Christ

Arose!

So What?

The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the grave is the central miracle of Christianity and the turning point of all history.

Jesus not only predicted the manner of His death but the timing of His resurrection (Matthew 16:21; 17:22-23; 20: 17-19). And then He pulled it off. No one else has ever done that, or even claimed to have done so. No one. Not Mohammed, not Buddha, not Confucius.

But what does the resurrection of Jesus Christ mean to ordinary people in the twentieth century? What does it mean to you? The resurrection of Jesus can rescue you from the woes of modern life.

A SENSE OF GUILT

The waiting rooms of psychiatrists and counselors all over our nation are crowded with people who are weighed down with an overwhelming sense failure, worthless-ness and anxiety. Psychological professionals may analyze family failures that contribute to dysfunctional behavior, and they may alleviate the sense of guilt and uncleanness their patients feel because of the misdeeds of others. (For example a girl who has been sexually molested may wrongly feel that the abuse was somehow her fault.) No secular health professional, however, can deal adequately with real personal guilt for actual transgressions.

By and large people feel guilty because they are guilty, and no amount of soothing conversation can change that fact. But the Lord Jesus "was delivered up because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification. Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 4:25-5:1).

Jesus died to pay the penalty for sins; He rose from the dead to declare believing sinners right with God, and on this basis all who come to God through Him have peace with God. So the resurrection of Jesus Christ is crucial for your mental and spiritual well-being. If you trust in the risen Savior, then you can be sure that God has forgiven you, and you have no reason to be overwhelmed by a sense of guilt for your past sins and failures.

THE FEAR OF DEATH

If you are aware of your own sinfulness, you may also tremble at the thought of death. You know that you have done wrong, and your conscience suggests that there may be a day of reckoning beyond the grave. When our risen Savior cleanses the conscience, He also takes away the dread of future judgment. So through His death and resurrection He delivers "those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives" (Hebrews 2:15).

More than that, when Jesus broke the bonds of death, He defeated death for all who follow Him. When Jesus comes again, we who trust in Him shall also rise again with new and glorious bodies. Therefore we may boldly say, “‘0 DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 15:55-57).

MORAL WEAKNESS

Not only are most people conscious of their past sins, they are also aware that they are morally weak. They may resolve to stop sinning, to put away their bad habits, and to become better people, but it just does not happen.

Here also the resurrection of Jesus Christ makes a profound difference. Jesus died and rose again to kill sin's tyranny over us and to give us new power to obey God. "Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so [that] we too might walk in newness of life . . .. Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus" (Romans 6:4, 11).

The Bible does not teach that Christians can ever become perfect. We, who know the Lord, still struggle with sin every day, and all too often we lose the battle. But millions of ordinary men and women can testify that they have received new moral energy through faith in the risen Christ. He is the Savior you need in order to become more like what you want to be--and more like what God wants you to be.

INSTABILITY

Nothing is more stable in the modern world than the certainty of change. Technology is redesigning the superstructure of our lives while cultural revolution is demolishing the moral foundations of our society. The house of our great republic has been forcibly ripped from the rock to be deposited on the sand, and the floodwaters are rising. In this desperate hour many people are looking for roots; they long for something solid on which to base their lives.

Religion in general cannot provide much help because it depends on individual feelings and values. People tend to look for a religion that suits them, but that is still just shifting sand. What suits me may not suit you, so everyone does what is right in his own eyes.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ, however, is not just some vague religious ideal or principle. It is an historical fact. Nothing but a genuine resurrection can explain the empty tomb of Jesus, His stunning appearances to hundreds of eyewitnesses (1 Corinthians 1 5:1-8), and the boldness of the early apostles. Here is a solid bottom on which to anchor your faith; here is a rock on which to build your life.

APATHY

Human beings need a challenge. When adventure and excitement disappear from our lives, we begin to shrivel up. Life becomes tasteless and stale, and hope withers. That is what I see in the faces of so many teens and adults. There is no place to go and nothing to do, and life has become a walking death. Any thrill seems more promising than such a dull existence, so why should we be surprised when a young person commits murder simply to satisfy his curiosity?

Only the risen Lord Jesus Christ is able to give a rich and satisfying purpose to our lives. Only He is able to challenge us at the deepest levels our lives. First He quenches the thirsting of our souls (John 7:37-39), and then He gives us a task that stretches us to the fullest extent of our capabilities. Jesus calls us to bear hardship as soldiers, to be as well-disciplined as athletes, to work as hard as farmers in order to change the world (2 Timothy 1:1-6). This is not the advice of a dead moral teacher. It is the command of a living King. Won't you come to Him? Won't you trust Him as Savior, and follow Him as your Lord?

© 1996 Dr. John K. La Shell

Grace Community Church

1290 Minesite Rd.,

Allentown, PA 18103

(610) 398-9250

www.gracecommunityallentown.org