ALL THE DIFFERENCE

An emphasis that gets missed often

I mentioned in the last post that the resurrection of Jesus makes ALL THE DIFFERENCE, but I said that I would write about that another time. Being still in the glow of Easter is a good time to revisit the meaning of the resurrection, and what a difference it makes for believers.

It seems to be natural for us to marvel at the suffering of Christ, to meditate on what it took as a human being to volunteer for such an ordeal. I remember a book from years ago, something like A Doctor’s Look at the Crucifixion. It went into great medical detail, and it was astounding to hear what the human body goes through in the process of dying in that manner. In no way do I want to diminish the importance of all of that. The movie, The Passion also graphically portrayed the process, and I’ve watched it more than once. It is a theme that fascinates and amazes us, especially that He was there voluntarily!

Also, in evangelistic messages, the speaker usually leans hard into how Christ suffered so that you could be forgiven for your sins. All of that is true, and it is a very effective way to catch the attention of one who is desperate for a change in life but feels bound to various bad habits and bad outcomes. “Jesus did that for me?” is a question that arises when the crucifixion is explained to those who have not heard, and it stands to reason that one should accept this amazing and costly gift.

Given all of this emphasis, the resurrection gets second billing, so to speak. In The Passion, the resurrection is included in only the briefest manner, as if we all understand that He lives, and we don’t need to dwell on that. And, in evangelism, the resurrection is usually portrayed primarily as the reason we know He won the battle against sin and death. It is indeed that, but there is more.

Getting forgiven for sin is huge, but if we don’t get a new way to live, a new life, then life just continues to be an endless struggle not to sin any more. Salvation becomes a program of sin-management instead of an entry into a life free from sin. The reality is that our new life in Christ is one in which we are no longer sinners; we are saints. ‘Sinners saved by grace’ sounds nice, but it is not Biblical and it is not true. We are saints, no longer sinners. How do we know? Because Jesus was raised from the dead to new life. His life after death broadcasts to us that we have a completely new way to live because Jesus is alive.

Just as we were crucified with Him, so we are raised with Him. We are dead to sin (crucified with Him), and alive to God (raised with Him). It’s all in Romans 6. We are promised “newness of life” and the proof of the fulfillment of that promise is that Jesus rose. He died so we could be forgiven, and He rose so that we could be “a new creature.” (II Cor 5:17) If we only preach forgiveness and not a new life in Christ, we just get religious, trying to be good enough to be accepted by God.

The most critical change that we receive by becoming Christians is not only that we are forgiven, but that we get a new life. We are “set free from the body of this death” (Rom 7:24) so that we are no longer people who do the very thing we hate, helplessly as sinners. So that is why we can say the resurrection makes all the difference.

An excellent book on the difference we acquire from Jesus being alive from the dead is Apprehended Identity by Chris Gore. It is a deep read, but you will find out how much more there is to our walk on this planet by recognizing the importance of the resurrection. If what I have written here is puzzling or confusing, forgive me, and read this book by Chris Gore.