Let's start with the Apostle Paul - he became a Christian because he was confronted by the risen Christ. How do we know this? Because it is recorded in Acts 9. Remember Acts was written by Luke - not by Paul.
In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul pretty much says, "that settles that!" Jesus died (meaning He was buried) "and that He rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures."
Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
Paul, having been confronted by the risen Christ, became an Apostle to the Gentiles, an Apologist, and Advocate for the Christian faith, is looking back and describing what he understands. Then he says,
5 and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.
Cephas was another name for Simon Peter. He makes the point that most of these people who witnessed Christ's resurrection are still alive at the time he is writing this letter, although some of them have died (fallen asleep). What he means here is that he is a a witness to their witnessing! And it is THAT that drives his ministry forward in spite of the persecution he faced by his own countrymen (the Jewish people). He says Jesus was seen by James - then by all the apostles and last of all - He was seen by Paul - one born out of due time - meaning he wasn't one of the 12 disciples - he was actually one who had made it his personal business to stamp out Christianity in any way he could. Remember, as Saul of Tarsus, he supervised the stoning of Stephen - our first recorded Christian martyr (Acts 7:54-60).
So . . . do you hear (as I do) that Paul is basically saying . . . "I would NEVER have been a Christian unless I had seen the risen Lord and been confronted by Him" in verses 9-11?
9 For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 11 Whether, then, it is I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.
In verse 12, Paul uses his brilliant Jewish mind and understanding of the Jewish Scriptures when he says,
12 But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?
Paul challenges the skeptics with this question - because he's going to answer it for them in verses 13-18:
13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15 More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised.16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either.17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.
PROFOUND!!! IF Jesus Christ HASN'T been risen from the dead we have no hope - we are done for and are to be pitied - we only have the time we have on this earth - during this human life - nothing more.
19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.
Okay - now here we see Paul's Jewish mind at work - from the time he was a little boy he was trained to observe all the feasts of Israel. He understood intimately the reason for the first fruits feast - the waving of the barley sheaves as an offering to God. But now he takes it beyond its Jewish context and he links Christ's resurrection saying that Jesus is the first fruits of those who have died.
20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.
Now he tells us why we have this sin nature, why we have sin in the first place. Salvation can come to those who believe in Jesus of Nazareth. In fact - when Paul writes from Rome he calls them the First Adam and the Second Adam. The first Adam brought sin on the human race, the second Adam gave the possibility of redemption from sin. (You may wonder why "possibility" - isn't it offered to all? YES! But not accepted by all.)
21 For since death came through a man,the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.
The Bible says in verse 22, it is appointed unto man once to die and after that the judgment. So we will all die on a certain day at a certain time. But the question is . . . what will happen AFTER we die? And the bigger question is . . . will we be raised to life as we hope? Paul answers that question as well in verse 23.
23 But each in turn: Christ, the first fruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.
So we believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ and perhaps the strongest thing is that those Apostles / Disciples of Christ - having seen Jesus crucified - does it make sense they would have offered their lives? Because as far as we know - all were martyred except for John who was persecuted even in his old age. They saw something that made them go out and tell the story to the nations.
But perhaps the greatest of all in Saul of Tarsus who became Paul the Apostle. He was a persecutor of the first Christians. Does it seem likely that he - of all people - would have gone out and laid down his life for a myth? Or is it the truth of the matter that he was indeed confronted by the risen Lord while he was on his journey north to Damascus to arrest the Christians he would find there - but he was stopped in his tracks by none other than Jesus of Nazareth - the Christ - the Risen Lord - the One who came once but who is coming again to the Mount of Olives in power and glory. And THIS is our hope. And THIS is the truth of the Word of God.
So when someone challenges you when you tell them the Good News / the Gospel - think about all the people mentioned herein and ask yourself . . . would I have done what they did if it wasn't true? They saw it / they lived it / they spread the Good News. Let's do the same.