This morning, as we celebrate and
rejoice in our Lord’s resurrection, I’d like to remind you that this very part
of our faith is under attack from many sides. We might tell ourselves that we
would never lose the resurrection, and the peace and hope that it alone can
give us. But in reality, many deceiving agents have crept into God’s Church at-large
and sowed seeds of discord concerning our Savior’s life after death. It’s
important that we today recognize this danger and be ready to confront it when
we witness it. It’s also necessary that we are ready to defend every teaching of God’s Word that the
world attempts strip away from us. To do so, we have to be on our guard, and we
have to train regularly through reading and studying the Word and also
strengthening our own faith through the use of the Sacraments. And we must also
have keen eye to detect error when we see it.
I’d like to read for you two different
confessions of faith that speak about the resurrection, which are printed in
your bulletin as well. Both statements are from Christians. Both statements are
from Lutherans. Both statements are from teachers. And yet, the two statements
completely differ on the validity of the resurrection of Jesus.
Statement
#1: “Mythological symbolism
contributed to the interpretation of the event of the resurrection. The
question has become acute in modern theology whether in the resurrection we are
dealing with only a myth or with a truly historical event.”
Statement
#2: “It is necessary for every
Christian to have before him the testimony of Holy Scripture concerning the
resurrection of the dead and then also the resurrection of the Lord Christ;
proved and attested by certain revelation; that he must rest firmly on these
and abandon outward appearance and the experience of reason.”
The long and short of it is this. One
Lutheran, Christian Theologian believes in the historical reliability of
Christ’s resurrection, and the other does not. How could they conclude such opposing
views yet associate with the same faith and belief? Does it dampen our
celebration of this day knowing that scores of other Christians, even
Lutherans, are taught that Christ is actually still in the tomb? I hope it
doesn’t, because the source of our joy today is not in the reaction or beliefs
of others, but in the undeniable truth that Jesus is alive, that He promises
the same to those who believe in Him, and that our very faith is built on this
pillar.
It’s frustrating to see such a
divergence of beliefs among Christians regarding the most important teaching of
our faith. But you can’t allow that frustration to overshadow your own hope and
joy. You can’t believe in Jesus just because others do, so you also can’t
abandon faith in Jesus just because others do. Statement #1 was taken from a
textbook for training future pastors which is used by the largest Lutheran
denomination. Statement # 2 came from Martin Luther. These kinds of statements
are important for understating what people believe about the resurrection, but
for ourselves we go back to what the Holy Spirit says, written through Paul to
the Corinthian congregation:
1
Corinthians 15:1-11 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I
preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, 2 by which
also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you-- unless
you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also
received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that
He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the
Scriptures, 5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. 6 After that
He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part
remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. 7 After that He was seen by
James, then by all the apostles. 8 Then last of all He was seen by me also, as
by one born out of due time. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, who am not
worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But
by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain;
but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God
which was with me. 11 Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach and so
you believed.
What do we believe about the
Resurrection? It’s important to know what is being taught in the world today.
It’s important to listen to the scholars, and the professors, and the pastors.
But most important, you must know what the Bible says. Therefore, we consider
what Luther wrote long ago. We pay attention to what people are saying today.
But to know the truth we must go back the beginning, to the source, for truth
does not change.
When we go back to foremost chapter in
the Bible that addresses the validity of the resurrection, we see how the
matter is quite simple. Simple for our faith, but also simple for how we
confess and defend that faith. Already at that time, before the turn of the
first century, people were doubting whether or not Christ actually rose from
the dead. These words were written at time when some of the very people who saw
Christ alive were still living themselves. Paul listed himself in the category
of those who witnessed the resurrected Christ in visible form as well as other
notable apostles who were still working in the Church. If people wanted
eye-witness testimony they had plenty. If people needed proof they need only
ask. And yet, even that testimony, built on the human senses, was not good
enough to prove the resurrection. People still doubted, and so like us today,
teachers like Paul had defend the resurrection.
The answer to the resurrection is not in
proving by reasoning. Even those who killed Christ knew He wasn’t in the tomb
but they still tried to cover it up. The answer is in faith. Faith in Jesus.
Faith in what Jesus has done for us. And Faith from the words of Jesus in the
Scriptures. That’s the only way anyone can belief in a resurrection. And that’s
precisely where Paul started with the Corinthians.
Before he even talked about himself as
an eye-witness or others, he led them to the testimony of God’s Word. In verse
1 he said, “I declare to you the gospel
which I preached to you…” He continued in verse 2: “if you hold fast to that word which I preached to you…” And on in
verse 3: “Christ died for our sins according
to the Scriptures.” And finally verse 4: “and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.”
Four verses, four statements about the validity of Christ’s death and
resurrection from the Word of God. It’s only after Paul lays this foundation,
from the word of God, that he proceeds to give evidence of the eye-witnesses. What
Paul said was exactly what the Church needed to hear. But things haven’t
changed that much either, for it’s precisely what the Church needs to hear
today. Paul’s telling us: The best way to defend the Resurrection is to
believe the Resurrection. Romans 10:17
Those who question it or deny do so
because they just can’t believe it. It’s either too miraculous or too good to
be true, or too different from the way that logical life goes. And so new terms
are introduced to explain it away, things like “mythological symbolism,” and
“questions of modern theology.” But it’s actually not that complicated, not
even close. Think of how easily Paul expresses the resurrection. He says, I
simply gave to you the very same thing that Christ Jesus gave to me, the truth.
