Believe and Confess 120916

Romans 10:9-13, because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 

 

Confess with your mouth and believe in your heart. The heart believes and the mouth confesses. In verses 9 and 10 Paul summarizes the gospel for all the world to see. He uses belief and confession in both verses and reverses the order from one to the other. Both confession of the Lordship of Christ and belief in the heart that God raised Jesus from the dead is necessary for salvation. Both confession and belief are necessary to salvation. I do not believe they are steps that occur in a particular order. They sort of happen together rather than one leading to the other. If Jesus is Lord, then the resurrection is part of what we believe about him. Verses 11 through 13 are an expansion on verses 9 and 10 and shows the Old Testament proof supporting the earlier verses.

Paul has quoted from Moses showing that the word from the Lord was not far away from the people of Israel as they entered the promised land. Now he applies the same idea to the men of his day, and incidentally, to the people of our day. The word is near — in the mouth and in the heart — the word of faith proclaimed in Scripture. Everyone who calls on the name the Lord will be saved. Now there is a false teaching surrounding this idea.

I remember when I was a boy listening to a preacher presenting his understanding of this passage. I thought to myself then that what he was saying could not possibly be true. He said that if you call on the name of the Lord you are saved. Then he went on to illustrate the concept that he had. Remember, when I was a boy was during and just after World War II. Millions of American men had gone into that war. Many of them found themselves in combat much more vicious than today simply because they had no body armor to protect them. The preacher said that most of them, in the middle of battle, had cried out to the Lord to save them. Therefore, he concluded that those men were saved because during their time of fear they called out to God. That just simply cannot be! I agree with the elderly lady in a testimony service who said, "It ain't how loud you shout when you yell hallelujah, or how high you jump, it's how straight you walk when you hit the ground.” I am not advocating works salvation. I am saying that confession with the mouth that Jesus is Lord involves more than using his name in a particular time of crisis or religious fervor. Confessing with the mouth must be accompanied by believing in the heart for salvation to occur. Never take one verse by itself, or a few selected verses by themselves, to build your faith. It must be based on the entire word of God.

God invites all to call on his name and be blessed with all the riches of God. God's riches are not always seen in material things. However, he is very generous towards those he can trust with material possessions. Though he is the richest person in the universe he chose to leave heaven's glory for the gloom of earth and become poor in order that by his poverty that we might become rich. Now that is not my opinion it is the word of God found in 2nd Corinthians 8:9. Now let us look at the passage before us…

God invites ALL. There is a general call to all people to come to the Lord. At the Feast of Booths Jesus stood before the crowd and said, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ' Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'" (John 7:37-38)

Jesus said, "whoever believes in him." Read with me, John 6:47, Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. In fact, twelve times in the gospel of John Jesus uses the term "whoever" in connection with belief in him. It seems obvious that he was saying anyone can come if they will. We know that not everyone will come and it is very obvious that many people will reject the gospel offer. God has made us in such a way that he ordains all that we do and we exercise our personal will and make real, voluntary choices. Many people reject this idea because we cannot understand it. Yet it is clearly presented in Scripture. Should we reject something that we do not understand? We cannot understand, in any final sense, how a plant lives or how a bumblebee flies. I do not understand what a carbohydrate is but I do not deny the existence of carbohydrates. I do not understand what a vitamin is but I take them everyday. Everyone has something they do not understand and yet they do not reject it simply because they do not understand it. So it is with the truth of the Bible concerning Election.

Most Bible scholars agree that Romans 1:16 states the theme of the book. Let us look that verse now…

The theme verse says, "everyone who believes". Read with me Romans 1:16, For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Paul was not ashamed of the gospel even though the gospel condemned his own people because they pursued a righteousness of the law rather than righteousness of faith. He was not ashamed of the gospel because he had, literally, "seen the light" on the Damascus Road, as a result, he now understood that all he had stood for in the past was just garbage. The good news about Jesus Christ is the power of God for salvation. It is the power of God for salvation to everyone. It is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. The Jews had the first opportunity to come to the gospel. Paul always presented it that way. He went to the synagogue and preached the gospel, and then, when he was turned away, he presented the gospel to whoever would listen. For that action he was condemned by his own people who believed that they were the chosen people of God. Paul had come to understand that the church is "The Israel of God" and now the gospel goes out all the world.

