Without The Resurrection Of Christ, There Is No Salvation

While it is important to prove the reality of the Resurrection of Christ, it is much more vital to understand why the Resurrection is essential to the justification of those God has called out of darkness into His light. We’ve been so consumed with proving by reason to the world that Christ rose from dead that we’ve lost the real meaning of the Resurrection. The gravest error we’ve committed as the people of God is failing to properly communicate the nature of God. Because people don’t understand who God is, the Resurrection doesn’t mean much to them, they think of it only as a supernatural act God performed just to flex His power. Ladies and gentlemen without  the Resurrection of Christ, there is no Salvation. To fully grasp this, let us first understand some of the attributes of God.

1. Important Elements Of  The Nature Of God

Let’s look at several Scriptures that define the nature of God.

Psalm 11:7

For the Lord is righteous;
he loves righteous deeds;
    the upright shall behold his face.

Psalm7:11

God is a righteous judge,
    and a God who feels indignation every day.

Isaiah 6:1-3

 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train^[a] of his robe filled the temple. ² Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. ³ And one called to another and said:

We learn from all these verses that God is Holy -God is other ( TRANSCENDENT), in a category of His Own, He can’t be compared to any of His creation/creature because HE is set apart from all of His creation; and God is also morally perfect. He loves righteousness and He is the standard for what is right. God is just and because HE is just, HE cannot tolerate sin for a just God must hate evil and love good because God is inherently good. In order for God to be God  HE must be good, thus hate evil. The next Truth that we need to come to grips with is mankind nature.

2. The Nature of Mankind

The bible has accurately diagnosed our condition in Psalm 14:1-3

² The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man,
    to see if there are any who understand,^[a]
    who seek after God.

We are by nature sinners,  we are inherently evil and hate God because He is by nature good. And that’s the greatest problem that we’re facing. A good God must punish evil humans like us or HE can’t be God. God’s goodness, uprightness, righteousness, justice are the reasons why He punish sinners like us. Let’s take a look at the verses below

Proverbs 17:15:

He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous
    are both alike an abomination to the Lord.

Proverbs 11:21:

Be assured, an evil person will not go unpunished,
    but the offspring of the righteous will be delivered.

Proverbs 12:28

In the path of righteousness is life,
    and in its pathway there is no death.

Job 37:23

The Almighty—we cannot find him;
    he is great in power;
    justice and abundant righteousness he will not violate.

We learn from these verses that for God to be righteous, He must punish Sin. So how do we atone for our sins?

In Ezekiel 18:20 , we are told

“²⁰ The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.

Even satan understands that God must punish sins,  this is why he is called the accuser of the brethren. To really understand our position before God prior to our salvation, let’s take a look at Zechariah 3:1-3

 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan^[a] standing at his right hand to accuse him. ² And the Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, O Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this a brand^[b] plucked from the fire?” ³ Now Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments

So now the dilemma that is presented to us is this- How can God justify evil men and still maintain His integrity? And this is what satan couldn’t understand and was questioning GOD’S character. How can God justify evil men and still be God? Wouldn’t that mean that HE is a corrupted judge based on what Proverbs 17:15 declares. God himself said that no evil person will go unpunished. So How can HE justify evil humans like us? And that’s what satan was questioning until Jesus came in the picture. Let’s read

Romans 3:20-26

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— ²² the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, ²⁵ whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. ²⁶ It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

GOD showed and proved His righteousness and put satan and all his demons to shame by sending Jesus to be the propitiation for our sins. Let’s take a look at Colossians 2:13-15 to understand this even better,

And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, ¹⁴ by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. ¹⁵ He disarmed the rulers and authorities^[b] and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him

The Importance of the Resurrection

Do you know why without the Resurrection of Christ, there is no Salvation? The Resurrection of Christ proves that God was pleased with his sacrifice because if God wasn’t, Christ would have remained dead but his resurrection is a great proof that his sacrifice was pleasing to God and therefore we have hope and a sure hope that we will live ( and not die) because we have put our trust in Christ. If we truly understood what the resurrection meant for the apostles and the early followers of Christ , we would not only be willing to die for it but live to tell about it. There is a reason why the apostles were fearless in their preaching of the resurrection;  it meant the cessation of war between man and God, it meant peace with God.  The war has ceased , now we have access to the Father  through Jesus.  He is the way , the Truth and the Life and No one can come to the Father except through Him and his Resurrection from the dead proved that He was truly the only way, the Truth and the Life and that no one can come to the Father except through Jesus.

On Jesus  God has set His seal of approval by raising Him from the dead. This is why Christianity is the only way because only JESUS LIVES. No other religion can offer this salvation because they can’t, they are by nature dead and dead men can’t save other dead men. The Resurrection of Christ is the only proof that we have that God is pleased with His atonement for us. There is no other way to be saved but through Christ. If Christ didn’t rise, we are still living in our sins and we have no hope, for we are still at war with God and are in danger of eternal damnation, because we are still under the wrath of God. This is what the apostle Paul was communicating in 1 Corinthians 15:13-34

Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? ¹³ But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. ¹⁴ And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. ¹⁵ We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. ¹⁶ For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. ¹⁷ And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. ¹⁸ Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. ¹⁹ If in Christ we have hope^[b] in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

²⁰ But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. ²¹ For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. ²² For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. ²³ But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. ²⁴ Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. ²⁵ For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. ²⁶ The last enemy to be destroyed is death. ²⁷ For “God^[c] has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “all things are put in subjection,” it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. ²⁸ When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all.

²⁹ Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf? ³⁰ Why are we in danger every hour? ³¹ I protest, brothers, by my pride in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die every day! ³² What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” ³³ Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”^[d] 34 Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.

I don’t think I’ve quite communicated what I wanted to communicate but I’m praying that when you read this, the Holy Spirit will work in you to will and act according to his good purpose.

PS: I started Tayibs.com for the sole purpose of exploring difficult questions about the Christian faith that most of us shy away from.All the content generated on this website is thoroughly analyzed prior to being shared. And the site is run solely by myself, your generous support is very much appreciated