Russell Mckinney's Blog

Straight Talk About God and Life

No Church Today

We had to cancel church today due to our second big snow in six weeks. Whereas the December storm dumped a foot on us, this one only gave us six or seven inches. I suppose we should be grateful that the weather guys missed the forecast a little. We were supposed to have gotten a foot again.

I really do hate cancelling church. The fact is, I could get there. I have not one but two all-wheel-drive vehicles and am pretty good at driving on snow and ice. I could get the parking lot scraped too. My brother-in-law, Ben, has a big blade on his jeep and volunteers to handle that job for me.

So why cancel? I do it because I don’t want anybody getting hurt by trying to get to church on a wintry morning. If one car ended up in a ditch, I’d feel terrible. If one elderly person slipped and broke a hip while getting in or out of a car, I’d feel terrible. If one mother’s feet gave way and she went down while holding her child, I’d feel terrible. I know that we are not supposed to live in fear of what could happen, and I’m really not a “doom and gloom” person. But I don’t think God wants us to completely abandon common sense in some misguided, fanatical zeal about never missing a church service.

As I listened to the church closings on our local radio station this morning, it became obvious that 95% of the pastors took the same cautious approach I did today. No church was having regular services. One was only having an 11:00 worship service. A couple were having one 2:00 service this afternoon. But 95% just cancelled everything.

For me, a Sunday morning without church is like a basketball court without goals. It’s just not right. I’m not one of these people who secretly cheers when church gets cancelled. (Seriously, if you are such a person, you need to do some soul searching and figure out why getting to “legally” skip church excites you.) And it’s not just the fact that I want to preach. It seems like I’m always preparing sermons or preaching them. The thing is, I really do miss the fellowship and community of church. I enjoy being around my brothers and sisters in Christ. I enjoy them being a blessing to me and me being a blessing to them.

Oh well, my prayer on days like today is that cancelling services will help the members realize how much they enjoy coming to Disciples Road Church. It’s the old “absence makes the heart grow fonder” thing. I don’t ever want church attendance to become rut or ritual to them. I don’t even want it to become mere ”religion.” Christianity got off track when it became a religion. It was always supposed to be a relationship, a relationship between the believer and Jesus. And as a integral part of that relationship, the believer is supposed to attend church on Sunday, the first day of the week, as a way of celebrating Christ’s resurrection on that Sunday morning so long ago. Yes, Christians are supposed to do that celebrating every Sunday, not just Easter Sunday.

On a completely different note, I did get one bit of good news this morning. My scales weighed me at 187 pounds. So, I’ve lost 14 pounds in 20 days since I started my diet and exercise program. If you want to know the specifics of how I’m doing it, go back and read the post entitled “It’s Diet Time Again.” 

My goal is still to get somewhere between 175 and 180 pounds. From there I’ll just be trying to maintain. I’ve been in that range before, and I’ve even held it for a couple of years, but it doesn’t happen naturally. What naturally happens is me drifting back up over 200 pounds. Since I know that full well, maybe I can prevent it from happening this time and stay at my ideal weight. Now if I can just figure out a way to safely have church after a big snow on Saturday. That one is a little more problematic.            

January 31, 2010 Posted by russellmckinney | Christ's Resurrection, Church attendance, Easter, Personal, church, dieting | , , , , | Leave a Comment

Big Snows, Global Warming, & God

I don’t know how the weather is where you are, but here in Spruce Pine, NC we’re still buried in snow. It started snowing early Friday morning and didn’t stop until late Saturday night. By that time we had twelve inches on the ground. Yes, that’s right, a full foot of the white stuff. Actually, the highest elevations in our three-county area got two feet.

Since this snow is one of those “heavy” ones, we’ve been living under the constant threat of broken branches falling down onto power lines. Fortunately, our house only lost power for about three hours on Friday night. But other folks in the area didn’t fare so well. Some were without power for over a day. As for church today, we cancelled, just like virtually everybody else around here did.

The thing that has fascinated me about this snow is the effect it has had upon my two boys. They’ve seen snow before, but they haven’t seen a big storm like this. These mountains of western North Carolina get a fair amount of snow, but you have to go back to the winter of 1993 to find a storm that dumped this much on us. 