The theme of the book of Acts seems to me to be the gospel going out beginning in Jerusalem, then to Judea, then to Samaria, and finally to the ends of the earth. Beginning with only Jews, Acts tells us about the gospel going to Samaritans, an Ethiopian, Roman soldiers, and spreading to non-Jews in many places. The last word in the Greek book of Acts is translated as "unhindered". Though Paul was in chains in Rome the gospel was not hindered — it was going out to everyone everywhere. And those who believed were being saved. It is a wonderful story and has continued until today. This is not some New Testament idea it was prophesied repeatedly in the Old Testament for example…

Joel spoke of everyone. If you have your Bible, turn to Joel 2:32, And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls…

This is the verse used by Paul in Romans 10:13. Repeatedly, Paul has quoted from the Old Testament prophets in support of this truth that the gospel of God has always been "The Gospel of Grace" and is available to all people everywhere. Remember, the call must come because the person doing the calling has believed in their heart. The basic belief in Christ is that he was born of a virgin, took our sins on the cross, was buried and raised again to live forever as the only mediator between God and man. This is not some simple repetition of a formula for salvation. Instead, this is a serious commitment to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

In using the quote from Joel, Paul was making very plain who Jesus is. Joel, of course, was written originally in the Hebrew language. The word "Lord", in the Hebrew text, is the name of God "Yahweh" or, as some would have it in English, "Jehovah". So Paul, a very intelligent scholar of the Hebrew Bible, knowingly used the quote from Joel to say that Jesus is God Himself. Therefore, when we…

Call on the Name. We are calling on God himself because that is who Jesus is. You may say that you do not understand the Trinity. And some deny it because the word Trinity is not in the Bible. It is a word based on "tri", or three, and "unity". Resulting in a word to describe three persons in one Godhead. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, are God. They are in perfect unity and perfect communion with each other. When we call on the name we do it because we believe and not because we have somehow earned the right through our good works.

Believing and confessing, not works of the law. Turn in your Bibles to Ephesians 2:8-10, For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Salvation is by grace through faith only. The Scripture says that we are not saved by works of righteousness that we have done. This passage states that it is not our own doing. In fact, it is a gift of God! Our salvation does not result from our good works. We have nothing to boast about and many things to be ashamed of. We have all sinned and come short of God's glory. That is exceptionally sad because the wages of sin is death. If we have all sinned and the wages of sin is death we are born in trouble and it just gets worse as we grow older.

Praise God, we are not beyond hope. God shows his love for us while we are still sinners, ungodly people, by sending his Son to take our sins into his own body and die on the cross. Which allows us, if we are willing, to come to him and confess that Jesus is Lord affirming our belief that he died on the cross and was raised again. If a person believes in their heart, with their entire being, and confesses with their mouth that he is Lord the Bible says that they are saved. A person makes such a confession because they have been called by God you see…

The "called" call on the name. Let's see what Paul said to the Corinthians, he was writing to the church there, turn with me to 1 Corinthians 1:2, To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: 

 

This is just one example, out of many that we might have used, talking about those who call on the name of the Lord. Notice how these people are described. 1st) they are the church of God that is in Corinth. Not the Baptist Church or the Methodist Church or the Catholic Church but the church of God. All those names for churches came later. I personally believe that what God has done in the Baptist Church speaks to me personally so I am not ashamed of the name "Baptist". Any time you want to know more about what I believe in that respect just ask me I will be happy to fill you in. 2nd) Paul is writing those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus. They are people who are set apart from the world and are in Christ Jesus. 3rd) They are called to be saints. Sanctified in Christ Jesus and called, by God, to be saints. I know that there are some churches who respect certain individuals to the point that they call them "Saints". In New Orleans there is a whole football team of "Saints". Yet the New Testament refers to all believers as Saints. It is made very clear in this passage that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ is called to be a Saint. And therefore, the called call on the name of the Lord. And…

Calling on the name involves Lordship. Recall the words of Joel, "… everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." There are people who teach that salvation comes to a person when they give intellectual assent. Then they teach that the person who wants to go on in spiritual growth accept Christ as "Lord". The Bible does not teach this division.

