Resurrection Guarantees

Transcript

GRM 1052
04/24/2011
Resurrection Guarantees
Selected Verses
Gil Rugh


What a privilege it is to focus attention on the fact that we have a Savior who is alive, He is living today, He is seated in the glories of heaven at the right hand of His Father and we have the promise of the word of God that He is coming again. Some day He will return to earth in power and great glory and establish a kingdom over which He will rule and reign forever. And all of those who have come to salvation through faith in Him will share in that eternal kingdom.

We have an event like Easter where so much of the world joins in celebrating a special holiday, it's easy for the true significance of what is being remembered to be somehow lost or washed out in all the celebration. That's true even for churches. We have special programs, we put out banners, we celebrate Christ is risen. But do we really understand what that means, why it is so important, what makes this an even worthy of celebrating. What is its importance to me as an individual, beyond all the activities that go on? What really is the significance of the resurrection of Jesus Christ? I want to focus just on three aspects of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, three assurances of the resurrection. What does the resurrection mean? We want to look at three assurances or guarantees of Christ's resurrection from the dead.

We'll start in the book of Romans, chapter 4. For our regular studies on Sunday morning at Indian Hills we've been going through the book of Romans. And here we have the unfolding of the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel is God's good news, the message of the good news of God's salvation provided in His Son, Jesus Christ. And the resurrection is a key aspect of that. The first assurance that the resurrection brings to us is that the resurrection is the seal of a finished work. Just look at the last verse in Romans 4. Verse 25, He who was delivered over because of our transgressions and was raised because of our justification. The resurrection occurred because of our justification. Christ had to be delivered over to crucifixion and death because of our transgressions. But He was raised from the dead because of our justification. The word justification comes from the same Greek word that is translated righteousness, a form of the word righteousness. And as Paul uses it in Romans he talks about justification which is our being declared righteous by a holy God. And Jesus Christ was raised from the dead because what was necessary for us to be declared righteous by a holy God had been accomplished.

Come back to Romans 1. Paul began this letter to the Romans in verse 1 by saying he had been set apart by God for the gospel of God. He had been set apart by God for the unique role and responsibility for proclaiming good news from God. So down in verse 15 he said, I am eager to preach the gospel to you who are at Rome. That's what Paul had devoted his life to, going around and telling people about the good news from God. Then in verse 16 he says, for I am not ashamed of the gospel. For it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it, in the gospel, the righteousness of God. We talk about the righteousness of God, God's justification where He can declare righteous sinful people. In it, in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed. How can you learn about the righteousness of God? You come to understand God's good news and the message of His good news. In it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, the righteous man shall live by faith.

Then Paul proceeds to talk about the wrath of God that has been manifested from heaven. The wrath of God, verse 18, is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. And for the next few chapters in Romans he talks about man's sin, our unrighteousness, our guilt which makes us the objects of God's wrath. And that includes all of us. That wrath was displayed against sin, it's unfolded in chapter 1. Then he carries on into chapter 2 because some religious people like the Jews thought they would be exempt from the righteousness of God because they were religious. But he wants to make clear that being religious, very religious, earnestly religious, regularly religious cannot cause you to be delivered from the wrath of God. Because we are told in verse 11, there is no partiality with God. God will not judge religious people one way and non-religious people another way. There is no partiality with God.

Some day, verse 16 says, there is coming a day when according to my gospel. The good news from God that Paul is preaching includes the fact that God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus. We'll talk about that a little bit. So we have men as sinners, all humanity included as sinners, none excepted.

Come over to Romans 3:9, we don't have time to work through the details of what Paul has done to prove this point, but note the conclusion in verse 9. What then? Are we better than they? We Jews better than the Gentiles, in this context. Not at all, for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks, non-Jews, are all under sin. In fact verse 10 says, there is none righteous, no not one. We have a problem. We're going to stand to be judged before a holy God who is perfectly righteous and requires of us perfect righteousness. But then he unfolds and makes clear to us as part of his good new that there is not one of us who is righteous. And yet we will have to stand before Him as a God who is impartial and pours out His wrath on all who are unrighteous. It's a terrible situation. Every single person is in this precarious position of being under the wrath of God, destined for judgment by a holy God who has made clear He will judge without partiality every individual and pour out His wrath for eternity on the unrighteous.

