SERMON OUTLINE

The Importance of the Resurrection

John 19.28-30; 1 Corinthians 15.1-23

Introduction

The most important event in all of history and eternity is the death of Jesus Christ on the cross as a payment to God for sin. “It is finished”.

Without the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, preaching the Gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ is useless, our faith in Jesus Christ for eternal life is futile, our witness about God is false, and we are still in our sins and are eternally lost. Without the resurrection we Christians are to be pitied in this life more than all men for practicing such an empty and useless faith. What part does the resurrection play in salvation?

 The resurrection of Jesus Christ confirmed –

1) The preaching and teaching of Jesus and God’s Word.

-Validated the prophesy of Jesus, His teaching, and all of God’s Word. The Bible is God’s revelation of Himself.

-Read it and learn what God says about eternal life.

 2) That God accepted the sacrifice of Jesus for our sins.

-Seated at the right hand of God

-Declared Lord of all creation

-Will you voluntarily bow your knee to Lord Jesus Christ?

 3) Our salvation and eternal life.

-I can have salvation through faith in the death of Jesus Christ for my sin. Romans 10.9-10; 4.25

 4) Our future resurrection.

-Christ is the firstfruit of all who will be raised up

-Our eternal hope is based on the death and resurrection of Christ. 1 Corinthians 15.20-23; 42-44; 49-50; 53-57

 Conclusion

-Jason’s hope can be your hope if you will confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior today

SERMON NOTES

The Importance of the Resurrection    John 19.28-30; 1 Corinthians 15.1-20

 -The most important event in all of history and eternity is the death of Jesus Christ on the cross as a payment to God for sin. When Jesus cried out “It is finished” just before He died, He was declaring to all of creation that His mission to save sinners was accomplished, and that God’s purpose and plan to save the world through Him was fulfilled. God gave a visual demonstration of the access to God that Jesus purchased on the cross by tearing in two, from top to bottom, the 6 inch thick curtain that prevented entrance to the Temple to all but selected priests. With the death of Jesus Christ on the cross access to God was open to all who would put their faith in the death of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. “It is finished. Salvation has been secured by my blood being shed for the payment of sin and to satisfy the Justice of God”.

-In 1 Corinthians 15 we read that without the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, preaching the Gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ is useless, our faith in Jesus Christ for eternal life is futile, our witness about God is false, and we are still in our sins and are eternally lost. Without the resurrection, Christians are to be pitied in this life more than all men for practicing such an empty and useless faith.

-So when Jesus said “It is finished” was eternal life really completely purchased for all who would believe in Jesus to be saved? If all was accomplished on the cross what part does the resurrection of Jesus Christ play in salvation? Is the resurrection important to the Gospel message?

–Paul tells us in verses 1 to 4 that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is part of the Gospel that he preaches and that saves, and that without accepting this complete Gospel it is vain for a person to believe they have eternal life.

–Jesus prophesied not only that he would be killed in Jerusalem but that he would be raised from the dead on the third day.

-All of the apostles and hundreds of others witnessed the resurrected Christ and were willing to testify to it and to die for that testimony.

-So the resurrection is important to the message of the Gospel that we preach.

-This morning I want to briefly give you four reasons why the resurrection is an important part of the Gospel message. There are a number of others as well but for today we will look at these four.

 1) The resurrection of Jesus Christ confirmed the preaching and teaching of Jesus. The physical resurrection that Jesus first prophesied and then accomplished, validated all that Jesus ever said about God and about eternal life. Jesus’ prophecy of his resurrection was not a figurative statement. The apostles did not have to invent some spiritualized resurrection after his death. No! Jesus physically rose from the dead and was seen alive by hundreds of people. By being raised from the dead Jesus validated all that he taught. Because of the resurrection we need to examine the teachings of Jesus very seriously. These are the teachings of God who became man, died on the cross, was buried, and was raised on the third day, just as he said, and who now sits at the right hand of God. Read the NT and learn what Jesus says about eternal life. He knows what He is talking about.

-Not only does the resurrection of Jesus Christ validate his own words but it also gives authority to the truth of the entire Bible. God pictured and prophesied the resurrection of Jesus Christ in the OT. Jesus said he spoke the words of God when he spoke of the resurrection. So the resurrection is God’s supernatural stamp of approval on all that God has ever spoken to us through His Word and through His Son. Because of the resurrection we need to pay very careful attention to the whole Bible. The Bible is the only revelation of God that we have. There is no other revelation from God than the Bible and the resurrection of Jesus Christ validates God’s revelation.

 2) The resurrection of Jesus Christ confirmed that God accepted the sacrifice of Jesus for our sins. God confirmed the words of Jesus who said “It is finished” by raising Jesus Christ from the dead. The resurrection makes it very clear that Jesus did finish God’s work of redemption on the cross. God showed that He accepted the sacrifice of His Son for sin by raising His Son from the dead. If God was not pleased with the sacrifice of Christ He would not have raised him from the dead.

-God not only raised Jesus Christ from the dead but He seated Jesus at His own right hand. Not only has God the Father seated Jesus at His own right hand but God has declared that every knee will bow and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the Glory of God the Father. Have you confessed the resurrected and glorified Jesus as your Lord and Savior? You will, either voluntarily confess Jesus is Lord or you will confess Jesus is Lord by necessity. I pray that you will voluntarily bow your knee before Jesus the Lord, and confess Him as your Savior before you no longer have that choice.

 3) The resurrection of Jesus Christ confirmed our salvation and eternal life. Since the resurrection confirms God’s acceptance of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for sin, then I can believe that Jesus Christ died for my sins and I can have salvation through faith in the death of Jesus Christ for my sin. Romans 10.9-10 says, “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” When I believe in my heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, I am believing that Jesus paid the penalty for my sin at the cross and that God has accepted that penalty for my sin and has confirmed it by raising Jesus Christ from the dead and declaring him Lord.

-So the resurrection of Jesus Christ confirms my salvation and my hope of eternal life. Romans 4.25 says it so well, “Jesus was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.”

 4) The resurrection of Jesus Christ confirms our future resurrection. In celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ this morning we are also celebrating our future resurrection and the fact that we will live forever in the presence of God in heaven. Verses 20 to 23 of 1 Corinthians 15 says, “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. …in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.” The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the confirmation of my physical resurrection when the Lord returns in Glory to establish His eternal kingdom and to be with the saints forevermore.

-Here is what Paul writes about our new bodies. 1 Corinthians 15.42-44; 49-50; 53-57. [Read]

-I went to a friend’s funeral on Tuesday. This was the fellow whose truck crashed in the canal last week. Jason loved God and loved people. He had a servant’s heart. It was an uplifting funeral. There was laughter at some of Jason’s quirky sayings and behaviors, many tears, and much remembrance about how Jason was always sharing his testimony with others. Jason would regularly give T shirts away. The one he was most fond of and wore regularly was a yellow T shirt which said on the front, “A friend does not let a friend go to hell”, and on the back, “Sin kills”. The room we were in was filled with hope because the resurrection of Christ assured all of us that Jason was in a better place. This was not a false hope but a real hope. A hope that I can take to God and cash in for eternal life. I left that funeral saying to myself, “My salvation is worth more to me than anything in the world”. “No matter what my problems and issues might be I have an eternal hope” which nothing can take away. “I am so glad that I am a believer in Jesus Christ”.

-If you do not have that true hope of eternal life based on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God is offering it to you this morning. Bow with me and pray this prayer in your heart if you want the true hope of eternal life in Jesus Christ.