Greetings and perhaps happy Easter from White Throne Baptist Church online. I want to welcome you here at a time when we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. I don't know when you find yourself listening to this, but it's been recorded on Easter in 2021. And I hope that this finds you blessed because the resurrection is something that indeed Christians really celebrate every single week. And so I want you to sit back and relax and enjoy what we're going to learn here about the resurrection, the centrality of the resurrection in the Christian life and in Christian teaching. We're going to turn to Acts chapter 17. It seems a long way to go to talk about the resurrection, because the resurrection had happened decades before that, or many years before that. And we pick it up in Acts chapter 17 because we find Paul speaking in Athens, and he's speaking to philosophers which more represent our kind of worldview today than the synagogues that he normally taught in. And so he finds himself in Athens. He's among the philosophers there. And we're going to read enough of the context so you get the idea of what's happening. But what I want you to see in these scriptures in Acts chapter 17, is I want you to see the centrality of the resurrection in Paul's teaching. And I also want you to pay attention to the reaction that this teaching of the resurrection brings. And we'll find some profound things that we'll learn here in Acts chapter 17, starting in verse 16. So join me in the scriptures here. It says, Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him, and some said, What does this babbler wish to say? Others said, He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities, because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? For you bring some strange things to our ears. We wish to know, therefore, what these things mean. Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new. So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said, Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, To the unknown God. What therefore you worship is unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by men, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything. since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him, Yet he's actually not far from each one of us, for in him we live and move and have our being. And as some even of your own poets have said, for we are indeed his offspring. Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image to be formed by the art and imagination of man. The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead. Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, but others said, we will hear you again about this. So Paul went out from their midst, but some men joined and believed, among whom also were Dionysius, their apogite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them. So let's open with a word of prayer. Father God, we praise you this day for the hope of the resurrection. We praise you for the power of the Spirit which raised Jesus from the dead, which also enlightens us and illumines us to the meaning of the scriptures. And we call upon you, therefore, to give us understanding of these things. to move us along in our faith journey, that we may bring greater glory to you, that you may be glorified in our sight, but that we may be more useful in your ministry, and thereby bring you more great glory through those who believe. Lord, we praise you this day. We thank you. We ask you to act now in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, here we have an interesting scene, Paul with these philosophers. And when he brings up the issue of the resurrection, it somewhat kind of sets him aback a little bit. Some of them mocked him, but some believed. And that's the main point, is that he proclaimed the truth with the resurrection as central to his message. And so that brings us to some questions that we have about this. First of all, what does the resurrection really prove? What does the resurrection prove? Well, the first thing I'd like to suggest to you is that it proves the validity of the Christian faith. No less than the validity of the Christian faith. How Paul uses it here, he says, the resurrection gives assurance that God has, quote, fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed. And so the resurrection, he says, he proved it by raising him from the dead. Now, some would say, well, that's just one point of the Christian faith. It doesn't prove the validity of the whole thing, just that he's fixed a day on which to judge the world. But the resurrection rests upon so many other points. For this to make sense, there's a great deal to unfold here. First of all, understand that the father has shown that the son has all right to judge. The resurrection proves that Jesus has this right. And Jesus, during his resurrection appearances to his disciples, just before his ascension, he said, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. And the resurrection led to the ascension, to Jesus' session at the right hand of the Father. And it says many times in scripture that after he ascended, he is seated at the right hand of the Father. So he showed himself, as we were studying in the book of Philippians, he showed himself to be the last, the servant of all. And then God made him first, exalted him above all other things. And the right hand of the Father is the place of ultimate authority in the ages of kings, The right hand of the king was the place of ultimate authority. In other words, the king accomplished everything through that person. That person had the authority of the king himself. This is where we get the phrase, the right hand man. And so this is important, and this shows that Jesus was approved of by God, that he earned this position at the right hand to be