Sunday, March 31, 2013

The Validity of the Resurrection: Personified


Re-Posting: Sunday, 31 March 2013: Four years later and also in honor of our Lord and Savior's Resurrection Day there is nothing better to recognize on this occasion than the truth as it is presented in this Spirit-filled article by Dr. David R. Reagan.

Resurrection Sunday 12 April 2009: In honor of this day, Resurrection Day, I am pleased to present this outstanding piece by Dr. David Reagan, the founder and director of Princeton, Texas-based Lamb and Lion Ministries.

The Validity of the Resurrection: Personified

By Dr. David R. Reagan

There is simply no way to overemphasize the importance of the resurrection to the Christian faith, for the resurrection of Jesus is the Christian faith. Christianity stands or falls on the validity, the historical reality of the resurrection. The resurrection of Jesus is either the greatest event in the history of mankind, or it is the cruelest hoax that has ever been perpetrated. Which is it, truth or fantasy?


Transformed Lives Personify ItI will hasten to say that the greatest evidence of the resurrection of Jesus is not the empty tomb. It is something else. The greatest evidence of the resurrection in Scripture is to be seen in the transformed lives of Jesus' disciples. For within 50 days of His crucifixion, His disciples had been miraculously transformed from a defeated, frustrated, hopeless group of individuals into a confident band of Christian soldiers determined to win the world for their Lord.


Jesus' own brother James is a good example of what Dave is talking about. James did not believe in Jesus while He was alive. Yet after the resurrection, James became the leader of the Church in Jerusalem. Or consider Peter, who denied Jesus three times in a fit of cowardice. He began to proclaim boldly, Jesus Christ the Lord, even before the very Sanhedrin council that had condemned Jesus to death. And then there was a young Christian by the name of Stephen who was stoned to death because of his witness of Jesus. And let's not forget the most ruthless persecutor of the church, Saul of Tarsus. He became the greatest missionary in the history of the Church, all because he encountered the risen Lord on the road to Damascus.


And for what I consider to be the most convincing evidence of all, I have in mind the way in which peoples lives continue to be transformed today through their encounter with the living Jesus.


What about you? Have you met Jesus? Have you been born again by placing your faith in Him? Are you ready to face death without fear because you know you will spend eternity with God?


Salvation is to be found in a personal relationship with a living Savior. Jesus said that eternal life is knowing Him. You know, when one of Jesus' disciples named Thomas finally encountered Him after the resurrection, he cried out, "My Lord and my God." Jesus replied, "Because you have seen me you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe." I challenge you to believe in the risen Jesus. John 20:31 says that through belief in Jesus, you may have life in His name.

5 comments:

  1. Note the link in the introductory comment to the sabbatarian.com website.

    I do not recognize this day as "Easter," I recognize it instead as "Resurrection Sunday."

    "Easter" has long been steeped in far too much pagan idolatry for myself to stomach or accept as the proper name for this most Holy Day.

    My belief holds that Jesus was crucified prior to sundown on Wednesday, also known as "Preparation Day of Passover" - the day prior to Passover. He spent three full evenings and mornings in the grave as literally recorded in Matthew 12.

    The posted link to sabbatarian.com has all of the details.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hello Sean

    I just want to recommend you the following article. His author is Dr. Reagan

    http://www.lamblion.com/articles/articles_issues14.php

    I hope it may be of great blessing.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Donald,

    Yes, indeed, ALL of Dr. Reagan's other article are great blessings to all men and women, saved and unsaved alike. I encourage all readers to visit his website and journal accessible from this blog via The Christ in Prophecy Journal link under "Favorite Links."

    The link you provided has been made into an active link:

    The Resurrection of Jesus in Prophecy

    ReplyDelete
  4. Another 24k study about the Resurrection of the Messiah:

    http://www.ariel.org/ffruit.htm#top

    His author is Dr. Ariel Fruchtenbaum. It's a must read. I can assure that.

    (If the link doesn't work, look for the article at Ariel:Fruit from the Frucht

    ReplyDelete

Anyone can submit a comment; all comments are moderated for content.

Featured Post

Positional Statement on Salvation

19 January 2016: It has become necessary due to recent events that I present a Positional Statement which explains in detail per Script...