THE RESURRECTION

It is one of the most critical events in world history. It is Jesus's defining moment, the central message of the apostles, and the foundation for our faith. The Lord reveals a little about the resurrection through Paul in an excellent chapter on that subject: I Corinthians 15. Notice two things taught here about the resurrection.

First, the resurrection is vital to the Gospel (vv.1-11). Paul points out the basics, the core of the Gospel. Christ died, He was buried, and He was raised on the third day. Paul confirms the resurrection to be a foundational part of all we are and believe. The resurrection persuaded men to follow Jesus (see Acts 2, for example). The fact that Jesus arose is undeniable, considering all the witnesses of that great event. He appeared to Cephas, to the Twelve, to more than 500 at once (he points out some were still alive to verify these facts), to James, to all the apostles, and then to Paul.

Second, no resurrection would break apart the Gospel (vv. 12-19). Paul invites us to think of all the consequences if there had been no resurrection of Jesus. The whole story of the risen Lord would be a lie, and the apostles would be liars. All the witnesses are deceivers. Their preaching is in vain. Our faith would be useless. Everything in which the Christian has believed and hoped is worthless. The apostles credited God with something He did not do. Everyone would still be in their sins. If there is no resurrection, there is no forgiveness. Those who have died have perished with no hope and no future. Followers of Jesus are, of all men, most to be pitied. They have given their lives for a lie. Some died for preaching a lie. They deserve pity because they were so unbelievably led astray and deceived.

The "Good News" of the Gospel is, as we sing, "He arose! ... Hallelujah, Christ arose!" Because He arose, we have forgiveness, we have a Father, and we have a future. All of that is only available in Jesus, our resurrected Lord! This Sunday, I will preach about how that resurrection impacted its witnesses and us today. I hope you will join us at 9:00 a.m. because we love you, and God does too!

 Corey Sawyers is the preaching minister for the Martin Church of Christ and an adjunct instructor for Bear Valley Bible Institute. He is Melody's husband and Daddy to Garrett (and Bailey), Gordon (and Lauren), and Gannon. Happy Easter!