Welcome to the For the Gospel Podcast, where we provide sound doctrine for everyday people. I'm your host, Kosti Hinn. And since it's Holy Week for the Christian faith and it's Easter this upcoming weekend, I want to lay out five blessings of the resurrection to either teach you or remind you about the significance of Easter. You know, most people in the professing church today treat Easter like a religious holiday. It's about inspiration, it's about hope, it's about Jesus, it's about a new beginning, and that's great, and that's well and good. Some people, maybe it's immaturity, a lack of experience, maybe they've just never been taught before like this. They'll treat it like an event for the kids because they love egg hunts and they have their traditions and there's lots of sweets. And Easter sort of has this, well, I'll just call it a hostile takeover, albeit I get it, the dresses and the cuteness and the eggs and the traditions in the backyard and all of that. But here's the deal: it's a bit of a hostile takeover because the Bible presents something so much better and greater and more significant. The resurrection is the most significant event in human history. Whatever the cultural or consumer traditions are of the day, none of them compare. None of them compare. Now, why can I say and would I say with strong argumentation that the resurrection of Jesus is the single most important event in human history? Well, it's because if Christ did not rise, Christianity collapses. Without a resurrection, our faith isn't true. And then that, by the way, is exactly what the Bible teaches. In the book of 1 Corinthians, Paul the Apostle is talking about the resurrection. And in verses 16 and 17 of 1 Corinthians chapter 15, I've got my Bible turned there. If you want to grab your Bible, you can push pause if you're listening or watching and go get it. If you're on the fly, just listen to this. This is a passage you should maybe memorize this week and certainly help your children, if you have children, understand this. This is glorious. 1 Corinthians 15, verse 16 starts, for if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. But verse 17, I mean, come on, listen to this. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless, you are still in your sins. Could there be any worse news? If Christ didn't raise or rise, we're still in our sins. But we know he did. He has risen, and he did rise. And so because he rose from the dead, believers experience life-altering blessings right now and in the future. I want to lay these out for you. Blessing number one: the resurrection proves that Jesus is who he said he is. The resurrection is really God's public validation of Jesus. Jesus repeatedly predicted his resurrection throughout his ministry. Matthew 16, 21, he did it. Matthew 20, verse 18 and 19. John 2, 19, he kept predicting his resurrection. That was a part of his ministry. If Jesus had remained in the grave, he would have been exposed as a false teacher. I think it was C.S. Lewis who once said, Jesus is either liar, lunatic, or Lord. And we know that he's Lord because the Bible proves it, his resurrection proves it. And the empty tomb proves no less than three truths. First, that Jesus is the Son of God. Of course he is. Only the Son of God would rise from the grave. Only the Son of God can fulfill all the prophecies about himself, which means Jesus is the Messiah. And third, Jesus is Lord of all. The resurrection proves those truths. In Romans chapter 1, verse 4, it says he was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead. That was God's validation. The resurrection is God's stamp of approval on Christ's identity. Every claim Jesus made stands because the tomb is empty. Blessing number two, the resurrection guarantees our justification. This is a very important theological truth. And if you've followed along with our theology explained series, it's every single Monday. We put out a new theological term, kind of these $10 words or concepts broken down into simple everyday terms. It's on our blog. It's called Theology Explained. The one on justification just breaks this down. And I'll walk you through this in a simple way right now. The resurrection proves that the payment for sin was accepted. That's what justification is all about, that we have been made right before God because the penalty for sin has been satisfied. And now sinners through faith can be justified. We're not condemned. No, there's no condemnation now for those who are in Christ. No longer are sinners condemned, but we're saints who are justified by what? What justifies us? If God is just and he will and must punish sin, well then someone has to take the payment, someone has to take the punishment. Christ did. And so Jesus did not only die for sinners, certainly that paid for it. He rose from the grave to confirm that that work was finished. See, not anyone can just die and pay for sin and then prove that that was a satisfactory payment. You can go to uh any court today and say, hey, I'll die for this person. You can die for them, it doesn't forgive their sins. Only Christ was the satisfactory payment for God the Father. He was holy and perfect. Romans 4, verse 25 says, He who was delivered over because of our transgressions was also raised because