Actually, when I was a kid, some thirty or thirty-five years ago, we got these big snows much more frequently. I’m being serious and literal when I say that one year we were out of school for virtually the entire month of January. But, alas, now our typical snows are in the two to four-inch range. That’s what made this one such an event for the boys.

Over the past couple of days, they’ve ridden their snowboards for hours on end, built not one but two snowmen in our front yard, and begun construction on a couple of snow forts in the back yard. I don’t think the forts will get finished, but the boys have never even begun such forts after previous snows. That right there tells you that this storm is one for the memory banks.

Ryan, the twelve-year-old, said something interesting to me yesterday. He said, “Daddy, I’ve never seen a snow this big. Is this one of those like you got when you were a kid?” I said, “Yes, son, it is. It really is.” Following that conversation, I thought to myself, “Here is a boy twelve years old, and yet he’s just now seeing a snow this big. What should I make of that?” What I made of it is that our weather seems to have changed even over the course of my lifetime.

But, please, don’t put me on the global warming bandwagon with Al Gore and the others just yet. I have no point of reference for the weather in other parts of the world. Furthermore, even if our planet is getting warmer, it doesn’t necessarily follow that the increase is the result of what mankind has been doing to the planet. Maybe we have simply entered into a different long-term weather cycle.  

What I’m absolutely, positively, don’t have a doubt in my mind about, 100% sure of is that global warming isn’t going to bring about the end of life of earth. I’ve studied Bible prophecy and I know how things are going to play out. Yes, the book of The Revelation describes ecological disasters and cataclysmic events, but they all take place under the sovereign control of God. Our weather operates inside His mighty hands.

So, Chicken Little, calm down and know that God is in charge of such big departments as the weather and life on earth. I don’t mean to convey a “don’t worry, be happy” attitude, because much of the prophesied stuff for this earth’s future is very grim. But let’s never forget that God is in control. Not man. Not mother nature. Not mother earth. Not big business. Not Greenpeace. Not the United Nations. There is no panic in heaven, and the whole situation down here is in no way spiraling toward some undetermined end.

I can’t speak for you, but that simple, childlike faith in a sovereign God gives me great comfort. It makes me feel “safe.” What’s even better is the fact that this sovereign God once took human flesh upon Himself and was crucified on a Roman cross for the sins of the world. Even better than that is the fact that He arose from the dead and ascended back to heaven. Even better than that is the fact that I have placed my belief in Him as Savior. So, come deep snow, wintry mix, rain, or sunshine, I can rest in the knowledge that I will spend eternity with Him. That should give anybody a warm feeling on a night when there is a blanket of snow on the ground.

December 21, 2009 Posted by russellmckinney | Christ's birth, Christ's Death, Christ's Resurrection, God's Omnipotence, Personal, Prophecy, Worry, faith, fear, salvation, weather | , , , , , , | Leave a Comment

Five Good Questions About Water Baptism

There is much debate and confusion concerning water baptism. This is sad because the subject is such an important aspect of Christianity. Only by going to the Bible and studying all of the passages that relate to the issue can we get at the truth. When we do this, we find the answers to five fundamental questions.

Question #1: Who Is Qualified For Water Baptism? 

The Bible plainly teaches that only born-again Christians can rightly submit to water baptism. To be born again, one must put saving belief (faith) in Jesus Christ (John 1:12-13; 3:3; 3:16-18; 1st John 5:1). Born-again Christians are people who have heard the gospel of Christ, seen themselves as sinners bound for hell, understood that Jesus died to pay the debt for their sins, and genuinely believed in Him as their personal Savior. This belief (faith) in Jesus brings eternal forgiveness and salvation to the individual (John 3:16; Acts 10:43; Romans 1:16-17; Galatians 3:26; Ephesians 2:8-9; 1st John 5:1,13).

Such “believers” are qualified for water baptism because they have experienced Holy Spirit baptism (Matthew 3:11; John 7:37-39; Acts 1:5; 10:44-48; 1st Corinthians 12:13). Holy Spirit baptism is God the Holy Spirit taking up residence within the person who has put saving belief in Christ. This happens at the initial moment of the saving belief. Actually, it is Holy Spirit baptism that produces the “new birth” that makes one a born-again Christian. It is nonsense for people to claim to be Christians if they haven’t experienced Holy Spirit baptism (Acts 11:15-18; 15:6-8; Romans 5:5; 8:8-11, 8:14-16; 1st Corinthians 6:19; 2nd Corinthians 1:22; 3:3; 5:5; Galatians 4:6; Ephesians 1:13-14; Ephesians 4:30; 1st Thessalonians 4:8; 2nd Timothy 1:14; 1st John 3:23-24; 4:12-13).

