Review: Resurrection Hope and the Death of Death

 

Mitchell Chase. Resurrection Hope and the Death of Death.  Wheaton, IL: Crossway, October 25th 2022.  163 pp.

4 out of 5

Purchase: Westminster | Amazon

What does the Bible from the Old Testament to the New Testment has to teach us about the resurrection and also life after death?  This book is a survey of that, giving us a biblical theology of God’s power over death and also the fuller doctrine developed in God’s revelation of a physical resurrection of all humans after death, either to judgment or salvation.  The author Mitchell Chase is a professor of biblical studies at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and his doctoral work at Southern Seminary was on the topic of resurrection hope.  So it is fitting he authored this book on this topic for the Short Studies in Biblical Theology series which is published by Crossway.  Coming in at 163 pages it is a helpful survey of what does the Bible have to say about the resurrection that begins in seed form in the Old Testament but gets more developed as more of God’s Word is revealed in redemptive history.

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Guest Post: Trinitarian Redemption

Note: This is a guest post since presently I am teaching overseas. This is by Jeff Chavez. His blog be found here.

1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith: 2.3c

but distinguished by several peculiar relative properties and personal relations; which doctrine of the Trinity is the foundation of all our communion with God, and comfortable dependence on him.

1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith: 11:4

God did from all eternity decree to justify all the elect,11 and Christ did in the fullness of time die for their sins, and rise again for their justification; nevertheless, they are not justified personally, until the Holy Spirit in time does actually apply Christ to them.

From the 1689 London Baptist Confession and the Scriptures we know that the Triune God works together to accomplish the redemption of His people. Redemption fulfills the Father’s eternal plan. The redemption of God’s people is based on the Son’s perfect life and glorious work on the cross by shedding His blood. The Spirit powerfully applies Christ’s work of redemption.

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:7-12 ESV)

The Trinitarian theology in the New Testament is a Christ–centered Trinitarianism.

Teaching: Christ’s redemptive work is the ground and center of the triune God’s perfect redemption. Christ saves His people chosen by the Father, through the regenerating work of the Spirit.

Let’s see today the Particularity, Power, Perfection, and Purpose of Redemption.

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Guest Post: Descriptions of Christ’s Resurrection

Note: This is a guest post since presently I am teaching overseas. This is by Jeff Chavez. His blog be found here.

Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”
(Matthew 28:1-10 ESV)

This portion of the resurrection like that of the other three gospels (John 20, Mark 16, Luke 24) tells us about the great proof that Christ has satisfied the Father’s justice and wrath and He has paid in full the debt of His people.

From the text, we can glean three descriptions of the resurrection of Christ.

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Guest Post: The Resurrection of Jesus: Why it Matters

Note: This is a guest post since presently I am overseas.  This is by Wally.  Wally is no stranger to some of you who read this blog.  His blog be found here.

The Resurrection of Jesus-Why it Matters

As with many other core doctrines of Historical Orthodox Christianity, the Doctrine of the Resurrection is under assault from many quarters. Obviously, atheists and humanists discount the account of the Resurrection just like they discount all other Biblical accounts of anything. We are not surprised by their disbelief at all, as it makes perfect sense from their worldview. Surprisingly, and more disturbingly, is the assault on the account of the Resurrection coming from supposedly “Christian” denominations and scholars. Sadly, even among the so-called Christian Church, the Resurrection is dismissed as not historically accurate, or as simply not key or important to core doctrines. Here are a couple of examples of so-called Christian theologians who promote a far less than literal account of the Resurrection.

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The Nature of Christ’s Resurrection

An excerpt from my outline for my lectures.

We’re answering the question: What is the nature of Christ’s Resurrection?

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The Resurrection of Christ By DR. JOHN C. WHITCOMB

By DR. JOHN C. WHITCOMB
President, Whitcomb Ministries, Inc.

 

The resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead with a glorified body is a foundational truth of the New Testament. In fact, “If Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable” (1 Cor. 15:17-19).

 

But how can we be absolutely sure that He rose from the dead three days after He died on the cross for our sins? Even one of the 12 apostles denied His resurrection: “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe” (John 20:25). Eight days later, Thomas saw Him in the upper room, and exclaimed: “My Lord and my God!” (v. 28).

 

But how can we say what doubting Thomas finally confessed if we have not seen Christ as Thomas did? Our Lord gave the answer to him and to all men everywhere: “Because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (v. 29).

 

This is an amazing statement! How can we believe in something so stupendous about someone who we have not seen? The answer may come as a surprise even to many Christians. It is the same dynamic by which we can know how the world was created by God a few thousand years ago – not billions of years ago by chance through evolution. “By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen [i.e., sun, moon, stars, plants, animals and people] were not made of things which are visible” (Heb. 11:3).

 

Many people who believe in supernatural creation by an Intelligent Designer would question this. They are convinced that the theory of evolution has been disproven by the Second Law of Thermodynamics – which teaches that everything in the universe is deteriorating in quality – and by the obvious irreducible complexity of all living things. Therefore, they say, we do not need to accept creation “by faith.” (See John C. Whitcomb, Jesus Christ: Our Intelligent Designer [Waxhaw, NC: Kainos Books, 2012].)

 

But this involves a profound misunderstanding of what the Bible teaches. We are not told to take by faith what anyone says – but only what God has said. That is why “faith [in what He has said] is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Heb.11:1).

 

How do we know for sure that God is speaking to us? The first chapter of the Bible provides the answer: “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness’” (Gen. 1:26). Human beings are infinitely different from animals. We have a mind, a soul/spirit and a conscience. We have a unique capacity among all living beings on this Earth to hear God speak to us. “Gentiles… show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them” (Rom. 2:14, 15). When God spoke to our first parents, they did not say, “Who are you?” (See Rom. 1:18-23.)

 

One of the special ministries of the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the triune Godhead, is to illumine our minds concerning divine realities. The Lord Jesus said of Him, “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me” (John 15:26). Furthermore, “He will convict the world… of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more” (16:8, 10). And, “When He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth” (16:13).

 

That is how some Greek politicians in Athens, hearing the preaching of Paul, were able to believe in the resurrection of Christ, likely without ever having been to the land of Israel – more than 500 miles away. “When they heard of the resurrection of the dead… some men joined him and believed” (Acts 17:32, 34).

 

Friend, do you believe that “Christ died for our sins… and that He rose again” (1 Cor. 15:3, 4)? Through the inspired words of the Bible, we are told that He was “declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead” (Rom.1:4).

 

Do not wait until you see Him – like doubting Thomas. Believe in Him now – because your God, who created you, has told you to!

 

May every Christian in the world today trust the Holy Spirit to make us effective light reflectors for the resurrected and glorified Christ until He comes again.

 

Copyright © 2014 by Whitcomb Ministries, Inc.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®.
Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission.

 

Dr. John C. Whitcomb is heard weekly as the Bible teacher on Encounter God’s Truth, a radio and Internet broadcast outreach of Whitcomb Ministries, Inc. He has been a professor of Old Testament and theology for more than 60 years and is widely recognized as a leading Biblical scholar. The book he coauthored with the late Dr. Henry Morris in 1961, The Genesis Flood, has been credited as one of the major catalysts for the modern Biblical creationism movement. Dr. Whitcomb’s broadcasts, sermons, lectures and writings are available at SermonAudio.com/Whitcomb. To receive the very latest on his ministry, like Facebook.com/WhitcombMinistries or myWorldview.com/WhitcombMinistries.

 

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