If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world. (1 Corinthians 15:16-19)Today is Resurrection Sunday, the day that celebrates the very center of our faith: the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
As a child, I was in a denomination that didn’t believe in Easter. Oddly enough, we celebrated the pagan side: the Easter bunny came with eggs and stuff. But no celebrations of the faith side. We felt that every Sunday was sufficient for remembering the resurrection.
Looking back over it, I wonder why. I believed it, but, as I got older, it became a big “So what” kind of thing. So what? So we remember the resurrection on this Sunday. So what? Unlike Christmas, this is the time of year it happened. You can make that argument of not knowing when and all that if you want to for Christmas, but on Easter morning, Jesus was raised from the dead.
Today we remember that Resurrection.
I have always loved the movie Godspell, the story of Jesus in the book of Matthew in rock opera form. It has some great music and some good imagery. But it ends with the “apostles” carrying Jesus – who is spread-eagled out and dead around a corner. Then the crowd picks up. There is no resurrection.
I am amazed when I meet pastors who do not believe in the resurrection. And I have. Many liberal church pastors in mainstream churches do not. That is why so many churches finally close their doors. What is the use in coming to church if the main point is missing. All you have is a social club. And you can get those anywhere.
To believe in any power in Jesus, you have to believe in the resurrection. Otherwise you are worshiping a powerless God.
The absence of the resurrection in Christianity is crippling. Christianity cannot endure, it cannot be real with that resurrection. It is like food without flavor, marriage without love, a hobby without fun. What’s the point?
The resurrection says that we can be new, that we do not have to live like we did all the first part of our lives. We don’t have to live in fear, in discouragement, in failure, in rejection. The resurrection says that we can be new, we can be reborn, we can have a whole new eternal life at our fingertips. All we do is to accept Jesus and his grace.
In 2 Timothy 3:5. the apostle Paul said: They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that! They will ultimately kill your soul.
Remember it and keep it close to you. Without it, Christianity is worthless. Without it, Pastor Mel has no more to say that the Sham Wow guy.
But with it, we can conquer the world.
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