He is Risen Indeed!

The 15th chapter of the book of 1st Corinthians is devoted, in large part, to the significance of the resurrection, and we can be challenged to think about how Jesus being risen from the dead affects our lives today. Here is a passage from that chapter:
20 But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
21 For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead.
22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.

We are alive in Him - the God of the universe, the Maker and Sustainer of all things, sent His Son into the world to pay a penalty for sin that we were incapable and unqualified to pay.  Our destiny was eternal separation from God, but Jesus came to earth, lived a sinless life, and so He was qualified to pay the penalty.  And, because He was sinless, death could not hold Him!  So, He is risen from the dead, and we are raised to new life with Him - He gives us the power to live a victorious Christian life.

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There's a passage I want to share from 1st Timothy 3 that deals with some cornerstone beliefs of the
Christian faith, about which we can be totally convinced:
14 These things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly;
15 but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.
16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Preached among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory.

We have finished the celebration of what is regarded to be the greatest moment in human history, the culmination of God's story of redemption - the resurrection of Jesus from the dead!   Imagine - the Son of God, a sinless man, put to death, bearing the sins of the whole world, surrendering to death, but then defeating death and its power by raising from the dead.

And, for the Christian, we observe or celebrate that occasion not by merely getting out our spring clothes and attending special services, but to recognize the living reality of Christ's resurrection every single day!

Many may not hold the resurrection in the position that we as Christians do, or should do, but a new Rasmussen report shows that people believe it.  The Christian Examiner website states that:

According to the results of the telephone survey of 1,000 Americans conducted by a Rasmussen partner from March 22-23 – just before Easter weekend – "belief in Jesus Christ's resurrection is even higher this Easter."

The survey indicated that 77 percent of American adults still "believe Jesus Christ was the son of God sent to Earth to die for our sins. Fourteen percent don't believe that to be true."

The survey asked questions it has asked to random survey participants every year – questions about Jesus's divinity and the central proposition of the Christian faith, that Jesus Christ was raised from the tomb on the Sunday after his crucifixion.

There has been some flexibility in the numbers - for instance, in 2013, the number of Americans who said they strongly believed in the resurrection of Christ stood at only 64 percent, with 19 percent saying they rejected the idea of the bodily resurrection of Christ. The preceding year, 77 percent said they believed Jesus was raised from the dead and 86 percent of adults believed Jesus was an actual person, not a myth.

The existence of Jesus as a real, historical figure is a premise of the movie, God's Not Dead 2, which debuts this weekend.  This is an important film that deals with religious liberty and defending our faith.  Former Arkansas governor and Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee makes a cameo apperance in the film, and he did an interview that was published on the Christian Examiner website. In it, he said:

You can mention just about any religion in the world, and that's just considered a study of history. But if you specifically mention Jesus, then suddenly that turns into a sectarian religious discussion and we supposedly can't have that – even though you can't deny the historical fact that Jesus was a real person. He had an enormous impact on not only His world but the world that we live in today. That's an indisputable fact of history. If you take that out of any historical discussion, then now you have re-written history and you're giving children a very incomplete picture of the story. You're robbing them of an honest education.

Let's explore several key words today.  One is certainty.  We can be certain of the historical fact of Jesus coming to earth and His bodily resurrection.  Because we can be convinced that Jesus was who He says He was, then we can embrace the truth of the Scriptures about how we can apply that to our lives this very day.

That certainty can produce in our lives a confidence in the Lord.  If we believe that He is the Son of God, came to earth, died for our sins, rose from the dead, and is alive today, we can recognize the truth of His word and that those principles are true for us today.  Because He gave His life, we can know that He is with us.

We can also acknowledge the cost that Jesus paid, and the cost of following Him.  He took care of the penalty, so we don't have to try to pay a sin debt we could never satisfy.  But, He does call us to sacrifice ourselves and lay down our lives, our desires, our human tendencies, in order to follow Him. As Huckabee said, "You really don't have to have a suspension of belief to see this movie happening. But I think it also is a challenging movie, and it calls for every believer to look deep within: What do you do when your faith and following Christ means it's going to cost your something – and you don't know what the outcome is going to be?"

Certainty - confidence - and cost.  Because we know Him and know that He walks with us, we can recognize that whatever we face in this life, He is with us.