What Does The Resurrection Mean In Your Life?
What are your thoughts on the resurrection and the meaning of it in your life? The Apostle Paul teaches us that the resurrection of Jesus Christ, celebrated at Easter, is the foundational truth on which our Christian faith and life are based.
14And if Christ has not risen, then our preaching is in vain [it amounts to nothing] and your faith is devoid of truth and is fruitless (without effect, empty, imaginary, and unfounded).
To put it another way, without the resurrection there could be no Christian religion that offers salvation, forgiveness of sin and eternal life. There could be no Christianity without the Son of God, for it was the miracle of the resurrection and ascension that affirmed the divinity of Christ.
Sadly, the majority of Christians these days are satisfied with believing in the truth of our Christian faith, but are not interested in how this truth is related to their lives. They go through their dutiful attendance at Sunday service, but do not find any relevance or importance to what they hear on Sunday that could be applied to their lives for the rest of the week. Fact is, most of them will not even open their Bibles again until the following Sunday.
In other words, they attempt to live a Christian life on Sunday by playing church, and then live in the world and the sinful ways of society the rest of the week. I like to refer to these individuals as “junk food Christians” because they want to have their Christianity cake and eat it too.
That being said, a genuine Bible believing, God-fearing Christian understands that salvation is not a simple matter of only confessing with one’s lips that Jesus is Lord, and believing that God the Father raised Him from the dead. Moreover, he or she will understand that believing in the resurrection of Jesus is to believe in certain truths that are crucial in our Christian life. What are those truths?
- Believing in the resurrection of Jesus is to believe that we are a new creation in Christ — morally and spiritually.
- Believing in the resurrection of Jesus is to believe that, no matter what happens to us, God the Father is in full control of our lives, just as He was in full control of Jesus’ life while He walked the earth.
- Believing in the resurrection of Jesus is to believe that Jesus defeated death in Hades (Hell), and the Godly forces of life will ultimately prevail over the “culture of death” that surrounds us.
- Believing in the resurrection of Jesus encourages us not to be overcome by the evil in this world, but leads us to hope, and this hope strengthens us in our spiritual warfare against the forces of evil.
- Believing in the resurrection of Jesus is to believe that the fullness of life, which we all seek, will only be gained by resisting and rejecting the present destructive culture of egoism and narcissism — built on the principles of self-love, self-glorification, self-pleasure, self-profit and self-power.
- Believing in the resurrection of Jesus is to believe that death is not the last word in our dreary lives, but a doorway to abundant, eternal life. Only atheists regard death as the ultimate absurdity. Therefore, it is not surprising that so many give themselves over to a life of pleasure, profit and power. They decidedly live in the moment, enjoying life to the fullest because they see nothing after death. They should rethink that belief, and I believe many of them do when death comes knocking at the door.
17Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come!
9But you are not living the life of the flesh, you are living the life of the Spirit, if the [Holy] Spirit of God [really] dwells within you [directs and controls you]. But if anyone does not possess the [Holy] Spirit of Christ, he is none of His [he does not belong to Christ, is not truly a child of God].
31He, foreseeing this, spoke [by foreknowledge] of the resurrection of the Christ (the Messiah) that He was not deserted [in death] and left in Hades (the state of departed spirits), nor did His body know decay or see destruction.
33I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace and confidence. In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]! For I have overcome the world. [I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.]
34And Jesus called [to Him] the throng with His disciples and said to them, If anyone intends to come after Me, let him deny himself [forget, ignore, disown, and lose sight of himself and his own interests] and take up his cross, and [joining Me as a disciple and siding with My party] follow with Me [continually, cleaving steadfastly to Me].
35For whoever wants to save his [higher, spiritual, eternal] life, will lose it [the lower, natural, temporal life which is lived only on earth]; and whoever gives up his life [which is lived only on earth] for My sake and the Gospel’s will save it [his higher, spiritual life in the eternal kingdom of God].
36For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his life [in the eternal kingdom of God]?
24I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, the person whose ears are open to My words [who listens to My message] and believes and trusts in and clings to and relies on Him Who sent Me has (possesses now) eternal life. And he does not come into judgment [does not incur sentence of judgment, will not come under condemnation], but he has already passed over out of death into life.
16He who believes [who adheres to and trusts in and relies on the Gospel and Him Whom it sets forth] and is baptized will be saved [ from the penalty of eternal death]; but he who does not believe [who does not adhere to and trust in and rely on the Gospel and Him Whom it sets forth] will be condemned.
In summary, if ever there was a time that we need to strengthen our faith in the resurrection and the significance of the risen Jesus in our lives, it is today. Only our resurrection life and faith will empower us to continue spreading the good news of the Gospel, to withstand the forces of evil in the society we live in, to promote the culture of life and to emerge victorious regardless of what attacks the powers of darkness bring against us.
7However, we possess this precious treasure [the divine Light of the Gospel] in [frail, human] vessels of earth, that the grandeur and exceeding greatness of the power may be shown to be from God and not from ourselves.
8We are hedged in (pressed) on every side [troubled and oppressed in every way], but not cramped or crushed; we suffer embarrassments and are perplexed and unable to find a way out, but not driven to despair;
9We are pursued (persecuted and hard driven), but not deserted [to stand alone]; we are struck down to the ground, but never struck out and destroyed;
10Always carrying about in the body the liability and exposure to the same putting to death that the Lord Jesus suffered, so that the [resurrection] life of Jesus also may be shown forth by and in our bodies.
11For we who live are constantly [experiencing] being handed over to death for Jesus’ sake, that the [resurrection] life of Jesus also may be evidenced through our flesh which is liable to death.
God Bless!
“Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified Bible”
Print This Post (Printer-Friendly Version Opens in New Window/Tab)
Welcome back my friend! We hope and pray you continue to enjoy and learn from our website. God bless!
Comment by Miyon on April 10th, 2009:
Thank you David my brother in Christ, love you much !
Miyon
Comment by DLCross on April 10th, 2009:
You are loved equally on this end, my beautiful sister in Christ. God bless!
Comment by Kate on July 8th, 2009:
The subject matter of what it means to really believe in the resurrection life is on my front burner. Leading up to this subject, the Holy Spirit has been teaching me about the struggle we hear in our members between the flesh and the Spirit – something we will live with until our own physical resurrection takes place. As I have listened to this war within me, the understanding that the flesh will never change or improve has been established in my thinking. Thrown down alongside this truth is the fact that the Spirit also can never change and never will need improvement. As long as I am not fooled into a lifetime of trying to improve my flesh, I will be able to use my life to follow after the Spirit. Positionally, I have resurrection life. It is this that empowers me to walk in the Spirit.
But I still have this nagging question…why is the resurrection and our belief in it of utmost importance. I know there is something deeper here I need to learn.
Please feel free to disagree and help me better understand by giving me your viewpoint.
Thanks,
Kate