WEBVTT 00:00:00.040 --> 00:00:08.220 And Father God, we thank you for having given 00:00:08.220 --> 00:00:18.699 Jesus. We thank you, Jesus, for loving us enough 00:00:18.699 --> 00:00:24.440 to come and give your life and shed your blood 00:00:24.440 --> 00:00:33.200 that we might have life eternal. The greatest 00:00:33.200 --> 00:00:38.079 tragedy of modern religion is the loss of a driving 00:00:38.079 --> 00:00:43.539 faith in the indestructibility of the human soul. 00:00:44.579 --> 00:00:48.039 Present -day Christians still observe Easter, 00:00:48.240 --> 00:00:54.000 recite ancient creeds, sing resurrection hymns, 00:00:54.000 --> 00:00:59.119 but collectively little do they feel that great 00:00:59.119 --> 00:01:02.770 motivating force. that should cause them to face 00:01:02.770 --> 00:01:06.510 the sins of this materialistic world with a fearless 00:01:06.510 --> 00:01:13.109 hope. The constant impact of the worship of things, 00:01:13.390 --> 00:01:18.909 the continuous flattery of the human ego, which 00:01:18.909 --> 00:01:23.810 lifts reason above divine revelation, and the 00:01:23.810 --> 00:01:26.829 successful revival of the cult of the golden 00:01:26.829 --> 00:01:31.480 calf. have given force to the leadership of Lucifer 00:01:31.480 --> 00:01:37.280 and have almost won the day for the triumph of 00:01:37.280 --> 00:01:43.939 belief in death. The social implications of the 00:01:43.939 --> 00:01:47.700 doctrine of eternal death are greater than we 00:01:47.700 --> 00:01:53.879 realize. Many modern college students have emerged 00:01:53.879 --> 00:02:02.510 from a pagan classroom fully propagandized to 00:02:02.510 --> 00:02:09.310 sneer at Christian doctrine as a mythical fabrication 00:02:09.310 --> 00:02:15.270 created from psychological escape complexes with 00:02:15.270 --> 00:02:22.069 catchphrases of a liberalism so broad it believes 00:02:22.069 --> 00:02:27.259 in little or nothing ringing in their impressionable 00:02:27.259 --> 00:02:31.680 ears. The faith of our fathers that gave America 00:02:31.680 --> 00:02:37.219 her strong heart has been thoroughly debunked. 00:02:38.460 --> 00:02:41.539 Eventually, the man on the street also becomes 00:02:41.539 --> 00:02:47.439 a skeptic, not by process of reason, but from 00:02:47.439 --> 00:02:53.000 the general debunking infiltration. The total 00:02:53.000 --> 00:02:56.169 result? is that no longer do we believe in life, 00:02:56.330 --> 00:03:02.250 but in death. Since death is our end, a future 00:03:02.250 --> 00:03:06.889 judgment is of no consequence. Thus, if there's 00:03:06.889 --> 00:03:10.889 to be no day of reckoning, if no bills need to 00:03:10.889 --> 00:03:16.229 be paid, if no debts must be settled, well then, 00:03:16.349 --> 00:03:22.650 let's get away with what we can while we may. 00:03:23.500 --> 00:03:28.219 There's no final day of judgment, no time of 00:03:28.219 --> 00:03:33.419 settling our bills. Live for today, forget tomorrow. 00:03:33.860 --> 00:03:39.620 And that's the modern theory of most of our young 00:03:39.620 --> 00:03:45.819 people. Morality without God is like guns without 00:03:45.819 --> 00:03:51.439 bullets. International ethics without personal 00:03:51.439 --> 00:03:55.939 responsibility can never save us from the atomic 00:03:55.939 --> 00:04:02.500 bomb. Only Christ's love in men's hearts can 00:04:02.500 --> 00:04:06.939 do that. Only the new birth experience can do 00:04:06.939 --> 00:04:11.319 that. Only the faith in the deity and divinity 00:04:11.319 --> 00:04:16.560 of the very son of the living God can do that. 00:04:17.959 --> 00:04:23.660 Let's not be foolish. Wishful thinkers. If there 00:04:23.660 --> 00:04:26.980 is to be a new day in American thinking, there 00:04:26.980 --> 00:04:31.259 must be a revival in the basic Christian belief 00:04:31.259 --> 00:04:36.439 in God's judgment of man and a survival of human 00:04:36.439 --> 00:04:42.420 personality. Jesus, the resurrected savior of 00:04:42.420 --> 00:04:47.399 mankind, must again become the assurance of everlasting 00:04:47.399 --> 00:04:53.220 life. Otherwise... to the millions of bereaved, 00:04:53.279 --> 00:04:59.079 we