{"id":7439,"date":"2026-04-06T12:25:01","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T19:25:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/novus2.com\/righteouscause\/?p=7439"},"modified":"2026-04-06T12:25:01","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T19:25:01","slug":"he-is-risen-the-resurrection-that-changes-everything","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/novus2.com\/righteouscause\/2026\/04\/06\/he-is-risen-the-resurrection-that-changes-everything\/","title":{"rendered":"He Is Risen: The Resurrection That Changes Everything"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class='dropshadowboxes-container dropshadowboxes-center ' style='width:100%;'>\r\n                            <div class='dropshadowboxes-drop-shadow dropshadowboxes-rounded-corners dropshadowboxes-inside-and-outside-shadow dropshadowboxes-lifted-both dropshadowboxes-effect-default' style='width:auto; border: 1px solid #dddddd; height:; background-color:#ffffff;    '>\r\n                            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-3724 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/novus2.com\/righteouscause\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/EVIC-Church.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"750\" height=\"520\" srcset=\"https:\/\/novus2.com\/righteouscause\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/EVIC-Church.png 750w, https:\/\/novus2.com\/righteouscause\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/EVIC-Church-300x208.png 300w, https:\/\/novus2.com\/righteouscause\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/EVIC-Church-150x104.png 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/>\r\n                            <\/div>\r\n                        <\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong><em>Delivered by Pastor David Jerome | East Valley International Church | Gilbert, Arizona<\/em><\/strong><\/span><br \/>\nEaster Sunday, April 5, 2026<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong>He Is Not Here: The Resurrection That Changes Everything<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The stone was rolled away. The tomb was empty. And nothing \u2014 not death, not doubt, not the weight of human sin \u2014 would ever be the same again.<\/p>\n<p>This powerful Easter message confronts one of the most consequential questions any person can face: Does the resurrection of Jesus Christ actually matter \u2014 and if so, how much? The answer, drawn from the Apostle Paul&#8217;s unflinching argument in 1 Corinthians 15, is nothing short of total. The resurrection is not a theological bonus feature. It is the load-bearing wall of the Christian faith. Remove it, and everything collapses.<\/p>\n<p>Paul does not soften the stakes. He names them with surgical precision: without the resurrection, preaching is empty noise, faith is wishful thinking, the apostles are liars, sin remains unatoned, the dead are lost forever, and the living are the most pitiable people on earth. It is one of the most brutally honest passages in all of Scripture \u2014 and it makes the triumphant &#8220;but&#8221; of verse 20 thunder like a verdict from the throne room of heaven. <span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong>But Christ has indeed been raised.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>What follows is a life-altering exploration of six implications of the resurrection \u2014 six realities that the empty tomb secured for every person who dares to believe. Christ&#8217;s identity as the eternal Son of God is vindicated. The testimony of Scripture is confirmed. The forgiveness of sin is not merely promised but verified by God&#8217;s public acceptance of the sacrifice. The same resurrection power that raised Jesus from the dead is available to ordinary believers today. Death itself \u2014 physical, spiritual, and eternal \u2014 is decisively defeated. And eternal life, properly understood, is not a destination that begins at the grave. It is a present-tense relationship with the living God that begins the moment a person believes.<\/p>\n<p>That last truth alone is worth the price of this message. Most Christians have been told that eternal life is what happens after they die. Jesus defined it differently. In John 17:3, He said eternal life is knowing the Father \u2014 an intimate, personal, ongoing relationship that starts now, continues through death, and arrives in glory without interruption.<\/p>\n<p>This is not a message about religious observance. It is a message about a living Savior \u2014 one who is not merely remembered but encountered, not merely worshipped but known. The resurrection means we do not merely live for a crucified Christ. We live with a risen one.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong>He is not here. He has risen. And that changes everything.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/qZGUcYkbJVU?si=d69yoHAnulWMenKl\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<details class=\"collapsible-quote\" open=\"open\">\n<summary><strong>[<span style=\"color: #993300;\">Click here<\/span>] <span style=\"color: #003366;\">to read the full transcript<\/span><\/strong><span style=\"color: #003366;\"> <strong>of this sermon [<span style=\"color: #993300;\">Click again to close<\/span>]<\/strong><\/span><\/summary>\n<blockquote><p>Let me pray. Father God, thank you for this morning. Thank you that Jesus did rise from the grave to complete the justification of our penalty and to pay for the penalty of our sin. Father, we lift this day up to you. We sing hallelujah for what you have done. For the word today we ask that you would be behind your cross and let the words that come from my mouth be your words. Father we thank you for all of this thank you for this day thank you for this fellowship that we can gather together and praise your word Father God thank you for all of these things in Jesus name we pray amen.