In the 18th century, Congress issued a special
edition of Thomas Jefferson's Bible. Apparently
it wasn't considered to be unconstitutional in
those days. That's the happy part. The sad part
about it is that the Jeffersonian Bible eliminated
all reference to the supernatural. Thomas Jefferson
edited the Bible to confine it to the moral teachings
of Jesus and to remove from it anything that
would be considered miraculous or supernatural.
Therefore, the gospel closes in the Jeffersonian
Bible by saying, There laid they Jesus, and rolled
a great stone at the mouth of the sepulcher,
and departed. Period. I'm glad it doesn't end
there, the true gospel. I'd like you to turn
with me to Luke chapter 24 as we read Luke's
account of what happened after that. But on the
first day of the week at early dawn, they came
to the tomb bringing the spices which they had
prepared. And they found the stone rolled away
from the tomb, but when they entered, they did
not find the body of the Lord Jesus. And it happened
that while they were perplexed about this, behold,
the two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling
apparel, and as the women were terrified and
bowed their faces to the ground, the men said
to them, Why do you seek the living one among
the dead? He is not here, but he has risen. Remember
how he spoke to you while he was still in Galilee,
saying that the Son of Man must be delivered
into the hands of sinful men and be crucified,
and the third day rise again. The physical bodily
resurrection of Jesus Christ is an irrefutable...
historical fact. In writing the book of Acts,
Luke, the beloved physician, says that there
were many infallible or convincing proofs that
Jesus gave that his resurrection was true. The
resurrection of Jesus Christ is an historical
fact, but we must not limit its significance
only to the past. only to history. For the resurrection
of the Lord Jesus Christ is the most significant
event to take place in all of history since the
creation of the world until that day when it
will end. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is
something that took place 2 ,000 years ago, but
it nonetheless affects the future. For it is
the resurrection of Christ that gives the word
hope meaning to Christians. Indeed, it causes
the word hope to overflow with fullness for us.
Without that word, life would be nearly impossible.
But with hope, we have a future. With hope, we
have a purpose. Hope is the strongest medicine
for the soul. It is the greatest incentive for
service. It is the most powerful energy for life,
hope. And only Christians can talk about hope.
Those who do not know the Lord Jesus Christ have
no hope. Those who know Jesus Christ have the
hope of his calling. They have hope as an anchor
to the soul. They have been begotten again unto
a living hope. Someone has rightly observed that
the unsaved have only a hopeless end, but the
saved have an endless hope. It is hope. which
causes us to look toward the future for what
God has in store. As we pass through the experiences
of this life, I am glad for hope. Last Sunday
night, a young lady whom I know, who was a member
of a church which I pastored in the South, was
driving home from her work in a hospital. She
graduated from our Christian school. The last
two years of her life have evidenced real maturity
in her walk with God. As she completed her nurse's
training, she was seriously considering the mission
field. But then came last Sunday night. As she
was driving home, on a two -laned Kentucky highway
winding along a hilltop. Something caused her
to take her eyes off the road. They wonder if
she reached over to pick up something or if she
fell asleep. But when she did, she turned the
wheel just enough to pull it over into the other
lane. And a young man coming the other direction
hit her head on. She was instantly in the presence
of the Lord. How is it that a mother and father
could stand beside the casket of their 22 -year
-old daughter on Wednesday? How could they stand
there without completely crumbling, without their
lives being completely destroyed? It is because,
my friend, of the hope that we have in Jesus
Christ. all the difference. And it is his resurrection
from the dead which is the foundation for the
future and our hope. As the Gaithers have written,
because he lives, I can face tomorrow. Because
he lives, all fear is gone. because I know He
holds the future, and life is worth the living
just because He lives. I want you to think with
me this morning of those future events which
have been made certain by the resurrection of
Jesus Christ. There is nothing in heaven, on
the earth, or in hell below which can keep these
events. from coming to pass. Their certainty
has been secured through the resurrection of
Jesus Christ from the dead. I think first of
the event of his return. The fact that Jesus
is coming again is made sure by his resurrection.
For in fact, if he were still in the grave, the
idea of his return would be nonsense and ridiculous.
But since he is risen, you and I have a blessed
hope. That hope is expressed to Titus by the
Apostle Paul when he writes in that letter, looking
for the blessed hope and the appearing of the
glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.
You and I have a blessed hope, and that hope
is of His return. And His return is guaranteed,
my friend, by the fact that 2 ,000 years ago,
He came out of that grave, the conqueror of death.
