The Resurrection Is Gods Guarantee.

THE RESURRECTION IS GODS GUARANTEE.

1 CORINTHIANS 15:1-24. 35-58.

There is a book that is title, The Days That Changed the World and it looks at the top 50 defining events that changed History. The currents of history run deep and often unseen beneath the everyday ripple of events. But now and again the current rises to the surface, and the events of a single day shed an exceptional light on the meaning of the past. Some of the 50 days described in the book mark the end of an era; others the start of something new. All the events have become symbols of their time. The book begins nearly 2500 years ago on 28 September 480 years before the Christian era, when the Athenian navy destroyed the Persian invasion fleet in the Bay of Salamis. Had the Persians won we might never have heard the names of Plato, Aristotle or Alexander. This book ends with destruction of the Twins Towers of New York in September 2001.

In this book, The Days That Changed the World, the death of Jesus Christ is mention but there is absolutely no mention of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We can see from what Paul wrote that the resurrection should be in this book because it is a major event in the history of the world. Paul gives us some simple facts in 1 Corinthians 15: 3-4.

A. Christ died.

B. Jesus was buried.

C. Jesus was raised on the third day.

D. Jesus appeared of more that 500 witnesses after his resurrection.

I don’t know whether you realize this or not but no one has ever come up and said that they didn’t think that Jesus died and was buried. The Romans never denied this fact. The church of the day never denied this fact. The Bible show in mark 15: 42-45, that when Pilate was told that Jesus was dead, he sent for the centurion just to make sure that Jesus was in fact dead. The Bible also informs us that the church went to Pilate and requested guards to make sure that no one would steal the dead body. I personally can’t see them going to all this trouble unless there is actually a body to guard/

I think that one of the main reasons why Jesus Christ should be in that book is simply because the resurrection of Jesus Christ actually changed the world.

Someone wrote that the death of Jesus Christ has forced open a door that has been locked since the death of the first man. Everything today is different simply because Jesus met, fought and defeated the king of death.

1. The resurrection Guarantee that our sins have been dealt with.

To Paul this is very simply but I find that even today many Christians still struggle with this. If there is no resurrection than there is no forgiveness and no salvation. The reason for this is because there would be no one who was able to made a sacrifice for the sins of mankind who was himself sinless and pure.

Verse 17. If Christ has not been raised then your faith is futile because you are still in your sins.

I would imagine that we have all asked ourselves this question; how can we know that our sins were paid for? How can we know for sure that Jesus Christ death actually worked? Well on the one hand we know that the payment has been made. We know the payment has been made because of the words of Jesus Christ on the cross. Jesus had also stated before he died that his death was going to be a ransom payment to God for our sins.

Jesus said in Matthew 20:28, that he did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Then as Jesus hung on the cross his final words were it is finished. The phrase it is finish consists of one single word in the Greek which meant that something had been accomplished. When Jesus cried out it is finish he didn’t just whisper the words, Jesus shouted these words out for all to hear. I would imagine all who heard the words would have wondered what Jesus words meant? The Question is what was finished? Was Jesus referring to his sufferings or his life’s work? In Jesus high priestly prayer Jesus said that He had finished the word that the Father had sent him to accomplish. I can see Jesus saying that the suffering part of his ministry was also finished. I can also see that Jesus is saying that the end of one era was finished which meant the beginning of another. The Old Testament contains a long list of prophetic utterances, beginning in the Garden of Eden when God told the serpent