The hope is give as you move into Romans 3:21, but now apart from the law, trying to keep the Law, the Ten Commandments and so on, the righteousness of God has been manifested, revealed, made known. Verse 22, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. Remarkable, God says He has provided righteousness, not only the basis of your works, your activity, your trying your best, your being religious, joining this church or another church or religious group. It is the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. This is necessary, for there is no distinction. God's righteousness is provided without distinction for all. Why? Verse 23, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Every single person has sinned, there is none righteous. So God has provided righteousness for all, made it available to all who will place their faith in Jesus Christ. And everyone needs it because everyone is a sinner.

Then he elaborated on that in Romans 4 using Abraham from the Old Testament as an example of a person who believed what God said and God credited it to him as righteousness. So you have the statement drawn from the Old Testament in Genesis 15 in Romans 4:3. What does the scripture say? Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. How does a man who is a sinner, unrighteous be declared righteous by a holy and impartial God? Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. Well that's interesting, but Abraham lived 4,000 years ago. What about us? Well Romans 4:22 says, therefore it was also credited to him as righteousness. He repeats what he has said earlier about how righteousness was credited to Abraham. Then he tells us in verse 23, now not for his sake only was it written that it was credited to him, but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.

Do you know why we are told about Abraham believing God and having it credited to his account as righteousness? God will do the same thing for us if we believe what He has done. He has raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now you understand why Jesus Christ died. Look at verse 25, He was delivered over because of our transgressions.

Turn over to Romans 6:23, for the wages of sin is death. That tells you why in Romans 4:25 Christ was delivered over because of our transgressions. Sadly, people think that by going to church they can become acceptable to God, by being baptized they can become acceptable to God, by taking communion or the mass or whatever they refer to it they can become acceptable to God. You understand the penalty for sin is death. That's why Romans 4:25 says Christ was delivered over because of our transgressions. Why the Son of God left heaven, was born into the human race, then was crucified on the cross. Why was He dying on the cross? He was dying there as a substitute to pay the penalty for your sin and my sin. He had no sin of His own. But the Bible tells us He bore our sins in His body on the cross so that through faith in Him we could experience forgiveness of sins. Isn't it amazing? He paid the penalty, then when I place my faith in Him and believe that I am a sinner and He died to pay the penalty for my sin, God credits His righteousness to me.

So that's the point of the last part of verse 25. He was raised because of our justification. Do you know what the resurrection is? It's the seal of a finished work because righteousness had been provided for sinful men. He was raised from the dead, God's seal stamp of finished on the work of Christ. So that anyone now, anywhere who hears the good news that they are sinners under the wrath of God, but Jesus Christ died to pay the penalty for their sin, and placed their faith in Jesus Christ experiences forgiveness and God declares them to have the righteousness of Christ. He credits them with righteousness, He declares them righteous. It's an impartial act. He doesn't give one person a step up on another. We are all sinners under His wrath, under His condemnation. And whoever believes in Christ will be declared righteous on the basis their penalty has been paid for them by the death of Christ.

Turn over to Hebrews 10. In contrast to other priests like existed in Israel in the Old Testament, we're told in Hebrews 10:12, those priests offer sacrifices all the time. That's what priests do today, men who are called priests, they represent you to God supposedly. But we're told in verse 12, but He, Christ, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time sat down at the right hand of God. Following Christ's resurrection from the dead He ascended to His Father in heaven and was seated at the right hand of God the Father. Do you know what that indicates and signifies? Everything that needs to be done for time and eternity to provide salvation for sinful people has been done. He sat down. The Old Testament, when the priest went about his activity, there was no seat, no chair provided for him because his work was never done. Well when Christ offered the sacrifice for sin and was raised from the dead, it was all over, it was finished. Then He ascended to heaven, took his seat at the right hand of the Father to wait until the time when He would return to earth and establish His kingdom on the earth. There is nothing else to be done for salvation. You can quit working, trying to earn it. If I could tell you by joining our church you could be saved and be declared righteous by God, we'd have to have 100 services a week. But it would be a lie because the penalty for sin is death, not church membership. And you can only be saved by faith in Jesus Christ.

