Date: April 24, 2017
Host: Jim Schneider
Guest: Paul Schlehlein
Listen: MP3 | Order
This Crosstalk featured a message preached April 23rd by Paul Schlehlein at Calvary Baptist Church, Menomonee Falls, WI. Paul is a husband, father of five, a graduate of Pensacola Christian College and a missionary to the Tsongas in rural South Africa.
Paul’s message is based on 1 Corinthians 15:12-14: ‘Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain and your faith is also vain.’
On May 5th, 1882, 50 sheep were herded into a small pen outside of a French village. Half of them were given a vaccine for anthrax while the other half were given nothing.
At the time, the famous French chemist, Louis Pasteur, believed that he had found a cure for anthrax. It had been killing cattle and sheep by the thousands. However, many veterinarians were skeptical. After all, how could a chemist find the cure for something doctors and veterinarians couldn’t. In fact, one man called Pasteur and demanded a field test. Pasteur accepted the challenge.
Pasteur believed that all the unvaccinated sheep would die while all those that were vaccinated would live. If even one died he felt that the experiment would be considered a failure.
On June 2nd, Pasteur answered the doorbell and read the following telegram: ‘Sick sheep among vaccinated, all completely recovered. Unvaccinated sheep, all dead or dying.’
Recently we celebrated the success of Christ’s resurrection because everything rests on that event. Even if everything else he had said during his ministry was true yet he failed concerning the resurrection, Christianity would be a sham.
Like Pasteur, Jesus predicted what would happen in the future. Unlike Pasteur, much more than Jesus’ reputation was on the line. Our eternal destinies hung in the balance.
While Paul could have gone into numerous proofs for the resurrection, he instead chose to look at the product that comes from the resurrection. How should the resurrection affect us and what should that look like? How will it change how we live, how we evangelize, how we use our time or how we spend our money?
The resurrection authenticates the Gospel message, it approves our testimony of Christ, it authorizes our victory over sin and it anticipates life after death.
Learn more about this focal point of the Gospel and its impact on believers by reviewing this vital Crosstalk broadcast.
