If Christ Is Not Risen...

[0:00] Let's turn in our Bibles to the passage of scripture which we read, 1st Corinthians chapter 15, and as God would help me, I'd like to concentrate on verses 12 to 14.

[0:22] 1st Corinthians chapter 15 verses 12 to 14. Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

[0:44] But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain.

[1:01] And your faith is in vain. Around 2,000 years ago, a man rose from his grave by his own power.

[1:19] When that man was alive, he claimed to be God. When he rose from the grave, that fact was crucified.

[1:35] That fact was verified. Every claim he made was proved to be true by the fact he rose from the grave, from the dead, by his own power.

[1:48] The result of that was that history has been dated with regard to his birth. B.C. Before Christ.

[2:01] A.D. Latin for in the year of our Lord. He was not a mere man. He was God.

[2:13] And so powerful, so evident was that fact that he rose from the dead. The Roman Empire was powerless to overcome this growing religion called Christianity.

[2:30] Or the way as it was called then. And the Roman Empire formalized Christianity in Christ's name.

[2:40] It formalized religion in his name as a result of that event 2,000 odd years ago. Now, as science cannot prove historical events, it can only prove what is repeatable, observable, and measurable.

[3:03] The proponents of science itself tell us they can only prove what is repeatable, observable, and measurable. So the best that can be done for historical accounts is the level of credibility given to its statements.

[3:23] Now, here's the important thing. There is more credible verification that Christ rose from the dead than there is that a man called Napoleon ever lived.

[3:40] Remember that. If someone says to you, I don't believe Christ rose from the dead. Ask them, do they believe that Napoleon ever lived?

[3:54] And you can safely say, there's what, a hundred times more verifiable, credible statements showing the resurrection of Christ than there is that Napoleon ever lived.

[4:07] Now, we need to remember that with regard to our salvation, the central point is the crucifixion of Christ.

[4:20] Because Christ died for our sins, as verse 1 says, sorry, verse 3.

[4:32] I deliver to you of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance for the scripture.

[4:42] That's the basis on which we have salvation. But when we talk about the central point of the Christian religion, it's actually the resurrection.

[4:57] How do we know that when Christ died on that center cross that Friday afternoon, how do we know he paid for the sins of his people?

[5:10] Why was it not the other? Why not the other two thieves? Why not the one on the left? Why not the one on the right? What was different about Christ in the middle?

[5:23] He rose from the dead. That's how we know he was God. He rose from the dead. And that's why the resurrection, as it were, for lack of a better word, proves the truth of all his claims.

[5:41] Now, it's pretty clear from what we read, that rising from the dead is a greater feat, actually, than dying on a cross.

[5:52] You see, one can die on a cross and be merely human. There were other two people crucified that Friday afternoon.

[6:06] They were only human beings. But Christ was also God. A real human being, but also full God.

[6:19] As someone said, a hundred percent God and a hundred percent human. To rise from the dead, you need to be more than human.

[6:32] You need to be divine to raise yourself from the dead. Which Christ did. You see, one can die on a cross and be a sinner.

[6:49] The other two. The other two that Friday afternoon died on a cross. They were both sinners. They were both sinners.

[7:02] But not the one in the middle. Not the one in the middle. He was sinless. He was God incarnate. One can die on a cross innocently.

[7:18] And there possibly has been some. I don't know. One can die on a cross collegiously. And never rise from the grave. But Christ did.

[7:31] Christ did. And when Christ rose from the dead. He authenticated every claim he ever made.

[7:42] God. God. God. God. God. As our verses, the verses we read were proving. Testifying. If there was no, if there's no resurrection.

[7:57] If Christ did not rise from the dead. Then Christ was not God. If Christ did not rise from the dead.

[8:12] Christ was a liar. Are you prepared to say that? If Christ did not rise from the dead.

[8:23] He was a liar. For he predicted he would rise the third day. And he did. If not.

[8:34] He wasn't God. Then he was a liar. What blasphemy. What blasphemy to think. Christ deceived and told lies.

[8:51] Serious. Serious. If Christ did not rise from the grave. The Bible.

[9:03] Is untrue. Might as well throw it out. If he didn't rise from the dead.

[9:14] It's. The Bible's predictions are misleading. Its facts are inaccurate. Its assumptions are false.

[9:25] It's not what you think it is. If Christ did not rise from the grave. Verifying the truth of his claims.

[9:39] Verifying he was God. Verifying he paid for sin. Which leads to the third sin. If Christ did not rise from the grave.

