Originally Posted on July 21, 2018
In 1 Cor.15:17-19 (NKJV) the Apostle Paul states: “And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.” The resurrection of our Lord gives us hope as Christians. God’s plan of redemption for the world is complete. In Romans 4:25 Paul tells us that Jesus was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification. When we truly repent of our sins, God forgives us just as if we had never sinned. The resurrection vindicates God against all claims that He cannot accomplish His purpose or that He has created a world ruled by injustice. It translates hopelessness into joy. It makes our faith real. The resurrection fulfills the scriptures in Luke 24:45-48 (NKJV): “And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures. Then He said to them, ‘Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things.’” The resurrection exalts Christ for who He is: The Head of the Church. Acts 4:10-12 (NKJV) states: “Let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. This is the stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone. Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Jeff Harvel 