Resurrection of Christ

The point: Read and re-read William Payne's article 'Pastor, What's the Difference?' to master its basic approach to distinguishing historic Christianity from contemporary evangelical thought.

Martin mentions William Payne's article 'Pastor, What's the Difference?' which arose from church members' questions about the distinction between contemporary evangelical thought and historic Christianity. This illustrates the need for clear doctrinal understanding.

We gave a rather extensive plug for this particular edition, Pastor, What's the Difference?, by William Payne. And William Payne is a personal friend of mine who indicated that this particular article came out of the many questions pressed upon him by his own church members as they have been moving more and more into an understanding of historic Christian doctrine. They will come to him and say, Pastor, what is the difference between contemporary evangelism and evangelical thought and historic Christianity?

0:31 - 1:04 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: This section asserts the historical fact of Christ's resurrection, arguing against those who deem it immaterial. Martin quotes 1 Corinthians 15:12-19 to show that denying the…

Martin contrasts those who prioritize the 'experience' or 'glow' of resurrection joy over the historical fact of Christ's empty tomb. This highlights the biblical emphasis on the objective, historical reality of the resurrection.

And Paul's confidence in his spiritual condition of no condemnation, was firmly embedded in the historical reality and factuality of the resurrection. You see, there are people in our day who say, Look, let's not be fastidious about the facts of the Bible. The important thing is experiencing the reality of those facts. So if we live in the glow and the joy of the resurrection of Christ, there was actually a tomb into which Joseph of Arimathea carried his body, where his body lay for part of three days, and which was then empty.

9:33 - 10:13 Read in full sermon

The point: When reading Christ's stupendous claims in the Gospels, try to read them as if standing at the foot of the cross after His death to appreciate the vindication brought by the resurrection.

Martin challenges listeners to imagine reading Christ's 'stupendous claims' (e.g., 'I and my Father are one,' 'I give them eternal life') while standing at the foot of the cross after His death. This vividly illustrates how meaningless those claims would seem without the resurrection.

Now we often take that for granted, but let me encourage you to do something. The next time you're reading in the Gospels and you're reading some of these stupendous claims of Christ, will you try to read them as though you were standing beneath the foot of the cross two minutes after he died and see how much sense you can make out of them. With your mind's eye, go with your Bible to Mount Calvary and behold the bruised, beaten form of the Son of God in the heavens shrouded in blackness and then imagine yourself hearing these words that came from his lips a few short months before.

29:28 - 30:07 Read in full sermon

The point: If the thought of a single unatoned sin has never terrified you, you have never taken God or your sin seriously.

Martin tells a story of a king/judge known for inflexible justice, who sentences a criminal to prison or a fine. Seeing the criminal walking free weeks later, one knows the debt was paid. This illustrates how Christ's resurrection is God's confirmation that the full debt of sin was paid by His sacrifice.

Let me illustrate. Suppose you heard of a certain king who also acted as judge in his kingdom. He was known for his absolute and inflexible justice, for his impeccable, spotless moral integrity, he could never be moved by a bribe, he could never be threatened by pressure to deviate from the path of inflexible justice. Now you hear of a certain man who's committed a crime in his kingdom.

34:53 - 35:26 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin explains that Christ's resurrection is God's prediction of the ultimate glorified state of all His people, as Christ is the 'firstfruits' of those who sleep. This truth…

Martin explains the Old Testament concept of 'firstfruits' (Leviticus 23) as both sanctifying the whole harvest and pledging the rest. He applies this to tithes and offerings, then to Christ as the 'firstfruits' of the resurrection, pledging the future glorification of all believers.

You have treatment of it in Leviticus 23 and many other Old Testament passages. When the harvest was ripe, a portion of that harvest was gleaned and was brought in as an offering unto the Lord and it seemed to have a twofold significance. There may be more, but at least these two things. It was a sanctifying of the entire harvest.

45:19 - 45:39 Read in full sermon