able to judge indeed all of humanity of all the ages. Another key word that Paul uses there is righteousness, where he says that he is He will judge the world in righteousness by a man he has appointed. The resurrection proves, then, the righteousness of Christ. because he did die. He was crucified. He did die, but it proves that death could not hold him. This is a point that Peter makes in the very first Christian sermon in Acts chapter 2. Why is this so? How does this prove that he is righteous? Well, the Bible clearly states that the wages of sin is death. and that Jesus cannot die is proof that he had not sinned. Therefore he has a right to judge. He had not sinned himself. Perhaps you've read about the scene in John chapter 8 when a woman is brought to Jesus who was caught in the act of adultery. And of course they're just trying to ensnare Jesus here with a trick because it was illegal for the Jews to carry out a death sentence. They had to take their death sentences to the Roman authorities, which we see later, which is what happens to Jesus. So they're trying to trap Jesus because the law clearly said that one caught in adultery had to be stoned. And so they come to him and they bring this woman they say is caught in the act of adultery. They bring her before Jesus. What are we going to do with her? And Jesus says, let him who is without sin cast the first stone. Well, indeed, Jesus could have thrown that stone. Now, the other men there, they all walked away because they understood the wisdom of what Jesus said. One way or another, they understood their own sin. They understood they weren't. the righteous who could carry this out, probably because it was a deception all along. But truly Jesus could have thrown that stone at that woman and been righteous to do it, because he would not only, because he was divine and would know the truth of the facts of the matter and and whether or not this woman truly was guilty, but also because he was perfectly righteous, he indeed was without sin. And so his challenge to them is kind of tongue-in-cheek in a way, he says, let him who is among you without sin throw the first stone. So Jesus has all right and ability to judge the world. The world can only be judged by someone divine to wield that authority. It can only be done by someone human who's been tempted in the way mankind is tempted, but has not committed any kind of sin. So Paul considered the resurrection very central. I want to show you in 1 Corinthians 15, which the entire chapter is really about this resurrection. I want to show you what Paul says here. He says, if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. And so Paul saw that the resurrection was the key. And I'm sorry, I'm on the wrong one there. I'll get you there momentarily. Here you go. All right, this is in 1 Corinthians 15, 17. He says, if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. The resurrection proves the validity of the Christian faith. Now what else does the resurrection prove to us? The resurrection proves to us the success of the work of Jesus Christ. And this is important because what we see in the success of Jesus Christ, we combine two important truths. Jesus gave a sacrifice for sins. Then he was seated at the right hand of the Father. To sit at the right hand of the King was the highest place of honor as we said. And it connected then his finished work. His finished work on a cross in which he paid the price for sins and at the end of his life he said it is finished or paid in full. He sat down, indicating a rest. Now I want you to think about the seven days of creation. We always say the six days of creation, but there are actually seven. On the seventh, God rested. The creation was done. And Jesus rested. He sat down at the right hand of the Father, having accomplished that which He came to do. And so He indeed is vindicated. The right hand of the king is not a place for failures, not a place for pretenders, not a place for someone making a show of things. It is a place for those who deserve it, who the king himself deems worthy to run all the affairs of the kingdom. This is a seat for one of great strength, for one of loyalty, for one of trustworthiness, like no one else in the kingdom. And Jesus is all those things. Listen to what it says in the book of Hebrews about Jesus. It says this. It says, He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the universe by the word of His power. But listen to what it says here. After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high. This proves the success of the mission of Jesus Christ as it was prophesied about and prefigured in the Old Testament. Which brings us to our next point, that the resurrection proves also the truthfulness of the scriptures. The truthfulness of the scriptures. Look what it says in Psalm 18. And actually I want to go to Acts chapter 2 first. In Acts chapter 22, Acts chapter 2, verse 27, Peter gets up, he preaches the very first sermon of the Christian church there, you can read all about it. And he says, and he quotes the Old Testament, he says, you will not abandon my soul to Hades or let your Holy One see corruption. And his point here is that Jesus had been raised from the dead. He was foreseeing, David was, according to Peter, about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades. And he says in verse 32, this Jesus God raised up. And of that we are all witnesses. And so he comes as an eyewitness, standing among eyewitnesses of this resurrection, and he appeals then to the Old Testament, to Psalm 16, where it says, I have set the Lord always before me, because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. And this is David, a Psalm of David. Therefore my heart is glad, my whole being rejoices, my flesh also dwells secure. For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol