He Ain't Lying to Us

My primary text for today’s message is from the 15th chapter of St Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. It is a familiar passage to many of you and is often the focus of messages in Protestant and Catholic churches during the Easter season during which we fix our attention on the bodily resurrection of Jesus from the dead.  Here is the text:

“Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.”

I want to stop here only for a moment and emphasize Paul’s point. If Jesus was not physically resurrected from death, then our Christian faith is based on lies and falsehood. And, as Paul will say in a moment – if Jesus did not physically rise from death, we are without hope whatsoever for eternal life and the forgiveness of our sins.

Let me repeat that crucial point:  We are without hope for eternal life and the forgiveness of our sins.

Let me now continue with verse three: “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also. For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. . . 12 Now 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, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. . . [and] your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.”

Some of you might wonder why I am making a point to preach once again on the resurrection of Jesus. I often mention His resurrection during the year – sometimes just in passing, sometimes going into a bit more detail. So why again today – this time devoting an entire sermon to this historical truth? Well, let me tell you why at the outset of my words today:

St Peter wrote his two letters around 66 AD. By this time the Church had spread well beyond Jerusalem and into the surrounding nations. But by this time several heresies were also making their way through Jerusalem and into the surrounding nations. One of those heresies denied the physical resurrection of the Christ. Satan knows very well – far better than anyone of flesh and blood can know – that without faith in the historicity of Christ’s resurrection, the Christianity taught by the apostles evaporates – along with any hope for eternal salvation.

And so, Peter, knowing the horrible and eternal fate that awaited those who denied the resurrection, wrote this in his second letter:

(2 Peter 1:12-15) “Therefore, I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been established in the truth which is present with you. I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder, knowing that the laying aside of my earthly dwelling is imminent, as also our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. And I will also be diligent that at any time after my departure you will be able to call these things to mind.”

Now then, I do not have a premonition of my impending death, but Peter makes a very important point, especially knowing the human propensity to forget things we’ve been told – sometimes what we’ve been told over and over.  So, Peter wanted to make sure he told them the truth one more time, even though they already knew it. And I also want to make sure you hear it one more time – even though you already know it.

Peter was not alone in his fear for the fledgling Church. Paul, writing at around the same time warned the Christians at Colossae: (Colossians 2:8) “See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. 

Jude also warned his audience: (Jude 4) “For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”

Christian, Satan is still alive and well and walking among the churches, employing the same playbook he has been using since the Garden of Eden when he seduced Eve to doubt God's word. You will remember what he said to our first mother: (Genesis 3:1) - “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?”

In other words – and I paraphrase verse four – “Eve, do you really believe that nonsense? Surely, you will not die if you disobey Him.’

Fast forward to this century. As I researched for this sermon, I came across a 2019 article from ‘Crosswalk.com.* Serene Jones, president of Union Theological Seminary in New York, stated she “doesn’t believe in the bodily resurrection of Christ, the power of prayer, a literal heaven, or miracles.”  

When the seminary was founded in 1836, Professors were required to affirm they believed “the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be the word of God” and the “only infallible rule of faith and practice.” 

How times have changed. And Union Theological Seminary is only one of a growing list of seminaries where the physical resurrection of Christ is no longer a required doctrinal belief.  Therefore, it should surprise no one that a growing number of churches being pastored by graduates of such seminaries are now teaching their congregations to disbelieve that essential Biblical truth – a truth essential to salvation.

Yes, Satan is alive and well in our churches. And I will also remind you of Paul’s warning to the Corinthian church in 2 Corinthians 11:13-15: “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.”

Do you realize that if Jesus did not physically and bodily rise from the dead on the third day, if it’s all a lie, if it’s all made up, then you and I have no rational reason to trust ANY of the Scriptures. If the resurrection is a lie, then you have no justifiable reason to look forward to eternity with the Father. Indeed, the ONLY thing we would have in our future after death is eternal separation from the Holy, Holy God who will never receive any sin – even lingering sin – into His presence.

I can quote for you multiple texts in both the Old and New Testaments

which demonstrate that Jesus rose from the dead FOR our salvation. But if a person is disinclined to believe the Bible is the fully inerrant, infallible, and divinely inspired word of God – as is not taught in many seminaries and from church pulpits – then those texts are not going to satisfy him or her. And yet, if someone doesn’t believe in the biblical record of Christ’s resurrection, then these questions ought to be asked and answered:

“Are you certain that your sins have been forgiven? If your answer is yes, then on what basis do you believe that? If it based on the promises of God to the penitent, then why do you pick and choose what Scriptures you will believe and what you will ignore?

