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["O Come All Ye Faithful"] ["O Come All Ye Faithful"] All right, good morning everyone. Welcome to First Works Baptist Church. Let's all find our seats. As you find a seat, please grab a songbook. Turn to song number 22. Song number 22, Are You Washed in the Blood? Let's all stand together for this first song if you're able. Song number 22, Are You Washed in the Blood? All together nice and strong on that first verse. Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing power? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Are you fully trusting in His grace this hour? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Are you washed in the blood, in the soul cleansing blood of the Lamb? Are your garments spotless? Are they white as snow? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Are you walking daily by the Savior's side? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Do you rest each moment in the crucified? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Are you washed in the blood, in the soul cleansing blood of the Lamb? Are they white as snow? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? When the bridegroom cometh, will your robes be white? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Will your soul be ready for the mansion's bright, and be washed in the blood of the Lamb? Are you washed in the blood, in the soul cleansing blood of the Lamb? Are your garments spotless? Are they white as snow? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Lay aside the garments that are stained with sin. Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? There's a fountain flowing for the soul unclean. I'll be washed in the blood of the Lamb. Are you washed in the blood, in the soul cleansing blood of the Lamb? Are your garments spotless? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Amen. Wonderful singing. Let's start off our service with a word of prayer. Dear Lord God, Heavenly Father, we just thank you for giving us this day. We can come here to your house and hear the preaching of your word, and we thank you for each and every soul that's in the building this morning, Lord. We ask that you please bless our service. Please bless the singing that will prepare our hearts for the message, and most of all, please fill past me here with your spirit as he preaches unto us, and give us your spirit in the congregation as well, Lord, that we may leave here changed. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. You may be seated. Turn your songbooks to song number 36. Song number 36, Christ Arose. Song number 36. All together, nice and strong on that first verse. Lo, in the grave be laid, Jesus my Savior, waiting the coming day. Jesus my Lord, up from grave he rose, with a mighty triumph o'er his bones. He rose a victor from the dark domain, and he lives forever with his saints to reign. He rose, he rose, hallelujah, Christ arose, vainly they watch his bed, Jesus my Savior. Jesus my Lord, up from grave he rose, with a mighty triumph o'er his bones. He rose a victor from the dark domain, and he lives forever with his saints to reign. He rose, he rose, hallelujah, Christ arose, death cannot keep his grave, Jesus my Savior. He tore the bars away, Jesus my Lord, up from the grave he rose, with a mighty triumph o'er his bones. He rose a victor from the dark domain, and he lives forever with his saints to reign. He rose, he rose, hallelujah, Christ arose. All right, great singing. Happy Easter to you all. Thank you so much for being here. Welcome to First Works Baptist Church. Just a few announcements here before we sing our next song, which will actually be the song sheet because he lives. If you didn't get one, raise your hand, and one of the ushers will get one for you. Keep your hands raised until they can get to you there. That will be our next song. Along with that, if you did not get a bulletin, also raise your hand. Some important information on there. We welcome you to come back to our Thursday evening service at 7 p.m. We do have a Thursday night Bible study where we study the Word of God verse by verse, and we're currently going through the book of Isaiah, and we will be in chapter 57 this coming Thursday, and so we're welcoming you to come to that. We are a family integrated church. This is why you see all the babies and the children and the infants here in the main service. They stay with their parents, but for your convenience, we do have a mother-baby room located here on my right-hand side and then past these doors on the right for the infants as well. There are changing tables available there, speakers and screens, so you can still tune into the preaching. I do want to encourage you, if you're a first-time visitor, to make sure you get one of these bags. It's a goodie bag. It has a Bible in there, some different things that you can utilize, but it has this brochure in here that'll kind of give you some information about our church. If you have any questions about our church, most of this will answer that for you, but the most important thing in this brochure is not necessarily the doctrines that we believe. It's not necessarily the music we have. It's actually the map of our church so you don't get lost in here. So we have a map in there so you can find your way throughout this building here, and so utilize that. There's some stickers in there as well. If you didn't get one, you can ask one of the ushers and they'll provide one for you. Really important information on there, and you see the so many times and teams there in the middle, the list of expecting mothers, if you can keep them in prayer, and then the stats for salvations and baptisms for the month of March. Great month there. On the right-hand side is the upcoming church events. Of course, today is our Easter service. Let me give you a couple of announcements in that regard. First and foremost, thank you to those who put in hours and hours of work to make this Sunday possible. Cleaning, setup, cooking, etc. We thank God for you and thank you so much for all of your hard work. The Easter egg hunt will be 10 minutes after the morning service on the side of the building right here in the back. It is for one year old to fifth grade, so parents keep that in mind. If you have any more questions in that regard, you can see any one of the leaders, the ushers, and they can lead you after the service, but it will be 10 minutes after the church service, so keep that in mind. If you haven't stopped by the old foyer to snap a photo by the photo backdrop, do so and tag at FirstWorksBC. Of course, we're referring to back here, there is a photo backdrop there. Take some pictures with you and your family before you leave for Easter, and then if you can, tag us if you are on Instagram. And then coloring sheets created by Mrs. Luisa and Book Camel can be picked up at the guest center if you didn't get one already, which is at the entrance of the building. And then lastly, when it comes to the Easter service, tonight we're going to be doing the Lord's Supper during our PM service. That will be for our PM service, and so we encourage our members to come back during that time, and I'm going to instruct the church on how to perform that. We have the TJ missions trip coming up on Saturday, April 26th, meeting at the building at 9 15 a.m. If you are interested in participating in the missions trip, you can see our evangelist brother Ulysses Hernandez. Just make sure you bring your passport, but all the expenses are paid for. We always have a great time there and get a lot of salvations, and so we're excited about that. Science meetup will be on Sunday, April 27th, so parents, we encourage you, if you're homeschooling your children, to bring your children for the evening service to participate in that. And then lastly, on Sunday, May 11th, is our Sow Thy Seed offering Sunday, where we are raising up money to purchase our own building. Please keep that in prayer. And then lastly, please make sure you silence your phones during the preaching, so as to not be a distraction during the service. If you have been saved, but you have not yet been baptized, see us after the service, and we'll get that taken care of for you. We have a baptistry right there. We have robes for you, and the water