Audio Sermon - Proof for the Resurrection

Proof for the Resurrection

Verse by Verse Ministries

(click on above) 

Why Is Christianity Different?

by Billy Graham

    He is not here, but is risen.
—Luke 24:6

Something distinguishes Christianity from all the religions of the world. Not only does it carry the truth of the redemption, by the death of our Savior for our sins on the cross, but it carries the fact that Christ rose again. Only the Christian faith claims that its Leader died and rose again and is alive at this moment. Many gravestones carry the inscription, “Here lies . . . ,” but on Christ’s tomb are emblazoned the words, “He is not here.” Christianity has no shrines to visit, no dusty remains to venerate, no tombs at which to worship. Many good men have lived, and still live, in the memory of those who knew them, but there is only one Man who conquered death—Jesus Christ—and He will live forever.

None Other

by James MacDonald

There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12, esv).

“There are many roads to God.” Have you heard people say that? They say, “As long as you’re sincere, it doesn’t really matter. Every path leads to the same God.”

But have you found this principle at work in any other area of life? Does your experience really tell you that everything is equivalent? Every restaurant, the same? Every coffee choice, all the same? Can every answer to a math problem be considered right? Do all recipes lead to the same quality meal?

What would you say to a young guy who’s ready to buy an engagement ring, but whose plan is just to grab the first one in the case he can afford? “They’re all just rocks. What’s the difference? You’ve seen one rock, you’ve seen them all.”

Or what would you say to someone living in the Midwestern plains who has no interest in ever traveling to see the mountains? “They’re just hills. What’s the difference? We’ve got hills around here. You’ve seen one hill, you’ve seen them all.”

See how silly it sounds to say that? See how dangerous it is to spout the foolish phrase, “All roads lead to God”?

“Enter by the narrow gate;” Jesus said, “for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matthew 7:13–14, nkjv).

The cross of Jesus is not one of many ways to God; it is the only way to God. In fact, the shocking thing is not that there is only one way to God; the remarkable thing is that there is any path at all!

Do you find that too narrow? Too exclusive? No. Truth by definition is intolerant of error, and is exclusive by nature. How many temperatures does water freeze at? How many answers to 2+2 are correct? Drop a five-pound rock off a building, and see if you can make a solid argument for the relativity of gravity before it hits the ground.

Right?

So why would the study of God—who Himself made math and science and the other disciplines which are “intolerant” toward error—be the only subject known to mankind in which truth does tolerate error?

There is but one road to God. And instead of being resistant to that, we should be forever thankful for it. What could we produce as evidence for why the God who created the world should save us? Wouldn’t it make a lot more sense if He just pushed the whole thing over the cliff and into hell itself?

Instead, “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8, nkjv). “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12, nkjv). Only Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One. Here He is. Follow Him into the narrow gate, for He alone is the Way.

PRAY

Lord, on this day between Jesus’ death and resurrection, fill me with wonder at what You’ve done. You’ve made a way where we don’t deserve one. Help me to not take lightly Your grace and mercy that have opened this one path for me to be forgiven and reborn and to have promised abundant life with You for all eternity. I worship You today in the stillness of this moment, in the mournful hours after the death of Your Son, praying only in His name—my only Way—amen.

There Must Be Blood

by James MacDonald The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29, esv)! People often say, “I’m good enough for heaven. I don’t need Jesus.” As if they can choose heaven without choosing faith. As if they’d fit right in there, just showing up, claiming they don’t need a Savior. But that’s not what heaven is like. That’s not what heaven is for. Heaven is no place for people who are pretty sure they’ve got their sins covered without needing anyone else to do it for them. Heaven is for people who understand and embrace Jesus Christ as “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world,” for which there is no other “good enough” option. If you’re not sure where this “Lamb” imagery comes from, think back to the first Passover. God was preparing to send the tenth and final plague against the Egyptians to loosen the iron grip on God’s people, so Pharaoh would release them from slavery and let them go. In anticipation of this plague, the Lord instructed each family of Israel to take a lamb, kill it, and sprinkle some of its blood on their doorposts. “For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt.” But “the blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt” (Exodus 12:12–13). You and I, of course, living in our culture, where we buy our meat at the market, would likely have balked at just the part about killing the lamb. In fact, “these things took place as examples for us” (1 Corinthians 10:6a)—as a picture for us today. But even they, who were accustomed to slaughtering their own animals for food, may have had a hard time seeing any need for slathering its blood over the door of their house. I’m not doing that, you can almost hear them saying. I’ll have to clean it up later. And what good is it for, anyway? I don’t need blood on my house to save me. Yes, that part did take a bit of faith. But God gave them an opportunity to choose. Doubt or faith? Good enough without the blood? Or were they in need of the blood, the way His Word said? Was the blood of the lamb—“without blemish” (Exodus 12:5)—really necessary? Decide. Far more than we’d like to admit, faith is a choice. You choose to believe in the sports teams you follow. You choose to believe your employer will compensate you for your work. You choose to believe the gas in your tank will get you to your destination, and you choose to believe the chair you’re about to sit in will hold you. You choose to believe. And if you don’t believe, you’ve chosen not to believe. “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” The One who knows our true heart and knows our true thoughts—who knows the good front we put up and knows we believe ourselves to be better than we are—has provided a Lamb whose blood can fit us for heaven. “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). Your faith belongs in the Lamb. And then you’ll belong with Him forever.