of our justification. That's what he was raised for. And so you need to think of the resurrection like a divine receipt. The cross is the payment. The resurrection is the confirmation that the payment cleared. You ever tap to pay or swipe your card or use Apple Pay or one of those things, and it or you send like a Zell payment or one of those in Venmo and it just says approved and you got the receipt. Maybe you send a screenshot to somebody if you're paying them and you say, Hey, I sent the money. Or maybe it's time to leave the grocery store now because the payment went through. It says approved. That's what the resurrection was. Because Christ rose, first, our sins are forgiven. Second, our guilt is removed, which then leads to third, our standing before God is secure. So no resurrection actually means no assurance. But because Christ lives, believers stand fully and confidently justified before God. Blessing number three. The resurrection defeats death. The resurrection defeats death. You know, the resurrection completely changed the meaning of death for Christians. In fact, biblically speaking, it's the death of death. Before Christ, death was humanity's greatest enemy, and we had no way to defeat it. But because Jesus walked into the grave and walked out again, if you will, we get to declare the words of 1 Corinthians 15, 55. Oh death, where is your victory? Oh death, where is your state? Because Christ rose. Death is no longer the end. The grave has lost its power. Believers will live again. The resurrection means that every Christian funeral, while sad and sorrowful, yes, it's lost now. It's temporary. The cemetery is not the final destination for God's people, and the resurrection guarantees that. Blessing number four. The resurrection gives us life now, new life now. It's not only future hope, it's not only the reality that the cemetery is not the end, the grave is not the end. No, it transforms the way we live today. Romans chapter 6, verse 4 tells us just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. Because Jesus rose. We're no longer slaves to sin. We have power to pursue holiness. We live a new kind of life. You can overcome, you can fight the good fight. You could walk and live in the newness of life today, not in defeat, not in despair, but in victory. Not because of you, but because of what he's done. Blessing number five, the resurrection guarantees our future resurrection. You know, the Bible says that Jesus rose as this phrase, the first fruits of what's coming. In 1 Corinthians chapter 15, in verse 20, there's this statement that Paul makes, and it's actually right after that passage that I read to you earlier, and in verse 19, if we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied. It's like, what's the point? People should laugh at us and feel bad for us. Oh nope. Verse 20, but now Christ has been raised from the dead. Oh, he has. So don't pity us. Come join us. Follow Christ. And then he says, the first fruits of those who are asleep. What does that mean? Well, first fruits of those who are asleep. First fruits is more are coming. This is just the first fruits of those who are asleep. The phrase was often used in the New Testament to describe people who are dead. They're asleep. First fruits means more are coming. And so we can say with confidence, based on what the Bible teaches, that Christ's resurrection is the prototype for ours. One day the dead in Christ will rise. Believers are going to receive glorified bodies. And then the Bible teaches in Revelation chapter 21 that sin, sickness, and death all will disappear forever. There's going to be no more sin, no more tears, no more sickness, no more death. The final enemy will be defeated. And so we celebrate the resurrection because it guarantees that the story of every Christian ends in glory, not the grave. And so, my friend, this week, remember Christ and the sobering significance of his death. Absolutely. Remember the crown of thorns upon his brow. Remember the mockery, the torture, the way he gave up his spirit after taking upon himself the full wrath of God for our sin. But also remember the power of the resurrection and that because of what Christ accomplished, our faith is not dead because our God is alive. As Jesus said in John 11, 25, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live even if he dies. That's what Easter is all about. That's what you teach your children. That's what you declare from the rooftops of your life. Jesus has risen, and that is our hope. On behalf of our entire team, I pray this week is a week full of reflection and worship and hope for you and for your family. No matter what's going on in your life right now, remember Christ has won victory. Thanks as always for listening. Thanks for watching. Thank you for supporting. But above all else, thank you for praying that God would keep using For the Gospel to change lives and to strengthen people in their faith. To learn more about our ministry or to partner with us monthly, you can go to forthegospel.org, click the give page, or check out any of our free resources on any of the other pages on Instagram, YouTube, and all over social media. I'll be back next Monday with another episode in a new series. Keep on living for the gospel, you know.