Christ's Resurrection

The following piece on the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is of notes taken from a sermon preached by Rev. Paul Dowling of Whiteabbey Congregational.  Here is the link to the sermon at Sermon Audio:

http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=41807143440

Luke 24:44-49 "And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.  Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,  and said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.  And ye are witnesses of these things.  And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high."

Christ rose from the dead and faithful Mary Magdelene saw him first, and that evening two downhearted disciples met him on the road to Emmaus..  they did not recognize him until he broke the bread.  Later on the Lord appeared to 10 apostles in the upper room, and then to Thomas and then to other people.  Make no mistake, the resurrection of Jesus Christ bodily from the tomb is central and foundational to the Christian faith.  Over the centuries Christ's resurrection has been questioned, doubted and denied.  Mocker's and sceptics views are easy to refute, they are untenable, they do not explain the facts.   No unbeliever has ever come up with a logical explanation of the facts.  The resurrection is a fact.  

That Jesus would be raised from the dead was foretold:.

1.  King David wrote Psalm 16:10  "For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption."  David was not talking about himself but he was prophetically talking about Jesus Christ, the holy one, whose body would see no corruption.

2.  Acts 13:33-37 "God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.  And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David. Wherefore he saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.  For David after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep (died) and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption: But he, whom God raised again, saw no corruption.

3. Christ himself,  Matthew 20:19  "And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again." Mark 9:9, "And as they came down from the mountain, he charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen, till the Son of man were risen from the dead."  Mark 14:28 "But after that I am risen, I will go before you into Galilee."

Without Spot: Forgiveness and Cleansing

Forgiveness and Cleansing

What is the difference between forgiveness and cleansing?  We know that initially our sins are forgiven on that wonderful day when we have heard the gospel, when we believed the truth that we are sinners, separated from God and bound for a lost eternity.  But we have repented, and believed the gospel, that the Lord Jesus Christ shed his precious blood, and taken upon himself the penalty for sin. That he became the perfect sacrifice for us..  We trust in Him as our Saviour, and by this trusting, we are saved by faith, "not by works that any man should boast." 

But what after this?  Romans 6 and 7 tell us that we are no longer slaves to sin, in bondage to sin, and because of the Spirit within, we have the power to overcome sin.  Yet, because we are still in this body, Paul says in Romans 7 "For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which would not, that I do...  I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord.  So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin"..   not that we willfully sin as we did before we were saved, but because we are not yet in our resurrection bodies, and perfected we still do sin.

So then cleansing comes in..  though we are forgiven and heaven bound,  we still need cleansing..  not for salvation, but for close fellowship with the Lord.  David is our example..  and Psalm 51 was written after his sin with Bathsheba.