April 15, 2001

The Reality of the Resurrection

1 Cor. 15: 3-8, 12-23

Let hold up for you this article I printed off the internet; "Faith: Historians say Resurrection a Reality." "United Press International interviewed several writers and authors who say that the reality of the resurrection is the best answer for the origin of the Christian faith." Now, doesn't that make you feel better? Isn't it good when the newspapers and public opinion are on our side? Isn't that wonderful? Makes me think about things like: "Even a blind dog will kick up a rabbit every once in a while."

If you have your Bibles with you today, and I hope you do, turn to 1 Corinthians 15 and verse 3. The Apostle Paul tells us: " For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
1Co 15:4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
1Co 15:5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:
1Co 15:6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.
1Co 15:7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.
1Co 15:8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time."
Skip to verse 12: "Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?
1Co 15:13 But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen:
1Co 15:14 And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.
1Co 15:15 Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.
1Co 15:16 For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:
1Co 15:17 And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.
1Co 15:18 Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.
1Co 15:19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
1Co 15:20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
1Co 15:21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
1Co 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
1Co 15:23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming." And we will stop there.

I have pointed out for the last several weeks that the events of our Lord's death, burial, and resurrection correspond exactly to the Old Testament feasts, and Paul points that out here as he refers to the Feast of First Fruits, but that is not where I believe God wants us to go today. Today I want us to be overwhelmed with the reality of the resurrection, the reality of the resurrection, and what that means to us, both today and everyday.

Our Christian religion is built around truth, reality, life as it really is. We live in a time when truth is sort of relative, especially if it's not politically correct, especially when it gets into the area of morality or religion. People want to decide whether or not something is true by whether or not it agrees with the majority opinion. But what the majority thinks has nothingto do with whether or not something is true.

If JW and I both take LSD and climb up to the top of the climbing tower, and then decide we need to go over to the emu pen across the street, it makes no difference whether he agrees with me that the best way to get there is to fly, or if I agree with him that the best way to get there is to walk above the trees on the rainbow bridge. Truth and reality is something else either way, it's called gravity, and no matter what the majority decides, the reality is gonna' be slow cars and sad music, right?

Truth doesn't care what anybody thinks, truth only cares about what reality is. The reality is that God was incarnate in Jesus Christ, that He lived here on earth as a perfect, sinless man, that He died on the cross for our sins, and after three days He arose from the dead. Reality is that He ascended to the right hand of God His Father, that some day He will come and take us to be with Him, and that He will come to judge the world of sin. That is reality.

There are people in the world today that deny the reality of anyone being resurrected from the dead. They even deny the possibility of anyone being resurrected from the dead. Some of those people are even in various churches, and the same thing was true back in the days of the Apostle Paul. Paul is writing here to show them what it would mean if there were no resurrection from the dead, and today is a great day to hear these words.

Verse 13: "If there be no resurrection from the dead, then is Christ not risen." If it is impossible for the dead to be resurrected, then Jesus Christ could not have risen from the dead. So who did the Apostles see? They had met Jesus, they had seen Him eat a piece of broiled fish and a bit of honeycomb. They had seen Him perform acts which could not have been done by a spirit, acts which required flesh and bones to accomplish. He was known by them in the breaking of bread, an act which they were very familiar with. They heard Him speak, they heard the tones of His voice, over 500 hundred people saw Him at one time, other people saw Him individually.

Did the disciples make a mistake? Not likely. Did all 500 plus people make a mistake about the most important event in history? I think not. A man resurrected from the dead is just the sort of thing people check out real close, and those people back then were just as wise as we are, maybe more so.

Perhaps there is some Christian here today that might be worrying that maybe Jesus Christ could rise from the grave, but maybe you won't. Maybe you are worrying that you will remain in the grave. That cannot happen, because Jesus Christ is one with His people, we are His body. When Adam sinned, we all died, we were all one with him. We were all in Adam. There is no way to separate Adam from us. If there were some way to separate us from Adam, then Christ would not have needed to do what He did on the cross, right? God would have had a different plan of salvation.

Jesus Christ is the second Adam, the last Adam. All believers are one with him, nothing can separate us from Christ, any more than anything could separate us from Adam. Whatever happens to Jesus Christ also happens to us. If Jesus Christ had died and stayed in the tomb, then we would too. If Jesus Christ rose from the dead, then we will too. If Jesus Christ sits at the right hand of God, and lives in glory forever, then we will too. We cannot be separated from Jesus anymore than we could be separated from Adam. Because Jesus lives, we shall live also, and because He has eternal life, we will also have eternal life in Him.