<\/p>\n<p>All right so Luke records his account of the events of Easter Sunday, that day of resurrection. He did that in chapter 24, verses 1 to 7. It says, 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 as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground the men said to them why are you seeking the living one among the dead he is not here he has risen remember how he spoke to you while he was still in Galilee saying that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinful men and be crucified on the third day and rise from the dead.<\/p>\n<p>We know the crucifixion was important. We know that his death was important. We just celebrated his death on the cross by communion, his body. We&#8217;re gonna answer those questions as we go through his work, through the work today. The Apostle Paul had a lot to say about the resurrection when he wrote his letter to the church in Corinth. He wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:12-20. &#8220;But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?&#8221; We have testified about God and that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile. You are still in your sins. Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ are of all people most to be pitied. Man, that&#8217;s a depressing statement that Paul is writing to us as a church in Corinth. But he finalizes that passage with this important statement. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead.<\/p>\n<p>It is very clear in his message if there is no resurrection there is no hope paul says there are seven things that would leave us hopeless going through this passage in other words we needed resurrection paul begins his list of bad news in verse 13 he says if there is no resurrection of the dead Verse 14 tells us, if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless. Without the resurrection, the preaching of the apostles is empty, it&#8217;s meaningless, because they proclaim nothing more than a fairy tale or a story or fiction. Stay in verse 14. He says, so is your faith. Our faith is useless. Verse 15 continues this bad news and says, more than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God. But we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead were not raised. And it would be of no point for us to be here this morning and leave the up here to preach. Just means that we would be misrepresenting God.<\/p>\n<p>The apostles preached that God raised Jesus from the dead and they should know they saw it they claimed to spend 40 days with him after the resurrection either they told either they told the truth or they were deliberate liars deceivers of God&#8217;s then verse 17 He says, &#8220;And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile, you are still in your sins.&#8221; Told you that&#8217;s bad news, that&#8217;s a hard one, that one hurts. It would have been a liar or a lunatic that died on the cross. Such a person could not have provided a sacrifice that was holy and without blemish. And if there&#8217;s no sacrifice for sin we&#8217;re still in our sins and we&#8217;re headed for hell and punishment for all eternity then in verse 18 he says that those who have fallen asleep in christ are lost that means that those people that have already fallen asleep those that and I need to find another way. There&#8217;ll be no atonement of their sin and no way to recoup that. They&#8217;re already gone. And there will be no hope for them.<\/p>\n<p>Into our relationship with Jesus Christ. As believers, we put everything, we put our whole being into that relationship. Without the resurrection of Christ, there&#8217;s nothing else for us to live for. Why would we want to live for a Savior that didn&#8217;t raise us? Mock us because we go to church on Sunday morning, whether we spend Sunday, Easter Sunday here at the church, or we refrain from the moral pleasures that they engaged in themselves. How would it feel if all these people that had already passed away didn&#8217;t have a chance to, hey, wait a minute. We have hope because of the resurrection of Christ we have a hope and our future is secure so let us explore six implications of the resurrection what did the resurrection of Christ really provide for us from verse 13 we find the first implication of the resurrection because Christ rose from the dead us I want you to consider this following statement by Alistair Alistair bed he says if God would save mankind then the Savior must be died if man must bear the punishment because man sinned then the Savior must be a man sounds like we have a qualified Savior Jesus Jesus was uniquely qualified to accomplish God&#8217;s plan salvation further without the resurrection Christ would not be who he claimed to be what were those claims what did Jesus plan to be well during his earthly ministry how many times did he say that he and the Father are one that he is God incarnate Look at John chapter 10 verse 30, the Father and I are one. How about John chapter one verses one and two? What does that say? In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. His presence fulfilled prophecies that he knew.<\/p>\n<p>As Jesus began his ministry he came over to the Jordan John the Baptist proclaim look behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world what does that mean well we&#8217;re aware I hope you&#8217;re all aware three then we saw that God provided a temporary covering for the sin that Adam and Eve committed in the garden he had to kill something something innocent needed to die for the sins of his people according to Leviticus 17:11 the shedding of blood was required look what it says for the life of a creature is in the blood and I had given it How ironic that John the Baptist would call Jesus the Lamb of God. All these Old Testament rituals pointed us in the direction of a permanent solution. He came as the son of a human mother and lived under Jewish law to redeem those who were under the law so that we might become God&#8217;s children. Jesus stands out among all the figures in world history because he alone possessed the qualifications to be the savior of the world. He was both deity and man. Paul did not regard the coming of Jesus Christ as an accident either. It wasn&#8217;t a blind appointment. Look what he said in that passage in Galatians chapter 4 verse 4. God sent his own son. He implies that Jesus was sent out from a previous state of existence.