Oh say! Friend, it's so good to have you in our Bible study In Search of the Lord's Way to become a Christian and to live like a Christian ought to live. Today's study is to be about our Lord's resurrection from the dead. Do you believe that? Oh, I hope you will believe in it even more strongly after today's message.
Welcome my friend! We are so thankful and glad that you have chosen our program today. We're aware of the many choices you have. And, that you have chosen to be with us is indeed edifying and humbling to us. May God bless our study together. We're here through the courtesy and generosity of members of some churches of Christ in the area served by this station. They are friends of you and ours-- perhaps your neighbors, your merchants, your teachers of your children in school. They want us to share these things with you today.
The three central and fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith are (1) the death of Christ for our sins, (2) His burial in Joseph's new tomb, and (3) His resurrection from the dead. Now we studied about the first and second last week, and today we'll give attention to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Did I say "doctrines" awhile ago? I do make a bad choice of words sometimes. However, the use of the word "doctrines" was a good choice. Despite the fact that the word has fallen into avoidance and scorn in postmodern religion and preaching, it is a good word. You know that, though, don't you? Doctrine is something that is taught. So, we have a good word and a sound doctrine today. The Bible says, "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine...that the man of God may be...thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy chapter 3, verses 16 and 17).
If you think you might want a free printed copy, a CD, or an audio-cassette tape of the message, we'll gladly honor your request. Just mail your request to: In Search of the Lord's Way, P.O. Box 371, Edmond, OK 73083. More and more people are using e-mail nowadays, and our mailing address is, our mail address there is searchtv@searchtv.org. And our toll-free telephone number is 1-800-321-8633. It's also being streamed on our website. That is at www.searchtv.org. Ken Helterbrand's now going to lead us in singing, after which I'll be back. But before we do, I just need a minute here. The music you see or hear on this program is not a choir; it isn't a chorus of skilled and trained voices. This is congregational singing, a-cappella music of the Edmond, Oklahoma Church of Christ. Of course there are visitors always welcome here, so, you may see some people in our singing that are visitors from other churches or cities, or even some other states. Visitors are not just welcomed; they're wanted at a church of Christ. Now, Ken Helterbrand, let's sing.
We are reading today from the resurrection chapter of the Bible-- 1 Corinthians chapter 15. We will read the first four verses. “Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you-- unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures…” Now let us go to God in prayer. Holy Father, we are so thankful to You for these words that we have just read and the assurance of other passages that tell us of the story of the death of Jesus for our sins. You sent us a Savior that we might be saved; and we are thankful. We are ever so grateful. But we are not only thankful that He died on the cross and was buried in Joseph’s borrowed tomb; but we are thankful, too, that He was raised from the dead and that He lives today and makes intercession for the Christians everywhere. And we pray in His name, thank you, Amen!
Jesus Christ is a man of history. I mean by that, that history bears testimony to His birth, His life and His death. (Oh, I know there are people who deny all that, but there are people who deny George Washington his place in history, too.) The Bible teaches and Christians believe that Jesus was miraculously conceived and born of a woman, so that His earthly life began with a fantastic miracle! Furthermore, His entire ministry here was characterized by genuine miracles, by which He demonstrated His Deity, according to John 20, verses 30 and 31. He died by crucifixion and was buried. But that didn't end it all. Three days later, the grave was found empty. He had been raised to life again. That was His greatest miracle, friend. The empty tomb just may be the strongest proof of His resurrection. It's worthy of note, too, that Islam and Buddhism and-- well no other religion or religious faith has an empty tomb.
Skeptics explain the missing body of Jesus-- the empty tomb-- with a story that the soldiers which had been stationed there by the governor to prevent a theft of that kind, testified that, while they slept, the disciples actually came and took it away. My friend, I've never had any training in the FBI Academy. But really now if they were asleep their testimony was not very reliable, do you think? How would they know what happened if they were asleep? If Jesus' body was, indeed, stolen, how could they testify that His friends stole it? Well, those soldiers might have been mistaken; it might have been His enemies that did it. No, no, no now, that doesn't bear up either! Don't you know if that had been the case, when the apostles went out preaching the resurrection, those thieves would have come forth with the body and proven those men of God liars and heretics? Of course they would have!