In verse 14, Paul takes us on another argument for the reality of the resurrection. He says: "If Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain." If Jesus Christ did not rise from the dead, then the apostles were liars, weren't they? Why would they do that? When a person tells a lie, they either do it because they are evil or psychotic, or because they have something to gain, or both, is that not true? When we read the writings of these apostles, we consistently find thoughts and ideas of holiness and godliness, we find the very highest moral and ethical ideas that the world has ever known, so to say that they were evil men or psychotic is absurd.

Perhaps they had something to gain by starting a new religion, a religion that declared that their master had risen from the dead, maybe that was it? Ok, how well did that work out? As soon as they began to go around Jerusalem declaring that Jesus was risen from the dead, they began to be put in prison, and some of them were killed. So they began to go to other countries and repeat the same story; what happened to them there? Hebrews 11:36 fits their history pretty well: "And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:
Heb 11:37 They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented."

These people had known Jesus Christ in His life, they had witnessed His death, they had seen Him and talked with Him after His resurrection. They declared that Jesus of Nazareth was the Son of God, that He died, and was buried, and rose again, and that there is salvation for all that receive Him as Savior.
They were so throughly persuaded of the reality of His resurrection that most of them died as martyrs for a testimony of that reality. If there is no resurrection from the dead, then it is impossible for anyone to have seen Jesus alive, but they all saw Him, they testified of what and Who they saw, and they were willing to seal their testimony with their blood. Liars don't do things like that. Con artists don't do things like that. These men who testified of the resurrection of Jesus Christ were the purest and best of men, their adversaries could bring no accusations against their moral conduct. Even though these men lived and testified of Jesus' resurrection 2,000 years ago, if it was true then, it is still true today. The truth still stands, the truth does not change. So we can accept it as a reality that Jesus Christ rose from the dead.

In verse 17, Paul leads us into yet another argument for the reality of the resurrection of the dead, and the necessity for the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He says; "And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain, ye are yet in your sins." Whoa, bummer. What would that do for your peace? What would that do to your joy? Nothing good, right? If you have ever trusted Christ as your Savior, you know what it is like to have your sins washed away, to have the load and weight of guilt lifted off your soul, to be clean and fresh and new in His righteousness. When you trusted Christ as Savior, you became a child of God, and you were given the promise that sin should not have dominion over you. If Christ be not raised, then all that is false, it is just wishful thinking, you are yet in your sins. Why is that? Because if Christ is not raised from the dead, then there has been no satisfactory atonement made for your sins. If the atonement of Christ had been unsatisfactory, then He would have remained in the grave. Jesus went to the grave for us, and if what He had done upon the cross did not satisfy the justice of God, He would still be in the grave.

Last week we sang the song, "Living He loved me; dying He saved me; buried He carried my sins far away; Rising He justified freely forever: one day He's coming - O glorious day." We wouldn't be singing that song any more, would we? Jesus took all our sins upon Him when He went to the cross. He was made sin for us. He died and went to the grave for us, with all our guilt on Him, by His death He paid it all. But if He had not come forth from the grave, the job would not have been finished. That is why Paul tells us; "If Christ be not raised, ye are yet in your sins."

The life which we live in Christ is not just a normal life with the promise of a get-out-of-hell-free-card for the future, it is a supernatural life. It is a resurrection life in resurrection power. Even if it were somehow possible for Him to have stayed in the grave and still paid it all, somehow possible to purchase for us everything we need to stand guiltless before God, what kind of lives would we be living today? Dead lives. Grave lives, because if that is where He still is, then that's where we would be too. That is a contradiction, it is impossible. Christ is raised from the dead, and we are raised with Him to walk in newness of life.

Now consider verse 18: "Then they also who are fallen asleep in Christ are also perished." If Jesus Christ is not risen, then not only is our faith vain, not only are we still in our sins, then everyone who has ever died trusting in God for salvation is still in their sins also. If Christ did not rise from the dead, then those who have died trusting in Christ will stay in their graves, they will not rise either. Only through the resurrection of Christ is there a resurrection for those who have trusted Him. The ungodly shall rise to shame and everlasting contempt, but believers shall rise to eternal life and joy because of their oneness with Christ. But if He did not rise, then they cannot rise either. If He is dead and still in the tomb, then they will remain dead also, because all that are in Christ will share in the things of Christ. Those who have trusted in Christ will always be in Him, and if He did not rise, then they have made a horrible mistake. They did not make a mistake. Because Christ is risen from the grave, everything is changed.

