"To them he presented himself alive after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God" (Acts 1:3, ESV).
"But when the fullness of time had come..." (Gal. 4:4, ESV).
To celebrate Resurrection Sunday, known as Easter:
The typical greeting: "Christ is risen!" followed by: "He is risen, indeed!"
But is He risen in you?
"Philosophers have only interpreted the world differently; the point is, however, to change it."--Karl Marx
It's a fact of history that Christ rose from the dead, and rose Himself at that. To dispute, this is to be in a state of denial! Any unbiased jury would render this verdict, given the compelling, circumstantial, historical evidence. In fact, it is arguably the best-attested fact in antiquity. Some may feel that secular historians are not as biased as theologians and Bible scholars (everyone is biased for there is no such thing as perfect objectivity), but there were more than 500 eyewitnesses to this event and every type of evidence that would be required in a court of law to be valid--the jury is still out all right, but on the skeptics as to their foolishness, not the wisdom of the believers who have nothing to fear from new revelation or the facts.
They say that to believe in the resurrection is mere history and even the demons believe and tremble (cf. James 2:19), but to take it to heart is salvation! One must have more than story-book belief or head knowledge to get saved but must believe with all one's heart. In other words, one must not only be a seeker of the truth but a lover of it or have the right attitude. Romans 10:10 says that one believes with one's heart and is saved, as the GOOD NEWS TO PREACH! Christians don't just know the truth, they live it and love it (cf. 2 Thess. 2:10); the unbeliever rejects it (cf. Rom. 2:8) and is ignorant.
We are true historians when we can interpret history and have a reference viewpoint and can put things in perspective, as to how they fit into the big picture or grand scheme of things. History had a beginning point, a direction because it's going somewhere, and a climax, culmination, ending point, or conclusion. History is not cyclical, i.e., not repetitive nor repeating. The resurrection is either the biggest hoax and cruelest April Fool's Day joke ever perpetrated on mankind, or it's the most wonderful news that must be propagated at all costs. Indeed, if Christ has not risen, our faith is in vain according to Paul and we are most to be pitied most among peoples (cf. 1 Cor. 15:14, 17).
We must believe the resurrection enough for it to make a difference in our lives and to desire to live it out and to share the good news about Jesus. WE MUST OWN IT AND PERSONALIZE IT SO THAT IT REGISTERS IN OUR HEARTS! Thus, we say the pursuit of historical knowledge ought to be teleological or aimed at some purpose! It is sheer history that Christ is risen for sure and even an unbeliever can do this, but to take the step of faith and allow this risen Lord to rule over you and to have ownership of your life is quite another ballgame. We don't want to just be historians but witnesses to the truth--yes, we can be living witnesses with a personal testimony about the wonderful things Jesus has done for us accomplished via His resurrection, which secured eternal life in us as a Done Deal.
As true historians, we see purpose and meaning in the Resurrection and what was accomplished. Were you there? We have the living Spirit of God abiding in us, bearing witness with our spirit to give us the experience as if we had been one of the privileged few who saw the risen Lord that first Easter. In fact, we are better off because we have the full revelation of God in His Word and the resident Holy Spirit to illumine us so that we know all things because of the anointing we received.
We all need to venture out of our comfort zones and make this fact real and live it out, not allowing it to be just another fact of history, but a transforming truth. The truth is what sets us free according to Jesus (cf. John 8:32). There are many implications of believing this with our heart and stepping out in faith to witness about it: people will stereotype us and persecute us; they will misunderstand and judge us; they will avoid and shun us; they will betray us and will even doubt our sanity and whether we are in our right mind (cf. 2 Cor. 5:13). Be prepared to be ostracized, labeled, branded, and even stigmatized for the sake of the Name! We will be tested to find out just how much we really do believe and if we are willing to bet our life on this fact, or is it just some convenient truth that seems to suit the time and situation, having no risk involved.
Our witness hits home and has weight and cannot be discounted, for our testimony cannot be argued anymore than a blind man saying, "I was blind, but now I see!" What's to argue? The difference between our witness and that of a Muslim is that ours is based on historical fact and verifiable experience, coupled with the Word of God itself--this implies both subjective and objective evidence--it's not mystical. We also have the witness of the Holy Spirit which bears witness with our spirit per Rom. 8:16! Yes, We can experience God and have a genuine, authentic encounter with Him to substantiate our faith--the proofs ring true, can be verified, and hold water in a court of law according to the laws of evidence.