<\/p>\n<p>As a part of the Trinity with God in all the universe was created. He was before time itself began. Without ceasing to be what he was, he was God, he became what he was not. But here&#8217;s the key. The one who died at the cross was not a man whose body could decompose in a grave. Would you expect God to decompose in a grave? No, he&#8217;s eternal. And if Jesus is also God, he is eternal and cannot decompose. Because he was God, he could not remain dead. He could not. Jesus had to be the Son of God because death cannot hold the grave we cannot do we cannot worship a dead god and i certainly wouldn&#8217;t want to jesus rose from the dead according to the scriptures to prove our savior was resurrected would you put your life in that would you put your trust in a dead person how many people around this world who is going to put their trust in the dead And because Jesus rose from the dead and is alive, he is someone we can trust. We read in 1 Corinthians 1, verse 9, God is faithful who has called you into fellowship. If we cannot put our confidence in Christ, the only righteous person that has ever lived, who else could we trust?<\/p>\n<p>Moving on to verse 14, we discover the second implication of the resurrection. Because Christ rose from the dead, there is a message to preach. Let me give you a little history lesson. The Apostolic Fathers are a group of writers who lived in the first and second century and widely thought to have had personal contact with the Twelve Disciples. Their writings were widely circulated among the early Christians and the early church and though written during the same time period as the letters that became a part of the New Testament were not included in and he testified in one of his letters how the disciples confidently went and preached the message of Jesus Christ this is what he says the Apostles received the gospel for us from the Lord Jesus Jesus Christ was sent forth from God so then Christ is from God and the Apostles are from Christ you start to see a little bit of a progression here Jesus teaches the and teach others. Both therefore came of the will of God in the appointed order, having therefore received a charge or a command, and having been fully assured through what? The resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. And confirmed in the word of God with full assurance of the Holy Ghost, they did what? They went forth with glad tidings that the kingdom of God should come. In other words, they went So preaching everywhere in the country and town, they appointed their first fruits, in other words, their disciples, when they had proved them by the Spirit The first, the apostles were the first to preach this message, and they were sanctified by Jesus to preach that message.<\/p>\n<p>Now remember, on the night of his betrayal, Jesus prayed for his disciples in the garden of Gethsemane. In John chapter 17, verses 15 through 19, we read part of that prayer. It says, my prayer is not that you take them out of the world, but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth, because your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world with a message to preach. In verse 20 he said my prayer is not for them alone I pray also for those who believe in me through their message Jesus Christ gave the disciples a message to preach and it is a message that we can preach with confidence Look at Acts chapter 4, verse 33. This is the result of a message that&#8217;s powered by the resurrection. And with great power, the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection. With abundant grace, it was upon all of them. Luke wrote this in Acts chapter 20, verse 20 to 21. You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you, but have taught you publicly and from house to house. I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God.<\/p>\n<p>Staying in verse 14, there&#8217;s a third implication of the resurrection. Because Christ rose from the dead, we have a faith that is well-founded. And there is evidence to prove that it&#8217;s true. Believing that a dead person has no value. Putting your faith in the Virgin Mary or in the saints has no value. But a living Savior who died as an adequate sacrifice for our sin and is raised again to life is qualified to be the foundation of our faith. Why? Because he rose from the dead. So let&#8217;s establish some evidence that proves that our faith is founded on a living Savior. First, as there is a Savior, Jesus conquered death. 1 Corinthians chapter 15 verses 54 to 57. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable and the mortal with the immortality, then the saying that is written will come true. Death, where, O death, is your, death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin and the power of sin is the law of fire. Thanks be to God, he gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Dead and now look I am alive forever and ever and I hold the keys of death and Hades. There&#8217;s the evidence that Jesus Christ was risen. Second, as a risen Savior, Jesus would be permitted to sit at the right hand of God. On the day of Pentecost, Jesus is Jesus to life. There it is again. Resurrection. Jesus Christ was raised from the dead. And all, and we are all witnesses of it. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. Proof. Second evidence.