or let your Holy One see corruption. You make known to me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy. At your right hand are pleasures forevermore. I would also point out a couple other key passages, one of them being Psalm 22, which Jesus quotes the first line from the cross, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? In Psalm 22, we have a vivid description of the scene of his crucifixion, written a thousand years before he came, and written by David. And in this account of the crucifixion, it says that he will tell about it all. in the midst of the congregation. So after having been through all this and suffered on the cross and everything else, after that he fully expected to tell about the events in the presence of the people of God. And he did that in his resurrection appearances. Also key is Isaiah chapter 53, which we often come to at this time of year because it speaks so vividly about the mission of Jesus Christ to be this suffering servant of God, to give himself as an offering for sins. And he says there in verse 10, after speaking vividly of how he will suffer four sins out of the anguish of his soul, he shall see and be satisfied. By his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. This is powerful stuff, because look what happens in verse 10 when his soul makes an offering for guilt. He shall see his offspring. He shall prolong his days. Jesus was resurrected. That's prolonging his days. He shall see his offspring. He bore witness to people after his resurrection. Two believers only. Those are his offspring. And so indeed he did fulfill this in Isaiah. And look at this in verse 12, therefore I will divide him a portion with the many and he shall divide the spoil with the strong because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered among the transgressors. Yet he bore the sore of many and makes intercession for the transgressors. So he bore the sin and he poured out his soul to death and yet after that he's making intercession for transgressors, for sinners like me and like you. And so this proves the truthfulness of the Scriptures. For this to be fulfilled, Jesus would have to be resurrected. For Him to tell about it in the midst of the congregation as He said in Psalm 22, for Him to be able to make intercession as He is stated in Isaiah doing so and in the New Testament. He had much to do, much was prophesied about the Messiah, and yet Jesus only accomplished a few of those things prior to his death on the cross. So his resurrection is absolutely necessary for him to continue the work of Messiah, including judging all people. So Jesus himself also prophesied the resurrection. So the resurrection also has the added benefit of showing us the truthfulness of Jesus Christ himself. Jesus predicted that he would be resurrected. He said he would give them the sign of Jonah, and he said Jonah was in the earth three days, three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth. Actually, Jonah was in the fish. Jesus said, I'll be in the heart of the earth, like Jonah was in the fish, and then on the third day be raised. And Jesus said he had this authority, this ability even, to do so. Look what he says in John chapter 10. He says, for this reason a father loves me, because I lay down my life, that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down. I have authority to take it up again, this charge I received from my Father. And so Jesus makes it so plain that He has this authority to not only lay down His life, but to take it up again. This is powerfully important. He lays down his life, and then it proves true what he says in John 5, verse 21. As the father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the son gives life to whom he will. So Jesus has this power within himself. He claimed great authority in many things. In his teaching, in speaking for God and being one with God, he repeatedly said, I am. By his resurrection, he vindicates everything he says as true. Do you get it? Because Jesus was raised from the dead, and God would not raise the unrighteous, he raises Jesus from the dead, proving everything Jesus said about himself true. because God would not have resurrected a liar and set him at his right hand. The resurrection, therefore, proves the entirety of the Christian faith because it proves the words of Jesus, and it proves the words of the Old Testament, and it proves that he was right about his power and his authority. It proves that Jesus' offering was acceptable to God, and it proves the faith is valid because the biggest point of the Christian faith is this, it's eternal life. Jesus came claiming, I offer eternal life to those who will believe. And His resurrection proves that He has the power and authority to provide it. So you can see the resurrection is so key in all these things. The resurrection proves many things. But the question that many people have is, okay, what proves then the resurrection? Well, there are many evidences of the Resurrection. I'm going to go through them very briefly, but I challenge you to read the Gospels on these and the cross-references for all the Gospel accounts of the Resurrection are found in your notes. And so have a look at those and you'll find in all four Gospels that the Resurrection is a major emphasis. The first proof of the Resurrection is this, the empty tomb. Either Christ was resurrected or someone stole the body, but the tomb had been sealed and guarded by Roman soldiers. The disciples had proved both their inability and their unwillingness to rebel against Rome. They were too afraid to, they were too outnumbered, they were too outmanned. If someone had stolen it, Why is there no account that competes with the gospel truth? Why is there no account of the soldiers being overthrown? Why is there no competing account that