1. It Demands Your Attention
You can't disregard it. The resurrection of Jesus is not only well documented in the ancient manuscripts that make up the Bible, it has been talked about and believed in for the past 2000 years! That's how powerful it is. Something of such significance demands your attention. You need to either believe or not believe that it happened.
2. It Changes Your Life
If you believe Jesus died and resurrected from the dead, then you must believe He is who He claimed to be......the Son of God who died for your sins because of His unconditional love for you. There's a difference between simply believing from a factual, historical, academic standpoint, and believing from a inner-spiritual, personal standpoint. There's a difference between believing that Jesus died on a cross versus Jesus died on a cross "for me". That's because believing that He died for you personally, draws you in to a personal relationship with the Him. You begin seeking Jesus (through the Bible), finding out more about who He is and what He teaches. Then you progress to following Him, His teachings, and His ways. This changes the way you think and act. Once you take belief to the heart, it begins to change your life.
3. It Removes The Fear Of Death
Without the resurrection of Jesus, our faith would be futile, and we would be doomed to die, still in our sins (1 Corinthians 15:17). In other words, without the resurrection, the crucifixion would be void and meaningless because Jesus, who predicted His resurrection, would be a fraud. But, He did resurrect! Therefore, He is victorious, and we resurrect too! Not only after we die, but we also go through a death, burial, and resurrection in this life, spiritually (Colossians 2:12). Once we as believers with a repentant attitude are baptized, we bury our old self, and connected with Jesus, forgiven of our sins, and we rise to walk in a new life with Him. Once we are Christ Followers, we have no fear of death because we know that since He defeated death, we will too.
4. It Gives Hope
His resurrection gives us hope in this life and in the life to come. I think of hope, spiritually speaking, as an expectation that something in the future will turn out positive with God's hand involved. God is in control. Knowing that God had the power to resurrect Christ from the dead gives us hope that He has the power to do anything. Once we are in a loving Father/Child relationship with God, then His grace is upon us, and He listens to our requests through prayer, ultimately works things in our favor, and even in bad times, He will help us through, be there for us, and somehow, something positive will come out of it (Romans 8:28). Our faith in God, in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, is the basis of our hope.
Without the resurrection of Jesus, our faith would be futile, and we would be doomed to die, still in our sins (1 Corinthians 15:17). In other words, without the resurrection, the crucifixion would be void and meaningless because Jesus, who predicted His resurrection, would be a fraud. But, He did resurrect! Therefore, He is victorious, and we resurrect too! Not only after we die, but we also go through a death, burial, and resurrection in this life, spiritually (Colossians 2:12). Once we as believers with a repentant attitude are baptized, we bury our old self, and connected with Jesus, forgiven of our sins, and we rise to walk in a new life with Him. Once we are Christ Followers, we have no fear of death because we know that since He defeated death, we will too.
4. It Gives Hope
His resurrection gives us hope in this life and in the life to come. I think of hope, spiritually speaking, as an expectation that something in the future will turn out positive with God's hand involved. God is in control. Knowing that God had the power to resurrect Christ from the dead gives us hope that He has the power to do anything. Once we are in a loving Father/Child relationship with God, then His grace is upon us, and He listens to our requests through prayer, ultimately works things in our favor, and even in bad times, He will help us through, be there for us, and somehow, something positive will come out of it (Romans 8:28). Our faith in God, in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, is the basis of our hope.
5. It Provides Promise
The resurrection provides promise. Jesus promised that He would rise from the dead in 3 days, and His promise came true. He demonstrated His faithfulness. Now, in faith, hope, and trust, we know that His promises are trustworthy, and that His words are true. Not only can we count on the promises He gives for this life, but we can count on the promise that there is life after death. As believers, as Christ Followers, we can hold on to these promises - that there is hope, and peace, and joy to be found in this life. And that there is a Heaven, eternal life in paradise with Him, where we will be united with our loved ones who also have believed. Then, He will wipe away our tears, no more sorrow, no more pain, only joy and peace and love forever. (Revelation 21:3-5)
All this because Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and resurrected from the grave victorious. That's the Gospel message -- that's the Good News! Hallelujah!
The resurrection provides promise. Jesus promised that He would rise from the dead in 3 days, and His promise came true. He demonstrated His faithfulness. Now, in faith, hope, and trust, we know that His promises are trustworthy, and that His words are true. Not only can we count on the promises He gives for this life, but we can count on the promise that there is life after death. As believers, as Christ Followers, we can hold on to these promises - that there is hope, and peace, and joy to be found in this life. And that there is a Heaven, eternal life in paradise with Him, where we will be united with our loved ones who also have believed. Then, He will wipe away our tears, no more sorrow, no more pain, only joy and peace and love forever. (Revelation 21:3-5)
All this because Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and resurrected from the grave victorious. That's the Gospel message -- that's the Good News! Hallelujah!
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