Come back to Romans 10. Paul is burdened because he is a Jew, he is burdened for fellow Jews. And so he begins chapter 10 by saying brethren, my heart's desire, my prayer to God for them, for the Jews, is for their salvation. For I testify about them, they have a zeal for God but not in accordance with knowledge. Sad, many religious people are like the Jews, they have a zeal for God, they are earnest and zealous for their religion. But it's in ignorance. For not knowing about God's righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God. That's the tragedy. People are trying to be religious. Churches are full today, people think that by doing something good or keeping the Ten Commandments, or getting baptized or whatever religious activity they go through, that will make them more acceptable to God. And really what we are trying to do is make ourselves righteous, to establish our own righteousness. And really that means people don't know about God's righteousness. You can't establish your own righteousness, you are already a sinner under condemnation. We all are. There is none righteous, that's God's verdict, that's God's testimony. So by what you do you cannot make yourself righteous.

Not knowing about God's righteousness but seeking to establish their own, people don't subject themselves to God's righteousness. How do you subject yourself to God's righteousness? By recognizing that Jesus Christ is God's plan of salvation, plan of righteousness. I turn from my own selfish attempts and place my faith in Him.

Come down to verse 8, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness. Righteousness. That's what we need—righteousness from God that is credited to our account when we believe in Jesus Christ.

So the resurrection of Christ is the seal of a finished work. He was raised because of our justification, because what was necessary for us to be declared righteous by a holy God had been done. Now that becomes applied to an individual when they place their faith in Jesus Christ. That's the first assurance of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

A second assurance of the resurrection of Jesus Christ is it's the pledge of a coming resurrection. Turn over to I Corinthians 15. Now you understand the city of Corinth was a Greek city, a city in Greece. The church had been established there. The Greeks did not believe, have any concept of the resurrection of the physical body. They believed in the immortality of the soul, but they did not believe that the body would have a future resurrection. That kind of thinking had infiltrated among some of those who were members of the church at Corinth. So Paul says in verse 12, now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? Jesus Christ became a man in every way. And part of our humanity is a subsequent resurrection for all people. Now if you preach the resurrection of Christ, how can some say there is no resurrection? If there is no resurrection of the dead, not only Christ has been raised. The resurrection of Christ is part and parcel of the resurrection of men and women.

Verse 14, if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. You see without the resurrection of Christ there is no purpose in believing in Christ. If there is not a bodily resurrection of Christ from the dead, then there is no salvation in Christ. You might as well get on with your life, there is no hope. If the dead are not raised, verse 16 says, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless, you are still in your sins. So the resurrection of Christ, back to our first point, it is the seal of a finished work. And you take away the resurrection of Christ, there is no finished work of salvation, there is no Savior. But now, verse 20 says, Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who are asleep. The resurrection of Christ is a guarantee of a future resurrection. And that has special significance to those of us who have placed our faith in Jesus Christ and been credited with the righteousness of God. He's the firstfruits.

The firstfruits, back in the Old Testament, Leviticus 23, the Jews would bring the first of the harvest in and present it before the Lord. They were the firstfruits. That was the evidence, the guarantee of a coming harvest. Jesus Christ's resurrection is the guarantee of our coming resurrection. For since by a man came death, by man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. All of us are in Adam because we are all descended from Adam, the first man. All of those who believe are in Jesus Christ and they are guaranteed a resurrection, a special resurrection, a resurrection partaking of Christ's life and the kingdom He will establish, is what he goes on.

So it's a special blessing and promise to us who have believed in Christ that there is a coming resurrection. But you'll note that this is in the context that part and parcel of being a human being is the assurances. There will be a resurrection from the dead. Now the Bible indicates that there is a coming resurrection that will have two parts. It's called a resurrection to life and a resurrection to judgment. Believers in Jesus Christ will be resurrected to life, to share life in the presence of God for eternity as part of the kingdom over which Christ will rule forever and ever. But those who have not believed in Christ will also be raised from the dead to be judged by God, we'll talk about that in a moment, and sentenced to separation from God for eternity in hell.

For those who believe in Christ there is life. Come back to John 14. John 14 is part of a section talking about Jesus' time with His disciples, the Last Supper, His teaching them certain things to prepare them for His crucifixion which is only hours away. In John 14, and we're going to look at verse 19. After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me. Christ is going to be crucified, He's going to be raised from the dead but the world won't see Him anymore. But He's going to appear to His disciples as proof that the resurrection was real. Remember Thomas, we call him doubting Thomas because he says, unless I can see the nail prints and the wound of the spear, I won't believe. Then he saw the resurrected Christ and called Him, my Lord and My God. Verse 19, the world won't see Me but you will. Now note the end of verse 19, because I live, you will live also. That's the promise, special promise to us as believers.

