The Implications of the Resurrection (or lack thereof) #2

What if the resurrection didn't happen? Would the Christian faith fall apart?

Many today are attempting to find ways to say "no" to this question. In a lecture by D.A. Carson entitled Rumors of Resurrection he recounts a recent response by a prominent religious leader in Australia (I think it was an Anglican bishop). In an interview with the media, this bishop was asked if it could be proven that Jesus' body was found and that the ressurection was nothing more than a legend, if that would ruin his faith? The bishop responded with a confident "no" explaining that it would not change the fact that "Christ had risen in his heart."

While this kind of metaphorical reading of the resurrection may be very attractive to many (mostly because it is a safe, non-threatening interpretation that fits in nicely with a post-modern worldview that detests the idea of absolute truth or an exclusive savior), it is important for us and those we interact with to understand that this is not the biblical position.

Apparently the bishop I mentioned earlier had not spent much time in 1 Corinthians (or simply ignored it). In 1 Corinthians 15 (which by the way is the earliest report of the resurrection- within 15-20 years of the crucifixion), Paul answers the question with undeniable clarity:

15:14 "And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain."

15:17 "And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins."

15:19 "If in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied."

A resurrection-less gospel is not a gospel at all! If Christ only died but did not rise, we have no good news. As Paul points out later in the chapter, without the resurrection, we may as well live by the philosophy "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die." If Christ was only a good teacher, or an admirable martyr, we are still in the dark, without hope. Even if we lived our lives following his good example, if he is not a living savior, he is not a savior at all, and we are all just fooling ourselves-- like cancer patients imagining we will be cured by lifting weights and keeping a healthy diet!

But if the resurrection is true, we have a living savior who conquered death and sin! For those who are in Christ, this victory has already been applied to us positionally as Christ's righteousness is credited to us by grace through faith. We see the effects of this victory gradually in this life in the process of sanctification. But the best is yet to come, when we will finally be able to fully taste the victory that Christ accomplished in his death and resurrection when we are united with him after death or upon his return.

The good news of Jesus Christ is truly "a glorious gospel" (1 Timothy 1:11) worth living for, and dying for.

The Implications of the Resurrection #1

As we ramp up towards Easter, I'm going to try to put up several posts on the implications of the Resurrection- why the event is essential to the Christian faith and what it means for us as Christians in the 21rst century.

While preparing for tonight's Sojourn topic, "The Reality of the Resurrection", (which by the way, you should come to, 7:30 @ Webster's) I realized that I have kind of taken the resurrection for granted in the past. Growing up in the church, the idea has never been strange to me, and as far as my own doubts, I've struggled more with foundational things like the existence of God and the validity of scripture. So it makes sense that if I came through those foundational doubts and came to the conclusion that God is real, and that the Bible is his inspired word of God, that there isn't much room left for doubting the resurrection.

However since it is often my doubts that propel me to study things out, I have never spent a lot of serious time dwelling on, dissecting, or questioning the resurrection. My unbelieving friends have also not seemed overly concerned with the topic. They seem to be primarily concerned with the existence of God, the validity of scripture, hypocrites in the church, the problem of evil, the arrogance of exclusive religious claims etc.

What I've realized though as I've prepared to lead the Sojourn discussion is that in the resurrection is a deep theological well that I've barely dipped into. And so these next few posts are as much for me as they are for you.

To kick things off here's a great quote by N.T. Wright that Tim Keller ended "The Reality of the Resurrection" chapter with:

The message of the resurrection is that this world matters!
That the injustices and pains of this present world must now
be addressed with the news that healing, justice, and love
have won...If Easter means Jesus Christ is only raised in a
spiritual sense- [then] it is only about me, and finding a
new dimension in my personal spiritual life. But if Jesus
Christ is truly risen from the dead, Christianity becomes
good news for the whole world- news which warms our hearts
precisely because it isn't just about warming hearts. Easter
means that in a world where injustice, violence and degredation
are endemic, God is not prepared to tolerate such things- and
that we will work and plan, with all the energy of God, to
implement victory over them all. Take away Easter and Karl Marx
was probably right to accuse Christianity of ignoring problems
of the material world. Take it away and Freud was probably right
to say Christianity is wish-fulfillment. Take it away and Nietzsche
probably was right to say it was for wimps.