Why the Cross?Sampl

Without the Resurrection

In the past 20 years, many of the so-called mainline churches have been preaching a Christ without the resurrection, and they now have ended up with a dead religion. For God's Word tells us that without the resurrection of Jesus Christ, our faith is in vain. Without the resurrection of Jesus Christ, Christianity is dead and done for.

The real reason why some people deny the resurrection because they do not want to accept the fact that Jesus is the one and only true God who appeared in human flesh. It is because they do not want to worship Him as such. It is because they refuse to acknowledge that they are sinners and desperately need His forgiveness. It is because they want to remain in their sins, but do not know how to deal with the guilt aspect.

So they say Jesus was just a man—that is the bottom line. But why? So that they can pull Him down to their level. So that they may feel equal with Him. So that they can ease their own guilt. So that they can feel good about doing that which is troubling their conscience. So that they may try to convince themselves that they are not in need of repentance.

The Bible says that if Christ was not raised from the dead then your faith is in vain. But praise God, that is not the kind of faith that God has given us! Our faith is alive and is based on a living Christ. Jesus did not stay dead in a tomb, but was resurrected!

And we can trust in God's Word completely to tell us the truth about what happened that first Easter Sunday.

Prayer: God, thank You for Your Word which assures us that Jesus did not stay in that tomb, but that He was resurrected and we serve a living God! Amen.

And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith (1 Corinthians 15:14).

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For more teachings, books, and downloadable resources from Leading The Way with Dr. Michael Youssef, visit us online at www.LTW.org.