Christian, listen! We do not have the option or the right to choose what we will believe and what we will not believe. Faith in the 100% inerrancy, infallibility, and divine inspiration of God's word is an ‘all-or-nothing’ faith if we hope to face life AND death with a godly confidence.

Listen, please. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, then no one can reasonably have confidence that their sins are forgiven. Here again is Paul’s comment in 1 Corinthians 15:13-14 “But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; 14 and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. . . [and] your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.”

And here yet is another question we might ask those who deny the resurrection of Jesus: “Where is the body?”

The story of the resurrection that circulated among the apostles and the early church converts could have immediately been silenced within the first hour that it began. All that the Roman soldiers and the Jewish religious leaders needed to do was to produce the dead body of Jesus. They certainly knew where He was buried. They themselves had set a guard AND a seal across the tomb.

But the corpse of Jesus was nowhere to be found. And THAT is the question every resurrection denier has tried to answer for the last two thousand years. In fact, honest investigators – such as Josh McDowell (author of ‘Evidence that Demands a Verdict,” and “More than a Carpenter’), and Lee Strobel, (author of ‘The Case for Christ’) – set out to answer as they tried to expose the story as a myth.

At first, Strobel, who was a former legal editor for the Chicago Tribune, thought the Christian faith was merely a crutch for people who couldn’t face life on their own. After his wife became a Christian, Stroble spent the next 21 months investigating the resurrection claims of the New Testament and other historical documents from the era. At the end of his investigations he wrote in his book, “I was ambushed by the amount and quality of the evidence that Jesus is the unique Son of God.”

Where is the body? You will hear all kinds of absurd and even outrageous theories – none of which has ever, in 2000 years, held up to even the most superficial scrutiny. For example, some have fallen for the ridiculous claim that the disciples went to the wrong tomb – which is why they couldn’t find Jesus’ body. Yet, as I said a moment ago, the soldiers and the Jewish leaders knew exactly where Jesus was entombed.

Others like to say the disciples stole the body from the tomb. Now, how much sense does THAT make, knowing that each of the apostles could have avoided torturous martyrdom if they denied the resurrection since they all KNEW it was a lie.

There are other equally ridiculous ideas that have circulated for 2000 years as unbelievers tried and try to dissuade men and women from coming to faith, and perhaps at some time I will specifically address them. But for now, let me say this by way of encouragement:

People – whoever they are and regardless of their academic or theological degrees – no one rejects the existence God or the resurrection of the Son of God for intellectual reasons, despite their protestations. People reject the existence of God and the resurrection of the Son of God for moral reasons.

This is not MY opinion. It’s what Jesus Himself said. Listen to Him in John 3:19-20 “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.”

When people embrace the stunningly absurd theories that try to do away with the reality of the resurrection, when they convince themselves – and make no mistake, most people who reject Christ’s resurrection HAVE convinced themselves – when they do that it is because they realize that if Jesus came back from the dead then that means He is God.

AND, if Jesus is not God, then He won’t be the one who judges them after death. And if He is not going to judge them after death, they can live how they choose without fear of a final judgment.

Rejecting the resurrection of Christ DESPITE the overwhelming historical evidence of His resurrection – rejecting the truth really makes a lot of sense for someone who wants to live life their way, and not God’s way.

Christian – The reason your sins are GONE is not only because of your confession of those sins to God. Your sins are gone because Jesus physically rose from the tomb. Here again is Paul in 1 Corinthians 15 – and by the way, if it has been a while since you read that chapter, I urge you to do so today. It is only one chapter, but it WILL bolster your faith in what God has done for us:

“But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then . . . your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.”

The historical evidence of Jesus’ physical resurrection is as verifiable as is the history of who won the baseball World Series last year. You do not need to back down from your proclamation and your unwavering belief in Christ’s resurrection – even if someone with a dozen Ph.Ds challenges you.

God's word will ALWAYS prove to be infallible, without error, and fully inspired by God Himself. You can stake your reputation and even your life on it – as our Christian brothers and sisters have done for 2,000 years.

Because Jesus physically rose from the grave, so ALSO will every true Christian rise from their own grave.

I will repeat that for emphasis: Because Jesus rose from the dead, YOU ALSO will be PHYSICALLY raised when King Jesus returns to earth on the last day.

That’s one reason it’s called the ‘gospel’ – which means, the ‘good news.’

My brothers and sisters – you can trust what God has told us in His word. He ain’t lying to us.

* https://www.crosswalk.com/headlines/contributors/michael-foust/seminary-president-admits-she-doesn-t-believe-in-heaven-miracles-or-christ-s-resurrection.html