From April 11, 2004:
“Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’” And they remembered His words. (Luke 24:6-8)
To an unbelieving world, the saving power of the cross of Jesus Christ is foolishness; but for those who’ve been saved by His grace, it is the power of the living God! That saving power comes through the bodily resurrection of Christ.
The foundation of Christianity rises or falls on the truthfulness of the claim that Jesus rose from the dead. His death on the cross is the basis for salvation and the power of the resurrected Christ lives in all believers. He’s sitting at the right hand of God as our High Priest, making intercession on our behalf.
In Matthew 20, Jesus predicts his own death:
Now as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside and said to them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn Him to death and will turn Him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day He will be raised to life!” (17-19)
To an unbelieving world, this is utter nonsense. But what faith is this if the claim is untrue? The apostle Paul tells us in his first letter to the Corinthian church. Although they’d been taught about the bodily resurrection of believers, some of the Christians in Corinth, influenced by the pagan culture and the Sadducees (both of whom didn’t believe in resurrection of the dead), were confused about their own resurrection.
Paul wrote:
“Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up — if in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! (1 Corinthians 15:12-17).
So why was Christ’s death necessary in the first place? In Genesis 3, we read that man became separated from God when Adam and Eve disobeyed Him and ate the forbidden fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Consequently, every human inherited Adam’s sinful nature. That sinful nature separates us from God and affects every part of us. The Bible describes us as spiritually dead and unable to do anything to save ourselves.
Just as Lazarus was physically dead in his tomb, we are spiritually dead in our sins. But when the sovereign hand of God quickens us alive, we rise as Lazarus rose when Jesus said, “Lazarus, come forth!” Before He commanded Lazarus to rise, Jesus comforted his sister Martha: “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26).
Yes I do!
But unbelievers laugh at our faith and make a mockery of it. Though they mock, they seem to inherently know they’ll have to answer to “someone” for the “bad” things they’ve done. So they come up with their own salvation plan, believing the “good” they do will outweigh the bad. What they don’t realize is that one sin is enough to put us under God’s wrath, and we all know our sins are innumerable. While we may forget, He knows about every single sinful thing we’ve ever done. There is no way for us to satisfy His righteous standard: perfection. But God has provided a way for us to “get around” His impossibly high standard: Jesus Christ. He stands in the place of believers, receiving the due penalty of our sins. Christ suffered the wrath of the Father so we wouldn’t have to!
The death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ sets us free from the penalty of sin by grace alone through faith in Jesus Christ alone. Salvation comes through the person and work of Jesus Christ, who is the very Son of God in human flesh.
Think about it.
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This is the 15th anniversary of my spiritual re-birth. Over the years I have come to learn that our faith is based on facts and not just feelings. There’s more historical documentation attesting to the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ than all of Shakespeare’s writings. As Christians we should never be afraid to share our beliefs because the truth is on our side.
He is risen!…He is risen indeed!
He is risen as he said!
I once read an article by an woman who went to a memorial gathering for a departed friend. People sat in a circle and spoke of their memories of the person who had died. When she left, he said that the “service” left her unsatisfied. “I would have liked to have heard about the resurrection, even though I don’t believe in it,” she concluded. Even for many who don’t believe, the Resurrection of our Lord is the most hope giving fact in history.
For those who place their trust in Christ, it is no longer “a matter of life or death”–it is “a matter of life or life.”
He is risen indeed!
In these days of increasing evil, I am so thankful for the Truth of Calvary!!
He is Risen Indeed!!!
For those who believe and place all trust in Him, there is much to be joyous and thankful for regardless of the trials and tribulations we may face in this life…
He Is Risen Indeed!
After all else fails – there is Jesus the Christ, our Savior!
Resurrection Day. Besides our creation, the resurrection of Jesus and the coming resurrection of the dead are and will be the greatest events in the history of the Earth.
So where did people get the notion that a spirit goes out of their body at death? Doesn’t this preempt the resurrection and nullify Jesus?
He is risen, indeed!
La Shawn:
Happy Easter. Your faith has inspired me to renew some of mine.