is nice and warm, I promise. All right, and that is it for our announcements. Let's go ahead and sing our next song, Because He Lives. All right, Because He Lives as our third song. All together, nice and strong on that first verse. An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives. Because He lives, I can face tomorrow. Because He lives, all fear is gone. Because I know He holds the future, and life is worth the living just because He lives. Because He lives, how sweet to hope a newborn baby can feel the love and joy He gives. But greater still, the calm assurance this child can face on certain days. Because He lives. Because He lives, I can face tomorrow. Because He lives. All fear is gone. Because I know He holds the future, and life is worth the living just because He lives. And then one day, I'll cross the river of life I serve. No war with pain, as man has death, gives way to victory. I'll see the lights of glory, and I'll know He reigns. Because He lives, I can face tomorrow. Because He lives. All fear is gone. Because I know He holds the future, and life is worth the living just because He lives. Amen. Wonderful singing. At this time, the ushers will come forward to receive the offering. You can turn your Bibles to Romans chapter number 10. Thank you. Thank you. Good morning. We're in Romans chapter 10. Romans chapter 10, the Bible reads, Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they, being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth. For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, that man which doeth those things shall live by them. For the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise. Stand not in thine heart, who shall ascend into heaven, that is, to bring Christ down from above, or who shall descend into the deep, that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead. But what sayeth it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth and in thy heart, that is, the word of faith which we preach. That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. But the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. But there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. But whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach except they be sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things. But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then, faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. But I say, Have they not heard? Yes, verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the end of the world. But I say, Did not Israel know? First Moses saith, I'll provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger you. But Esaias is very bold, and saith, I was found of them that sought me not. I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me. But to Israel, he saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people. Let's pray to you, Lord God. Thank you again for this opportunity to assemble in your house. I just ask that you would fill our pastor with the Holy Spirit. Please bless the preaching, and in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Okay, we are in Romans chapter number 10 this morning. And look down at your Bibles at verse number 6. It says, But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise. Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? That is, to bring Christ down from above. Or, Who shall descend into the deep? That is, to bring up Christ again from the dead. But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thine mouth and in thine heart. That is, the word of faith which we preach. Verse number 9, That if thou shalt confess with thine mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. And the title of my sermon this morning is The Importance of the Resurrection. The Importance of the Resurrection. Of course, today is Easter, and I get really excited about Easter because of the fact that it's a time that in our nation, we exalt the doctrine of the Resurrection. It's an important doctrine in the Christian faith, and it's something that we emphasize throughout the year, but it's specifically on Easter because it's an opportunity to talk about why it's important. Why is it imperative in the Christian faith to understand and believe the doctrine of the Resurrection? We know that it's a staple doctrine of our faith, but why is that? Well, turn with me, if you would, to 1 Corinthians, chapter 15. Hold your place there in Romans, chapter 10. We're going to come back to that later on in the sermon. But go to 1 Corinthians, chapter 15. I'm going to go over some of the reasons why the Resurrection is important. And why it should be important to you, why it's important to us as Christians, and why it's necessary for certain things. First and foremost, let me start off by saying that the Resurrection lends credence to the Old Testament. The reason the Resurrection is important is because it lends veracity, it lends credence to the Old Testament. People often think, well, the Resurrection is more like a New Testament phenomenon. You know, it's more of a New Testament teaching. It's what the New Testament says. Most people in the Old Testament didn't know about the Resurrection. But let me say this, that that's a complete lie. It's a farce, it doesn't exist. People in the Old Testament believed in the Resurrection. And I'm going to go through a couple of examples this morning. But look at 1 Corinthians 15, verse number 3. The Apostle Paul, speaking to the church at Corinth, says, For I delivered unto you, first of all, that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. Now, what is that saying? It's saying that everyone collectively who knew the Bible, who was saved, or knew about God, knew that the Old Testament Scriptures talked about Jesus Christ dying for our sins, right? And it says there that he died for our sins according to the Scriptures. Now, in the New Testament, anytime you see that phrase, according to the Scriptures as it is written, it's actually addressing the Old Testament. We often talk about the Scriptures as being old and New Testament, but when the New Testament talks about it, it's referring to the Old Testament. So this is showing us here that the death of Jesus Christ was something that was widely spoken of in the Old Testament, right? Well, I want you to notice verse 4. And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day, according to the Scriptures. So it's specifically telling us here that even in the Old Testament, the death of Christ is not the only thing that was highlighted, even the resurrection of Christ was highlighted, because of the fact that he rose again the third day, according to the Scriptures, according to the Old Testament. Showing us, proving conclusively, that the Old Testament talked about the resurrection. Now, obviously, the New Testament is far more explicit about the resurrection. We know more in the New Testament than those who were in the Old Testament knew about the Bible, because they only had the Old Testament to work off of. But because we had the entire canon of Scripture, the New Testament is replete, it is saturated with, it is explicit regarding the doctrine of the resurrection. Okay? Now, turn with me if you would. Go to, um, actually stay there in 1 Corinthians, chapter 15. Let me read to you a couple scriptures here. Of course, when Jesus Christ resurrected, in Luke chapter 24, he meets these disciples on the road to Emmaus, and they don't recognize him, they don't really see that it's him. He finally reveals himself to him, and he rebukes them for lacking faith, and he tells them, Oh, you fools and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken. And he says, Ought not Christ, who have suffered these things, entered into his glory? And then he makes this statement, Beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded into them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. So what he does is he gives them a Bible study from the Old Testament regarding his death and regarding his resurrection, showing that the Old Testament had the prophecies of the death of Christ, as well as the resurrection. Well, where are these pictures? Well, think about this, you know, Noah and the flood is a picture of the resurrection. He said, Well, I thought Noah and the