<\/p>\n<p>Third evidence. As there is a Savior, Jesus would be worthy earth. John writes in Revelations chapter 5 verses 4 and 5, I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll to look inside. This will require a future lesson on the book of Revelation someday. Then one of the others said, do not weep. See, the line of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has tried I love this, what Romans 5.10 says. For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his son, much more having been reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. Because he is alive, we are alive. In verse 15, we find a fourth implication of the resurrection. Because Christ rose from the dead, we can believe And that means that we can trust scripture. Luke tells the story of two disciples walking to Emmaus from Jerusalem. As they walk and discuss the death of Jesus, they were joined by a stranger who joined their conversation. Luke tells us that the stranger was Jesus, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. The stranger asked, what are you discussing? Know the things that have happened in these days? I mean, pretty widespread news about that time that Jesus Christ entered Jerusalem and was crucified. I think everybody probably knew that. But I love what Jesus does when he answers them in Luke chapter 24, verses 25 to 27. He says, How foolish you are and how slow to believe all the prophets have spoken. Did not Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter predicted the resurrection of Christ. And one such passage that we can look at is found in Psalms chapter 16. And this is generally regarded as one of the clearest and best known of the resurrection stories or prophecies. David writes in Psalms chapter 16 verse 10, &#8220;For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol. You will not allow your Holy One to undergo decay.&#8221; That&#8217;s the key. Raised him from the dead again resurrection putting an end to the agony of death since it was impossible for him to be held by its power for David says of him and he&#8217;s quoting now Psalm 16:10 I saw the Lord continually before me because he is at my right hand so that I will not be shaken therefore my heart was glad and my tongue was overjoyed moreover my flesh only in hope. And then he says the same thing that David says, for you will not abandon my soul to Hades, nor will you allow your Holy One, capital Holy One, to undergo decay. Which means that Jesus Christ, even though he died because he was a man, he was raised again because he was God.<\/p>\n<p>There&#8217;s another possible passage that we can refer to. I&#8217;ll read this one quickly. Genesis 3, chapter 15. I will make you and the woman hate each other. Her offspring and yours will always be enemies. Her offspring will crush your head and you will bite off her, and you will bite her offspring&#8217;s heel. See, God seems to be declaring that Satan may have appeared to strike Jesus But on Sunday, Jesus Christ speaks. The Apostles preached the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Paul told the church in Corinth in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 verse 34 that Christ died All throughout the Old Testament are scriptures that talk about Jesus Christ coming and then dying for our sin and then rising from the dead. So the scriptures were written by truthful and holy men. And because of that truth, we can believe what the Bible tells us.<\/p>\n<p>Moving on, in verse 17, our sins that is the best news and that is primary to our faith and that represents the number one need that we all have or still have if God holds our sins against us there will be no hope for anything the foundation for every other blessing from God is So, how is the resurrection connected to our forgiveness? Let&#8217;s connect that. We already know that the death of Jesus took away our sin, right? We celebrate it here at the table. We read the scripture. We talked about the crucifixion. He shed his blood. He bore our sins. He took our judgments. Requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. And we know that. That&#8217;s the first part of the truth. Jesus also claimed that his blood would be adequate. Again, we celebrate it here at the table. He said in Matthew 26, 28, this is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for me for the forgiveness of sin. Well established. And was raised to life for our justification. What is justification? Well, the biblical definition of justification is an act of God by which the sinner who is responsible for his guilt and is under condemnation but believes in Christ is pronounced just and righteous, in other words, acquitted by God be judged. And because Christ was raised from the dead, our justification has been verified. That&#8217;s the connection between forgiveness and resurrection. By raising Jesus from the dead, God demonstrates his acceptance of Jesus as the only sacrifice adequate to save us from our sin. Romans chapter 8 declares them not guilty. So who&#8217;s left? Who then will condemn them? Also, not Christ Jesus, who died, or rather, who was raised to life and is at the right side of God, pleading for us, pleading with God for us. Imagine that. We have a risen Savior that even today is up there in heaven And there&#8217;s something that&#8217;s really exciting about this. Since Christ has been raised, it demonstrates the power that we have available as believers. We have this power too. Ephesians chapter 1, verses 18 to 20 tells us, I ask that your minds may be open to see his life. So that you will know what is the hope to which he has called you. How rich are the wonderful blessings he promises his people, and how very great is his power at work in us who believe. The power working in us right now today, in this very moment, is the same power Life is the union of physical with spiritual. Romans 6:23 begins with the phrase, &#8220;For the wages of sin is death.&#8221; Now, going back to our time in the Philippines, when we would do our training with the churches, prepare them for evangelism, we would teach participants that there were three kinds of death, and they would share this with their contacts. There were three kinds of death, and they all involved brings physical death. This physical body is a temporary vessel that has physical limitations and a finite existence. When we die physically, our body and our spirit separate. Our bodies go into the earth and our spirit either goes to heaven or to hell. And because of our sin, we are separated from the relationship of God. That is the spiritual death. That&#8217;s death number two. All of our religions, all of our good works, all the things that we try to do to earn salvation are useless. They cannot remove the sin that separates us from God. Spiritual death. Now, if we die in a state of spiritual death, we will be eternally dead and condemned to the lake of fire for all eternity. Spiritually dead. And we&#8217;re all destined for eternal death and eternity of suffering. But Romans 6.23 concludes with really good news. It says, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus.<\/p>\n<p>Verse 18 of 1 Corinthians chapter 15 is the really good news. Because Christ rose from the dead, we will live forever. That means eternal life. And I think most of us in this room probably have a definition of eternal life. But I&#8217;m going to shake up your definition of eternal life today. The definition of eternal life is not living forever in heaven instead of hell. This is what Jesus said in John 3:36, &#8220;Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God&#8217;s wrath remains on them.&#8221; Everlasting life is a present tense possession. Whoever has the Son has eternal life. It&#8217;s not something that begins when we get to heaven. It begins right now. At the moment of salvation, we have eternal life. But what does that definition really mean? What is Jesus talking about when he says that? Jesus defined eternal life for us in John chapter 17, verse 3. He said, and this is eternal life. Pretty obvious that he&#8217;s going to define what eternal life is. That you may know that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, who is the Messiah. Get that? Got that? They, that we would know him. Eternal life is a personal relationship than knowing God in this life. Not just an intellectual knowledge of him, but an intimate, close, personal relationship. Now it does not take away anything from the experience that we are going to have when we reach heaven. We still want to be blessed and a part of eternity. This is what John said in 1 John 5, 11 through 13. He said, and this is the testimony. God has given us eternal life. Again, God has given us, not will give, has given us eternal life. And this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.<\/p>\n<p>Are you experiencing the most intimate relationship we would ever experience. And when he raised him from the dead, he provided us with a living savior that we can call on to any moment. Once you understand that an eternal life begins with that personal relationship with Jesus, you may start having a question. But we knew that. The answer to that question, I love it again. Let&#8217;s go back to our opening scripture. Romans chapter 10, verse 9. If you declare with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. It&#8217;s that simple. That is how we obtain salvation. Of Christ, of salvation, of forgiveness of your sin, don&#8217;t leave without talking to somebody. I&#8217;ll be here, Pastor Joe will be here, the group will be here. Please come and see us. We&#8217;re going to talk to you about this relationship with Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n<p>Let me pray. Father God, thank you for this message. Thank you for your word. You&#8217;ve showed us the truth of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We don&#8217;t just live for a crucified Christ, we live with a risen Christ, a Savior that we can call upon, a personal Savior who is there and will meet us one day when we reach the new life. Father, thank you for this. Thank you for your Son. Thank you for this day of celebration when you took Jesus from the grave and placed him at your right hand. Father, we look forward to the day when we celebrate in your presence. Until then, We ask that you would continue to work through us to reach the lost and to tell other people about the love that you have for them. Father, thank you for all of this. Thank you for your son Jesus.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/details>\n<hr \/>\n<p align=\"center\"><em>The following are Supplemental notes generated by Claude AI as a study resource for Pastor Jerome&#8217;s sermon.<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3 align=\"center\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><b>David Jerome Sermon: Implications of the Resurrection<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<p align=\"center\"><i>A Synthetic Theological Essay on Luke 24:1-7 &amp; 1 Corinthians 15:12-20<br \/>\nDelivered at:<br \/>\nEast Valley International Church \u2022 Gilbert, Arizona<\/i><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"western\"><span style=\"color: #1f3864;\"><b>Introduction: The Hinge of History<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<p align=\"left\">On Easter Sunday, a message was delivered from Luke 24:1\u20137 &amp; 1 Corinthians 15:12-20 \u2014 the account of the empty tomb, the stone rolled away, and the angel&#8217;s piercing question to the women who came to anoint a body they expected to find:<span style=\"color: #333399;\"><em><strong> &#8220;Why are you seeking the living one among the dead? He is not here; He has risen.&#8221;<\/strong> <\/em><\/span>That single question reorients everything. It is the question that separates Christianity from every other world religion, from every philosophical system, from every attempt by humanity to construct meaning without God.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">This sermon was not merely a celebration of a past event. It was a theological reckoning with the present-tense implications of the resurrection of Jesus Christ \u2014 and a sober examination of what would be lost if the resurrection had not occurred. Drawing from 1 Corinthians 15, Galatians 4, Romans 6 and 8, Ephesians 1, and John 3 and 17, the message explored what the resurrection actually purchased for believers, and why it remains the non-negotiable foundation of the Christian faith.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"western\"><span style=\"color: #1f3864;\"><b>Part One: What We Would Lose Without the Resurrection<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<p align=\"left\">The Apostle Paul did not flinch from the worst-case scenario. In 1 Corinthians 15:12\u201320, he laid out a bleak condition: if Christ has not been raised, then the entire Christian enterprise collapses. He identified seven catastrophic consequences of a non-resurrection:<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"western\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><b>1. Preaching Becomes Meaningless<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<p align=\"left\">Without the resurrection, the proclamation of the apostles \u2014 and every sermon preached in their wake \u2014 amounts to nothing more than fiction. As the message noted, the apostles either told the truth about spending forty days with the risen Christ, or they were deliberate liars and deceivers. There is no middle ground.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"western\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><b>2. Faith Becomes Useless<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<p align=\"left\">Paul states plainly: <span style=\"color: #333399;\"><em><strong>&#8220;So is your faith&#8221;<\/strong><\/em><\/span> (v. 14). A faith anchored to a dead Savior is no faith at all. It is sentiment. It is a ritual without substance.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"western\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><b>3. We Become False Witnesses<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<p align=\"left\">Those who testify that God raised Jesus from the dead would be guilty of misrepresenting God Himself if the resurrection did not occur. The entire witness of the church would be a lie.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"western\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><b>4. Sin Remains Unatoned<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<p align=\"left\">Verse 17 delivers the hardest blow: <span style=\"color: #333399;\"><em><strong>&#8220;Your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.&#8221;<\/strong><\/em><\/span> A crucified-but-not-risen Christ would have been a liar or a lunatic \u2014 and such a person could not have provided a sacrifice that was holy and without blemish. Without a sufficient sacrifice, there is no forgiveness.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"western\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><b>5. The Dead Are Lost<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<p align=\"left\">Those who have already died in faith would have no hope. Their trust would have been misplaced, and there would be no recourse \u2014 they are already gone.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"western\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><b>6. Present Life Is Without Purpose<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<p align=\"left\">As believers, we invest our whole being into our relationship with Jesus Christ. Without the resurrection, there is nothing else worth living for \u2014 and the mockery of those who ridicule our faith, our church attendance, and our moral restraint would be entirely deserved.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p align=\"left\"><i>&#8220;But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.&#8221; \u2014 1 Corinthians 15:20<\/i><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p align=\"left\">Paul&#8217;s devastating <span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>&#8220;if&#8221;<\/strong><\/span> resolves into a triumphant <span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>&#8220;but.&#8221;<\/strong><\/span> The resurrection is not a footnote to the gospel. It is the gospel&#8217;s vindication.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"western\"><span style=\"color: #1f3864;\"><b>Part Two: Six Implications of the Resurrection<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<p align=\"left\">Having established what would be lost, the message turned to what the resurrection actually secures. Six distinct implications were drawn from the passage \u2014 each one a theological cornerstone.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"western\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><b>Implication 1: Christ&#8217;s Identity Is Confirmed<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<p align=\"left\">The resurrection validates every claim Jesus made about Himself during His earthly ministry. He claimed oneness with the Father (John 10:30). He was identified as the Word who was with God and was God (John 1:1\u20132). He fulfilled Old Testament prophecy at every turn. When John the Baptist cried, <span style=\"color: #333399;\"><em><strong>&#8220;Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world,&#8221;<\/strong><\/em><\/span> he was pointing to a thread that runs from Genesis \u2014 from the covering of Adam and Eve&#8217;s sin with the sacrifice of an innocent animal \u2014 through the entire Levitical sacrificial system, to its permanent fulfillment in Jesus.