In my previous post, I honestly examined the circumstances awful to Christians if Christ were indeed still held within the garden tomb. I openly and honestly admitted that if Christ had not risen from the dead, then my preaching is vain, useless, and false; the apostles who penned the New Testament were liars; the Old Testament prophets who prophesied the resurrection were deceivers; our faith is vain; we have no salvation; and we are for ever lost in our sins.
Now, it is time for the atheist, agnostic, skeptic, and worshipper of some other god to perform the same reckoning. I am asking you, dear unbeliever, will you be honest enough to examine with me the awful condition in which you find yourself, if Christ indeed rose from the dead? Let us look at a few facts that are completely and positively true if Christ indeed rose from the dead.
If Christ is risen as He said, then
He Is the Son of God
Romans 1:3, 4 – “Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.”
Paul states here that Christ proved to be the Son of God BY THE RESURRECTION from the dead. A good number of so-called “theologians” today claim Christ to be less than the Son of God. Some regard Him as a great teacher, but I declare unto you that Jesus Christ is far more than that, and His resurrection proves it! But this is not all! If Christ indeed has risen as He said, then
He is God Almighty!
He is not only the Son of God; He IS God! Before He was born in the flesh, He existed equally with the Father.
Philippians 2:6 – “Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God.”
Many religious leaders agree that Christ WAS God before His birth, but some of them teach that at His birth, Christ ceased to be God. NOT SO! While Jesus Christ lived in on this earth in the flesh, He was God Almighty wrapped in flesh!
I Timothy 3:16 – “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: GOD WAS MANIFEST IN THE FLESH, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.”
Matthew 1:22, 23 – “Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.”
The name of this baby who was born of the virgin Mary was “Emmanuel.” This name does not mean, “God above us;” or “God after us;” or even “God within us.” Christ’s name when He was born in the flesh was “Emmanuel,” meaning “God WITH US.” When Jesus Christ was with us in the flesh, God Almighty was with us!
Now that He has ascended to the Father, he ever lives to make intercession for us! He inhabits a throne at His Father’s right hand. He will possess that the throne on the right hand of His Father for ever. He will sit upon that throne judging, ruling, and reigning as God. While it is true that every Christian will reign upon thrones in the Millennium, we will not do so because we are gods. Christ sits on His Father’s throne, however, because He is God.
Hebrews 1:8 – “But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O GOD, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.”
In the above verse, the Father refers to the Son as GOD, and as being God FOR EVER!
Allow me to take this a little further. If Christ indeed is risen from the dead as the apostles claimed, then
He is Far Superior to All Others
Christ is not only the Son of God; He is not only God Almighty in His very person; but this status places Him far above ALL principality and power. He is above all. His position is far superior to Allah, Buddha, Confucius, Dagon, Diana, and every other so-called “god.” His words are far superior to the words of other “teachers,” including Plato, Socrates, Muhammad, and all others.
If Christ is dead, then I readily and publicly admitted that Christians are in trouble. But if He is indeed alive, the claim for which the apostles suffered and died, then He is far above all others, and you WILL ABSOLUTELY bow before Him, confessing to Him that He is Lord! Look with me at the following:
John 3:31 – “He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all.”
Philippians 2:6-11 – “Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
A minister brought it to my attention once that the above passage does not say, “Every knee SHALL bow, and every tongue SHALL confess;” it says rather, that, “Every knee SHOULD bow, and every tongue SHOULD confess.” Therefore, this man concluded that although every knee SHOULD bow, and every tongue SHOULD confess, it does not mean that everyone SHALL bow and confess.
However, the scriptures teach differently. Yes, the above passage does state that every knee SHOULD bow, and every tongue SHOULD confess. But notice:
Romans 14:11 – “For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee SHALL bow to me, and every tongue SHALL confess to God.”
What a day it will be at the Last Judgment! Madeline Murray O’Hare will bow her knee and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord of all! Bob Ingersoll, Voltaire, Karl Marx, Adolf Hitler, and other grossly wicked individuals will confess Christ as Lord! They will confess Him as publicly at the Judgment as they denied Him on the earth! Since Christ rose from the dead, He is far superior to all others. He is second to none. He takes no back seat; He plays only the lead! Since Christ rose from the dead, then
His Words are Absolute Truth, Making Him the Only Way to God’s Heaven
Jesus’ words are absolute truth. Had He not risen, His words would be false, for He told the disciples that He would rise again. If He did not do so, He lied.
But dear reader, if He indeed rose from the dead, He is not a liar. Every word He stated was absolute, positive, unalterable fact. And look what He said:
John 14:6 – “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me.”
Jesus is not A ROAD to heaven; He is the only route to that place. All other routes lead to hell. You’ll place all your faith in Jesus Christ, or you’ll be lost eternally. You’ll believe the Bible or be damned. If you are trusting anything other than Christ for salvation, you are hopelessly lost until you place all of your faith in Jesus Christ.
The good news is this: He died to pay the penalty for your sins. He rose again to give you that great salvation! No other god, prophet, teacher, philosopher, professor, or anyone else can save! Only Jesus; the preeminent, superior, unsurpassed, unrivaled, unparallel, undefeated, matchless, incomparable Son of the living God can save you! Notice:
Acts 4:12 – “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
You’ll come by Jesus Christ, or you will not come! Trust Him today to save you completely!
