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THE KING’S BUSINESS
ceived. These men were to be the heralds of the cross; He gave them many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days. Now then what happened? When He ascended up on high, He bade them go and preach the Gospel. They went therefore to Jerusalem, and after a while began to preach that the Christ, whom they had crucified, God had raised up from the dead, whereof they were witnesses. They preached the risen Christ. And what happened as the result? Jews be lieved, Gentiles believed in the risen, as cended Lord, and did what all believers do— they gathered together and formed a church, built on the Apostles’ doctrine. If the risen Christ had not appeared to those disciples there would never have been a church. Our meeting here today and every Lord’s Day is an evidence and proof of the resurrection of Christ. YOUR OWN PROOF. Then you have a proof of the resurrection of Christ beneath your coat, or beneath your dress: The experimental proof. Paul writes to the Corinthian Christians, “Know ye not that if Christ be not risen, you are yet in your sins.” But they were not in their sins, and they knew it. They had been justified in the name of the Lord- Jesus. They knew that something had taken place. Ah, my friend, the argument from experi ence is valid and probably more convincing argument than any other. What I know in my heart is greater than what you can prove to me from argument. Now we know that there is a risen Christ. Hath He not for given our sins? Who but the risen Christ can forgive sins? Has He not given us a peace that passeth all understanding? Who but the risen Christ can breathe on us and say, “Peace be unto you.” Hath He not given us power and transformed our lives? Who but the risen Christ could say, “All power is given unto me in heaven and on earth?” We know the change in our lives is not the effect of a wonderful example, of natural development, of a posthumous in fluence. It is a vital experience. Chris tianity is not a mere conviction, it is an ex
perience ; it is not a creed, it is a jlife; it is not an understanding, it is a possession. It is the language of the soul and you can neither assail it nor defend it by mere argu ment. When Jesus Christ touched my soul into life, when He said the word that spoke peace to my soul, when He forgave my sins I did not say, “Now let me go to the Hebrew and Greek Lexicon and see what it has to say about i t ; let me examine the various readings.” I knew that something had taken place; that whereas I had been blind, now I could see. He had spoken to my heart. Jesus Christ had answered my call. No other person can answer it. I call to Mo hammed, but he does not hear. I call to Buddha, but he does not answer. I call to Confucius but he does not respond. I call to Jesus, He hears, and He comes. He an swers my questions, solves my problems, He speaks life to my heart and gives me deliv erance. The Christian’s experience of the risen Christ has saved the doctrine of the the risen Christ. SOME RESULTS. Let us look at some of the results of the resurrection of the Christ: First, with regard to Jesus Christ: It was the seal of the Father’s approval, the ac ceptance of His redemptive work. In the Old Testament times God signified' His pleasure in the sacrifices by answering by fire. The resurrection of Christ is the Fa ther’s “Amen” to the Son’s exclamation, “It is finished.” The resurrection of Christ then was the perfect demonstration of the Fa ther’s approval of the work of His Son. The greatest shame to which anyone in Old Tes tament times could be exposed was to be condemned to death and hung upon a tree. Such an one was supposed to rest under the extreme curse and'malediction of God. So Jesus was called by some, “The anathema”' or “the hanged one.” Shall God allow His Son thus to remain under such a stigma, and His work to be thus grossly misunderstood? The Jews thus considered Christ to have become partaker with Judas in future per dition. Could God allow His Son to remain under such a stigma as that ? By no means,
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