Posts Tagged ‘forgiveness’
Believing What Christ Said About Eternal Life
If I were to ask you this question, “Do you believe Jesus when He speaks to us?”, most likely you would say “Yes, of course”. What if I were to ask you, “Did Jesus ever lie?”, again you might quickly answer “No, He never did.”, but is this something you really believe?
While there are many different Christian religions, for the most part, they all believe in Jesus for salvation. The problem, however, is that there are many who call themselves Christians that believe it is possible that one could lose their salvation.
If it were possible to lose one’s salvation, along with eternal life, would that not make Jesus a liar? I guess it would depend upon what Jesus has said about eternal life, and the best place to find out what He said is in the Scriptures.
There are three scripture references I would like for you to see. You can read them for yourself and decide what it is you want to believe.
The first scripture verses are from John 6: 37 – 40
John 6:37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
John 6:38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
John 6:39 And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.
John 6:40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.
Here we see that Jesus said that He would lose none of all whom the Father gave to Him, and that they would have everlasting life.
The second scripture verses are from John 10: 25 – 29
John 10:25 Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of me.
John 10:26 But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.
John 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
John 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
John 10:29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.
In speaking of His Sheep Jesus said that He gave them eternal life and that they will never perish, and that no one can take them from Him. In addition, He reminded everyone that the Father gave them to Him and that no one can take them out of His Father’s hand as well.
The last scripture verse I would like for you to see is this. From John 17: 2
John_17:2 (KJV) As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.
God the Father has given to Jesus all power over all flesh, and that Jesus would give eternal life to all whom the Father has given Him.
So, now what is it that you believe? Do you still think that you can have eternal life taken from you? On the other hand, have you been given the assurance that, according to what you have just read, your salvation and the promise of eternal life in heaven is secure in the words of Jesus.
These are but a few scripture verses that are quotes from Jesus, to say that one could lose eternal life is tantamount to calling Jesus a liar. If you still believe eternal life can be lost, you are saying that you do not believe what Christ said about eternal life. It is that simple.
Jesus said:
John 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish…
The Story Of The Coming Of Jesus You Never Hear
We all know the Christmas Story, about the baby in a manger, the shepherds, the wise men, angels praising God and the Star above. While this story is true, it is not the whole story of Who Jesus is or why He came.
The real problem about this story is that it has been appropriated to be a time of spending and making money, spending money by us and making money by retailers.
Look all around the stores and malls. The decorations are all about pretty lights and decorations reminding us that Christmas is coming, and we need to buy all of those gifts now, before they are all gone. There is nothing anywhere about what Christmas is all about – the birth of Jesus. You will never see that for someone might be offended.
Maybe it is time for us to read about the coming of Jesus in a completely new light, one that shows who Jesus is and why He came. There is such a story but one that is rarely told anytime of the year. It is a short story and it is taken from scripture verses written by the Apostle John, in his Gospel and from the 1st letter of John. Here they are without the verse numbers just as they may have been written in a letter
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.
The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. The light shined in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
This is the record, that God has given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that has the Son has life; and he that has not the Son of God has not life.
These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may believe on the name of the Son of God. He that believes on the Son has everlasting life: and he that believes not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abides on him.”
Jesus is the Word of God, born of a woman, divine in nature and human in flesh. He came into this sinful world to provide forgiveness of sins and eternal life for all who would believe in Him and confess Him to be Lord.
This is the true story of the coming of Jesus; who He is and why He came. This is the story that should be added to the traditional Christmas story as this completes what is left out.
Without knowing who Jesus is and why He came, the story of the baby born in a manger is meaningless, just a good human-interest story. Jesus is the Word of God, He was with God and He is God, and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
These things have been written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may believe on the name of the Son of God.
He that believes on Jesus has everlasting life: and he that believes not Jesus shall not see life; but the wrath of God abides on him.
Come; let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.
Saved By Grace – The Act of Being Born Again
Grace, salvation and born-again, many words being bandied about, what do they all mean anyway?
Good question and one in which we will find out the answers but first, let us see some of the verses where these words are used in the Bible. To sort ‘a give us an idea of their meaning.
• Titus_3:5 (KJV) Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
• John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
• Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
• Eph 2:5 Even when we were dead in sins, (God) hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
Now as to what these words mean here are their Biblical descriptions taken from the original text.