All of this means that the common practice of baptizing infants is wrong. Likewise, it is equally wrong to baptize any adult who hasn’t put legitimate saving belief in Christ. The fact is that anyone, regardless of age, race, or religion, who hasn’t been baptized with the Holy Spirit has no business whatsoever being baptized in water. This is why water baptism is oftentimes rightly referred to as “believer’s baptism.”

Question #2: Does A Person Have To Submit To Water Baptism To Be Saved?　

The answer is, NO. In the New Testament there are over two-hundred verses that teach that salvation comes through belief (faith) in Christ. Many passages use the word “faith,” while others use words such “belief,” “believe,” or “believed.” Obviously, these words are interchangeable.

If water baptism played any part whatsoever in salvation we would find it consistently mentioned in the Bible whenever the plan of salvation is presented. What we find, however, is the exact opposite. For example, the apostle Paul said that he didn’t do much baptizing (1st Corinthians 1:13-17). He also didn’t mention water baptism when he gave the Corinthians his definition of the gospel (1st Corinthians 15:1-11). Paul’s words and actions seem very strange if water baptism is required for salvation. Paul was like Jesus, who Himself didn’t baptize anyone (John 4:1-2).

It’s true that Peter mentioned water baptism in the invitation he gave in his sermon on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:37-38), but he didn’t mention it in other sermons he preached (Acts 3:12-26; 5:29-32; 10:34-43). As a matter of fact, the Bible even points out that those who were saved after hearing the Pentecost sermon were saved by belief (Acts 2:44).

To contend that water baptism is vital to salvation is to create two plans of salvation. The people of the Old Testament age, not being baptized, would have been saved in a different way than the people of the New Testament age. Furthermore, the believers who lived during Christ’s earthly life did not experience Christian baptism. This group included the apostles. Many of these believers were baptized in the Jordan river by John the Baptist, but John’s baptism was not Christian baptism. When an individual was baptized by John, that individual was simply making a public profession of repentance (Matthew 3:4-12; Mark 1:4-5; Acts 10:34-37; 18:24-25; 19:1-5). This repentance was supposed to prepare the individual to accept the Messiah, who was soon to come and offer salvation (Matthew 3:11-12; Luke 7:24-30). This explains why John was hesitant to baptize Jesus (Matthew 3:13-14). John knew that Jesus had no sins to repent of and that He was the Messiah.

Still, despite the fact that they did not experience Christian baptism, the Old Testament believers and those who believed during Christ’s earthly life were saved (Psalm 23:6; Luke 7:37-50; 23:39-43; Hebrews 11:1-40). There is even an entire chapter (Romans chapter 4) of the Bible that is devoted to the teaching that salvation has always been through saving faith in the one, true Lord.

Question #3: Why Should The Christian Submit To Water Baptism?

Water baptism is a beautiful object lesson. First, it shows what has happened in the Christian’s earthly existence. In going under the water, the Christian is publicly saying, “I am now dead to sin” (Romans 6:1-2; 6:6-7; 6:11-14). The waters of baptism have even been called “a liquid tomb.” In coming up from under the water, the Christian is saying, “I am now alive to walk in the newness of the Christian life” (Romans 6:4; 6:6; 6:8; 6:10-14).

Second, water baptism shows what will happen in the Christian’s eternal existence. In going under the water, the Christian is publicly identifying himself or herself with Christ’s death and burial (Romans 6:3-5; 6:8). In coming up from under the water, the Christian is publicly identifying himself or herself with Christ’s resurrection from the dead (Romans 6:5; 6:8-9). By submitting to water baptism, the Christian is saying, “I know that Christ will not leave my body in the grave. My body will one day be gloriously resurrected, just as His body was” (1st Corinthians 15:20-24; 15:42-50).

Understanding how water baptism is a two-fold object lesson makes it easy to see why Jesus commanded that those won to Him should submit to it (Matthew 28:19). The Bible even says that a Christian can be saved from a guilty conscience toward God only by submitting to water baptism (1st Peter 3:21). If the Christian refuses water baptism, he or she will eventually feel guilty about the disobedience (Luke 6:46; John 15:14; James 4:16).

