It’s About the Resurrection!
My phone rang, but the call was from an unknown number. The voice on the other end was a 25-year-old man named Daniel. He had received my number from a local Christian radio station and asked if we could meet. Daniel was in the midst of some dark and lonely trials and was even contemplating suicide. After hearing the Gospel, he was still in great despair, so I encouraged him to attend our church as he continued to seek for answers. He attended for two years without ever making a decision for Christ. He kept stumbling over the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. He just couldn’t come to grips with the possibility of that miracle. We studied the doctrine of the resurrection in church and one on one, yet he continued to hit a mental roadblock.
A visiting pastor from another town preached for us one Sunday, and he struck up a conversation with Daniel after one of the services. After about 10 minutes of talking with Daniel, the visiting pastor approached me with the news that Daniel had received Christ as his Savior. Of course, I was optimistic but still cautious. I asked Daniel about his decision, and he assured me that he had received Christ. Then I asked the question I had asked many times before, “Daniel, do you believe that Jesus Christ was raised bodily from the grave?” At that point, Daniel cocked his head and with a suspicious look on his face retorted, “Well now, that is still something that I can’t quite believe.”
Daniel was still lost. It is imperative that the doctrine of the bodily resurrection of Christ be discussed and believed for salvation. Romans 10:9 clearly 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.” It’s one of several key components of the Gospel that must be taken in with believing faith for genuine salvation to take effect. It is a mistake for gospel tracts to leave out this foundational truth from their presentation. Without the resurrection, there is no Gospel.
Several months later I met with Daniel in my office and went over the same verses that he’d seen and read so many times before regarding the resurrection. I encouraged him to believe with childlike faith. He sat up and said, “You’re making me believe now.” The reality was that the Holy Spirit was opening his eyes to the truth. Ever since that day, Daniel has been a consistent member of our church and today is a faithful Sunday school teacher and a staunch defender of the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Sid Messer is a Gospel Fellowship Association missionary in Ecuador. This article first appeared in the GFA publication, Sowing and Reaping and is used by permission.
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