1. Grace – the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life.
2. Saved (salvation) – to save, that is, deliver or protect (literally or figuratively)
3. Born-Again – to regenerate: – be born from above; again,
Being born-again is the action done by the grace of God by which He saves people, and this action all takes place in one moment of time as described in this verse from Titus 3: 5:
Titus_3:5 (KJV) Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
We know from Ephesians 2:5, 8 that salvation is by God’s grace and In this one verse, we see God saving people through the act of regeneration, of being born-again, by the renewing work of the Holy Spirit all done by the grace of God.
Simply put, when we are born-again by grace we are saved for all eternity.
All this is the work of God, done by His will as He chooses and when He chooses upon whom he chooses. That is why it is said that, “Salvation is all of God.”
God must do all that is involved in anyone’s salvation for no one will ever be saved otherwise. Man, being dead in his sin will never, of his own will, ever choose to proclaim Jesus to be Lord and believe on Him.
Only when anyone is saved by the grace of God will they be able cry out to God for forgiveness and to confess Jesus as Lord and to believe on Him that He lived, He died for sins, and He rose again from the dead to give us eternal life.
It really is quite simple. There is no other way of salvation. We must be saved by grace – the act of being born-again
Assurance of Eternal Life Kept By God
Do you believe in eternal life? In the Scriptures, like John 10: 28, the word for eternal means, “perpetual(also used of past time, or past and future as well): – eternal, forever, everlasting,”
Here is what John 10: 18 says about eternal life in its context:
Joh 10:11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep
Joh 10:25 Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of me.
Joh 10:26 But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.
Joh 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
Joh 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any manpluck them out of my hand.
Joh 10:29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck themout of my Father’s hand.
If you read the bible at all, you will recognize that these verses are of the story of Jesus being the good shepherd. These words are the words of Jesus as He spoke them to the Pharisees. In these verses, we hear Jesus giving assurance to His Sheep that they have eternal life and that they will never perish nor will any of them be lost.
In fact, in another verse in the gospel of John chapter 6 Jesus again says that He will not lose any of all that the Father brings to Him. In John 6: 37 – 40 Jesus says the following:
Joh 6:37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
Joh 6:38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
Joh 6:39 And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.
Joh 6:40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.
These sayings by Jesus are very clear and specific that once a person is saved (born again), and given eternal life, they have the assurance of Jesus that they will “Never” be lost again. He says, “ALL that the Father gives to Him will come to Him and that He will lose “NONE” of them.”
Yet, there are some Christian religions that teach that you can lose your salvation based on what “you” do after you are born again. They are very much like what Paul says in Galatians 3: 2 – 3:
Gal 3:2 This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
Gal 3:3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?
Works of any kind do not save anyone nor do works of any kind after being born again keeps one saved, for we are not justified by any kind of work. As Paul says in Galatians 2: 16:
Gal_2:16 (KJV) Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
For by grace are we saved through the faith of Jesus given to us by which we believe on Him and are justified by this same faith, the faith of Jesus, that is given to us as a gift as explained in Ephesians 2: 8, 9.
Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast
You see, we are not given the gift of eternal life by anything that we do, nor are we kept saved for eternal life by works of any kind on our part. Actually, we are kept by God as we see in 1 Peter 1: 3 – 5:
1Pe 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
1Pe 1:4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,
1Pe 1:5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
Once one is born again by the Spirit of God, we are forgiven, Justified by the faith of Christ and kept by the power of God giving us all the assurance we need that eternal life is ours forever.
Any good work that one does after being saved is not done in order to keep our salvation. No, good works are done as evidence of our salvation. Faith in Christ proves one is saved and already has eternal life, given by Jesus and kept by God.
If you still believe that you can lose your salvation and suffer loss of eternal life, instead of what God tells us in Scripture, then maybe you are not yet one of the sheep that belongs to Jesus.
Would you rather trust in yourself, or in the power of God for assurance of eternal life!
The Cross Is Not The Focal Point
Many people will look upon the cross with wonder and ponder its meaning. Very few people, however, will look to the cross as to what happened upon it and why.
Isaiah the Prophet said this about the future:
Isa 53:3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Isa 53:4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
Isa 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
Isa 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Isa 53:7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth
Then, many years later, Jesus said this about Himself:
Joh 10:11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
Joh 10:12 But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.
Joh 10:13 The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep.
Joh 10:14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.
Joh 10:15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.
Joh 10:16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, andone shepherd.
Joh 10:17 Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.
Joh 10:18 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.
Later on Jesus said this:
Joh 10:24 Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly.
Joh 10:25 Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of me.
Joh 10:26 But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.
