Addressing the Congregation:

I want to take a moment—this is important—so lean in here and hear this. Michael, come on out, man. You all know Michael Cason, right? Great guy.

I always don’t like it when these guys come out because it reminds everybody how short I am. I get that all the time—people say, "I’ve been watching you online, and now that I’m here in person… you’re short!"

But listen, this is important. Michael Cason does outreach, and I want you to hear this because I want you to lean in. We are here for you. If you need something—if we can help you in any way as a church—we are here. There is a way to go online and fill out a form if you have a need.

However, this is also important. We need people who are ready and able to go out and help. After service, you can see this man, sign up, and we’ll call you when there are things we can do before the storm and after the storm—not just to take care of our people, but to help others in the community as well. We are called to be intentional neighbors.

And I’m telling you, there’s something great about serving others—it gets your mind off everything else. So hear this: no one at Grace should feel like they are in this alone. You are not in this alone. If you have a need, we want to know about it. If you want to serve, we want you to be involved. You want to go to heaven? See this man after service.

But really, go see him! We’ve got an email coming out later this afternoon where people can let us know what they need and also sign up to help. Right, Michael?

So see Mike Cason—he’s on top of it. We’re going to get through this, and we’re going to be here for you. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I can tell you this: the church will be here. We will be open. We will have services next weekend, no matter what. We can come in here and seek the Lord, because the Lord is what we’re after anyway, and we’re going to get through this together as a church. Amen?

I mean that. This building is solid. I’m telling you, we’re going to have church in here next weekend. So please know that if something happens—if you have a need—call us. We’re here for you. I mean it—we are here for you. No one should feel like the local church isn’t there for them.

Message Introduction:

Now, let’s get to work. I have an encouraging message today, and I think it’s great when a sermon series ties right into what’s going on in the world. What people need right now—more than anything—is encouragement and hope. And you’re going to get that this weekend.

My hope and prayer is that you leave here differently than when you came in.

One thing about me that you may or may not know—I really enjoy studying words and phrases. I love to ask:

  • Where did this phrase come from?
  • How did we start using this word?
  • Why do we use it the way we do?

The study of word origins is called etymology—it looks at how words develop and change over time. And we know words do change! What was "bad" in my generation is now "bad" in a completely different way. "Cool" means something different now. Words evolve, and I love studying how they are used.

But I’m saying this—hold on to that word "tether"—because we’re going to come back to it at the very end of this message, and it’s all going to make sense. Remember, to tether means to fasten, to hold on, to keep something from coming loose. That idea of tethering is important, and we’ll circle back to it.

Now, we’re in a series called First Things, and what I’ve been trying to do over the last several weeks is lay out the foundation of our faith.

I’ve realized something over the past year—whether it’s through conversations, traveling with different people, or just engaging with folks here at Grace—our church is an eclectic group. We have people who grew up Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist, Episcopalian, Charismatic, Pentecostal, Baptist, Bapticostal—you name it! We’ve got it all.

And in talking with people, I realized that not everyone grew up in a church where they were really taught Scripture.Some have come to Grace and said, "Wow, I’m really learning a lot about the Bible here!" And that made me think—maybe it would be good for all of us to go back and walk through some foundational elements of our faith so that, regardless of background, we are all on the same page.

So that’s what we’ve been doing. And I knew that, to do this, we needed to look at Hebrews 6:1-2—where the writer lays out these foundational things. These are called "first things" or "the elementary teachings of Christ."

Now, the author of Hebrews—whoever they were—was writing to Jewish Christians, encouraging them to move forward, to mature in their faith. These elementary teachings were important, but they weren’t meant to be a stopping point. They were a foundation to build on.

So I thought, What a great time for us to go back, look at these foundational truths, and really understand why we believe what we believe. Not just to know it, but to live it out. Because at the end of the day, faith isn’t just about what we know—it’s about how we live.

That’s why the big idea I’ve been emphasizing in this series is:
How we live is greater than what we know.

Now, that doesn’t mean knowledge isn’t important. It is! But knowledge alone isn’t enough. It’s how we apply it, how we live it out, that makes the difference.

And when you look at the world today—just look around! Look at North Carolina, Tennessee, Florida, overseas in the Middle East, Ukraine—wherever you look, the world is crazy. There’s no question about it.

And what does this world need? It needs light. It needs people who don’t just know about Jesus but live for Jesus.

Because whether people realize it or not, they are searching for Jesus. They just don’t know it yet. And that’s why we need to be living out our faith, not just talking about it.

So I thought, This is a great time to go back and reinforce these foundational truths so we can live them out.

