If someone asked me years ago what is the significance of the cross in my life, I would have answered something like this. “Jesus died on the cross for the forgiveness of my sins, so there will be a place in heaven for me.” Most Christians will answer that question pretty much the same, i.e. Jesus died for the forgiveness of my sins. But ask them what is the significance of the resurrection in your life and you will usually get dead silence or a blank stare.
Now someone might say His resurrection demonstrated Jesus’ power over death and proved Him to be the Son of God. And this is true, but ask them how the resurrection applies to their everyday lives, and you find few people seem to know.
Brothers and sisters, salvation is not just forgiveness of sin and Jesus dying for us. Salvation is life. We receive a new life. How is it that we have missed the obvious implication of the resurrection…the restoration of life!
We are not saved by the death of Jesus; we are saved by the life of Jesus. Romans 6:23 reads “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Many equate eternal life with everlasting life, but the two are very different. Eternal life is a life that had no beginning and has no ending. Who is the only person you know whose life had no beginning and has no ending. Jesus! Well, amen!
So, if we have the gift of eternal life, whose life do we possess. Clearly our new spiritual life is actually His life. We realize the importance of Jesus’ blood shed for the forgiveness of our sin, but His death on the cross does not provide the life we need. It is the resurrection that saves us and provides us with this new life, eternal life, the resurrected life of Christ. Everyone has everlasting life; the question is where will they spend it, in Christ (eternal life) or in hell?
Let these scripture verses come alive to you. In John’s gospel Chapter 5, verse 39 and 40, Jesus speaking to the self-righteous Pharisees said, “you diligently study the scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.” In I John, Chapter 5, verses 11-13, John writes “…God has given us eternal life and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; He who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.”
Jesus is eternal life. As born again believers we have been given eternal life. We are no longer in Adam. We are now new creations in Christ. The old is gone, the new has come. Romans 5 verse 10 describes it best, “For if when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled shall we be saved through His life?”
Well, there it is, His death on the cross frees us from the penalty of sin. His resurrection frees us from the power of sin. That’s the mystery of our faith, Christ in us our only hope of glory. Jesus died for us on the cross to give His life to us, to live His life through us. The one who calls you is faithful and He will do it.
Happy resurrection Sunday! We appreciate your continued prayer and financial support. We need both to meet the ministry obligations. Thank you for your faithfulness.