Acts & 1 Corinthians 15: An Important Raise.

For some people, at this time when our country seems determined to try to remove itself from the love of Christ, the resurrection has all of a sudden become somewhat difficult to understand.

Acts 17:30-32: "Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead. Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some began to sneer, but others said, ‘We shall hear you again concerning this.’"

When Christ’s resurrection occurred in the first century, the parallel between some traditional Pagan, Barbarian, and even Gentile beliefs and this resurrection of Jesus was not lost on the early Christians. As Justin Martyr argued, “when we say … Jesus Christ, our teacher, was crucified and died, and rose again, and ascended into heaven, we propose nothing different from what you believe regarding those whom you consider sons of Zeus.” (1 Apology 21).

1 Corinthians 15:20-22: "But Christ really has been raised from the dead. He is the first of all those who will rise. Death came because of what a man did. Rising from the dead also comes because of what a man did. Because of Adam, all people die. So because of Christ, all will be made alive."

1 Corinthians 15:14: "If Christ was not raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your trust in God is useless."

Acts 2:29-31: "Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay. God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact."

1 Corinthians 15:19-20: "If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep."

Christ has Risen! (Christ has Risen indeed!)

Let us go forth from here serving our risen Lord and Saviour in the certainty of the resurrection of the dead. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

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