Jerry Vines Ministries

As we approach Easter Sunday, thoughts of the Gospel intensify.

It is important to have a clear understanding of the basic ingredients of our message of good news. Of course, to explain the good news you must also set forth the bad news. The bad news is that of sin and death (see Romans 8:2). Sin and death! We are sinners and we are going to die. These are the mighty mountains of man’s misery.

But, there is good news. It is the good news of what God has done to resolve man’s two problems.

Paul clearly delineates the basics of the gospel message in I Corinthians 15:1-8. In those verses there is an interesting combination of historical reality and theological truth. They are indicated to us in verses 3-5 by the 4-fold repetition of a conjunction (“that”) and the 2-fold repetition of a phrase (“according to the Scriptures”).

The phrase “according to the Scriptures” ties the historical realities of the crucifixion and the resurrection of Christ to the theological truths of Christ’s death to deal with mankind’s sin problem and His resurrection to deal with mankind’s  death problem. The little conjunction “that” is a declarative one. It declares the essential elements of the crucifixion (“that Christ died and that He was buried”) and the resurrection (“that He was raised and that He was seen”).

Christ died and was buried to pay for and to put away our sin. He was raised and was seen to conquer death and to change life.

Glorious Easter conjunction and phrase!