This We Believe! Meditations on the Apostles' Creed by Timothy Tennent

Author:Timothy Tennent [Tennent, Timothy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Asbury Theological Seminary
Published: 2011-10-31T16:00:00+00:00

Third, the resurrection of Jesus Christ is what makes Christianity unique among all world religions.

Today people commonly say that all religions are basically the same. But, the Apostle Paul teaches that the resurrection of Jesus is the central distinguishing feature of Christianity. In fact, he goes so far as to say that if Jesus has not been raised then all our preaching is totally useless and so is our faith (I Cor. 15:14). If Christ has not been raised we are liars (I Cor. 15:15), we are still in our sins (I Cor. 15:17) and we are to be pitied because we have no hope for the future (I Cor. 15:19). Paul willingly places the entire credibility of the Christian gospel on the truthfulness of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Without the Resurrection the Christian gospel is really not that different from Islam, Hinduism or Buddhism. We would be just another human religion struggling to make sense of the transcendence of God, but the difference is that the Christian faith is not merely a human religion. More fundamentally, Christianity is a global proclamation of specific, historic acts that have transpired, demonstrating God’s power, grace and love. We are not merely spreading religious ideas that inspire the human race. Christianity is not a pragmatic opiate to help us cope with life better. We are proclaiming historical events upon which the entire history of the world is determined. They do, indeed, have a transformative effect on how we live, but the great proclamation of the gospel is about who God is and what He has done. Buddha is in the grave. Mohammad is in the grave. Confucius is in the grave. Jesus is the Risen Lord. Christ’s resurrection is why we sing that great hymn:

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