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p align=\"left\"><i>&#8220;The one who died at the cross was not a man whose body could decompose in a grave. Because he was God, he could not remain dead. He could not.&#8221;<\/i><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p align=\"left\">Jesus stood uniquely qualified: fully God, fully man \u2014 born of a woman, living under the Law, and yet possessing the eternal nature that cannot be swallowed by death. The resurrection was not miraculous despite who He was; it was inevitable because of who He was.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"western\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><b>Implication 2: Scripture Is Verified<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<p align=\"left\">The resurrection confirmed that the Bible is trustworthy. Throughout the Old Testament, the prophets anticipated a Messiah who would come, die for sin, and rise again. Psalm 16 anticipated that God&#8217;s Holy One would not see decay. Isaiah 53 described a Suffering Servant whose death would justify many. Genesis 3:15 records God&#8217;s declaration to the serpent that the offspring of the woman would crush his head, though the serpent would bruise his heel.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p align=\"left\"><i>&#8220;The scriptures were written by truthful and holy men. And because of that truth, we can believe what the Bible tells us.&#8221;<\/i><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p align=\"left\">The apostles preached a resurrection they had witnessed personally. Their testimony was consistent, their conviction was total, and most died for it. Men do not willingly die for what they know to be a fabrication.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"western\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><b>Implication 3: Our Sins Are Forgiven<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<p align=\"left\">Romans 4:25 provides the bridge: Christ <span style=\"color: #333399;\"><em><strong>&#8220;was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.&#8221;<\/strong> <\/em><\/span>The death of Jesus addressed the penalty of sin \u2014 shedding the blood required by Leviticus 17:11 for the forgiveness of sin. But the resurrection accomplished something beyond payment: it constituted God&#8217;s public declaration of acceptance.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p align=\"left\"><i>&#8220;By raising Jesus from the dead, God demonstrates his acceptance of Jesus as the only sacrifice adequate to save us from our sin.&#8221;<\/i><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p align=\"left\">Justification \u2014 the act by which God pronounces the believing sinner righteous and acquitted \u2014 was verified by the empty tomb. Romans 8 follows to its logical conclusion: <span style=\"color: #333399;\"><em><strong>&#8220;Who then will condemn them? Not Christ Jesus, who died \u2014 or rather, who was raised to life \u2014 and is at the right side of God, pleading for us.&#8221;<\/strong> <\/em><\/span>We have a living intercessor, not a dead martyr.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"western\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><b>Implication 4: We Have Power for Living<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<p align=\"left\">Because Christ rose, the same power that raised Him from the dead is available to believers today. Ephesians 1:18\u201320 makes this explicit \u2014 the immeasurable greatness of God&#8217;s power is at work <span style=\"color: #333399;\"><em><strong>&#8220;in us who believe,&#8221;<\/strong> <\/em><\/span>the very power exercised when God raised Christ from the dead.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">This is not a metaphor. This is the practical, daily resource of the Christian life: resurrection power, applied to ordinary struggles, ordinary temptations, ordinary grief.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"western\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><b>Implication 5: Death Is Defeated<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<p align=\"left\">The sermon offered a clear taxonomy of death. There are three kinds: physical death (the separation of body and spirit), spiritual death (separation from God as a consequence of sin), and eternal death (the lake of fire \u2014 the permanent, conscious consequence of dying in a state of spiritual separation from God).<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">Romans 6:23 names the verdict plainly: <span style=\"color: #333399;\"><em><strong>&#8220;For the wages of sin is death.&#8221;<\/strong><\/em><\/span> But it does not stop there. It pivots with the most important conjunction in Scripture: <span style=\"color: #333399;\"><em><strong>&#8220;but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.&#8221;<\/strong><\/em><\/span> Because Christ rose, we will live forever.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"western\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\"><b>Implication 6: Eternal Life Begins Now<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<p align=\"left\">Perhaps the most unexpected theological turn in the message was the redefinition of eternal life. Eternal life is not simply<span style=\"color: #333399;\"><em><strong> &#8220;living forever in heaven instead of hell.&#8221;<\/strong> <\/em><\/span>Jesus defined it Himself in John 17:3:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p align=\"left\"><i>&#8220;And this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.&#8221;<\/i><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p align=\"left\"><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>Eternal life is a personal relationship \u2014<\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> not a destination, but a present-tense possession that begins at the moment of salvation.