The Resurrection Means It Worked

And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins” ( I Corinthians 15:17 )

Our entire belief system hinges on one thing, that Christ Jesus was raised from the dead. And in so doing, defeating sin, conquering death, restoring creation and ascending into heaven to take His rightful place at the right hand of God the Father. This proves that Jesus was victorious with everything He came to do.

This is exactly what Paul preached everywhere he went, “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born” ( I Corinthians 15:3-7 ).

The Resurrection cannot be refuted with over five hundred eye-witnesses testifying to the account. More than that, at the moment of His death, the curtain separating mankind from the Holy of Holies, where God resides, was torn in two, the tombs of many holy people broke wide open and their bodies were raised to life, released from the grips of death to appear around town ( Matthew 27:52-53 ). This is positive proof that the grave was conquered on that day and that sins were paid for and forgiven and death no longer has victory over mankind.

“Where, O death, is your 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” ( I Corinthians 15:55-57 ).

This is  great news for us! As we celebrate this Resurrection Sunday, we can rest in knowing that Jesus is Alive! This is a fact that assures us of our redemption. We know that He has reconciled us to God and secures this standing forever as He is raised and seated with God in the place of honor that belongs to Him and him alone.

"So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." ( II Corinthians 5:16-21 ).