Joh 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
Joh 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any manpluck them out of my hand.
Joh 10:29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck themout of my Father’s hand.
The cross, itself, is not the focal point of all of this. What is the focal point is what Jesus did upon the cross, to die in our place for our sins, and to secure forgiveness for all of His sheep, and to save us from facing the wrath of God that is to come on Judgement Day.
Jesus laid down His life of His own accord so that all whom God gave to Him will receive forgiveness for sins, be given eternal life, and to insure that we shall never perish nor be taken from the love of the Father.
It is for us to look unto Jesus and be saved. For all who call upon the name of Jesus, confess that He is Lord,and believe that, after His death and burial, He was raised from the dead, will be saved, called and justified.
Many will see the cross and not see Jesus, but all who are of the sheepfold of Jesus will not only see Him but will also follow Him when He calls them to come with Him.
How about you? Do you just see the cross or do you see Jesus and hear Him calling you to come with Him? For Jesus said:
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”
The Unknown Sin Of Most Christians
The sin of most Christians is one that we do not realize we have done. This sin, about which I speak, is the sin where we take credit for being born again of our own will and not by the will of God.
People are always being told to just “accept” Jesus as savior and you will be saved. I thought this as well, even saying it, until I started studying the scriptures for myself.
The following verses made me see that it was by God’s will that we are saved and not by our own will. I could no longer say, “I was saved when I accepted Jesus.” Instead, what I now say is, “When God saved me…”
We all realize that we are a sinful people. Because of this sinfulness, we are spiritually dead to God. As we read in these scripture verses.
In Ephesians 2: 1 we read the following:
1 – “And you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins;”
From Colossians 2: 13 we read:
13 – “And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath He quickened with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses;”
In being spiritually dead our will is free only to act according to our nature and, since we have a sin nature, it is our nature to commit acts of sin. That is why we take credit for our salvation. It is natural to say “I” and we see no wrong.
The word “quickened” in these verses talks about the act of being “born again”. So when does the act of being quickened or “born again” occur, and when are we saved if we cannot choose to be saved of our own will?
In my studying this question, these verses made me see that it is by God’s will that we are saved and not by our own will.
In Ephesians 2: 4, 5 we read this:
4 – But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
5 – Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)”
Now we see that the act of being “born again”, and awakened from being spiritually dead, occurs by God’s grace while we are still dead in our sins.
Further on in Ephesians 2: 8, 9 we read these verses:
8 – “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 – Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
We must be given life before we can respond to God calling us. Just like Lazarus had to be given life before he could respond to Jesus calling out to him to “come forth”. If he had not been given life, Lazarus would have stayed in the grave. So we, too, would remain in our dead spiritual grave unless we are first given life to respond.
In Romans 9: 11 – 16 where the Apostle is giving a defense of the doctrine of election, he explains why God chose Jacob over Esau:
11 – “(For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)
12 – It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.
13 – As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
14 – What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.
15 – For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
16 – So then it is not of him that wills, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.”
We see here that it was not by Jacob’s will, or because of any works that he might do, that God choose him over Esau. No, for it was by God’s will, according to election, that Jacob was chosen.
One last verse that sums all this up quite nicely is found in John 1: 12, 13 where we read the following:
12 – “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, to them that believe on his name:
13 – Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”
Many pastors will quote verse 12 but never follow up with verse 13, which explains verse 12.
You will be told that if you receive Jesus you will be given the right to become children of God. When actually this verse is saying that God first gives man the right to become children of God and, in response, man will receive Jesus.
Verse 13 explains this and tells us how this happens, and when. The first thing we read in verse 13 is “Which were born”. This is talking about being “born again” which has to happen first, and the act of being “born again” is not by one being born into a Christian family, or because of any good works, NOR BECAUSE OF THE WILL OF MAN, but of God.
You see, it is by God’s will that anyone is saved, and we are saved by grace which is the act of being “born again”. Because we are spiritually dead, we have to be given life, spiritual life, first before we can believe on Jesus and confess Him to be Lord.
In saying, “When God saved me…” gives God credit for our salvation, and rightly so. For it is by His will, not ours, that we are born again and given the power to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and to be brought into the family of God.
Faith Alone Brings Peace Through Justification
As I sit here writing December’s post I am listening to Christmas music. It is after all the Christmas season and there is holiday music on every radio station to which I listen. Yes, I did say radio. Outside it is snowing, slightly, but it is snowing; makes for a quiet, peaceful moment.
