by Dennis and Barbara Rainey
April 4
The Hinge of Christianity 1 Corinthians 15:16,17
For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.
I came across a fascinating list of questions that all have the same answer. Can you guess what it is?What gives a widow courage as she stands beside a fresh grave?What is the ultimate hope of the cripple, the amputee, the abused or the burn victim?How can parents of a brain-damaged or physically handicapped child keep from living their entire lives totally and completely depressed?Why would anyone who is blind or deaf or paralyzed be encouraged when he or she thinks of the life beyond? Where do the thoughts of a young couple go when they finally recover from the grief of losing their baby?When a family receives the tragic news that a little daughter was found dead or the dad was killed in a plane crash or the son overdosed on drugs, what single truth becomes its whole focus?What is the final answer to pain, mourning, senility, insanity, terminal diseases, sudden calamities and fatal accidents?The answer to each of these questions is: The hope God gives us because of the bodily resurrection Jesus Christ offers to all who believe in Him.
The reality is, Christianity hinges on the Resurrection. If Christ is who He claimed to be, and He didn't come back from the dead, then as Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:16-18, our faith is worthless and "we are of all men most to be pitied" (v. 19).
The pivotal point in all of human history is the resurrection of Christ. The one thing that separates Christianity from other religions is that God conquered death. And sin-my sin, your sin-was atoned for.
He is risen. Yes, Christ is risen indeed.
Prayer:
That God will fill you with the hope of the Resurrection.
Discuss: How has the resurrection of Christ affected your life? What evidence can you give for the Resurrection?