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Sermon Notes

Easter 25
“The Linchpin of the Christian Faith”
1 Cor. 15:19-20 “And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world. 20 But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead.”
This verse tells us something vital.
The linchpin of the Christian faith is the resurrection of Christ Jesus from the dead.
A LINCHPIN is “something [or someone] that holds the various parts of a complicated structure together.”
The resurrection of Jesus from the dead is the LINCHPIN that holds the Christian faith together!
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–Jesus’s resurrection was the burning message of the early church.
It was the wind beneath their sails,
the fire in their preaching,
the source of their boldness.
Their preaching was without fail salted and peppered with the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.
–For instance, when looking for a replacement for Judas they said:
Acts 1:22 “Whoever is chosen will join us as a witness of Jesus’ resurrection.”
–We find that The Jewish religious leaders had one major problem with the Apostle’s message:
Acts 4:2 “These leaders were very disturbed that Peter and John were teaching the people that through Jesus there is a resurrection of the dead.”
–The early church was known for its emphasis on Jesus’s resurrection:
4:33 “The apostles testified powerfully to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God’s great blessing was upon them all.”
–Paul’s message to the intellectuals of his time was Jesus’s resurrection:
17:18,32 “He also had a debate with some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. When he told them about Jesus and his resurrection…”When they heard Paul speak about the resurrection of the dead, some laughed in contempt, but others said, ‘We want to hear more about this later.’”
–The Apostle Paul was willing to go to prison for preaching the resurrection.
He said in court:
23:6 “Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee; concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead I am being judged!”
–And again he told them,
24:15,21 “I have hope in God…that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust…”Concerning the resurrection of the dead I am being judged by you this day.’ ”
–The Apostle Peter credited the resurrection of Jesus with the supernatural hope that burned in his heart:
1 Peter 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,”
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The Apostles and early church viewed the resurrection of Jesus as the line in the sand between hope and hopelessness, purpose and futility, meaning and despair.
“If Christ is not risen, our preaching is empty and so is our faith.” 1Cor.15:14
“If Christ is not risen, your faith is futile (vain, useless), and you are still in your sins.”–15:17
“If Christ is not risen then those that have died with faith in Him have perished.” Vs 18
“If the dead do not rise, Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” 15:32
–If Christ is not risen, then party hearty!
–Live it up!
–Throw yourself into hedonistic abandonment!
–It doesn’t matter anymore!
–There will be no facing God, no accountability for sin, no eternal existence, you simply cease to be!
Yet Paul wrote: “But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead!”–15:20
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So what does the resurrection mean for us today?
Why does it even matter to our confused, storm-tossed, angry and troubled world?
It matters because:
I. The Resurrection validates everything Jesus said about Himself
Some of the things Jesus said were either the utterances of a religious lunatic, or the words of the genuine Son of God!
“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except by me.”–John 14:6
Or, “I tell you the truth, anyone who obeys my teaching will never die!”–John 8:51
Or how bout, ”I AM the Light of the world. He who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.'”–John 8:12
And, “I AM the Resurrection and the Life. Whoever believes in Me [as Savior] will live even if he dies.'”–John 11:25
Jesus claimed to be:
the Son of God,
the giver of eternal life,
the future judge of the world,
the door of salvation,
the healer,
the Savior,
and the Messiah that all the OT prophets spoke of!
And here’s the thing: everything he claimed about Himself swung on the hinge of his resurrection because He had publicly on several different occasions predicted he would rise from the dead:
“And he said, ‘The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.’”–Luke 9:22
So if he didn’t rise from the literal dead, this prediction and everything else he said would have died with him!
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Another reason why the resurrection of Jesus matters today more than anything else is:
II. He claimed to be the one and only way to heaven
“Jesus said, “I am the [only] Way [to God] and the [real] Truth and the [real] Life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”–John 14:6
In a day where many believe all roads lead to heaven, this verse is distasteful.
It is popular to embrace the belief that all religions lead to the same God.
Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism–all lead to the same place, the same God, the same heaven…
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–It’s funny, we have no problem with “one and only ways” to all kinds of things.
We accept without a second thought that there’s only ONE PHONE NUMBER that will put you in touch with the person you want to talk to.
Or, there’s only ONE ADDRESS that will take you home.
Or, there’s only ONE DIRECTION that will get you to a desired location.
None of these things are negotiable–you either use the one way they require or you will not succeed.
And according to Jesus there’s only one road, one way, one name, one Person that will get you to heaven–Him!
That’s why the resurrection matters to us all!
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And one last thing…
III. The resurrected Jesus promised to resurrect his children!
The Bible teaches, “But the fact is that Christ did actually rise from the dead and has become the first of millions who will come back to life again someday.”–1 Cor 15:20
I want you to listen to the promise Jesus made regarding those that place faith in Him as Savior:
“And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last day. 40 For it is my Father’s will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life. I will raise them up at the last day.”–John 5:39-40
The Bible promises a mass, worldwide resurrection of Christians at the return of Christ:
1 Cor. 15:51-52 “But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! 52 It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed.”
I close with this verse:
“Indeed, the time is coming when all the dead in their graves will hear the voice of God’s Son, and they will rise again. Those who have done good will rise to experience eternal life, and those who have continued in evil will rise to experience judgment.”–John 5:28-29
So according to Jesus, every human being that ever lived will be resurrected and will face God to answer for their life.
Those that have turned to Jesus as Savior and Lord will be raised to be escorted into heaven.
And those that rejected Him will be escorted into judgment.
Where are you today?