"How to Kill a Church...With Your Beliefs" by Noel Heikkinen
On the cross...
Jesus died for our sins
Matthew 16:18
Matthew 16:18 ESV
And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Galatians 1:6-9
Galatians 1:6-9 ESV
I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.
1 Corinthians 15:1-8
1 Corinthians 15:1-8 ESV
Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.
John Stott
“This was the perspective of Jesus on his death. Despite the great importance of his teaching, his example, and his works of compassion and power, none of these was central to his mission. What dominated his mind was not the living but the giving of his life. This final self-sacrifice was his ‘hour’, for which he had come into the world.”
Romans 3:22-25
Romans 3:22-25 NLT
We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past,
Moody Handbook of Theology
Propitiation is related to several concepts. (1) The wrath of God. Because God is holy, His wrath is directed toward sin and must be assuaged to spare man from eternal destruction. (2) God provides the remedy. God provides the solution to sin by sending Christ as a satisfaction for sin. (3) Christ’s death assuages the wrath of God. The gift of Christ satisfied the holiness of God and averted His wrath.
Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears
The cross is something done by you. You murdered God incarnate. The cross is something done for you. God loves you and died to forgive you.
Jesus was buried
1. It fulfilled prophecy 2. It also fulfilled prophecy that none of his bones would be broken (many crucified men were left to be mauled by dogs and torn apart) 3. He was physically buried so he could physically rise again
Jesus rose again
On the third day...and many people saw him!
1 Corinthians 1:18-25
1 Corinthians 1:18-25 ESV
For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart." Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
Michael Green
"Christianity does not hold the resurrection to be one among many tenets of belief. Without belief in the resurrection there would be no Christianity at all. The Christian Church would never have begun; the Jesus movement would have fizzled out like a damp squid with his execution. Christianity stands or falls with the truth of the resurrection. Once disprove it and you ahve disposed of Christianity."
Billy Graham
"If I were an enemy of Christianity, I would aim right at the resurrection, because that is the heart of Christianity."
If we don't believe in the resurrection...
1. Our Faith is in vain 2. We are still guilty of our sins 3. We will never see our loved ones again. 4. We are pathetic
1 Corinthians 15:12-19
1 Corinthians 15:12-19 ESV
Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 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.
BUT, with the resurrection...
1. Our faith has meaning 2. We're forgiven of our sins 3. We will see our loved ones who were in Christ again 4. And we are not pitiful, we are enviable, because we have the truth!
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