When Paul met Jesus on the Damascus Road he called Jesus, "Lord". "Who are you Lord", he said. And no one knew better what the meeting of "Lord" was than Paul. He knew that word should only be applied to God himself. Later, Paul would tell us about his preaching by saying that he did not hesitate to tell them anything that was profitable to them. He preached to them publicly and from house to house telling everyone about repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. (Acts 20:20-21)

Repentance is essential to salvation. We turn away from all known sin because we are now ready to confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father. All people everywhere need to repent and confess Jesus is Lord. It does not make any difference who your family is or what race you are. The same Lord is Lord of all and he is…

Bestowing his riches. On those who call upon his name.

Salvation is the greatest gift. Turn with me to Ephesians 1:3-8, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight

If you are Christian you have been blessed in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. You have been chosen by him before the world was created! We have been chosen to be holy and blameless before him. He chose beforehand to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. It was the purpose of his will that he blessed us with Jesus — The Beloved! He has redeemed us through the blood of Christ, forgiving our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace. These riches he lavished on us in his wisdom and insight.

His riches may include material things. I subscribe to the concept that God rewards us with material things as much as he can trust us with material things! In other words he gives us what he can trust us with! The truth is, God is more generous than we come near to deserving in the area of material blessings. God is prepared to pour out upon us, lavishly, of material and spiritual things…

More than we can imagine. Look at this quote from Isaiah found in 1 Corinthians 2:9,But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”—

God has prepared for those who love him more than can be imagined. Not just more than we have imagined but more than we can imagine. More than we have ever seen, more than we have ever heard about and more than we have ever dreamed. 2nd Chronicles 16:9 tells us that the eyes of the Lord run to and fro over the whole earth to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless towards him. We should be aware that God wants to provide for us. Through the psalmist (Ps 81:16) he said that he would feed us with the finest wheat and with honey from the rock. But, he could not because we would not trust in him.

As Jesus entered Jerusalem he mourned the condition of the city, saying, "How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!" (Matthew 23:37)

We see in these examples how much God desires to bless his people. The big problem is his people, by and large, are just not blessable! 

 

God Himself is the ultimate gift!

The greatest gift we could ever receive is a relationship with the living God! All the world, sons and daughters of Adam and Eve, are born in sin and conceived in iniquity. Everyone, without exception, deserves death and hell. Yet, God chose for reasons of his own to save some and make them his people. Chosen, not because they are good or somehow deserve it, but because he chooses to love the unlovely. His greatest gift was himself! From the beginning of time he had planned a way for man to know him. Not as the far-off God who created and then drew back to watch his creation but instead one who is near. In fact, not just one who came alongside us but one who came to be one of us. John tells us in the 1st chapter of his gospel that Jesus, the Word, came to his own and his own people did not receive him. But, to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave a right to become children of God,

In Romans 5:8 Paul tells us that God shows us his love in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. And in the 2nd Corinthians 5:21 we are told that he who knew no sin was made to be sin for us so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Can any gift be greater than that which he bestows on us who believe in him.

Throughout Romans 9-11 Paul's concern for the Israelites, his own people, causes him to point out to them (and us) that God always had a plan. A plan that called all people to himself not just the descendents of Abraham. It is not just a matter of saying the word "Lord" in your confession. It is not just a matter of calling to the Lord. Remember, Jesus said that there would be many on the day of judgment who would say to him, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?" Jesus went on to say that he never knew them! Just before that Jesus said, "Not everyone who says to me 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my father who is in heaven." (Matthew 7:21-23) If Jesus as your Lord you will do the will of God the Father.

