The Essentiality of Belief in the Resurrection
 

by Tom Edwards

   

Someone once mentioned that the pyramids of Egypt are famous because they contain the mummified bodies of ancient Egyptian kings. Westminster Abbey in London is renowned because in it rest the bodies of English nobles and notables. Mohammed's tomb is noted for the stone coffin and the bones which it contains. Arlington Cemetery in Washington, D.C., is revered, for it is the honored resting place of many outstanding Americans. All of these are famous because of what they contain. Christ's tomb, however, is renowned because it is empty!

Part of believing in Jesus is believing in His resurrection. This is imperative; and, as one person described, the ``linchpin of our complete system''; and that if removed ``the whole structure of Christianity collapses'' (Arlie J. Hoover). Paul conveyed to the Corinthians how futile one's belief in God would be had it not been for the Lord's resurrection: ''...if Christ has not be raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins'' (1 Cor. 15:12-19). And in writing to the Roman brethren, he emphasized ``that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved'' (Rom. 10:9).

These verses lucidly declare of the need not only for the Lord's resurrection, but also for our belief in that resurrection. A belief, therefore, that doesn't terminate in a tomb of hopelessness, but one that, just as Christ arose, can also help to elevate the believer from his death in sin to a new life in Christ, and where he can see by the eyes of faith Jesus alive and well and at the right hand of God from which He reigns.

What a marvelous sign the Lord's resurrection was (Matt. 12:38-40; John 2:18-22). It served to confirm His deity (Rom. 1:3,4; Acts 1:3) and helped others to believe. Had it not been for His personal appearances to the apostles after His death, they would have probably remained despondently hopeless in their unbelief. During this interim between the Lord's death and their witness of His resurrection, they appeared as a sad and timid group of lost sheep who were in the process of wandering back to their old pastures of occupation and leaving behind the mission for which Christ had selected them. Even after hearing the testimony of faithful Mary, as she testified of the risen Lord, they were not moved to believe. Apparently, there was not even the slightest inkling that any of them possessed toward the possibility of the Lord's resurrection. After seeing Jesus for themselves, however, they were then enabled to give their all for His cause -- even though that meant suffering on His behalf. Perhaps one of the greatest testimonies towards the resurrection of Christ is this great transformation that occurred in these cowardly and faithless apostles to becoming heroically adamant in their stand for the truth and their endeavors to propagate its teachings even at the cost of their very lives.

Because Christ arose, we, too, can have hope of not only a resurrection, but of also a better resurrection (Heb. 11:35). There is coming a time when the dead in Christ shall be risen first and then we Christians which are alive to meet the Lord in the air (1 Thes. 4:13-18), when time shall come to a halt and every element of this physical universe will be dissolved into nothingness. Then the ``mortal'' will have put on ``immortality'' (1 Cor. 15:50-53), and the Christian shall be made ``like Him'' (1 John 3:2) in the sense that He has an eternal, glorified body.

Now is the time to be thinking seriously about making ourselves ready for that day. Whether it will be for you a ``resurrection of damnation'' or a ``resurrection of life'' depends on the choice which you make while upon this earth (John 5:29). If we can help or encourage you in any way to make this decision for the ``resurrection of life,'' feel free to contact us at the address shown in this bulletin. Yes, as the song tells us, ``There's a great day coming...when the saint and the sinner shall be parted, right and left. Are you ready for that day to come?''

 

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