Teaching the Resurrection

I was reminded during the Dingman’s visit with us just how provocative Wes can be in his conversation. One of the themes of his ministry has been to preach the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In a Muslim context, nothing else really matters much because the resurrection is the biggest obstacle on the road of faith. Once that event is accepted, the divinity of Christ and the nature of the atonement inexorably follow. Wes reminded me of something I have often felt myself. When you are telling someone who hasn’t been brought up in the Christian faith that Jesus bodily came back to life after He was dead and buried, it sounds pretty crazy. On occasion I have felt like I was watching myself say the words and was thinking “do you know how crazy this sounds?” Is this what Paul meant by the foolishness of the gospel? 1Co 1:21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. Something that on the surface appears to be foolishness, but once investigated by an open mind turns out to be absolutely true.

The truth is I often deny other people’s beliefs because they sounded “crazy” to me. I don’t believe in the book of Mormon with its strange and fantastic stories, nor do I believe in the Bigfoot, or aliens visiting earth. So why do I believe in the Bible and specifically the resurrection of Jesus? I once watched a video that claimed to be able to destroy your faith in two minutes. The logic ran along these lines: a) you claim to believe in the resurrection of Jesus, but to rational people that sounds crazy, b) you don’t believe Joseph Smith found golden plates or that Muhammad rode a winged horse, c) the only reason you believe in Jesus and not these other things is because of how you were raised. Therefore, the reasonable thing to do is to reject belief in any supernatural events. On the surface this sounds pretty compelling, and in fact the reason many people believe in the resurrection is precisely because they were raised that way. They have not taken the time to prove what they believe or test long held assumptions.

In discussing the issue, I told Wes that our problem isn’t so much getting people to believe in the resurrection of Jesus. In our culture belief cuts both ways. Some refuse to believe on the basis of “reason” and other people will believe just about anything on the basis of “feelings.” I have found the latter attitude is a bit more common, but you will find both. During the age of enlightenment, the well-educated men like Thomas Jefferson were often enamored with the moral teachings of Jesus but denied His divinity. Today’s culture tends to dislike the Bible’s moral teaching and is also unwilling to investigate its truth claims. Most of those who come to Christ initially come based on a felt need. The end result that unless the person then grows past their need and comes to truly accept the gospel they will eventually fall away.

If this is an appropriate assessment, what shall we do? After giving it some thought I think I have a plan. In the past when I studied with someone about becoming a Christian I would go over the scriptures about salvation, Jesus, and what He did in is death and resurrection. If a person was raised in a church I took it for granted that if they professed faith in Christ then they actually did believe. If they voiced any doubts then I would certainly have gone more in depth. I now think that we can no longer take it for granted that anyone really understands the nature of Jesus’ death and resurrection and covering a few verses of scripture will not be sufficient for most people long term. In the future, we must develop a way to introduce people to the real Jesus of the Bible. When we present Christ, we must give many convincing proofs (Acts 1:3 ) and proceed as if they had never heard the first thing about the Bible or Jesus (Acts 9:22 ). We are going to have to prove He was the Son of God, born of a virgin, sacrificed for our sins, and raised from the dead.

Our main job can no longer be chasing strays or even to correct denominational error. We are to be about the task of converting the lost. The majority of people in America today from any denominational background will have serious lingering doubts about the veracity of the gospel and the reality of the resurrection even if they are frequent church attenders. The majority of those “hanging in” at denominational churches are doing so for family reasons and the sake of tradition. For the most part they have not been taught to “give a defense … for the hope that is in you.” 1Pe 3:15 but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence.

As for the Christian Churches we often fall into the same trap of not equipping people to overcome doubts, or to move beyond their emotional needs in their walk with God. We must do a better job. Our task today is more like the apostle Paul’s work among than pagans than it is like Alexander Campbell’s work in the frontier sects. We are truly on the mission field, the sooner we come to terms with this the better for the kingdom! Fortunately, we have a lot of great resources such as those compiled by Lee Strobel. We must have the boldness and courage to use them. People feel the need for love, forgiveness, and a right relationship with God but they can’t really have these things apart from proper faith in Christ Jesus.

Last Updated on Sunday, 04 April 2010 11:09