What if There had Been no Resurrection?

What if There had Been no Resurrection :12-20

there is nothing to separate Christianity and set it apart from religion like the resurrection

all the other religions founders are dead that is why it is just a religion and Christianity is different because our founder still lives and you can talk to him today and he can talk to you the bible says he ever lives to make intercession for us

when people say how do you know you are not deceived how do you know it is real I point to the resurrection and by the way there is more proof for the resurrection than there is for any of the other miracles of Jesus because it is the hallmark of our faith.

¶ The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,

2 Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen:

Acts 1:3 KJV 1900

To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:

acts 1:3 To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:

To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:

many infallible proofs you can't disprove them you can refuse to believe them out of foolishness and a desire to not be accountable to God

there is more people witnessed the resurrection and testified to it than your birth.

Amish guy needed passport and had never had a birth certificate he had a hard time getting one because they said he could not prove he was born in the USA and they ended up taking the word of just a few people. Jesus was witnessed by hundreds of people and over five hundred at one time.

So if you do not believe it it is not because you do not have enough evidence it is because you have heart trouble.

But this morning I would like to preach a message what if there had been no resurrection like the sceptics say.

Harry Houdini? Many of you have. He died in October of 1926. But his claim to fame was that he was a magician that specialized in spectacular escapes.

As a matter of fact, he was said to have laughed at locks, sneered at fetters. They said of Harry that he had the flexibility of an eel. He had the lives of a cat. They did all kinds of things to try to incarcerate him. They would seal him in coffins. He would escape. They riveted him into a boiler. He escaped. They sowed him up in canvas bags. He escaped. They locked him in a milk can. He escaped. They sealed him in a beer barrel. He escaped. They put him in maximum-security prison. And old Harry somehow got out.

But then in October 1926, old man death laid his hands on Harry Houdini and put him in a grave and he is yet to escape. As a matter of fact, he told his wife, if there is anyway out, I will find it. If there is any way out I'll make contact with you and we'll do it on the anniversary of my death. For 10 years she kept a light burning over his portrait. At the end of 10 years she turned out the light. Death had Harry and he couldn't escape.

Death laid his hands on the Lord Jesus Christ also. And death put Jesus in a rock-hewn tomb. And there was a stone in the mouth of that tomb and the seal of the Roman government was placed upon that tomb. But on the third day, Jesus Christ stirred himself. He rose from the sleep of death. And he left those grave clothes that were wrapped around him like a butterfly would forsake a cocoon. And Jesus Christ passed through the walls of that rock- hewn tomb. By the way, the stone wasn't rolled away to let Jesus out. It was rolled away to let the disciples in to see that Jesus had come back.

And Jesus Christ is alive. He is not behind us in a tomb. He is before us on a throne. We thank God for that.

But I want to ask you a question. Suppose that had not happened. Suppose death still held Jesus like it does Harry. Then what? Suppose there had been no resurrection.

Paul talks about that

Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?

But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen:

And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.

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.

For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:

And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.

Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.

If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.

But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.

suppose Jesus Christ is still in that grave. If that is true, he says there are six tragic things that you need to consider—if there is no Easter.

Preaching Would be Profitless 15:14

And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.

there are a lot of preachers that do not believe in the resurrection and they are frauds

if Jesus did not raise from the dead than I am wasting my time and you are wasting your time we should burn the building and go home.

It would be a fruitless thing every man that stands behind a pulpit and preaches is a fraud and he should quit and go get an honest job

preachers say that his body lives in an ancient tomb that is nameless but his spirit goes marching on.

They are frauds

Paul said all the preaching he did and risking his life for the gospel and getting rocks thrown at him all in vain

For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.

You know what gives the power in this preaching it is the Lord the resurrected Jesus

I know there is something supernatural that takes place during preaching because I will talk to people and witness to them and get nothing than see them come to church and during the preaching the holy spirit starts to work and work on their hearts and see them get saved it is supernatural because the lord is with us.

Without the resurrection you have no gospel 15:1-4

you have nothing to preach about you are no different than any one else because all that man can do with all their modern inventions and miracle cures all they have been able to do when you break it all down is help you die a little bit more comfortable if you can afford it.

But without the resurrection you are just a man with no help to offer anybody of any lasting value.

Faith Would be Foolish 15:14

And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.

faith also vain why would your faith be vain if christ be not risen

Why put faith in a dead messiah ?

