“I’m sorry. I thought you had an open mind, but you seem stuck on this idea of believing in God.” I received this apology recently from an acquaintance. Imagine my surprise that he was surprised a pastor still believes in God. He expressed concern that a seemingly intelligent person like me (thanks, I guess), would still believe in God. Later in the conversation, the return of Christ came up and he said, “But nobody in your church believes that?” “I would assume it is nearly universal in my congregation.” Am I wrong?
What is the basic point of disagreement between Christians and non-Christians? When King Herod Agrippa and Bernice came to beautiful Caesarea by the Sea for a vacation, Festus decided to get a second opinion on Paul. At the trial, Festus (not the one on Gunsmoke) had expected to hear of some terrible crime committed by Paul, only to discover it was not true. But did you read what he saw as the point of dispute: “They had some points of dispute with (Paul) about their own religion and about a dead man named Jesus who Paul claimed was alive” (Acts 25:19). Festus was mystified that anybody actually believed a dead person could return to life.
That is the point, isn’t it? The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the heart of the Christian message. Make no mistake, Christ’s return to life from death makes all the difference. Paul would later tell the Corinthians, “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 lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ we are of all people most to be pitied. But Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:16-20).
In a doctoral seminar, one of my classmates, fresh off some theological reading opined, “I have learned that it does not matter whether Christ was actually raised from the dead, so I do not believe it.” My professor expressed concern, “Then you are telling me you have left the faith.” For two thousand years, Christians around the world have greeted each other on Resurrection Sunday with the confident exclamation, “Christ is risen,” and have heard the response, “He is risen indeed.” This is the heart of our faith. It is non-negotiable for us. Someone may say to us, “Seeing is believing.’ But we respond, “No. But believing is seeing.” If we believe Christ conquered death, it is not difficult to believe that he will return. Am I right?
