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 Paul said it best, if we have hope only in this world, we are all most miserable (1 Cor 15:19) .
When the Sadducees approached Jesus in Mark 12:18-27, they put forth a question about “resurrection”. It was clearly stated that the
Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection so their question was attempting to make Christ stumble. His response to them not only validated
a resurrection, but emphasized an important point... they were in error from not knowing the scriptures. As Christians, we place our hope in
Christ and the resurrection as Romans 10:9 (KJV) states “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.” Yet churches today are
like the Sadducees in that they are ignorant of scripture. Further, ministers are promoting Christian entertainment over bible based faith. The lesson on
01-05-2003 begins a series of studies on the topic of “resurrection”.   Click here to listen now.
 The Resurrection - Part 2.
The resurrection is so critical to the believer. By one man sin entered the world, and death by sin. Yet the second Adam, Christ, is alive and resides in
heaven as the one mediator between God and man. In the Old Testament, Job had hope of a resurrection. Abraham is another individual who
trusted in the power of God to raise the dead. Hebrews 11:17-19 (KJV) says ”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: Accounting that
God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.” In scripture, there are many Old and New
Testament individuals who knew and counted on a resurrection. The lesson on 01-12-2003 is part two of a series studying the importance of the
resurrection in the life of a believer. It was said of Abraham
in Romans 4:20-25 (KJV) “He staggered not at the promise of God through
unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able
also to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it
was imputed to him; But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from
the dead;Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.” God completed the transaction
by imputing righteousness unto us by the death of Christ, while ensuring the justification of the believer through the resurrection of Christ. Listen here now.
 The Resurrection - Part 3.
Historically, their have been many theories about the resurrection.
Although there has been agreement to call the resurrection of believers the “Rapture”, two major
questions still cause serious debates: 1) When does it occur? and 2) Who does it involve? The timeframe for the resurrection revolves around the Day of the Lord, which includes both the
tribulation and the millennium. While attempting to pinpoint the “when”, there have been several
views that have come in and out of popularity. The Pre-Millennialists view believes in the rapture
before the 1000 year millennium. This started first with early church believers. Next, the A-Millennial
view came into popularity which took the position of no “rapture” for the church since they believed
in no return of Christ or millennium. The Post-Millennial view places the resurrection at the end of the
Millennium or 1000 year reign. Within the Pre-Millennial view, there are three “rapture” timing
theories. This consists of a pre-trib, mid-trib, and post-tribulation rapture. The lesson on 01-19
-2003 teaches on church history and how it has influenced the adoption of each of these theories. This is the third lesson in a series on “Resurrection”. Click here to listen now.
 Resurrection - Part 4.
Within the Pre-Millenial view, there are three “rapture” timing theories. This
consists of a pre-trib, mid-trib, and post-tribulation rapture. The most popular position for the
placement of the rapture is the Pre-Tribulation view, however, this view has the least scriptural
support. The Pre-Tribulation believers are looking for the eminent return of Christ. The Mid
-Tribulation view raptures the believers 3.5 years into the tribulation (half way through he seven
year tribulation). This would coincide with the abomination of desolation which reveals the
Antichrist at the end of the false peace and prosperity. The Post-Tribulation view is the least
popular but has the most scriptural support. This view identifies the rapture to coincide with the last trump identified in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 (KJV) “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all
sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the
trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” The
only last trump in scripture occurs from the seven trumps identified in Revelation 8:6 (KJV) ”And the
seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.” The last trump of this series occurs in Revelation 11:15-16 (KJV) “And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great
voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of
his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God,” This is at the end of the tribulation. The lesson on 02-09-2003 teaches on the
three views for the rapture timing. Click here to listen now.
 Resurrection - Part 5.
What does our resurrection body look like? The Corinthians were skeptics as was explained in 1 Corinthians 15:35 (KJV) “But some man will say, How are the
dead raised up? and with what body do they come?” These skeptics have a hard time accepting the resurrection as demonstrated in 1 Corinthians 15:12 (KJV) “Now if Christ be
preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?” Paul was dealing with worldly intellectuals who were having a problem dealing with
this truth. Paul knows that the resurrection is the bedrock of Christianity as he emphasizes in 1 Corinthians 15:19 (KJV) “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most
miserable.” The answer to the question “how does God raise the dead?” is never given in
scripture. God tells us there is a resurrection but not how he does it. The “how” question is for
the foolish skeptics as shown in 1 Corinthians 15:36-38, 54 (KJV) “Thou fool, that which thou
sowest is not quickened, except it die: And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body
that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain: But God giveth it
a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body...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 is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.”. The lesson on February
16, 2003 is the fifth lesson in a series on resurrection. Click here to listen now.