In the days of the early church, those who believed in Christ as Savior were expected to immediately submit to water baptism (Mark 16:15-16; Acts 2:37-41; 8:12; 8:26-40; 9:17-18; 10:44-49; 16:14-15; 16:25-34; 18:8; 19:1-7). Keep in mind that the early Christians had no church buildings, pews, aisles, or altars. Therefore, a public water baptism was a profound way for an individual to openly show that he or she was believing in Christ as Savior (Matthew 10:32). For that matter, it still is!

Question #4: What mode of water baptism is correct?　

Total immersion is the only mode of water baptism that is described in the Bible. This is plainly seen in passages which describe John the Baptist’s baptisms as well as Christian baptisms (Matthew 3:13-16; John 3:23; Acts 8:35-39). The modes of sprinkling and pouring are not scriptural.

Keep in mind that the object lesson is what makes the mode so important. Water baptism is supposed to show the Christian’s death and burial to sin as well as Christ’s own physical death and burial. Total immersion in the water is the only mode that truly pictures death and burial. When we bury a corpse, we don’t just sprinkle or pour a bit of dirt over that body. Instead, we immerse that body completely in the ground.

Question #5: What Words Should Be Said During Water Baptism?　

Frankly, the exact words don’t seem nearly as important as the mode. Jesus told His followers to baptize “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). Peter told a group of Jews to be baptized “in the name of Jesus Christ” (Acts 2:38). Later, he told a group of Gentiles to be baptized “in the name of the Lord” (Acts 10:48). Paul baptized a group of believers “in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 19:5).

Most churches use the Matthew 28:19 words. This verse is one of the Bible’s proof texts that God is one God who exists in three distinct personages. In the verse, Jesus says to His disciples, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name (singular) of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” You see, there is no need to immerse the believer three times into the water. To do so is to confuse the fact that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are One. It is also to miss the fact that corpses aren’t buried three times.

December 1, 2009 Posted by russellmckinney | Baptism, Belief, Bible Study, Christ's Death, Christ's Resurrection, Doctrine, The Holy Spirit, church, obedience, salvation | , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment

Got Your Baptismal Certificate With You?

This past Sunday at Disciples Road we observed the two ordinances that God has given the church: the Lord’s Supper and believer’s baptism. The Lord’s Supper points us to Christ’s death. Believer’s baptism points us to His resurrection. Each ordinance hinges upon a right understanding of its symbolism. If we don’t get the symbolism, the reason for the ordinance will be lost upon us.

The symbolism of the Lord’s Supper isn’t hard to understand. The bread symbolizes the body of Christ, that physical, human body that hung dead on the cross for the sins of the world (Matthew 26:26; Mark 14:22; Luke 22:19). The wine symbolizes the blood of Christ, the blood that coursed through that body, the blood that has the power to cleanse sin (Matthew 26:27-28; Mark 14:23-24; Luke 22:20). As Christians eat the bread and drink the wine, we proclaim Christ’s death until He returns (1st Corinthians 11:23-26).

The symbolism of believer’s baptism isn’t complicated either. However, Christians seem to have more trouble grasping it. Baptism is a two-fold object lesson. First, it shows what has happened in the Christian’s earthly existence. Second, it shows what has happened in the Christian’s eternal existence.

Concerning the earthly existence, when the Christian goes under the water he publicly says, “I am now dead to my old, sinful way of living” (Romans 6:1-3). When he comes up from under the water he publicly says, “I am now alive to walk in the newness of the Christian life” (Romans 6:4, 6-7, 11-23).

Concerning the eternal existence, when the Christian goes under the water he publicly identifies himself with Christ’s death and burial (Romans 6:4). When he comes up from under the water he publicly identifies himself with Christ’s resurrection (Romans 6:5, 8-10). You see, by submitting to baptism, the believer says, “Because Jesus died and arose from the dead, my body will one day be resurrected as well, and I will enjoy my resurrected body throughout eternity.”

