Raised To New Life!

Introduction

Why is the resurrection important?

Christianity is a resurrection religion.

A Christian is one who has repented of their sin, and who believes in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.

Of first importance - not a small detail

1 Corinthians 15:3–6 ESV

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.

Paul says that if there is no resurrection, then our faith is futile.

1 Corinthians 15:14–17 ESV

And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.

Paul is refuting the idea that there is no resurrection from the dead.

v.17 “Your faith is futile”

v.17 “Still in your sins”

v.19 “most to be pitied”

The resurrection is God’s attestation to who Jesus is

Jesus said he was God and that he would be raised from the dead

If this actually happened, then we can believe everything that Jesus said!

What evidence is there for the resurrection?

If the resurrection is so important, what if it isn’t true? What if the early Christians just made it up?

Gary Habermas

If you were trying to manufacture a religion, you would not write the story as it is written here in the Bible. If we wanted to choose a good buddy to set up as the central figure of a religion, we would not write the story as it is written here in our Bibles. In fact, one of the reasons why we would consider the resurrection to be true is because if it were not true, the biblical narrative that is given to us would not make sense.

Jesus tells the disciples several times what is going to happen, yet they are confused

Jesus died by crucifixion

Historical data outside of the Bible that Jesus was a real person and that he was crucified

Non Christians historians wrote about the Christians who believed that Jesus was resurrected

The first witnesses to the resurrected Jesus were women.

The disciples who witnessed the resurrected Jesus were willing to die

There was no worldly gain to be had by testifying that you were a Christian

Christianity has spread across the world and has changed lives, and communities and nations

Early doctrine: The resurrection was believed and essential doctrine very early on in the church

Paul repeats it in his letters

It was believed before Paul was struck blind on the road to Damascus

Naturalistic theories have all been refuted

Swoon theory, Stolen body etc.

Even secular biblical scholars don’t hold to any of these ideas

What does the resurrection mean to you as a Christian?

Future

Physical resurrection

Paul’s argument in 1 Cor 15 is that we will be raised from the dead when Christ returns.

Paul tells us it is a mystery how it all unfolds, but one day we will be resurrected with new bodies to live in the new creation.

No more sin, sin more pain

1 Corinthians 15:51–53 ESV

Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.

Present

Christ’s resurrection does not just signify something that will happen in the future, but it has deep significance for us now!

Through Christ’s death we receive justification.

Because of Christ’s death on the cross, we who put out faith in him are justified

Justified: declared just before God. He took the penalty of our sin.

We are not perfect and work towards our sanctification, but before God we are declared righteous

Through Christ’s resurrection, we receive new life.

We are free from the penalty of sin, and we are free from the power of sin

We are united with Christ and our life is lived for God now

We are no longer slaves to sin, we are slaves to God

Romans 6:3-14

Baptized into Christ: immersed or plunged into Christ’s death

skip down to the last three verses of chapter 6

Romans 6:20-23

Through our faith in Christ, we receive the gift of eternal life with Him. But we have also died to the old life that we once had, and are called to live in holiness.

Paul is saying: we are free from the penalty of sin, and we are free from the power of sin - now live like it.

We are to walk in “newness of life.”

We are no longer “enslaved to sin.” We have been “set free from sin.”

We must “consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.”

Romans 6:12–13 ESV

Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.

God has called us to be a holy people. Christ did not die to merely give us a free ticket into heaven, He died so that we would die to our old self and be resurrected into new life, united with Him.

Gal 2:20

Through our union with Christ we die to our old selves - the life that was enslaved to sin - and we are resurrected into new life - set free from sin, waging war against the sin that remains in us. And we are strengthened in the hope that we have of our physical resurrection when Jesus returns.

Union with Christ and Union as the body of believers

When we celebrate communion together, we celebrate our union with Christ. We have been united with Christ in his death and resurrection.

In drinking the juice and eating the bread we acknowledge our participation in his crucifixion.

“How Deep the Father’s Love for us”

Behold the man upon the cross, My sin upon his shoulders; Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice Call out among the scoffers. It was my sin that held him there Until it was accomplished; His dying breath has brought me life - I know that it is finished.