There is no “Spring Bunny” for me. This is like Scrooge saying “humbug”.
Shame on the man who attacked the man in the Easter Bunny costumel.
I saw “The Passion” last month – truly got me in the mood for Easter.
Sincerely,
Frank
Halleujah and amen! He is risen indeed!
He is Risen indeed!
Dear La Shawn,
I wish you a Happy Easter, yet it is hard for me to believe in any God. I do believe in Jesus.
I suffered sexual and physical abuse as a child, from by father. I grew up in a violent, abusive, alcoholic, religious fanatic home.
I was raped at eighteen, by two men.
I have lost several babies.
I suffer with bi-polar disorder.
I have had to raise a child on my own, after, divorcing my son’s father, fourteen years ago.
His father assaulted me 7 times, each time, getting more and more violent.
One of my children, was still-born, from my first abusive marriage.
My point is, I have suffered, more than what little I have told you. No matter, how much I have suffered, it has never given me the right, to break our laws.
For President Bush to stand up, before the entire nation, and tell us all, how lazy, we all are, and that is why we continue, to have illegal Mexican immigrants, pouring into our nation, is a sin.
He is telling us a lie. Americans have always been hard workers.
These illegal Mexicans are here, so that the corporations, can have their illegal cheap cheap cheap labor.
President Bush, is suppose to be a Christian, yet he lies to the American people and he supports, this crime of illegal Mexican immigration. It is a crime and sin against the American people.
I lost all faith in God, after 9-11, and after seeing this ungodliness of our so-called Christian President.
It turns my stomach, evey time, I see him address, this great nation, and hear him call these, criminals (illegal Mexican immigrants), good hearted people.
Good hearted people, do not blatantly steal from their good neighbors, and then thumb their noses at them.
Clinton, may have committed adultery, which is a sin, but lying is just as much of a sin.
What an idiot, I have been, I voted for Bush. I thought all Democrats were morally bancrupt.
If I do not believe in God anymore, who do I pray to for this great nation?
Jesus, are you there? Please, Jesus, stop the madness.
La Shawn, it is people, like you, that give me hope.
Thanks.
Dear LaShawn, A fine reminder of why we celebrate this day, after the hopelessness of Good Friday. If Jesus were merely a good man, and not the Son of the Living God, his death would be sad, even tragic, but with the Resurrection came the gospel–the tremendously good news that he was not just a good man, though he was that, but he was the Son, filled with Grace and Truth, and the mode God chose to redeem us from Sin and Death. Praise be to His Holy Name. Amen. Thank you for keeping this insight before us , not just at Easter, but in many of your comments on the contemporary scene. I never miss you if I can avoid it. Sincerely , Marlowe Anderson
Suzie,
You have courageously voiced legitimate concerns that many people have when faced with pain, corruption, deceit, lying, etc. I grieve for your pain and suffering but cannot sympathize or emphathize with you because it is so far outside my realm of experience. I cannot say that I feel or understand your pain. I don’t and can’t. Our question at these times usually takes the form of “Where is God?” or “Why does God let bad things happen to good people?” These questions have been asked since the beginning of time and were asked of God at various times in the Old Testament part of the Bible, especially in Job, the Psalms and the Prophets. And frankly, God appeared to be annoyingly silent…uncaring even…merciless even. But here comes Jesus on the scene and He appears to be different…sympathetic, empathetic, caring, healing, forgiving, weeping, etc. He seemed on the surface to be a different entity than the God of the Old Testament. And so often we feel as you do…Where are you, God? Help me, Jesus!!
