We looked at Passover last week. That led to the Crucifixion of the Son of God, when Jesus was crucified in our place, taking our sin, guilt, and shame. He was the Lamb of God who came to take away the sins of the whole world (John 1:29), the One who had been “slain from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8). It really should be called Resurrection Day, as that is the day He was raised from the dead, to walk among and appear before many, teaching His disciples for forty more days. (John 20-21) He then ascended to the Father, from where He sent the Holy Spirit on the fiftieth day, the Day of Pentecost (Acts 1-2).
Speaking of the resurrection, read I Corinthians 15. Verse 3-4 explains, “...Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures: and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day…” The “why” is that he died “for our sins” because we had to have someone who could live a sinless life, die on the cross where He “became sin” for us, then was raised from the dead, resurrected! Paul explains the relevance of Easter in I Corinthians 15:12-28, especially verse 17, “And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.”
Today, surveys and observations indicate that there is something wrong with the present method of “winning people to Christ.” There are many adults who claim to be Christians but who have not really exhibited the Christian characteristics called for in the New Testament. Young people are leaving the church either before or after high school graduation. It seems they do not know or understand the “gospel.” “Accepting Christ,” making a profession of faith, repeating the sinner’s prayer, all these things make no difference in a person’s life unless they have actually “repented” of their sins and turned to God to be “born again” and become a “new creature,” being “transformed into the image” of Jesus.
People are being promised “a wonderful plan for your life,” with no idea what they have been “saved” from or to. Yes, we have been saved from a real, fiery, eternal hell, as Jesus Himself taught. But we have been saved to a life of holiness, of becoming more like Jesus, a life of seeking God daily to please Him with a life of faith. (Hebrews 11:6) Our sins are so terrible in God’s sight, deserving of eternal punishment. If we do not believe in Christ and turn from our sins to receive Him, we do not value the price He paid for us on the cross. If that is true, we do not understand the relevance of Easter–Resurrection Day–that it is the most important, relevant event in human history!
People get ready! Jesus is coming soon!
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