The Gospel in Twenty Questions (5 page)

The cross is good, but the
resurrection is better. The resurrection matters for at least three reasons.

First, the
resurrection proves Jesus is who he says he is. Before he died Jesus told the
disciples that he would suffer at the hands of religious leaders. He said they
would put him to death but that he would be raised to life three days later
(Matthew 16:21). What a thing to say! What are we to make of the one who said
it? As C. S. Lewis said, Jesus is either a liar, a lunatic, or Lord. Which is
it? The resurrection provides an emphatic answer. Jesus is the risen Lord and
the Son of God.
[13]

Second, the
resurrection vindicates Jesus. It’s the verdict of heaven that overturns all
the verdicts of the world. The principalities and powers tried to kill Jesus,
but God raised him and exalted him to the highest place. The religious types
said he was possessed by a devil and tried to silence him, but God said, “He is
my beloved Son, listen to him” (see Matthew 17:5). The resurrection of Jesus
compels us to take sides. “You crucified him, but God raised him,” said Peter
at Pentecost. “Maybe you ought to rethink your views on Christ.” And on that
day 3,000 did. 

Third, the
resurrection proves God’s grace is greater than your sin. On the cross, Jesus
bore our sin that we might bear his righteousness. If our sin had been too much
for him to carry, he would still be dead and you would still be a sinner.

And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is
futile; you are still in your sins. (1 Corinthians 15:17)

But Christ
has
been
raised, proving that any claim sin had against you has been fully settled. The
gospel of the empty tomb declares your sins cannot condemn you. In Christ, you
have been pardoned for all time.

Before he
died Jesus said, “The prince of this world has nothing on me” (see John 14:30).
Because Jesus rose, the prince of this world has nothing on you either. All the
claims and charges that were against you were taken away and nailed to the
cross (Colossians 2:13–14). Your rap sheet might have been as long as your arm
but it’s gone. This is good news for crooks and criminals and sinners like us.
In Christ, we have a complete amnesty and eternal redemption.

He was delivered over to death for our sins and was
raised to life for our justification. (Romans 4:25)

If you battle with guilt and
condemnation, see the cross where Jesus carried your sins, and then see the
empty tomb, which proves the job is done. There is no sin he didn’t carry and
no sin he didn’t forgive. All your sins were dealt with once and for all at the
cross—the resurrection proves it.

You may ask,
“But what about the sins I haven’t done yet? What about my future sins?” Don’t
you see? When Jesus died and rose again, you hadn’t been born yet. All your
sins were future sins.

There is only
one cure for sin, and it’s the finished work of the cross. Jesus isn’t coming
to die for your sins a second time. Once was enough. This is the good news of
the empty tomb. Because of Jesus, your sins cannot condemn you. Yet you may
condemn yourself through unbelief. If you think you have to repent and confess
and be good before God will forgive you, you are saying, “Christ’s work remains
unfinished, the tomb is not empty, and I cannot be right with God unless I do
what Jesus couldn’t.”

It is the
nature of the unbelieving mind to act as though the resurrection never
happened. But a proper response to grace is to say, “Thank you, Jesus.” It’s to
be like Peter, who saw the empty tomb and was changed. It’s to be like John,
who understood the good news of the folded napkin and believed.

The gospel is first and
foremost an announcement. It is a declaration of something that has happened.
But what are we declaring? And what happened? We need to remind ourselves from
time to time lest we get distracted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the
gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your
stand. (1 Corinthians 15:1)

Here is Paul writing to the
church at Corinth. He’s fifteen chapters into his letter, he’s just finished
talking about corporate worship, and he has the following thought:
I’d
better remind them about the gospel
. That’s kind of strange, don’t you
think? It’s like being three hours into a deacon’s meeting and the pastor says,
“Now item fifteen on our agenda—remind everyone of the gospel.”

Surely the
Corinthian Christians knew the gospel. “Doesn’t matter,” says Paul. “You need
to hear it again.” And so do we:

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 …
(1 Corinthians 15:3–4)

Here are three important facts
of Christ’s life: he died, was buried, and rose again. Of these the last is the
greatest, for if Christ never rose it makes no difference that he died and was
buried.