[9:51] Verifying he was God. Verifying he was God. Verifying he was God. Verifying he was God. We have no gospel to preach. Verifying he was God. Verifying he was God. Verifying he was God. Our Bible has just said it of course. If Christ has not been raised.

[10:05] Then our preaching is in vain. If Christ did not rise from the grave. There is no basis for forgiveness.

[10:17] Forgiveness. You see you must grasp. Forgiveness of sin. Is not God. Deciding will overlook your sin.

[10:33] Forgiveness. Is much much more than that. God is holy. And he cannot say. We'll pretend it didn't happen. He cannot say.

[10:45] We'll pretend you didn't do that. God is holy. You did do that. You did sin. I sinned. Forgiveness is not pretending it didn't happen.

[10:59] Forgiveness is based on Christ atoning for our sin. Christ taking payment. Sorry.

[11:11] Christ giving his life to the Father. As a payment. For the sins of all. Who will believe upon him.

[11:24] I was speaking to somebody who spent some years in Hinduism. A couple of weeks ago. A month ago or something. And she said it was while. While she was going to.

[11:36] Worshipping in the Hindus. She became. She did not say it through of course. Through. Hinduism. But she said. I became convicted of sin. And then I realized.

[11:47] As I. Studied Hinduism. There's no system of forgiveness. I need to be forgiven. I've done wrong things.

[11:59] I've sinned. How can sin. Legitimately be. Forgiven. By holy God. Only.

[12:10] If. If. Atonement. Has. Been. Made. When Christ. Died. When Christ. Cryed out.

[12:22] With a loud voice. It. Is. Finished. One of the things that included was. The payment. For my people's sins.

[12:34] Have now. All. Been. Paid for. Sin. Has been. Paid for. Otherwise. You. And I. Have no.

[12:46] Hope. Of. Ever. Going. To heaven. The. Foundation. Of.

[12:56] How. God. Can. Forgive us. Is. Based. On. Christ. Dying. For. Our. Sins. According. To.

[13:07] The scriptures. Verse 3. If he's not raised from the dead. There is no gospel to preach. And I'll tell you something else.

[13:26] If Christ did not rise from the dead. Satan. What's the strongest force in this world. Satan.

[13:38] Satanic power. If Christ did not rise from the dead. Satan. Has more power.

[13:50] Than anyone else. And you better start trembling. Sinner. You're a dupe of his. He's bluffed you all your life.

[14:02] If Christ didn't rise from the dead. But he did. And get hold of that. He did. Never forget.

[14:17] Who won the victory at Calvary. Christ did. Satan. Satan did not. Take. Christ's life.

[14:29] Away. Crucifixion. Did not. Take. Christ's life. Away. Christ.

[14:43] Laid. Down. His life. What do you think. Made the centurion. Who was probably. The. The. Centurion.

[14:54] In charge of crucifixions. And that particular. Day. Friday. Afternoon. We believe. There was three. When the centurion.

[15:06] Stood afar off. And watched. The three of them. What made him. Say. That one. In the middle.

[15:17] Truly. He was. The son. Of God. What made him. Say that. He was used.

[15:27] To crucifixions. He saw people. Being crucified. Every week. But that one. In the middle. Oh. That's not. The normal. Way. Crucified.

[15:38] Men. Die. Crucified. Men. Don't. Bow. Down. Their heads. As Christ. Did. He bowed.

[15:49] Intentionally. Bowed. His head. And. Dismissed. His spirit. Dismissed. His own spirit. Crucified.

[16:00] Men. Lift. Up. Their voice. Gasping. For breath. They don't. Only after. They've passed away. Do their heads. Locked down. Men. But Christ.

[16:11] Intentionally. Bowed. His head. And. Dismissed. His own spirit. Crucified. Men. If. They. Speak. At. All.

[16:22] It's. In a. Whomper. Christ. Cried. Out. With. A. Loud. Voice. Crucified. Men. Don't. Normally. Do that.

[16:35] And. The centurion. Knew. That. Perfectly. Well. And. He said. That man. In the middle. He. Surely. Was. The son. Of. God. Who.

[16:51] Conquered. Who. At. Calvary. Christ. Conquered. Sin. Satan. And. Death. In a.

[17:02] Winner. Don't. Get. Confused. Christ. If. Christ. Is. Not. Risen. Satan. Has. All. Power.

[17:13] Over. Us. Thanks. Be. To. God. That's. Not. True. So. Lord.

