The last enemy to be destroyed is death. (1 Corinthians 15:26, ESV)Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed. Alleluia!
The grave. Everyone must face the grave. That rectangular, deep, black hole waits for us all. It is no respecter of persons. The richest man in the world to the penniless. The Buddhist, the Mormon, the atheist, the Christian. Life ends in the grave. It is the single biggest mystery of human existence. For millennia people have struggled with the grave. Religion tries to give an answer. The struggle with the cause of death is the province of world religions. It is a natural thing, some say. Dharma and karma are the ideas that we die because we haven’t figured out life, so we must do it again and again until we do. Still others say death is willed by God as part of his divine plan. And still another says death comes from suffering, that is caused by desire and ignorance. But all are the same, in one way. The solutions they offer are living a better life makes what happens after death better. Even those who don’t believe anything lies after death, promote doing good things as the answer to life’s fulfillment.
All these things that world religions struggle to answer show how serious the human condition is. None has an answer that satisfies. The grave is still waiting. The grave is patient. The grave is persistent. The grave is eternal. The grave is totally inclusive.
The biggest problem with religion is it offers no real proof. All the ideas that are touted as the answer were made by people… who died.
So, how do you choose? Most people are born into a religion. They don’t question its teachings. They simply believe because their parents believed. Others have bounced around from one belief to another, until all meaning in any is lost.
You could just try each one out. It seems like a worthwhile project, until you consider how many there are. ChatGPT tells me that religions are countless, but world religions exceed 4000. So, how do you start, alphabetically? How much time do you give each one? World life expectancy is 70 years. If you get started at 20 (quite early actually) divided evenly that would be 4 days for each. How can you evaluate the truth of a religion in 4 days? Even if you narrow it down to just the top 12 (those with the most adherents) the number drops to 4 years for each. Even that is unrealistic because the tenants for most of them require you to die to find out.
Maybe you choose the most important doctrine of each (called the Material Principal)?
Material and Formal Principles of Major World Religions
They all sound important. But they all fall short of the real human problem. None of them has an answer to death, that rectangular, deep, black hole waits for us all.
There are only (Judaism, Islam, Zoroastrianism, Christianity) four even believe in a resurrection, a physical, bodily raising from death. Since death is the greatest problem that faces humanity, I think this is a pretty poor showing.
Of the four, one (Zoroastrianism) doesn’t claim divine inspiration (from God) for the writings that talk about resurrection. Only three do. Now we are getting to the nub. The three that we have left are Judaism, Islam and Christianity. And yet, only one offers any real proof of bodily, physical resurrection. In fact, of all the religions in the world, it is only Christianity that claims that its major teacher, Jesus, defeated death.
On the point of the grave, only Christianity offers any real solution, that, it claims, is proven. And, in fact, it claims that the religion is ultimately disprovable. Listen to Paul from 1 Corinthians 15:
And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.” (1 Corinthians 15:14–19, ESV)While most religions ground their truth in ethical teachings, mystical insight, or subjective experience. Paul, in contrast, puts everything on a public, falsifiable historical claim:
If Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless.Let’s make this very clear. If Jesus hasn’t risen, the disciples are liars, Christians are still in their sin, the dead are all just dead, faith in Jesus is futile, and Christians are deluded, pitiful fools. But mostly, there is no answer to that rectangular, deep, black hole that waits for us all.
Paul says,
But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. (1 Corinthians 15:20, ESV)In Greek, Paul uses the phrase Νυνὶ δὲ (But now) translated here as “but in fact”. It stands in contrast to what he said before about the verifiability of Christianity. It is a declaration of reality over speculation. He’s not just stating a hope, but a fact.
From a historical perspective—not theological—the resurrection of Jesus cannot be dismissed easily. It remains one of the most attested and transformative events in ancient history, with no natural explanation that fully accounts for the evidence. (ChatGPT)To quote the great philosopher Sherlock Holmes (Arthur Conan Doyle),
“When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.” — The Sign of the Four, Arthur Conan DoyleAnd of course, Occam’s Razor, that states that the simplest explanation that accounts for all the evidence is likely to be the truth.
Yet, for us Christians, the resurrection isn’t only a historical curiosity. Historians agree that it is defensible, grounded in early eyewitness testimony, and the explosive growth of the Christian church. We don’t get to it by eliminating all the other alternatives. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is at the very heart of the Gospel. Paul says it has a meaning beyond simple life. He says that because of Jesus we are forgiven.
[Jesus] was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. (Romans 4:25).Jesus’ resurrection is God’s very public declaration that Jesus did just that. His atoning sacrifice for sin was accepted. The solution to death is Jesus. He died on the cross for our forgiveness. Jesus defeated death. We are justified. And what’s more, Jesus, the one who rose from death, the only one, promises a solution for the grave. Our resurrection.
Jesus said to Mary, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.’ John 11:25–26
For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 1 Thessalonians 4:14
Knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. 2 Corinthians 4:14
But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 1 Corinthians 15:20–22So, the rectangular, deep, black hole waits for you. You have some options. You can hitch your wagon to any one of the myriads of world religions that offer no real solution to the very real problem. Or you can put your faith and trust in the one who defeated death. The one who confirmed his promises with his resurrection. The one who offers not only your resurrection but a solution to your sin. There really is no option because,
The last enemy to be destroyed is death. (1 Corinthians 15:26, ESV)Χριστός ἀνέστη, Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Amen.
The peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
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