On Sunday, Christians all over the world will celebrate Easter, or Resurrection Sunday. Easter, even more than Christmas, is the real high holy day of the Christian faith; it’s the day we set aside to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. I have always said that there are two resurrections that are important to me. The first is the resurrection of Jesus; the second is the resurrection of Dave Lambert. The physical resurrection of Jesus is the most important doctrine of the Christian faith; it’s the white-hot center of Christianity, the most important event in human history. Let’s read from the 15th Chapter, sometimes called the Resurrection Chapter, of Paul’s first letter to the congregation at Corinth:

I want to remind you, my friends, of the Good News which I preached to you, which you received, and on which your faith stands firm. That is the gospel, the message that I preached to you. You are saved by the gospel if you hold firmly to it—unless it was for nothing that you believed. I passed on to you what I received, which is of the greatest importance: that Christ died for our sins, as written in the Scriptures; that he was buried and that he was raised to life three days later, as written in the Scriptures; that he appeared to Peter and then to all twelve apostles. Then he appeared to more than five hundred of his followers at once, most of whom are still alive, although some have died. (1 Cor. 15:1-7)

In this passage, Paul makes some very important points. He explains what the gospel that saves really is and calls it a matter of “greatest importance.” First, Paul tells us that Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures. Second, that He was raised to life three days later, again, according to the scriptures. Third, following His resurrection, Christ appeared to all twelve of the apostles. Following that, He appeared to more than five hundred people, all at the same time. This wasn’t an event that took place in secret; there were more than five hundred witnesses, making this one of the most witnessed sightings in the ancient world. By the way, he says that at the time of his writing, most of those witnesses were still alive.

The gospel that saves, according to Paul, is not that makes you happier or more successful or more spiritual or go even to church. The gospel that saves is the fact that Jesus Christ has risen from the dead…and that is very Good News!