<\/span> <em><strong>&#8220;Whoever has the Son has eternal life&#8221;<\/strong> <\/em><\/span>(John 3:36). It does not diminish the glory of what awaits believers in eternity. It expands it: the relationship that begins now is the very life of heaven, commenced on earth.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"western\"><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><b>Conclusion: A Living Savior, Not a Dead One<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<p align=\"left\">The message closed with a return to the simple and staggering good news. Romans 10:9 provides the threshold:<span style=\"color: #000080;\"> <em><strong>&#8220;If you declare with your mouth, &#8216;Jesus is Lord,&#8217; and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.&#8221;<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">The resurrection is not an addendum to Christianity \u2014 it is its beating heart. We do not live for a crucified Christ only; we live with a risen Christ. A Savior we can call upon. A Savior who intercedes at the right hand of the Father. A Savior who will meet us at the threshold of eternity.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p align=\"left\"><i>&#8220;We don&#8217;t just live for a crucified Christ \u2014 we live with a risen Christ, a Savior that we can call upon, a personal Savior who is there and will meet us one day when we reach the new life.&#8221;<\/i><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p align=\"left\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong>For those who have not yet entered into that relationship, the invitation stands. The stone has been rolled away. The tomb is empty. He is not here. He has risen.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p align=\"center\"><i>Soli Deo Gloria<\/i><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong>A Note on Research Methods and Accuracy<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em>This work represents a collaboration among the author\u2019s theological and historical research, primary-source documentation, and the emerging capabilities of artificial intelligence research tools. AI assistance was employed throughout the investigative process\u2014not as a ghostwriter or a substitute for scholarship, but as a rigorous research partner: surfacing sources, cross\u2011referencing claims, identifying scholarly consensus, and flagging potential errors before they could reach the page.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Every factual claim in this work has been subjected to active verification. Where AI\u2011generated content was used as a starting point, it was tested against primary sources, peer\u2011reviewed scholarship, official institutional documentation, and established historical records. Where discrepancies were found\u2014and they were found\u2014corrections were made. The author has made every reasonable effort to ensure that quotations are accurately attributed, historical details are precisely rendered, and theological claims fairly represent the positions they describe or critique.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>That said, no work of this scope is immune to error, and the author has no interest in perpetuating inaccuracies in the service of an argument. If you are a reader\u2014whether sympathetic, skeptical, or hostile to the conclusions drawn here\u2014and you identify a factual error, a misattributed source, a misrepresented teaching, or a claim that cannot be substantiated, you are warmly and genuinely invited to say so. Reach out. The goal of this work is not to win a debate but to get the history right. Corrections offered in good faith will be received in the same spirit, and verified corrections will be incorporated into future editions without hesitation.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Truth, after all, has nothing to fear from scrutiny\u2014and neither does this work.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Delivered by Pastor David Jerome | East Valley International Church | Gilbert, Arizona Easter Sunday, April 5, 2026 He Is Not Here: The Resurrection That Changes Everything The stone was rolled away. The tomb was empty. And nothing \u2014 not death, not doubt, not the weight of human sin \u2014 would ever be the same&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[100,172,57],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7439","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible-study","category-e-v-i-c-study-notes","category-religion"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/novus2.com\/righteouscause\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7439","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/novus2.com\/righteouscause\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/novus2.com\/righteouscause\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novus2.com\/righteouscause\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novus2.com\/righteouscause\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7439"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/novus2.com\/righteouscause\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7439\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7441,"href":"https:\/\/novus2.com\/righteouscause\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7439\/revisions\/7441"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/novus2.com\/righteouscause\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7439"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novus2.com\/righteouscause\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7439"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novus2.com\/righteouscause\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7439"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}