All scripture quotes from:The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

No Condemnation 120520

Romans 8:1-4, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”

Romans chapter eight begins with, "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." And ends with, "(nothing) will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." This chapter should be a great source of encouragement for those who live by faith. You need to remember that faith is living like God tells the truth. The old saying, "God said it, I believe it, that settles it" sounds right but it is wrong. If God said it that settles it. If I believe it I can enjoy it. Our belief, or unbelief, neither adds to nor takes away from the validity of what God says. God said, "… no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus". Yet many Christians live out their lives in condemnation of one form or another. What can we do about it?

Jesus intended us to be free from condemnation. Satan intends that we live under a load of condemnation. Jesus said it himself in John 10:10, "The thief comes only to steal kill and destroy. I came that they might have life and have it abundantly."

You see, we are Free from the Law.

The Law is a ministry of condemnation. 2 Corinthians 3:7-9, “Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory?" Here Scripture refers to the Old Testament law, even the Ten Commandments, carved by the hand of God, as, "the ministry of death"! Imagine that, when God met with his people, whom he had just set free from slavery in Egypt, he set before them an impossible standard. Some may claim to keep the law but the Scriptures teach that we cannot keep the law. Even for those who do not have the written law there is a moral law recognized by all people. Again, it's not possible to keep it perfectly. However, it is further evidence of the existence of God. All people everywhere recognize that there are certain things wrong and other things that are right. They also recognize that they fail to keep that moral law.

The purpose of the law is to reveal sin. Romans 3:20, "For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin." Our conscience comes alive when we confront the law. It brings condemnation. Romans chapter five talks to us about how sin entered the world. There was one negative law: No fruit may be from the tree in the middle of the garden. Pretty simple and easy to keep. That law was broken, not by backslidden sinners who were far away from God, but by two people who walked and talked with God everyday. Adam and Eve had the closest possible relationship to God yet Satan came in deceived Eve into breaking the only law they had to break! God had a plan from the very beginning that included giving the law to show man how exceedingly sinful Sin is.

But we are not under law we are under grace. Romans 6:14, "For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace." If we are in bondage under the law we have no hope. The law reveals our sin and then tells us that the payoff of sin is death. What a great condemnation this heaps on all of us! But praise God, we are free from the law. As the great hymn writer, P. P. Bliss put it:

Free from the law, O happy condition, Jesus hath bled, and there is remission; cursed by the law and bruised by the fall, grace hath redeemed us once for all.


Once for all, O sinner receive it; once for all, O brother, believe it;


cling to the cross, the burden will fall, Christ hath redeemed us once for all.


Now we are free there's no condemnation, Jesus provides a perfect salvation; "Come unto me," O hear his sweet call, come, and he saves us once for all.

Christ hath redeemed us! O, How I love the old hymns because by and large they have excellent theology teaching truth we can hang onto. Not only are we free from the law living under grace but it is once for all. Justification by faith alone changes us into children of God. Our sins are forgiven and Christ's righteousness is given to us. It cannot be earned and it cannot be taken away. Indeed, it is Once for All!

I pray that each of you enjoy the comfort of knowing that you have received Jesus Christ as Lord by faith and his grace rules in your life.

A new law takes precedence.

The law of the Spirit of life. John 5:21, “For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.” Jesus gives life to whom he will! Remember when he stood at the grave of Lazarus? There he gave back physical life as an evidence that he could give spiritual life. When Martha rebuked him for not being there to heal her brother, Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.” (John 11:25-27) Jesus, as God in the flesh, could give life where he wished. Not just life on earth but life eternal. He promised his disciples that when he went away he would send the Holy Spirit and, in that Spirit, he would never leave us or forsake us. Many years later John wrote three little letters. In the first letter he said, "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us—" (1 John 1:1-2) in chapter 5 John added, “And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life." (1 John 5:11-12)

