The Resurection...why does it matter?

What if there was no Easter?  What if Christ was born (Christmas) and then died on the cross (Good Friday), and it ended there?  Think about it.  Do you believe that Christ rose from the dead?  that the event was significant for some reason other than what happened on the cross? 

The Apostle Paul realized that there were people having these questions, so he addressed this issue in a letter to the church in Corinth.  Here is Paul’s take on the resurrection: “If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith…If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins…If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men…If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die (1Cor 15:14,17,19,32b)”

Paul could not make it any clearer: No resurrection, no Christianity.  No resurrection, no eternal life.  No resurrection, no payment for sins.  “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead,” Paul declared (1Cor 15:20a).  So there is Christianity, life, and payment.  Let’s think about how this all comes together through the resurrection.

In the Old Covenant, priests would have to make sacrifices day after day for the sins of the people (Heb. 10:11).  Why?  Because the sacrifices that were made were for the sins the people committed…they couldn’t cover future sins.  So, since they (and we) daily sinned, the sacrifices had to continue.  On top of that, the sacrifices they made did not take away sins (pay the penalty for them) they were just a sacrifice to show that sins needed to be paid for (Heb. 10:11).  Jesus, on the other hand, only had to sacrifice himself once (Heb 10:12), and that sacrifice took away sins of the past, present, and future. 

What does the resurrection have to do with this?  First, His sacrifice took away sins because Jesus was able to die in our place for our sins.  This was possible not only through the cross, but the resurrection as well.  Jesus had to die for our sins (the cross) but he also had to conquer sin (the resurrection).  Death is a result of sin, so in rising from the dead, Jesus conquered sin.  His resurrection is victory for Christ and for us.  The cross was the payment and the resurrection was the victory.  The resurrection gives Christ the ability and authority to not just die as a sacrifice for sins, but to take our sins away.  (cf. 1Cor 15:54-56)

Second, Christ’s resurrection doesn’t just take away past sins, but future as well.  Christ is the sacrifice for our sins, and in rising from the dead he has become our living sacrifice.  He is not lying dead on an altar like the animal sacrifices.  He is alive; interceding for us (Rom. 8:34).  His resurrection made his sacrifice one that lives on.  We don’t have to wait for another sacrifice…because of the resurrection we can have life, be forgiven, and have hope that our sins do not get the last say.  The resurrection makes his sacrifice effectual forever. 

Spend some time this Easter season to really think about the resurrection.  Think about what it means.  Think about what it does in you.  Think about the gravity of it.  The Christian faith depends on the resurrection being a real.  Is it real for you?  Not just in your head…but have you experienced the power of the resurrection in you?  Dwell on this.  Let it change you! 

Daily Littles

"The Christian life is a great thing, one of the greatest things on earth. Made up of daily littles..." Horatius Bonar

When we approach the Christian life we usually see it in terms of big decisions, big actions, and big life change.  There are times we make big decisions, such as when to have kids, what job to take, or where to live...but on the whole, life is about the little decisions, and growing closer to God and being faithful to him is directly tied to those little decisions.  

A heroin addict doesn't get to that point over night, it happens after an extended period of time, making little decision after little decisions...eventually getting to the point of addiction.  An athlete doesn't just think his skill will be there for the big game.  No, the athlete runs, trains, practices...and those little decisions make him succeed.  Why would our Christian life be different?  The little decisions we make take us down a path, for good or for bad, and prepare our hearts for life's challenges.  It's the decicions to be diciplined to read our Bibles, the decision to help your neighbor, the decision to talk with a friend about Jesus, the diccision to not let your anger fester.  All your decisons take you somewhere, the question is, where?

Horatius Bonar challenges us in this saying: "Let us be on our guard against old self in every form, whether it be indolence, or temper, or coldness, or rudeness, or disobligingness, or slovenliness, or shabbiness, or covetousness, or flippancy, or self-conceit, or pride, or cunning, or obstinacy, or sourness, or levity, or foolishness, or love of preeminence. Let us cultivate a tender conscience, avoiding old notions and conceits; yet watching against the commission of little sins, and the omission of little duties; redeeming the time, yet never in a hurry; calm, cheerful, frank, happy, genial, generous, disinterested, thoughtful of others"

Think about your daily littles.  What do they say about you?  Where do they take you?  Where do you fall short of obeying Christ?