He Lives!

Christianity is in its very essence a resurrection religion. The concept of resurrection lies at its heart. If you remove it, Christianity is destroyed.”

The resurrection of Jesus Christ affirms to us that He is indeed the Son of God, just as He claimed to be (Rom. 1:4). It also proves that His sacrifice for sin has been accepted and that the work of salvation is completed (Rom. 4:24–25). Those who trust Him can “walk in newness of life” because He is alive and imparts His power to them (Rom. 6:4; Gal. 2:20). Our Lord’s resurrection also declares to us that He is the Judge who will come one day and judge the world (Acts 17:30–31).

It is no surprise, then, that Satan has attacked the truth of the Resurrection. The first lie that he spawned was that the disciples came and stole Christ’s body (Matt. 28:11–15).

The message of the Gospel rests on the death of Jesus Christ and His resurrection (1 Cor. 15:1–8). The Apostles were sent out as witnesses of His resurrection (Acts 1:22), and the emphasis in the Book of Acts is on the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This explains why Luke climaxed his Gospel with Five Reports of the Resurrection of Jesus!

1. The news of the resurrection was first announced to Mary Magdalene and the “other women.” - Luke 24:1-8

2. They in turn went and told the Apostles who didn’t believe them. - Luke 24:9-11

3. Peter went to check it out. - Luke 24:12

4. Then two men on the way to Emmaus from Jerusalem were joined by Jesus who walked with them, explained the crucifixion and resurrection to them, ate with them. - Luke 24:13–35

5. Finally, that very evening, He appeared to the Apostles - Luke 24:36–43

When these believers discovered that Jesus was alive, it made a tremendous difference in their lives. All of the Apostles, except John, died a martyr’s death maintaining their testimony of the crucified and resurrected Lord Jesus!

Yet still, there are many who deny the resurrection in our day. They put know confidence in the New Testament which is the testimony of the Apostles that followed Jesus. Let me ask you this today, do you think that catches those disciples off guard?

Would it surprise you to know that within 30 years of Jesus’ resurrection God moved on the heart of the Apostle Paul to write these words:

1 Corinthians 15:12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15 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. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

There are Six Conclusions that Paul maintains would have followed if Jesus had not risen from the dead. Let us look at them quickly this morning.

1. Without the resurrection, preaching is a waste of time.

14 if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain All meetings like this, all the messages you have ever heard or read, all the Christian books you have read, all the tapes and the radio and television broadcasts of the gospel you have listened to would have been a total waste of time had Jesus not risen from the dead.

"Well," someone says, "there is still a lot left to Christianity when you take away the resurrection. There are all those wonderful teachings of Jesus, crystallized in the Sermon on the Mount. And, of course, this is true, but the point the apostle is making is that, without the resurrection, not one of those things would do us the least bit of good.

2. Without the resurrection, Christian faith is useless.

14 and your faith is in vain. What would be the point of coming to church every Sunday morning, or going to a Bible study, or reading the Scriptures even, or trying to believe that God is there to help you? All that would be worthless, useless. It would be only a kind of religious game. Life would be reduced to grim, stark realities, with no hope now or later.

3. Without the resurrection, the apostles are the world's greatest liars.

15 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. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised.

If there is no resurrection the apostles of Christ are hypocrites, and worse than that they are deceivers who have led us into gross darkness and gross error. Now, after twenty centuries of the preaching of these things, they have undoubtedly won the title of the world's greatest liars.

4. Without the resurrection, then all our sins of the past are still with us and we stand guilty.

17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile, and you are still in your sins. This means that even granting that there is a God, then we must stand at last before him and give an account of all we have done. And there is no way of escaping the justice with which God would deal with sin. There is no hiding place, no hope for mercy, no loving Christ to say, "I've paid the penalty on your behalf; I've taken your place; I've loved you and given myself for you." When we stand before God we will get everything that we deserve for every evil action or thought that we have had.

5. Without the resurrection, those who have died are gone forever!

18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.

All those loved ones who have gone on to be with the Lord, we thought, whom we hoped to meet again, we will never see again. Our children, our parents, our friends, those who have been taken suddenly, those to whom we bid a weeping farewell with the hope that one day we would meet them again in glory, we will never see again. A terrible silence has fallen; they are gone forever.

6. Without the resurrection, we are to be pitied!

19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

We have to give up our beautiful dream of forever with our God and Savior and go back to the coldness, drabness, grimness, and darkness of hopelessness.

That is quite a list, isn't it? Let me go through it again: our preaching is vain; our faith is empty; the apostles are made to be liars; our sin still remains unatoned for; death has triumphed over our loved ones; life itself is made utterly miserable.

Would you like to live like that? Well, millions do today. Everyone who does not know the reality of a risen Lord has to live every day of his life on that basis. That is why the world seeks so desperately to try to find something that will dull the pain of an empty, aching heart. That is why people keep trying to get caught up in a continual round of noise and action that will not let them think about life because they cannot stand life without these things.

Well, thank God for Verse 20:

20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

What a transformation that verse makes! That means that the most fundamental fact of our life, of our history, of the world, is the resurrection of Jesus. That being true, it is the darkness and the grimness and the death which are vanquished, and "Jesus is risen from the dead.” O HAPPY DAY! I am not miserable I am Happy!

I serve a risen Saviour, He's in the world today I know that He is living, whatever men may say I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer And just the time I need Him He's always near

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

Thank you for joining us for worship today! We will return at 6:30 PM on Wednesday, April 15, 2020 to celebrate Jesus with you!

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