But it is that symbolism involving the Christian’s earthly existence that I want to deal with a little more. Christian, what if the minister who baptized you caught you committing a sin and said, “You are certainly not living up to your baptism.” You would probably ask, “What do you mean?” He would reply, “When you went under the water that day you were saying, ‘I am now dying to my old, sinful way of life.’ When you came up from under the water you were saying, ‘I am now alive to walk in the newness of the Christian life.’ But what you are doing right now looks like your old way of living, not the newness of the Christian life.” How would that make you feel? Would it drive home the point that getting baptized is a BIG deal? Would it remind you that the Christian is supposed to shun sin and live differently than the rest of the world?  

Perhaps it would do us good if every Christian was required to wear his baptismal certificate around his neck. That way we could be constantly reminded of exactly what it was we committed to when we got baptized. Maybe us pastors need to carry copies of those certificates around so that we can pull them out whenever we see a Christian sinning. That would make for an interesting experiment, wouldn’t it? My guess is, it would cut down on the rate of sin quite a bit.

July 28, 2009 Posted by russellmckinney | Baptism, Choices, Christ's Death, Christ's Resurrection, Commitment, Crucifixion, Disobedience, Doing Good, Dress and Appearance, Holiness, Personal Holiness, Rebellion, Sin, Temptation, The Lord's Supper, obedience | , , , , | Leave a Comment

The Blessing Of Changing A Sermon

Two Sundays ago I had in mind to preach a sermon on prayer. Specifically, I planned to preach on the so-called “Lord’s Prayer.” But as I began to ease into my studying and preparing for that sermon, the Lord made it clear that He wanted me to preach something else. He commanded a sermon on salvation.

The text He told me to use was Matthew 7:21-23, where Jesus says, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.” Since preachers are always being told how important it is to grab the listener’s attention with the sermon’s introduction, I opened up with these words: “You can die and go to hell from a seat in church just as much as you can from living in a box in some rat-infested alley, taking your meals out of a garbage can.” Pretty attention-grabbing, huh?

From there I proceeded to explain that the person who has experienced genuine salvation will evidence that experience in his or her conduct. The state of being saved will show up in the way the person lives life. As James 2:20 so succinctly puts it: “faith without works is dead.” Good works can never produce salvation, but salvation will inevitably produce good works. Good works can never flow into salvation, but they must flow out of it.

This doesn’t mean the person who gets saved will never sin again. Romans chapter 7 is the Bible’s best passage on why saved people (Christians) still sin. There Paul explains that the Christian has two inner natures that are constantly at war. On the one hand, at the moment of salvation, God the Holy Spirit comes to live inside the Christian’s body, and the Spirit brings the nature of God to the person. That nature seeks control over the person, a control that will lead to deeds of righteousness. But, on the other hand, even when the Spirit comes to indwell the individual, His presence doesn’t eliminate the individual’s old nature (the nature with which everyone is born, the nature of Adam). This nature also seeks control over the Christian, a control that will lead to deeds of sin.

The point is, though, that the truly saved person will evidence salvation, to some degree, in his or her life. Some Christians evidence it more than others because they handle the Romans chapter 7 set-up better, but every Christian must evidence it somewhat. That was my central message.

As part of the sermon, I walked the listeners through the plan of salvation. I told them that salvation required a head knowledge of certain facts:

Fact #1: There is a God. Psalm 14:1: “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’”

Fact #2: God is thoroughly holy. Psalm 47:8: “God reigns over the nations; God sits on His holy throne.”

Fact #3: You are a sinner. Romans 3:10,23: “There is none that is righteous, no, not one…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

Fact #4: Your sin separates you from God. Psalm 5:4: “For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness, nor shall evil dwell with You.”

Fact #5: Jesus (God the Son) left heaven, came to the earth, took human form upon Himself, and ultimately died on a Roman cross for all the sins of the world (and that included all your sins). 1st Timothy 2:5-6: “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all…”

Fact #6: On the third day after His burial, Jesus arose from the dead and eventually ascended back up to heaven. Matthew 28:5: “…the angel answered and said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen…’”

Once you have these six facts settled in your mind (you believe them, you agree with them), then you have to get your heart involved. It is with your heart that you must voluntarily, willfully, purposefully place your belief in Jesus as your personal Savior. In Acts 16:30-31, a jailor in the city of Philippi asks Paul and Silas a straight question: “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” The answer they give him is, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.” And then Romans 10:10 shows us that this belief must be from the heart. That verse says: “…for with the heart one believes unto righteousness.”

