What difference does it make that Christ rose from the dead? It makes all the difference for everyone and everything throughout eternity! It is the single most significant, paradigm-changing, earth-shattering event of all time.
Because He is risen, we can live with Him forever! The center of our Christian faith is knowing not only that Jesus, Son of God and God Himself, died on the cross to pay our sin debt, but that He rose again to give us eternal life. That is the heart of the Gospel, or Good News (1 Corinthians 15: 1-4). Christianity is unique among the religions because we serve a risen Savior! The leaders of all other religions are dead and there is no claim of their resurrection.
The list of appearances of the risen Christ is to dispel all doubt that He not only rose from the dead, but that He appeared in a resurrection body for more than 500 witnesses to see at different times and places (1 Corinthians 15:5-8; Acts 1:3).
The resurrection of Christ proves His deity (Romans 1:3). The resurrection of Christ completed the work God the Father sent Him to do; namely, as God the Son, to be the perfect, holy sacrifice that paid for our sins. When that was finished, He returned to His rightful place at the right hand of God the Father (Hebrews 1:1-3).
The resurrection of Christ is essential for us to have eternal life and for our salvation (1 Corinthians 15:12-20). It is evidence that when God looks at each of us as believers, He sees not our sins, but the pure holiness of His Son who gave us His righteousness by taking on our sins (Romans 4:24-25).
The resurrection of Christ is the proof that He is the righteous Judge to whom all must give an accounting one day (Acts 17:31)
The resurrection of Christ is the reason believers have hope (1 Peter 1:3-5). All believers in the resurrection who, through faith, have accepted Christ as their Savior, are saved and are eternally secure in their salvation (John 10:28-29; Romans 8:33-39).
The resurrection of Christ is the reason believers can be confident in receiving glorified bodies at the Rapture and spending eternity with Christ (1 Thessalonians 4: 14-17).
Praise God that we serve a risen Savior! May the power of His resurrection inspire your daily life, secure your salvation, and guarantee your eternal destiny in Heaven as a child of the King! He died for you, and because He rose, you can live with Him forever! Trust Him today!
John 11:25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: 26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.
© 2012 Laurie Collett
36 comments:
So many who claim to be Christians view the whole thing as a myth where the details really don't matter, but as I Corinthians 15:19 says, "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable", and if the Bible isn't accurate, then we have no solid basis for hope.
Praise God it is true and he was raised.
Great post.
Thanks, dfish! Without Christ as the firstfruits of the resurrection, we have no more hope than anyone else. Praise God that He overcame sin and death for all who trust in His death, burial & resurrection!
May you have a blessed Resurrection Sunday,
Laurie
YIPPEEEE!!!
CHRIST HAS RISEN INDEED.
A very well written article. So uplifting.
Wishing you a happy Easter.
Thanks for your encouragement, Frank! What great joy believers can share at Easter and whenever we remember that He is risen! Amen and Amen!
Happy Easter to you too!
Laurie
Awesome post.
A blessed Easter to you! Yes I pray that the power of the resurrection inspire me in my daily life! Great prayer! Patsy from
HeARTworks
Thanks, Denise! Happy Resurrection Sunday to you!
Laurie
Dear Patsy,
Thanks for your greeting and prayer! I join you in that prayer and in the joy of His resurrection!
God bless,
Laurie
Resurection is the most important and probably the most questioned event in history. But Christ, who is live, can change lifes of milions people - yesterday, today and tomorrow. He changed Paul, who persecuted Christians - it is miracle.
I wish You all the best in this Easter, joy, hope, strenght in Him, Who can give strength for daily life.
Greetings for You.
Dear Zim,
How each person deals with the cross and the resurrection will determine how they spend eternity.
Thank you for the Easter wishes, and the very same to you and your family.
Love and blessings,
Laurie
Laurie, I just posted a brief answer to your question on my blog. Thanks for your comments.
Thanks so much, dfish, for replying to my question! I just posted a reply on your blog as well.
Love in Him,
Laurie
Well that covers a lot of glorious stuff! ;) Amen!
Thanks, Modern Day Disciple! God bless,
Laurie
It's always glorious to walk through these truths again. Thank you for expressing them so clearly with the references. You are my neighbor at Soli Dei Gloria today, and I'm glad I stopped by. It's lovely to meet you. Grace and peace to you in our Lord Jesus.
Dear tinuviel,
Thanks so much for visiting and for your lovely comment! Love, peace and joy to you, in His precious Name.
Laurie
AMEN!! If it wasn't for that, I'd have been dead long ago, and not for any blessed reason at all and certainly not headed to heaven. He was first!