can offer no other consolation than a sad 00:04:59.079 --> 00:05:03.740 shaking of the head and our embarrassed mumblings 00:05:03.740 --> 00:05:12.040 of sympathy. Is there anything worse than to 00:05:12.040 --> 00:05:17.160 see a person who does not truly believe in... 00:05:17.399 --> 00:05:21.959 immortality, trying to offer comfort to a bereaved 00:05:21.959 --> 00:05:28.779 friend. The sadness of one standing before the 00:05:28.779 --> 00:05:35.019 casket of a loved one with no assurance of life 00:05:35.019 --> 00:05:42.279 after death. But praise God, the church has the 00:05:42.279 --> 00:05:46.019 truth about immortality. The Word of God gives 00:05:46.019 --> 00:05:50.319 us the truth regarding immortality. Those of 00:05:50.319 --> 00:05:53.459 us who've been born again, who have accepted 00:05:53.459 --> 00:05:56.480 the truth, who have accepted the Word of God, 00:05:57.040 --> 00:06:04.500 know there is life beyond the grave. We have 00:06:04.500 --> 00:06:08.579 a way of communication, and we're beginning again 00:06:08.579 --> 00:06:13.379 to teach our truth to the spiritually strong. 00:06:13.389 --> 00:06:22.930 whose sons are not dead, but are alive. Everything 00:06:22.930 --> 00:06:27.490 in the future depends on this basic doctrine. 00:06:28.370 --> 00:06:34.410 It is far more important for world peace, social 00:06:34.410 --> 00:06:40.870 security, and racial compatibility than... Pacts 00:06:40.870 --> 00:06:45.069 and political promises and intellectual explanations 00:06:45.069 --> 00:06:52.550 of humanistic theories. The world needs this 00:06:52.550 --> 00:06:57.870 hope in the divine son of the living God. Then 00:06:57.870 --> 00:07:02.290 it needs promises from our political leaders. 00:07:05.470 --> 00:07:12.300 Humanity needs this hope and faith. in the Son 00:07:12.300 --> 00:07:16.620 of the Living God and in the Word of God more 00:07:16.620 --> 00:07:24.100 than it needs atomic power and pacts and promises. 00:07:26.160 --> 00:07:30.300 Because in dealing with the subject of life after 00:07:30.300 --> 00:07:35.259 death, we're talking about the deepest of motivations. 00:07:36.300 --> 00:07:41.579 If we really believe that we're put here, to 00:07:41.579 --> 00:07:45.040 prepare for eternity, and that our acts will 00:07:45.040 --> 00:07:50.759 be judged, we will probably decide to start living 00:07:50.759 --> 00:07:57.000 for that day now. Living for something more than 00:07:57.000 --> 00:08:03.680 the material. Living for something more than 00:08:03.680 --> 00:08:11.339 just the taking of a life. Than just for... that 00:08:11.339 --> 00:08:16.339 which the material can afford us. Otherwise, 00:08:16.339 --> 00:08:25.319 why worry about ideals? Otherwise, why worry 00:08:25.319 --> 00:08:34.960 about morals and moral standards? I know, this 00:08:34.960 --> 00:08:43.779 is blunt, but it is human and realistic. It usually 00:08:43.779 --> 00:08:47.919 takes a war or some other tragedy to make most 00:08:47.919 --> 00:08:52.299 of us question the scientific intellectuals who've 00:08:52.299 --> 00:08:56.240 told us that all death lies with the death of 00:08:56.240 --> 00:09:02.000 the body. When thousands of telegrams begin to 00:09:02.000 --> 00:09:05.639 reach out across a nation with the fatal opening 00:09:05.639 --> 00:09:14.049 line, we regret to inform you. And when the personal 00:09:14.049 --> 00:09:19.730 effects are sent home, then we start to think. 00:09:21.809 --> 00:09:28.230 Only several days ago, I stood in a mortuary 00:09:28.230 --> 00:09:37.230 before a bereaved family. I held in my hand that 00:09:37.230 --> 00:09:40.830 telegram that had been sent by the United States 00:09:40.830 --> 00:09:51.139 government. We regret to inform you. I held with 00:09:51.139 --> 00:09:57.000 it the young 20 -year -old Marine's last letter 00:09:57.000 --> 00:10:11.720 to his mom. Dear Mom, How are you? Everything's... 00:10:12.029 --> 00:10:18.690 Going all right for me. Little did he know it 00:10:18.690 --> 00:10:26.809 was the last letter that he'd ever write. Little 00:10:26.809 --> 00:10:34.610 did he know. Have you stood before a grief -stricken 00:10:34.610 --> 