Why Resurrection Matters

UNSHAKEABLE: What do you need to know for a successful experience of 2023? Simply this: Christ is risen! Jesus’ resurrection is the fulcrum of our Christian faith and, indeed, the pivotal point in all human history. As C.S. Lewis said, “If the thing happened, it was the central event in the history of the earth.” If Jesus rose from the dead, then he is Lord of all. If he didn’t rise from the dead, then our faith is useless, and, as the Apostle Paul says, Christians are hopeless and to be pitied above all people. But we believe Jesus rose from the dead. We have staked our faith, our lives, and our eternities on the scriptural and historical evidence that Jesus broke the chains of death that bound him in the tomb and rose again to life, thus defeating death, hell, and the grave. Since that is true, nothing else matters — Jesus is the Son of God and Lord of all— and the same resurrection power that raised Jesus from death will enable you today and each of the following days that make up 2023 to live an unshakeable life because nothing else matters.

Unshakeable Living // Romans 1:4

Jesus was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord.

The late Jaroslav Pelikan, one of the world’s leading scholars in the history of Christianity and medieval intellectual history, wrote, “If Christ is risen, nothing else matters. And if Christ is not risen—nothing else matters.” If you understand the Bible at all, you know this to be true. Christ’s resurrection is all that matters.

The resurrection is the fulcrum of our Christian faith and, indeed, the pivotal point in all human history. As C.S. Lewis said, “If the thing happened, it was the central event in the history of the earth.” If Jesus rose from the dead, then he is Lord of all. If he didn’t rise from the dead, then our faith is useless, and, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:17-19, Christians are hopeless and to be pitied above all people.

If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.

But we believe Jesus rose from the dead. We have staked our faith, our lives, and our eternities on the scriptural and historical evidence that Jesus broke the chains of death that bound him in that garden tomb and rose again to life, thus defeating death, hell, and the grave. As Paul says, “He is Jesus Christ our Lord.”

• Since that is true, nothing else matters — Jesus is the Son of God and Lord of all!
• Since that is true, we can place our trust in Jesus Christ to save us from our sins and delivers us to eternal life.
• Since that is true, we can have confidence in Jesus Christ to be with us every step of the way in our earthly journey, knowing that he will never leave us nor forsake us.
• Since that is true, we can experience the same resurrection power that coursed through the body of Jesus Christ coursing through our mortal bodies, enabling us to live the abundant life that he came to give us — God’s favor in the physical, emotional, relational and spiritual dimensions of living.
• Since that is true, we can experience the same overcoming life that Jesus Christ lived, living above sin and in holiness to God.
• Since that is true, we can boldly share the Good News with lost people of how Jesus Christ has made a difference in our lives. We do not need to be ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes (Romans 1:16). We do not have to be timid about our faith — in fact, if he is truly risen, to be timid should simply not be an option. If Jesus is risen, then he is either Lord of all, or not Lord of all.
• Since that is true, we can place our lives squarely in God’s sovereign care, get busy fulfilling his purposes through our lives, and commit all our energies, efforts, and resources to glorifying him in everything we say and do.

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! And nothing else matters.