THE IMPORTANCE OF CHRIST'S RESURRECTION

Pastor James J. Barker

Text: I CORINTHIANS 15:12-19




INTRODUCTION:


  1. The bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is the crowning proof of Christianity.
  2. If the Lord Jesus Christ was not raised from the dead, then He is not God.
  3. If the Lord Jesus Christ was not raised from the dead, then the Bible is not trustworthy, and the Christian religion is just another major world religion, like Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, or Islam.
  4. However, if our Lord's resurrection did take place, then Jesus Christ is God, the Bible is the inerrant Word of God, and the Christian faith is absolute truth, and indeed the only true faith.
  5. Philip Schaff, the church historian put it this way, "The resurrection of Christ is therefore emphatically a test question upon which depends the truth or falsehood of the Christian religion. It is either the greatest miracle or the greatest delusion which history records."
  6. Wilbur M. Smith wrote, "The resurrection of Christ is the very citadel of the Christian faith. This is the doctrine that turned the world upside down in the first century, that lifted Christianity preeminently above Judaism, and the pagan religions of the Mediterranean world. If this goes, so must almost everything else that is vital and unique in the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ: 'If Christ be not risen, then is your faith vain' (I Cor. 15:17)."
  7. A.T. Pierson said the resurrection of Christ "is the miracle that stands at the base of the whole system of gospel truth and fact."
  8. Many famous and influential men have walked across the stage of life, and they have had a profound impact in one way or another -- Buddha, Confucius, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Alexander the Great, Mohammed, Julius Caesar, Napoleon, Karl Marx, and many others.
  9. Good men, bad men, famous men, religious leaders, military leaders, philosophers, founders of major world religions and great movements have all come and gone.
  10. And they have all had one thing in common -- they have all died, and today their bodies are in the graveyard.
  11. But the Lord Jesus Christ is alive today!
  12. Our Lord says in Revelation 1:18, "I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death."
  13. My message this morning is entitled, "The Importance of Christ's Resurrection," and I am going to give three reasons why I believe it is vitally important.

 

I. IT IS IMPORTANT TO HIS PERSON

  1. If our Lord did not rise from the dead, then He would be a liar, because He often said that He would be raised from the dead (cf. John 10:14-18).
  2. Our Lord frequently asserted that He was going up to Jerusalem to die at the hands of the religious leaders of Israel, but that after three days He would rise again (Matt. 16:21; 17:22, 23; 20:18, 19; cf. 27:62-66).
  3. Early in His public ministry our Lord predicted that He would be killed but that He would rise again (cf. John 2:18-22).
  4. Later on this prophecy was used by our Lord's adversaries as a basis to falsely accuse Him (cf. Matt. 26:59-61).
  5. Our Lord said His resurrection was the "sign" from God that He was the Messiah (cf. John 2:18, 19; Matt. 12:38-41).
  6. Therefore, since our Lord gave no other sign, except the sign of His resurrection from the dead, it must be very important.
  7. Everything depends upon it -- His truthfulness, His deity, the veracity of Scripture, and our salvation.
  8. William Evans said, "The raising of Jesus from the dead was the seal of the Father's approval on the work of His Son in connection with the offering of His life as an atonement for sin. The resurrection was the Father's 'Amen!' to the Son's 'It is finished!'"
  9. Wilbur Smith said, “No man has ever written, pro or con, on the subject of Christ’s Resurrection, without finding himself compelled to face this problem of Joseph’s empty tomb” (Therefore Stand).
  10. Psalm 2:7 says, "I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee."
  11. At first glance, this seems to be a prediction of the Messiah's birth. But when we get to Acts 13:33, 34, we see Peter preaching the Gospel of Christ, and he says, "God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.  And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David."
  12. Therefore, Psalm 2:7 is a prophesy of the Messiah's resurrection.
  13. Peter also quotes Psalm 16:10 (Acts 13:35-38).