00:10:40.590 mother? Have you stood before a grief -stricken 00:10:40.590 --> 00:10:49.120 father? A young brother, 17 years of age? And 00:10:49.120 --> 00:10:55.080 try to comfort them? If you yourself did not 00:10:55.080 --> 00:11:00.460 have hope beyond the grave? Hope in the promise 00:11:00.460 --> 00:11:09.879 of the Lord? Oh, sure, beloved. Many debunking 00:11:09.879 --> 00:11:14.500 intellectuals and destructive... liberals have 00:11:14.500 --> 00:11:18.679 little to offer those families whose sons have 00:11:18.679 --> 00:11:23.240 not returned or whose closest earthly companions 00:11:23.240 --> 00:11:28.019 have died. They can be graciously sympathetic. 00:11:29.080 --> 00:11:33.720 They can recite memories of how fine the young 00:11:33.720 --> 00:11:41.639 man was. But believe me, that is a little tangible 00:11:42.059 --> 00:11:51.299 aid to heartbroken people. What does that debunking 00:11:51.299 --> 00:11:57.720 intellectual have to offer? What does that destructive 00:11:57.720 --> 00:12:02.940 liberal have to offer? What does that modernistic 00:12:02.940 --> 00:12:12.679 preacher have to offer in that moment? Yet, there 00:12:12.679 --> 00:12:16.740 is something to be offered. There is a concrete 00:12:16.740 --> 00:12:21.539 belief, a definite and constructive strength 00:12:21.539 --> 00:12:24.940 to be received. And the Church of the Ages has 00:12:24.940 --> 00:12:29.519 a doctrine that is absolutely indestructible. 00:12:31.659 --> 00:12:37.649 A doctrine of faith. that you can absolutely 00:12:37.649 --> 00:12:43.850 stake your very life on. I am the resurrection 00:12:43.850 --> 00:12:48.870 and the life, saith the Lord. He that believeth 00:12:48.870 --> 00:12:55.490 in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. 00:12:55.669 --> 00:13:00.409 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall 00:13:00.409 --> 00:13:09.019 never die. With that... sentence begins the triumphal 00:13:09.019 --> 00:13:22.659 entry of a casket. Life after death. And that 00:13:22.659 --> 00:13:27.940 casket only holds that which goes back to the 00:13:27.940 --> 00:13:32.519 earth from whence it came. But there is no power 00:13:32.519 --> 00:13:36.179 that can destroy Destroy the soul, for the soul 00:13:36.179 --> 00:13:44.580 of man is eternal. But Jesus said, I am the resurrection, 00:13:44.860 --> 00:13:49.559 the life. And he that believeth in me, though 00:13:49.559 --> 00:13:56.039 he be dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever 00:13:56.039 --> 00:13:58.879 liveth and believeth in me shall never die. And 00:13:58.879 --> 00:14:06.990 Christianity rests upon that. If it is a fact, 00:14:07.129 --> 00:14:09.429 it's the greatest event that ever happened in 00:14:09.429 --> 00:14:12.610 history. It offers the greatest hope to all who 00:14:12.610 --> 00:14:15.250 cherish the idea of a life of continual growth 00:14:15.250 --> 00:14:19.250 with those whom we have loved. It makes primary 00:14:19.250 --> 00:14:22.269 the surrender of everything to Christ the King. 00:14:22.750 --> 00:14:26.570 It threatens the one who would deliberately deny 00:14:26.570 --> 00:14:31.629 him with being cast out into utter darkness. 00:14:32.820 --> 00:14:36.980 Yet, if the promise is false, Christianity is 00:14:36.980 --> 00:14:40.519 the greatest hoax that has ever been perpetrated 00:14:40.519 --> 00:14:44.039 upon the human race. It makes Christ himself 00:14:44.039 --> 00:14:48.299 a character who is unparalleled in the history 00:14:48.299 --> 00:14:51.980 of the deliberate lie. It makes millions of Christians 00:14:51.980 --> 00:14:54.360 throughout history. their sufferings and their 00:14:54.360 --> 00:14:58.500 sacrifices, the most devilishly deceived block 00:14:58.500 --> 00:15:04.100 of hopeless humanity that was ever known. These 00:15:04.100 --> 00:15:09.919 words sound like an extravagant exaggeration, 00:15:09.919 --> 00:15:14.299 but they're not. Christ either rose from the 00:15:14.299 --> 00:15:18.740 dead or he did not. And any silly compromise 00:15:18.740 --> 00:15:22.360 between the two positions is not Christianity. 00:15:24.299 --> 00:15:29.340 Just how that event took place and with what 00:15:29.340 --> 00:15:33.919 resurrected body he presented himself, we do 00:15:33.919 --> 00:15:38.019 not know. How can we know? And why should we 00:15:38.019 --> 00:15:41.919 know? We probably wouldn't understand if we did 00:15:41.919 --> 00:15:47.549 know. And in addition, we would forfeit the benefits 00:15:47.549 --> 00:15:56.110 of faith if we demanded that we understand. I'm 00:15:56.110 --> 00:16:01.029 willing to rest the case on the fact that there 00:16:01.029 --> 00:16:04.370 are certain mysteries in things of the spirit 00:16:04.370 --> 00:16:10.990 which cannot be rationalized any more than a 00:16:10.990 --> 00:16:17.929 human love can be redeemed. to a test tube analysis. 00:16:19.409 --> 00:16:26.370 The resurrection of Christ must be accepted if 00:16:26.370 --> 00:16:33.389 we would be Christians. Christianity rests thoroughly 00:16:33.389 --> 00:16:36.710 on the fact that Jesus must have risen on the 00:16:36.710 --> 00:16:40.950 third day. It is the only reason to account for 00:16:40.950 --> 00:16:43.090 the miraculous change of attitude on the part 00:16:43.090 --> 00:16:47.960 of the scattered, banned, defeated, and bedraggled 00:16:47.960 --> 00:16:52.799 apostles. Pause a minute. Consider something. 00:16:54.240 --> 00:16:58.679 If, when the women visit the tomb on Easter morning, 00:16:58.820 --> 00:17:05.039 it was not found to be empty, then they must 00:17:05.039 --> 00:17:09.559 have lied. Having watched their brave vigil at 00:17:09.559 --> 00:17:14.960 the foot of the cross on Good Friday, cause to 00:17:14.960 --> 00:17:19.059 believe that they would bear false witness three 00:17:19.059 --> 00:17:23.880 days later. I don't believe it. They were not 00:17:23.880 --> 00:17:30.240 that kind of women. Furthermore, the lie, had 00:17:30.240 --> 00:17:33.859 it been one, would have been quickly contradicted 00:17:33.859 --> 00:17:38.380 by a visit to the tomb. For the evidence certainly 00:17:38.380 --> 00:17:42.779 would have been obvious. Just consider some of 00:17:42.779 --> 00:17:47.349 these things. The oldest report of the resurrection 00:17:47.349 --> 00:17:50.730 of Jesus Christ after his crucifixion is found 00:17:50.730 --> 00:17:55.250 in St. Peter's first epistle to the Corinthians. 00:17:56.210 --> 00:18:04.009 It was concise air conviction as it states, Moreover, 00:18:04.049 --> 00:18:08.470 brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which 00:18:08.470 --> 00:18:13.039 I preached unto you. which also ye have received, 00:18:13.160 --> 00:18:18.240 and wherein ye stand, by which also ye are saved, 00:18:18.500 --> 00:18:23.359 if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, 00:18:23.619 --> 00:18:28.819 unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered 00:18:28.819 --> 00:18:34.079 unto you first of all that which I also received. 00:18:34.680 --> 00:18:38.500 How that Christ died for our sins according to 00:18:38.500 --> 00:18:43.000 the Scripture. and that he was buried, and that 00:18:43.000 --> 00:18:48.640 he rose again the third day according to the 00:18:48.640 --> 00:18:56.839 Scriptures. There it is. He was seen of the twelve. 00:18:57.700 --> 00:19:05.119 After that, he was seen of above five hundred 00:19:05.119 --> 00:19:09.539 brethren at once. of whom the greater part remain 00:19:09.539 --> 00:19:13.140 unto this present, but some have fallen asleep. 00:19:13.759 --> 00:19:19.299 After that he was seen of James, then of all 00:19:19.299 --> 00:19:25.559 the apostles, and last of all he was seen by 00:19:25.559 --> 00:19:33.559 me also, as of one born out of due time. Now 00:19:33.559 --> 00:19:36.630 remember something. This was written... in the 00:19:36.630 --> 00:19:40.730 early 50s of the first century, probably 25 years 00:19:40.730 --> 00:19:46.849 after the actual event, when a great many eyewitnesses 00:19:46.849 --> 00:19:51.029 were still alive. Accounts of the resurrection 00:19:51.029 --> 00:19:56.809 also appear in four Gospels. Paul has many other 00:19:56.809 --> 00:20:01.650 references. And certainly, the resurrection was 00:20:01.650 --> 00:20:05.029 the center of his teaching. There are other references 00:20:05.029 --> 00:20:09.049 in the New Testament. And on the whole, testimony 00:20:09.049 --> 00:20:14.289 comes from eyewitnesses, those who actually saw 00:20:14.289 --> 00:20:19.009 him. What are you going to do with the testimony 00:20:19.009 --> 00:20:23.789 of those who saw him after he was resurrected? 