This is another one of those verses that has so much packed in it. You can explore so many different aspects of truth in this one....which way do we head first?
Tonight let's talk about something not all that popular..."ifs" that have to do with our salvation. Because according to this verse, there are some conditional "ifs" that have to be met.
"IF" we confess that Jesus is Lord, and "IF" we believe that God raised Him from the dead, then we will be saved.
Why is God so narrow-minded? Why is He so restrictive? Why does it have to be Jesus, and no other way? What is the big deal about the resurrection? Hmmmmm...let's think about these things a bit.
Is it restrictive to announce to your audience the methodology that you have enabled them with to find their way from one location to another? Is that restrictive? Restrictive would be creating the method and then only telling a select audience...not the case. God loves mankind and prepared a way for us to find our way from this world into His eternal world. The way He prepared is through Jesus, His Son. He wants all to be aware of His plan...that's why He commissions all believers to tell others. Matthew 28:18-19, "Then Jesus came near and said to them, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." I believe that God knew that we were confused and that He did everything He could to clear up the confusion.
The big deal about the resurrection? Well if we don't believe that God raised Christ from the dead, what basis do we have to believe that He will be able to empower us to new life after death? Paul explains this very well in 1 Corinthians 15:12-19, " Now if Christ is preached as raised from the dead, how can some of you say, "There is no resurrection of the dead"? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is without foundation, and so is your faith. In addition, we are found to be false witnesses about God, because we have testified about God that He raised up Christ-whom He did not raise up if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, Christ has not been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Therefore those who have fallen asleep in Christ have also perished. If we have placed our hope in Christ for this life only, we should be pitied more than anyone."
But don't stop there!....Paul continues, "But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead!"
Interesting that we're examining the importance of the resurrection ten days before we celebrate my favorite Christian celebration of the year...Easter! Yes - I like Easter better than Christmas, for while we celebrate the birth of Jesus at Christmas, and what a sweet time of celebration it is, at Easter we celebrate His resurrection! If Jesus had just come as a baby, lived a good life, taught us some good truths regarding our lives and about God, and then died...well, we could say He was a great man; we could say He was a good teacher.
But the resurrection changes it all! The resurrection tells us that our faith is valid, that Jesus Christ was and IS God's Son, and that all of our hopes for eternal life have been proven because He lives! He lives because He was resurrected on that glorious day!
And if He wasn't....show me the bones! Now really, in the 2,000 years since Christ left this earth, do you not think that with as many people who would love to prove that He wasn't resurrected, something of His remains would have been found? It would be the biggest story of time...and yet...no, no bones.
And if He wasn't....do you think that all twelve of the apostles who witnessed His ministry, His death and His resurrection would have gone to their deaths (eleven of them by martyrdom) without recanting their testimonies? They received nothing of earthly gain due to their faithfulness to Jesus Christ, just the opposite. And yet none of them wavered in their conviction of what they had seen.
And if He wasn't...then it is as Paul says, "we should be pitied more than anyone" because we have had a false hope.
But I join Paul in saying, "But Christ indeed has been raised from the dead!"
One of my favorite things on Easter Sunday is to sing all of the hymns that we have loved...but this is the one that I like to sing the loudest!
"He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today!
He walks with me and talks with me along life's narrow way.
He lives, He lives, salvation to impart!
You ask me how I know He lives?
He lives within my heart."
Tonight let's talk about something not all that popular..."ifs" that have to do with our salvation. Because according to this verse, there are some conditional "ifs" that have to be met.
"IF" we confess that Jesus is Lord, and "IF" we believe that God raised Him from the dead, then we will be saved.
Why is God so narrow-minded? Why is He so restrictive? Why does it have to be Jesus, and no other way? What is the big deal about the resurrection? Hmmmmm...let's think about these things a bit.
Is it restrictive to announce to your audience the methodology that you have enabled them with to find their way from one location to another? Is that restrictive? Restrictive would be creating the method and then only telling a select audience...not the case. God loves mankind and prepared a way for us to find our way from this world into His eternal world. The way He prepared is through Jesus, His Son. He wants all to be aware of His plan...that's why He commissions all believers to tell others. Matthew 28:18-19, "Then Jesus came near and said to them, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." I believe that God knew that we were confused and that He did everything He could to clear up the confusion.
The big deal about the resurrection? Well if we don't believe that God raised Christ from the dead, what basis do we have to believe that He will be able to empower us to new life after death? Paul explains this very well in 1 Corinthians 15:12-19, " Now if Christ is preached as raised from the dead, how can some of you say, "There is no resurrection of the dead"? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is without foundation, and so is your faith. In addition, we are found to be false witnesses about God, because we have testified about God that He raised up Christ-whom He did not raise up if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, Christ has not been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Therefore those who have fallen asleep in Christ have also perished. If we have placed our hope in Christ for this life only, we should be pitied more than anyone."
But don't stop there!....Paul continues, "But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead!"
Interesting that we're examining the importance of the resurrection ten days before we celebrate my favorite Christian celebration of the year...Easter! Yes - I like Easter better than Christmas, for while we celebrate the birth of Jesus at Christmas, and what a sweet time of celebration it is, at Easter we celebrate His resurrection! If Jesus had just come as a baby, lived a good life, taught us some good truths regarding our lives and about God, and then died...well, we could say He was a great man; we could say He was a good teacher.
But the resurrection changes it all! The resurrection tells us that our faith is valid, that Jesus Christ was and IS God's Son, and that all of our hopes for eternal life have been proven because He lives! He lives because He was resurrected on that glorious day!
And if He wasn't....show me the bones! Now really, in the 2,000 years since Christ left this earth, do you not think that with as many people who would love to prove that He wasn't resurrected, something of His remains would have been found? It would be the biggest story of time...and yet...no, no bones.
And if He wasn't....do you think that all twelve of the apostles who witnessed His ministry, His death and His resurrection would have gone to their deaths (eleven of them by martyrdom) without recanting their testimonies? They received nothing of earthly gain due to their faithfulness to Jesus Christ, just the opposite. And yet none of them wavered in their conviction of what they had seen.
And if He wasn't...then it is as Paul says, "we should be pitied more than anyone" because we have had a false hope.
But I join Paul in saying, "But Christ indeed has been raised from the dead!"
One of my favorite things on Easter Sunday is to sing all of the hymns that we have loved...but this is the one that I like to sing the loudest!
"He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today!
He walks with me and talks with me along life's narrow way.
He lives, He lives, salvation to impart!
You ask me how I know He lives?
He lives within my heart."
1 comment:
Christ Jesus lives today in my Heart.
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