flood was just about killing a bunch of people on earth and just saving eight people alive. Well, yeah, that's yeah, for sure, that's what it's about. But there's also a picture there, according to the New Testament, that pictures the resurrection of Christ. Let me read to you from 1 Peter 3 and verse number 20, referring to the flood. It says in verse 21, The like figure were into even baptism doth also now save us. Now, a lot of false cults will try to say that you have to be baptized physically in order to be saved. This is what's known as baptismal regeneration, meaning that you have to be completely dunked under water in order to wash away your sins. And they'll often use passages like this to try to teach that. They'll say, Well, baptism doth also now save us. But, folks, let me just remind you that when you study the Bible, when you read the Bible, you gotta read the entire verse. You can't just read half of it, because if we only read half of a couple verses, we can come up with all kinds of heresy. But it says here, The like figure were into even baptism doth also now save us, not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God. And I want you to notice this, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Now, the example that it's giving here is the example of the ark being swallowed up by the water, right? And it's using Noah's ark, it's using the flood as an example, and if it's using that as a parallel to salvation, we have to ask ourselves, Did the water save anybody? No, in fact, it killed everyone. The only people that saved, the only thing that saved was the actual ark itself. Because when Noah and his family went into the ark, it was closed, it was sealed, that ark was baptized in water, it wasn't the water that saved Noah, it was actually the ark that saved Noah. You know, the only thing that resurrected out of the water was actually Jesus Christ, I'm sorry, resurrected out of the water was the ark that pictures Jesus Christ. Which is why it tells us here that baptism saves us by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. So the Old Testament ark of Noah is a picture of Jesus Christ resurrecting from the wrath of God in order to provide salvation. Let me give you another example, Job chapter 19 verse 25. Of course, we all know who Job is, he went through a very serious trial, very difficult, you know, experiences that he had with the loss of his children, the loss of his property, the loss of his possessions. And he says in Job chapter 19 verse 25, For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth. And I want you to notice this, and though after my skin worms destroy this body. What does that talk about? It talks about when he goes into the ground, he's buried, eventually he's going to decompose, worms shall eat his body. He says, though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God. What is he saying? I know that I will resurrect and see God in my flesh, having faith in the resurrection. One of the most popular, famous examples of the resurrection in the Old Testament is Abraham and Isaac. Go with me to Hebrews chapter 11. Of course, we know the famous story of Abraham and Isaac, where God commands Abraham to sacrifice his only son, picturing God the Father sacrificing his son Jesus Christ. And of course, right at the last moment, he stops him. He knows that Abraham is obedient to his commands, and he blesses him because of that. And of course, Isaac is blessed also for his obedience to his father. But I want you to notice what Hebrews chapter 11 verse 17 says in that regard. By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac, and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said that in Isaac shall thy seed be called. Now, what is it saying? It's saying that he waited so long to get Isaac. I mean, the guy is really old, Abraham. And God is telling Abraham, you're going to have all these children, as much as the sand of the sea, the stars of heaven, you're just going to have all types of progeny, and then he just doesn't have any children at all. Until Isaac. And at that point, Abraham was really old. And so, think about this, you know, he finally gets the promise, child, and then God says, OK, I want you to sacrifice him. And it's just like, I just got this one. I was like, I just got it. But of course, Abraham, because he's a father of faith, he obeys the Lord, he has faith in the Lord, he obeys God, and of course we know that God stops him, but I want you to notice verse 19, why Abraham obeyed the Lord. He says, accounting that God was able to raise him up even from the dead, the Bible says, from whence also he received him in a figure. You see, Abraham believed in the resurrection. He knew that God could raise him up again from the grave. Another famous example of the Old Testament depicting the resurrection is David. And let me read to you from Psalm 16. Turn with me if you would to Acts chapter two. Acts chapter two, if you would. The sweet psalmist of Israel said in Psalm 16, verse eight, I have set the Lord always before me because he is at my right hand. I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoiceth. My flesh also shall rest in hope. For that will not leave my soul in hell, neither will I suffer thine holy one to see corruption. So this is David prophetically talking about Jesus Christ and the death of Jesus Christ. Because according to the word of God, when Jesus Christ died, he was actually in hell for three days and three nights. But the Bible says that his soul was not left in hell, neither did his flesh see corruption. Well, look what it says in Acts chapter two when addressing this scripture in Psalm 16. Acts chapter two, verse 31 says, He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. So when David is pinning down those scriptures of the Psalms in chapter 16, he's talking about not leaving his soul in hell, that his body will not suffer to see corruption. He's pinning this down in mind with the conception, with the understanding, that he's talking about the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It sounds like Old Testament people knew about the resurrection. They not only believed in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, but they even believed that they themselves would resurrect. And some people would make the argument, no, they just believed that they would resurrect. Well, it would be kind of ridiculous and absurd to assume that they believed they were going to resurrect, but not their Messiah was going to resurrect. You know, Jesus Christ, according to 1 Corinthians 15, is the first fruits of the resurrection, which is why we are going to resurrect in the last days. Let me also read to you from Jonah chapter one. Of course, we know the famous story of Jonah swallowed up by a whale. This is often talked about in Sunday school classes and to children, but it's actually a pretty gnarly story if you think about it. You know, this man disobeys God, he runs away from God, and God prepares a great whale to swallow him up and to get him right with God. And the Bible tells us in Jonah chapter two that he's in the belly of the whale. He's not dead. He's just kind of in the bowels of this whale. And it's during this time that he prophetically makes a statement about Jesus Christ that says in verse number one, Then Jonah prayed unto the Lord his God out of the fish's belly, and said, I cried by reason of my affliction unto the Lord, and he heard me out of the belly of hell, cried I, and thou heardest my voice. For thou hast cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas, and the floods come past me about. All thy billows and thy waves pass me over. Now, this story is really important because, again, it's prophetically addressing the resurrection of Christ. Because in Matthew chapter 12, Jesus Christ says, For as Jonah's three days and three nights in the whale's belly, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. And of course, over and over again, he stated that after three days, he would resurrect, showing us that he is essentially fulfilling the prophecy of resurrecting from the dead. Let me also read to you from Hebrews chapter 11, verse 35, regarding Old Testament saints that went through persecution and affliction. It says women received their dead, raised to life