I've had a saying I wrote years ago that I've wanted to put on a shirt: "The Worst Thing That Can Ever Happen to Me is That I Will Die and Go to Heaven." I still think of that often.
Amen, caryjo! I love your saying! If we have Christ, what can mere mortals do to us?
Love in Him,
Laurie
Wow -- because of what Christ did, His sacrifice the cross, the world changed forever! I am so grateful for His love that enables me to live in relationship with Him forever! Praise God!
Amen, Joan! We are so blessed!
May you have a joyful week in Him,
Laurie
Hi Laurie - such a great post and a great reminder that NOTHING is the same again, nothing is untouched and we have everything to gain. Life in Christ for always
God bless
Tracy
Thanks, Tracy! Praise God that we are a new creation in Him!
Blessings to you,
Laurie
Great post, Laurie and so encouraging. Yes, He is risen! I'm so thankful for His grace and mercy.
Blessings,
Joan
Praise the Lord,
The same power that rose Jesus from the dead, lives inside us.
How awesome!
Great post. Laurie and as Joan says, 'very encouraging'
God Bless, have a blessed weekend.
Thanks, Joan, for your kind words! Praise Him for His amazing grace and tender mercies!
Love in Him,
Laurie
Dear Carole,
Thanks so much for visiting & commenting! It is amazing to think that the Creator of all lives within each believer!
God bless you,
Laurie
I believe!
Amen, momto8!
Blessings,
Laurie
This is so true. Nothing else in history comes close to comparing. Thank you for this beautiful post.
Blessings,
Charlotte
Thanks, Charlotte, for your encouragement.
May you have a blessed week in Him!
Laurie
indeed it makes ALL the difference! i have just read that you are champion ballroom dancers! i am in awe of people with dancing talents like yours! praise God that you use your talents for His glory! thank you for sharing, a blessed Easter season to you! peggy aplSEEDS
Thanks, Peggy -- I appreciate the kind words! God is good to allow us to praise Him with dance! If you have a moment, please check out our dance ministry website:
http://www.praisehimwithdance.com
God's blessings to you!
Laurie
I also love that our one true God is also the only one who wants a personal relationship with us. He wants to be involved in our everyday. Good post. :) Thank you for linking up last week. It's such a blessing to find these posts to read. :)
Thanks, Audra Marie! It is amazing that our Creator desires fellowship with us! What a great blessing to know that He is with us 24/7 and that we can come to His throne any time!
Love in Him,
Laurie
Dear friend,
Who taught you that your good deeds can help save you? The Bible says that all the sinner’s “good” deeds are nothing but filthy rags to God. The Bible also says that there is none righteous…not even ONE! That means you, my friend. God says that all men are dead in their trespasses and sins and that none seek righteousness. What makes you think, therefore, that you have the capability to make a decision for God, to make a decision that you want to be righteous, when God says that you are incapable of such a deed?
Someone has taught you to believe that God needs your assistance, or at a minimum, God needs your cooperation to save you. That is not scriptural. It is false doctrine. Not only does God not need your assistance in your salvation…he does not ALLOW it!
If God requires you to do ANYTHING prior to giving you the “free gift” of salvation, then salvation is no longer free…it is a REWARD for your “good” decision, which is just another way to say that God is rewarding you for your GOOD DEED. Good deeds cannot save you, friend. Only the FREE gift of salvation, given to those whom God has predestined, before the world existed, to be his children, can save.
So how does salvation happen? It is very simple:
1. God predestined you, before the world existed, to be his child.
2. At some point in your life, at a time of God’s choosing, he uses his Word to quicken your spiritually dead soul, give you the free gift of faith, and you believe.
That’s it! THAT is salvation!
Salvation is not dependent on your decision to be a good person.
Salvation is not dependent your decision to be baptized.
Salvation is not dependent on your decision to “accept” Christ.
The sinner believes because God has chosen him to believe, not because the sinner makes a free will decision to believe. In salvation, the sinner is a passive participant. GOD does all the work! God initiates, performs, and completes ALL the necessary requirements for your salvation. Your belief and repentance are not decisions; they are passive reactions to God’s redeeming, all-powerful, saving grace.
Sinners do NOT make the decision to be saved. God makes the decision to save the sinner!
http://www.lutherwasnotbornagain.com/2013/08/why-lutherans-baptize-infants_22.html
Hi Gary,
Thanks for your comment, which I see is a verbatim reposting of your most recent blog post. We are saved by grace through faith in His death, burial and resurrection. He gave us free will, yet in His omniscience He foreknew who would accept His freely given gift of grace. Without faith it is impossible to please Him. We are not saved by any works, including baptism.
God bless,
Laurie
Post a Comment