He Is RISEN Indeed!

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective

Today, marks the day of celebration Christians call Easter Sunday. We do so because of the fact that Jesus died and did so because of His great love for humanity. His desire that no one should perish (that does not refer to death, but to an eternity in hell; 2 Peter 3:9), prompted Him to become the sacrifice for sin that nothing else would accomplish.

The sin in the Old Testament times was merely covered by the blood of bulls, lambs, and the like. That shed blood did not truly forgive sin. It simply set them aside, covering them so that God could continue to deal with and lead a nation He called Israel. Through Israel, the anointed Savior, Messiah, and Lord would come into this world. In doing so, He – Jesus – would live a sinless life, die a criminals’ death, and rise again after that brutal death.

In fact, the Bible tells us that though Jesus Himself never sinned, He literally became sin for us. Let’s see that text from 2 Corinthians 5:21.

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

The above statement is not wishy-washy. It does not miss the point. There is no way to take it to mean something that it does not mean. In dying for us, Jesus became sin for us (on our behalf). I cannot imagine it, can you?

Here was God in the flesh, Jesus, who never sinned for even a second in His entire lifetime, which alone qualified Him to offer Himself as a sacrifice for all of humanity. He then offer Himself in our place and experienced God the Father’s wrath for us so that we would not have to experience it. This happened because of God’s great love, which I cannot understand and will likely never be able to fully comprehend in this life.

Nearly the entire fifth chapter of Revelation explains to us in terms that are filled with awe-inspiring thoughts and verbiage of how the Lion of the tribe of Judah (Jesus, through the Davidic line) was found worthy because He never sinned. It was His daily sacrifice of living God the Father’s will for Him that brought Him to the foot of the cross and allowed Him to offer His live as an atonement for many.

But here is the rub. Each person has to believe on the Lord Jesus and thou shalt be saved (Acts 16:31). Jesus has done the incredibly difficult part by living a perfect life and dying a brutally painful death for us. He did this because of love and yet, His love is rejected daily. If people are unwilling to believe on the Lord and embrace His salvation, they will have no salvation. The only thing left for them is an eternity of hell, complete separation from God.

Easter is the day that proves Jesus is God beyond doubt! It is the day He rose from the grave because death could not hold Him (Acts 2:24). He did this for you and for me.

I realize that most of the people who read this blog are already Christian. But maybe there’s someone who has simply happened on this page and is reading this article. If so, I can only pray that your heart would be opened to the reality that Jesus died for you. Easter proves it. Death could not hold Him and for those who trust Him, death will not hold them.

Titus 3:5 tells us the following truth.

…he saved us not by works of righteousness that we have done but on the basis of his mercy, through the washing of the new birth and the renewing of the Holy Spirit…

Ephesians 2:8-10 confirms this truth.

8 For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 it is not from works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand so we may do them.

Salvation cannot be earned. It is freely available to all who simply trust in the fact that Jesus died on the cross and experienced the wrath of God the Father so that we would not have to, yet the majority of people who will ever pass through this life will reject this invitation. They think they can do it themselves. They believe they can earn whatever they envision salvation to be.

Without the death and resurrection of Jesus, there is no basis for Christianity and no reason to believe anything related to Him. The first five verses of Acts 1 provides us with information regarding proof of the resurrection. Will you believe it or reject it?

(The above video was created by Study-Grow-Know Ministries and is not for commercial use or distribution.)

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective