Jesus Christ Arose!

Jesus Christ Arose!

"He is not here; for He is risen, as He said..." Matthew 28:6 NKJV

Friend, are you aware that Jesus Christ arose? I'm pretty confident that among Christians this is an understood fact.

However, sometimes we live and act as if Jesus is still in the grave, like He died and never arose. I'm sure that you're asking, "ok but in what way do we live like this?" That is certainly a logical question, so let's investigate that.

Perhaps the best way to answer this is to discuss the significance of His resurrection. And for that topic, there is truly nothing I can say that would explain the resurrection better than 1 Corinthians 15, but we can briefly summarize what is stated there. Let's look at the text:

"But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable." I Corinthians 15:13-19 NKJV

If our Lord did not arise then we are not cleansed of our sins, His sacrifice did nothing for us, we are those without law in this life, nothing to guide us because His resurrection was to be the fulfillment of Genesis 3:15. If He did not arise then He was/is not the Savior, the Messiah, spoken of throughout Scripture. And if He is not the One of prophecy then the Bible is a lie, and if the Bible is a lie then where does that leave us? What will happen to us when we die? What is there then to guide our lives, where then is the reason for why we're here? What are we even doing in this life if Jesus Christ was not resurrected from the dead?! What is the point of even living?! As Paul says, "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable."

Friends, if our hope is in something that never happened, our hope is in a lie, our hope and the very essence of what is hope is a lie. Life has no meaning without Christ, and there is no Christ - no Messiah - without the resurrection from the dead. Without the resurrection, Jesus is just like every other human who died and a religion was built around them - He's just like Muhammad, Joseph Smith, Ghandi, Buddha, etc. He's a nice story, a good man with some wonderful ideas, but He's not truly the Messiah and so our religion and whole manner of thinking and living are based on a fraud and an elaborate lie.

We then could live however we want, if Jesus did not arise from the dead. We can cast off what His word says because it's just one big elaborate lie with some wise sayings tossed in. We can be a law unto ourselves, live by our own whims, not subject ourselves to the words contained within that word. We can neglect the commands because they're based on a falsehood. We can change the words, make things up, twist it to say what we want, even add to or take away words from it, we could "follow our hearts" into whatever we so choose because the truth of that book is shaky to say the least. That's the reality, that's the truth, that's the consequence if Christ did not arise. How many will make those claims and still call themselves Christians? I suggest that none that I know would make those claims that call themselves after Jesus Christ, and that is as it should be.

However, how many of us live like this? We live like that Bible is an elaborate lie by our unwillingness to abide by what it says. We call ourselves after Christ (Christians) but we're not truly convicted and we don't honestly follow in His footsteps. If the world were to try and determine who Christ was without having a Bible handy, could they look at your life and be led to the right conclusion? Would your life, and mine, lead others to the true light, that of Jesus Christ Himself (1Cor.11:1; Matt.5:14-16)? Friend, if not then why not?

Does the world know, through your conduct and mine, that Jesus Christ arose from the dead and now sits on the throne at the right hand of God on high? Or, are you and I trying to put Christ back into that grave, trying to bury Him and keep Him hidden, trying in vain to act like His death cleanses us from our sins but His resurrection requires nothing of us?

Again, to 1 Corinthians 15:

"...thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord." - 1 Corinthians 15:57-58 NKJV

Since Christ arose, may we all be as the text concludes and be "steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord." The world sees Jesus through our actions, they learn about Him through our mouths which utter God's word, and they obey Him by learning and applying His word.

Will the world see a risen Savior living in you and me today? Or will they see a dead Christ and false-god? Jesus is risen, let's live like it.