00:20:24.910 --> 00:20:28.990 St. Paul bases his whole faith upon the truth 00:20:28.990 --> 00:20:32.789 of the resurrection. If Christ be not risen, 00:20:32.990 --> 00:20:38.609 then our preaching is vain. If we believe that 00:20:38.609 --> 00:20:43.029 Jesus died and rose again, even so they also 00:20:43.029 --> 00:20:48.349 which are fallen asleep in Christ will God bring 00:20:48.349 --> 00:20:53.670 with him. There's no question where Paul stands. 00:20:55.130 --> 00:20:59.430 He goes so far as to assume that already his 00:20:59.430 --> 00:21:03.809 readers are convinced of the fact and that he 00:21:03.809 --> 00:21:05.910 is therefore able to build his argument upon 00:21:05.910 --> 00:21:09.829 it. You know, it's interesting to note what a 00:21:09.829 --> 00:21:12.269 challenge the empty tomb was to the Roman authorities. 00:21:12.769 --> 00:21:18.890 All they needed was to produce the body to disprove 00:21:18.890 --> 00:21:21.789 the seemingly wild resurrection statement. That's 00:21:21.789 --> 00:21:28.710 all they had to do. Just produce the body. It 00:21:28.710 --> 00:21:32.630 was necessary only to bring in the barest clue 00:21:32.630 --> 00:21:38.809 of the remains. To crush... the enthusiasm of 00:21:38.809 --> 00:21:44.809 the small group of Christ's followers. But the 00:21:44.809 --> 00:21:50.930 authorities failed utterly. They could not bring 00:21:50.930 --> 00:21:56.390 forth one evidence, not the smallest, to disprove 00:21:56.390 --> 00:22:02.170 his resurrection. After all of the debunking 00:22:02.170 --> 00:22:05.730 of the resurrection has taken place, the final 00:22:05.730 --> 00:22:09.680 and most difficult hurdle is the witness of the 00:22:09.680 --> 00:22:15.759 500 brethren at once. Believe me, not all of 00:22:15.759 --> 00:22:21.400 the 500 could have been hypnotized. The Acts 00:22:21.400 --> 00:22:26.380 of the Apostles concludes, He showed himself 00:22:26.380 --> 00:22:35.680 alive by many infallible proofs. And St. Peter 00:22:35.680 --> 00:22:38.579 declares that God raised up Jesus from the dead 00:22:38.579 --> 00:22:43.519 and then clinches it by saying, We did eat and 00:22:43.519 --> 00:22:51.099 drink with him. St. Peter says that he was seen 00:22:51.099 --> 00:22:55.880 for many days. These witnesses were convinced. 00:22:56.480 --> 00:23:00.279 These witnesses were satisfied that the risen 00:23:00.279 --> 00:23:07.299 body was real. and that it had been identified. 00:23:08.759 --> 00:23:13.980 I have in me a conscious knowledge of a spiritual 00:23:13.980 --> 00:23:20.720 life, as positive as the consciousness of physical 00:23:20.720 --> 00:23:28.619 being. The star of Bethlehem is in my sky of 00:23:28.619 --> 00:23:34.660 hope, and his returning. is a conviction as surely 00:23:34.660 --> 00:23:38.000 as can be wrought in the realm of the senses 00:23:38.000 --> 00:23:44.740 by the strongest evidence. This inner awareness 00:23:44.740 --> 00:23:52.480 that he is God, and that I shall one day hear 00:23:52.480 --> 00:23:58.839 the shout, Behold, he cometh, is the anchor of 00:23:58.839 --> 00:24:05.140 my life. And I would not exchange my hope, I 00:24:05.140 --> 00:24:09.059 would not exchange my faith in him and his word 00:24:09.059 --> 00:24:16.940 for a title deed to the whole world. To all who 00:24:16.940 --> 00:24:21.220 do not experience this inner awareness, my final 00:24:21.220 --> 00:24:26.680 word is just this. Let the evidence speak to 00:24:26.680 --> 00:24:32.140 your intellect. Let conclusive... argument, force 00:24:32.140 --> 00:24:35.740 your final decision, and then follow the torch 00:24:35.740 --> 00:24:40.240 of faith, which neither intellect nor reason 00:24:40.240 --> 00:24:44.440 can go, then you too will join your testimony 00:24:44.440 --> 00:24:47.579 with the testimony of the centuries.