And those who trust in Him are changed. We see lives changed, people turned around, evildoers becoming moral and ethical people. We see marriages healed, believers living in peace and dying in the assurance of sins forgiven, and being reunited with loved ones who have gone on before. We have see the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of those who trust in Christ, and the witness is overwhelming. It is irrefutable, it is incontrovertible, it is convincing. Christ has risen from the dead, and He has given life from the dead to all those that believe in Him. A life that is not just for time, but also for eternity.

Listen to Paul explain this in verse 19: "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable." If Jesus did not rise from the dead, then we who believe that He did, are the most miserable people on earth. Why? Is Paul saying that if we are wrong, if we believe that Jesus rose from the dead when really He didn't, and if we have made a mistake, that we are unhappier than other people? No, that's not what he is saying.

Even if we have made a mistake, even if we are wrong, it doesn't make us unhappy, because it gives us calm and peace. Even if we were wrong, it would give us confidence, even if it was a false confidence. Even if we lived all our lives under a false hope and then died and ended up just like the rest of the world, at least we would have lived a peaceful and moral life, so that can't be what he means. He must mean something different. He is saying that we have turned our value systems around, and now we want things that the rest of the world has no use for, and we have no use for the things that the rest of the world wants. If Christ is not risen, then we are like the prodigal son who gave up the husks and went home, and discovered that his father's house was burned down, and his father had moved away and left no forwarding address. That's what Paul is saying.

That is why he says that if Christ be not raised, we are of all men most miserable. I remember in the moment just before I bowed the knee and accepted Christ as Savior, a terrible thought flashed through my mind: "What if I beat on the door, and no one answers? What if no one is home?" I knew that if that was what happened, I would die of despair. But I knocked, and He answered. It was great. But you have heard my testimony before.

Another reason that; "If Christ be not raised, we are of all men most miserable," is that once we get saved, we are not the same people that we used to be before we got saved, a change has come over us. Imagine if you had grown up like some third world child living in a garbage dump, and survived by digging up garbage to keep yourself alive. That is all you know, that is all you ever had, grubbing around in the stink and the smell of rotting garbage, and digging out whatever you could find to survive.

And then someone comes along and rescues you. You learn to bathe and keep yourself clean, and to wear clean clothes. You learn what it is like to live in a place that smells like honeysuckle and fresh mowed grass, the air is sweet, and you are delighted. The food is fresh and wholesome. You live and grow and have a family in this wonderfully clean, fresh environment, and life is good.

And then it all gets taken away, and you are sent back to live in the garbage dump again. You would be more miserable than you had ever been before, because you would have learned about freshness and grace and beauty, and now you had to go back to living in stench and filth and squalor. If Jesus did not rise from the grave, then we all have to go back and live in the garbage dump of the world again, that's what Paul is saying.

Everything hinges upon this one fact, doesn't it? An ancient truth, a 2,000 year old reality, and if it is not true, if it is not real, then we might as well hang it up. If Jesus Christ did not rise from the dead, then we have no gospel to share with anybody. But He did rise from the grave, it is true, it is real, and we have Good News that everybody needs to hear. And the sooner they hear it, the better. We deal in a religion of truth, a religion of reality, that is the only kind of faith and belief that we want anything to do with. Any other kind of religion or faith is useless or worse, and it has nothing to offer us.

Our faith, our salvation, is different from all other religions, because it is not based on our moral condition. Of all the churches that Paul wrote to, the Corinthians probably had more moral problems than any others, but Paul does not speak to them here about their moral character, he speaks to them about Christ rising from the dead. He doesn't tell them; "It all depends on whether or not you are keeping this law or avoiding that particular sin, or you are holding this or that particular doctrinal position..." He tells them; "If Christ be not raised, ye are still in your sins." He wants them to know that our eternal security is in Christ, and if Christ is raised from the dead, and we are in Christ by faith, then we will be raised from the dead with Him.

Our salvation is not based on what we are, but on what He did. Your salvation does not hinge on you, but on Him. We are not to place our faith on what we are, or on what we hope to be, we place your faith completely and entirely on something that happened 2,000 years ago. If Christ did not rise from the dead, then it makes no difference how good and moral and ethical you are, you are still in your sins.

But Christ did rise from the dead, and if you have trusted Him for salvation, then you are risen with Him, you are not in your sins, your sins are put away, you are accepted in God's beloved Son. It does not matter whether your faith in Christ is strong or whether it is weak. It does not matter if you have utter and complete confidence in your salvation, or just a fearful and trembling, worrywart sort of faith. The question is not about what kind of faith you have, the question is who your faith is resting upon.

