Resurrection

“Christianity without the resurrection isn’t Christianity… Relationship with Jesus without the truth of the resurrection of Jesus Christ doesn’t exist… it may barrow some idea’s, but it’s not the same Jesus…

1 Corinthians 15:3-8… Love and Justice met… This is the central truth of the Gospel, the good news… this didn’t happen in secret, if this statement had been a lie, it would have been exposed… even James saw Jesus…

1 Corinthians 15:12-19… If the resurrection isn’t true we’ve lied about God… and not only are we liars, but Jesus Himself… John 14:19; 11:25-26… So either Jesus was telling the truth, or He’s a liar…

Our salvation depends on the literal fact that Jesus rose from the dead… If He did not rise, then the cross is meaningless, His death and the shedding of His blood did not atone for our sins, and we are all guilty sinners doomed to an eternal hell… And those that have put their faith in Jesus, and died, did so meaninglessly… How tragic it is to live a lie… and not only that, to suffer for a lie… Martyrs for the cause of Christ wasted their lives…

1 Corinthians 15:33-34… There will be those that try to convince us of that… don’t be deceived…

In general, but not universally, there is an acceptance of a resurrection… the idea of an afterlife… But it’s very different than the biblical view of the afterlife… “all dogs go to heaven” …

It is true that no one will stay in the grave… but the experience of eternity will be vastly different between those that know Christ as their savior and Lord, and those that do not…

1 Corinthians 15:20-28

22 – This is Christ as the new Adam…
Jesus goes to the garden to be obedient to the Father, undoing Adam’s disobedience in the garden…
Adam hides behind a tree, naked, covered in shame. Jesus hangs on a tree, naked, and conquering shame…
Adam begins in paradise but is forced outside of the gates due to the curse. Jesus dies outside the gates but ends up in paradise due to the cross…
Adams sin ushered in a curse of thorns, Jesus wears a crown of thorns as he ushers in salvation from sin…
Adams first sin forced people from the garden, but the resurrection life restores people to the garden…

The world is split in two: those who are spiritually alive, and those who are spiritually dead… In Adam we are all physically born, and eventually die… but only in Christ, and through faith in him, do we spiritually come alive…

“first fruits” The resurrection of Christ is the first fruit of this work… Those that put their faith in Him will also be raised… His resurrection points to those that are found in Christ’s resurrection… (26) Great white throne judgment, death in Hades will be thrown into the lake fire…

But God’s desire is that we would share in the resurrection that leads to life…  And that we would know the hope of having a living, genuine relationship with Jesus Christ…

1 Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-45, 49

You each have some seeds in front of you… I wouldn’t give you a rose and expect you to bury it in the ground, and then a rose Bush would form… you need seeds, they die in the ground, and go from a seed, into a bush… He’s basically saying; God will take the perishable, dishonorable, and sinful body; and in the resurrection make it imperishable, glorious, powerful… we will still have a physical body, but one perfected by the saving work of Christ…

All of our physical bodies will eventually become dust… but our resurrected body will bear the sinless, eternal image of God… If that seed of hope has been sown in you, you have a hope that’s greater than anything this world could offer…

1 Corinthians 15:50-58

The great hope of the resurrection should not only be a source of comfort; but should also inspire us to “abound in the work of the Lord…” If you’re here today and you’re a believer, the sting of death that is sin… you are free of… the work is finished in the work of the cross and resurrection… Let us seek to lead others to that same freedom…

If you’re here today, and you have not received Him as Savior… He’s not the Lord of your life… It’s God’s greatest desire to resurrect your life… just as He’s done for every believer in here…

God’s calling you to a resurrection… but first there must be a death… a death to our self-will, and our Resurrection to the lordship of Christ…

We must share in this death, if we want to share in His life…”

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