again, and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance. And I want you to notice this, that they might obtain a better resurrection. So not only did the Old Testament saints believe in the resurrection, they even knew they could get a higher quality resurrection based upon the sufferings that they would experience this side of eternity. You say, why go through all these passages? Well, because there's people even today that deny the resurrection. They deny that Jesus Christ bodily resurrected from the grave. They believe that he was only a spiritual resurrection. They don't believe in Jesus Christ. But folks, the Bible is replete with passages proving the resurrection. And in fact, the unsaved Sadducees even knew about the resurrection. They didn't want to believe in it, but they knew about it. You know, and the Bible tells us regarding them that they erred not knowing the scriptures nor the power of God. And of course, it's because they weren't saved. Go to John Chapter 10, if you would, John Chapter 10. So why is the resurrection so important? Well, because it lends veracity, it lends credence to the Old Testament passages dealing with the resurrection. Not only that, the resurrection is important because it completed the work of Christ on Earth to redeem us. That's really important. And in fact, if you're visiting with us today and you're not 100% sure that if you die today you go to heaven, this message is for you. Because, you know, Easter Bunny, all right, getting a couple Easter eggs and candy, sounds good. I like the Cadbury eggs. I could kill a bag if I wanted to. Pastel colors, all right, only on Easter. Pictures, food, you know, all this stuff is great. But quite frankly, the most important part of Easter is you hearing the gospel message in order for you to be saved. And this is why the resurrection is important. Because of the fact that it completed the work of Christ here on Earth in order to redeem us. I'm going to read to you from Romans Chapter 4, verse 25 says, who was delivered, referring to Jesus, for our offenses and raised again for our justification. The Bible also says in John Chapter 19, verse 28, after this Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished and that the Scripture might be fulfilled, saith I thirst. Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar and they filled the sponge with vinegar and put it on hyssop and put it to his mouth. And when Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, it is finished. He bowed his head and gave up the ghost. Now this is referring to the fact that he accomplished the work that he did within those three and a half years. And sometimes people ask, well, what part of Jesus Christ, what part of his labor actually saves us? Isn't it just his death? Well, no, it's his perfect life. It's his perfect death. And it's his perfect resurrection. It's everything. So if you want to be saved, you have to accept the entire package. You know, you have to accept the fact that Jesus Christ is God. You have to accept the fact that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life, and that no man cometh unto the Father, but by him. You have to believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay for your sins, past, present, and future, and that he resurrected on the third day, and may I say, in bodily form. Meaning that he physically came out of the grave, not just in spirit, but literally in his flesh, he resurrected. You know, in order to make salvation available to us, Jesus had to be perfect. The Bible tells us of Jesus Christ that he did always those things that pleased the Father, meaning his life was lived in such a way that there's no flaws found in him, no sin. The Bible says that he was without sin. He was tempted in all points, like as we are, yet without sin. That God made him to be sin who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. You know, when the Bible talks about there's no good but God, Jesus Christ is God, therefore he is perfectly good. And that's an important point because of the fact that, you know, a lot of people think that in order to get to heaven, you have to have enough good to outweigh your bad. This is a common misconception amongst people who, you know, don't believe in God, or they don't go to church. They often think, well, I'm just going to try the best that I can, be as morally upright as I possibly can, keep as many commandments as I possibly can, and I feel like God will forgive me in the end. I feel like God will weigh out the balances, and he will recognize that I've done more good than bad. But here's the problem with that. That same God said that there's none that doeth good, no, not one. That same God said that there's none righteous, no, not one. And sometimes people think, so are you saying that God just can completely ignore and negate all the good that I've done? Well, think about this. You know, the Bible says that there's not a just man upon earth that doeth good and sinneth not. So even when you attempt to do good, even when you strive to do good, according to the Bible, you're simultaneously doing bad. And so we have a problem. The problem is this. We don't have enough good in us to get us to heaven. And in fact, our good, or as the Bible would put it, our righteousness are as filthy rags in the eyes of God. You can spend a lifetime striving to do good in order to obtain and merit eternal life. It'll never happen because there is none good but God. Jesus Christ was the only one who kept all of God's commandments perfectly, who pleased God the Father at all times. There's not a person in this world who's ever been able to accomplish that. So in order to provide salvation for us, he had to be perfect, and he was. He kept all of God's commandments. The Bible tells us that he came not to destroy the law, but to fulfill it. But not only that, but he also had to die for our sins. He had to be the propitiation. He had to sacrifice himself on the cross in order to satiate the wrath of God. The Bible tells us in Romans 5, verse 10, For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also join God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. You see, here's the thing, folks, is that God is loving, he's merciful, he's gracious, he's kind. But I want to remind you this morning that he's also a judge. And as a judge, he expects justice. Meaning that the sins committed against him by breaking of his commandments require a payment. And you know, a lot of people don't like that. Who's God to try to judge me like that? Well, take it up with him. But let me just remind you, not believing in gravity does not change the fact that if you jump off the roof, gravity will exist. And you know what, you can reject God, you can mock God, you can disagree with what God says, it doesn't change the truth. But here's the thing with God, here's the gracious thing about God, he gives you these two options. One, you can pay for your own sins, the only problem is you'll never pay it off. Because the payment for your sins will require for you to go to hell for all of eternity. That will satiate his wrath for your sins is in eternity in hell and you never get out of there. And often when people hear that like, how can a loving God send me to hell? Well, how about you think about the second option. The second option is that Jesus Christ, his son, paid for your sins. He paid it in full so that you could be saved. Now, these are your options, you can either pay for your own sins in hell or you can accept the payment that Jesus Christ made for you on the cross and live forever. You know, I don't know, the second option sounds just a lot better. That, hell, or eternal life? Eternal life. But here's the thing, it has to be on his terms though. Because the terms are this, you can have eternal life but you have to believe on his son. Meaning you have to trust that his death, burial, and resurrection is sufficient to save you. And the main point that I'm getting across here is that Jesus Christ is the perfect sacrifice to pay for those sins. The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 15, 3 that he died for our sins according to the scriptures. 