The RECORD

THE RESURRECTION MAKES CHRISTIANITY UNIQUE

One way that Jesus makes Christianity unique is that He is both fully God and fully human. He is unconventional. He tells us who He is. He came to die for us. He rose again. It would be convenient if Jesus fit neatly into the kind of categories we construct for people and things so that we can be comfortable. But He doen't and that is one of the things that makes Him unique.

I. The Unique Jesus. (John 14:6)

For centuries people have been confused about Jesus. How could He be both man and God? In the first few centuries of Christianity, some Christian groups tried to explain this in simplified terms. They taught that Jesus was the adopted Son of God, not fully divine as God is. The adoption took place when the voice from heaven came at Jesus baptism, proclaiming, "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased" (Mark 1:11). This teaching came out of the passage which is known to the Jews as Shema. It has become the Jewish creed of faith. In Deuteronomy 6:4, it says, "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one." They understood that God is one, therefore, they could not see how Jesus could be divine. As far as they were concerned, to say Jesus was God was to contradict the Old Testament affirmation that God is one. Eventually this view of Jesus adoption died out.

Another group tried to resolve the problem by arguing that Jesus was truly God, but He only appeared to be human. He was actually a spirit disguised as a person with a human body. He had all the power and knowledge but chose not to reveal them except in a limited way, in order to fit in with society and the culture of His time. Again this idea was rejected by the early church.

Most scholars say that 1 John was written to combat this way of thinking. John wrote, "This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world" (1 Jn. 4:2-3). John also declares, "In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the Word was God" (Jn 1:1). A little later we read, "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us" (Jn 1:14).

If we abandon the divine nature of Jesus, we end up rejecting the idea that God has come to us in the person of Jesus Christ; therefore, He remains remote and we cannot know Him in a personal and intimate way.

On the other hand, if we abandon the humanity of Jesus, we deny the incarnation. When we make Jesus all divine but not human, He would be far removed from where we live, far from our trials and temptations, far from our pain and suffering, far from our finite existence. We could excuse our sinfulness by saying that the reason Jesus was able to live a holy life was because He was God. We might ask, How can I be holy when I'm only human? Hebrews 4:15 reminds us, "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are yet was without sin."

Jesus got tired, thirsty, and hungry. John tells us He had normal limitations and emotions on His human body. He wept at the tomb of Lazarus. He enjoyed eating. He experienced anger. He was bound by time and space. He lived at a particular time in history and lived according to the customs of that time. Even historians, such as Josephus of first-century Palestine, confirm that Jesus lived then.

Jesus spoke more about the kingdom of God than about Himself, He did speak clearly about who He is. In the Gospel of John He makes several I am statements: "I am the way, and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (Jn 14:6). "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father" (Jn 14:9b). "I and the Father are one" (Jn 10:30). In Luke we read of Him saying, "All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him" (Lk 10:22).

II. The Unconventional Jesus. (Rom. 6:6)

Jesus dying on the cross does not make Him unique. Thousands of Jews were crucified. His willingness to die does not make Him unique either. History is filled with tales of self-sacrifice. So what is it that makes Jesus unique? How would we help someone understand the importance of a crucifixion that took place over 2, 000 years ago? Paul tells us, Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures (1 Cor. 3b-4). Mark quotes Jesus as saying, "The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Mk 10:45).

Although Jesus was the Son of God, He was very aware of His limitations as a finite human being. He was also aware of His need for God's presence and provision in His life through prayer. His prayers in the Garden of Gethsemane prove that He had no desire to die. If there could be another way He was more than willing to let that happen. There was no other way to usher in the Kingdom of God. Jesus death was both agonizing and humiliating. From the cross He was crying out to His father, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me" (Mk 15:34)? God was not abandoning Jesus. Jesus was not doubting God in His final moments. Jesus was fulfilling prophecy in His final moments. This fulfillment of prophecy led into fulfillment of still more prophecy in how His Crucifixion would impact the world: "Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord. They will proclaim His righteousness to a people yet unbornfor he has done it" (Ps. 22:30-31).

Jesus was not some disillusioned fool. He went willingly to the Cross believing that His death would be the difference. Jesus died believing that His death was not the end but only the beginning. He believed that His death was the only way the Kingdom of God could come. Jesus death wasn't the end of His story, it was the beginning of the greatest event in history.

III. The Resurrected Jesus. (Rom. 6:11)

The single most important fact about the Resurrection is the fact that Jesus was raised by God the Father. This is something God did Himself. It didn't just occur. Jesus didn't just arise. It was God who reversed the death. God demonstrated His power when He raised His Son from the dead, and offered us grace and salvation. All this after we, sinful man, had done everything in our power to send Jesus to His death. Jesus death and resurrection are both demonstrations of God's love and grace for us. John writes, "This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins" (1 Jn 4:10).

