Is Christianity true? (the Resurrection - Part 3)
This blog is part of my series titled “Is Christianity true?” The series addresses four common objections to the truthfulness of the Christian worldview, namely concerns about: (1) the trustworthiness of the Bible; (2) the historicity of Jesus’ resurrection; (3) the compatibility of faith in God with modern science; and (4) the incompatibility of Christian truth claims with those of other worldviews.
THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE RESURRECTION - PART 2
THE RESURRECTION VALIDATES THE TRUTH OF THE BIBLE - Beginning here, we addressed various objections to the trustworthiness of the Bible. However, if Jesus was in fact raised from the dead, then we are not limited solely to the very strong historical case for the accuracy of the Bible. We have God incarnate declaring it to be true! On several occasions, Jesus told those around Him that the biblical accounts were true. Of course, when He walked on the earth, the Bible was what we now refer to as the Old Testament. The New Testament was written after His earthly ministry.
If a person claims to believe in Jesus, they should also believe the Old Testament accounts.
Among other things, He said that the Scripture cannot be broken (John 10:35 NKJV), it is the word of God (Mark 7:13), and it is indestructible (Matthew 5:18). Moreover, when interacting with the people of His day, Jesus regularly referred to Old Testament accounts, such as David’s actions, the destruction of Sodom, Cain’s murder of Abel, and the calling of Moses. Therefore, if a person claims to believe in Jesus, they should also believe the Old Testament accounts since the Son of God believed in the value of the Old Testament and viewed it as authoritative.
THE RESURRECTION VALIDATES PROPHECIES CONCERNING THE FUTURE MESSIAH - As discussed here, Jesus fulfilled many Old Testament prophecies. Among other things, these prophecies can be seen (with the clarity of hindsight) as looking ahead to His death, burial, and resurrection. That is why Jesus often connected prophetic utterances with Himself. The apostle Paul frequently connected Jesus’ resurrection with Old Testament Scriptures. In a way, we could say that the Old Testament prophecies validate Jesus’ identity and claims, and Jesus’ resurrection validates Old Testament prophecies.
THE RESURRECTION MEANS THAT I, TOO, WILL BE RESURRECTED! - The Bible asserts that all believers in Jesus will at some future time be resurrected from the dead. Since Jesus validated all the Bible’s claims by being raised from the dead, followers of Jesus can take the promise of their personal resurrection to the bank! Quoting from “Body of Proof” by Dr. Jeremiah Johnston, we believers are “un-dieable”!
Given the pressures of life, I often lose sight of this specific promise, but when I take time to think about it, I am deeply encouraged. Like Jesus after the resurrection, I will no longer experience bodily weakness, pain, sickness, or sorrow. Moreover, in my new body, I cannot die again because God has determined I will live with Him throughout eternity.
This hope of the resurrection propelled the early church to live passionately for Christ without fearing negative consequences. Put differently, true followers of Jesus believe in life after death AND life after life after death!
Having explored some implications of Jesus’ physical resurrection, we now turn to evidence supporting this claim.
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash
