I did have a long post planned out about this festival season...but I think a mistake I can often make pertaining to scripture is over-doing the facts. The world is filled with facts, but facts mean nothing to God. If you can see it, touch it, hear it, smell it, taste it, it is fact, not faith. Faith is all God cares about. The Bible says in the book of Hebrews without faith it is impossible to please God. This was the same thing Jesus said to Thomas in the book of John after the resurrection: "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." Therefore, instead of loading you up with a bunch of facts and dates, I decided it is best sometimes just to dive into what God has to say in his word. There is a time for looking up facts and dates on Google or whatnot, but I think in this season, it's good to keep our focus in the right place. I would like to recommend you look up the listener's Bible and listen to the last chapters of the book of John pertaining to the death and resurrection of Jesus. It's a good way to do just that during this time.
So is the resurrection important to our faith? Yes. Paul the Apostle said in 1 Corinthians 15:14, "And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith." However, there are some in our world today who would like to say there is no resurrection from the dead. If there is no resurrection of the dead, Jesus didn't rise, so Christianity doesn't even exist. There are four ways to recognize false teaching; If they teach the Incarnation of Jesus, The Death of Jesus, The Resurrection of Jesus, and the Ascension of Jesus, they are of God. If an organization doesn't teach any one of any of these things they are not of God. So why is the resurrection important? Because it is the proof. It is the proof that God was pleased with Jesus' sacrifice and that is was enough to save the world of it's sin. If there was no resurrection, what hope would there be to know our God is in the grave?
More than that, if Jesus is not risen we are still in our sins! Because if Jesus is dead, who will mediate between us and the Father? In the Old Testament, the priest was the mediator between man and God. Now, Jesus is mediator between us and God. Without a mediator, our relationship with God is still broken. Romans 4:25 says "He (Jesus) was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification."
One last note on the resurrection: Since Jesus resurrected from the grave, we have the hope of the resurrection of the dead. At the time the rapture happens, the believers who are alive and remain will be caught up together with Christ to meet Him in the clouds, and their bodies will be transformed into glorified bodies. Before this happens, those who are in Christ that have already died, their bodies will rise and be transformed as well. So Jesus' resurrection tells us that we have a eternal hope in Heaven.
Therefore how shall we then live? Under a yoke of bondage? In sadness? In pain, depression or misery? We should never be discouraged, for we have an eternal hope that was bought by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Therefore, "by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."
God bless you! Happy Resurrection Sunday! =)
~Elijah
So is the resurrection important to our faith? Yes. Paul the Apostle said in 1 Corinthians 15:14, "And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith." However, there are some in our world today who would like to say there is no resurrection from the dead. If there is no resurrection of the dead, Jesus didn't rise, so Christianity doesn't even exist. There are four ways to recognize false teaching; If they teach the Incarnation of Jesus, The Death of Jesus, The Resurrection of Jesus, and the Ascension of Jesus, they are of God. If an organization doesn't teach any one of any of these things they are not of God. So why is the resurrection important? Because it is the proof. It is the proof that God was pleased with Jesus' sacrifice and that is was enough to save the world of it's sin. If there was no resurrection, what hope would there be to know our God is in the grave?
More than that, if Jesus is not risen we are still in our sins! Because if Jesus is dead, who will mediate between us and the Father? In the Old Testament, the priest was the mediator between man and God. Now, Jesus is mediator between us and God. Without a mediator, our relationship with God is still broken. Romans 4:25 says "He (Jesus) was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification."
One last note on the resurrection: Since Jesus resurrected from the grave, we have the hope of the resurrection of the dead. At the time the rapture happens, the believers who are alive and remain will be caught up together with Christ to meet Him in the clouds, and their bodies will be transformed into glorified bodies. Before this happens, those who are in Christ that have already died, their bodies will rise and be transformed as well. So Jesus' resurrection tells us that we have a eternal hope in Heaven.
Therefore how shall we then live? Under a yoke of bondage? In sadness? In pain, depression or misery? We should never be discouraged, for we have an eternal hope that was bought by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Therefore, "by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."
God bless you! Happy Resurrection Sunday! =)
~Elijah