There are no shortages of opinions on the Resurrection. One says His body was resuscitated in the coolness of the tomb because of the trauma of Crucifixion. They say it because some people are found still alive when they are delivered to the morgue or mortician.

Christ's resurrection can in no way be compared to this. It was a dramatic demonstration of God's power over sin and death. The end of life here on earth is not the end of life.

The Resurrection empowers us to stop living in sin. Evangelist Reuben Welch was preaching an outdoor Easter service in San Diego, CA, he said in his message, "The story of Jesus dying and God raising Him from the dead is not just a tragic story that has a happy ending. It is a story that shows how God provided a way for the human race to break out of its cycle of sinning." He went on to say that humanity was in a downward spiral. It took Jesus resurrection to break that downward spiral. This was The Way that was provided for us to begin an upward spiral in a new life with Jesus. Jesus gave us more than hope when He went to the Cross and conquered sin and death. He gave us the life changing power of God available to whosoever.

Christianity is unique because Jesus is unique, being both fully God and fully man.

Christianity is unique because Jesus is unconventional, being an ever living founder who offers hope beyond the grave.

Christianity is unique because Jesus was resurrected, He loved humanity so much that He demonstrated His love by giving His life for you and I.

CHRISTIANITY IS NOT JUST ANOTHER RELIGION!

How many Christians do you know that think Christianity is just another religion?

Some believe, concerning Christianity, that:

It has a god like all the other religions.

It has a code of conduct and expectations like all other religions.

It promises an afterlife like other religions.

Many ask the question: is there any difference between Christianity and all other religions?

Well, for starters, Christianity is the only faith where the One worshipped loves us so much He was willing to pay the penalty of sin and die for us so we can be acceptable to Him.

All religions including Christianity have a code or a law spelling out to their adherents what is expected of them. Everyone has failed when it comes to satisfying the requirements of their religion. This is where the big difference comes in.

IMPORTANT QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER CONCERNING SELECTING THE RIGHT RELIGION:

Did Buddha or Confucius or Allah do anything to bring their followers back into a right relationship with them? The answer is a resounding NO!

Christianity is unique in that the One worshipped did something unbelievable for His followers:

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."

Only Christianity has a means by which its disobedient followers can be welcomed back into the presence of God.

What does that mean? God died for us so justice would be satisfied, but He also imputed His righteous to us so that we would be acceptable to Him.

NKJ Corinthians 5:21 "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."

NLB 2 Corinthians 5:21 "For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ."

No other religion has a god like our God who loved us this way.
The Gospel is the good news of mercy to the undeserving and that is why the symbol of the religion of Jesus is the cross, not a set of scales - John R. W. Stott

In the comic strip B.C. two women are sitting on a small hill. One is reading the Bible and says, "my goodness. . . Says here. . . Jesus descended into hell"! The other is shocked and says, "You're kidding"! Then the woman with the Bible says, "no. . . Not to stay! He just dropped in to cancel our reservations"!

No other religion has a God who went to hell to cancel our reservation

2. Christianity is the only faith that makes it possible for its followers to live up to the expectations of its God

All religions including Christianity have a code or a law spelling out to their adherents what is expected of them.

No one has ever lived up to the expectations of any law regardless of its origin whether it be Gods or mans.That's why most religions include a system of penance for when the law is broken having to bring an offering or perform some ritual in order to appease the wrath of the gods.Even the Mosaic Law had a sacrificial system for disobedience.

Christianity, too, requires a sacrifice, but that sacrifice is Jesus, which is the only one acceptable to God. So we are accepted, but now He requires us to live like the son of God.

We do we do that by being Born Again, by being birthed spiritually.
This is the discussion Jesus had with Nicodemus in John Chapter 3.
• He gives us a new heart, His heart, the heart of God comes and lives in us through the Holy Spirit.

Hebrews 8:10 "For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people."

1 Peter 1:22-23 "Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart,23 having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever."

3. Christianity is the only faith that provides living proof of life after death.

There is plenty of evidence to prove that Jesus rose from the dead: the 500 eyewitnesses, the fact that a bunch of fisherman put their lives on the line and would not have done so for a fraud. But the greatest proof of all that Jesus is alive today is that He lives in our hearts.

Changed lives are proof of His resurrection. Also, we have experienced His guiding hand in our lives. We sense His presence with us.

1. Christianity is the only faith where the One worshipped loves us so much He was willing to pay the penalty of sin, death, for us so we can be acceptable to Him.

2. Christianity is the only faith that makes it possible for its followers to live up to the expectations of its God.

3. Christianity is the only faith that provides living proof of life after death.