What Is Important About The Resurrection?

In 2001 the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) surveyed 1000 Britons asking if they believed in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The survey revealed that one third of the British people believed in the bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus. In the survey 43% of the Welch people said they believed in a historical resurrection while 33% of the English believed and 39% of the Scots responded in the affirmative. The Bishop of Durham, Tom Wright, one of Britain’s great theologians and an apologist for the resurrection was pleasantly surprised, stating that this was a major moment regarding Christianity in Great Britain. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/1274044.stm)

His words proved to be true because in 2006. A survey of 1100 people was taken and found that 57% of the people surveyed believed in a historical bodily resurrection. Tom Wright was again interviewed stating that this shows a healthy view of the resurrection. Paul Woolley, the director of Theos, a public theological think tank, said that this shows British society is not as secular as was originally thought. The survey also revealed a troubling underline issue; those answering the survey in an affirmative in 2006 also believed there was not a great need to belong to a local church. (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article3555502.ece)

At another time we will break down what these surveys are saying underneath but right now let’s look at a simple fact…most people believe in a historical, bodily resurrected Jesus. The apostle Paul wrote under the direction of the Holy Spirit in 1st Corinthians 15 that if the resurrection did not happen then the faith of those who believed was in “vain” or empty (v. 14) and “worthless” or fruitless (v. 17). The apostles would be considered “false witnesses” (v. 15). And states in verse 19, “If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.” In other words if the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ is not true then the world is justified in shaking its finger at us and refuting what we believe. The more scholars do to refute the resurrection the more it has to be defended. The more it is defended the greater the possibility there is to denounce the lies about the resurrection and for the public to see that in fact the resurrection is real, historical, and there is evidence regarding it. Allow me to make one bold statement…you cannot be a Christian and not believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Paul wrote in Romans 10:8-10, “But what does it say? ‘The WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR HEART”-that is, the word of faith which we are preaching,” (v. 8). And what did the apostles, including Paul, preach? “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.” (vv. 9-10). It is not enough to have a Savior who was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, and was crucified for our sins, in our place. The resurrection is what is necessary to complete the work of salvation on our behalf.

The resurrection proves three things. First all men are sinners and cannot save themselves. We are helpless spiritually dead people in need of a resurrection ourselves. Second, it shows that Jesus Christ is unique. He claimed to be both God and man. He is God come as a man. He is totally human and totally God at the same time. Third, there is hope which is found in His defeat of death and a judgment which is sealed for all who wish not to repent and believe.

My question for you this Easter is do you believe in the historical, bodily resurrected Lord Jesus? Have you placed you hope and trust in Him alone turning away from your sins (repentance)? The choice is yours. If you have placed your trust in this crucified, risen Savior then you need to go to church this Sunday and worship Him. If you don’t belong to a church you need to find one and begin to worship Him on a weekly basis. You see the fact is that every Sunday is to be a celebration of His resurrection and that celebration is to be done publicly with others. If you live in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and do not have a place to worship then Ferguson Road Baptist Church in Dallas would love to have you as one of her guests. If you have not placed your eternal hope in the Lord Jesus Christ please simply turn from your sin and turn to Him and confess your need for salvation to Him, believing He is the only way to eternal life.

Have a happy Easter,

Steven

A Dream Come True

This is a dream come true. Blogging! Wow! I hope you all will forgive my informality but it will take some time to work on this. Be Devoted Ministries is a ministry based on the idea of helping people become more devoted to the God of Heaven through the correct understanding of His word. Please do not get me wrong, I understand that I am human and in some cases there is no way I could have the final word on the more debated parts of the Bible. From time to time I may give devotionals, ask controversial questions and make a statement about something which I feel very strongly about. I will also post links to websites which I will title "My Friends." Please understand that some of the people hosting these websites are not really my friends (even though some may be) these are just websites I find helpful and encouraging.
There are four rules which I urge everybody responding to me to meet. 1) No cursing, swearing or using immoral speech. If you want to discuss something with me you have to be respectful. I will not respond to anything disrespectful. My thinking is that a person with any intelligence will think about what they are saying and the way they are saying it. 2) Be considerate. I realize that I do not have all the answers and from time to time I will have to admit being wrong. Having said that I would like to be treated in the same manner you would like to be treated...appropriately! 3) When I say a debate is closed then I will not respond to any questions or disagreements to that subject unless it comes up again in another blog. Please respect this as well. 4) If you are constantly in the mode of breaking these rules I will ignore you and block you. I want to have a lively, open, public dialogue about things which concern us.
There may even be times when I will post something and a response is not necessary. If you wish to respond feel free, just realize I probably will not respond back. At this moment I may not place anything out here but once a month, I have a life, and you'll learn more about me as we go. So here goes our adventure together.

God Bless,

Steven