Faith is no better than the object of your faith. A dead man can't save any one.

That is, you’re trusting something that doesn’t deserve your trust

I mean, who wants to put his faith in Jesus, if Jesus is dead? It’s not enough to believe that Christ died for your sins, if you don’t believe that God raised Him, also, from the dead. Your faith is vain.

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.

But if you don’t believe that God raised Him from the dead, then your faith is foolish

You see, this is the difference between Jesus Christ and the other founders of the other religions: They lived; they died; they are dead. Jesus lived; He died; and, He rose again. Friend, there is no need to follow a loser.

Jesus has escaped death.

Our Faith is worthless if Jesus Christ is still in the grave. How do we know he is the son of God?

How do we know he is God incarnate?

Romans 1:4 KJV 1900

And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:

And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:

How do I know He is the Son of God?

How do I know that He can save me?

How do I know the Bible is true? In case you haven’t checked we believe some crazy things they are not all logical. They are not all natural they are contrary to nature supernatural.

They believe Crazy things and we do to but how do we Know it is true.

I’ll tell you how: God brought Him from the dead, and that was God’s stamp of approval on all that He said, and did, and taught. He was shown to be the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead.

We don’t serve a dead Savior. A dead Savior is nobody’s Savior.

Preaching is not vain and faith is not vain.

If Christ be not raised, then faith is foolish—to trust somebody who is dead and can do nothing for you.

The Disciples Would be Deceivers 15:15

But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen:

And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.

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.

For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:

he said did not say we are mistaken he said we are false witnesses we are telling a lie

What is a false witness?

Someone who knowingly convinces someone in a court of something that is untrue

if Jesus is still in the grave I am a liar and a deceiver and telling someone to trust and put their faith in something that will bring no hope

They said we have testified

So ask yourself this question were the disciples liars ?

They said they ate with him

They said they touched him and

They talked with him

They fellowshipped with him around the campfire after he came up from the dead.

How do you know they did not just cook up a big old Lie?

James the brother of Jesus

Peter backslidden

Paul on his way to kill people became one that was being hunted

You know how you know it was not a fable a lie

They sealed their testimony with their own blood.

if you say there were liars why

say people lie so they can gain something

what did they have to gain if christ was still in the grave ?

Say money they did not do it for money they worked jobs and were not chargeable to any man to maintain the integrity of the gospel

say popularity they did for the cause of the gospel and for being a witness of the resurrection is specifically why they were put to death they were rejected by those that loved them imprisoned and put to death.

They were stoned they were whipped they were put to the lions and destroyed by beasts

they were humiliated

so what did they have to gain by lying about it

listen to me hypocrites and myarters are not made of the same stuff

people tell lies to get out of trouble but they do not tell lies to get into trouble

a man will live for a lie but few men will live for a lie.

Are you going to tell me that james was a crook

and peter was a perjurer and the apostle paul who wrote most of the new testament was a deceiver and these men would die for a lie ? Of course not.

If a person will be put to death he will only be put to death for something that is real that he believes in

no fake will die for Jesus only someone that is real.

But if Christ is still in the grave than preaching is profetless faith is foolish the disciples would be deceivers

Sin Would be Sovereign 15:17

And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.

Every one of us in here have sinned. We are sinners by nature, by birth and by practice

If Christ is still in the grave you have no hope of forgiveness because God cannot just overlook your sin

listen if God were just to overlook your sin he would topple off his throne

he is holy and he cannot do that he cannot let sin go unpunished he cannot just over look it

all the wrong things you have done will either be pardoned in christ or punished in hell but they will never be overlooked

so how do we know that jesus was not a lunatic or he was not just a religious fanatic with a martyr complex

how do we know he was not full of himself

because of the resurrection the Lord accepted the payment for your sin on calvary

if he was still in the grave that would mean that god did not accept the sacrifice the payment for your sin

but the bible says

Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

no resurrection means no saviour without the resurrection his death could not save anybody

he was raised for our justification

but if he still in the grave we have no hope of heaven

the wages of sin is death

the soul that sinneth it shall surely die

Death could not keep him because he never sinned if he had sinned one time ne would not have raised on his own power.

if there was anything lacking in christ in his atonement god would have left him in the grave

Years ago, I heard a fable about a spider who saw a great massive lion go into a cave. The spider was envious of the great King of the Jungle, and the spider said to himself, “I will imprison that lion—that beast—in this cave.” So while the lion was asleep in the cave, the spider began to spin a web across the mouth of that cave. Back and forth, and up and down, he spun, and spun, and spun, until he almost spun himself away. And then, the little spider sat down by the side of the tomb—by the side of that cave, as it was—and said, “Now the mighty beast is my prisoner. No longer will he seek his prey in the dark of the night in the jungle. No longer will he bask in the golden sunlight. Now I have taken him captive. He is my slave.”

