And Father God, we thank you for having given
Jesus. We thank you, Jesus, for loving us enough
to come and give your life and shed your blood
that we might have life eternal. The greatest
tragedy of modern religion is the loss of a driving
faith in the indestructibility of the human soul.
Present -day Christians still observe Easter,
recite ancient creeds, sing resurrection hymns,
but collectively little do they feel that great
motivating force. that should cause them to face
the sins of this materialistic world with a fearless
hope. The constant impact of the worship of things,
the continuous flattery of the human ego, which
lifts reason above divine revelation, and the
successful revival of the cult of the golden
calf. have given force to the leadership of Lucifer
and have almost won the day for the triumph of
belief in death. The social implications of the
doctrine of eternal death are greater than we
realize. Many modern college students have emerged
from a pagan classroom fully propagandized to
sneer at Christian doctrine as a mythical fabrication
created from psychological escape complexes with
catchphrases of a liberalism so broad it believes
in little or nothing ringing in their impressionable
ears. The faith of our fathers that gave America
her strong heart has been thoroughly debunked.
Eventually, the man on the street also becomes
a skeptic, not by process of reason, but from
the general debunking infiltration. The total
result? is that no longer do we believe in life,
but in death. Since death is our end, a future
judgment is of no consequence. Thus, if there's
to be no day of reckoning, if no bills need to
be paid, if no debts must be settled, well then,
let's get away with what we can while we may.
There's no final day of judgment, no time of
settling our bills. Live for today, forget tomorrow.
And that's the modern theory of most of our young
people. Morality without God is like guns without
bullets. International ethics without personal
responsibility can never save us from the atomic
bomb. Only Christ's love in men's hearts can
do that. Only the new birth experience can do
that. Only the faith in the deity and divinity
of the very son of the living God can do that.
Let's not be foolish. Wishful thinkers. If there
is to be a new day in American thinking, there
must be a revival in the basic Christian belief
in God's judgment of man and a survival of human
personality. Jesus, the resurrected savior of
mankind, must again become the assurance of everlasting
life. Otherwise... to the millions of bereaved,
we can offer no other consolation than a sad
shaking of the head and our embarrassed mumblings
of sympathy. Is there anything worse than to
see a person who does not truly believe in...
immortality, trying to offer comfort to a bereaved
friend. The sadness of one standing before the
casket of a loved one with no assurance of life
after death. But praise God, the church has the
truth about immortality. The Word of God gives
us the truth regarding immortality. Those of
us who've been born again, who have accepted
the truth, who have accepted the Word of God,
know there is life beyond the grave. We have
a way of communication, and we're beginning again
to teach our truth to the spiritually strong.
whose sons are not dead, but are alive. Everything
in the future depends on this basic doctrine.
It is far more important for world peace, social
security, and racial compatibility than... Pacts
and political promises and intellectual explanations
of humanistic theories. The world needs this
hope in the divine son of the living God. Then
it needs promises from our political leaders.
Humanity needs this hope and faith. in the Son
of the Living God and in the Word of God more
than it needs atomic power and pacts and promises.
Because in dealing with the subject of life after
death, we're talking about the deepest of motivations.
If we really believe that we're put here, to
prepare for eternity, and that our acts will
be judged, we will probably decide to start living
for that day now. Living for something more than
the material. Living for something more than
just the taking of a life. Than just for... that
which the material can afford us. Otherwise,
why worry about ideals? Otherwise, why worry
about morals and moral standards? I know, this
is blunt, but it is human and realistic. It usually
takes a war or some other tragedy to make most
of us question the scientific intellectuals who've
told us that all death lies with the death of
the body. When thousands of telegrams begin to
reach out across a nation with the fatal opening
line, we regret to inform you. And when the personal
effects are sent home, then we start to think.
Only several days ago, I stood in a mortuary
before a bereaved family. I held in my hand that
telegram that had been sent by the United States
government. We regret to inform you. I held with
it the young 20 -year -old Marine's last letter
to his mom. Dear Mom, How are you? Everything's...
Going all right for me. Little did he know it
was the last letter that he'd ever write. Little
did he know. Have you stood before a grief -stricken
mother? Have you stood before a grief -stricken
father? A young brother, 17 years of age? And
try to comfort them? If you yourself did not
have hope beyond the grave? Hope in the promise
of the Lord? Oh, sure, beloved. Many debunking
intellectuals and destructive... liberals have
little to offer those families whose sons have
not returned or whose closest earthly companions
have died. They can be graciously sympathetic.
They can recite memories of how fine the young
man was. But believe me, that is a little tangible
aid to heartbroken people. What does that debunking
intellectual have to offer? What does that destructive
liberal have to offer? What does that modernistic
preacher have to offer in that moment? Yet, there
is something to be offered. There is a concrete
belief, a definite and constructive strength
to be received. And the Church of the Ages has
a doctrine that is absolutely indestructible.
A doctrine of faith. that you can absolutely
stake your very life on. I am the resurrection
and the life, saith the Lord. He that believeth
in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.