The whole point of believing this, though, is to do something about it and to disseminate this truth in order to change lives and transform the world by consequence one person at a time. It is historical, Scriptural fact that the resurrection of Christ changed the world, starting with the Jews in Jerusalem and ultimately the Roman empire, and Christianity had become legalized by the Edict of Milan in AD 313 by the Roman emperor Constantine. The world was never the same and Jesus is still in the resurrection business! There's no challenge He's not up to!
History is a bona fide Christian academic discipline with biblical roots and Jesus is the key to history; therefore, it's not demeaning to be given the moniker of the historian as long as it's one with a Christian worldview and sees history, not as bunk with no meaning having no purpose or application, but as God's unfolding narrative of redemption in real-time with the resurrection as its climax or turning point. The true believer is potentially a bona fide economist, historian, ethicist, counselor, legal advocate or lawyer, politico, scientist, psychologist, biologist, philosopher, theologian, and even sociologist by virtue of his worldview.
Note that our faith is a historical faith, based on fact, or it's nothing but balderdash and poppycock! We not only posit history as having meaning in general but that the resurrection has real-time applications and is about how Christ can resurrect our spirit through salvation. The man of faith has naught to fear from the facts. History has rightly been called HIS STORY! George Santayana said rightly that those who cannot remember history are condemned to repeat it!
Let's hope that the maxim, just like Georg W. F. Hegel said, "What history and experience teach is this--that people and governments never have learned anything from history, or acted on principles deduced from it." We don't learn from history! Hopefully, this doesn't become self-fulfilling and the story of our own lives, but we can see the real meaning of God's intervention into history, stepping into time in the person of Christ via His incarnation and resurrection.
It is the secular historians who are the revisionists, rewriting the past, ex-post-facto, not Christians who postulate the true fact of the resurrection of Christ as His triumph over death and our hope of resurrection. As believers, we say that God orchestrates history and the fact it has a direction is evidence of His existence and therefore is denied by secularists. Christian history and worldview are based on, and revolving around, the reliability, fidelity, veracity, and competence of Scripture as its foundation stone. Soli Deo Gloria!
"But when the fullness of time had come..." (Gal. 4:4, ESV).
To celebrate Resurrection Sunday, known as Easter:
The typical greeting: "Christ is risen!" followed by: "He is risen, indeed!"
But is He risen in you?
"Philosophers have only interpreted the world differently; the point is, however, to change it."--Karl Marx
It's a fact of history that Christ rose from the dead, and rose Himself at that. To dispute, this is to be in a state of denial! Any unbiased jury would render this verdict, given the compelling, circumstantial, historical evidence. In fact, it is arguably the best-attested fact in antiquity. Some may feel that secular historians are not as biased as theologians and Bible scholars (everyone is biased for there is no such thing as perfect objectivity), but there were more than 500 eyewitnesses to this event and every type of evidence that would be required in a court of law to be valid--the jury is still out all right, but on the skeptics as to their foolishness, not the wisdom of the believers who have nothing to fear from new revelation or the facts.
They say that to believe in the resurrection is mere history and even the demons believe and tremble (cf. James 2:19), but to take it to heart is salvation! One must have more than story-book belief or head knowledge to get saved but must believe with all one's heart. In other words, one must not only be a seeker of the truth but a lover of it or have the right attitude. Romans 10:10 says that one believes with one's heart and is saved, as the GOOD NEWS TO PREACH! Christians don't just know the truth, they live it and love it (cf. 2 Thess. 2:10); the unbeliever rejects it (cf. Rom. 2:8) and is ignorant.
We are true historians when we can interpret history and have a reference viewpoint and can put things in perspective, as to how they fit into the big picture or grand scheme of things. History had a beginning point, a direction because it's going somewhere, and a climax, culmination, ending point, or conclusion. History is not cyclical, i.e., not repetitive nor repeating. The resurrection is either the biggest hoax and cruelest April Fool's Day joke ever perpetrated on mankind, or it's the most wonderful news that must be propagated at all costs. Indeed, if Christ has not risen, our faith is in vain according to Paul and we are most to be pitied most among peoples (cf. 1 Cor. 15:14, 17).