Resurrection - Part 6. There are two types of people in this world: “Saints, and Aints”. In
Philippians 3:7-14, the apostle Paul is addressing the Saints when discussing the status of
“perfect”. We know that no one is perfect for all have sinned and come short of the glory of
God (Romans 3:23). Yet “Saints” are perfected by Christ in salvation and are complete in Him
(Colossians 2:10). The pursuit of “being perfect” is the race of Saints in the pursuit of the
calling of God. Life in the Christian realm is a race for inheritance. The reward for the winning
the race are crowns. To run in the Christian race, you must do so according to the rules in
order to be approved unto God. Now the first race is against sin to defeat death and join the
“Saints” team. As Hebrews 11:6 says “...for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and
that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” The second race excludes all of the
“Aints”, and is the race where you press towards the mark for the high calling of God in Christ
Jesus (Phil. 3:14). This is where Paul talks about attaining perfection. Positionally, we’re complete (perfect) in Christ as a “Saint”. This Saints race is being run to be approved unto God
and receive the rewards of running faithfully. One of these rewards is the out-resurrection. The lesson on Mar 2, 2003 is
part 6 of a series on resurrection. Click here to listen now.
 Resurrection - Part 7
. Only on half of one verse in scripture does God give to the atheist. In Psalm 14:1 (KJV) “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God...” The fool doesn’t believe
there will be a resurrection yet we know that the blessed hope of the resurrection will
happen to everyone. Why? Judgment for everyone will be judged of God. When you become a Christian, God will judge you according to Christ as
Hebrews 9:27-28 (KJV) says “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of
many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” The fact of the
resurrection was widely known throughout scripture. Many of Paul’s testimonials peeked interest because of his
assertion of the resurrection. Yet in Philippians 3:7-14, Paul talks about not having obtained something. Was this the
resurrection? Apparently not since the inclusion in the resurrection was assured of in 1Thes 4:18 (KJV) “Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” The pursuit of the “resurrection of the dead” in verse 11 is a different event than
the resurrection of believers in John 11:24. This is better clarified in the greek as “the out-from resurrection of the dead ones, or out-resurrection.” Paul explained his pursuit and participation in this event was a reward for his faithful pursuit of
Christ through the specific truth that was given to him for his faith obedience. That’s why in Phil 3:14 he said “I press
toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” The lesson on Mar 9, 2003 continues the
resurrection series of audio lessons. Click here to listen now.
 Resurrection - Part 8.
It’s our responsibility as Christians to approach scripture and determine how it should apply in our lives. The resurrection is one of the key topics that we
should study. For example, Martha in John 11:23-24 (KJV) demonstrated her understanding of a resurrection when talking about her brother Lazarus “Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall
rise again. Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” As Martha demonstrates, it was widely known among the believers that there is a
resurrection of the dead. However, we learn in Philippians 3:7-14 of another resurrection out
from among the dead ones. These are different resurrections and the one in Philippians was one that Paul was hoping to
attain as a reward. Why did Paul question his participation in this resurrection? This event is reserved as a reward for
faith obedience as he showed while he was pressing towards the mark of the high calling. This is not an uncommon
thought as we find in Hebrews 11:32-35 that the great heroes of faith were in pursuit of a better resurrection. This better
resurrection for the Hebrews is similar to the “out-resurrection” for the Body of Christ. The lesson on Mar 16, 2003 continues the audio series on Resurrection. Click here to listen now.
 Resurrection - Part 9.
In scripture, we learn of a resurrection of an individual unto life, and a
resurrection of an individual unto damnation or condemnation. It’s differences like this that
should provoke us to study the word of God and compare the things that differ so we may
learn more about what God has said. The lesson on Mar 30, 2003 provides a recap of the Resurrection series and reviews the high points of the series. The belief in a resurrection was
first demonstrated by Abraham in Genesis when he was asked to sacrifice his son Isaac. Hebrews 11:17-19 (KJV) tells us about his faith ”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: Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.” The resurrection was validated by Christ and is the
bedrock of the Christian faith. This is our hope and the remedy of our sin. The resurrection of Christ is our life for those who accept it. Be sure and listen to all of the lessons on Resurrection. Click here to listen now.
Resurrection - Part 10. There are several positions taken when applying John 5:25-29 to
believers. One thought is there is a resurrection of believers to life that have done good, and a
resurrection of believers to damnation who have done evil. The other position does not put any
believer in a position of damnation since they are made justified by Christ. Which resurrection
belongs to whom? Right division teaches us to study scripture in context and compare the
things that differ. John 3:16 identifies two classes of people: those who have everlasting life
and those who perish. The proper way to understand the two resurrections is in the context
of salvation and inheritance (or reward). There are three important points covered in this
followup lesson to the resurrection series. 1) There is only one way of salvation and that is in Christ. 2) There is a
resurrection of believers and non-believers. The believer is raised and put before the Bema seat of Christ while the non
-believer is raised and set before the great white thrown judgement. 3) There are rewards given by Christ for faith obedience and these rewards can be lost if you become shipwrecked in your walk. However you don’t lose your
salvation, just your inheritance. The lesson on April 6, 2003 is an important follow up lesson to the resurrection audio series and helps clarify questions on the two resurrections mentioned in John 5:29. Click here to listen now.
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Audio Series on “Resurrection”