And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is
useless and so is your faith. (1 Corinthians 15:14)

Certain men in Corinth were
denying the resurrection. They were saying, “The dead aren’t raised. There is
no hope. This is all there is.” Paul wrote to refute their dismal lies. He
said, “I saw the risen Jesus and so did 500 other people. He is the
first-fruits of resurrection life and all who belong to him will rise” (see 1
Corinthians 15:5–8, 23).

For 2,000
years the resurrection of Jesus has come under attack from godless men. It
seems every few years, someone writes a book about how Jesus wasn’t raised or
didn’t really die on the cross. They are merely propagating a lie devised by
the religious leaders who put Jesus on the cross in the first place (see
Matthew 28:11–15). When we hear these made-up stories we need to remind
ourselves of the gospel that declares, “Christ has indeed been raised from the
dead” (1 Corinthians 15:20).

By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to
the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. (1
Corinthians 15:2)

Paul is not saying,
“You have to believe and keep believing and never stop believing, otherwise
you’re not saved,” for that would make salvation conditional on your believing
performance. He’s saying, “If the gospel you hold to doesn’t reveal a
resurrected Jesus, you are believing in vain.”

Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the
dead, descended from David. This is my gospel … (2 Timothy 2:8).

The resurrection is the heart
of the gospel message. It is the climax, the punchline, and the point of
everything. We were under the curse of sin and death, but a man from heaven set
us free and
proved
our freedom by rising from the dead. This is the good
news of the resurrection. “
T
his
is what we preach, and
this
is what you believed” (see
1
Corinthians
15:11).

Why does this
matter? Because a gospel without the resurrection is like a car without an
engine—it might look good, but it won’t actually take you anywhere. It’s a
lemon gospel. It won’t help you and it certainly won’t save you. But a gospel
that proclaims the saving power of God and backs it up by pointing to the empty
tomb is a gospel that can change your life.

The best
thing Jesus ever did was rise from the dead, and he didn’t do it. God did it to
him. Jesus simply trusted that he would. “Father, into your hands I commit my
spirit” (Luke 23:46). The same God who raised Jesus raises us. He lifts us out
of the dark prison of sin and sets our feet on the sunlit uplands of his grace.
We don’t do a thing to make this happen. We simply trust that God does it all.

And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the
dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life
to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit, who lives in you. (Romans 8:11)

The gospel of the resurrection
is the announcement of
something that happened
so that
something else
can now happen
. Jesus was raised to new life so that you can experience new
life in him. This new life is not obtained through hard work and discipline.
It’s received by trusting in a good Father who delights to share his life with
his children.

The essence of the gospel is
“Christ alone.” But which Christ are we talking about? Which Jesus are you
trusting? Is it the baby Jesus who is celebrated each Christmas? Is it the kind
and gentle teacher who was friendly to sinners
? Or is
it the crucified Jesus we remember when we take communion? This
may
shock you, but none of these Jesuses can save you. There is only one Jesus that
saves, delivers, heals, rescues, and gives new life, and that is the
risen
Jesus, seated at the right hand of God.

And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled
himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God
exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every
name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth
and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the
glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:8–9)

Dead religion proclaims a dead
Jesus and promotes dead works that achieve nothing. But the gospel of God’s
powerful grace reveals a risen and exalted king with a name that is above every
other name. A dead Jesus saves no one. But a risen Jesus who has conquered sin
and death and now sits at the right hand of God, interceding for us, is a Jesus
you can bet your life on.

It
is essential that you see Jesus as risen and exalted above all things. If you
don’t, you will never experience the new life that
is
found
only
in him. Your life will be no different from that of an
unbeliever.

Perhaps you
have said, “I’ll believe him when I see him.” Maybe you’ve been praying for a
vision of heaven or some supernatural sign. “Jesus, reveal yourself like you
did to Paul on the road to Damascus or show me a miracle, and then I’ll
believe.” It doesn’t work that way. The Pharisees saw plenty of signs and
wonders yet steadfastly refused to believe Jesus. And not everyone who saw the
risen Lord believed straight away. Some doubted.
[14]

Seeing is not
always believing. And seeing is not the key to being blessed. Do you remember
what Jesus said to Thomas?

Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed
are those who have not seen and yet have believed. (John 20:29)

Jesus is talking about us. He’s
saying those who walk by faith are blessed.