The first time He came, He came to deal with
sin. But the next time He comes, it will not
be to deal with sin. but to bring salvation,
Hebrews 9, 28. When he comes, he will come, first
of all, for his church, for his church, those
of us who are saved in this age. The apostle
argues in 1 Corinthians 15 that if in this life
only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men
most miserable. Now, why is that? because of
the suffering and the persecution that we endure
in this life for Christ. And if he be not risen,
then we are deceived and deluded, and we are
of all men most miserable. But Jesus Christ has
been raised from the dead and has become the
first fruits of those who sleep. We look for
his return from heaven to catch us away. Jesus
Christ is in heaven today, bodily and gloriously.
He is there at the right hand of God the Father,
but there is a day when He is going to step out
of those portals of heaven once again. And He
is not coming to Bethlehem, but rather He is
coming into the atmosphere of the world. And
with a shout to his own and with the sound of
a trumpet, he will call out the church to himself,
and we shall rise to meet him in the air, and
so shall we ever be with the Lord. Now you say,
I'm not sure that that can happen. Maybe the
demons are going to put a barrier, a spiritual
barrier up in the sky to keep him from coming.
My friend, one word from Jesus will send all
the demons of hell running like whip pups. For
he is their conqueror. And when he comes, he
will come despite them and will call out his
own to meet us in the air, indeed the very domain
of Satan at this point in this age. And they
can do nothing about it. He is coming for us.
But then he's coming back with us to establish
his kingdom on the earth. Not immediately. A
few years later, indeed approximately seven years
later, we will come back to the earth and we'll
be with our Lord when he establishes his kingdom.
You say, oh, I'm not sure that that's necessary.
It is necessary. If God's promises in the Old
Testament mean anything, it's necessary for him
to come back and to establish a literal earthly
kingdom. If his promise to David of an everlasting
kingdom is to be fulfilled through David's seed,
he must come back and establish that kingdom
on the throne of David on the earth. And he will.
He will. And we will share in that kingdom with
him. There is nothing that can keep that from
happening. Oh, someone says, surely Antichrist
will keep that from happening. Not in your life.
Read the word of God and find out how Jesus comes
in victory. And though Antichrist appears to
have the victory in his hand on that day, he
and his armies will be utterly destroyed by the
glorious return of Jesus Christ and his armies
from heaven. And Antichrist... and his cohort,
the false prophet, will be cast alive into the
lake of fire, the first residence of that eternal
place of judgment for the wicked. And Satan will
be taken on that day and bound and cast into
the bottomless pit so that he cannot even wander
on the earth for that thousand -year reign of
Jesus Christ. My friend, Jesus is coming again,
and there is nothing, nothing that can keep that
from happening. He has secured its certainty
by his resurrection from the dead. Perhaps it
will be today that he will come for us, and his
return will take place in that first phase. G.
Campbell Morgan, a Bible teacher of another generation,
said, I never begin my work in the morning without
thinking that perhaps He may interrupt my work
and begin his own. I am not looking for death,
said Morgan. I am looking for him. I liked what
M .R. DeHaan said so many times as he preached
on this rapture of the church, when he said,
I'm not looking for the undertaker, I'm looking
for the upper taker. Well, in the meantime, the
undertaker has taken, Dr. DeHaan. He is in a
grave in Grand Rapids, Michigan. His body is
there. He himself is with Christ in heaven. But,
my friend, there is a day coming when Dr. DeHaan
and all of those who have died in Christ in this
age will be raised from the grave first, and
we who are alive and remain shall be changed
and caught up with them in the clouds to meet
our Savior face to face. I tell you, there are
eight times as many prophecies in the Bible dealing
with Christ's second coming as his first coming.
Now, if he so literally and exactly fulfilled
those prophecies in his first advent, do you
think that something is going to keep him from
fulfilling all those prophecies regarding his
second advent? Never. He is coming again, this
very same Jesus. He is coming again. But not
only is His coming secured by His resurrection,
but our glory is coming as well. Our glorification
with Christ is sure. Would you turn in your Bible
to 1 Corinthians chapter 15 and look with me
at verses 20 through 23? But now Christ has been
raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those
who are asleep. For since by man came death,
by a man came also the resurrection of the dead.
For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all
shall be made alive. My friend, this is speaking
about the future resurrection, and it goes on
to tell us in this passage and in others that
not only the saved are going to be resurrected,
but so are the unsaved, to stand before Him in
judgment. But the point I want to make at this
time is the fact that He's coming, and we who
are His are going to be caught up to be with
Him, to be like Him. We are not going to be caught
up in these bodies. Aren't you glad? We're going
to be caught up in bodies fitted for glory, fitted
for heaven, fitted for eternity. As we have borne
the image of the earthy, so shall we bear the
image of the heavenly. Look in verse 50 of this
chapter. I say this, brethren, that flesh and
blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Now
why is that? Because the kingdom of God... is
an eternal kingdom and our flesh and blood is
not eternal. It is temporal. It is dying. It
is decaying. It is headed to the grave. Flesh
and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God.
Nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all
sleep, but we shall all Be changed. Sleep there
is a metaphor of death. He says that not all
of us who are Christ in this age will die. But
we shall all be changed in a moment in the twinkling
of an eye at the last trumpet. For the trumpet
will sound and the dead will be raised imperishable
and we shall be changed. For this perishable
must put on imperishable, and this mortal must
put on immortality. He is saying that we are
going to be changed. We will have a new body.
The body that we have now in our humble state
will be transfigured, will be changed and fashioned
like His body of glory. A tangible body. A literal
body in that sense, but a body that is unlike
these. A body that will be identifiable with
the ones we have now, but not identical to them.
A new body, like his own. But our glorification
involves more than a new body. As much as I like
that, I like the second part even better. And
that is that inwardly, in soul and spirit, we
are going to be like him. Now we struggle with
indwelling sin. Now we have the flesh. But on
that day when we are changed to be like our Lord,
sin will no longer be a part of us. There will
be no flesh to resist the work of the Holy Spirit
in our lives. But rather, we will be like Him
inwardly, in spirit and in soul, without sin.
And the battle with that awful enemy will be
over forever. And we will no longer have the
capacity to sin. I look forward to that day.
When our glorification will take place. Now you
say, maybe it won't happen for me. Are you a
Christian? Are you in Jesus Christ? Are you one
of His? If you belong to Him, there is nothing
in heaven above, on earth here, or in hell below,
which can keep your glorification from taking
place. In fact, it is so sure to take place.
that God speaks of it as already having occurred
in Romans 8, verse 30. 1 John 3, 3 says that
if we have this hope in us, we purify ourselves.
We not only look forward to someday being free
from sin, but right now God expects us to enjoy
increasing victory over sin. For while we battle
with it, we are not its victims or its slaves,
though we can live like it. But because Jesus
died and rose again, we have died to sin and
have been raised to walk a new life in Jesus
Christ so that no longer does sin have mastery
over us. Yield to it, we may. It be our master,
it cannot, because we belong to Jesus Christ.
There's a third future event coming. It takes
place as a part of what I've just spoken of.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ has secured
in the first place His own coming again. Then
secondly, our glorification with Him. and in
him. But thirdly, his resurrection secures the
fact that rewards are coming. You say, well,
I don't want to serve the Lord for rewards. Well,
I admire your motive in that, but may I remind
you that it's Jesus himself who offers the rewards.
It is not unspiritual or wrong to labor for rewards.
Indeed, we are exhorted that we ought to labor
so that we can present ourselves before him and
receive rewards. Turn with me to 2 Corinthians
chapter 4. The apostle here is reviewing the
supernatural nature of the ministry God calls
us to. And despite the fact that we... are afflicted
and crushed and persecuted. It is not to our
destruction or our despair. Indeed, we are but
experiencing the dying of the Lord Jesus in those
things. Then in verse 14, he goes on to say,
knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will
raise us also with Jesus and will present us
with you. Now he goes on to talk about this matter,
and he concludes that section by saying in verse
10 of chapter 5 now, For we must all appear before
the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may
be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according
to what he has done, whether good or bad. And
so we see here that the resurrection of the Lord
Jesus and thus our resurrection, is tied together
with this truth that rewards are coming. There
is an examination period at the end of this age.
And each of us who belong to Jesus Christ will
stand before our Lord for that examination. Now,
if there is no resurrection, of Christ and there
is no resurrection of believers, then what futility
it is to suffer and to serve and to sacrifice
for Him in this world. But because there is a
resurrection and because our Lord has been raised
from the dead, all of the suffering and all of
the sacrifice and all of the service now is worthwhile.
Our faithfulness now will be rewarded then. I
have in my mind, from time to time, tried to
enter into that day and to imagine what it will
be like. And frankly, I can't do that very well.
It's hard to imagine it on the one hand. On the
other hand, It is not a very pleasant thing to
think about in some respects. Indeed, the apostle
says here that it's the fear of the Lord that
comes to his mind when he thinks about it. But
when I think that someday I'm going to stand
before Jesus Christ personally, whom having never
seen, I nonetheless love. And I'm going to look
upon his face and gaze into his eyes, literally.
And I'm going to see his nail -pierced hands
stretched out to me. And I will see his feet
pierced. And when I see him then in his glory,
that will be a day. And then when we go over
my life together, that will be an experience.