Please understand that the Bible uses different terminology to describe this saving belief. It speaks of coming to Jesus, opening the door to Jesus, putting your faith in Jesus, trusting in Jesus, and calling upon Jesus. But these aren’t separate experiences. They are just different ways of describing what it is to believe in Jesus in a saving way. Salvation is not a process; it is a moment-in-time experience.

But now let me get back to my story. What were the results of my sermon on salvation? Well, at the close of that Sunday-morning service, I got no response. That was a little disappointing, but I thought, “Lord, I obeyed and preached what You told me to preach. That’s all I can do. I’m sure You had Your reasons for having me preach that today.” Then I put the sermon out of my mind and went on about my business.

The following Monday was an especially busy day. I hardly stopped all day. Even at 7:00 that night, I had to have Ryan at baseball practice for his all-star team. I’m an assistant coach on that team, and the practice lasted for over two hours. Ryan and I got back home around 9:30. I was whipped.

No sooner had I gotten in the door than Tonya said to me, “We need to talk.” Royce, our eight-year old, was sitting in her lap. The whole scene made me respond, “Oh, no, what do we need to talk about?” She said, “It’s nothing bad.” That calmed my fears, but I was still a bit apprehensive. We ended up taking Royce back into his bedroom, where Tonya explained to me that he wanted to get saved. My sermon had bothered him. He didn’t want to go to hell; he wanted to go to heaven. He wanted Jesus to forgive him of all his sins and be his personal Savior.

And what did I do? Right then and there I took him by his hand and said, “I’m going to pray and I want you to repeat what I say.” Then I led him through a version of what you might call “a sinner’s prayer.” I kept the focus on the basics: sin, Christ’s death, belief, and forgiveness. Don’t ever force a child to become a Bible scholar to get saved. That child has the rest of his or life to learn all the finer points of Christian doctrine. Just keep things simple and anchored to the basics. That will do just fine.

Since I never want to rush a child into the waters of baptism, I’ll wait a while before baptizing Royce. Over the coming weeks, I’ll talk with him some more and make sure that he really does know Jesus as his Savior. Then, when the Lord tells me he’s ready, I’ll gladly baptize him. In all honestly, though, I have full confidence that the little fellow experienced authentic salvation that Monday night. What a glorious thing that is! As a father, there’s nothing better than knowing that both my sons are now Christians. 

And now, as I finish up this post, I want to leave you with a word. That word is obedience. Just as I obeyed God by changing my plans and preaching that sermon on salvation, you must obey God and do what He is telling you to do. Even if you don’t fully understand it or agree with it, you must obey. If He is giving you a command, He has His reasons and they are good ones. I’m not saying that your obedience will lead to someone getting saved, but, you know, you just never can tell.

July 15, 2009 Posted by russellmckinney | Belief, Change, Children, Christ's Death, Christ's Resurrection, Disobedience, Forgiveness, Parenting, Personal, Reward, Seeking Forgiveness, Sin, The Holy Spirit, obedience, preaching, salvation | , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment

7 Evidences For Christ’s Resurrection

Certain legal minds have studied the case of Christ’s resurrection and concluded that an honest jury would be forced to conclude that Jesus really did rise from the dead. It is with this in mind that I want to present seven evidences for this resurrection.  I wouldn’t call this an exhaustive list, but I do believe it’s a good one. 

Evidence #1: The actions of the Roman soldiers who guarded Christ’s tomb: Scholars say there could have been as many as sixteen soldiers in the guard that was assigned to Christ’s tomb. Roman soldiers were the best soldiers in the world. They were highly trained and incredibly disciplined. They feared nothing except the penalty that would befall them if they were negligent in their duty. And yet, on the morning of the resurrection, that group of Roman soldiers shook with fear (Matthew 28:4), fainted (Matthew 28:4), and abandoned their posts (Matthew 28:11). Roman soldiers simply didn’t act this way. Those soldiers even had to be bribed to say that Christ’s disciples had stolen His body (Matthew 28:11-15).   

Evidence #2: The tomb’s broken seal: The Bible says that Christ’s tomb was “sealed” (Matthew 27:66). A Roman seal of this sort wasn’t impressive in appearance. It was basically just two globs of wax and a cord. One glob was placed upon the circular door to the tomb. The other glob was placed upon the tomb itself. One end of the cord was fastened into the first glob, and the other end was fastened into the second. It’s likely that a signet ring was used to make an impression in the wax. So what was it that made such a seal so intimidating? It was the fact that the seal carried with it the authority of the Roman government. Anyone who broke such a seal was crucified upside down. Because of this, no one would have dared break that seal on Christ’s tomb. It was broken, though.

