Easter
Jesus is alive!
The Apostle Paul said, “And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable” (1 Corinthians 15:17–19). That basically means that if Christ didn’t rise, all the things we’ve done wrong will keep us separated from God forever, and if that is the case, we are to be pitied. If Christ wasn’t raised from the dead, then salvation is imaginary.
Because Jesus is alive, we have great hope in Him!
In 1 Corinthians 15 the Apostle Paul, himself a witness of the resurrected Christ, imagined the implications of a reality in which Jesus has not risen. It’s a chilling passage that paints a picture of a bleak and hopeless world. He said that if Jesus is still dead, preaching and faith are useless (v. 14), the disciples are false witnesses (v. 15), we are all still in our sins (v. 17), the dead are gone forever (v. 18), and those who believe are the most pitiful of all people (v. 19). But then in verse 20 Paul changed the tone with this amazing declaration that makes all the difference: “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead”. Early Christians would greet one another with Paul’s words! In place of “hello” a believer would say, “Christ is risen,” and the other would respond, “He is risen indeed!”
Jesus Christ did rise from the grave! He is risen indeed! And the resurrection was God’s supernatural vindication of what Jesus did for us. It means that Jesus is exactly who He claimed to be—the Son of God, sent into the world so that we could have forgiveness, full and free. The resurrection means that God accepted Jesus’ death in our place on the cross. It means Jesus was ultimately victorious over sin, death, hell, and the grave. And because death couldn’t hold Him, because sin has no power over Him, and because Jesus is alive, we have great hope in Him!
May you know His resurrection power this Easter!
Together with you for the Gospel,
Evangelist Daniel Kolenda
Book
Live before you die
Daniel Kolenda’s inspiring book, “Live before you die,” goes to the heart of the questions that we all have when we’re seeking our purpose. In this…
Booklet
He is Risen
The heart of the Gospel is that Christ has been raised from the dead. Whether you believe it or not, the resurrection of Jesus Christ was the most…