My sins, thank God, are under the blood of Christ
and will not be brought before me. I will not
have to account for them. But I will have to
account for the decisions that I've made, the
way I've invested my time, my life, my ministry,
my spiritual gifts. How I've served my Lord in
this church and in the other churches where I've
been. You see, all of those things will be reviewed.
Not the sins, but my works will all be examined.
So will yours. I like what it says in 1 Corinthians
4 when it suggests that at that time, each one
of us will have his due praise from God. In other
words, All of us will receive something from
his hand. But I wonder as he brings forth my
reward with his nail -pierced hand, and I see
it there to receive it, what my attitude will
be. I can tell you this, that when I begin to
think about that, it makes me want to live now
so that then I won't have to be ashamed. It makes
me want to live now so that on that day I can
be grateful to God that I was faithful in this
life and that I did sacrifice and that I did
serve him. Don't you feel that way? When I think
about the fact that rewards are coming, it causes
me to want to be more faithful than ever to Jesus
Christ. So that on that day when I'm with him,
he and I can rejoice together over the profit
that he and the glory that he received from my
life. Dr. Robert Lee, who for years pastored
the famous Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis,
Tennessee, had a sermon that he preached. hundreds
and hundreds of times. Perhaps you heard him
preach it. I did once. It was a sermon that was
a masterpiece of oratory, and it was entitled,
Payday Someday. My friend, God doesn't pay us
at the end of the week or the month or our year.
but God's payday is coming. Someone has written
a poem entitled, Who does God's work will get
God's pay. However long may seem the day, however
weary be the way, though powers and princes thunder
nay, who does God's work will get God's pay.
He does not pay as others pay, in gold or land
or raiment gay. in goods that vanish and decay.
But God in wisdom knows a way, and that is sure,
let come what may, who does God's work will get
God's pay. Are you involved in God's work? My
friend, life is too short to be involved in anything
less important. Life is too brief to be self
-centered. and to live for this world and its
material things. Let us be involved in the work
of the Lord. Jesus said, Behold, I come quickly,
and my reward is with me to render to every man
according to what he has done. Revelation 22
.12 The resurrection of Jesus Christ guarantees
the fact that someday your payday is coming.
And though you may not be praised now or recognized
now, though it may be that no one knows the good
that you do for Christ, it may be that no one
is aware of the hours that you agonize in prayer
or that cup of cold water, as it were, that you
give in his name. It may be that you don't get
a plaque for teaching that Sunday school class.
And that no one applauds you for being an usher
or whatever you're doing in the work of God.
But my friend, never ever forget this. What you
do for him never escapes his notice. And someday
you're going to receive a full reward for your
faithful service to Jesus Christ. His resurrection
from the dead secures that future event, that
beam of seat judgment. And there is nothing in
heaven above, on earth now, or in hell below
that can keep the judgment of the believers.
And they're receiving their proper rewards in
coming to pass. But now there's a less happy
event to talk about, which is also secured by
the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And that is
the judgment of the unsaved. Judgment is coming
for the lost. Would you turn, please, to Acts
chapter 17? The apostle is speaking to a pagan,
largely Gentile crowd in Athens, and he says
to them in part, In verses 30 and 31, these words,
Therefore, having overlooked the times of ignorance,
God is now declaring to men that all everywhere
should repent. When it says men here, by the
way, ladies, it's talking about ladies too. Just
to be real clear, this is a generic use of the
term. He is saying to all mankind, everywhere,
repent. Now why should people repent of their
ungodliness? Because he has fixed a day in which
he will judge the world in righteousness through
a man whom he has appointed. having furnished
proof to all men by raising him from the dead.
Now if there is no resurrection, if Jesus Christ
did not come out of that tomb 2 ,000 years ago,
then who is going to judge? For Jesus said that
he was the judge, that all judgment was committed
to him. If in fact he is dead, then there is
no future judgment. In order to be a judge, one
has to first of all be a peer of those whom he
judges. Then he has to be on the side of the
law. He can't be a criminal. And finally, he
has to be commissioned or appointed to the office
of judge. I would have you note that Jesus Christ
meets all three of those qualifications to be
the judge of the world. He is a peer of all men
because as well as being God, he is man. And
that is what is emphasized in verse 31. Man will
be judged by a man. Capital M. Jesus Christ is
on the side of the law. God is going to judge
in righteousness. He did not break a single commandment
of God. No law was ever broken by him. He is
on the side of the law. And he has been appointed
as the judge. The Father has committed all judgment
to Jesus Christ. He is the judge. And I would
have you notice these facts regarding the coming
judgment. First of all, the date is set. You
say, what is it? I don't know. But I can tell
you this, that on God's master calendar in heaven,
there is a day marked out when the world will
stand in judgment before him. That day is as
fixed. as can possibly be, and there is nothing
that can keep that day from coming to pass. Furthermore,
I want you to notice that it's a judgment of
the world. This does not entail the judgment
of God's people. This is the judgment of the
inhabitants of the world who are lost, outside
of Jesus Christ, the unsaved. And finally, I
want you to notice that it will be a judgment
according to perfect righteousness. You will
judge in righteousness through Jesus Christ.