This law is the Spirit of Jesus. 1 Corinthians 15:45, "Thus it is written, 'The first man Adam became a living being'; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit." Adam is the federal head of the human race and as such sold us into Sin. Jesus, by virtue of his death, burial and resurrection, became the federal head of a new people. A people who were once dead in trespasses and sins and who are now made alive by God's grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ! The law of the spirit of life is none other than Jesus Christ himself. The overcame the law of sin and death. We find in the book of Hebrews 2:14-15, "Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery." When a person comes to faith in Jesus Christ that person is no longer in bondage. The law of the Spirit of life takes precedence over the law of sin and death. The believer is justified by grace as a gift of God. I know, some of these theological terms seem difficult, but justification is not too hard to understand. Wayne Grudem in his Systematic Theology gives this definition, "Justification is an instantaneous legal act of God in which he (1) thinks of our sins as forgiven and Christ’s righteousness as belonging to us, and (2) declares us to be righteous in his sight." We know that in our flesh there is no good thing. God does not declare us righteous on the basis of our goodness he declares us righteous on the basis Jesus' goodness.

Being justified we have his Spirit. In Galatians 4:6, Paul wrote "And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba! Father!' " There are those who teach that receiving the Holy Spirit is a second work of grace. We need to remember that God is one. He doesn't come in pieces. We don't receive the Father then later receive the Son and then, if you're really good, you receive the Holy Spirit. In 1 Corinthians 12:13, we find these words, "For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit." The body we are baptized into is the body of Christ, the Church. The Spirit that baptizes us and of which we are made to drink is the Holy Spirit. If you are born again it was the work of the Spirit not of your own will.

We need to remember, this is God's work not ours.


We cannot save ourselves. Many people seem to believe that somehow their goodness can make them right with God. Paul wrote the following words to Titus, speaking of God, “he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior," (Titus 3:5-6) We have nothing that we can do to save ourselves. People either don't know, or seem to forget, that we were born spiritually dead as sons and daughters of Adam and Eve. A dead person can do nothing to help themselves. That's equally true of the spiritual as the physical. Any person, sensitive to the call of God, is drawn by God into life so that he or she can accept Jesus Christ as Lord and be born again.

God sent his son for sin. John the apostle wrote, "In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him." 1 John 4:9 The only hope of life and escaping condemnation is found in Jesus Christ. As John the Baptist was baptizing repentant people in the Jordan River he saw Jesus and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world", John 1:29. Takes away the sin of the world. Not just pays for our sins but takes them away from us. Sin is a natural part of mankind and through the flesh, or our old habits, continues to cause us to struggle — even to feel condemned. But remember, "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus". The truth is God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself. This reconciliation brings all believers into the body Christ.

God condemned Sin to set us free. 2 Corinthians 5:21 tells us, "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." What an amazing truth is found in this passage. "For our sake" should fill us with grateful admiration for the living God who found us in our sin, condemned our sin, made the Lord Jesus to be sin for us so that we could become the righteousness of God in HIM! Our greatest need involves the problem of sin. So, God took our sin, not just our sins, but the sin nature itself and placed it on our sacrifice, the Lord Jesus himself. In doing that he justified us. You cannot be justified without being placed in Christ. And the moment we are placed in Christ sanctification has already begun in us! We are wholly justified but we are just beginning sanctification. As Peter put it in 1 Peter 2:24, "He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness". God has arranged things so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. Living to righteousness is a process that will continue as long as we live on this earth. At our death, or Christ's return, our sanctification will flow into glorification. Sanctification is a process that makes us more and more free from sin and more and more like Christ in our life on earth. It is not a progress towards "sainthood" since we are made Saints at salvation. Repeatedly throughout the New Testament believers are called Saints. In Romans 1:7 Paul refers to his recipients as those who are "called to be saints". In 1 Corinthians 1:2 he adds that he is writing "to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints…". In 2 Corinthians chapter 1 he refers to "all the Saints who are in the whole of (Greece)". Etc. etc.… Saints are not perfect and we have plenty of evidence in our own lives. Since we are Saints and we still have the old habits of the flesh our imperfections stand out. But nonetheless according to the Bible — and that's all we can base our lives on — all Christians are Saints and as such are in Christ Jesus. For those who are in Christ Jesus there is no condemnation! I pray that that is the condition of every person reading this.

