On Easter morning, Resurrection Day, I preached on resurrection.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is a foundational truth of Christianity, belief in it is essential for salvation and its proclamation is evidence of our salvation.
Notes are below. The material is made available so that any may use it, adapt it and preach it.
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That if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord,
and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead,
you will be saved. Romans 10:9
Belief in the resurrection is essential for salvation
1) This truth was, and is, a foundational Christian truth
The fact of the resurrection has been a foundational Christian truth from the beginning, and was central to the proclamation of the Apostles and the early evangelists.
See 1 Corinthians 15:2-8
Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.
Another early creed? Died, buried, raised, appeared!
2) Believing this truth is essential for salvation
Was Romans 10:9 the earliest recorded church creed? Was it recited in their meetings or before baptism? Quoted by Paul it must have been very early indeed, probably recited by the apostles themselves.
See 1 Peter 3:21
.. and this water symbolises baptism that now saves you also- not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience towards God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand- with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.
Resurrection through Jesus. Because of his, and therefore our resurrection, serving him is not in vain.
1 Corinthians 15:14-17
And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.
1 Corinthians 15:21
For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.
1 Corinthians 15:55-58
Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain.
Galatians 1:1
Paul, an apostle- sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead
3) Proclaiming this truth is evidence of salvation
We begin doing this by baptism.
Baptism by immersion is a proclamation to the spectators of these truths, is a confession of the candidates own faith, is the inauguration of the new risen life of the believer founded on the truth of his resurrection and their ‘death’.
2 Timothy 2:8-13
Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God’s word is not chained. Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.
Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.
Since Jesus Christ is God his price is of infinite value, because he is a man he is able to represent us and take our place in the place of punishment.
Conclusion
See Romans 6:3-5
Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptised into Christ Jesus were baptised into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.
What is the point of being raised, able to live in newness of life, if we don’t do it?
The Truth, receive it, believe it, proclaim it.