In other words, any thought, any deed that any
unsaved person has ever committed that is less
than God's perfect standard will be exposed on
that day. You say, every thought? Yes. Even the
little words, yes. Even the white lies, yes,
if there are such things. The books are going
to be opened according to Revelation chapter
20. And those books contain the works of the
lives of all men who've ever lived. And from
the record of each man's life, his thoughts,
his words, his deeds, he will stand before Jesus
Christ and the standard of perfection will be
held up and a man will have to compare himself
to absolute perfection. You say, now wait a minute.
You say Christians aren't going to be there.
That's right. You say, then you're saying that
Christians are perfect. No, they're not. None
of us are perfect. I like what the bumper snicker
said. It said Christians aren't perfect. They're
just forgiven. You see, Jesus Christ has already
paid for our sins. When we trust Jesus Christ,
the record of our sins, all of those books containing
all of our acts and words and thoughts are destroyed.
They no longer exist. There is no record any
longer of our sins. We are forgiven. They are
all under the blood of Christ. Not only that,
we are given then the righteousness of God in
Jesus Christ so that we in Christ can measure
up to this perfect standard. Not in ourselves,
but because God says that he gives us Christ's
righteousness. So that when he looks at you as
a Christian and at me, he sees us in Christ and
we are perfectly righteous. But not so the unsaved.
Those who stand before God on that day will have
no chance of redemption. Indeed, the only purpose
for their being there is to determine the severity
of their punishment in the eternal lake of fire.
Yes, there will be degrees of punishment. Levels
of punishment. And every man will be judged in
righteousness. That's a frightful thing. My friend,
if your sins aren't forgiven, I beg of you, I
appeal to you, in the name of Christ, to come
to him today that your sins may be forgiven and
you can be made righteous in the sight of God.
Judgment is coming and there's nothing that can
keep it from coming to pass. I'm reminded of
that time when the Apostle Paul was brought before
Felix for judgment. And as he began to explain
his teachings, he spoke to Felix regarding self
-control and righteousness and judgment and judgment.
You know what it says? It says that when Felix
heard that, he began to tremble. A man is a fool
if when he hears about judgment and he is lost,
he does not tremble. He is a fool. For God is
a consuming fire. He is holy. Charles Finney
was an attorney. One day he sat in his office
in the state of New York, and God began to deal
with him. And one asked him, Finney, what are
you going to do when you finish your course of
studies? He replied, put out a shingle and practice
law. What then? Get rich. What then? Retire.
What then? Die? What then? Then with trembling
lips, he said, the judgment. Finney ran out of
his office into the woods, which was a half a
mile away. He spent the whole day crying out
to God and received Christ and came back. Out
of the woods, a new man. There are some of you
here today who may need to do that very thing.
We celebrate Easter. It is a wonderful historical
fact. But remember this. It does not only touch
history. It greatly impacts the future. Because
he was raised from the dead, Jesus is coming
again. And we are going to share in that glory.
and receive from him reward for our service and
our faithfulness. And because he was raised from
the dead, every unsaved person is going to stand
before him someday. And his knee will bow, and
his tongue will confess Jesus is Lord. It'll
be too late. Too late. The works of his life
will be exposed. And then he will receive from
the lips of the risen Christ, the one who died
to save, depart from me into everlasting fire,
prepared for the devil and his angels. Are you
ready? Should Jesus come today? Will you turn
your eyes upon him in faith today and receive
him, if that is your need? Will you turn your
eyes upon him, Christian, and give him your whole
capacity, your whole life, and say, Lord, what
would you have me to do? Father, we rejoice in
the truth. that Jesus lives. But we recognize
that that is not something that we believe in
doctrine only, that there are some applications
to our lives. And wherever we are found today,
whether as a Christian or as one who's not a
Christian, I pray that we'll be able to say,
yes, I'm ready. Should Jesus come today and I
stand in judgment. And Father, if there are some
things we need to clear up in our lives, sins
we need to confess, decisions that we need to
make, steps we need to take. And I pray that
today we'll have the faith and the courage, the
repentance, to make those steps of obedience.
In Jesus' name, amen.