[17:30] Death. Death. Death. Is. Still. The king. Of. Terror. You better start worrying about it. If Christ did not rise.

[17:43] Look at verse 26. We didn't read it. The last enemy to be destroyed. Is death. My friend.

[17:57] Death is an enemy. If you are not a Christian. If your hope is not in Christ. Death is the king of terrors.

[18:12] But for the Christian. For the believer. Christ warmed the grave. For his people. And you can truly stand over the grave.

[18:28] At the funeral of a Christian friend. And you can truly say to them. We are not saying goodbye. We are only saying good night.

[18:40] We will see you in the morning. What a glorious morning. For Christians. For Christians. If you believe.

[18:51] If you trust in Christ. Is death. The king. Of terrors for you.

[19:03] You know. You hear people. Say I don't believe in God. I don't believe in the Bible. I don't believe in hell. I don't believe in heaven.

[19:14] I have never ever heard anyone say. I will never die. Isn't that strange? No one never.

[19:24] I have never heard. I am not saying. Well. I don't think there are very many. I don't think. I have never heard of anyone. Reading all history. You have never heard of anyone saying.

[19:35] They will never die. Are you afraid of it? Are you ready for it? Is the grave the gateway to glory for you?

[19:49] If Christ did not rise. Forget it all. But he did rise. He did rise. And the grave is but the gateway to eternal bliss.

[20:04] For everyone. Who has committed the keeping of their souls. To Christ. So it is vitally.

[20:18] Vitally important. To believe. In the resurrection. The resurrection of Christ. First of all. And then of course.

[20:28] Of everyone. You see. Romans. Chapter 10. Verse 9. Tells us.

[20:39] If you confess. With your mouth. That Jesus. Is Lord. And. Believe.

[20:50] In your heart. That God. Raised them. From the dead. You. Will. Be. Saved. So if you do not.

[21:06] Believe. If you do not. Believe. That God. Raised. Christ. From the dead. You can't be saved.

[21:18] You can't be saved. Do you want to be saved? God. This is. Elementary. Essential. Basic. Foundational.

[21:30] Vital. Urgent. Because we can't promise ourselves a day. And do understand this too logically.

[21:45] If you do not believe. In the resurrection of Christ. You believe a liar. You don't believe nothing. You believe a liar.

[22:01] Satan. Is a past. Marcher. He is the. The arch. Deceiver. Of souls. He can.

[22:12] He can. Make you. Believe something. And you don't quite realize it. You know. It's a strange thing. You know. Satan's quite happy.

[22:22] If you don't believe he exists. He's quite happy about that. You don't believe he exists. That's fine for him. He's got you. What a job he's made of you. How he's duped you.

[22:35] Bluffed you. Isn't it strange? Isn't it something to think about? Luke chapter 24.

[22:47] You have the disciples. Going away. After Christ's. Burial. And they're. Disturbed. They said.

[22:58] We thought. It was Christ. He was to be the saviour. But he died. They forgot.

[23:10] They forgot. That Christ said. On the third day. I'll arise. But the enemies. Never forgot that. Isn't it strange? His friends.

[23:22] His disciples. Forgot it. But the enemies. Christ. Did not forget it. And they so much. Believed it. They put a stone.

[23:34] To the wall. Of his sepulchre. So that he wouldn't get out. They say. Remember. That deceiver said. He'd get up. Well. We'll make sure. He doesn't. And they did all. They could.

[23:45] To prevent it. But how they failed. Miserably. How they failed. Miserably. Well.

[23:58] If you do not believe. That Jesus. Rose from the dead. You will die. In your sins.

[24:09] There's nothing else. There's nothing else. In heaven. Earth. Or hell. That can save you. Well.

[24:24] Well. We close. It's important. To remember. Christ. When he died. And when he rose again.

[24:37] He. When he rose from the dead. He did not rise from the dead. As a private individual. A private thing. He rose.

[24:50] As it were. Publicly. He rose. As the savior. Of the world. And the head. Of the church. It's not a private thing.

[25:01] We tend to think. Religion. Is a private thing. Between me. And God. Alone. Oh. Read the scripture. It's not what you find. We're to confess him.

[25:13] We're to confess the faith. We're to defend the faith. We're to proclaim the faith. We're to spread the faith. We're to spread the good news.

[25:28] Of whom else can it be said. Of whom else can it be said. That his last words. Were not his dying words.