It is easy for all of us to be happy Christians, and full of praises when things are going our way, when the sun is shining, and the birds are singing, we have a roof over our heads, a few extra dollars in our pocket, and a full belly. Life will not always stay that way. It is possible that some of us may never go through the fire, go through that dark night of the soul, but for most of us, the question is not if, but when. I expect that for most of us, the time will come that things seem dark, life seems uncertain, troubles are everywhere, and we wonder where God is. Something that seems to happen to a lot of the saints, both in the Bible and in the modern world, things get bad, things get dark, people call out to God, and there is no answer. It is not that God does not hear, but sometimes God chooses not to answer.

It is as James says; "My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; -various testings- Knowing this, that the trying -the testing- of your faith worketh patience.
Jam 1:4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, lacking nothing."
Sometimes God wants to get us down to the point that everything else is gone, and the only thing we have left, is the knowledge that Jesus Christ died for our sins, and rose for our justification. Because if we have that, we have everything.

God desires for all of us to prosper in our faith, He wants all of us to grow in the grace and the knowledge of Jesus Christ. But as far as our salvation and security are concerned, there is only one question: Do you believe that Christ died for your sins, and rose for your justification? That is the heart of the Gospel, that is the main thing that we really need to know.

That is why Paul insists on this point. "If Christ be not raised, ye are yet in your sins." Turn that phrase around, and then think about what it means: If Christ is raised, then you are not in your sins," right? If Christ is raised from the dead, and you have faith in Him, then your faith is not in vain, you are not in your sins, your sins are gone, correct? God wants us to understand that our faith is not in ourselves, not in what we are, or what we can do for Him, but on Jesus, on His death for our sins, and His resurrection for our justification.

God does not want us trusting in ourselves for anything. We bring nothing to the cross when we get saved, and we carry nothing along with us as we stay saved. We are not saved by works, we are not even saved by our faith, we are saved through faith in His death and resurrection. We are required to exercise saving faith, and it does have to be a true thing. When you come to Christ, you need to be sincere when you accept Christ as Savior, you have to be in earnest, because if you aren't then you are just fooling yourself. But - your own particular sort of sincerity or earnestness is not what saves you, it is the death and resurrection of Christ that saves you. You don't get saved by the volume of tears that you shed at the altar, God does not count your tears to see if you are sufficiently repentant. It is not the quality or quantity of your emotion that saves you, but who your thoughts and emotions are directed to, who your faith is resting on, and do you mean business? That's what counts with God, that's what brings you into His family.

I'm glad that UPI put out an article where honest scholars think the resurrection is a valid idea. I suppose that having newspapers talk about the resurrection of Christ is much more useful than the guy with the spray can who goes around writing "Acts 2:38" on the rock walls along the highway 93 parkway. You know, I haven't seen those for a while...did one of you guys run out of spray cans? Anyway, it appears that for a change, the newspapers got it right, because that's what it all comes down to, the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ's death on the cross made God's pardon of sin an act of justice, so that none can say that God is unjust when He passes over my sin and yours. Christ paid for those sins, and I'm glad that He did. And then as He hung on the cross for my sin and yours, He said, "It is finished." Three days later, God raised Him from the dead, and ratified those words. The debt was paid. There is nothing left for any of us to do but believe it, and receive Him.

When we receive Christ, and receive His payment for our sins, there is a great blessing that comes with it. Paul says in verse 19: "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable." What if we turn that verse around? Paul is arguing from a certain position, he is making a certain case here, what if we turn his argument around? I think the argument works just as well in reverse. I trust I am not taking the verse out of it's intended meaning, but let's turn it around, and see how it works: "If in this life, and in the life to come, we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most blessed."

Think about this with me: is this a true statement? I have thought about it, and I believe it is consistent with Paul's argument here. I believe that it is a true statement. If we as believers have hope in Christ, both for our present life, and for our future lives to come, then we are the most blessed of all people. Are you blessed of the Lord today? If you are saved, then you have hope in Christ both for this life and for the life to come, and you are blessed.

One of the things about the blessing of the Lord, it is always big enough to go around, it can be shared with everyone, and no one ever comes up with any less. (Prayer - invitation)

There is one more thing I would like to do before we close this morning, and that is read you these verses from Matthew's Gospel:
Matthew 28:1 " In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulcher.
Mat 28:2 And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.
Mat 28:3 His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:
Mat 28:4 And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.
Mat 28:5 And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.
Mat 28:6 He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
Mat 28:7 And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you."

Is there any better news than that? Is there any more wonderful reality than that? Is there any greater blessing than that? Is that not reason to be joyful and excited about what God has done for you? Is there any more delightful truth worth sharing than that?

Then don't keep it to yourself, find someone to share it with this week. It is the greatest truth and reality in the world, and every body needs to have a part in it. Tell someone this week that Jesus is risen from the dead, and that changes everything.