Evidence #3: The stone door was rolled away: Jesus was buried in a very expensive tomb. It had been constructed for Joseph of Arimathea, a wealthy man who had become a follower of Christ (Matthew 27:57-60). The tomb was a small cave that had been cut out of the rock. Just in front of the tomb’s opening was a trench. In this trench was a massive circular stone that served as the door to the tomb. This stone weighed over a ton. According to an ancient note that has been discovered, it took more than twenty men to move the stone. Remarkably, however, John used the Greek word airo to describe what happened to that stone (John 20:1). This specific word describes much more than the stone being merely rolled back in the trench. It indicates that the stone was actually picked up and moved quite a distance. How could this be? The Bible says that an angel descended from heaven, rolled the stone away, and sat down on it (Matthew 28:1-2). This angel is what scared those Roman soldiers to the point of passing out.         

Evidence #4: Jesus appeared alive to hundreds of witnesses: A handful of devout women saw the risen Savior that resurrection morning (Matthew 28:1-10; Mark 16:1; Luke 24:10; John 20:11-18). Cleopas and another unnamed follower saw Him later that same day (Luke 24:13-32). Peter saw Him as did the other ten disciples (1 Cor. 15:5; John 20:19-29). Over five hundred people saw Him at once (1 Cor. 15:6). Finally, He was seen by His earthly half-brother James (1 Cor. 15:7) and Paul (1 Cor. 15:8). Imagine a trial in which over five hundred reputable people each took the witness stand and said, “I know that Jesus arose from the dead because I saw Him in His resurrected, glorified body.” Talk about compelling evidence!     

Evidence #5: The coming of the Holy Spirit: Before Jesus was crucified He said to His disciples, “It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper (God the Holy Spirit) will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you” (John 16:7). Later, in Acts 2:1-13, the Holy Spirit’s coming is described in detail. Obviously, Jesus had to resurrect and ascend back to heaven in order to keep His promise to send the Holy Spirit.

Evidence #6: The change in the chosen twelve: Immediately following Christ’s crucifixion the chosen twelve, which was eleven after Judas’ suicide (Matthew 27:5), went into hiding. They must have assumed that the same authorities who had arrested Jesus and killed Him would be coming for them next. But something happened that emboldened and empowered those eleven men to “turn the world upside down” (Acts 17:6) in the days, weeks, months, and years to come. Something happened that caused them to spend the rest of their lives preaching that Jesus had arisen from the dead. Something happened that caused most of them to die martyrs’ deaths rather than deny that resurrection. What was it? It was their experience with the risen Christ. The change that came over them cannot be explained any other way. They knew that Jesus was alive! By the way, think about this: Those men began their proclaiming of Christ’s resurrection in Jerusalem of all places. That was the last place they would have begun if they knew it was all a lie. It would have been too easy for the city’s citizens to go to Christ’s tomb and refute the lie. 

Evidence #7: The fact that Christ’s body was never discovered: Although a popular tourist site is strongly considered to be the tomb of Christ, there is still some debate about the actual location. However, the people of Christ’s day knew exactly where He was buried. It was common knowledge. Anybody could pay a visit to the tomb and check for a body. Needless to say, the Roman officials and the Jewish religious leaders went and checked. But no body was ever recovered. You see, all that was required to stamp out the fledgling religion of Christianity was a corpse. One was never found, though. This in itself is incredibly strong evidence that Jesus did indeed rise from the dead.

Well, there they are, my seven evidences for Christ’s resurrection. As long as I’m on the subject, though, let me give you one more for free: Jesus has changed my life. I’m like the fellow who said, “I know Jesus is alive. I talked to Him this morning.” I do more than talk with Him each morning; I walk with Him each day. He has made me a new creation. Old things have passed away. All things have become new (2 Cor. 5:17). That couldn’t have happened if death had held Him. He’s alive I tell you. His tomb is empty. You can dispute His resurrection if you want, but the evidence is against you.

April 12, 2009 Posted by russellmckinney | Christ's Resurrection, Easter | , , , | Leave a Comment