He Is Risen
“If Christ did not rise, your faith is
futile and your sins have never been forgiven.” 1 Corinthians 16:17
Easter. There is no day like it during the year. Sure, there are many holidays and festivities
that have more pizzazz and panache. No pinching each other, no eggnog, no
fireworks, and no loads of candy for haunting or hearts. Just an incredible
Savior with an astounding message. The resurrection is the greatest news that
ever happened to mankind.
The Bible tells us there is no greater
pursuit in life than to find out for yourself if the resurrection is true or
not. You owe it to yourself to come to a
definitive conclusion. You can be
neutral on Santa, the Easter Bunny, and even St.
Patrick himself…but not on the resurrection and the Savior that made it
possible. C.S. Lewis spoke it most profoundly, “If false,
Christianity is of no importance. If
true, it is of infinite importance. The
only thing it cannot be is of moderate importance.”
Christianity rises or falls on the
resurrection. All other religions have
dead leaders. In fact, their religions
can stand whether their founders are “Dead or Alive.” Mohammed, Buddha, Confucious, Mary Baker
Eddie, Joseph Smith, and all these others.
Not so with Christianity. Christianity is fully based on Christ and the
One Who said in John
11:25 says, “I am the resurrection and
the life. He who believes in Me will
live even though he dies.” After making
that kind of statement, it necessitates Him being alive or else Christianity
hits the ground with a tremendous thud.
Dr. Gary Habernas is the leading
expert on the evidence of the resurrection. He’s written 4 to 5 books on the subject. Dr. Habernas debated Antony Flew who’s
probably the leading philosophical atheist on the subject of the resurrection. Dr. Habernas won the debate hands down. He is an authority on it. While being interviewed, he was asked, “Why
do you spend so much of your life looking and studying evidence for the
resurrection of Jesus? What motivates you to do that?” He said, “Every
shred of evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ is also evidence for my
eventual resurrection.” In other
words, if the resurrection is a lie, I would advise you not to ever worship God
and don’t even waste your time in pondering Him. If the resurrection is true,
Jesus deserves our full allegiance and a life of worship.
Sir Lionel Luckhoo was the most
successful defense attorney in the world.
He was written up in the Guinness Book of World’s Records:
It said about him, “Most successful lawyer, Sir Lionel Luckhoo…who
succeeded in getting his 245th successive murder charge acquittal by
January 1, 1985. That is a feat that nobody in the world has come close to
replicating- 245 murder trials in a row.
He was knighted twice by Queen Elizabeth. He also served as a distinguished diplomat
and a justice in his country’s highest court.
You can imagine that a person with those credentials would have to be
smart, analytical and savvy. He would
have to be a world class expert on what constitutes reliable and persuasive
evidence. He has been, without doubt,
the greatest legal mind of our time.
Some years back, interesting enough,
he was asked what he thought of the resurrection. After
years of study, he came to the following conclusion. He said, “I
say unequivocally that the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ is so
overwhelming that it compels acceptance by proof, which leaves absolutely no
room for doubt.” After applying the test of legal evidence to the case of
Jesus Christ, he came and said with absolute confidence, that the resurrection
is reality. Then he gave His life to
Jesus Christ.
So on this Easter day, as we can
default into many fine celebrations of Peeps, eggs, and casseroles, let’s not
forget the empty tomb that still stands as a symbol of the ultimate victory.
Paul said it in 1
Corinthians 16:17, “If Christ did not rise, your faith is futile and your sins have never
been forgiven.”
I’ve never been much of a gambler but have
become familiar with quite a few terms.
Playing on “house money” refers to an advantage from getting ahead,
“holding them and folding them” was immortalized by Kenny Rogers, but the one
that strikes me most is the concept of “I’m All In.” It’s the moment of decision where the player
has to decide whether they will go for it.
Some fold while others put it on the line. That is what Christ did for us and He asked
us to do it for Him.
Terry Risser
Reflections:
1) Why do many struggle to understand or
receive the message of the resurrection? (1 Corinthians 1:18)
2) While Christ will finally resurrect
all those He loves to be with Him, what does He want to resurrect in you this
Easter?
Consider reading the Word today:
Copyright
2014- Terry Risser
No comments:
Post a Comment