Jesus

The Significance of the Resurrection

/ Neal Embry / Leave a comment

He is risen!  I hope you all are having a marvelous Resurrection Day, as we remember our risen Savior.  This day, we remember the single greatest, most important event in the history of the world: the resurrection of the King of Kings, Jesus Christ.  Death could not hold our Lord and Savior.

Today we wrap up the “Jesus Died” series with the resurrection.  You see, Jesus did die, and that’s what this series has been about.  But the good news is that He did not stay in the grave.  He rose again.  So today, I’ll be looking at three truths and conclusions from the resurrection.  This is by no means exhaustive, as the implications of the resurrection and the bearing it has on our lives are infinite, but hopefully you take truth from this and we can more clearly see what happened when that tomb was rolled away and our Savior rose.

1) The Gospel, and Jesus, is true!

If the resurrection had not happened, Jesus would have been a liar, and our faith would be in vain, and there would be absolutely no reason to live.  Thank goodness the resurrection is true, and that grave is empty.

Jesus prophesied in John 2:19, after cleansing the temple, that He would rise again: “Jesus answered them, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’ The Jews then said, ‘it has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?’  But he was speaking about the temple of his body.  When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.”

If this had not come true, if Jesus was not raised, then it would stand to call Jesus a liar.  If He was a liar, He was not perfect.  If He was not perfect, He cannot take away our sin, and death would have won, and we would have no hope.  However, we know that Jesus was raised.  In fact, we see that Jesus had a role in His resurrection.  He said “I will raise it up.”

John 11:25: “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life.  Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.  Do you believe this?'”

Do you believe this?  That’s the question we must all ask ourselves.  If we have only head knowledge, we have nothing.  We must place all of our faith, hope, and our very lives on the risen Savior.  Jesus asked this to Martha, and her response was to call Jesus the “Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”  Are we willing to lay down our lives to the one who gave it all up for us?

Since the gospel is true, we also know our sins are forgiven.  Look back on the most famous verse in Scripture: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”–John 3:16-17

Romans 8:1–“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

2 Corinthians 5:21–“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him, we might become the righteousness of God.”

We are free, Christians.

2) Jesus lives as our High Priest

Reflecting on what God has done should not stop at salvation, for God’s love did not stop at the cross.  It did not end at conversion.  The truth of the gospel, and the blessings of grace, continue throughout our lives.  God has saved us and justified us in Christ, but there is still work to be done in this life, not for salvation, but as a result of it.  Those whom come to know Christ, God has ordained that they will become like Him.  That’s exciting to me.  We are being transformed.  This does not come easy though.  Christians, can we be honest and say we’re quick to mess up the new life we have in Christ?  Can we be honest with ourselves and say we still make mistakes?  And then, would you look with me in Scripture and see the Savior who was perfect for us, and whose love never leaves us?

Hebrews 7:23-28: “The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever.  Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.  For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.  He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people since he did this once for all when he offered up himself.  For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever.”

Eat this up.  Savor it.  Jesus is our high priest.  We need no earthly priest to take away our sin, and we have no need for a mediator.  The Bible is clear that Jesus is our mediator.  All of our efforts to absolve ourselves of sin fall short.  Jesus alone can take our sins away and forgive us.  And He does so perfectly and permanently.

Look at 1 John 1:8: “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”  Jesus said the same when He said He’s come to save “not the righteous, but the sick.”  Those who are self-righteous, and see themselves as having no sin, will not enter the kingdom of heaven.  The gospel must first be the bad news that we are all sinners and unworthy of God before it can be the good news of salvation for those sinners.  In order to be saved, to trust in Christ, we must recognize our sin, and repent.  But repentance brings a firm promise: Jesus will forgive if we confess and repent of our sin.  Look at verse 9, one of my favorite verses in the Bible: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

All unrighteousness.  All of it.  Jesus paid it all.  And He is making all things new.  When we come to know Jesus, we have all of our sins washed away: past, present, and future.  Jesus’ grace is strong enough to cover all of our sin.  Do we seriously believe that Jesus is unable to cover sin we commit after coming to know Him?  Because if He’s not….not many people are Christians.  God’s love doesn’t just save us…it sustains us.  It convicts us.  It leads us back to repentance, so we may receive grace to walk in Christ again.

