Apr 16, 2017
In Living Color”
John 20:1-10
The resurrection of Jesus changes everything!
- Because of the resurrection, sin’s curse has been broken.
“And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.” 1 Corinthians 15:17
- Because of the resurrection, death does not shout in triumph over me.
“By this I know that you delight in me; my enemy will not shout in triumph over me.” Psalm 41:11
- The resurrection is God’s deathblow to death.
“’Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 15:55,56
- Because of the resurrection, I can be made fully alive. (Colossians 2:13-14)
“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses (sin), made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages He might show the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 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.” Ephesians 2:4-9
“And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.” Colossians 2:13-14
- Because of the resurrection, I can have a living hope.
“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, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 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
“What oxygen is for the lungs, such is hope for the meaning of human life.”—Emil Brunner
The Takeway . . .
- The hope the resurrection gives is found only when you are raised by Christ from spiritual death to spiritual life.
“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.” Romans 10:9-10