The Foundational Teachings in Hebrews 6:1-2

Now, we’ve been spending a lot of time in Hebrews 6:1-2, which lays out what I call a "triad of two things"—three foundational pairs that summarize the elementary teachings of Christ.

Let’s read it again:

"Let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and faith toward God, instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment."

So the writer is saying: There are foundational things—important things—but we aren’t supposed to stay there forever. We need to grow.

And what is maturity in the book of Hebrews? Maturity is knowing the difference between good and evil. It’s having discernment so that we don’t keep making the same mistakes over and over.

Now, let’s break this down again:

  1. First pair: Repentance from dead works and faith toward God.

    • We talked about repentance—turning away from sin.
    • We talked about faith—trusting in God.

  2. Second pair: Instruction about washings and the laying on of hands.

    • We explored how we are cleansed and made right with God.
    • We saw that Christianity is not an individual journey—we need others to pray for us, encourage us, and lay hands on us.

  3. Third pair: The resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment.

    • That’s what we’re talking about today!

The Resurrection of the Dead

For the next two weeks, we’re going to focus on "the resurrection of the dead."

And then, in the third week, we’ll cover "eternal judgment." (And yes, it’s going to get hot in here—that’s a joke, just making sure you’re still with me!)

So let’s dive into this idea of the resurrection of the dead.

First, let’s summarize what we’ve covered so far:

  • Repentance—turning away from sin.
  • Faith—trusting in God.
  • Washings—how we are cleansed.
  • Laying on of hands—how we support and pray for each other.

And now, we move into this powerful truth:
"This world is not all that there is."

That’s what we’re going to focus on over the next two weeks.

I want to do this in two parts:

  1. This week, we’ll cover the basics of resurrection—what it means and why it matters.
  2. Next week, we’ll go deeper—looking at what the book of Hebrews teaches about it.

The Resurrection: A Foundational Claim

So let me make a claim right up front. This claim has a Latin phrase—you don’t need to remember the Latin, but you need to understand what it means.

The phrase is "sine qua non."

It means "the without which not"—in other words, something so essential that without it, the whole thing falls apart.

And here’s my claim:

The resurrection is the sine qua non of Christianity.

Without the resurrection, Christianity falls apart.

Without the resurrection:

  • Jesus is just another teacher.
  • Christianity is just another philosophy.
  • Our faith is just wishful thinking.

Paul says it like this in 1 Corinthians 15:17:
"If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins."

In other words, if Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, none of this matters.

But—if He DID rise—then everything changes.

That’s what we’re going to talk about over the next two weeks.

  • What does resurrection really mean?
  • Why does it matter for us today?
  • What does the book of Hebrews teach us about it?

And at the very end, we’re going to come back to that word "tether."

Because just like a tether fastens something down, the resurrection is what anchors our faith—it holds everything together.

The Resurrection: The Sine Qua Non of Christianity

You can't play basketball without a basketball—it's essential. The sine qua non of Christianity—the "without which not"—is the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

You cannot have Christianity without the resurrection.

Let me say that again because it’s critically important:

If Jesus did not rise from the dead, then Christianity collapses.

Now, I want to make sure you hear this clearly because this is super important.

If I were able to convince you—beyond a shadow of a doubt—that:

  • Adam and Eve were real people (which I believe they were).
  • Noah really built an ark (which, with all the flooding we've seen lately, shouldn't be too hard to imagine).
  • Moses really parted the Red Sea.
  • Three Hebrew boys were actually thrown into a fiery furnace.
  • David really defeated Goliath.
  • Samson really had supernatural strength.

If I could prove every one of those stories 100% true beyond any doubt… but Jesus did not rise from the grave, we should all go home.

Did you catch that?

I’m not saying those stories aren’t true.
I’m not saying the Bible isn’t the Word of God.

What I’m saying is this:

All those stories could be 100% true… but if Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, then there is no Christianity.

Because Christianity hinges on one thing: the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Paul’s Argument: Everything Hinges on the Resurrection

Maybe you don’t like that. Maybe you don’t like that everything rides on one event.

Okay, don’t take my word for it.

Let’s listen to Paul.
Let’s listen to Scripture.

Because Paul makes it crystal clear what Christianity absolutely hinges on.

First, let’s establish something.

Even scholars who don’t believe the Bible is the Word of God agree on one thing:

Paul wrote 1 Corinthians.

Nobody disputes that.
Nobody questions that Paul’s letter to the Corinthians is an authentic, historical document.

It was written around 52-54 AD—one of the earliest Christian writings we have.

It predates the Gospels.

So Paul is writing to the Corinthian church—and this church is a mess.