has survived like the scripture has survived to discount this thing? The early church was in no position to overcome such an account if it had existed. If the Jews had written a detailed account of how the disciples stole the body and everything else, the Christians did not have access to the greatest, you know, to the treasuries of the Jews, to their pens, to their synagogues, They didn't have access to these things. They could not have erased this. Christianity did not take over overnight. In its opening centuries, it was a tiny little piece of Judaism. There is no way the early church could have overcome if there were an organized account of something that actually happened. And I say there's no organized account because no theft of Jesus' body ever occurred. If the disciples had stolen it, then the question becomes, where did it go? And how did they keep a lid on such a crime? And how is it that they persevered to the point of death for something they knew was a lie? The empty tomb is plain evidence. There are four gospel accounts of it, multiple eyewitnesses, hundreds of manuscripts and fragments, all agreeing to this. and claiming to be eyewitness accounts. So the empty tomb is one thing. Another minor detail, but an interesting detail, is this. The linen wrappings themselves. In the book of John, we have John and Peter go to the tomb. And we'll take a look at this. Simon Peter came following him. So John took off first and apparently ran a foot race, but Peter went into the tomb first. And Simon Peter went into the tomb, he saw the linen cloths lying there, and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed. So it was customary to wrap the dead body. It's accounted there in the previous chapter, John, in 1940. So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. And so this word bound indicates tied or wrapped tightly. This is not something that is easily undone. Remember when Jesus in John chapter 11 raised Lazarus from the dead, Lazarus came out of the tomb and Jesus told others unbind him and let him go. In other words, he needed help with his wrappings. Now the question is this, what would thieves want if the body had been stolen? What would they want with unwrapping it? Why take the time? Who would rather handle a naked dead body as opposed to just a dead body? Who wants to handle a dead body anyway? Let alone, let's unwrap it first and then take it. And moreover, what thief is going to take the time, if he did unwrap the body, to fold the headpiece and lay it off to the side? Why is it not just all over the floor? It's also possible that these wrappings were still in the shape of a body because they're described as lying there. And the scene was so strange that John comes in, he saw, and he believed. So the wrappings weren't just thrown aside. This is very interesting. So the linen wrappings are a detail, an interesting proof of what occurred there on that day. Let's take a look at another one, the eyewitness accounts. That's the obvious one. The women at the tomb, the two disciples that came to the tomb, Peter and John, two disciples on the road to Emmaus saw the risen Christ. Peter and the twelve later, they see Christ himself in the upper room. Jesus appears to as many as 500 believers at a time. He also appeared to his brother James. He also appeared in a different kind of way to Paul when Paul was on the road to Dabascus. In 1 Corinthians chapter 15, Paul gives four verses to the appearances of Jesus when he describes what he calls his gospel. He describes the gospel in the first few chapters of 1 Corinthians 15. He gives four verses to the appearances. He gives less than a verse apiece to the death and resurrection of Jesus. Acts chapter 1 we find that they are in need of an apostle because they lost Judas. Judas had taken his own life for betraying Jesus. And so the apostles get together and they say, you know, what really makes an apostle? And one of the defining attributes of an apostle was someone that was an eyewitness. An eyewitness to the resurrected Christ. So they found among them two that had seen the risen Christ. They chose one of them by lots to add to their number. And then we know that later, when the church was recognizing the New Testament, when they were going through the letters that they had, and they said, how do we know which ones, other than just praying over these things, how do we know which ones are authoritative? And they said, well, number one, it's got to be an apostle. And they defined an apostle the way the apostles did in chapter one. It had to be someone that had seen the resurrected Christ. And so that helped them in the Holy Spirit guiding them to recognize what the New Testament was. The disciples were scattered when Jesus was arrested. And this is a very important thing, is that not only are there eyewitness accounts, and these are eyewitnesses to the resurrection, but the transformation of the disciples is a major point that I want to make about the evidence, the proof of the resurrection. The disciples scattered when Jesus was arrested. Now, one of them did lash out with a sword, cut off the ear of a servant, but Jesus healed it and rebuked the disciples for trying. They were way outnumbered. They would have been slaughtered had Jesus not intervened. But once they took Jesus into custody, they all fled. John and Peter followed Jesus at a distance, but when confronted, Peter denied Jesus. But this same Peter in Acts chapter 2 stands up, a clear leader, boldly preaching this truth, a mere 50 days after the crucifixion. He and John boldly preach the truth to the very same people that crucified Jesus in the previous chapters, defying their orders to be quiet about it. All the disciples faced persecution in those early years. All of them lost their life for the gospel. except maybe John who did his share