We have far too many atheists living among us today . As I have already pointed out , Satan has really made headway with our modern society . You may even know some atheists . I do . And I pray often for them . My prayer is that they will wake up from Satan ’ s delusions and see the light of truth . Then they , too , could celebrate the Lord ’ s resurrection from the dead , as all Christians do .
Atheists will naturally deny the Lord ’ s resurrection . But the event is actually very logical and a valid conclusion , I believe , for everyone who thinks . According to the Bible , Jesus died and was buried , but rose from the dead the third day . The event is recorded in the four gospels and is supported by the eyewitness testimony of Christ ’ s disciples . He was seen by over 500 people , most of them living during the time the gospels were written . None of this is actual , physical proof ; but it is critically important for any Christian to accept it as absolute truth . A thing like this is not easily accepted as truth . We ’ ve never experienced anything even similar to this . So , it would be very helpful , if possible , to have a logical basis for believing that the resurrection did indeed happen .
I believe there is a basis for believing in the Resurrection as literally true . Consider how philosophers of genius have lived and worked for centuries . A few of them are known and remembered by most people . None of them , however , had such an impact on history and the whole world as did Jesus Christ . No other man in history has been so remembered , revered , and worshiped . Christ had only three years in which to do His work . Others worked three decades . And His work also went against the grain of Jewish religious tradition .
The crucifixion should have laid to rest not only the founder of Christianity , but also Christianity itself . When the founder of most movements is put to death , then that movement is invariably stopped . When Christ was arrested , His disciples turned and ran . They went into hiding , fearing for their lives . These were the men who had known Jesus , friends that had walked , talked , and lived with Him . They were his closest and most loved friends . They had witnessed His many marvelous acts and miracles . And yet they ran .
Not having the courage or willingness to jeopardize their own lives , they would not go out to tell the world about Him . Logically , that should have been the end of Christianity . But something else happened . Something occurred that gave the disciples the courage to go out and tell others about Jesus at the peril of their lives . Some of them did die for Him . They would not have died for a lie . Something happened that revived the wilted , embryonic movement . It was necessarily an event of unprecedented momentum . It was earth-shaking . The Messiah delivered upon His promise and returned from the dead ! Only an event of this magnitude could have saved an otherwise thoroughly squelched bud of new religion . The resurrection of Jesus Christ was necessary to save Christianity from oblivion . Had it not occurred , we would never have heard of Christ . So , in this sense , the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is entirely logical . It is also believable for all who would be saved .
So , this year let us all celebrate the Son of God , Jesus the Christ , the Messiah . Through Him God has given believers the chance to be adopted into the family of God . Through Him , we have the sure promise of heaven . Because of Him , we have no need to ever worry about anything on earth , because we have done the most important thing of all . We have trusted our souls to Christ , which gave us the benefit of becoming children of God and the assurance of heaven .
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