Well maybe then He wasn't really dead. Some say that, you know, when He lay in the cool grave a few hours, he awakened rested and refreshed and got up and walked away. No, no, that wasn't the way it was either! He was dead alright. The soldiers made sure of that. One of them pierced His side with a sword and forthwith came there out "blood and water" (John 19:34). It's now a known fact that such a separation of blood and water occurs only in death. Furthermore, Governor Pilate told the soldiers to make sure that He was dead, and they did.
Granted, then, that He rose from the dead as the Scriptures say He did, what does that mean? Well first of all, it proves Him to have been more than a mere man; that He was indeed, the Son of God. Romans chapter 1, verses 3 and 4 says, "...He was made the seed of David according to the flesh; and declared to be the Son of God with the power...by the resurrection from the dead." The miracle of His birth and all of the other miracles He did, attested to His deity alright. He said so in John 8:36. But this one-- more than all the others-- declared-- or proved Him to be the Son of God. This was the most remarkable miracle He ever did-- after three days He rose from the dead. And He arranged for there to be ample and convincing witness of it, too. The fifteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians, from which our text is taken today, is the greatest treatise ever written on the resurrection. There the apostle Paul wrote by inspiration, "...I delivered to you first of all that also which I received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures."
"Oh well," says the doubter, "of course Jesus' friends were going to stick by the story of His resurrection; of course they would." But wait; wait just a minute now, my friend: the man who wrote those words was, without doubt or controversy, the strongest and most zealous enemy that Jesus ever had, or His disciples! Some of his biographers say that as a student in his school of Gamaliel in Jerusalem, Saul of Tarsus was personally acquainted with Jesus and His ministry, but he believed Jesus was a fake, an imposter and a deceiver. He certainly knew about His crucifixion because he said to King Agrippa, "this thing was not done in a corner" (Acts 26 and 26), meaning everyone knew about it. But he did not believe Jesus was the Christ. He also knew the apostles were out preaching that Christ had been raised from the dead, but he didn't believe that either. He perceived that to be the heresy of all heresies-- nothing short of the rankest heresy that ever was, and he was vigorously persecuting-- even killing those who, anyone, as a matter of fact, who believed it or preached it. No, he was not a friend of Jesus'; no, no, a thousand times no! As a matter of fact, his conversion is one of the strongest evidences we have of our Lord's resurrection. On the road to Damascus, Syria to persecute people for preaching the resurrection story, he was confronted with the living, risen Christ! The evidence was overwhelming. He was immediately baptized and began at once preaching Jesus Christ that "he was the first to be raised from the dead" (Acts 26, verse 23)! What an amazing story that is of the conversion of Saul!
Well, there was the apostle Peter, too. You remember that when Jesus was on trial and really needed a friend, Peter vacillated and even denied the Lord three times. But only a little more than a month after His resurrection, during which time he and other apostles were studying with Jesus about the kingdom, it was Peter who was the first person ever to preach Christ's resurrection as a reality. It was the day of Pentecost and Peter said, "Men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested of God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know-- Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; whom God raised up..." (Acts 2, verses 22 through 24).
Furthermore, Peter and John kept on boldly preaching salvation in the name of Jesus Christ. The rulers of the people, knowing they were unlearned and ignorant men, "marveled and took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus"-- undoubtedly after His resurrection (Acts 4:13). They knew it! Oh, the power of His resurrection in the lives of these once timid souls! And when they had been charged to preach no more in the name of Jesus, Peter and John replied, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to listen to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard." (Acts 4:19-20). What had they seen and heard they just had to tell to other people? It was Christ, raised from the dead! That's what it was, friend.
