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    Nothing Else Matters: How the Resurrection of Jesus Changes Everything
    Nothing Else Matters: How the Resurrection of Jesus Changes Everything
    Nothing Else Matters: How the Resurrection of Jesus Changes Everything
    Ebook135 pages1 hour

    Nothing Else Matters: How the Resurrection of Jesus Changes Everything

    By Nancy A. Almodovar and Brent Kuhlman

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    About this ebook

    It is said that Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, a leading scholar in the history of Christianity and Sterling Prof. Everett of history at Yale University, on his deathbed confessed this:
    If Christ has not risen from the dead, nothing else matters.
    If Christ has risen from the dead, nothing else matters.
    I came across this quote in my research for the "Apologetics Together" courses that I offer on social media and was immediately awed at its profound implications. Indeed, if Jesus has not risen, we must agree with Saint Paul that the world remains in their sins and are eternally lost. However, since Jesus has risen, those who have placed their trust in him are assured of salvation and eternal life. This book looks at the prophecies and fulfillment in the Scriptures which assure us that he who died on the cross at Calvary rose again on the third day for our justification.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherResource Publications
    Release dateMar 18, 2022
    ISBN9781666718126
    Nothing Else Matters: How the Resurrection of Jesus Changes Everything
    Author

    Nancy A. Almodovar

    Nancy A. Almodovar grew up in a Pentecostal home and eventually became a Reformed Christian. She has been a speaker and author for over a decade and converted to Lutheranism as a truer expression of the Scriptures. During this time, Nancy earned a doctorate in philosophy and apologetics (Trinity), a masters of theology (Trinity) and a masters of Christian studies (Luther Rice Seminary), and is currently working on a Fellow at the International Academy of Apologetics and Human Rights (Strasbourg). She is also a Fellow at the university where she teaches as a professor of world religions. She is the author of over twenty books, one on the problem of evil, Faith Seeking Consolation, and one on her journey out of charismatic theology, A Modern 95: Questions for Today's Evangelicals and Accidental Lutheran, her story of converting to Lutheranism 2242. The Apostolic Model for Defending the Faith - Dr. Nancy Almodovar, 8/12/21 YouTube: Lutheran Girl: Proclaiming and Defending the Faith Issues, Etc.: Paths to Lutheranism: From Calvinism - Dr. Nancy Almodovar Issues, Etc.: Nancy Almodovar, Should Lutherans De-Emphasize the Sacraments to Attract People?

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      Book preview

      Nothing Else Matters - Nancy A. Almodovar

      Preface

      Along with the apostle Paul, Martin Luther believed that the resurrection is central to the Christian faith.³ Over the years, as I have spoken and written about defending the Christian faith, I have found great appreciation for the centrality of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Since the resurrection of Jesus Christ is crucial to the Christian faith, giving it a distinctly different set of evidences against the false religions around the world, we may be assured of our own future resurrection to live forevermore in his presence.

      As a professor of world religions, I continually emphasize that if Jesus did not actually, physically rise from the dead in a specific time and place, then Christianity falls flat on its face. If Jesus’ own claims that he would raise himself up from the dead did not happen, then, as C. S. Lewis writes, Jesus is either a lunatic (because he deluded himself) or a liar (because he misrepresented himself).⁴ This is not a doctrine that can be done away with; the whole of Christianity rests upon the fact that Jesus truly did rise from the dead.

      In my apologetics research for my #ApologeticsTogether Zoom class (you can sign up on my blog at www.lutherangirl.org), I came across Jaroslav Pelikan’s deathbed confession. For me, this statement could not be more profound and packed with truth:

      If Christ is risen, nothing else matters.

      And if Christ is not risen—nothing else matters.⁵

      All our talk about Christian piety and faith can get tossed into the trash heap of every other religion in this world if the resurrection did not happen. Everything Jesus said to us becomes a lie, and sane people should simply reject it if the resurrection is a lie. All of our good works mean nothing. All of our talk about salvation is empty hope. All of our discussions of the gospel and Christ conquering sin, death, and the devil become powerless. All of our evangelism is hollow. All of our hope then vanishes if Jesus did not rise from the dead. All of our talk is simple gibberish, and the gospel is ludicrous and preposterous. Most of all, if Jesus did not rise from the dead, we are still in our sins and eternally lost. If the man from Nazareth, the incarnate Son of God, was just a man, then we remain under the judgement of God, certain to face eternal death.