more than a share of time in prison and they kept going with the same uncompromised message even to the point of death The martyrdom of the disciples only makes sense if there's a believable promise of eternal life. And as we saw in the first section, this promise is all based on the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Men will die for many things, but never for what they know to be a lie. So for that early church to have existed and persisted through persecutions, challenges from the outside, theological challenges from inside, it required some kind of a motivating factor beyond any personal gain in this world. The church survives on a future eschatological, that means the knowledge of last things, kind of hope. And it's fueled by the Holy Spirit. This hope in the resurrection is in the future resurrection of the people of God, which is testified to by the resurrection of Christ. Because the resurrection proves everything that Jesus said, then those who follow him have the hope of eternal life in him and their own resurrection as well. He said he would raise up those who believe in the last day. Another great proof then of the Resurrection, this brings us right to it, this talk of it persisting, is the existence of the Church itself. The existence of the Church depends on the fact of the Resurrection, but it is the existence of the Church that turns around and proves the Resurrection. And some will say, well that's circular reasoning. No it's not, because both the Church existing and the Resurrection being an observable fact, They're mutually exclusive facts. They're each facts by their own right. They're each proved on their own. And yet, one testifies to the other, the other testifies to the other. And it's an important and powerful relationship between those two things. But it was central to the early teaching. And the early teaching, as we find in the Book of Acts, as we find accounted in letters of other church fathers, that the life, the death, the resurrection of Jesus was just basic in their teaching. And then also basic in their teaching was the commanded response to these things, faith and repentance and baptism. But as much more than just the hope it gives, the gospel gives life itself. And here's a point I don't want you to miss, because this is going to be important to how you understand this message today. This is where the encouragement comes. The gospel gives life. The Holy Spirit doesn't just convince you of the facts so you'll embrace Christianity and someday be raised again. It's far more radical than that. The Holy Spirit actually convicts the sinner in his inner person of his sin and regenerates him. That is, causes him to be born again. a believer in Jesus Christ is moved from spiritual death to spiritual life by the power of God, a real transformation takes place. So while one's faith journey might begin with evidence and proofs, it's truly consummated by this work of the Holy Spirit taking our dead heart of stone and giving us a live heart of flesh, so to speak, And that believer then becomes convinced of the resurrection from within, not just by the evidence. And then they become, therefore, a personal witness of the resurrection life themselves by the Spirit. Because the Bible makes the point that the same Spirit that works in the people of God is the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead. The Holy Spirit of God makes us new and we become experiential witnesses to this resurrection power. In essence, all believers who, by definition, have the Holy Spirit of God, they partake in the same power of the resurrection on the spiritual level. And their hope, therefore, is in the resurrection, is that their hope is the hope of a witness. Not one who's been convinced by mere facts, but one who has experienced the resurrection to some degree and now looks forward to experiencing it fully. the existence of Christianity to this day is major, major evidence that there was in fact a resurrection of Jesus Christ. Now a minor point that goes right along with that is the fact that Sunday worship is also evidence of this, the Sunday worship of believers. Because Jesus was raised on the first day of the week, which in their reckoning was Sunday, And we find in the book of Acts that believers were already making the habit of gathering together on the first day of the week. And so, no, they didn't move the Sabbath to Sunday. The Sabbath is still Saturday. And whether you want to observe it or not is an option. It was not something bound on us in Acts chapter 15 when the council decided by what standards are we going to hold the Gentiles to. But Sunday has become the day of worship because it is the day of resurrection. The burden of the Sabbath was placed upon the Gentiles and Sunday effectively became their Sabbath. Many people observe their Sunday as if it's a Sabbath, which can have many great benefits and can be a spiritual encouragement. It's not a law, but it's a helpful thing if you want to do that. And it's observed by many just as sincerely as the Sabbath to this very day. This is another evidence of the resurrection. And so I want to summarize this very interestingly in this particular way and then talk about our response. The way I want to summarize this is, as much as the resurrection of Jesus Christ proves the entirety of the Christian faith, the existence of the Christian faith proves the entirety of the resurrection. And that's really something to think about. But I want to go back to our scriptures here momentarily, and I want to take a look at what the responses of the people was. See, Paul ends by saying this. He says that God has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead. Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, we'll hear you again about this. So Paul went out from their midst, but some men joined him and believed." And then it gives a couple of them by name, which early Christians receiving this letter, this account, would have recognized. So the response of the people is very interesting. This response begins with the fact, as you see them underlined there, that some mocked. And this is predicted of the Bible. The gospel seems foolish to those that are perishing. Look what Paul says about it in 1 Corinthians 1. He says, the word of the cross is folly or foolishness to those who are perishing. But to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. This is the world majority opinion about the gospel, and therefore about the resurrection, and all of it. That it's folly, it's foolishness, it's impossible, it's beyond science, it doesn't make any sense. Well, this is the majority opinion, and Jesus said indeed, wide is the way that leads to destruction. He says in the Sermon on the Mount, enter by the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction. And those who enter by it are many, for the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. Does this seem like folly to you? Then you might be on the wide way. You might be on this wide path to destruction. That's not a place we want to be. But maybe this is where you are. Maybe you've been convinced by the world that all religion is counterfeit. that the organizations associated with it, they're just bent on control or profit. You see religion maybe as an opiate for the masses. You scoff at the suggestion that we're all sinners in need of a savior, that one has indeed come and will indeed come again. But I have some questions for you if this is you. What has made this foolish message persist for 2,000 years? And really more than that, because the same message is in the Old Testament. It's revealed by the New Testament. And why has it persisted mostly in times and places where it was not welcomed? Now, the United States, it might be your context, and it's been exceptional as a place for this to safely thrive, but it is just that. It is an exception. This gospel message, the true gospel message, has always thrived in places where it's actually resisted. And I'll tell you the truth, even places that have called themselves in the past so-called Christian nations, even when Christianity, in quotes, was part of the ruling authorities in the Roman Empire and things like that, that was not true Christianity. And true Christianity was persecuted in those times. They tried to stamp it out. They tried to keep the Word of God from the people. But no, it persisted and it continued for some 2,000 years now. Why? You must explain this. You can't just dismiss Christianity as foolishness because that's what everyone else says, unless you're going to be one of those sheep that follows everyone the wide way. Unless you're going to be like one of those lemmings that all follow each other off the cliff into the water. See, there's always this faithful remnant. And even here in the United States where we see that it's been pretty easy for Christianity to exist, that ease has produced television charlatans who claim if you send them your money, they'll send you a blessing. It's also why, by and large, mainstream Christianity has compromised this message. in order to conform to the whims of society. But there's this faithful remnant that holds on to this crazy book, to this Bible, they hold on to it to this day. They hold on to the proclamation of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, and the commandments to repent and trust in Jesus Christ. And those, the true faithful remnant, they will persevere and they will get by. Why? Because of this hope of the resurrection. And as things in the U.S. continue to develop in a way that is going to be unfriendly to Christianity, we will see these people that believe in the truth, that believe in the power of the resurrection, in that they have their hope. They will persevere, and they will prove it by their faith. They will prove the gospel by their existence. They will prove it by their endurance that the gospel is true. So my question for you is, are you ready to so easily dismiss something that just won't seem to go away? Maybe And I'll ask you this, is it possible that the reason you don't like the Christian message is because it convicts you? Because of what it says about our nature, our sins, and the necessity of following Jesus Christ? There's some questions to consider for the mockers, but we don't want to focus on the mockers or the fools. We want to go back to the scripture here and see how else people responded. If we take a look at this back in Acts chapter 17, the second thing underlined is this. Others said, we will hear you again about this. And this is a massive deviation from the worldview. You know, these people that Paul is speaking to, everything we know about them and what we know about the Christian message, this is a radical departure for them. So this is going to take some time. And indeed, with many people, it takes some time to understand the gospel. They have to hear a little more. And we as believers, we ought to be patient and teach them and answer their questions with all gentleness and respect. Now maybe this is you, maybe you're one of those that, I don't know about this, I really need to hear more. Get with a Bible-believing Christian today. someone who recommended this sermon to you or shared it with you, or contact us. I'll give the contact information at the end. And get your questions answered. And the true believers will answer you with gentleness and respect. Now, if you're just calling, if you're just emailing to pick a fight, yeah, maybe just save your time for that. But if you sincerely have questions, get them answered by the people of God, by the ones who believe in the perfection of the scripture and