  • They’re fighting.
  • They’ve got divisions.
  • They’re confused about leadership.
  • They have serious moral failures (a man is sleeping with his stepmother, and they’re proud of it!).
  • Their marriages are messed up.
  • Their church services are chaotic.

And now, in 1 Corinthians 15, we see that some of them no longer believe in the resurrection of the dead.

They’ve started believing that this life is all there is.

And Paul takes that belief to task.

Paul’s Case for the Resurrection

Here’s what Paul says—not my words—Paul’s words to the church in Corinth:

"If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised."

Think about that.

Paul is saying, if there’s no resurrection, then Jesus Himself didn’t rise.

And if Jesus didn’t rise, then…

  • Our preaching is in vain.
  • Your faith is in vain.
  • Everything about Christianity is meaningless.

Paul is essentially saying, “If Jesus didn’t rise, pack it up. Go home. Game over.”

He continues:

"If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile, and you are still in your sins." (1 Corinthians 15:17)

That’s it.
That’s the whole deal.

Paul isn’t sugarcoating it.
Paul isn’t leaving any wiggle room.

If Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, Christianity is a fraud.

But if He did rise from the dead?

That changes everything.

Christianity Rises or Falls on the Resurrection

Let’s put it plainly:

  • Christianity does not rise or fall on whether or not Noah built an ark.
  • Christianity does not rise or fall on whether or not Moses parted the Red Sea.
  • Christianity does not rise or fall on whether or not David defeated Goliath.

But Christianity DOES rise or fall on the resurrection of Jesus.

That’s why Hebrews 6 lists the resurrection of the dead as one of the core foundational teachings of Christianity.

The Skeptic’s Question: Why Should We Believe It?

Now, some of you might be thinking, “Okay, Chip, I hear you. But I’ve been to a lot of funerals, and I’ve never seen anyone get up out of a casket.”

  • Uncle Joe never knocked on his casket and said, "Peekaboo!"
  • I’ve never seen someone come back to life after three days.

So the question is:

Why should we believe this?

Why should we believe the resurrection?

And let me tell you something:

If you want to share your faith with a non-believer, don’t start with the Bible.

Now, don’t hear what I’m not saying.

The Bible is the Word of God.
I believe that.
I trust that.

But if you’re talking to a skeptic, and you start with the Bible, they won’t care.

They don’t believe in it.
They don’t trust it.

So how do we know that the resurrection really happened?

Is there any good reason to believe that a man actually rose from the dead?

The Unbelievability of the Resurrection—Unless It Happened

Here’s what I cannot overstate enough:

Something profound must have happened in the first century for Jewish people to suddenly start claiming that a crucified man was the Messiah.

Because nobody believed that before.

Nobody.

First-century Jewish people absolutely believed that:

  1. God would one day send a Messiah.
  2. That Messiah would be a military leader.
  3. That Messiah would overthrow Rome.

But they never believed that:

  • The Messiah would die.
  • The Messiah would be crucified.
  • The Messiah would be humiliated.

If a Messianic leader got killed, do you know what happened?

Everyone went home.

We see this over and over again in history.

There were plenty of people in first-century Israel who claimed to be the Messiah.

  • And when Rome killed them, their movements died.
  • Their followers scattered.
  • Nobody kept following a dead Messiah.

But something different happened with Jesus.

His followers didn’t go home.

Instead, they boldly proclaimed that He was alive.

And not just a few of them.

Hundreds of people.

They weren’t hallucinating.
They weren’t making it up.

Something extraordinary must have happened.

And next week, we’re going to dig deeper into what that was.

But for today, here’s what I want you to remember:

  • Christianity stands or falls on the resurrection.
  • The resurrection is the sine qua non of our faith.
  • If Jesus rose from the dead, that changes everything.

And like we talked about at the beginning—remember the word tether?

The resurrection is what tethers us to our faith.
It is what anchors everything.

Hold on to that, because next week, we’ll go even deeper.

Amen?

The Resurrection: The Event That Tethers Our Faith

John the Baptist declared, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world!" He was convinced that Jesus was the one.

John was all in—he knew Jesus was the Messiah.

But then John the Baptist had a bad day.

He rebuked Herod.
Herod threw him in prison.

And now John was sitting in Herod’s fortress at Machaerus, facing possible execution.

John’s situation didn’t look like what he expected from the Messiah.
Jesus wasn’t leading an army.
Jesus wasn’t overthrowing Rome.

So John sent his disciples to Jesus with a question:
"Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?"

Wait… what?!

John the Baptist—who had just declared "He's the one!"—was now questioning if Jesus was actually the Messiah.

Why?

Because Jesus wasn’t fitting the narrative that John, and many Jews, expected.

