The Scourge Of Racism
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One of the important tasks God has assigned aspiring strong men and great women of God in the image of Jesus Christ is to stand in every generation against the barrage of assaults upon the historicity, mission and literal resurrection from the dead of our Lord Jesus Christ! Tied to the doubt about the possibility of His resurrection, of course, is His bodily ascension into Heaven and this whole business of the unseen spiritual realm. While God in His infinite wisdom has cloaked the spiritual realm from our natural observation at this present time in His plans for mankind, He has not left us without some knowledge and insight about it in His Word (2 Kings 6:15-17)!
Without exception, though, no man can begin to glean the slightest appreciation for God, His power even to raise the dead, the unseen eternal spiritual realm He inhabits or the things therein unless he is first willing to believe that He is. For faith is the normative prerequisite for seeing God and His power through the general and special revelation of His Word as written testimony (Psalm 19:1-6; Habakkuk 2:4; Mark 5:21-43; Romans 1:16-20; Hebrews 11:1-7)! Thus, this edited 2013 blog repost and the three to follow are intended to edify, encourage and inspire rejoicing in faithful Christians as aspiring strong men and great women of God in Christ’s image that continue to celebrate the eye opening events on and which follow Resurrection Sunday. Keep standing, beloved; keep standing!
Originally Posted April 7, 2013
That “the Lord God Omnipotent” is able to raise the dead should not be of any issue whatsoever for anyone that even just acknowledges the existence of God (Revelation 19:6, NKJV). However, to make a valid case against the power of God to raise the dead unbelievers and professing Christian scoffers as impostors, willful and de facto apostates alike must overcome the towering hope of ancient men of faith and important historical narrative witness recorded in the Old Testament of the Bible that precedes that of the New Testament centering upon the Lord Jesus Christ.
Of course, they try anyway because they must find a way (any way) to justify their unbelief and the heavy weight of sin guilt and condemnation that otherwise awaits them in refusing to accept the divine testimony preserved in Holy Scripture. Born again, faithful Christians rejoice to have the testimony of the Word and inner working of the Holy Spirit to appreciate the awesome power of God to accomplish whatever is His will (Jeremiah 32:16-27; Luke 1:30-37; Ephesians 2:1-7)!
Indeed, the book of Job may be the oldest in the Bible. Job in great affliction and distress of soul nevertheless, expresses hope in his own bodily resurrection from the dead accomplished by God when he says: “For I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth; and after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns within me,” (Job 19:25-27, NKJV)! God, the Redeemer here is none other than Jesus Christ! Faith in God’s power to do the impossible including raising the dead is typical of the Old Testament saints (Hebrews 11:30-40) but for brevity’s sake, consider two more.
The great patriarch and father of faith, Abraham, was commanded of God as a test to sacrifice to Him his promised son, Isaac (Genesis 22:1-10). In commenting on Abraham’s state of mind during the test, the writer of Hebrews states: “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac…concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead,” (Hebrews 11:17-19, NKJV). King David was presented a glorious promise by God of an eternal Descendant to sit upon his throne. Being a prophet of the Lord, he was blessed to offer up prophetic utterance concerning his future Descendant captured in many of his Psalms.
In Psalm 16 quoted by Peter on the Day of Pentecost in the aftermath of Christ’s resurrection and ascension, the voice of David’s future Son is heard through him expressing confidence that God will not leave His body dead or His spirit in the realm of the departed. He says, “My flesh also will rest in hope. For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. You will show me the path of life,” (Psalm 16:9b-11a; Acts 2:22-32, NKJV). Finally, there are narrative resurrection accounts featuring two of God’s well known Old Testament prophets, Elijah and his understudy, Elisha and alluded to in Hebrews 11:35.
The Lord answered the intercessory acts and prayer of Elijah to raise a dead boy to life so that the joy filled prophet exclaimed to his mother, ‘“See, your son lives,’” (1 Kings 17:17-24, NKJV)! While it was a bit more involved, sometime later after Elijah’s whirlwind ride into glory, Elisha also was God’s vessel for displaying His power to raise another woman’s son from the dead (2 Kings 4:8-37). The God who created the heavens, earth and all living things has the power to kill and make alive again (Genesis 1:1; Deuteronomy 32:39; 1 Samuel 2:6)! Therefore, the issue of believing whether God raised Christ from the dead is not can He, it is will the person hearing the Gospel believe it or not to the saving of his soul (John 3:16-21; 1 Corinthians 15:1-20)?
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