1 John 2, 2 says that he is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. And you know, some of them might be thinking, yeah but pastor I'll be honest with you, I'm not a criminal though. I've never murdered anybody. I'm not a dishonest person. I've never committed any crime. I'm a law abiding citizen. But let me put you up to the standard of God though. Because the entrance into heaven does not require, you know, obedience to the earthly laws, but rather the laws of God. And the Bible says in James 2, verse 10, Whosoever keepeth the whole law, yet offendeth one point, he is guilty of all. That's unreasonable! No, it's just perfection. And it's made to essentially strip you away from trusting in yourself for salvation. Because then when you think about, oh man, I've at least lied. And by the way, if you say, well I've never lied before, you just did. You just lied. But let's just say you strive to live your life in such a way that you're just always honest. You know, according to God's standard, it's still not good enough. Because the Bible says that the thought of foolishness is sin. And we've all thought of stupid thought at one time or another. Why does God have such a high standard to strip you away from your own righteousness to help you to realize that you're not good enough and that you need a savior? Jesus Christ was a man who was perfect in all ways because he is God. But he's also the perfect sacrifice. And he also was able to take his life back. Look what it says in John chapter 10, verse number 17. It says in John 10, 17, Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father. Go back to Romans chapter 10, Romans chapter 10. So here in John 10, Jesus Christ says that he has power to take his life back again. Now why is that important? Well, because of the fact that if he sacrificed himself for you but was not able to resurrect, it's meaningless. It's meaningless. If Jesus Christ lived a perfect life and he sacrificed himself on the cross but never came back from the grave, it would be absolutely vain and meaningless. You see, the resurrection completes the work of redemption for us. So the Bible says that he was delivered for our offenses and raised again for our justification. We collectively need all of those elements in order to save us. It's not just his perfect life that saves us. It's not just the death that saves us. It's also his resurrection that saves us. Look at Romans chapter 10. Romans chapter number 10 and verse number 9, and this is my third point here, and that is that the resurrection is important because it is necessary to believe in order to be saved. You have to believe in the resurrection in order to be saved. The Bible says in Romans 10 verse 9 that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. The reason we just say this right now is that if you were a Jehovah's Witness who does not believe in the bodily resurrection, you cannot be saved unless you believe that Jesus Christ bodily resurrected from the grave. God is no respecter of people. You say, well, you know, I believe he resurrected. Shouldn't that just be sufficient? No, you've got to believe it on his terms though, his terms. Now, think about this. You know, why is it so important for us to believe that Jesus Christ bodily resurrected from the grave? Why is that important? Why can't we just believe that, you know, a spirit just came out? I'm going to explain to you why. Because of the fact that salvation, eternal life, means that you live forever, not just in spirit, but listen to me, in body also. That's what it means. Salvation just doesn't carry with it the forgiveness of sins, the cleansing of our spirit, the regeneration of our spirit. It's actually a promise from God that in your flesh you shall see God. Now, that's a powerful promise right there. Meaning just as clear as you see me today with your eyes, just as clear as you can hear my voice through your ears. Let me tell you right now, one day it'll be that way in the presence of God, in the presence of Christ, if you're saved. You will see God, as Job said, in your flesh. And part of salvation is not just the forgiveness of sins. Part of salvation is not just a regenerated spirit. Part of salvation is that you literally live forever in your flesh. It's necessary to be saved. And this is why the Bible says that in order to be saved, you have to confess that Jesus Christ resurrected by the power of God. You have to believe that. 1 Corinthians 15, by the way, 1 Corinthians 15 is your passage dealing with the resurrection, not just of Christ but of also believers. I'm gonna read to you once again, it says, Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received in wherein ye stand, by which also ye are saved. And here's the kicker, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. So the Bible says you can be saved if you believe this. But if you don't collectively believe the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, you cannot be saved. And you know what? You can say you love God all you want. You can go to church for the rest of your life. You can say you love the Bible as much as you want. But if you don't have the right beliefs, according to the Bible, you cannot be saved. And the belief is in the death of Jesus Christ. The belief is in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He says, For I delivered unto you first of all, that which I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. Believing the biblical account of the resurrection is asserting that salvation is eternal and can never be lost. You see, part of the resurrection is the belief that salvation can never be lost. There's a lot of Christian quote-unquote groups out there that claim to believe in Jesus, they claim to believe in the Bible, but they also believe you could lose your salvation. Now that's super common amongst mainstream Christians. They reject once saved, always saved. They reject the concept that, oh man, if you claim to believe in Jesus, but if you sin, you will lose your salvation. They reject the concept that, no, you will not lose your salvation. You know, the Bible specifically teaches us that once we're saved, we're always saved. Now a lot of times people say, Well, are you saying, Pastor, that I can just believe and just live however I want? And the answer is yes. Yes. Yes, you can. Just like you can go out there and just break the law as much as you want to. Hey, all of you have the right to just go out there and just break the laws of the land as much as you want. Will anybody disagree with me? We all have free will. You guys seen those reels? It's like when your free will just kicks in, you just do something random. You can do whatever you want. That's true. Who's gonna stop you? You can literally live however you want. Well, hold on a second. Aren't there consequences to actions, though? Of course there are. Of course there are. You go out there and break the law. You go out there and disrespect the police officer, smack him in the face, pull out a gun on him. Sure. Are you saying I can do? Yeah, you can. I'm not saying do it. I'm just saying you're able to do that. Because you're not a robot. You're an agent of free will. But, you know, you better be saved if you do do that, though. Because actions have consequences. So the mistake that people make when making an assessment on once saved, always saved, is that they think that we're saying you can live however you want without consequence. Whereas what the Bible is actually teaching is that when you believe on Jesus Christ, you can live however you want without the consequence of hell, but you will suffer the consequence here on earth. And let me just remind everyone here is that God can punish you for sins, of course. And why is that so absurd for people to realize? Why is that so ridiculous for people to believe if the laws of the land have punishments for your misbehavior or misconduct in the breaking of the law? How much more God? You know, I thought God was merciful. Yeah, but not at the exclusion of his justice, though. And the Bible says that once you believe on Jesus Christ, John 1-12 says, But as many as receive them, to them give you power to become the sons of God, even unto them that believe on his name. The Bible says in 1 John chapter 3, Behold what manner of love the Father had bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God. So the Bible specifically teaches that when you believe on Jesus Christ, you