In the Scriptures the resurrection of Christ is stated in so many words over seventy times, whilst the teaching and moral effects that flow from this great fact are woven throughout the warp and woof of the New Testament epistles. The details of the resurrection of our Lord are given historically and circumstantially in the four Gospels. Later on in the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles we read such sample Scriptures as the following: -" With great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all." (Acts 4:33).
*****
" Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father." (Rom. 6:4).
A whole chapter of fifty-eight verses—1 Cor. 15—is devoted to stating the resurrection of our Lord, and the consequence flowing from it, viz., the resurrection of the saints at the second coming of our Lord. The seriousness of denying the resurrection of Christ is seen in the solemn warning, " If Christ be NOT raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins." (1 Cor. 15:17).
In the ordinance of Christian baptism we get the resurrection of our Lord particularly emphasized.
"If we have been planted together in the likeness of His [Christ's] death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection." (Rom. 6:5).
The resurrection of our Lord was put forward as a great outstanding fact in the sermon that the Apostle Peter preached on the great day of Pentecost.
" This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses." (Acts 2:32).
It was likewise the theme of the Apostle Paul's testimony when he preached to the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers on Mars Hill at Athens. He warned his hearers in very solemn language, that " God hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that Man, whom He hath ordained, whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead." (Acts 17:31).
Here we find the resurrection of Christ is the solemn assurance to all men of coming judgment. Who then can stand? On the other hand the resurrection of Christ is very vital to believers.
" If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." (Rom. 10:9).
Apart from the resurrection of Christ there can be no salvation, no forgiveness of sins, no justification, no gift of eternal life—in short, no Christianity. Remove the central stone of an arch, and the whole structure falls to the ground. So it is with the Deity and Manhood of our Lord Jesus Christ, His spotless; life, His atoning death, His resurrection, His ascension. These are all linked up together, making one complete whole. If one part fails, the whole of Christianity fails.