The Resurrection Power, Reasons to Believe in Christianity

Interior photo of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. 

When we Christians are called to believe in Christ and the resurrection, are we called to hope against reason? To believe without any evidence? 

The movie and the book The Case for Christ which the story of Lee Strobel’s conversion from atheism to faith and highlights a major part of Christianity: apologetics. There are reasons to believe in Christianity; and in the words of another apologist, Josh McDowell, the evidence is so overwhelming, it demands a verdict.

So, what are the reasons to believe in Christianity? 

1. Paul, a singular testimony for faith. The Apostle Paul is the ultimate example of a skeptic who converted to Christianity. In his case, however, he was so opposed to the newly formed faith of Christianity that God had to miraculously appear to him on the Damascus Road. Once converted, Paul realized that this method of evangelism (Jesus Himself appearing in overwhelming light that results in three days of blindness) was the exception and not the normal method. Therefore, the apostle lays out specific reasons to believe and more than any other part of the faith, nothing is more central than Christ rising from the dead.

The word “apologetics” comes from the Greek word which means “to make a defense.” It literally means to make a case for a religious faith through a series of systematic arguments and reasoning. It dates back as old as Christianity itself, with Paul going to synagogues and public discourses to give reasons to believe. For instance, Acts 17:2, 17 says, “Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures… Therefore he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentile worshipers, and in the marketplace daily with those who happened to be there.”

Paul wasn’t the only one making a defense for Christianity. His traveling partner, Luke, the beloved physician, wrote the entire gospel after interviewing eyewitnesses “from the beginning.” He explained: “I have followed all things carefully from the beginning, to write an orderly account … so that you may know for certain the things you were taught.” (Luke 1:3b-4, NET)

Another doubter who was converted to faith was the famous Doubting Thomas, who would only believe if he could see the nail prints in the hands of Jesus and put his own hand in his side. And while we all know that Jesus did appear to Thomas, like the conversion of Paul, Thomas’ conversion from doubt to faith is not the normal way of defending our beliefs. Even Jesus commended those who are converted without having incontrovertible faith: “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29).

Peter perhaps gave the greatest call for apologetics in 1 Peter 3:15: “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear.” In that one sentence, Peter says first, set apart the Lord in your own heart; then second, be ready to defend (Greek: apologia) to everyone who questions us; lastly, he says we should give our reasons not in combative or argumentative fashion but rather in humility. 

Paul wrote several letters to the Corinthians as a result of their many problems that they had. Divisions, immorality, even instructions on how to partake of communion. But perhaps most troubling of all, Paul concludes 1 Corinthians addressing a huge problem…some did not even believe in the resurrection.

Paul is an example to believe in the Resurrection. A persecutor of the church, Paul deemed himself as least of the sent-out apostles. And yet he himself is an example that anyone can go from an unbeliever to believer. The changed lives of a believer can sometimes be the most convincing example of all. Jesus said they (meaning the unbelieving world) will know us by our love and changed lives.

2. Proofs  Exposition of the Scriptures, Empty tomb, Eyewitnesses, and the Example of Paul

The Scriptures. The Apostle Paul ends his first letter to the Corinthian church by reminding them what he had taught them “first of all.” The gospel in a nutshell is found in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 as one of the earliest summations of the “good news” of the resurrection. Twice Paul appeals to “the Scriptures” (what we now call the Old Testament) as a proof of the resurrection.

Paul was not the first to appeal to the Old Testament prophecies to help people believe in the resurrection. Jesus Himself, on Resurrection Sunday, appeared to two persons mourning over the death of Christ on the road to Emmaus. In Luke 24:13-27, Jesus began with Moses and the Prophets to expound to them “in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.” The Bible prophetically foretells of events hundreds of years beforehand in such vivid detail. For those events to come to pass is strong evidence that the Bible is reliable.

In Romans 10:17, Paul stated that “faith comes from hearing and hearing by the word of God.” Hebrews 4:12 says that the Word of God is living, powerful and sharp; it also divides and discerns. Even if people do not believe the Bible, the word of God is still supernaturally powerful and should be used even with skeptics. Someone said, “Even if you don’t believe in a knife, it still will cut you.”

