Classic Sermon Outlines (continued)
Witnesses of the Resurrection
"Not deceit, Di pienicenea i tiae ani terior... sociated morality, and the obvious absence of all self-interest, and the p ersecutions and sorrows which they endured, make it inconceivable that the fairest building that ever has been reared in the world, and which is ce-. mented by men's blood, should be built upon the mud and slime of conscious deceit!
II. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE FACT.
A. With the Resurrection of Jesus Christ Stands or Falls the Deity of Christ. he Scriptures. "Declared to be the Son of God, ep palates crates ernie sien lereuunsdeiriirssieadazoa: kcal made this same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:36). "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).
2. The claims of Christ. Christ lived as we know and in the course of that life claimed to be the Son of God. He made such assertions as these—"I and the Father are one" (John 10:30). "I am the way, and the truth, and the life' John 14:6). "He that believeth on Me shall never die" (John 11:25, 26). "The Son of Man must suffer many things—and the third day He shall rise again" (Luke 9:22). If He be risen from the dead then His loftiest claims are confirmed from the throne and we can see Him—the Son of God.
B. With the Resurrection of Jesus Christ Stands or Falls Christ's Whole Work for Our Redemption.
1. If Christ is not risen He died only as a martyr. If He died, like other -men—if that awful bony hand has got its grip upon Him too, then we have 'no proof that the cross was anything but a martyr's cross.
2. If Christ is not risen there is no salvation. His resurrection is the _ proof of His completed work of redemption. It is the proof that His death was the ransom for us. His resurrection is the condition of His present activity. If He has not risen, He has not put away sin; and if He has not put it away by the sacrifice of Himself, none has, and it remains. -
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