The resurrection of Christ from the dead is the most important aspect of the gospel. If Christ is not raised, then we remain in our sins (see: 1 Cor. 15). Why then do Christians so often seem to totally forget about the resurrection? Occasionally, I will hear (on the radio) "the gospel" presented without any mention of the resurrection whatsoever. For example, have ever you heard the radio ads for 1-800-NEED HIM? The ads always exhort the listener to turn to Christ, because he died for us. Jesus is there, this group asserts, ready to hear the listener's prayers, because he died for them. And that's it: Jesus died for you so that you can have a relationship with him. So, my question, whenever I hear this sort of thing, is: How does one have a dynamic, living relationship with a dead guy?
If you study the book of Acts, you will find that every presentation of the gospel includes, at the end of the presentation, a declaration that God has raised Jesus Christ from the dead. There is no example, in the Bible, of the preaching of the gospel without the preaching also of the resurrection of Christ; and the call to repentance. Why, then, do so many Christians neglect the resurrection altogether?
The resurrection of Christ from the dead is scientifically impossible. It could not have occurred, period. Perhaps, in the backs of our minds, we know this; and we know how absurd we will sound if we preach as true something which is impossible; scientifically speaking. When Paul preached the gospel to the Athenians, who had gathered on Mars Hill to hear his message, the majority of them rejected his message when they heard (from Paul) of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. This teaching, of the resurrection, was, to these people, ridiculous (see: Acts 17:22-34). Paul, when he was brought before Felix, even went so far as to say that it was: "With respect to the resurrection of the dead I am on trial before you this day" (Acts 24:20).
