course, these things may not necessarily be wrong but when they are the only things that we focus on, these things will only lead to emptiness, disappointment, and burnout despite seemingly being fine on the outside. In the parable with the Samaritan women, Jesus described himself as the living water that would quench all thirsts. The world offers many things and plenty of options on how we live our lives but to truly live our life, we need only to hold onto the gospel of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ in order to sustain our souls and to live a life that is not dragged down by dark thoughts or depression but a life that is full of his victory and glory, one of living hope and an eternal inheritance.

To do this, we must live for the glory of God daily, praying for the Holy Spirit for assistance. After all, holding on to the gospel can be hard when our lives on earth are still continuing. How many of you guys remember the Sunday message 2 weeks ago? 3 weeks ago? This isn’t to say that if we don’t remember, we are not holding firmly to the gospel. After all, God did not create all of us with perfect memory. We cannot memorize every Sunday message or every bible study that we had but by carefully reflecting and digesting what we learned, we integrate the gospel into our actions and our life, being filled with the love of Jesus. If we hear God’s Word and do nothing about it, we simply remain at a standstill in our spiritual growth as the gospel goes into one ear and out the other. The gospel isn’t something that isn’t just heard or received for one day, a week, a year but practiced daily for a lifetime, cultivating our relationship with Jesus deeper and intimately. For example, as a college student myself, whenever I hear a lecture, I cannot be expected to completely remember everything I hear. After lecture, I must study and review consistently so that what I learned does not get forgotten or become simple memorization in my head, practicing what I learned so that it becomes a foundation for when I enter my career later. In the same way, the gospel should be the foundation for our spiritual life as well. Admittedly, I haven’t been holding onto the gospel as firmly as I should be. There are days where I skip my daily bread in the morning and neglect personal prayer time with Jesus and instead rely on my own strength and thoughts. I confess that there are times where I have bible study with Msn. Moses and then completely forget what we studied the next hour. I realized no matter the situation, whether it be in the easy or hard times, if we do not purposefully set aside time for God’s word and make an active approach to follow Jesus’ commands, we will become like the Corinthians who got lost in their life in the world and neglect the gospel. Let us remember to stand firm in the gospel which gives true life in Jesus.

I consider myself to be an introverted person and had been bullied during elementary and middle school. I’m always worried about how certain people may think of me or treat me and I tend to withdraw myself, not comfortable with sharing my vulnerabilities or thoughts. When I was in 1^st grade, during breakfast in the school cafeteria, I remember telling one of my friends that I had a crush on one of the girls in my class and told him to keep it a secret. Not a second later, my friend immediately screamed out what I just told him to the whole table. Needless to say, I was extremely embarrassed and ashamed. I told myself that I could never trust anybody with anything. In middle school, there would be these groups of people who would always mess with my belongings and even at times become physically aggressive and would tell me that they were simply joking around and that it wasn’t that serious. As a result, I found myself distancing myself from others and interacting with people on a superficial level. During high school, I found myself having low self-esteem and feeling inadequate in both my studies. I always felt that I wasn’t smart enough and I found it hard to talk to teachers. I remember that there was a teacher who was unsure of what my name was during parent-teacher conference despite it being almost half a year which made me receive a scolding from my dad who was with me. Whenever my mom would take me together to fish for students, I would only follow her but never actively participate in talking with students or share my faith. I would neglect to meditate on the God’s Word, only passively going through my daily routine of going to school, hanging out with friends, finishing homework and relaxing before going to the next day. In church, I would do my best in HBF band and after I had entered college, would serve as CBF teacher and Sunday piano. Even though I had doubts that I could do well, I decided to just give my best, knowing that God only uses the willing but there were many times where I noticed my limitations, whether it be developing a good CBF message for the children or playing the piano without mistakes. I had to remind myself that my main reason for doing this for the glory of God and to be filled with a heart of love when serving, not just because I had to or for my own self-achievement. I knew in my mind that God used the weak and broken to reveal his glory, not the strong and perfect but I still struggled with this at times.

During my second year in college, however, I failed my first nursing program. I didn’t know what to do and I had felt I had disappointed my parents and God. I thought that if only I had put in more effort, been willing to ask for help more, been more diligent in my spirituality, things would’ve not ended this way. I had tried to get back into nursing by applying through LaGuardia college’s nursing program three times but every time, I had failed. I next went to Asa college in an attempt for nursing again but during my first semester, the school had lost its accreditation, so I had to leave soon after. I had felt empty and became even more unmotivated throughout each failure, only persevering thanks to my family’s encouragement and my learning from the bible. Yet, I wondered how God could use someone like me and believed that I could easily be replaced in needed. However, during a winter conference in 2023, I was serving as a bible group leader and the speaker there had prophesied for me. He told me that God wanted me to know that He still had a great purpose for me and that he was still proud of me for my faithfulness and that he had seen my failures. I was shocked when I first heard it. How could God be proud of a sinner who kept failing like me? I was once again reminded of the gospel. Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose again. This was something that I’ve always heard but, in that moment, I felt the love of Jesus immensely. I was supposed to be a failure, somebody who couldn’t see a future for himself. Yet, Jesus had never thought of me as worthless or of little value. By all means, Jesus had every right to forsake me but instead, he chose to redeem me through his death and resurrection. I confessed and repented to God for my sin of unbelief and doubt, to never forget Jesus’ endless love for me. Romans 6:4 states, “We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” My sinful self of having negativity on my mind and holding no hope for my future was buried with Christ in death and instead, Christ gave me new life with his resurrection. I can look forward to tomorrow without any dark thoughts and trust in God no matter what happens. For school, I am now in the radiology department and even though there have been some mishaps and struggles, I know he has a plan and a purpose for me which is why I can live without fear, holding firmly to the gospel. Just like Paul said, I am what I am but not by my own efforts but only because of the grace of God.

In conclusion, the gospel gives us both life and grace through Jesus’ death and resurrection though we were once sinners condemned to death. And now, as sinners saved by grace, Jesus wants us to share the gospel to other people with the same heart that he had for us. As we continue to grow with a spirit-filled life and as a spirit-filled community, let us be rooted deeply in the gospel and take our stand on it for nothing in this world could ever replace the gospel. Jesus is our Lord and Savior, not just for us but for all peoples.