Free God's Not Dead: Evidence for God in an Age of Uncertainty by Rice Broocks Page A

most likely source and time for his reception of that tradition would have been Jerusalem in the early 30s when, according to Galatians 1:18, he “went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas [Peter] and stayed with him fifteen days.” 27
    5. E MERGENCE OF THE C HURCH
    A final evidence for the resurrection is the formation of the early church. Before the resurrection, nearly all of Jesus’ followers abandoned Him. Many fled in fear for their very lives. Then suddenly His followers came together and formed the Christian church. This group of believers not only boldly proclaimed that Jesus rose from the dead but centered their lives on celebrating this event and following His teaching. Eventually the church grew, despite great opposition, until it dominated the Roman Empire and spread throughout the known world.
    This scared, frightened band of the apostles, which was just about to throw away everything in order to flee in despair to Galilee; when these peasants, shepherds, andfishermen, who betrayed and denied their master and then failed him miserably, suddenly could be changed overnight into a confident mission society, convinced of salvation and able to work with much more success after Easter than before Easter, then no vision or hallucination is sufficient to explain such a revolutionary transformation. 28
    This sudden emergence of the Christian community can be seen as the “third big bang” in history. The first was the beginning of the universe, the second was the Cambrian explosion , and the third was the explosion or sudden emergence of the Christian community.
    W HAT D OES THE R ESURRECTION M EAN?
    The fact that Jesus of Nazareth was raised from the dead after three days would simply be a curiosity if it were not for the meaning ascribed the event in the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:1–3). Through God’s Word we are able to grasp the significance of the resurrection.
    1. J ESUS I S THE S ON OF G OD
    The existence of multiple religions has led some to ask the question, how could there be such confusion if God is real? Three of the five major religions—Christianity, Judaism, and Islam —are connected by the common belief in figures such as Abraham, Moses, and Jesus, but even these faiths have significant distinctions. The only answer is that people were somehow separated from God, as taught by Scripture. Therefore, all viewsof God would be different and imperfect. The resurrection of Jesus, however, demonstrates that Jesus truly is the “Son of God,” or perfect representation of God on earth. This fact sets Christianity apart from every other religion or philosophy and makes Jesus the only reliable source to fully know God.
    2. H IS W ORDS A RE T RUE
    Because of the resurrection we can have confidence that Jesus’ words are the words of God Himself. The resurrection of Jesus was the fulfillment of the promises made to Abraham and Moses and the prophets of Holy Scripture. Jesus said, “ Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away” (Matthew 24:35). When the Old Testament prophets spoke, they prefaced their remarks with the phrase, “Thus says the L ORD ,” but when Jesus spoke He said, “Truly I say to you” (Luke 21:3). The difference? God Himself was speaking.
    3. O UR S INS A RE F ORGIVEN
    The great quest of humanity is to be accepted by God and considered righteous. The question is asked, what does God expect of us? He expects that we keep the moral law. When that moral law is broken, the crime is called sin . Jesus Christ offers real forgiveness because the resurrection verified that His death for the payment of our sins was accepted. “He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification” (Romans 4:25 NIV ). Justification is a legal term that declares that we are not guilty.
    4. G OD E XISTS
    The miracle of the resurrection demonstrates that God is not dead! In the naturalistic worldview, miracles are impossibledue to the philosophy