Resurrection Victory
Intro:
A. It really is amazing to me. There was a truth that was known, yet not believed. A truth that was told yet seemed to remain hidden. A truth that enemies feared more than followers believed. The same people that went to Pilate to seek him to put Jesus to death, went to Pilate again after Jesus is put in a tomb. READ Matt. 27:62-66.
B. What happened should not have been a surprise. Yet, there is not one follower, not one disciple of Jesus, that is looking for the resurrected Jesus. But the chief priests ask Pilate for help securing the tomb because they do remember.
C. Keep reading READ Matt. 28:1-6. The women were not going to wait for a resurrection, they were going to honor the grave of a dead Jesus. But did you catch that the angel rolled away the stone and the Roman guards were so afraid they fainted on the spot. YET…Even then…few believed.
D. Keep reading READ Matt. 28:11-15. Even when faced with a truth, the chief priests paid them to lie and wanted the to spread a lie that has been believed by many even to this day.
E. Even with the testimony of the women, even with the testimony of the men who walked with Jesus to Emmaus, even with the testimony of the 10 disciples whom Jesus appeared to that evening, Thomas would not believe. So one week later, with Thomas and the rest of the apostles gathered together, Jesus shows up again…this time to prove to Thomas he was truly alive. With outstretched hands showing the nail prints, Thomas has all the evidence he needs and Thomas says to the resurrected Jesus, “My Lord and my God.”
F. Is it true that Jesus died on a cross, was buried in a tomb and was raised again that Sunday morning? Yes. You don’t have to believe that, you wouldn’t be the first one to not believe that, but a person not believing doesn’t stop a truth from being a truth. The evidence of the resurrection is incontrovertible.
I. Resurrection Central To Christianity
A. You need to understand that if the resurrection of Jesus is a lie, nothing about Christianity is true. The resurrection is central to Christianity. It is tied to what happened on the cross, but the cross without the resurrection leaves a void that leaves us still dead.
B. Paul made this point very clear to the church in Corinth (READ 1 Cor. 15:12-19). I hope you listed or read verses 17-19. If there is no resurrection of Jesus, there is no resurrection for you and me. If our faith in Jesus is based upon a lie, then we of all people should be pitied.
C. It is those verses that make the next powerful (READ 1 Cor. 15:20). Jump down to 1 Cor. 15:56-57. I want you to hear spiritual truth, spiritual facts, because Easter is more than a word or a date on a calendar. It is more than a religious celebration. The resurrection of Jesus is central to my preaching, teaching and eternal life.
II. Victory Over Death and Sin
A. As people who believe in the resurrection of Jesus, we need to understand what that means for my spiritual walk. The application of the theology is important.
B. Read Rom 6:5-7. There are two things I want you to take away because Jesus was raised from the dead. The first point - Sin no longer has dominion over you. As a disciple of Jesus, our old self, our pre-disciple self, with all its sin, was destroyed. Paul uses a word we translate in verse 6 as, “brought to nothing,” “done away with,” “made powerless.” The positive way of stating it is verse 7, “We are set free from sin.”
C. It is difficult for us to believe and accept because we still struggle and fail. So how can you be free from sin? The technical wording is that you are justified, or free from the consequences of sin. Sin is not your master, Jesus is. We are a work in progress, but the end result has already been placed on us – eternal life. We who have died to self, been buried with Christ have put on Christ, clothed ourselves with Christ.
D. When God sees you, He doesn’t see a person who is trying to live righteously, he sees a righteous person. He doesn’t see a person who seeks to follow Jesus, He see Jesus. As far as God is concerned, the one who is saved is saved completely, sin has no mastery over the saved. We walk and live in the light because the blood of Jesus continually cleanses us as we do. Yes, you are a work in progress, but you are God’s child, free from sin.
E. The second point I want you to take with you today is found in Rom. 6:8-11. Point 2 – We live because He lives. The real sting of sin was death, a separation between us and God. But because of the resurrection of Jesus, I walk in newness of life. I live because He lives.
F. I live in freedom from sin because of the resurrection. I don’t just live now, in this body, I live eternally. Death has no victory over me. When this body breathes its last breath, my eternal body reigns with Christ. I don’t die, I just keep on living. Heaven is available to me because Jesus opened the way to the Father.
G. It’s not bragging or boasting, it’s confident living. I live because He lives. I can face tomorrow because he holds it in His hands today. It is a great, liberating feeling to know that sin is not my master and death has no power over me.
Conclusion:
A. We are about to sing a song of great faith, “Because He Lives.” There is a verse that means more to me today because three days ago I was holding my newest grandchild, Amelia. Sorry, I had to show a picture of her.
B. Listen to the words of a verse in the song we are about to sing. “How sweet hold a newborn baby and feel the joy and pride she gives. But greater still, the calm assurance: This child can face uncertain days because He lives.”
C. If you don’t have that calm assurance, I invite you to die to self, clothe yourself with Christ in baptism, and rise up to walk a life assurance. If we can help you, then come as we stand and sing.
