The Resurrection: Does It Matter?

Admin Mon 08 Feb 2010, 1:12 pm

The Resurrection: Does It Matter?
READ | Romans 10:8-11

Believing that the Lord Jesus
Christ rose from the dead is essential for Christians. Merely recognizing that
He died for our sins is not enough; we must accept His resurrection in order to
receive eternal life. Christ paid our debt, but His sacrifice on the cross means
nothing if He possesses no power over the grave. In vanquishing evil and death,
the Lord made our salvation possible.

Jesus’ resurrection proved He was able to
remove sin and its penalty. Assuming Christ remained dead would mean accepting
the opposite—that believers are still in sin. And the inevitable end of a sinful
life is death. Consequently, a person who denies Christ’s eternal nature looks
toward a void future. Bertrand Russell, a famous atheistic philosopher, offered
this sad description of such hopelessness: “Brief and powerless is man’s life.
On his and all his race, the slow sure doom falls, pitiless and
dark.”

Instead of enjoying Christian liberty and
anticipating a home in heaven, those who reject resurrection are slaves to the
present, with no real hope or meaning in life. Career, family, and good works
can offer brief pleasure but not the kind of joy that comes from knowing we are
right with the Lord and working in His will.

Resurrection is not a denominational issue or
a point for theological debate. Either we believe Christ rose from the dead and
ascended to heaven or we do not. If we reject His victory over the grave, we
deny ourselves a place in eternity. But if we accept the truth, Paul assures
that we will be saved.

Written by Dr. Charles F. Stanley
In Touch Ministries
http://tinyurl. com/yzhay7j

Admin Mon 08 Feb 2010, 12:17 pm

No Hope Without the Resurrection

READ | 1 Corinthians 15:12-14

In today's passage, we see the apostle Paul challenging people in the
Corinthian church who denied a foundational truth of the faith. Some
Christians there rejected the idea that believers would one day
experience a bodily resurrection. Because they assumed there was no
life beyond this earthly one, they sought as much pleasure as possible
with no thought about eternity. "Death is the end, so live it up while
you can" was their thinking.

Throughout the centuries, many individuals have embraced this
shortsighted philosophy. Paul's rebuke rings as true today as it did
then: to deny the truth of resurrection means that one's faith is
worthless. (1 Corinthians 15:17) If the renewal of a body were
impossible for God, then Jesus would be a dead man, not the living
Lord. Furthermore, His continued state of death would indicate He
lacked sufficient power to conquer sin and evil—and we could never be
certain that God wields the strength necessary to bring us eternal
life. Like the followers of other religions, we would journey through
life, hoping our deity's words about eternity were true, but dreading
that death might in fact be a meaningless end.

If Christ had remained in the grave 2,000 years ago, then He would have
been nothing more than an itinerant preacher. This religion we call
Christianity would have died with Him because believers would have
nothing in which to place their hope. But He did triumph over the
grave—we have eyewitnesses' testimonies and the assurance of the Holy
Spirit to confirm it. Our motto should be "Live for the glory of the
risen Lord!"

Written by Dr. Charles F. Stanley

In Touch Ministries

No Hope Without the Resurrection: Dr. Charles F. Stanley

The Resurrection: Does It Matter?

No Hope Without the Resurrection: Dr. Charles F. Stanley