|
Pastor's March 2010 Message |
|
|
|
|
LENT ABLAZE“And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.” 1 Corinthians 15: 17 The Christian faith “rises or falls” based on the veracity of Christ’s resurrection. As St. Paul says, if Christ has not been raised from the dead our faith is useless. Why? There are a number of reasons, reasons that also make Christianity unique of all world religions. First, though many religions teach an afterlife, Christianity teaches not only an afterlife but a resurrected afterlife where the soul is joined once again with a glorious body. But if Christ has not been raised from the dead then we have no solid reason to believe that we will be. Second, we believe that Jesus died and rose again in order that the penalty of our sin (“wages of sin is death”) might be paid. But if Christ has not been raised, then his death is just another tragic story of injustice. We believe that Christ, being God in the flesh, took our place under the law, died for us and yet now lives interceding for us. But if Christ has not been raised, then we cannot be as sure that he was God in the flesh and have no assurance that he took our place in anything. One more, Christ’s life, death and resurrection is the ultimate testimony of God’s love for us. God so loved the world that He gave His Son…., the love of God is made manifest in this, that Christ died for us when we were yet sinners. But if Christ has not been raised, then we cannot be sure of His relationship to God and therefore cannot interpret his actions as reflecting God’s feelings for us. And finally, as St. Paul says, if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching has been false, which means that the Bible is false since its center is Christ’s life, death and resurrection. All of which means that our faith is false, we have been greatly deceived and we are, as St. Paul says, of all men most to be pitied. But Christ has been raised from the dead. Around that truth (and if you are uncertain of the historical support of this historical truth, then read Lee Strobel’s book, The Case for Christ), we build a faith with amazing ramifications: 1) there is more to life than this life. We don’t have to “go for all the gusto” or squeeze every drop. It’s not “survival of the fittest” or whoever ends with the most toys wins. We can be free from selfishness and self-centeredness so as to live in a way that helps others and sees their needs as more important than your own. 2) Our sins are forgiven which means that we are free from the burden of sin and can forgive others of theirs. Guilt for our own sin and bitterness over the sin of others eats the soul worse than any cancer eats the body. 3) We have a God who not only is all powerful but all caring. He is personally involved in our lives. Whereas that truth is significant all the time, it becomes most significant when things “go wrong.” We are not simply lost to the whims of fate, trapped in a life that has no meaning or purpose but came into being by random chance. All things do work together for good to them that love God because God loves them and proved it in Christ. Those truths should set our hearts ABLAZE! We have a story to tell, a story which is the total opposite of any story that the world can offer outside of Christ. CHRIST RAISED FROM THE DEAD CHANGES EVERYTHING. As we journey through the Lenten season and follow Christ to the cross, may we pray even more fervently for the opportunity to share the Christian message of Christ died and risen with those among who He has planted us.
|
