How The Resurrection Affects Christianity

1 Corinthians 15:1-11

Chicago Tribune journalist, Lee Strobel, had been on an incredible quest to disprove the resurrection of Jesus. A “just the facts” type of guy, Strobel figured debunking God would not be that difficult. This was a man who worked in a newsroom with a printed banner that stated, “If your mother says she loves you, check it out.”

Strobel had read just about every philosophical argument against God from renowned thinkers like Friedrich Nietzsche and David Hume. He presumed that with reason and scientific evidence, God would be reduced to a myth. What he found was an unexpected discovery of quantitative facts and faith, which is a powerful testimony for the Easter season.

The recently released film “The Case for Christ” shows the profound path that led Strobel to believe in God. The film is based on Strobel’s best-selling book of the same name. We see a man with narcissism as one of his main flaws, but his conceit also elicits compassion. Strobel truly loves his wife, Leslie, and their daughter, Alison, but eventually finds that there is an even greater love beyond the scope his intellect. [Posted April 15, 2017,Jessica Johnson: ‘The Case for Christ’ makes case for Easter joy]

Strobel discovered the truth about the resurrection of Christ, which dramatically transformed his life.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is not a Sunday school story to be told once a year.

It is not just an event that took place April 5, 33.

It is not a holiday to celebrate every year.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is much more significant than all of this put together.

The resurrection of Jesus was a work of God established before the foundation of the world was set in place and has an enormous impact on our life today.

Paul says in Ephesians 1:4 – “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:”

That phrase “the foundation of the world” refers to before the world was created by God. God, being all-wise, did not create the world and then find out something went wrong.

God created the world and in that moment of creation included everything that could possibly happen and he prepared for it.

What I want to lay out this morning is simply this; the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the key factor in all of God’s creation. It was not a last minute fix for a problem he did not see coming. It has implications not only in this world, as I want to show you, but also throughout all eternity.

The resurrection was a point in time, but it has influenced throughout all eternity. This is something hard for us to really grasp.

I. The Resurrection Affects the Foundation of Christianity.

“If Christ was not raised from the dead, then what we preach to you is worth nothing. Your faith in Christ is worth nothing” (1 Corinthians 15:14).

Paul understood the importance of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and how it affects all of Christianity.

It is the foundation upon which all of Christianity is built.

Christianity is not built upon rituals and creeds. That is the stuff of which religion is built upon. Christianity goes beyond rituals and creeds. You can believe the right thing and still not really be a Christian.

The impact of the resurrection of Jesus Christ on a person is the transformation of that person into what the Bible calls “a new creation.”

Religion can change you, Christ can transform you.

The disciples believed everything Jesus taught. Even though he taught them about his resurrection, they did not quite grasp it because it really did not make sense to them. They knew what Jesus taught and yet when they came to the cross all of that fell apart.

It is not the cross that saves us.

The cross was where Jesus offered himself as a sacrifice for the sins of the world.

How is this applied to individuals?

The disciples all deserted Christ around the cross and it was not until they encountered Christ in the upper room that they began to believe in the resurrection of Christ. When they were transformed by this resurrected Christ, they then went out into all the world and preached the gospel.

It was only after meeting the resurrected Christ that they really believe in who Jesus Christ really was and what he thought.

We have so many religions today and many of them have good aspects to them. The limitation of religion is, it can never transform a person and prepare them for heaven.

Only the resurrected Christ can do that.

As a Christian transformed by the power of God, everything I do builds upon the resurrection of Jesus Christ. That is my strength for everyday living. That power enables me to overcome the elements that are of the world.