Text: Philippians 3:10,11, "I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead."

Introduction: The answer to this question depends on who you ask.

If you ask a rank modernist he will tell you it is one of the great myths of the Bible put upon the Christian Church, but it is full of falsehoods.

If you ask a person attending a "Make-you-feel-good church", they will answer you that it gives them good vibes, and warm fuzzy feelings all over when they hear the story. Yes, they feel good about it.

If you ask a professor at one of our Higher Education Theological Cemeteries they will tell you that in their estimation having five hundred witnesses is not enough, perhaps five thousand would be enough to make the event authentic.

If you ask an Evangelical Pentecostal person they would probably light up and tell you the Resurrection is the backbone of Christianity.

The Resurrection of Christ

Everything We Have In Christianity Has Its Roots in the Resurrection.

(Resurrection is the raising to life after death. Understand that all people will experience a resurrection: Christians to life, non-Christians to condemnation.)

1. Our salvation through faith in Jesus Christ was birthed in the Resurrection.
   1. Remember "if Christ be NOT RISEN, OUR FAITH IS IN VAIN."

      1 Corinthians 15:14. The whole of the New Testament revelation rests on this as an historical fact. On the day of Pentecost Peter argued the necessity of Christ's resurrection from the prediction in Psalm16 and Acts 2:24-28. The evangelists give circumstantial accounts of the facts connected with that event, and the apostles, also, in their public teaching largely insist upon it.

   2. Romans 4:25 tells us He was raised for our justification.
      

      This means he had conquered the hosts of darkness and rose as a Conquering Victorious Christ.

      I Corinthians 15:54 – 57 "…Death has been swallowed up in victory." "Where, O death, is our victory? Where; O death, is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

2. Our empowerment of Life in the Spirit of God was sealed at the Resurrection of Christ.
   
   1. Resurrection is a return to life after death.
   
   
   2. The righteous will be raised to eternal life. Sinners will go to eternal damnation.
   
   
   3. The resurrection gives Christians both power and hope. Philippians 3:10,11, "I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead."<
   
   
   4. Our power to live a Christian Life has it's roots in the Resurrection.
      
      1. The new birth is a kind of resurrection. The old life has been crucified with Christ.
      
      
      2. Christians are given eternal life through the Holy Spirit.
      
      
      3. Our power to live a Christian Life has its roots in the Resurrection.
         
         1. The resurrection of Christ is the source of the Christian hope for resurrection. The Christian resurrection will take place at the second coming of Jesus Christ as taught in I Thessalonians.
         
         
         2. Christians will be given a spiritual body that cannot die.

      Conclusion: What should I do about the Resurrection of Christ?

      You have several choices:

   5. Do nothing and go on living the way you have been even through you are unhappy.
      
   6. Take it under consideration, but delay a decision about Christ until a future date.
      
   7. Apply what you have heard today, and reap the benefits that are inherited in belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
      
      1. Our salvation through faith in Jesus Christ was birthed in the Resurrection.
         
      2. Our empowerment of Life in the Spirit of God was sealed at the Resurrection of Christ.
         
      3. Our power to live a Christian Life has it’s roots in the Resurrection.
         
      4. Our power to live a Christian Life has it’s roots in the Resurrection.

         The decision is in your hands now.