The Good News
The Gospel is the “Good News” provided by God; He has offered free spiritual gifts to restore or reconcile us into a personal relationship with Him. God’s plan is “good news” because God has done all the work. God provided the perfect sacrifice for our sin and sinful life in the person of Jesus Christ! God demonstrated His love for us by sending the “Lamb of God,” Jesus, in our place, to the Cross of Calvary. That one act by Jesus accomplished the following: Show More
- Forgiveness of our sins, thus eliminating the guilt and shame.
- Restoration of our relationship with God through Jesus Christ
- Granting Believers eternal life. When we die, that is not the end, we will experience a resurrection and the beginning of a glorious life in Heaven with God.
- God has given us His Holy Spirit to be a comforter, helper, and teacher to be victorious Christians in this life.
The New Birth
When a person comes to a place where he or she believes the above statements, then they are experiencing faith in Jesus. This faith in Jesus is what makes a person born-again! Now, as a born-again Believer, a miraculous thing happens the Holy Spirit comes to live in them, and they become a child of God, a member of God’s family.
The Church
All people past, present, and future who have accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior belong to something called the Church, the Greek word for church is “ekklesia,” and it means “called out ones.” Believers have been called out of the world and are now a part of the Kingdom of God. Being called out means that you now have a purpose in God, and He sees you as righteous and holy.
The Spiritual Church
There is a spiritual church and a physical church; the difference is that the spiritual church is made up of those individuals who are born-again, they have had an encounter with Jesus. The physical church is made up of people who go to church and identify with being Christians but have not made Jesus Lord and Savior of their lives. For those who are part of the spiritual Church, the church of the “Born Again” we have the promise and the assurance of the resurrection and the life for eternity.
The Resurrection Hope in the Old Testament
Not everyone believed in resurrection in the Old Testament. The Sadducees denied it because they didn’t believe it was taught in the Torah. But Jesus challenged them, “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. – As for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God?” (Matthew 22:29, 31).
Examine the following scriptures by the Prophets to support the resurrection hope in the Old Testament.
- Daniel 12:2, “And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting contempt.”
- Isaiah 26:19, “Your dead shall live; Together with my dead body they shall arise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in dust; For your dew is like the dew of herbs, And the earth shall cast out the dead.”
- Isaiah 49:14, “But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me, And my Lord has forgotten me.” 15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child, And not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, Yet I will not forget you.”
- Psalm 71:20, “You, who have shown me great and severe troubles, Shall revive me again, And bring me up again from the depths of the earth.”
John 11:25, “I Am the Resurrection and the Life.” Lazarus
Recall the story of Jesus and Lazarus. When Jesus arrived in Judea, Lazarus had been in the grave for four days. Then Martha heard that Jesus was in the area, and she went to Him.
John 11:21, “Now Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to Him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”
In verse 24 Martha said, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Martha was referring to the Old Testament Hope of the Resurrection, but Jesus gently corrects her when He says, “I am the resurrection and the life.” Finally, Martha understands in verse 27, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”
Later, When Jesus causes Lazarus to rise from the grave in John 11:38-44 it was to demonstrate that He had power over death, and this was something only God could do. The promise to us as Believers today is that one day we will rise again to live in Heaven forever.
The Resurrection
When Jesus said “I am in you and you in me, as the Father and I are one so are you one with me in John 14:20 and 17:20, He was stating a spiritual truth. If we carry this a step further, if Jesus is the resurrection and the Life, that means we are the resurrection and the life too!
- John 14:20, “At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.”
- John 17:20, “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.”
If it were not for the Believer’s resurrection, Christianity would make no sense. As the Apostle Paul said in 1Corinthians 15:12-19, in these verses, Paul is speaking to believers who don’t fully realize what Jesus has done for them. Some are skeptical that Jesus’ resurrection took place and others don’t see the importance of Jesus’ resurrection, and still others are not aware of the fact that Jesus purchased their promise of a personal resurrection when they die.
Paul goes on to say as an illustration that if Jesus did not rise from the dead, then everything he and the other apostles and disciples were teaching and preaching was for nothing. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, what would be the point of faith? Paul goes on to say if Christ has not risen, then all who are alive are still in sin, and there is no hope for all those who have passed on before us. Paul closes with the statement, “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.” (1 Corinthians 15:19)
The Apostle Paul then forcefully proclaims 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 (ESV).”
You should see that the resurrection of Jesus is essential to our own personal resurrection. He is the firstfruits, the first to be resurrected, and we who belong to Jesus will follow. When Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life,” He was making a promise only God could make, the promise of eternal life. When a believer embraces this truth, then everything changes. Death has lost its sting (1 Corinthians 15:55-56)! Believing and acting by faith that you have everlasting life changes everything!
A Changed Worldview
A friend of mine once said to me, “As a Christian when we die, we simply have a change of address!” That simple statement is a powerful truth. The things of this world are less important than the spiritual riches we have in Jesus Christ.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18, “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
When our focus in life is on Jesus and His Kingdom, then we will have a change in how we view our world today; our worldview will have changed.
Having a biblical worldview is so important to how we live and do ministry. A worldview is an overall perspective from which one sees and interprets the world. A worldview is a collection of beliefs about life and the universe held by an individual or a group.
Although we may not realize it, we all have certain opinions and biases that affect the way we view all of life and reality. A worldview is like a set of lenses for our eyes, which color our vision or alter how we see or perceive the world around us.
Our worldview is formed by our education, our upbringing, the society and culture we live in, the books we’ve read, the teachers we have had, and the media we expose ourselves to. For many people, their worldview is simply something they have absorbed by continual contact with their surrounding influences. However, the Bible cautions us to be aware of the world’s view of life, “Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.” Colossians 2:8 This is the one overwhelming reason why so many substitute the “wisdom of the World” for the “Wisdom of God” and eventually go astray, leading others astray as well.
I think the Apostle Paul said it best in 1 Corinthians 2:1. “And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 3 I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. 4 And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”
The Message of the Empty Tomb
Let me close with this thought, Jesus’ tomb is empty. We celebrate Easter to remember and acknowledge that Jesus rose from the dead. One day each of us as born-again Believers of Christ will have our own “Easter” when we rise up to be with the Lord forever! When we keep this in mind our outlook on life will change for the better.