Key Scripture:  “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).

What makes Christianity different from other world religions? We serve the God that resurrects.

Jesus—The God that Resurrects

“Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?” (John 11:25-26).

Hinduism divides people into a caste system of four groups, based on skin color. The lowest level has no hope of salvation and cannot read the sacred books. With Christianity, there is hope for everyone and anyone that obeys the Gospel.

Buddhism: A young man, of wealthy decent, left his palace for the first time when he was twenty-nine years of age. He was astonished by the suffering he saw, sat under a tree until he discovered what he believed was the reason for, and answer to, suffering. He became known as Buddha meaning: the “enlightened one.” He died; never to rise again.

Confucius was born around 550 B. C. He died at 73 and his body is buried in a tomb in China. He did not rise from the dead; neither did he promise he would.

Islam’s leader, Mohammed, was born in 570 A.D. He couldn’t read or write so he recited the Koran for others to pen down. He died in 632 A. D. and his grave is in Medina, Saudi Arabia.

But, Jesus lived, died, was buried, and rose again!

Gospel—Good News from the God that Resurrects

The gospel is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Christians—Given Hope by the God that Resurrects

I’m sure you’ve noticed the words often used in burials: “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust: in sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

“But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.  For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words” (1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:1).

People will live in eternity somewhere. Your destination depends on your obedience or disobedience to the gospel. There is a heaven to gain; and a hell to avoid. “Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation” (John 5:28-29).

The hope of Christianity is there is life after death; eternal life in Jesus Christ. If there is no resurrection our preaching, and living as we do, is all in vain. “Having [the same] hope in God which these themselves hold and look for, that there is to be a resurrection both of the righteous and the unrighteous (the just and the unjust). Therefore I always exercise and discipline myself [mortifying my body, deadening my carnal affections, bodily appetites, and worldly desires, endeavoring in all respects] to have a clear (unshaken, blameless) conscience, void of offense toward God and toward men” (Acts 24:15-16, AMP).

God came wrapped in human flesh. He grew. He walked. He ate. He reasoned. He smiled. He wept. He slept. He suffered. He died. He rose! He went before us. He shows the way. We follow. We are born. We grow. We walk. We eat. We reason. We smile. We weep. We sleep. We suffer. We die. We shall live again!

“Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised…then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” (1 Corinthians 15:51-55).