He Arose

A man must be born again

Introduction: Our key text this Easter morning is going to be from Mark 16:1-8 “1 And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. 2 And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. 3 And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? 4 And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great. 5 And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted. 6 And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him. 7 But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you. 8 And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid.”

Mark 16:9-11 “9 Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils. 10 And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept. 11 And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not.”

I. Those who “believe not”

In 1 Cor 1:18 “18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.”

I want to talk about passing by the empty tomb of Christ, and believing not that he arose.

Look at 1 Cor 15:1-11 “1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: 5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: 6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. 7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. 8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. ”

Yet, at the end of Mark, we hear Mark 16:11 “11 And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not.”

II. You must believe to be born again

john 3:3 “3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

If you are not born again, if you do not know Jesus Christ as you personal savior, than according to Rom 6:23 “23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Again, I ask you, as we walk by that empty tomb, do you believe that Christ rose from the dead.

In Eph 5:14 “14 Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.”

Listen, if Christ is not risen form the dead there is not hope.

Now listen, this is important, if Christ did not rise from the dead, then there is no hope. There is no salvation, and we are of all men to be pitied.

in 1 Cor 15:12-24 “12 Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?”

Further, Paul says in 1 Cor 15:17 “17 And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.”

Christ did rise from the dead!

There is hope, because in 1 Cor 15:20-23 “20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. 21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.”

Notice the possessive. They that are of Christ. Those that are in the body of Christ, meaning you must be born again.

II. Either you are of Christ or you are of devil your father, there is not in between.

If you are not born again then, you are not of Christ.

According to Eph 2:2 “2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:”

and according to John 8:44 “44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.”

I ask you again, as we walk by the empty tomb of Jesus Christ, Are you of those that believed and witnessed the resurrected or are you of those who believed not.

Paul said in Eph 5:6 “6 Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.”

If you are not born again, you are dead in your sins and the wrath of God is upon you.

Again I say the according to Rom 6:23 “23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Conclusion: If you are not born again, know that you are dead in your trespass and sin. Your spirit is dead even though in the flesh you live. If you are born again, then you will die once and to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. If you are lost, if you believed not when passing by the empty tomb, then you will die once physical death and at the great white throne judgement you will die twice.

According to Rev 20:11-15 “11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”

Invitation: I’m going to ask everyone to close there eyes for a few minutes while I give a closing invitation.