“Without the resurrection, the death of Christ was only the heroic death of a noble martyr; with the resurrection, it is the atoning death the Son of God. It shows that death to be of sufficient value to cover our sins, for it was the sacrifice of the Son of God.”
Those of the words of R.A. Torrey (1898-1993) in his book, “What the Bible Teaches.” In this quote, we see the magnitude of Jesus’ resurrection as He defeated the grave and demonstrated His authority to serve as the lone path to eternal life.
As we prepare to celebrate the glorious resurrection of the Lord Jesus, I thought it would be fascinating to go back through recent history to read what some great Bible scholars had to say about the most important event in world history. Let’s take a look.
My old friend Dr. Adrian Rogers (1931-2005) said this: “The resurrection is not merely important to the historic Christian faith; without it, there would be no Christianity. It is the singular doctrine that elevates Christianity above all other world religions.”
Canadian theologian H.A. Ironside (1876-1951) said, “We are not preaching the Gospel of a dead Christ, but of a living Christ who sits exalted at the Father’s right hand, and is living to save all who put their trust in Him … We are not pointing men to a dead Christ; we are preaching a living Christ. He lives exalted at God’s right hand, and He ‘saves to the uttermost all who come to God by Him.’”
My friend Dr. Ed Hindson, one of the most stirring Bible scholars I know, said, “The greatest moment in the Bible is when Jesus went to the cross and died for our sins. But the greatest miracle in the Bible is when He rose from the dead. The resurrection is the ultimate truth that Jesus is who He said He is, that, indeed, He is the Son of God, the Savior of the world.”
Today, we stand in awe of Jesus’ resurrection and we remain committed to speaking His Truth to others who do now know Him. This is why we are so involved in planting new churches in our nation and around the world and it is why we are training pastors that will stand on the promises of God in small communities and large cities. The resurrection inspires us to carry on preaching the Word of God, even in a culture that increasingly opposes our message.
Let’s look at one final quote, this one from my father, Jerry Falwell. He noted what our roles as Christians must be in this day. Dad said, “We must ensure that we remain painstakingly true to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and that we remain obedient servants to His truths.” That is certainly what we must be doing for the One who died for us and was raised to life so that we too may have eternal life, through Him, and Him alone.
May the miracle of the resurrection continue to motivate us to live for Him each day of our lives.