Come back to John 5:28, do not marvel at this for an hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice and will come forth. Everyone resurrected. Those who did good to a resurrection of life, those who did evil to a resurrection of judgment. You'll note the dividing line there. You say, wait a minute, that's what they did. Well what you do is a manifestation of what's in your heart. Jesus said out of the heart proceed all kinds of sinful activities. But when He changes a heart and makes you new, now out of that heart come things that are consistent with the character of God. It's a manifestation of what we are in our basic character, whether we've been transformed or not. You know there is a resurrection for everyone, it's either a resurrection of life or a resurrection of judgment.

So the resurrection of Christ is the pledge of a coming resurrection for those of us who are believers in Jesus Christ. That is a great hope and a great anticipation—the transformation of these physical bodies into bodies of glory. For those who have not believed in Christ it is a resurrection to ultimate doom.

So that brings us to the third and final thing we want to say about the resurrection, an assurance of the resurrection. And that is that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the guarantee of a coming judgment. Turn over to Acts 17. And in Acts 17 we have the historical account of Paul traveling in Greece. He comes to the city of Athens and the Greeks prided themselves in wisdom. And we still read the Greek philosophers today, and they loved to debate things. And they prided themselves in their wisdom. Paul went to the Areopagus and he said, verse 22, men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects. And they were religious and they had a diversity of religious activity. For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship I found an altar with this inscription: To an Unknown God. The Greeks had a variety of gods and they surely didn't leave one out because there is nothing worse than making statues to honor all your gods and then forgetting one because he would be offended and then he might make life hard for you. So they had a statue to the unknown god in case they missed one. Paul says, what you worship in ignorance, I proclaim to you. You don't really know God, you don't know who He is, you don't know what He is like. He is a living being, He created everything, He created you. He's not like a piece of stone. There are people today who are bowing down before crosses or physical objects. God is a living person, He's the creator of everything. We are created in His image, Paul says, you oughtn't to think He's like these gods you've created.

Then he says in verse 30, therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance. God has been patient. God is now declaring to all people everywhere, no exclusions here, all everywhere that they should repent. That includes these very religious people. You must repent. What does that mean? That means to change your mind, to turn from your sin and your false worship, false religious activity. And turn to the living God, recognizing your sin and guilt and placing your faith in the Savior that He has provided. Why should you do this? Look at verse 31, because He has fixed a day. Note how God has determined it. He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness. There is our word. He is a righteous God who will judge righteously. He will judge the world in righteousness. Through a man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the guarantee of God that judgment is coming. This is His proof. He will judge the world and every single person in the world in righteousness. You know we put banners and signs out, the day of resurrection, Christ is risen. Maybe we ought to put under that, judgment is coming. Because the resurrection of Jesus Christ means ...........

I listened to a religious leader being interviewed on a news program this week. And they asked him, what does Good Friday mean? He said, it's more than Good Friday, it's the whole week. It means service and we learn to serve one another. A man lost and without a clue. What does it mean? It means judgment is coming. God has fixed a day in which He will judge you and me in righteousness because remember He is impartial, we saw in Romans 2. He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness. That's the frightening thing because God has said in His evaluation, there is none righteous. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. And I have to some day stand before a righteous God and be judged with a righteous judgment, and He's already declared me to be unrighteous and said that the penalty for my unrighteousness, my sin, is death.

And you understand what death is in the Bible, it is separation. When you die physically the Bible says your spirit leaves your body. The body without the spirit is dead, James 2:26. Spiritual death is when you are separated form God while you are living. Ephesians 2 says we were dead in our trespassed and sins, you are a walking dead person because you are separated from God, you have no relationship to Him. You may be pretending you have one, but you don't. And spiritual death, eternal death, the second death is separation from God for eternity in hell. You will never cease to exist, I will never cease to exist. We will dwell in these bodies resurrected in an eternal heaven or an eternal hell. Judgment will come.

Come back to Hebrews 9:26, but now once at the consummation of the ages He, referring to Christ, has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. This is where we started. The resurrection of Christ is the seal of a finished work, He has done what is necessary by His sacrificing Himself with His death on the cross to deal with the issue of sin and provide righteousness for us. And inasmuch, note this, as it is appointed for men to die once and after this, judgment. Judgment. So Christ having been ofered once to bear the sins of many will appear a second time when He comes to earth without reference to sin, but to bring final salvation. It is appointed unto men once to die, after this comes judgment.

