Either You Believe In Jesus' Resurrection, Or You're Not A Christian

We already walked through the various eyewitness accounts of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and read through them in order.
We've already seen the arguments against the resurrection and defended the historicity of this event.

But now we come to the crux of the matter - Is it really important to believe in Jesus' bodily resurrection from the dead? I'm not a fan of sneaking up on anyone...so the title of this article should make it clear where I stand on this. I firmly believe that it's only faith in Jesus' rising from the dead that makes one a Christian.

Why is faith in the resurrection so critical? Here are four biblical reasons:

#1 - Jesus' Resurrection Proved Who He Really Was

Jesus was not just a good Teacher...He couldn't have been only that. In the words of C.S. Lewis, Jesus was either a liar, a lunatic or the Lord. Why? Because Jesus made some extraordinary claims about Himself. If any of those claims weren't true - such as His claim to be the "resurrection and the life" - then He was either crazy or He was lying.

So what are we to make out of Jesus' claim in Matthew 16:21 that He would "suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised on the third day." Jesus clearly believed - and taught - that He would die and then rise from the dead three days later. In fact, we see in Matthew 27:62-66 that the Roman guards were put at the tomb because of Jesus prophesying His own resurrection.

It was Jesus' resurrection that sealed His identity as the Messiah. The Old Testament prophesied that the coming Messiah would be cut off for His people, but His body wouldn't decay in the grave. If Jesus didn't rise from the dead, then He couldn't have been the Messiah.

Jesus' resurrection also sealed His identity as the Son of God. Romans 3:3-4 says, "...concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead."

You see, Jesus' resurrection is what sets us apart from so many religions. Buddha, Mohammed, Joseph Smith, Emperor Constantine....all of the founders of the various world religions are dead and gone. These religious are as powerless as those men's lifeless bodies. But Jesus' grave is empty!

Jesus is Who He claimed to be...and He proved this by rising from the dead!

#2 - Faith In Jesus' Resurrection is What Brings Salvation

Too many believers interpret the incredible passage of Romans 10:9 this way:

"If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is your Lord, and believe in your heart that He died for your sins, you will be saved."

But this is not what the verse says...and that is not the path to salvation!

No, read the words of Romans 10:9 for yourself and pay attention to what it actually says:

"that if you confess with your mouth the LORD Jesus, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved."

All too often we focus on Jesus' death in our place...and leave out what He did after He died It's not faith in Jesus' death on the cross that saves us. It's faith in His rising from the dead three days later. Romans 10:9 proves the title of this article: If you don't believe in Jesus' bodily resurrection, then you are not saved!

#3 - Jesus' Resurrection Brought the Power to Live a New Life

Romans 6:4 "Therefore we ere buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life."

Jesus' death removed the penalty of sin that was hanging over our head. He took our sin upon Himself and opened the door for our forgiveness. This was the amazing power of the cross...we died with Him!

However, it was the power of His resurrection that completes our salvation. Because, in His resurrection, we've been raised to a new life. In Jesus' resurrection, we've been made into new creations; old things have passed away, and now everything has been made new!

We see this again in Galatians 2:12, "...buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, Who raised Him from the dead."

So you see, our faith in Jesus' resurrection brings about a resurrection in us. In Him, we've been raised up to a brand new life. Empowered by the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead, we can now live a righteous life - free from the power of sin!

#4 - Jesus' Resurrection is the Guarantee of Our Resurrection

As Paul delivered an in-depth teaching of Jesus' resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15, He delivered this powerful statement in verses 17-19, "And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable."

Paul clearly declared that the resurrection to come - that is the rising of saints who have died and the rapture of the church - is directly connected to Jesus' rising from the dead. That is to say, the same power that brought life into Jesus' body and raised it up will also bring life into our bodies and raise them up.

Jesus' resurrected and glorified body is the precursor of the change will take place in us. As 1 John 3:2 says, "When wee see Him, we shall be like Him."

Returning to the Resurrection

I believe the modern church has lost this message. For some reason, either intentionally or unintentionally, we have taken the main message of the New Testament church and exchanged it for something....different. 

Instead of clearly teaching about Jesus as the risen Lord and Savior of the world, we've watered the gospel down to a weaker form. We've started teaching that "Jesus died for our sins, and now He's alive in our hearts."

Yes, He did die for our sins. Yes, He does live in us through the Holy Spirit. But you're missing something important here: Jesus didn't stay dead! He's not like your dead relatives that "live on in your hearts".

Jesus is alive and well...and physically at the right hand of the Father.

Let's not lose sight of this.

Let's not forget that Jesus death wasn't the end.

Let's not forget that there were forty-three more days to His earthly story after the crucifixion.

Let's not relegate the story of the resurrection to one service a year. 

We need to get back to the message that carried power in the New Testament church..."Jesus was declared to be Lord by His resurrection from the dead!"