actually become a child of God. There's a false doctrine out there that says, No, we're all children of God. No, we're all a creation of God. But we're not all children of God unless you believe on Jesus Christ, at which point you become a child of God. Now, if you are a child of God, that means God is your Heavenly Father. That means your Father will discipline you for misbehavior and sin. That's what the Bible teaches. And you know what? I'm not going to ask for a raise of hands here, but I'm sure many of them will go up. If I asked you, Did your parents discipline you growing up for your misbehavior? And if they didn't, you don't have to raise your hand. We know. We can tell. Because that's just the natural course of things. Well, how much more God disciplining us? The Bible says, Whom the Lord loveth, I want you to notice this, he chasteneth and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth, the Bible says. Chasing means to whoop. It means you're getting to whooping. God would actually whoop me if you commit grievous sin, if you live in disobedience, of course. Of course. That's what the Bible teaches. A scourging is like a whip. A spiritual whip, a spiritual beating, a spiritual whooping. That's literally what it means. You say, Why would God do that? Well, to keep us from destroying our lives. How about that? You know what keeps me being a law abiding citizen? Prison. I don't want to go to prison. You know what makes me move my car for street super day? The ticket. Don't want to pay that ticket. You know what keeps me just obeying the laws of the land? I just don't want to suffer the consequences of it. We have within us a built in desire or fear, should I say, of the consequences of our actions. And so, yeah, do we serve God out of love? Of course we do. The love of Christ constrains us. Do we serve God because we want to be rewarded of God? Of course. The Bible tells us that he will reward us for our obedience. But you know what? We also serve God because we fear God. And the Bible says that through the fear of God, men depart from evil. The point that I'm making here is that if you're saved, you believe on Jesus Christ, you place your faith in him, yeah, you'll never suffer the consequence of hell because Jesus Christ has already paid that in full. However, the consequences of your flesh will be paid for here on this earth. And thank God for that. Because the Bible says that when God chastises us in Hebrews chapter 12, he does it so we can yield the peaceable fruits of righteousness. You know, any person who was disciplined growing up can say, this is why I'm not dead, I'm not in gangs, I'm not a drug addict, I'm not this because, you know, my parents whooped me. Fact. So why are you a pastor? Because my mama whooped me. It's true. And you know when I was a kid, obviously I didn't like it. Who likes a whooping? No one likes a whooping. Nobody likes a whooping. A whooping is just like, I love that my parents whooped me. Nobody likes that. But you know when you get older, as myself, I didn't say old, I said older, as myself, you appreciate the discipline. And you know what, in like manner, in a spiritual manner, we appreciate the discipline of God that keeps us on track. The point that I'm making here is that, yes, once you believe on Jesus Christ, you will never lose that salvation, just as your child will never cease being your child. Because once we become children of God, there's nothing that can separate us from the love of God. Nor things present, the Bible says in Romans chapter 8, nor things to come. And just keep in mind, the Gospel is eternal life. Not temporal life. Not a life that is taken back if you sin against God. It's called eternal life for a reason because you'll never lose it. And in fact, Jesus Christ says, I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish. Not possibly. You might. No, never perish. He says, he that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out. Now we don't use that phrase anymore. Today in 2025, that phrase, no wise. But what that simply means is for any reason whatsoever. So if you get saved, Jesus promises, I'm not going to cast you out for any reason whatsoever. Now why did he make such a promise? Because salvation, according to the Bible, is referred to as a gift. And you know what? You don't give a gift just to take it back because they did something wrong to you. A gift is something that's given free of charge for you, 100% free, based upon the graciousness and the generosity of the giver. The Bible says, for by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works that any man should boast. And I want you to notice that it says, not of yourself. Yeah, but Pastor, I thought like, you know, aren't you supposed to do work so afterwards? Yeah, but not to confirm your salvation, not to keep yourself saved. And in fact, the Bible even goes as far as to say this in Roman chapter four, verse number five, but to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Isn't that interesting? It's like he knew that people would ask that question. Yeah, but you're supposed to do some works, of course, but not for salvation. Well, I just think if you don't do works, then you're not really saved. Well, but to him that worketh not, though, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly. It sounds like our faith in Christ is sufficient to save. And if you have to do works in order to be saved, how many works? How many works? Folks, I'm placing my faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. Believing in the resurrection is necessary for salvation, my friends. And you know what? A lot of times people live in fear, not knowing where they're going to go when they die. And I get that. I remember that feeling. Not knowing. Doubting. Wondering. Hoping. That's a scary place to be in. I remember what it was like wondering, if I died at this moment, where would I go? I think I would go to heaven. I hope I would go to heaven. Just like not having that assurance. That's a scary place to be in. You know why? Because you can die at any moment. And once you die, my friends, let me just remind you, it's too late. It's too late. And I guarantee you, there's someone in our building even now that does doubt that. They do doubt that. They wonder. They're not sure. And obviously, you know, we know that Easter is a great time to talk about this, but thankfully you came to this church. And you know what the Bible says? These things have it written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God that ye may know. Not that ye may think you might hope. It says that ye may know that ye have eternal life. That means you can know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you're saved today. And look, the room is filled with people who know beyond a shadow of a doubt. It's not something that they wonder about. It's not something they hope for. It's not something that they question or doubt. It's something they know. You know what? We want you to know. And let me just remind you, going to church doesn't mean you know. Going to go to work doesn't mean you know. You know if you believed on Jesus, if you placed your faith completely on Jesus Christ for salvation. Believing that Jesus Christ is God because he's perfect. Believing that Jesus Christ paid for your sins on the cross, past, present, and future, by the way. And believing that he resurrected from the grave. And by the way, that's another thing that people often get confused about, is how many sins did Jesus Christ pay for? And sometimes people think, well Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay for my sins, but he only died for my past sins though. Not necessarily my future sins. Well let me just help you with that. Because all of our sins, I don't know if you know this, because he died 2,000 years ago. All of our sins are future in respect to where Jesus Christ died on the cross. They're all future sins. So my past, present, and future sins are all future in respect to where Jesus Christ was crucified 2,000 years ago. And let me just remind you that according to Romans chapter 4, Jesus Christ paid for all sins big and small. It's not like, well I'm going to pay for the lying, I'm going to pay for the stealing, I'm going to pay for the foolish thinking. But murder? Mm-mm. Fornication? Uh-uh. All