 

II. IT IS IMPORTANT TO HIS WORK

  1. The greatest field of study is not science or mathematics, though these are very important subjects.
  2. The most important subject is theology, the study of the Word of God.  And it takes a lifetime to study the Word of God.
  3. When he was on his deathbed, the great Scot poet and author Sir Walter Scott, cried out to his son-in-law Lockhart, "Bring me the Book. Bring me the Book!"
  4. "Sir," replied his son-in-law, "Which one? There are thousands of books in your library."
  5. Sir Walter Scott answered, "There is only one Book, bring me the Bible."
  6. In the olden days, theology (study of God) was referred to as "the queen of the sciences."
  7. Theology was known as the queen of sciences because it was thought that the study of God, who is the source of all truth, informed and illuminated all other branches of knowledge.
  8. When we study Bible doctrine or systematic theology, we notice that the doctrine of Christ is usually divided into two major sections -- His person, and His work.
  9. When we speak of Christ's person, we are referring to His incarnation, His sinlessness, His divine attributes, His two natures, and His earthly ministry.
  10. When we speak of Christ's work, we are referring to Christ's substitutionary death on the cross, His resurrection from the dead, and His ascension into heaven.
  11. Not only is the resurrection of Christ vitally important to our Lord's person, it is also vitally important to His work.
  12. For example, if Christ did not rise from the dead, then we are still lost sinners (I Cor. 15:17).
  13. And, if Christ did not rise from the dead, then of course, He could not have ascended into heaven, for all accounts of our Lord's ascension link it together with His resurrection from the dead (cf. Mark 16:14-19; Luke 24:46-53; Acts 1:3-9).
  14. If Christ did not rise from the dead, then of course, He would not be alive to perform all of His post-resurrection miracles and ministries.
  15. If Christ did not rise from the dead, then His ministry would have ended at the cross.  But our Lord said, "It (referring to His vicarious, sacrificial death) is finished" (John 19:30).
  16. He did not say, "I am finished."
  17. If Christ did not rise from the dead, He could not dwell within believers today, but He certainly does. Galatians 2:20 says, "Christ liveth in me" (cf. Col. 3:1-4).
  18. If Christ did not rise from the dead, He could not be up in heaven at the right hand of God the Father interceding for us right now.
  19. Hebrews 7:25 says, "Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them."
  20. If Christ did not rise from the dead, then He could not have visited the apostle Paul and Ananias (cf. Acts 9:1-16; 18:9, 10; 22:18-21; 23:11).
  21. If Christ did not rise from the dead, then He could not have appeared to John on the isle of Patmos (Rev. 1:9-18).
  22. Furthermore, if Christ did not rise from the dead, then He is not coming back (Rev. 1:7).
  23. But thank God, Jesus is alive, and He is coming back (cf. John 14:1-4).
  24. A while ago, a church member wrote a letter to an advice column in his local newspaper.
  25. "Dear Sir: Our preacher said, on Easter, that Jesus just swooned on the cross and that the disciples nursed Him back to health. What do you think? Sincerely, Bewildered."
  26. Here was the reply, published a few days later:
  27. Dear Bewildered: Beat your preacher with a cat-of-nine-tails with 39 heavy strokes, nail him to a cross; hang him out in the sun for 6 hours; run a spear through his heart; embalm him; put him in an airless tomb for three days and three nights, and then see what happens."

 

III. IT IS IMPORTANT TO OUR SALVATION

  1. It is important to the Gospel, because there is no Gospel apart from the resurrection of Christ (I Cor. 15:1-9).
  2. Churches which deny the literal resurrection are preaching a false gospel.
  3. The apostle Paul wrote to the churches of Galatia, "I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ" (Gal. 1:6, 7).
  4. The resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is an essential part of the Gospel, as can be seen by reading the four Gospels, the book of Acts, the epistles, and the book of Revelation.
  5. The apostle Paul says in I Corinthians 15:14, "And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain."
  6. "And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins" (15:17).  Therefore, if Christ be not risen, we cannot be saved.
  7. Paul says in Romans 10:9, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."

 

CONCLUSION:

  1. Back in 1815, the Duke of Wellington defeated Napoleon at the battle of Waterloo.  News of this famous battle came by a sailing vessel to the south coast of England.
  2. From there it was to be relayed by signal flags to London. When the report was received at Winchester Cathedral, the flags on the cathedral began to spell it out: "Wellington defeated...."
  3. Before the message could be completed, however, a heavy fog moved in and obscured the complete message. Gloom filled the hearts of the people as the incomplete news spread throughout the surrounding countryside.
  4. As this sad news spread, the people were very discouraged and heartbroken.  But after a while, the fog lifted, and once again the flags could be seen.
  5. Now the complete message could be clearly seen by all: "WELLINGTON DEFEATED THE ENEMY."
  6. When our Lord was crucified, darkness covered the land for three hours. Then our Lord cried out, "It is finished," and His disciples were discouraged.
  7. For three days, His body lay in the grave, and many people were thinking the message was, "Jesus defeated."
  8. But after three days, He rose victoriously from the grave, and now we know the complete message: "JESUS DEFEATED THE ENEMY" (cf. I Cor. 15:20-26).


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