Come over to Revelation 20. Here we have resurrection, the first resurrection and the second resurrection. Verse 4, then I saw thrones and they sat on them and judgment was given to them and I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus, because of the word of God. Those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, not received his mark on their forehead or their hand. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. Remember we saw in John 5 a resurrection to life and a resurrection to judgment. The first resurrection, this is the first resurrection, is the resurrection to life. A thousand years later, verse 11, then I saw a Great White Throne and him who sat upon it from whose presence earth and heaven fled away. There was no place found for them. I saw the dead, both small and great standing before the throne and the books were opened. And another book was opened which is the Book of Life and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books according to their works. But they are not saved by their works.

Look down to verse 14, death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And that resurrection body that an unbeliever receives, just like a believer receives a resurrection body that is able to enjoy the glory of God for an eternity, the unbeliever receives a resurrection body which is able to endure the sufferings of the wrath of God in hell for an eternity. Death and Hades, all those who had died apart from faith in Christ, they were in Hades, they are thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. Final separation from God for eternity. If anyone's name was not found written in the Book of Life he was thrown into the lake of fire. Earlier in the book of Revelation it talked about the Lamb's Book of Life containing the names of those who belong to the Lamb of God. Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, John the Baptist said in introducing Jesus Christ to the nation Israel. How do you get into the Lamb's Book of Life? Through faith in Jesus Christ.

So you see these events tie together. We are sinners, we are the objects of God's wrath, He has declared us unrighteous, guilty and worthy of the punishment of a holy and righteous God. But He is a God of love and mercy so He Himself had His own Son come to this earth and suffer and die to pay the penalty for sin. And He did. So the resurrection of Christ, great celebration. He was raised because what was necessary for us to be declared righteous by a holy God had been done because He was delivered over to the cross because of our transgressions. He paid the penalty for me so that by simple faith in Him I can experience God's forgiveness and become the recipient of God's righteousness.

The resurrection of Christ has another assuring fact—it's the guarantee of a coming resurrection. And for those who have believed in Christ, it is a resurrection to a body prepared to enjoy the glory of God's presence forever. For others it is a reminder that there is a resurrection coming but it is a resurrection of judgment. And so that's the third area. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the guarantee of coming judgment. You can't escape it.

Philippians 2 tells us that Jesus Christ humbled Himself, leaving the glories of heaven and coming to earth and becoming a man. He even went so far as to humble Himself to the point of dying the death on a cross, a common criminal's death, to pay the penalty for our sin. And we are told therefore God has highly exalted Him and given Him a name above every name so that at the name of Jesus Christ every knee should bow and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Every knee will bow, ultimately everyone will stand before Jesus Christ. He is the appointed judge. John 5 says that God has given all judgment into the hands of the Son, the One who is the Savior is the One who is the judge. You stand before Him to be judged and you are found unrighteous and you'll be condemned to hell. How sad because the One who is your judge is the One who could have been your Savior. This is the day of salvation. That's the message of the resurrected Christ.

The work necessary for you as a sinful being to be forgiven and declared righteous by God has been done. All that remains for you to become a beneficiary, a recipient of what He has is for you to place your faith in Jesus Christ. To recognize you are a sinner, guilty and condemned but Jesus Christ is the Savior. You trust Him and Him alone, God forgives you. Then His resurrection becomes a glorious reminder to you that some day He is going to resurrect you to have glory in His presence. And a reminder that in coming judgment there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Isn't that amazing? There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Coming judgment holds no fear, Jesus Christ has paid my penalty. That's the celebration of the resurrection of Christ. I trust that you have entered into all the blessings that God provided in the gift of His Son.

Let's pray together. Thank you, Lord, for a wonderful Savior. Thank you that you, a gracious and merciful God have reached out to us in our hopeless, lost condition. We could do nothing in and of ourselves to make ourselves acceptable before you, a holy and righteous God. But you did for us what we could not do for ourselves, you provided your Son to be the Savior. Lord, we are in awe on this day when we focus attention on the fact that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead and He is alive, that reminds us that the work of salvation has been finished. There is a coming resurrection and in Christ we look forward to glory. But Lord, we would not forget there is also coming judgment, a terrible, fearful judgment that will fall upon all those who have not come to place their faith in the Savior, the Savior who will judge all men. Lord, if there are any here who have not trusted the Savior, may this be a day of salvation for them. And for those of us who have, may we never cease rejoicing and giving you thanks for the One who loved us and died for us. We pray in His name, amen.