And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall
never die. With that... sentence begins the triumphal
entry of a casket. Life after death. And that
casket only holds that which goes back to the
earth from whence it came. But there is no power
that can destroy Destroy the soul, for the soul
of man is eternal. But Jesus said, I am the resurrection,
the life. And he that believeth in me, though
he be dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever
liveth and believeth in me shall never die. And
Christianity rests upon that. If it is a fact,
it's the greatest event that ever happened in
history. It offers the greatest hope to all who
cherish the idea of a life of continual growth
with those whom we have loved. It makes primary
the surrender of everything to Christ the King.
It threatens the one who would deliberately deny
him with being cast out into utter darkness.
Yet, if the promise is false, Christianity is
the greatest hoax that has ever been perpetrated
upon the human race. It makes Christ himself
a character who is unparalleled in the history
of the deliberate lie. It makes millions of Christians
throughout history. their sufferings and their
sacrifices, the most devilishly deceived block
of hopeless humanity that was ever known. These
words sound like an extravagant exaggeration,
but they're not. Christ either rose from the
dead or he did not. And any silly compromise
between the two positions is not Christianity.
Just how that event took place and with what
resurrected body he presented himself, we do
not know. How can we know? And why should we
know? We probably wouldn't understand if we did
know. And in addition, we would forfeit the benefits
of faith if we demanded that we understand. I'm
willing to rest the case on the fact that there
are certain mysteries in things of the spirit
which cannot be rationalized any more than a
human love can be redeemed. to a test tube analysis.
The resurrection of Christ must be accepted if
we would be Christians. Christianity rests thoroughly
on the fact that Jesus must have risen on the
third day. It is the only reason to account for
the miraculous change of attitude on the part
of the scattered, banned, defeated, and bedraggled
apostles. Pause a minute. Consider something.
If, when the women visit the tomb on Easter morning,
it was not found to be empty, then they must
have lied. Having watched their brave vigil at
the foot of the cross on Good Friday, cause to
believe that they would bear false witness three
days later. I don't believe it. They were not
that kind of women. Furthermore, the lie, had
it been one, would have been quickly contradicted
by a visit to the tomb. For the evidence certainly
would have been obvious. Just consider some of
these things. The oldest report of the resurrection
of Jesus Christ after his crucifixion is found
in St. Peter's first epistle to the Corinthians.
It was concise air conviction as it states, Moreover,
brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which
I preached unto you. which also ye have received,
and wherein ye stand, by which also ye are saved,
if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you,
unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered
unto you first of all that which I also received.
How that Christ died for our sins according to
the Scripture. and that he was buried, and that
he rose again the third day according to the
Scriptures. There it is. He was seen of the twelve.
After that, he was seen of above five hundred
brethren at once. of whom the greater part remain
unto this present, but some have fallen asleep.
After that he was seen of James, then of all
the apostles, and last of all he was seen by
me also, as of one born out of due time. Now
remember something. This was written... in the
early 50s of the first century, probably 25 years
after the actual event, when a great many eyewitnesses
were still alive. Accounts of the resurrection
also appear in four Gospels. Paul has many other
references. And certainly, the resurrection was
the center of his teaching. There are other references
in the New Testament. And on the whole, testimony
comes from eyewitnesses, those who actually saw
him. What are you going to do with the testimony
of those who saw him after he was resurrected?
St. Paul bases his whole faith upon the truth
of the resurrection. If Christ be not risen,
then our preaching is vain. If we believe that
Jesus died and rose again, even so they also
which are fallen asleep in Christ will God bring
with him. There's no question where Paul stands.
He goes so far as to assume that already his
readers are convinced of the fact and that he
is therefore able to build his argument upon
it. You know, it's interesting to note what a
challenge the empty tomb was to the Roman authorities.
All they needed was to produce the body to disprove
the seemingly wild resurrection statement. That's
all they had to do. Just produce the body. It
was necessary only to bring in the barest clue
of the remains. To crush... the enthusiasm of
the small group of Christ's followers. But the
authorities failed utterly. They could not bring
forth one evidence, not the smallest, to disprove
his resurrection. After all of the debunking
of the resurrection has taken place, the final
and most difficult hurdle is the witness of the
500 brethren at once. Believe me, not all of
the 500 could have been hypnotized. The Acts
of the Apostles concludes, He showed himself
alive by many infallible proofs. And St. Peter
declares that God raised up Jesus from the dead
and then clinches it by saying, We did eat and
drink with him. St. Peter says that he was seen
for many days. These witnesses were convinced.
These witnesses were satisfied that the risen
body was real. and that it had been identified.
I have in me a conscious knowledge of a spiritual
life, as positive as the consciousness of physical
being. The star of Bethlehem is in my sky of
hope, and his returning. is a conviction as surely
as can be wrought in the realm of the senses
by the strongest evidence. This inner awareness
that he is God, and that I shall one day hear
the shout, Behold, he cometh, is the anchor of
my life. And I would not exchange my hope, I
would not exchange my faith in him and his word
for a title deed to the whole world. To all who
do not experience this inner awareness, my final
word is just this. Let the evidence speak to
your intellect. Let conclusive... argument, force
your final decision, and then follow the torch
of faith, which neither intellect nor reason
can go, then you too will join your testimony
with the testimony of the centuries.