The truth He suffered and died, and that He rose the third day. Truth that is
based “according to the Scriptures.”
But this truth would have fallen on deaf
ears, as it has with so many others, if Paul did not believe; if he did not
have faith. And that’s what he says at the end of our text: 9 For I am the least of the apostles, who
am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in
vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of
God which was with me.
The truth of the resurrection is not
just a piece of information in the Bible. It’s not just a historical fact that
we must argue for and defend in the face of higher criticism. It is the basis
of our faith. It is the foundation of God’s kingdom in your heart. It is the
very reason why you have the promise of change in your life. Change from the
daily sins of thought and deed but also change from death to life at the end. Paul
says that this aspect of God’s grace changed his life from being to worst
sinner to being a humble messenger through which Christ displayed His power.
God’s grace in the resurrection was not
worthless to Paul and its effectiveness in His life was not worthless. It
changed him. It was not “mythological.” It was not confusing. It was not empty
superstition. It was not just a “spiritual resurrection.” It was not backward
thinking. It changed him because it was based on historical truth. The victory
over sin and death happened in time here on earth and God did it that way so
that we could have something to point to for our faith. Just because God’s
grace changes the sinful heart and runs contrary to the way we lived before
Christ, does not give us the right to discredit its reliability.
In response to skeptics we can cite as
many proofs for the resurrection as we want. We can show how no body was ever
found. We can quote from secular unbelievers who wrote about the resurrection
themselves. We can show how the resurrection has always been a pillar of the
Christian faith, all the way back to the first churches and the first creeds,
it’s only recently that it’s been doubted by so many. We can show how Biblical
writers stressed the many eye-witnesses who saw Christ (beginning of Luke and
Acts). We can try to prove and show even more but it won’t matter to those who
vehemently deny. Because ultimately, the resurrection is a matter of faith. The
best way to prove it is to simply believe it. Believe in the risen Christ and the
change of faith will show in your life. Believe that you are helpless sinner
and that God did, in fact, have to send His Son to secure salvation for you;
believe that that was the only way. God did all that so that you would believe,
and that is the best way to defend the truth because the reasons for doubting
the resurrection come from the very same place that it seeks to heal, the
sinful human heart.
If what the Bible teaches it true; that
Jesus had to come to earth to die for mankind’s sin and rise to guarantee that
victory, it means that every single person must answer to God. We have nowhere
else to turn and no more excuses to give if God’s own Son was the only one who
could save us. And ultimately, that means we can’t trust ourselves. We can’t
work for heaven. We can’t gain access to God by our efforts. The more we try
the worse off we are. And that’s why overemphasizing our reason and logic when
it comes to believing and defending the resurrection leads to more problems,
because we’re pushing ourselves away from faith to only physical proof. And the
resurrection will never make enough sense to us to generate our own faith in
Jesus. If everything the Bible says about the resurrection is true, then our
only option is to repent and believe. And that, is the kicker, because
repentance and faith don’t come naturally for us.
Repentance is so easy yet so difficult,
depending on how you look at it. It actually means that everything has been
done freely for us already; we don’t have to fight and scrap any longer; but it
also means you have to turn from sin. You have to honestly admit wrongdoing and
failure. That is hard for us to do. Admitting complete helplessness and leaving
all to God grates against our natures more than anything else. Yet, it’s the
only way to Christ and without it we cannot believe.
You can spout all the facts about the
validity of the resurrection that you want. But that’s not going to convince
anyone. It may get them to investigate further but it won’t change them. They
need faith, not just bare information. And there’s nothing more powerful to
give evidence of faith than the effective working of God’s grace in a person’s
life. Evidence that Christ did die for sins and rise again according to the
Scriptures.
Do people see the change of the
resurrection in your life? Do you see it? That change can be subtle;
- · it can be refraining from vulgar language,
- · a small word or act of kindness,
- · a moment of thanksgiving in prayer,
- · a humble attitude in life,
- · wise use of money and possessions,
- · Regular time around God’s Word.
- · Forgiving your enemy rather than hating them.
- · Looking away instead of lusting after.
- · Something as simple as one thought of patience rather than anger.
Small things, really. So often we’re
looking for the big change, the life-altering proof of a redeemed soul. But,
you only see the big changes by building on the little ones. If you haven’t
developed the simple, day-to-day habits of faith, which no but God sees, you
won’t be moving mountains anytime soon.
It’s frustrating to see people, even
Lutherans, cast doubt on the validity of Christ’s resurrection. Let’s be busy
defending it. We can learn facts and points of history and studies that have
been done in the past. That might help our defense. We can talk about
statistics and probability, we can reason about what seems most logical. That
might help our defense. But nothing is stronger than the evidence of the Holy
Spirit. Because that evidence shows that Christ has changed you through His
death and resurrection. It is undeniable proof that God can take sinners like
you and I, and shape us into people that serve Him in righteousness. That is
proof. Every fruit of faith, every act
dedicated to God’s glory, from the small to the big, is proof that Christ rose
from the dead.
He is Risen, He is Risen Indeed. And we
have all we need for faith and defense, in the Scriptures. With childlike simplicity
we can rejoice, because Jesus died and rose for us. Not in some mythological
way. But in reality. And not just for academic understanding, but for
life-changing faith in your heart. He is with you now in this very way and you
show it each time you listen to His Word, believe it, and live it. And that’s
how we defend the precious teaching of His resurrection. Amen.
The peace of God which surpasses all
understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
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