They expected a military leader.
They expected a political ruler.
They expected someone who would conquer Rome.

And instead, they got a Messiah preaching about turning the other cheek and loving your enemies.

So John asked, "Are you really the one?"

But the narrative was even worse when Jesus died.

Because in first-century Judaism, if your Messiah died, he was not the Messiah.

A Dead Messiah Was a Failed Messiah

You cannot overstate this enough:

A dead Messiah was a failed Messiah.

Period.

End of story.

There was zero reason—absolutely zero—for anyone to continue following a dead Messiah.

Nobody in first-century Jewish culture would have.

When other messianic movements failed, their followers went home.

Nobody ever said,
"Well, our leader is dead… let's keep the movement going!"

That never happened.

And we see this clearly in Luke 24 with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus.

They were walking away from Jerusalem because they believed Jesus had failed.

They literally said:
"We had hoped he was the one to redeem Israel."

"Had hoped."
Past tense.

Meaning?

They lost hope.

Why?

Because Jesus was dead.

So the question is:

What Changed?

What happened that a bunch of people—who would have never followed a dead Messiah—suddenly started proclaiming that He was alive?

What happened that Paul, a Pharisee who persecuted Christians because he believed Jesus was a false Messiah, suddenly became the greatest advocate of Christianity?

What happened that a movement based on a crucified man didn’t die out but instead exploded across the world?

There is only one reasonable explanation:

They saw Jesus alive.

That’s the only explanation that makes sense.

They didn’t make it up.

Because no Jewish person—not a single one—would have ever followed a dead Messiah.

Unless…

He wasn’t dead anymore.

If the Resurrection Happened, Christianity is True

The only explanation for the existence of Christianity is the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

If Jesus really rose from the dead, then Christianity is true.

Because Jesus said:
"I will die, and on the third day, I will rise again."

So if Jesus actually did what He said He would do, then everything He said about Himself must be true.

And if Christianity is true, then I want you to see just how profound that reality is.

What the Resurrection Means for You

In the middle of life’s storms…

In the middle of everything going on in the world…

I want you to hold on to three things the resurrection gives us:

1. The Resurrection Means New Beginnings Are Possible

Jesus stepped out of the tomb, and what happened?

  • Peter had denied Jesus three times, and yet Jesus restored him.
  • Mary Magdalene, once possessed by seven demons, became the first person to see the risen Christ.
  • Saul, who murdered Christians, became Paul, the greatest missionary in history.

The resurrection opened the door for new beginnings.

And the same is true for you.

No matter what you’ve done.
No matter how broken you feel.
No matter how many times you’ve messed up.

Because Jesus rose from the dead, you can have a new beginning.

Romans 8:1 says,
"There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."

Your past doesn’t define you.
Your failures don’t define you.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ defines you.

2. The Resurrection Changes Your Perspective

I hear people say,
"Chip, I live in the real world."

So do I.

But let me tell you something:
The real world is passing away.

This world is not our home.
This world is not all there is.

There is a greater reality—a kingdom that is coming.

And when you live with eternity in view, it changes everything.

Right now, our nation is in chaos.

And in my opinion—and this is just my opinion—our country is under judgment.

We’ve pushed God out of everything.
We’ve rejected truth.
We’ve called evil good and good evil.

And when that happens, God says, "Okay, have it your way."

But here’s the thing:

The hope of the world isn’t politics.
The hope of the world isn’t fixing society.
The hope of the world is Jesus.

And our mission is to bring people to Him.

We’re not going to fix everything down here.
But we can point people to the One who will.

3. Christianity is Tethered to an Event

And this brings me back to the word I told you to hold onto: tether.

Christianity is not tethered to a book.
Christianity is not tethered to a denomination.
Christianity is not tethered to a creed.

Christianity is tethered to an event.

Did Jesus rise from the dead, or did He not?

Because if He did, then:

  • This world is not all there is.
  • Eternity is real.
  • Hope is real.
  • Forgiveness is real.

And because Jesus got up from the grave, nothing can separate you from the love of God.

Romans 8:38-39 says,
"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

We Will Be Here

So as we move into this week, I want you to know:

Grace is here for you.

If you have a need, ask.
If you want to serve, get involved.

We are going to be the church.

No matter what comes this week, we will be here.

Even if we lose power, we’ll open the doors and have church.

Because at the end of the day, what matters most is Jesus.

So leave here today not with fear, not with anxiety, but with confidence—

Because Jesus got up from the grave.

And because He lives, you have hope, you have purpose, and you have eternity with Him.

Amen.

Last modified: Friday, February 7, 2025, 6:42 AM