those other things? No way, I'm not going to pay for that. Well there's nowhere in the Bible that says that. The blood of Jesus Christ paid all sins in full. And any sin will take you to hell, by the way. Yes, even lying. I mean the Bible literally says, but the fearful and unbelieving and the abominable and whoremongers, murderers, sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone. So he gives you like this list of just horrific sins, and then, you know, because when you read it you're like, oh yeah, haven't done that, don't do that, don't do that, but then it says liars. And you're like, well, what about white lies? Well, the Bible doesn't talk about white lies, black lies, pink lies, pastel lies, it's just lies. He paid for all sins, past, present, and future. Meaning that once you believe on Jesus Christ, you're not only forgiven of your past sins, but you're even forgiven of the future sins that you don't even know you're going to commit. And you've got to ask yourself this, is Jesus Christ, is God omniscient, meaning does he know all things? The answer is yes. Who would deny that? So does he know the sins that you're going to do in the future? Absolutely. So did he save you knowing that you were going to commit those sins in the future? Absolutely. So did he save you forgiving you of those sins that you were going to commit in the future? 100%. 100%. Sounds like God is just leaving no room for you to be confused about this matter of salvation. This is why the resurrection is important. Go to John chapter 11 if you would, John chapter 11. So in order for us to be saved, we have to believe that salvation is eternal, meaning it will never be lost, it will never be taken away. And part of that is him explaining that he's going to resurrect you in the last day, that he's going to bring you back to life. And I don't care what anybody says, everybody wants to live forever. Everybody wants to live forever. Whoever tells you, no, I just want to go into complete darkness and blackness and just cease to exist. You're a liar. You want to live forever. That's why you believe in transhumanism. That's why you live a healthy life because you want to just keep living. No one just wants to die. No man ever yet hated his own flesh but nourished and cherished it, the Bible says. We all want to live forever. And that's a desire that God placed within us in order to desire salvation. Look at John chapter 11, verse 21 says, this is referring to Mary and Martha who had just lost her brother Lazarus. He had been in the tomb for four days. It says in verse 21, Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. So she's upset. She knew that Jesus Christ had the power to resurrect him. He said, if you had been here, he would have lived. This wouldn't have happened. Verse 22, But I know that even now whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will giveth thee. Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. Showing us that Lazarus was saved, right? Verse 24, Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. By the way, that's another proof that people knew about the resurrection. You know, if she didn't know about it, Jesus should have said, How do you even know that? I haven't even taught that yet. You don't even have the New Testament written out. You're not supposed to know that. I'll tell you why, because everyone knew about it. Who actually studied the Bible? Sadducees didn't know because they didn't study the Bible. Goes on to say, verse 25, Jesus saith unto her, and I love this phrase, I am the resurrection. Like you're looking at resurrection right now. And the life, he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. So it's saying, if a person has believed on Jesus Christ and they're currently dead, they will live again. But I want you to also notice verse 26, And whosoever liveth and believeth in me, shall never die, believeth thou this. You know, sometimes people say, Yeah, but if a person is dead, they have salvation. Of course, they're going to live again. But what about a person who's living? What about a person who's committing sin while they're living? Well, it says, If you live and believe in him, you will never die. Now, think about this, because we're all going to physically die. So what is he talking about? He's talking about the fact that even when you do die, you will resurrect and never die. You're going to come back in your physical body. Believest thou this? She saith unto him, Yea, Lord, I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world. What's the point that I'm making? The resurrection is important because it's necessary to complete the work of Jesus Christ in order to redeem us. You have to believe this. Why is it important? Here's the last part. Go back to 1 Corinthians 15. Talk about the importance of the resurrection. It's important because it lends credence to the Old Testament. We see also that it's important because it completes the work of Christ that he did on the cross. We see it's important because of the fact that it's necessary to believe in order to be saved. And then lastly, and I've already hit a lot on this particular point, it's important because it promises life after death. It's sad, you know, there's a lot of people who just don't believe nothing will happen after you die. You die and just go into total blackness, darkness, full in space or something. You just kind of wander as a spirit or just nothing happens. But let me just remind you that we are eternal beings. Our souls will exist forever somewhere. And the biblical definition of describing someone who dies without Christ is that they are eternally damned. They experience the eternal death, meaning that their conscience while they're in hell, but they're dying forever because they are in hell. I want to live forever, don't you? But this is important because also we're going to develop relationships this side of eternity. And we're going to see those people go one day. They'll die one day. I will die one day. You will die one day. You know, relationships are so important in the Christian life, just in life period. We develop such strong bonds with people this side of eternity and it hurts when people go. It hurts. It's painful. And maybe some of you don't know that experience. I know I don't personally know a lot of experiences like that, but we will one day though. All of us will experience the loss of someone we love. It's going to hurt. But that's why the resurrection exists. To promise us life after death. If you die today as a believer, as much as I would miss you, I know I'll see you again. Think about people who are in the world who don't believe in salvation. They lose their loved ones. They don't know if they're ever going to see them again. In fact, they won't see them again. That's a promise from God. A lot of people will say, rest in peace, but quite frankly, that's not even true. Because there's no peace without Jesus Christ. You will never see them again if they're not saved. I will never see you again if you're not saved. The promise of the resurrection is the promise to live forever, the fact that there is life after death. And that's the beauty of the resurrection. That's why when we grieve as believers, we don't grieve as other people grieve in this world. People in this world that grieve, they grieve because they don't know what's on the other side. They don't know what's going to happen after they die. They don't know if they'll ever see their loved ones ever again. But folks, if we're saved, we have that promise that we will see each other again one day. Because the promise is life after death. Look at 1 Corinthians 15 verse 13. But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ be not risen, then our preaching is vain. Your faith is also vain. Let me just say this. If the resurrection is false, let's just go home. What are we doing here? Take this tie off. Get those pastel colors off. Put that food away. Let's go to the beach. Let's go do something else. Why are you meeting on Sunday? Because the resurrection is real. This preaching would be in vain, useless, meaningless, vanity if the resurrection was not true. Your faith would be in vain if the resurrection were not true. Verse 15 says, Verse 15 says, The Apostle Paul is saying, I'm a liar. Because I spent my entire