The Main Difference

Often when we try to come to a common ground of conversation with those with whom we disagree, we will seek out the main point of disagreement. What is the crux of the matter? Where is the one place where we cannot come together? Is that point a point of such significance that it should divide us? Is the division worthy of the point of division?

When the apostle Paul was on trial at Caesarea, he spoke the beginnings of his defense before Governor Felix. Paul’s accusers had declared that he had defamed the temple and caused a public scene in his opposition to the Jewish religion. In his response, Paul pointed out the very issue that divided himself and the Jews, the crux of the matter.

Acts 24:20-21 – 20 “Or else let these men themselves say what wrongdoing they found when I stood before the council, 21 other than this one thing that I cried out while standing among them: ‘It is with respect to the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you this day.’ ”

Paul understood that at the central point of his differences with the Jews was one topic: resurrection. In a clever way, Paul had made the point an almost philosophical one, as if the idea of resurrection was the core of their differences. In fact, this is somewhat true, though it could be more properly said that the core difference between Paul and his critics was one, particular resurrection.

In truth, the central difference between all Christians and the rest of the world comes down to the very thing that Paul declared. The issue is one of resurrection. If Jesus Christ rose from the dead, everything that is declared by the Bible is true. If Jesus Christ did not rise from the dead, none of it matters (c.f. 1 Cor. 15:17-19). Everything hinges on the simple question of resurrection, of Jesus’ resurrection.

If Jesus is alive, right now, today, then he has proved his identity as the Son of God. If Jesus is alive, his sacrifice for the sins of all he would save was clearly accepted by God. If Jesus is alive, his words are true, including his claim to be the only way that any person could come to God (John 14:6). And, if Jesus is alive, all his commands for right human behavior, morality, and for submission to the Lord are valid, powerfully true claims.

Paul was right, he was on trial because of the resurrection from the dead. He was on trial for his preaching of the resurrection of Jesus. That resurrection showed the completion of the Jewish temple system. It showed the openness of the family of God to gentiles as well as believing Jews. It showed the ugliness of the fawning of the Sadducees over the power of the Roman Empire. It showed the folly of the Pharisees adding man-made requirements to an Old Testament law that Christ had fulfilled.

And, today, Christians are on trial before the world because of our belief in the resurrection—at least we should be. It is the resurrection of Jesus that is central. If Christ is risen, than his sacrifice for sins on the cross is the only possible way for a human being to be forgiven. If Jesus is alive, he commands all people everywhere to repent of their sins and to come to him in faith for life. If Jesus rose from the dead, he has every right to define the parameters for salvation, and he has. But if he is not alive, then nothing about him matters.

The main difference is the difference of resurrection. A living Jesus calls us to repentant faith and obedience. There can be no compromise over this point. The issue is too central, too valuable to be discarded. It is, at the end of the day, what will separate Christianity from every other world religion. It is what makes Christianity exclusivistic. It is what makes Christianity not able to be open-minded as the world would want it to be. The fact that Jesus is alive is the proof of all of the faith.