its sufficiency. Now this great hope is here in this in verse 34, some men joined him and believed. Some men joined him and believed. And no doubt some of those were ones that had to hear him again and heard him again and got some questions answered and stuff. But nevertheless, some joined him and believed is radically different. different as those Greek philosophers and their point of view and their way of thinking was from the Christian message and from the roots of Judaism that it grew out of. understand some believed. See, we don't have to prove the resurrection. I know I went over a lot of stuff and I gave you great proofs of the resurrection. That's for you. That's to strengthen you. That's to help you with people in the second category who need to understand a little more or have some questions. But to really have an impact and bring those who will join and believe We need only to proclaim this message. This is what Paul did. He proclaimed the message. And when we proclaim the Word of God, it's the Word of God that God uses by His Holy Spirit to draw men, to convict them, to regenerate them. But he only draws them to Jesus, and he only draws them in the proclamation of the Word of God concerning Jesus. So our own personal argumentation or anything like that is secondary to the true Gospel message. These arguments ought to strengthen your faith. You ought to know the evidence for the resurrection, and you ought to know that evidence is encouraging to you. It will increase your faith, and it will help you and equip you to handle those in the second category. But understand this, proclaim the gospel that Jesus Christ died for sinners, and that He rose again, and that He appeared, and He proclaimed that those who would repent and believe in Him will have eternal life. Proclaim that gospel message. And God will bless it. I pray this is you. That you are one of these who joined and believed. That you have this resurrection, eternal life, this holiness. And the question is, which group then are you in? What is your response today? Of these groups, which one do you find yourself in? We live in an age of human achievement. We overcome obstacles, limitations as human beings. We overcome these things. We overcome sicknesses. We prolong our lives. But understand this, death still comes. It's the final limiting factor on human existence. We've overcome the distance we have between one another. We've overcome, at least technically, we've been able to overcome famine and things like that upon the earth. But the limiting factor is death itself, the single greatest sign of the fall. And we have in the person of Jesus Christ victory over death. And I tell you, in Jesus Christ is the you that you are looking for. You are looking for, your heart is longing for the eternal you in Jesus Christ. Imagine being the you that does all that you want, but all that you want happens to be what is good. Imagine you being the one that's 100% loved by God. That's 100% loved and accepted by yourself. That's 100% loved and accepted by everyone else. This is the eternal life that is in Jesus Christ. And it begins now for those who believe. To begin to experience those things is for us now. And to grow into them until eventually we're completely made new in Jesus Christ. Attach your life to His life. Jesus Christ, the giver of life. We're dead, but we can experience life now. The truth and the life in the perfect One who died for you is there for you. Give your burdens to Him. He promised to take them upon Himself, and He promised to give you a yoke that is light. To the one and only Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God, who laid down His life for your sin, but took it up again, He is seated at the right hand of the Father, interceding on our behalf. Cry out then to the Father today for salvation in the work of Christ, for strength and joy in times of trouble, in worship and adoration for his name's sake, because he has done wonderful things. Let's close in prayer. Father God, we consider these things this day, and we prayerfully consider to be examined by your Holy Spirit which of these groups we are found in. Lord, I pray that today many would find themselves as those who believed and joined in the cause. Lord, I pray that you would minister mightily by your Spirit to give understanding of these words, to convict us of our sins, to give us the faith to repent of those sins, and to, in all these things, bring yourself glory. For you were glorified when you raised Jesus Christ from the dead, because He deserved to be raised. He was perfectly righteous, and He had accomplished all that you sent Him to do in paying the price for sin. Father, May you be glorified now in the belief of your people, in the strength of their conviction concerning the truth of the resurrection. May they be strengthened by your Holy Spirit. May they be drawn closer to you for this refreshment, for this great breath of life that is your spirit. And may you indeed be glorified in their sight. And Lord, as they are encouraged, as they are emboldened, Send them out to proclaim this message to others, that you may be glorified in them as well. Lord, we pray this earnestly, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. And amen. And I want to thank you for joining me today. And I want to suggest that you can contact us with any kind of question or comment that you have. I encourage you to check out Whiterun.org, where you'll find more teaching. The sermons are searchable by scripture and by topic. And you can email us at whitethronebaptist at gmail.com, where your email will receive personal attention. We'll not put you on a mailing list, but we will attend to your needs as you send them to us. And may God bless you richly in this time, this celebration, week after week, of the resurrection of Christ.