The Fact of the Resurrection
And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. —1 Corinthians 15:14
Billy Graham tells the story of French philosopher Auguste Comte and Scottish essayist Thomas Carlyle. Comte told Carlyle that he was planning to start a new religion that would take the place of Christianity. It would have no mysteries; it would be as plain as the multiplication table.
"Very good," Carlyle said. "All you will need to do will be to speak as never a man spake [sic], and live as never a man lived, and be crucified, and rise again the third day, and get the world to believe that you are still alive. Then your religion will have a chance to get on."
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Obviously, no one can do that. Yet I am amazed at how many people will believe just about anything but the right thing. But if you dare suggest they consider reading the Bible, they will look at you as though you have lost your mind. Why? Because they know there is something in it they probably won't like.
If the resurrection of Jesus Christ were a fabrication, as some would suggest, why would every apostle be willing to die the death of a martyr? If it was a well-planned hoax, why did not even one of them give a deathbed confession, or more importantly, deny the faith to avoid being martyred?
But everyone went to an early grave, with the exception of John the beloved. They would not deny it. They could not deny it, because it was true. And it is true. It is based on proof. It is based on evidence. And the wonderful fact of the resurrection of Jesus is that it's the bedrock upon which all the Christian faith ultimately rests.
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