The Resurrection Of The Dead...Continued from page 1

Over four hundred of his freshly scrubbed friends, dressed in their best clothes, packed the pews and spilled into the aisles of Stanley's Funeral Home Chapel. Tears streamed down those tensed cheeks. Sobbing, even moaning, filled the air as I tried to talk about Bobby, death, and Jesus Christ to those teenagers, most of whom had never really stopped to give a serious thought to any of the three. I counted sixty-five cars driving bumper to bumper in the twelve-mile procession to the cemetery. Death comes at strange times and in random ways, and it causes us to think, at least momentarily, about the ultimate.

You and I don't like to talk about this. Few people really prepare for death. You and I live as if we will live forever. We collect material possessions as if we will carry them forever. How strange is this when one of the most certain facts about life is death. We can speed through life never giving it any thought. Momentarily, we may ponder its implications. Then, once again, we move on.

The British political leader, William Gladstone, once confronted a young man who wanted to go into law and government. The prime minister asked him what his dreams were. Bursting with ambition and energy, he replied, "First law. Then government." Asked Gladstone, "Then what?" "Service to my nation." "Then what?" queried Gladstone. "Perhaps fame and wealth." "Then what?" "I guess to retire and to live on what I have made." "Then what?" "What do you mean? I guess I'll die." "Then what?" was the query. There was complete silence. Then Gladstone said, "Young man, you had better go back and think life through."

Whether it be my friends who are battling cancer, or a homosexual friend who, through contraction of AIDS, has come back to a close personal relationship with Jesus Christ, or a pastor friend who shared with me his own close brush with death, or my own three or four close calls, there are constant reminders of our own vulnerability to death.

The Apostle Paul refuses to back off from this tough topic. First Corinthians, chapter 15, is as straightforward a confrontation with this theme as you will find in any literature. Last week we observed this straightforward declaration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Now Paul moves on to talk about you and me and what happens to us. Whereas to this point he has declared the resurrection of Jesus Christ, now he declares the resurrection of the dead.

First, Paul states seven facts you and I must confront if there is no resurrection.

Fact #1: Christ has not been raised.

He writes, "If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. . ." (1 Corinthians 15:13).

Fact #2: Our preaching is in vain.

The other religions of the world are not based on the resurrection of their founder. The other major religions of the world do not claim that their founder is God. Central to the Christian faith is the belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. If in fact He did not rise from the dead we have removed the central event of our faith. Christianity is not based upon a set of ethical principles which, if we follow them, will win the favor of God or the gods. Christianity is based on the fact that there is nothing we can do in our effort that will earn us God's favor. The Bible tells us that all of our righteousness falls short of His righteousness. For this reason, God became a man in the person of Jesus Christ to go to the cross for our sins. Through His life, death and resurrection, He rose triumphant over them, and He offers us the gift of His grace. You remove the resurrection, and you have removed the message of the Gospel. You might as well close the doors of the churches.