I have not shared the depth of your pain or your experience but I have cried out those words many, many times over the last 40 years. I’ve done so this year, also. I expect I will still cry them out numerous times before I pass on. I cry out more often than not because of all the pain and suffering I see around me, especially that directed at poorer women and children, those on whom we would probably confer the status of innocence. I do this especially for the poor in Cambodia, a people who suffered as much as any folks, other than the Jews, in the 20th century. All my Cambodian friends in the states suffered horribly in the Khmer Rouge revolution 1975-1979. Most of them lost close family members…in some cases all family members. An older couple I know both lost all their children and spouses. As widow and widower they found each other in the squalor of the refugee camps in Thailand. From time to time, I find myself becoming very bitter about this. Our government played a big part in allowing this to happen. Our government supported the Khmer Rouge for many years, while this was going on. Their blood is on our hands. Why did God allow this? Why did people die? Why did they starve to death without medicine? Why were they worked to death? Why were some brutally slaughtered, including women and children? Why did my government look the other way? Where were you, God? I have spent more than a few months since 1984 in great anger at God over this. But somehow I’ve always felt that Jesus knew their suffering and He knew the pain and anger I was feeling.
I want you to know that God understands your pain and suffering. God has, for whatever reason, given us a fairly free reign on our lives. It is quite obvious by now that human beings have a big problem with sin and rebellion. We are at war within ourselves, our families, our neighbors, our co-workers, etc. and these conflicts often extend to tribes, terrorities, states and nations and groups of nations. God seems to allow most of it to continue. I hate to watch it but it comes with the freedom man has been given. And God does intervene, often in ways that we may never see. He has great numbers of people who are very devoted to Him that do good works for the poor, hungry, suffering, etc. all around the world. I do this for the poorest of the poor in Cambodia. Millions of others do the same. Those of us who are Christians, have subordinated our passionate questions about God’s justice to faith in His justice, love, mercy and compassion, which He showed through Jesus Christ. In the death and resurrection of Jesus, as La Shawn wrote so eloquently, God showed His love for all of us in that He forgave us all our sins and gave us new life that lasts forever. He dealt with our sin problem so that we could have peace inside, knowing that in Him we are now safe. Jesus, the sinless Son of God, took all our sin and guilt on Himself to set us free. Does this provide all the answers to why God allows bad things to happen to all people, good and bad? No. Does it answer why He allowed all the bad things to happen to you? No. Does it answer all my questions about the suffering of the Cambodia people then and now, including the under-age sex-slaves that we try to rescue, usually unsuccessfully? Not really, not anywhere near completely. But I believe that God is good, loving and kind and just and He sent His Son, the very likeness of His image, to show us face-to-face what He is like. And I accept that and I trust Him completely for my own salvation and eternal life. And I somehow am able to accept the suffering of others…even though it is sometimes so hard. I’ve surrendered my doubts and questions and fear and anger to His love and care because I know that He is good and infinitely wiser than me. I suggest you do the same. God loves you more than you could ever know and Jesus laid down His life just for you, even if you were the only person on earth. You can trust Him, 100%. The Bible says that He’ll never fail you. Don’t worry or even think about “illegals”, the President or politics or anything. It’s beyond your control or mine. Politicians are all like prostitutes…they’ve all been bought and sold so many times that they can make even the most hardened girl of the streets blush. Trust God for our nation, but first trust Him and Jesus for yourself. Don’t curse at the darkness…light a candle instead.
“There was the true light (Jesus), which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own (Israel) and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name…” I trust that this will be true for you, Suzie, and that God will envelop you with His great comfort and love.
Jesus lives! His death and resurrection is the watershed event in human history. Since He left us a legacy of LIFE, may we die to our selfish desires, so that He may live in and through us.
Suzie,
On this wonderful day when we celebrate Christ’s resurrection, I’m sorry that you’re so unhappy. Perhaps you could share with us some of the things in your life that bring you joy.
Evon
What a blessing to hear the gospel proclaimed! For a biblical definition of the gospel read 1st Corinthians, chapter 15. from which La Shawn has quoted. “Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift!” I thank God for you sister.
Once again a great post.
Easter Blessings to all my friends here!
Christ is indeed victorious over death and sin. Happy Easter!
Easter should be during Passover–the last supper was a seder, Jesus was crucified during Passover, and he rose at the end.
mj,
I think you’re right.
I don’t know if u answer these types of questions, but I’m glad I checked your site, because I ponder similar questions every year. Especially lately. These are not attacks. They are honest questions.
