His Resurrection Our Assurance

1 Cor. 15: 29-28

I. Which resurrection would you be in if you were to die today:

The resurrection to life, or the resurrection unto judgment and eternal separation from
God?
II. A. According to 1 Cor. 15: 12- 19, if Christ didn’t rise from the dead, Christianity is a lie,
therefore –
1. Our preaching is in vain, and all christians are false witness.
2. We are still guilty before God.
3. Those who died as believers are gone forever.
4. We deserve only pity.

B. In God’s order, Jesus Christ is the first fruits of the resurrection from the dead –

1. Col. 3:1 – Jesus is seatced at the right hand of God.

2. “First Fruit”- were the first of the harvest, taken to the temple as a sampling of what is to
come .

3. When we die as believers,it’s like going to sleep and waking up to a new day because you
have a brand new life. The moment we pass out of this life, we are in the presence of God –
2 Cor. 5:8; Heb. 9:27

C. Death comes through Adam; Life comes through Christ

1. Rom. 5:19 – Every person has a sin (nature)

2. We have to learn obedience; disobedience comes naturally.

3. Matt. 7:21-23 – Unless a nonbeliever has a transformation all his or her good works
counts for nothing

4. If someone can be saved apart from Christ, then His death was a big mistake-

5. 1 Cor. 15:22 – not everyone will be saved. You must be in Christ.

D. Only those who have trusted in Christ for salvation will be resurrected.

1. John 14:6 / John 12:30 – Jesus said no man can come to the Father except through Him.

2. Those who currently want nothing to do with church, Christians or Bible would feel out of
place in heaven.

E. If Jesus were to return today, the dead in Christ would rise first. 1 Thes. 4:14-17

1. Their spirits have been with the Lord, but their bodies remained there on earth.

2. God will give them resurrected bodies, which will unite with their spirit.
3. Non believers will remain on Earth and the tribulation will begin.

F. When Jesus returns at theSecond coming, everyone will see Him.

1. Matt. 24:29- 31 – Everyone will know Jesus is Lord, and they’ll mourn if they don’t
surrender yheir lives to Him while they could.

2. Rev. 1:7 – this time, Jesus doesn’t return like a thief in the night.

3. He comes to begin His millennial reign.

G. God will hold all people accountable for their deeds at the Great white throne of
judgment. Rev. 20: 11-15

1. Believers will be judged by what we did, especially considering what our motives were.
We won’t be punished for our sins, but we will mourn them and the rewords we could have
had.

2. God will judge every person based on three things:

a. How much truth they knew.

b. What opportunity they have.

c. What they did with it.

3. All people will either enter heaven or be condemned to hell based on whether or not they
accepted Christ.

III. You have two choices- You can be in the resurrection of the righteous and go to heaven.
Or, you can die without Christ and end up eternally separated from God.