THE RESURRECTION REVISITED
by Don Robson
There is a disturbing trend in these last days to diminish the
glory of the Christian faith. Of course it is a part of the one
world initiative, one world government and one world religion.
Prominent Christians like Oprah Winfrey, the President of the
United States and Tony Blair, the former prime minister of Great
Britain, all have taken the position that Christ is not the only
way to God. In fact, on a recent interview with the CRC, Tony
Blair spoke of his faith, his conversion to the Roman Catholic
church and his work to find common elements to the world's
religions to bring about a reconciliation and a unity among them.
Even while this is going on, Christians are dying in Iraq and
recently in Egypt as they are attacked by bombers while they are
worshipping in church or, in Egypt's case, while leaving church.
We know that Satan has been unrelenting in his attacks on
Christ and His people since he tried to have the baby Jesus
killed in Bethlehem.
So, as of to-day, what makes Christ the stumbling block to the
plans of the one worlders? It is the resurrection and the
resulting promise of eternal life with Christ as King, and High
Priest after the order of Melchizedek and Prince of Peace.
The resurrection is unique to Christianity and is the foundation
of our faith. Jesus told Nicodemus two things; first, no man goes
to heaven but the Son of Man and second, we must be born again.
The church interprets the born again part as a spiritual
awakening making us new creatures having the Comforter within us.
But, in my opinion, Jesus was referring to the resurrection as
rebirth when we can expect to inherit bodies like His glorious
body, being filled with His spirit, His laws being written on our
new hearts of flesh and in our minds. That is why He says that we
will not be teaching others of the Lord, for we will all know Him
and His glory will fill the earth.
This truth was known from the beginning following the fall of
Adam.
Job's faith is recorded in the oldest book of the Bible. Job 19:
25 - 27, "For I know that my Redeemer lived, and that He shall
stand at the latter day upon the earth; And though after my skin
worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God;
Whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold and not
another; though my reins shall be consumed within me."
Then we have King David's testimony roughly one thousand years
before Christ's resurrection. We read in Psalm 17: 15, "As for
me, I will behold Thy face in righteousness; I shall be
satisfied, when I awake, with Thy likeness."
Jesus claimed to be the resurrection! Did He back up this claim?
Yes, He did so in two ways. First, He raised Lazarus from the
grave in the great demonstration of His power. After seeing this
miracle, the attending Jews were determined to put Jesus to
death. You could say, He signed His own death warrant by showing
this supernatural power. Second, He forecast His own death.
During the forty days following his resurrection, He was seen by
His disciples and as Paul mentions in one of his letters, by five
hundred others who were still living at the time.
St. Paul made the resurrection the corner stone of his preaching.
We are all aware of his statements that, if Christ be not risen,
then we are the most miserable of men because there would be no
resurrection for us and we should die in our sins. It seems
almost redundant to write it here, since it is fundamental to all
Christians, that Christ died to save sinners. He was the perfect
sacrifice, being unblemished by sin Himself, He took on our sins
and endured the justice and wrath of God, allowing God to show us
mercy and giving truth to the prophecy of Isaiah, "Though your
sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they be
as crimson, they shall be as wool."
Jesus made it very clear that no man taketh His life but He laid
it down, a sacrifice. He explained to His disciples, "No man hath
greater love than this, that he lay down his life for his
friends." And in that last supper he even explained to them how
they were not his servants (because they did not have a master
servant relationship) but His friends. Yes, this is the love that
passes understanding. And what did Jesus say unto us? "If ye love
me, keep my commandments". And He summarized them for us; "Love
your God with all your heart, soul and strength and love your
neighbour as yourself". Yes, Jesus is the God of love.
Finally, John, in his gospel, goes to great lengths to establish
the fact that God sent Jesus to rescue us from sin so we might be
reconciled to God. He emphatically states that if we believe not
in the Son, we have not the Father. But if we believe in the Son,
we have the Father. For all those who do not believe in Christ
Jesus, their god or gods are not the God of Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob, the Creator of heaven, earth and all that is in them, both
visible and invisible. Like Paul said, they are the most
miserable of men having no redeemer from sin.
We must defend our faith vigorously, trying to bring all people
to our God while resisting the temptation to allow our faith to
be rolled into a universal religion with no Christ Jesus.
Jesus proclaimed. "I am the way, the truth and the life; no man
comes to the Father except by Me." We better believe it!!
..........
From "Thy Kingdom Come" - April 2011 - a magazine of The
Association of the Covenant People, Burnaby, B.C. Canada.
|
No comments:
Post a Comment