1) Does all of this mean that nobody ever went to heaven before Jesus? If any sin, in the absence of Jesus’ sacrifice, would incur God’s wrath, then who went to heaven before Jesus died and rose?
2) How important is it to avoid sin after you’ve already accepted Jesus?
Romal, I will discuss this further when I get to a computer. I’m on a PDA. Very hard to write. People of the OT were saved just like those after Christ: by his grace through faith. The people may not have known his name, but it was Christ they were trusting in.
I’m late, but mj, you are absolutely right. Even in Acts where the wort ‘easter’ appears, it is inaccurate. The word should have been translated passover. Easter (along with the bunnies and eggs) is actually a pagan ritual that has NOTHING to do with the Christ. Because of centuries of try to ‘cleanse’ Chreistianity of any Jewish influence, CXhristians have fallen into the trap of celebrating this ancient celebration of fertility rather than celebrating the Passover Lamb that was slain and who lives forever more. Forgive us. I’d give nore details but it would require more space than I think our hostess would be willing to give.
Rafael,
Absolutely right…I’ve read that “Easter” comes from “Ishtar”, the ancient goddess of fertility, as you have said.
Romal.
You asked two very pertinent questions and La Shawn gave you the answer to the first in a nutshell. Before Christ came, people were “saved” from their sins through Him also. The Jewish people were instructed to offer a variety of animal sacrifices for their sins. They would lay their hands on the innocent victim before it was killed to show that they were transferring their sins onto it. It was God’s way of teaching them that only an innocent victim could take the penalty for their sins. Their lives were spared because of God’s love but the innocent animal’s life was taken. According to the book of Hebrews, their sins were temporarily covered until the next time. Once a year the High Priest would go into the holy place to offer a sacrifice for all the sins of the people that might have been inadvertently not sacrificed for. He wore bells at the bottom of his robe. As long as the people standing outside the tabernacle could hear the bells, they knew that the priest’s sacrifice for them was acceptable to God. This system existed for 1400 years and applied to the Jews and whichever non-Jews had attached themselves to them. Examples of these include Rahab, Ruth and Bathsheba, all of whom were ancestors of Christ Himself. The system also included the sacrifice of pure, white one-year old lambs by each family once a year to memorialize the day that God passed over their sins and led them out of the slavery in Egypt. For all these reasons, John the Baptist introduced Jesus as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world…” Because Jesus was God, He was sinless. Because He was a sinless man, also, He could die in our place. The book of Hebrews says that Jesus’ offering of Himself ended all sacrifices and eliminated our continual consciousness of sins. He died one time for all of us because of God’s great love for us. The Bible says that God is not willing for any of us to perish but that He wants all of us to have eternal life. But that forgiveness and eternal life is a free gift. It cannot be worked for. It is necessary for us to acknowledge our sin and helplessness to do anything about it so that God can extend His love and grace and forgiveness to us through His Son. Our response can only be open hands and an open heart. cont’d
cont’d…
God’s quandry, so to speak, was that He loved the world so much but was also the Holy Judge of the universe. How could He be just and loving at the same time? He was just in that our sins were taken on by Jesus and paid for by His death. He was loving because He could therefore offer complete forgiveness and eternal life to all who would admit their need and receive His gift. Jesus gave Himself for us and God gave Him for us because of their overpowering love for us. God’s justice and holiness and love and grace and mercy all met at one time in history on the cross of Jesus. Those in the Old Testament looked forward to Jesus and His sacrifice. We look back. Together, we form one huge family of God’s sons and daughters.
Now, what about those who existed outside the Jewish people and had never heard of the Jews…people that lived in Africa or Asia or Europe or what is now North and South America? Were they shut out and lost? This is what I was taught and I now believe it to be wrong and for the following 3 reasons.
First, after Adam and Eve sinned they realized their nakedness and guilt. God provided animal skins to cover them. Innocent animals had to die to cover their sin. And you will notice this concept all the way through the book of Genesis up until the time when God gave the instructions of the sacrificial system to Moses.