Let's go back to that resurrection chapter (1 Corinthians 15). Paul was saying that he had preached to them the death, the burial and the resurrection of Jesus. Then he offered proof-- living witnesses who had seen Him after His death. He said, "He was seen of Peter, then of the twelve; and after that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present,” he said, “but some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also, as one born out of due time." Proof! Witnesses! How many do you need, friend? He was seen alive by more than 500 people still living when Paul was writing this essay on the "resurrection."
"Now," he continued, "if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up-- if in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most pitiable. But now Christ is risen from the dead…” (1 Corinthians 15:12 to 20).
"But now is Christ risen from the dead." Oh, my friend, with him, there's absolutely no doubt or question about it; he is absolutely certain about it. And he goes on to say: our Lord "has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ's at His coming. Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father..." And I just quoted through verse 24. Such confidence! Such certainty! Such boldness! Oh, the mighty power of His resurrection even in our own lives, inspiring hope for life beyond the grave. Jesus Christ is our only hope of it, my friend. Without the risen Christ, man is doomed to extinction at death. Let us pray. Thank You, Father, for the blessed hope and assurance that we have of life beyond the grave because Jesus has been raised from the dead, and we have such ample evidence of it. In His name we thank You and pray. Amen!
Look, friend-- in that resurrection message in 1 Corinthians 15, Paul addressed the effect such faith has on the believer’s life here and now. He says that faith in the resurrection gives purpose to our baptism. He asks a rhetorical question: "Otherwise what will they do who are baptized for the dead, if the dead do not rise at all? Why then are they baptized for the dead?" That is verse 29. In the following verses he teaches that it's the body that dies and is buried. Therefore, the question is, if our dead bodies are not going to be raised, why then are we baptized? The apostle Peter agrees. Speaking about the flood of Noah's day, when the ark was in construction, "...in which few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water.” And corresponding to that, Peter says, "baptism now saves you-- through the resurrection of Jesus Christ (not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience)…" (1 Peter 3:20 and 21, New American Standard Version). The resurrection of the Savior gives meaning to our baptism. In being baptized, a person is making an appeal to God for a good conscience-- not of his own merits-- no, no, no but on the merits of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Why, why friend would a person who says that he or she believes in Christ, His death, His burial and His resurrection would not want to be baptized? I'm not being unkind or sarcastic; it's just beyond me. I simply just don't understand it. "We were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life" (Romans 6 and 4). Are you willing to die with Him? Be buried with Him? Be raised with Him, like His resurrection in baptism?
Paul raises another question: "If in the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantage is it to me, if the dead do not rise? Let us eat and drink; for tomorrow we die. Do not be deceived...," he adds. You see then, that it's a genuine, living faith in our Lord's resurrection and that kind of belief in our eventual resurrection that enables anyone to willfully and joyfully subject himself or herself to persecution, deprivation in this life, or whatever in this life, to be a Christian. Then in the last section of the resurrection chapter, we have a message of faithfulness and the ultimate victory of faithful Christians. "Thanks be to God," he writes, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord" (verses 57 and 58 of that 15th chapter).
Well, I'm glad you were with us today. I pray you have been blessed as I have in this inspiring thought of the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ in the lives of men now living. If you would like a free printed copy or an audio cassette tape of the message, you may have it, even a CD if you like, by writing us, In Search of The Lord's Way, P.O. Box 371, Edmond, OK 73083, or by e-mail at searchtv@searchtv.org. We also have a toll-free telephone number for those who prefer to order by phone. That number is 1-800-321-8633. Visit our web page at www.searchtv.org. The text of today's lesson and lots of other information is found there.
We are presented here by your friends-- and ours-- in some churches of Christ in the area served by this station. That's why we don't have to use a lot of our time in every program appealing to you to send us money. But, we would like to have you attend a church of Christ in the area, and examine our message, and experience the warm friendliness and hospitality there and say thanks to the people who make this program possible. I hope you will. If you like, you may contact us and we'll give you the address and telephone number of a congregation nearest you who helps make this program possible in this area. Well, it's been good to be with you today. We plan to be back next week. I hope you will, too. In the meantime you might even tell someone else about the program and interest them in it. God bless you now. We love you.
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