We must believe the resurrection enough for it to make a difference in our lives and to desire to live it out and to share the good news about Jesus. WE MUST OWN IT AND PERSONALIZE IT SO THAT IT REGISTERS IN OUR HEARTS! Thus, we say the pursuit of historical knowledge ought to be teleological or aimed at some purpose! It is sheer history that Christ is risen for sure and even an unbeliever can do this, but to take the step of faith and allow this risen Lord to rule over you and to have ownership of your life is quite another ballgame. We don't want to just be historians but witnesses to the truth--yes, we can be living witnesses with a personal testimony about the wonderful things Jesus has done for us accomplished via His resurrection, which secured eternal life in us as a Done Deal.
As true historians, we see purpose and meaning in the Resurrection and what was accomplished. Were you there? We have the living Spirit of God abiding in us, bearing witness with our spirit to give us the experience as if we had been one of the privileged few who saw the risen Lord that first Easter. In fact, we are better off because we have the full revelation of God in His Word and the resident Holy Spirit to illumine us so that we know all things because of the anointing we received.
We all need to venture out of our comfort zones and make this fact real and live it out, not allowing it to be just another fact of history, but a transforming truth. The truth is what sets us free according to Jesus (cf. John 8:32). There are many implications of believing this with our heart and stepping out in faith to witness about it: people will stereotype us and persecute us; they will misunderstand and judge us; they will avoid and shun us; they will betray us and will even doubt our sanity and whether we are in our right mind (cf. 2 Cor. 5:13). Be prepared to be ostracized, labeled, branded, and even stigmatized for the sake of the Name! We will be tested to find out just how much we really do believe and if we are willing to bet our life on this fact, or is it just some convenient truth that seems to suit the time and situation, having no risk involved.
Our witness hits home and has weight and cannot be discounted, for our testimony cannot be argued anymore than a blind man saying, "I was blind, but now I see!" What's to argue? The difference between our witness and that of a Muslim is that ours is based on historical fact and verifiable experience, coupled with the Word of God itself--this implies both subjective and objective evidence--it's not mystical. We also have the witness of the Holy Spirit which bears witness with our spirit per Rom. 8:16! Yes, We can experience God and have a genuine, authentic encounter with Him to substantiate our faith--the proofs ring true, can be verified, and hold water in a court of law according to the laws of evidence.
The whole point of believing this, though, is to do something about it and to disseminate this truth in order to change lives and transform the world by consequence one person at a time. It is historical, Scriptural fact that the resurrection of Christ changed the world, starting with the Jews in Jerusalem and ultimately the Roman empire, and Christianity had become legalized by the Edict of Milan in AD 313 by the Roman emperor Constantine. The world was never the same and Jesus is still in the resurrection business! There's no challenge He's not up to!
History is a bona fide Christian academic discipline with biblical roots and Jesus is the key to history; therefore, it's not demeaning to be given the moniker of the historian as long as it's one with a Christian worldview and sees history, not as bunk with no meaning having no purpose or application, but as God's unfolding narrative of redemption in real-time with the resurrection as its climax or turning point. The true believer is potentially a bona fide economist, historian, ethicist, counselor, legal advocate or lawyer, politico, scientist, psychologist, biologist, philosopher, theologian, and even sociologist by virtue of his worldview.
Note that our faith is a historical faith, based on fact, or it's nothing but balderdash and poppycock! We not only posit history as having meaning in general but that the resurrection has real-time applications and is about how Christ can resurrect our spirit through salvation. The man of faith has naught to fear from the facts. History has rightly been called HIS STORY! George Santayana said rightly that those who cannot remember history are condemned to repeat it!
Let's hope that the maxim, just like Georg W. F. Hegel said, "What history and experience teach is this--that people and governments never have learned anything from history, or acted on principles deduced from it." We don't learn from history! Hopefully, this doesn't become self-fulfilling and the story of our own lives, but we can see the real meaning of God's intervention into history, stepping into time in the person of Christ via His incarnation and resurrection.
It is the secular historians who are the revisionists, rewriting the past, ex-post-facto, not Christians who postulate the true fact of the resurrection of Christ as His triumph over death and our hope of resurrection. As believers, we say that God orchestrates history and the fact it has a direction is evidence of His existence and therefore is denied by secularists. Christian history and worldview are based on, and revolving around, the reliability, fidelity, veracity, and competence of Scripture as its foundation stone. Soli Deo Gloria!
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