But the concept had been set in Genesis chapter 3. The Bible traces world history through the Jewish people, whom God had set apart to give witness to His great love and holiness. But what about everyone else?
Second, the Bible tells the story of a man named Job. He was not Jewish…he was from a place far to the east of Israel. But he sacrificed innocent animals for the sins of his family. And I think that this concept was spread across the globe…this need to seek forgiveness and the desire to sacrifice an innocent animal (and sometimes even a child) so that God’s forgiveness could be achieved and His wrath stayed. In nearly every culture, we see remnants of this concept. For example, the Indians of the Great Plains would kill a buffalo and thank the Great Spirit for it because it provided for almost all the families’ needs. They would also thank the buffalo and ask it to forgive them for having had to take its life. However distorted some might think this to be, it is perfectly in line with what God originally taught Adam and Eve. And similar examples can be found everywhere.
Third, in Romans chapter 3 we are told that God is pleased with those non-Jews, who live up to their conscience. And in Psalm 51 we are told that the sacrifice that God is really pleased with is a broken and contrite heart. So, there is much room in Scripture for the idea that other folks around the world lived up to the light that they had, offered sacrifices to the Deity by whatever name, had hearts that were broken and contrite because of their sins and lived up to their consciences as they could. Which people were they? Only God knows but when we get to Heaven we may be very surprised to see who is there and who’s NOT there. cont’d
cont’d
Now, what about being concerned about our sins after we trust in Jesus? To answer this properly requires that we examine what exactly happened on the cross when Jesus died. Colossians 2:13-15 is the most important passage in the Bible in this respect. It says that there was a huge list of sins that stood against us…every sin in thought or deed…every sin in which we didn’t do what we should have done…Because God had said centuries earlier that “the soul that sins should have to die…” this list demanded our death. Why should God let such sinful and disobedient people into His heaven? If all of us have sinned and come short of His glory, what possible hope is there for us?
The answer to this is that our lists, and mine was extremely long, were nailed to the top of Jesus’ cross marked “paid in full” and completely erased. This happened nearly 2,000 years ago and is still valid today for all who believe. The Roman custom was to put a sign on the top of the crosses recording what the criminal was being crucified for. Jesus sign said “The King of the Jews”, which as we know was actually true. Therefore, God could heap on Jesus’ cross ALL our lists of ALL our sins at one point in history. Jesus death paid the penalty for our sins. His resurrection proved that He was God, not just a man, and therefore could forgive and give eternal life. I once saw a photo of two Cambodian monks, who were standing together. One was bowing to the other and the caption said that he was asking the other to forgive him of his sins. Of course, this is impossible. I can not forgive you of your sins nor you mine. Our sins are first of all against our Creator and His forgiveness is what we must seek.
Now if we’ve been completely forgiven, what’s to keep us from just going on and sinning? The list of our sins is now blank because it has been paid for. Why not just continue to sin? God has thought of everything and has a remedy for that also. Romans chapters 6 through 8 tell us that God has identified us with Jesus in His death and resurrection. Sin had power over Jesus when He took our sins on Himself. The wages of sin are death and Jesus took our death on Himself. But sin has no more power over Him and neither does it over us. God broke sin’s power over our lives. But He has added one more extremely powerful element to aid us in the daily struggle against sin. He has given us His Holy Spirit to live in us and empower us to live a life, which is pleasing to God. We now have a strong pull in us to do right and want to please God. We now have a strong pull toward loving others and forgiving them as Christ forgave us…in advance. The Holy Spirit begins to produce the fruit of love and joy and peace and godliness in us. When we fail, we know we are already forgiven and can rush back to our Heavenly Father to acknowledge our failure without fear. He may discipline us, sometimes severely, just like earthly fathers and mothers but we are still loved…we are still His children.
Romal, I hope this helps you some. I trust that you will put your trust in Jesus and come to know the forgiveness, love and joy and peace and eternal life that He died to bring you. God loves you more than you could ever know and He will never disappoint or fail you.
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