According to the Scriptures

    Christianity is a faith which is built on historical events.   It assumes the events which happened in Bible really did take place.  Therefore, the Christian faith is more than a warm cozy story we tell our children, but it is a faith based on the reality that God is the God who revealed himself through the Holy Scriptures.  The Bible tells us the Son became a man, he died for our sins, he was buried, and he rose from the grave the third day (1st Corinthians 15).   The apostle Paul goes on to tell us in 1st Corinthians 15 that if these facts were not true than our faith would be useless.   We trust the Scriptures even though there are many who reject them.  Often those with anti-supernatural bias fail to examine the evidence, for the evidence points in favor of a bodily resurrection of Jesus.  Some of the evidence we see in the New Testament Text are:

1. Women were the first to see the resurrected Jesus.

The Jewish patriarchal culture held that the testimony of women were unreliable.  Therefore, if the Resurrection was a myth which was created by the disciples it would seems unlikely that they would report women as being the first to see Jesus.  The only reason the gospel writers mentioned women as the first to see Jesus, was because that was the way it really happened.  

2. The disciple were willing to give their lives to tell about the resurrection.

All of the apostles were persecuted and every one of them except John would die a martyr.  They claimed they saw the resurrected Lord even though they faced death.  If the resurrection were something they fabricated in order to gain followers, then it would be highly unlikely they would give their life for it. 

3. Many people saw the resurrected Jesus. 

In writing about the resurrection in 1st Corinthians 15 Paul gives the Christians at Corinth the opportunity to "check the facts."  In 15:6 he reminds them that the resurrected Lord was seen by over 500 people at once, and most of them are still alive.  If the resurrection was not a reality it is unlikely that Paul would tell the Christians this because they could verify his claim.  But since Jesus really did rise from the grave and he really did appear to over 500 people at once, Paul unhesitating mentioned these brothers. 

There are many others proofs that Jesus did rise from the grave, and there are many reasons we can rest assure we have placed our faith in the Truth.  In fact we could spend most of our lives trying to convince others of this truth, but I believe we should spend most of our time telling others about the resurrection and not worry as much about proving the resurrection.  For we could provide all the proof the world could ask for, yet there are many who would still reject Christ.  In the Gospels we read the story of a man who thought that some miracle might prove to his brothers that they should trust the Lord, but he was told by Abraham,  ^"They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’  “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’  “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead (Luke 16).’”  

Therefore, let us be about the business about telling others what has happened according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15).