However, the Bible is also clear (1 John 3:4-6) that those who continue in unrepentant, persistent, habitual sin with no regard for Christ and holiness are not true believers.  We all will struggle and stray off the path.  God knows this, and is perfectly prepared to bring us back by His grace.  But for those who think that going to church, doing religious things, and being moral make them perfect and right before God, the bad news is is that those things do not take away sin.  They smell to God.  And the smell isn’t pretty.  Put your faith in Jesus, throw all of your hope, and your soul itself, on Jesus and His work, and be saved.

1 John 2:1-3: “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.  But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.  He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.  And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments.”

If we sin, does God stop loving us?  It’s a question on the back of Christian’s minds everywhere: If I sin, and struggle with sin, even severely, after coming to know Jesus…does God still love me?

If we love God, it is because He has first loved us (1 John 4:19).  Perfect love does not let go.  Romans 8:31-35 says “What then shall we say to these things?  If God is for us, who can be against us?  He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?  Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect?  It is God who justifies.  Who is to condemn?  Christ Jesus is the one who died–more than that, who was raised–who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?  Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?”

For those whom God has called, those whom He has loved through Jesus Christ, His love is permanent, unchanging, and faithful.  This does not mean we can’t displease Him, for we can.  But if we hold fast to Christ, and we have given our lives to Him in salvation, then throughout our lives what I’m convinced will happen is this: The same love which saved us and gave us new life will sanctify us in our failures by leading us to repent, and to receive grace and forgiveness, and to lead us back to Christ.  That same love will teach us, lead us, and guide us, and eventually, one day, that grace, that love, so marvelously shown at Calvary, will bring us home.

For the Christian, the desire to sin, in an enslaving, dominant way, has been killed.  Sin seemed to have a grip on me, for years, but because I knew Christ, it could not hold me down, and by God’s good and perfect grace, He has led me to repentance, and is teaching me what it means to follow Jesus as Lord.  God’s love never leaves us.  If you’re a Christian, and you’re struggling with sin…welcome to the club.  You’re not alone.  Paul’s letters to churches show that every Christian from every generation has struggled with sin in one way or another.  But our nature, our desires, have changed, and this leads to repentance, which leads us back to grace.  God’s discipline is love.  He disciplines us and convicts us, so that we will repent and find our joy in Jesus.

Jesus is the high priest that intercedes for His people constantly.  While we are still here on Earth, Jesus promises to guide us, to sanctify us, and to lead us back to Him.  His grace is good, and is always stronger than our sin.  Repent, be restored, and abide in Christ.  In doing this, you will die to yourself and begin to obey Christ more and more.  In this death, you shall truly live.  We die to sin every day, as we rise with Christ to walk by the Spirit which is ours.  Christian, do not desire sin.  Pray constantly.  Rest in what Jesus has done, repent, be filled, and obey the Lord by trusting in Him.

3) Jesus is coming back.

This is great news.  Not only did Jesus die to take away our sins, not only does He now live to be our great high priest who forgives His sheep, but our risen and reigning Savior is coming back to rule for all eternity.

1 Peter 1:3-5: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

We have hope, a great inheritance, that is awaiting us when we obtain our eternal salvation, kept for us by Jesus through our faith.  That’s pretty cool…our faith is being guarded by the God of all creation who gave it to us to begin with.  I think that’s awesome.  You won’t find this security in anything or anyone else.  Man, Jesus is good!

How can one be saved?  I hope that pastors and ministers around the country hear this every day, especially today.  Put your faith in Jesus, acknowledge your sin and repent, turn away from it, and lay it on Jesus.  Trust in Him for salvation, and give your life to Him as Lord.  The Bible does not promise health and wealth.  The prosperity gospel is a lie from hell.  What the Bible does promise is that Jesus will never leave you and He will never forsake you, no matter what you do, no matter what happens.  He leads us to Himself, to be saved, to be renewed, to repent, to receive grace, and the great hope for believers…to lead us home.

The Christian life is hard.  It’s not easy, it’s messy.  We’re not perfect, we trust in the Lamb who was and is and is to come.  I don’t have it all together, and I’m a work in progress.  But my boss, my potter, and my Lord is the God of the universe, and He is alive, and working, not just in my life, but in the world around me.  That’s reason to rejoice.