The whole message of Romans could be summed up in chapter 1 verse sixteen that says, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes,…". The law came in alongside the flesh to bring condemnation to all people. The law was never intended to "cure" sin but simply to reveal sinfulness of sin. But Praise God! We are not under law but under grace. Jesus has come into the life of every believer in the power of the spirit and justified us by grace through faith. We were born dead in sin and unable to save ourselves. So God sent his son, Jesus Christ, for sin so that he could condemn sin in the flesh and set us free. I hope you have received him as Lord and Savior so you can enjoy the benefits of abundant life.

All Scripture quotes are fromThe Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001, Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ

Luke 24:1-12, "But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. 5 And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” 8 And they remembered his words, 9 and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. 10 Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles, 11 but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. 12 But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened."

The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is a historical fact! Jesus was publicly buried and his tomb was guarded by soldiers who were not sympathetic. His disciples, including Peter, were cowards who hid themselves, or lied about their relationship, during his trial and crucifixion. Yet, forty days later they would boldly stand in front of the same crowd that called for Jesus' crucifixion and proclaim, "… this Jesus, … you crucified … God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it," (Acts 2:23-24) How could they have been so brave if they had not seen the risen Lord? There are people, even today, who claim that the resurrection was a fabrication of the apostles. If that were true the authorities would've produced the body and stopped the whole movement in its tracks. None of the arguments against the resurrection hold water in the light of the fact that his disciples believed so strongly that he was raised that they were willing to die rather than deny it. What can we learn from his resurrection?

This resurrection was different from others.
Lazarus, and others, had been raised from the dead but died again. While these earlier resurrections were very significant in proving that Jesus is the Christ they were temporary. The widow's son at Nain, I am sure, was given many years to take care of his mother. He was given a second chance I'm sure he made the best use of it. Lazarus was restored to his family and lived on for a time as a witness to the power of God over death but he died again. I am sure he had less fear of death. After all, he had been there! It was no longer a mystery to him!

Jesus was the first of a new kind of human.
Paul presents the idea in 1 Corinthians 15:20-23, But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Here, he uses the word "firstfruits" and then notes that death came by a man and by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. Many theologians use the term, "Federal Head" to describe Adam and Jesus. Adam's sin resulted in death for all mankind. Jesus' death, burial and resurrection resulted in the hope of life eternal. Jesus became the head of a new race of humans. A race of people who no longer live in the kingdom of darkness but have been transferred to the kingdom of light.

He will never die again.
Romans 6:9 tells us exactly that, We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. Dominion is an interesting word. The Greek word that it translates speaks of influence and authority over. When Jesus was born of Mary in Bethlehem he was born into a body that was under the curse of sin. The body not the baby was under that curse. The person who lived in the body was God himself. He was the Lord of life and as such was never strictly under the dominion of sin, but his body was. When he was raised from the dead is body took on new characteristics. In his first appearance to his disciples he came into a closed room. He didn't need a door, but he always had before! They could touch him and feel him. Jesus invited Thomas to touch his wounds and see that they are real. Later he walked with two of his disciples and they didn't recognize him. When he broke bread with them they suddenly recognized him and he vanished from their sight! Again, a little later, he met some of them by the sea and cooked breakfast for them. For thirty-three years he had walked on the earth in his earth-suit. Now, he was walking around in his heaven-suit. It was a body that was perfected, made forever free from weakness, sickness, and death. There is a heaven-suit waiting for all those who have faith in him. The Bible says that when he appears we shall be like him! Have you trusted him? Do you have a heaven-suit waiting for you?

Christ's resurrection is essential to Christianity.
The empty tomb sets Christianity apart from all the world religions. The great teachers of the Greeks all died and remain dead. The great teachers of the Far East all died and remain dead. None of them offer eternal life because they don't have it to offer. The life of Jesus, not just the time he was on the Earth as a man, but the life force of Jesus is, and always was, eternal! He was there at the creation. All that was created, including life itself, came from him. As John would say, "… in him was life, and the life was the light of men".

