Saturday, August 17, 2013

THE MOST IMPORTANT WORD IN THE BIBLE

Believe what you want about the name of God, the name of Jesus, or the name of the Holy Spirit; the most important word in the Bible is translated from the Greek ἀνάστασις (anastasis):  Resurrection!  I know what you are thinking; we can't be saved if we do not believe in God; if we do not believe that Jesus, as His only begotten Son, was sent to die for our sins; and if we do not believe the convicting work of the Holy Spirit.  And, I totally agree with you.  But the Word of God, itself, says that lots of people believe in the Trinity, some even calling Jesus "Lord," and they are not born again (Mt. 7:21-22; 25:11; Jn. 3:3-8)!  In fact, Satan believes in the Trinity, and we all know where he's headed (Jam. 2:19; Rev. 20:10)!

The Bible says we must believe the Gospel in order to be saved, right?  But without the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the grave, there is no Gospel!  The Apostle Paul wrote:  ". . . I declare unto you the Gospel . . . which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the scriptures" (1 Cor. 15:1-4).  If Christ's Resurrection did not occur, Jesus is still in the grave, and our faith is in vain (1 Cor. 15:12-22)!

The Apostle Peter had this to say about Christ's Resurrection:  "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time" (1 Pet. 1:3-5).

The Word of God says that the Pharisees believed there would be a resurrection, even though the word does not appear in the Old Testament (Acts 23:6; also cp. Ps. 16:10 w/ Acts 13:35).  Neither the Sadducees, nor the Gentile philosophers, believed in a resurrection (Mt. 22:23; Acts 17:18-32).  As a result, they will be a part of a resurrection; unfortunately, it will be in the second resurrection, a resurrection unto damnation (Jn. 5:29; Rev. 20:6).

"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus,
and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead,
thou shalt be saved" (Rom. 10:9).
  

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