Feeding the Lambs - Basic Christianity
The Resurrection of the Dead
"But tell me this—since we preach that Christ rose from the dead, why are some of you saying there will be no resurrection of the dead? For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless. And we apostles would all be lying about God—for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can’t be true if there is no resurrection of the dead. And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.
But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died.
So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life."
-the Apostle Paul writing to the first believers in Corinth, 1st century
1 Corinthians 15:12-22
[11th message of the New Believer Series]
We have talked about the gospel or the good news of the Kingdom of God in the preceding message -- that 10th message along with this one, tells us what Basic Christianity is all about.
Basics
What Paul is making clear is that the Christian faith is based on Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ.
This reason why Christians believe what they believe and why he is preaching what he is preaching -- is Jesus of Nazareth defeating death
Paul said that if Christ was not raised from the dead then what he is preaching on and what believers are believing in are useless.
Everything else that Christians believe in are based off of this fact. And it is a fact they have witnessed, and other people since and throughout history have been trying to disprove.
The early believers would not denounce this belief, even to the point of being canceled, tortured and killed. 2,000 years later, believers today are still being canceled, punished and killed for believing in Christ.
Paul said that if Christ was not raised from the dead then what he is preaching on and what believers are believing in are useless.
Everything else that Christians believe in are based off of this fact. And it is a fact they have witnessed, and other people since and throughout history have been trying to disprove.
The early believers would not denounce this belief, even to the point of being canceled, tortured and killed. 2,000 years later, believers today are still being canceled, punished and killed for believing in Christ.
He is Risen
Jesus, by backing up what He has taught for three years with a demonstration of God's power and fulfilling what has long been written about the Messiah, the Savior of the world, and with the coming of the Holy Spirit, has transformed His followers and all believers from then on -- changing their unbelief and skepticism to real faith.
Having not seen Christ, believers after the first century have continued to come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ of Nazareth and believe on what He has taught about, through the power of the Holy Spirit and hearing and reading what was written about Him.
Christian Scriptures
The gospels told and retold, and as written by those who were with Jesus when He was teaching about the Kingdom of God is what believers today have placed their trust in. [These manuscripts form the heart of the best selling book of all time, and also the most hated book as well as the most banned book.]
These were the books written by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Luke wrote a sequel detailing those which happened after Jesus have left and after the Holy Spirit came. This is when Paul came in and when he brought the gospel outside of where Jesus taught. He also wrote letters to individuals and the early churches (such as where we took the excerpt above, from a letter to the first church in Corinth).
All these manuscripts were compiled and about 300 years after Jesus left and the Holy Spirit started the first church, the leaders of the churches already scattered all over the world came together and agreed on what their Christian faith is all about and what manuscripts they were based on.
These then comprised the Christian Scriptures, we now call as the New Testament bible.
The Old Has Gone, The New Has Come
Jesus when He was teaching referred to passages from the Jewish Scriptures (the Old Testament bible). Through the guidance and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, writers of the New Testament referred to passages from the Jewish Scriptures and these teachings from the Jewish Scriptures became part of the teachings of the Christian faith.
And this is where new believers are jumping on today.
Christianity is all about Christ. It is not about Peter, Paul or Mary. It is not about Pharoah, Pilate, Philemon or Priscilla. It is not about the three kings, the whale or the unicorn. It is not about religious rituals, fasting, praying or showing people how many verses you have memorized or how much of the Scriptures you know about. It is not about being the pope, a bishop, a minister, a priest or a pastor.
Jesus, by backing up what He has taught for three years with a demonstration of God's power and fulfilling what has long been written about the Messiah, the Savior of the world, and with the coming of the Holy Spirit, has transformed His followers and all believers from then on -- changing their unbelief and skepticism to real faith.
Having not seen Christ, believers after the first century have continued to come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ of Nazareth and believe on what He has taught about, through the power of the Holy Spirit and hearing and reading what was written about Him.
Christian Scriptures
The gospels told and retold, and as written by those who were with Jesus when He was teaching about the Kingdom of God is what believers today have placed their trust in. [These manuscripts form the heart of the best selling book of all time, and also the most hated book as well as the most banned book.]
These were the books written by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Luke wrote a sequel detailing those which happened after Jesus have left and after the Holy Spirit came. This is when Paul came in and when he brought the gospel outside of where Jesus taught. He also wrote letters to individuals and the early churches (such as where we took the excerpt above, from a letter to the first church in Corinth).
All these manuscripts were compiled and about 300 years after Jesus left and the Holy Spirit started the first church, the leaders of the churches already scattered all over the world came together and agreed on what their Christian faith is all about and what manuscripts they were based on.
These then comprised the Christian Scriptures, we now call as the New Testament bible.
The Old Has Gone, The New Has Come
Jesus when He was teaching referred to passages from the Jewish Scriptures (the Old Testament bible). Through the guidance and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, writers of the New Testament referred to passages from the Jewish Scriptures and these teachings from the Jewish Scriptures became part of the teachings of the Christian faith.
And this is where new believers are jumping on today.
Christianity is all about Christ. It is not about Peter, Paul or Mary. It is not about Pharoah, Pilate, Philemon or Priscilla. It is not about the three kings, the whale or the unicorn. It is not about religious rituals, fasting, praying or showing people how many verses you have memorized or how much of the Scriptures you know about. It is not about being the pope, a bishop, a minister, a priest or a pastor.
New Life
Christ resurrected, the forgiveness of sins and believers being reborn is what Christianity is all about
New believers are transformed by the saving knowledge of Christ Jesus. If there is no outward change, then there might not be an inward one. If a new believer has not yet been reborn, if their eyes still cannot see, if their ears still cannot hear, if their hearts are still callous, if their minds are still not renewed, and if their spirit still cannot discern the Spirit of God, then they still are not called children of God.
Christ resurrected, the forgiveness of sins and believers being reborn is what Christianity is all about
New believers are transformed by the saving knowledge of Christ Jesus. If there is no outward change, then there might not be an inward one. If a new believer has not yet been reborn, if their eyes still cannot see, if their ears still cannot hear, if their hearts are still callous, if their minds are still not renewed, and if their spirit still cannot discern the Spirit of God, then they still are not called children of God.
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