Through his resurrection we were born anew.
1 Peter 1:3, says Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,… When Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, came to Jesus to talk about his teachings Jesus surprised him by saying, "… unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." (John 3:3) Apart from the resurrection of Jesus Christ there is no eternal life. We were born into the kingdom of death and darkness. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ gives us the right to be called children of God. Children who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:13) Without this new birth mankind has no hope. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. And, the wages of sin is death, but the gift God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)

Through his resurrection we are justified.
Romans 4:25 speaks of the Lord Jesus, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. What is justification? Wayne Grudem, in his Systematic Theology defines justification as follows: Justification is an instantaneous legal act of God in which he (1) thinks of our sins as forgiven and Christ’s righteousness as belonging to us, and (2) declares us to be righteous in his sight. What a marvelous thing this is! Having put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ your sins are forgiven, legally, and we are credited with Christ's righteousness. He took our sins since he had none of his own and gave us God's righteousness since we have none of our own. We should be overwhelmed by this truth. The power of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ gives us salvation and justification and guarantees our resurrection.

Jesus' resurrection ensures ours.
In 2 Corinthians 4:13-15, Paul tells us, Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak, 14 knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. 15 For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God. In fact, Paul goes farther in Ephesians chapter 2 verses 4-6, when he says, But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. God will raise us up with Jesus because he HAS raised us up with Jesus! He took our sins to the cross and nailed them there. He took our sins into the grave and left them there. He raised us up with Jesus and seated us with him in the heavenly places. Of course we are not physically there yet! But so far as God is concerned, according to Scripture, he raised us up and already considers us as seated with him.

Christ's resurrection applies to our life now!
This is not some pie in the sky by-and-by scheme. This has practical applications for our lives right now! Through the power of the resurrection he does several things for us.

He gives strength to our service.
After a long discussion of the power of the resurrection in first Corinthians chapter 15 Paul tells us in verse 58, Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. Remember, any time you see the word "therefore" in Scripture you should pause for a moment and ask yourself, "What Is therefore there for?" In order to answer that question look at the material just before it. For most of the chapter before verse 58 Paul is talking about the concept of the resurrection. Since the resurrection releases so much power in the human life we can be: steadfast, immovable, abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord our labor is not in vain. Sometimes it seems to be and sometimes we are discouraged. A lady by the name of Lucie E. Campbell wrote a song in 1933, that goes like this, "If when you give the best of your service, Telling the world that the savior has come; Be not dismayed when men don't believe you, He understands; He'll say, "Well done". Oh when I come to the end of my journey, Weary of life and the battle is won; Carrying the staff and the cross of redemption, He'll understand and say, "Well done."

He inspires us to seek a heavenly reward.
Because Christ has been raised, and because we have been raised with him, we are to seek for a heavenly reward and set our mind on the things of heaven. Paul wrote to the Colossians words that encourage us to look to our reward. In Colossians 3:1-4 he says, If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. We spend too much of our time on earth looking for temporary satisfaction. There's nothing secure about earthly rewards. Peter talks about our security in his first epistle chapter 1 when he says, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (1 Peter 1:3-5) Remember, Jesus said, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matthew 6:19-21)
Do you have an inheritance waiting for you in heaven? If you put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and confessed him as your Lord you do.

He encourages us not to sin.
Paul wrote to the Romans to tell them that by virtue of the resurrected Christ, and his resurrecting power in us, we are to "consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus" He then goes on to say, Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. Romans 6:11-14. I believe the greatest promise in Scripture, for the believer, apart from promises related to salvation is contained in verse fourteen. Sin will have no dominion over you! Admittedly, it's in future tense but it is God's promise to us and is part of the process of growing in grace and the knowledge of the Lord. The resurrection power includes victory in life and over death.

In the early days of the church the only "special days" were the first day of the week, as a day of worship, and Passover Sunday later called "Easter" by the established church. It's the only calendar date that is essential to the Christian church. Apart from the resurrection, Christianity is just another man-made religion rooted in the flesh and not worthy of our consideration. As Paul said, "… If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain." (1 Corinthians 15:14) In the resurrection we have hope that we could never have without it. Not just hope of heaven but hope of a better life in the here and now! Have you trusted him?

All Scripture quotes are from, The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.