      But . . .

      Oh what a wonderful word, but! But if Jesus has risen from the dead, nothing else matters.

      Our sins are forgiven and new life is granted. The devil and the world have been conquered, and Christ has won the victory. The struggles of life no longer matter in light of the fact that we have been forgiven and given life, eternal life. In fact, we Christians get a whole new perspective on persecution, trials, and even death itself when we remember that Christ’s death conquered our greatest enemy, sin. Let me change this from if to the simple statement Jesus has risen from the dead. Therefore, nothing else matters.

      Every single thing in our life—good, bad, and indifferent—no longer takes on the primary focus of our day because Jesus did that which no one else could: he raised himself from the dead, proving he is both God and man. He rose again for our justification and is the victor. Actually, if we get this perspective right—that the resurrection is the central point of the Christian faith—then we can face all enemies confidently, knowing we, too, shall rise again. This is the promise which pours out in abundance from the fact that Jesus rose again. This is the sure word of God upon which every Christian may place their trust and hope without fear: Jesus rose for our justification. Jesus rose to offer all the forgiveness of sins. Jesus rose having nailed those charges which were held against us to his cross, and he proved that he took the punishment so we do not have to. Nothing else matters in comparison to the forgiveness of sins, because Jesus rose from the dead.

      The most beautiful thing in the world is that Jesus did rise from the dead and truly, apart from that, nothing else matters!

      3

      . See Of Christ’s Resurrection.

      4

      . See Lewis, Mere Christianity,

      10

      .

      5

      . Arnold, If Christ Is Risen, para.

      1

      .

      1

      Scripture Speaks

      As I am writing this, there are tears of gratitude and joy welling up. Why? The sheer number of verses from Scripture which deal with the resurrection of Jesus Christ is vast. Over one hundred Scripture texts speak of the fact that Jesus told his disciples that he would rise from the dead and, after he did, include the disciples’ testimonials to that historic fact. This is where Pelikan’s quote leaves such an impact. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, nothing else matters. However, the fact that Jesus did rise from the dead means that nothing else matters. Nothing else in this life has the power to change men, women, and children everywhere. Nothing else—the struggles, the trials, the persecutions, the suffering, and/or death—really matter in light of the fact that Jesus rose from the dead on the first day of the week and, as Saint Athanasius said, has conquered sin, death, and the devil.¹ Oh, we await that great day when all things will be put under his feet in a final blow to our greatest enemies, and yet we rejoice that the enemy, death, has been conquered and life—eternal life—is offered to all who will believe in the gospel.

      Therefore, in this chapter, I am simply going to let the Scriptures speak and end with the text that will be looked at in the remaining chapters. In my research, I looked for these three words: risen, raised, and resurrection. I removed all those in reference to those whom Jesus raised from the dead and focused only on those that refer to him, whether promise or fulfillment.

      What the Scriptures say about the promises of Jesus’ resurrection and our own, as well as the fulfillment of these prophecies, does not begin in the New Testament but also comes straight from the Old Testament as well. In fact, the first promise is given in Gen 3:15 (the first evangelical promise), as Luther writes: For if the serpent’s head is to be crushed, then death must certainly be done away with.² So, as we look at what the Scriptures say, we begin with Genesis and move through the Old Testament and into the New Testament. Therefore, as Martin Luther writes, The Christian faith in the resurrection of the dead is as old as is the proclamation of the Gospel³ (see Gen 3:15).

      Old Testament Texts on the Resurrection of the Dead:

      I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel. (Gen 3:15, italics added)

      Oh, that my words were recorded, that they were written on a scroll, that they were inscribed with an iron tool on lead, or engraved in rock forever! I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me! (Job 19:23–27, italics added)

      Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay. You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. (Ps 16:9–11, italics added)

      I will

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