Several
hundred people saw the risen Lord and were blessed to see him. But millions
upon millions have not seen him with their natural eyes, yet they have been
blessed too.

You don’t
need to see to receive the favor of God. You just need to believe. And when you
believe in God’s favor you will see it. Why am I so sure? Because the gospel
reveals the life-saving power of God for
all
who believe (Romans 1:16).

God is good
whether you believe it or not, but you’ll never fully experience his goodness
unless you
believe it.

The
Jesus of the gospel is more than alive. He’s ruling and reigning from the
highest place. Everything has been put under his feet (1
Corinthians
15:27). If you
are trusting in Jesus-on-the-cross, your faith is misplaced. Jesus is not on
the cross but on the throne.
This
is the Jesus that wants to bless you
with salvation power, and
this
is the Jesus we fix our eyes on.

Bob George tells a story about
a man called Stan who battled alcoholism for more than 40 years. Stan had given
his life to Jesus, but nothing changed. The drinking continued as before. Then
one night Stan came home in such a state that his wife called Bob. “Please come
and talk to him.” Bob went and was inspired to ask the following question:

Stan, when you accepted Christ, which Jesus did you
believe in? … Did you have in mind an honorable man named Jesus of Nazareth who
lived 2,000 years ago in a place called Palestine? … In other words, Stan, did
you accept Jesus the
man
? Or did you accept Jesus Christ the
God
who became a man, who was raised again from the dead?
[15]

Stan replied that he had put
his faith in Jesus who was a man 2,000 years ago. Bob asked if he was willing
to trust in Jesus the living God. Stan said yes and was completely delivered
from alcoholism that same night.

What
you believe determines what you see. If you don’t believe Jesus heals today,
you won’t experience his healing. If you don’t believe he conquered death so
that you might enjoy new life, you won’t experience that new life here and now.
The blessings of grace only come to those who believe.

“But Paul, I
believe, yet I am still struggling with illness and addiction. Am I doing it
wrong?” No. If you are trusting God for healing and deliverance you are doing
it right. Rest in God’s promise and let nothing move you.

My point is
this: many Christians settle at the cross. They are so grateful for grace and
forgiveness that they camp at Calvary and miss the resurrection. They lead
others to the cross and no further, and the result is powerless, fruitless
Christianity.

Don’t camp at
the cross—Jesus is not there. Instead, see yourself seated with Jesus who has
risen from the dead.

What does
this mean in our daily life?

The Bible
says that when we confess Jesus as Lord, we are saved (Romans 10:9). Do you
know what the word
Lord
means? It means Jesus has supreme power and
authority. It means everything in creation has to call him “Sir.” When Jesus
rebuked the demons and ordered them to go, their response was basically, “Yes,
Sir.” It’s the same with sickness. When Jesus commands cancer and diabetes to
go, their response is, “Yes, Sir.”

Since you are
one with the Lord, you need to have the same mind and speak in the same way.
You need an attitude of faith that says, “Jesus is Lord” over my situation. Now
Jesus is Lord whether you believe it or not, but it won’t do you any good
unless you believe it and confess it.

When you
proclaim Jesus as Lord over your life, you are setting yourself up for a
blessing. You are saying:

Addiction (or illness or circumstance), you have a
strong grip on me but the Lord Jesus is stronger still. I cannot defeat you in
my strength, but let me tell you about Jesus my God, at whose name every knee
shall bow, including yours.

James says, “Submit to God,
resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). James does not say,
“Submit yourselves to Jesus the gentle teacher.” Nor does he say, “Submit
yourselves to Jesus the dead Messiah.” Teachers and martyrs have no power to
deliver you from the grip of sickness and addiction. The key to your
breakthrough is submitting to Jesus who is God.

As Stan’s
story illustrates, the devil doesn’t flee from those who know Jesus as a man.
But those who know their God shall be strong and do exploits. They shall walk
through the fires of life and not be burned (Isaiah 43:2).

A gospel
which proclaims the cross but not the resurrection is not the full gospel. A
gospel which proclaims a dead Jesus but not a living, all-conquering, ruling,
and reigning King Jesus, is not the full gospel. If you want the full gospel,
make sure you get the whole story—the director’s cut—and not the version that
ends at Calvary.