[25:38] Isn't that interesting. Christ's dying words. Were not his last words. Isn't that something. Think of that.

[25:51] Of whom else can it be said. His last words. Were not his dying words. What did he say.

[26:03] After he died. What was his last message. To his disciples. When they gathered together. After his resurrection.

[26:17] What was his last message. About the gospel. Go tell. Every creature. It's not a private event.

[26:30] It's not a private thing. It's public. The Christian church's job. Is to spread his gospel. Listen.

[26:42] If that world. Out there. Do not. Believe. In Christ. That is on their head.

[26:55] But listen. If that world. Out there. Do not. Hear. About. Christ. That's on the church's head.

[27:07] Because he said to us. Go. Tell. Every. Culture. This is not something.

[27:17] We keep quiet. This is not private. Between me and God. God. There's a public. Dimension to it. And our last word.

[27:33] Surely that we'll see here. Just now. Because. Christ. Rose. From the dead. There is hope. There is hope.

[27:46] There is no case. There is no situation. Hopeless. If you put Christ. Into it. Is there something. Trouble in you.

[27:58] Is there some worry you have. Is there some trauma. You get Christ. You put Christ. Into that situation. And there's hope.

[28:09] And I want to say something else. About hope. In the Bible. In the New Testament. Hope. Does not mean. What it means to us.

[28:19] In the Western world. In the 21st century. In the word hope. There's the idea. Of certainty. You can replace the word hope.

[28:32] In the New Testament. When you see it. Replace it with certain. The certainty. Of his return. He's coming back. He's coming back.

[28:45] Are you ready? Are you ready? Are you ready? It's absolutely. It's absolutely. It's absolutely. Certain.

[28:56] He's coming back. It's absolutely. Certain. That you. Will be. Forgiven. If you repent. And trust in him.

[29:08] That's not just. A mere. Well. Hope. It's a certainty. Because Christ. Rose from the dead. Doesn't matter. Who you are. Doesn't matter. What you've done.

[29:19] It doesn't matter. What condition. You're in. If you repent. And trust. Christ. It's certain. You'll be forgiven. It's absolutely.

[29:32] Certain. That you. Will be in heaven. If you believe. And follow him. That's the good news. That's the hope.

[29:43] That is a certainty. If you trust in him. And follow him. And believe in him. What a wonderful. Glorious. Message.

[29:55] The Christian messages. And especially. The message. And the truth. Of the resurrection. Of Christ. Jesus. I'll read the verses again.

[30:06] Now. If Christ. Is proclaimed. As raised. From the dead. How can some of you. Say there's no resurrection. Of the dead. But if there's no resurrection.

[30:18] Of the dead. Then not even Christ. Is raised. And. If. Christ. Has not. Been raised. Then our preaching.

[30:28] Is in vain. And your faith. Is vain. But Christ. Did. Rise. From the dead. And may God. The Holy Spirit.

[30:39] Make his word. Effectual. To every one of us. Let's bow our heads. Our. Father. In heaven.

[30:51] We pray. That you would take. The things of Christ. And make them ours. Unite us. In a living. Vital. Faith.

[31:02] To your dear son. The Lord Jesus. Hear us. In mercy. Answer us. In peace. Because we pray. In his name.

[31:13] For his sake. Amen. Amen. Now we'll.

[31:24] Conclude our. Service of worship. By singing from. Psalm 118. In the Scottish Psalter. That is.

[31:36] On page 398. Page 398. Of your praise book. Down at the bottom.

[31:46] Of the page. Verse 17. I shall not die. But live. And shall the works. Of God. Discover. The Lord.

[31:57] Has me. Chastised. Sore. But not to death. Given over. I will sing to. Get out to verse 22. That stone. Speaking of Christ.

[32:08] That stone. Is made. Head. Cornerstone. Which builders. Did despise. This is the doing. Of the Lord. And wondrous. In our eyes.

[32:18] Verses 17. To 23. In Psalm 118. To God's praise. I shall not die.

[32:31] But live. I shall. The words. Of the. book of heaven.

[32:44] For God. Caught the star. Lord, I mean justice and no, hold on to him till fire.

[33:02] O set thee open unto me the gifts of righteousness.

[33:21] Then will I enter with them that I the Lord will bless.

[33:37] This is the King of God, my years, that I shall shall enter in.

[33:56] Free me, I, please, for love be had, full of my safety been.

[34:15] The stone is made at cornerstone, which feather state is fine.

[34:34] This is the King of the Lord, and wondrous in our eyes.