life preaching about the resurrection of Christ. And yet if that did not happen, I'm a false witness of God. By the way, showing us that anybody who preaches, who rejects the resurrection of Jesus Christ, is a false witness. Verse 16, What is he saying? You know, if all the promises of God in the Bible are only fulfilled in this lifetime, the only joy we have is, according to the Bible, we're just miserable people because when this is all said and done, there's nothing. Kind of showing us that the resurrection is a major cornerstone and staple of the Christian faith. Meaning that if there is no resurrection, what's the point of having church? What's the point of evangelizing? What's the point of reading the Bible? What's the point of just living any kind of life? Because there's nothing after death other than perishing and going to hell. Let us eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die. Look at verse 50. Skip down to verse 50. But obviously we know that the resurrection is real. You know why people, Christians all over the world, are joining at this time, this day, in local churches? Because they believe in the resurrection, because the resurrection is real. Because the Bible is true. Because heaven is real. Because hell is real. Verse 50 says, What is he saying? He's saying, I just want to let you know your physical flesh will not go to heaven. Because flesh and blood can't inherit that. Because your flesh is corruptible. It can't stand in the presence of God. And you say, well then what am I going to do? What's the solution? Verse 51, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye at the last trump, not referring to our president, For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that it is written, death is swallowed up in victory. What is he saying? The resurrection of Christ is important because it means that we will come back to life. And though we cannot inherit heaven by our flesh and blood, God provides a solution of the resurrection to change our bodies. This is why we say that when a believer dies, they should be buried in the ground, not cremated. Because the burial of a believer signifies, it's a symbolic representation of a seed being buried into the ground. And when that seed comes out, it sprouts, it comes out something completely different than how it went in. You know, we don't sow a seed in the ground and a giant seed just comes out. Something else comes out than that which was put in. And that's exactly what the resurrection is. Your corruptible flesh goes into the ground, that corn or wheat falls to the ground and dies, but then it bears much fruit. It comes out something completely different. The corruption puts on incorruption. That is what the resurrection is referring to. Look at verse 55. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? And let me just say this, if you've lost someone close to you, you've felt the sting. We will all feel the sting, the pain. And what God is saying here is, the resurrection causes us to ask, where is the sting? Where is the victory? Verse 56, the sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. What is he saying? He's saying that there is a promise of life after death. That you can and will live forever, but the stipulation is this, you have to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. You cannot have eternal life. You cannot live forever. You cannot have an incorruptible body if you don't go through Jesus Christ. Believing exclusively upon him, not on your works, not on your ability to keep God's commands, not on your ability to do good works, to be a good person, solely upon Jesus Christ. You know what, that requires a little bit of humility. Because pride says, well I've got to do my part. Sorry, God doesn't accept your part. Your part's not good enough. You're in the red, actually. You can't pitch in, because you ain't got no money. You're broke. You're spiritually bankrupt, according to the Bible. But luckily, it's already paid in full. Through the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus Christ. What's the point that I'm making? The point that I'm making is that the resurrection is pretty important. It's one of the most important, if not the most important doctrine of the Christian faith. Without it, we are all men most miserable. Here's my closing statement, and that is this. If you don't know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you're saved. Meaning you don't know if you're going to go to heaven or not. What I just explained to you is a little new to you. Maybe a lot of it you've heard before, but you never really take into account that you don't have to do anything to be saved. That you don't have to do good works. And you're coming to this understanding now, and maybe there might be a little battle within you wondering, Man, maybe I'm not saved. Or you know what? I am afraid to go to hell. I do want to live forever. Some of us in here are probably close to that mark too, by the way. Not because you're older, but because of the fact that we just don't know what the morrow may bring. And let me just say this, it's no accident that you're here today. The reason you're here is obviously because you have someone that loves you. And wanted you to come to Easter and have some of that good food. Take a picture. Have you dressed in pastel colors and all that. But even more than that, the Lord wants you to be saved though. The Lord loves you and he wants you to be saved. And I will even say this, he wants you to be saved, even though we want you to be saved, he wants you to be saved more than we want you to be saved. And he's probably tugging at your heart right now hoping that you'll make that decision today to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ exclusively. So that you can live forever. Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for the resurrection. We're thankful for Easter, Lord, and all that it means to us as Christians. And God, I hope and pray that everyone listening to the message this morning would make the decision to believe on you, on your son, for salvation. That they would no longer trust in their works, no longer trust in their morality, their ability to keep your commands. And Lord, I know that you're working on them even now and as they're listening to this, I pray that they place their faith exclusively upon Jesus to be saved. Lord, there is life after death. The resurrection of Christ promises us that we will one day resurrect as well. And I pray, Lord, that you bless us as we go on our way. Bless the Easter egg hunt with the little ones, Lord, as we talk to people. I just hope that no one leaves our church building without first getting this settled. Whether they're 100% sure that if they died today that they would go to heaven or not. And I pray that you bless the singing and all there is in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Please turn your songbooks to song number 27. Song number 27. Old rugged cross. Song number 27. All together, nice and strong on that first verse. On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross, the emblem of suffering and shame. And I love that old cross where the dearest and best for a world of lost sinners was slain. So I'll cherish the old rugged cross till my trophies at last I lay down. I will cling to the old rugged cross and exchange it someday for a crown. Oh, that old rugged cross so despised by the world has a wondrous attraction for me. For the dear Lamb of God left His glory above to bury to dark Elvira. So I'll cherish the old rugged cross till my trophies at last I lay down. I will cling to the old rugged cross and exchange it someday for a crown. In the old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine, a wondrous beauty I see. For it was on that old cross Jesus suffered and died to pardon and sanctify me. So I'll cherish the old rugged cross till my trophies at last I lay down. I will cling to the old rugged cross and exchange it someday for a crown. To the old rugged cross I will never be true. It's shame and reproach gladly there. Then He'll call me someday to my home far away where His glory forever I'll share. So I'll cherish the old rugged cross till my trophies at last I lay down. I will cling to the old rugged cross and exchange it someday for a crown.