The Resurrection
The Resurrection: The Purpose and Promise
“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies’” (John 11:25). The resurrection of Christ was foretold hundreds of years before His miracle birth. He also foretold this event to His disciples (though they didn’t initially understand). He is the Resurrection, as hundreds witnessed.
The Son of God was sacrificed on our behalf for the purpose of atoning for our sins. When Jesus taught this to the people of that time, many considered it heresy and as a result, they demanded His death by crucifixion, a common means of punishment for lawbreakers. Instead of offering a defense before the councils, Jesus was silent. Why? It was the divine plan of the Father God, from the beginning of time, that this be done so that we might have forgiveness and life. It was His purpose.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is a gift from God and fulfillment of His promise. It is the very foundation of Christianity. Since the disobedience of Adam in the Garden of Eden, all mankind is born with a sin nature. The Lord tells us that there is a price to be paid for sin and that cost is death. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
A life without Christ can only offer eternal death, but the acceptance of Jesus as our risen Savior gives us eternal life. Because eternal death is not what God wants for us, He provided a way of atonement through the crucifixion of His Son, Jesus, and His resurrection.
The Resurrection: The Rewards of Faith
Through the resurrection, God has offered us the following:
A New Life
- Romans 6:2-3 - Sin’s power is broken.
- Romans 6:4 - Sin-loving nature is buried.
- Romans 6:6 - Sin can no longer control us and hold us in bondage.
- Romans 6:5 - We can now share Life with Christ through resurrection.
- Romans 6:11 - Our old sin nature is dead and we have new, changed life in God.
- Romans 6:13 - We are no longer bound by sin and can give ourselves freely to God.
- Romans 6:16 - We are free to choose our Master, God or Satan -- our only two choices.
The Resurrection: Yours Yesterday, Today, and Forever
Charles Spurgeon wrote about the resurrection: “The Lord Jesus suffered for the believer as his substitute, and virtually each saved one died in Christ, who represented him. The believer rose in Christ by virtue of the eternal union which exists between the saint and his Savior. Therefore the believer continues to live, for the Lord has said, ‘Because I live, ye shall live also.’ . . .O my hearer, if you are not in Christ you have nothing. Out of Christ you are in the wilderness: with him you are in a paradise. In Christ, believers possess all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and grace, and power, and love. All things are yours, if you are Christ's. From our union to Christ follows our sanctification: we cannot follow after sin, for Christ does not follow after it. He died unto sin once, and we are henceforth dead to it. He is risen by the glory of the Father, and we are risen with him into righteousness, and acceptance, and joy.”
“If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection” (Romans 6:5). We each must make an individual choice to seek God and find God; to be filled with His peace, joy, and awareness of who He is, who we are and what it means to be His child.
"This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live. . ." (Deuteronomy 30:19).
We pray you will truly seek and find, that you will truly choose life over death, and that your special eternity will begin from the moment you realize a resurrected life is not only a historical fact but a promise for today, for you, forever.
What is your response?
