According to the Scriptures!
Paul says:
1 Corinthians 15:3-4 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: 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.
The Lord says:
Mark 8:31 And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.
Revelation 1:18 I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.
Peter says:
Acts 2:29-32 Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses.
King David says as quoted above (David could not have been talking about himself):
Psalms 16:9-10 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices;
My flesh also will rest in hope. For You will not leave my soul in Sheol,
Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.
God has given us His Word:
We believe doctors, lawyers, newscasters, politicians, parents, spouses and authors of many books and documentaries. Many of them do not tell us the truth. Some don’t really know what they are talking about and some deliberately lie. But nearly everyone has skeptism when it comes to believing the Bible, and this includes many who call themselves Christians. I realize the Bible has to be read with intelligence and understanding because it does contain allegories. The history of Israel in the Old Testament is literal; but the church has not replaced the nation of Israel, and their promises are not the promises of the church. The Old Testament principles apply to our age but not the ceremonies. Our promised land is spiritual and not physical. However, the Bible is not allegorical when it refers prophetically to Christ and the coming wrath of God on this earth.
I wish we all believed in God even when we don’t understand Him. But convincing people to believe in God by believing in His Son is not like selling automobiles. We who “sell” the free Gospel cannot “close the deal.” We present the product, but only the Holy Spirit can convince people of the truth. Only the Holy Spirit can close the deal.
John tells us in John 20:28-31:
And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.”
My Prayer:
Dear Lord, may those who truly believe in the resurrected Lord enjoy the truth that one day they will be with the Lord who lives forevermore. May those who don’t believe read the Bible with an open mind. May they be convinced of the Truth by the Holy Spirit. May they come to faith in the Lord. I want them to enjoy the peace, the joy, and the forgiveness of sins that believing in the resurrected Lord can give them, and I want to meet them in heaven. Amen.
Bruce Collins
Meditation for the week of April 5, 2015