But the old lion awoke from his nap, shook the dust from his mane, gave a yawn, stretched himself, and then let out a roar that echoed through the valley and over the hill. Then, he walked out of that cave and never even knew that the spider’s web was there.

Infidelity and hate wove a web of unbelief across the tomb of our Savior Jesus Christ. But the Lion of the Tribe of Judah has risen from the dead, and He’s never even known that the devil’s flimsy web was there. Jesus is alive. He’s alive, and He lives in my heart.

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!

Death would have Dominion 15:18

Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.

loved ones father mother brother sister child forget it they gone

all we can look forward to is getting sicker and sicker and winding down and dying getting cremated or have dirt thrown over us

letting worms eat our flesh and that is it

if Christ still in the grave than life is just a cruel joke

are you going to tell me that is all us humans are for

the bonds we share between each other is nothing? Something as wonderful as human life has no more meaning that that just to die and back to the ground.

I preached a lot of funerals

and there is the part were they say good by for the last time and close the lid on the coffin that is so hard

I saw mrs jones as she drove p on her scooter right here she had a big bouquet of roses made into a heart she said to my loving husband she drove up reacher her hand over the side of that coffin and said I love you sweet heart see you soon

he listen that is not all there is to life daddy not gone forever the husband jst dead and gone grandpa not just dead and gone.

Death does not have dominion because christ rose from the dead.

Those that have fallen asleep in christ have not perished

but that is what the pagans would have you believe

catacombs

read inscriptions that pagans left for dead shows their hopelessness

live for the present hour since we sure of nothing else

I will lift up my hands against the gods who took me away at 20 I have done no wrong

once I was not now I am not I know nothing about it and it is no concern of mine

traveler curse me not as you pass for I am in darkness

here lies marcy put to death in the green of peace

lawrence the sweetest son carried away by the angels

caul he went in peace victorias in life victorias in death he went in peace

the Lord fought the iron bars of death and he conquered them and death does not have dominion because christ arose

Future Would be Fearful 15:19

If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.

a wise man once said if jesus christ is still in that grave nothing matters but if he came out of that grave nothing else but that matters

if there is no resurrection we are just a bunch or poor deluded fools and of all people most miserable.

He took the sting out of sin

the dread out of death

the gloom out of the grave

he gave us a hope that is steadfast and sure

what is your future ? Is it fearful

“Einstein was once traveling from Princeton on a train, when the conductor came down the aisle, punching the tickets of every passenger. When he came to Einstein, Einstein reached in his vest pocket. He couldn’t find his ticket, so he reached in his trouser pockets.

“It wasn’t there. He looked in his briefcase but couldn’t find it. Then he looked in the seat beside him. He still couldn’t find it.

“The conductor said, ‘Dr. Einstein, I know who you are. We all know who you are. I’m sure you bought a ticket. Don’t worry about it.’

“Einstein nodded appreciatively. The conductor continued down the aisle punching tickets. As he was ready to move to the next car, he turned around and saw the great physicist down on his hands and knees looking under his seat for his ticket.

“The conductor rushed back and said, ‘Dr. Einstein, Dr. Einstein, don’t worry, I know who you are; no problem. You don’t need a ticket. I’m sure you bought one.’

Einstein looked at him and said, “Young man, I too, know who I am. What I don’t know is where I’m going.”

And if you lost and want some real hope why not trust christ

Do you know who you are in Christ? Have your sins been forgiven? Are you sure that Jesus Christ is in your heart? If so, then I want to tell you, friend, preaching is profitable, faith is feasible, the disciples are dependable, sin has been subdued, death has been defeated, and the future is fabulous. We know where we’re headed.

if so preaching is profitable

faith is feasible

the disciples are dependable

sin hath been subdued

Death has been defeated

the future is fabulous

the truth of the ages is that Jesus came out of that grave

Jesus lives for sure only fools doubt it

the question Is do you live