How about you, do you have a peaceful feeling this time of the year? For Christians we can have peace all year round. How? Simply through faith in Jesus for having done for us what we cannot do for ourselves. Just like we read in Galatians 2: 16…
“Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.”
You see, it is not by any good works that we do before, during and after having been born again by the Spirit of God do we receive salvation. It is done for us by Jesus, and by having faith that it is by Him, and the works that He did, that we are saved, and are justified by the faith of Jesus.
Not only are we saved by faith alone in Jesus, but as we read in Romans 1: 17…
“The just shall live by faith.”
Faith alone, in Jesus Christ, is all anyone needs to stand righteous before God. Any good works that we think we might have done does not contribute to our salvation and neither does any good work that we might do after we are born again will keep us saved. Only by faith alone in Jesus is our salvation accomplished, completed and secured. Nothing more is needed.
Through faith alone in Jesus can we proclaim what we read in Romans 5:1…
“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:”
This Christmas and every day of the year, year after year, we can declare that we stand before God just as if we had never sinned. We now stand justified because of the faith of Jesus given to us with which to believe in Him, and in the work that He did for us in order that we would receive forgiveness for our sins. With that, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Now I do not know about you but this is the kind of peace that I want and already have. You can have this peace as well. If you will just confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead you will be saved.
You will come to understand the truth of why “Faith alone in Jesus is all that is needed to bring us peace through justification” because of the person and work of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
The Faith of Our Salvation Was Written By Jesus
Our salvation is not of our works. We know this by scripture, especially one that is written in Ephesians 2: 8, 9. Here is what it says.
Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
It is by grace, and not by our works, that we are saved, and we are given this gift of faith with which we believe on the Lord Jesus, and this gift of faith comes from God. The question is this. Whose faith is given to us through which we believe?
The answer is given to us in Hebrews 12:2
Heb 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
The faith through which we believe was created by Jesus. He wrote our faith by His obedience to the Father while He was here on earth. Only Jesus lived a life in perfect obedience to God and, in doing so, He did for us what we could not do for ourselves.
The faith, through which we believe is given to us, after being saved by grace, and it is through the perfect faith of Jesus by which we are justified. The proof of this is our believing in Jesus as Lord through this faith given to us for one specific purpose – our Salvation.
Jesus created our faith; He authored it and finished it through His perfect obedience. Without His faith given to us we would not, and could not, be saved.
Gal_2:16 (KJV) Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
Truly, Jesus wrote the faith of our salvation. Praise God that He did.
I cannot imagine my imperfect faith, that I would work up, satisfying God’s justice and being forgiven for my sinful and imperfect life. It just would not be good enough.
A Greater Freedom
On July 4, 1776 the American colonies declared its independence from Great Britain claiming itself to be a free nation comprised of 13 states creating a country called The United States of America. The rest is history.
However, do you know that there is even a greater freedom, one that God offers to man from which they need to be set free or perish?
This is something everyone who has ever lived, is living now and will live in the future already has, and is something with which they are born. There is none better than Jesus to explain what it is from which man must be set free.
Read these verses from John 8 in which Jesus is speaking:
Joh 8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
Joh 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
Joh 8:33 They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayestthou, Ye shall be made free?
Joh 8:34 Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
Joh 8:35 And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.
Joh 8:36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
In verse 34 the word “servant” actually means “Slave”. The problem is that everyone is born with a sin nature, making everyone a servant, or slave, to sin. Everyone who dies without being set free from this slavery will perish. Only in Jesus can this freedom be found. As Jesus said, “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” Jesus also said, “No one can come to the Father except by me.” No one else can give you this freedom.
Receiving this freedom is easy. In Romans 10: 9, 10 we read this:
Rom 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (set free from sin)
Rom 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
You can receive your own freedom. Repent of your sins. Believe on the Lord Jesus. Call upon Him as Lord, submit to His will, and receive the freedom, true freedom from being a servant to sin to being a servant to God, which only Jesus can give.
Make this time your time to receive your freedom. Believe on the Lord Jesus now and be saved from suffering eternal punishment because of your enslavement to sin. Jesus will set you free, truly free indeed.
Today you can proclaim this your Independence Day.
The importance Of The Resurrection Of Jesus
Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?
But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty.
Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise.
For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.
If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.
1 Corinthians 15: 22 – 19
But now, Christ is risen and has been seen by, not only the Apostles, but by as many as 500 followers as well.
He is risen … Jesus is risen in deed…
Riff's Christian Journal 