Tim LaHaye tabulated many of the Scriptures of the Old Testament which were fulfilled by the resurrected Christ, and it totals more than 150 prophecies.  

The Sepulcher. Another defense Paul used was the empty tomb. It is interesting that from the beginning, the defense of the Jewish leaders was to explain why the tomb was empty. A great way to have squashed the rumors of Christ rising from the dead would have been to simply produce the body. Instead they paid soldiers to say that the disciples stole the body. However, Paul’s appeal to the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus is foundational to Christianity, Paul said. “And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!” (1 Corinthians 15:17).

The Sightings. Thirdly, Paul, like his friend Luke as we said earlier, appealed to eyewitnesses. Peter and the twelve apostles (this would include Thomas, who saw Christ a week after the resurrection and also Matthias who was selected to replace Judas and was a “witness…of His resurrection.” See John 20:26-29, Acts 1:22). He also included 500 others who saw Christ all at once, James, the half-brother of Jesus who did not believe until after the resurrection, and then also all of the apostles or sent out ones, which could mean as many as 70 more who were the ones sent out (Greek: apostello) during Jesus’ earthly ministry (see Luke 10:1). Add all of those appearances up and you have nearly 600 times of Jesus being seen.

The Salvations. For me, all of the apologetics in the world and all of the reasons for faith is not why I am a believer. It is the grace, the gift of God, which saved me. I know I can’t explain it enough. I know can’t show people what is in my heart. But like the old hymn says, “You ask me how I know He lives, He lives within my heart.” The changed lives of Paul and me and you and the millions who have been changed are perhaps the greatest arguments that the world can never explain away.

3. Protests. If tomb was not empty, then you have an empty foundation, an empty faith, an empty falsehood, an empty future, and an empty forgiveness

Proofs alone are not going to stop a skeptical world. There are protests from outside the church and in the case of the Corinthians, even inside the church. Paul was amazed that even after all that he had taught them, that there were “some among you” who did not believe in the resurrection. Specifically, some in the church may have believed Christ was raised, but they did not believe that they themselves would be raised.

In Judaism such persons were called Sadducees and it was against those that Paul argued in one of his defenses (see Acts 23:6-8, Acts 24:15-21).

But also in the Gentile culture, there was a great deal of skepticism against the resurrection (see Acts 17:32).

Worst of all, Paul found that he not only had to fight the doubters of the resurrection in the Jewish faith, in the Gentile faith, but now in the church?? He was almost beside himself!

Paul was basically saying, “If you don’t believe in the empty tomb, you have then you have 

• empty foundation (“our preaching is empty”), 
• empty faith (“your faith is empty”), 
• empty falsehood (“we are found false witnesses”), 
• empty future (“the dead do not rise”), and an 
• empty forgiveness (“you are still in your sins”).

4. Power. Despite the protests against the resurrection, Paul appeals to the fact that if God did in fact raise Jesus from the dead, then He will also give life to the believers. Romans 8:11 (But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you) is very similar to 1 Corinthians 15.

The power of the resurrection is not just the fact that there is life after death, but that there is also resurrection power within us right now. That power gives us strength to overcome sin, and it also gives us the power to live a righteous life, even if it means “fighting with beasts at Ephesus.” Paul was referring to a time in which he and others were so discouraged that “we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life.” (see 2 Corinthians 1:8).

Again, there is a parallel in this passage and in Romans chapter 8—“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18).

Believing in the power of the resurrection gives us power internally to overcome the discouragements of this life. Paul said that those who did not believe in the future resurrection were not admirable. Such false beliefs only lead to sin, corruption of morals and shame.

5. Promise Of the Resurrection. Perhaps more than any other section of Scripture, 1 Corinthians 15 is frequently used at funerals because it gives us faith and hope for the future.

The promise of the resurrection does more than simply give us faith to sleep at night. The promise gives us encouragement to look death squarely in the eyes when we or our loved ones face the inevitable fate of the end of life. Even more, the promise of the Resurrection gives us a victory not only in death, but also in this life to be steadfast and immovable, to be always abounding in the work of the Lord. 

The Promise of the resurrection gives us a motivation that the work we are doing is not in vain.