Yet, as we rejoice today, remember that we have brothers and sisters around the world who risk their lives to celebrate the risen King.  Pray for the persecuted, that they would continue to shine the light of Christ in the darkest night.  And may we go and give our lives to spread the gospel.  Fulfill the Great Commission.  We are saved from God’s wrath to God’s purpose, to go and declare His glory to the ends of the earth.  Do it.

And one day, peoples from every tribe, tongue, and nation, will fill the heavens, and shout “Worthy is the lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!”  With one voice, we will shout “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”  For all eternity, we will worship the King: “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!”

May you be encouraged by the truth of the resurrection this Easter Sunday.  May this be a time to reflect on the faithfulness of our God, who is quick to save those who call on Him, and quick to restore those in hurt, those in sin, those who long for Him.  May we rest and rejoice in the amazing fact that God loved us before we even thought of Him.  May you know Jesus, love Jesus, and obey Jesus.

He is risen indeed.

God bless,

Neal E.

Jesus Died As A Man–The Perfect Atonement

/ Neal Embry / 4 Comments

We’ve already looked at how Jesus died for our sins, and we’ve established that we are sinners in need of a Savior, and that Savior’s name is Jesus.  That message is at the heart of every post on here, and I hope to establish that again tonight.  Tonight, we’ll be looking in Scripture at the manhood of Christ, so as to make sure we understand that as a man, Jesus was able to perfectly take our penalty, and the manhood of Christ was necessary.  His atonement clears us of our iniquity.

First, open up to 2 Corinthians 5:21–“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”  I want this verse to sink into your hearts so that you can’t stop thinking about it.  I want you to treasure this verse.  This is the gospel.  Jesus Christ took our sin and wretched self on the cross, and He forever forgave those who trust in Him, giving them His righteousness and salvation.

Now go to Hebrews 2:14-15.  “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.”

There’s a long-standing and widespread debate over free will for the Christian.  Here’s my partial take without getting too involved: Before we come to know Jesus, we do have a sort of free will.  Yet, ever since Adam and Eve sinned in Eden, all we have chosen to do with that free will is sin, and thus, in a way, we do not have free will.  We are “slaves to sin,” as the Word says in Romans 3:10-11.  “None is righteous, no, not one, no one understands; no one seeks for God.”

So we see that we are slaves to sin, and we cannot do otherwise.  If you’ve read the Old Testament, which I hope you have, you’ll notice a trend among the Israelites…sin.  We need a Savior.  Expanding on this, we need a Savior who is a human…for we must fulfill the law.  Someone must fulfill the law, the debt that we owe to God because of our sin.

This is where I’ll lose some people.  We do not want to say “I am a sinner.”  It is a pride in ourselves to admit this.  It takes a work of the Holy Spirit for us to realize that we are sinners.  I admit, I do not have the proper words or answers on how to properly explain to someone that they are a sinner except to go to God’s Word, which, of course, is the best source.

Of course, the next question becomes: What about those who do not believe in the authority of Scripture?  This work is best left to someone else, and humbly, I defer to C.S. Lewis.  Pick up Mere Christianity, and read his explanation of the sense of morality and the law within each of us, that moral code.  I could explain it here, but I’d prefer to direct you to the author, as I hope someone would do for my writings.

But let’s go to the Word, see what God says about it: Pick up Romans 1.  Here is the best explanation in Scripture for us not having an excuse.  Paul writes, beginning in verse 19, that “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.  For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.  So they are without excuse.”

Missions exist because worship doesn’t.  The primary goal of God sending His children on mission, the primary reason for His saving them is not simply His great love for us, though make no mistake that He does loves us, but His primary goal is this: The worship of Himself, a holy, sovereign God.

In order for this to happen, though, the people must be made righteous before God, and their sin must be atoned for.  This is the reason for the sacrifices in the Old Testament.  The perfect sacrifice for us is Jesus.  Romans 5:15 says “But the free gift is not like the trespass.  For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.”

We must not forget that Jesus Christ is God, He is the Lord of all the universe.  But in order for Jesus to be our atonement, He had to become a man.  A friend of mine just texted me this, and I’m not sure where he got it, so wherever this came from, thank you: “What Jesus did not become, Jesus did not save.”

Make no mistake: Jesus was a man.  Matthew 1:1-17.  To spare you and I the pain, I won’t quote the entire genealogies, but read it.  Seriously.  It’s important.  I’ll start in verse 12, however: “And after the deportation to Babylon, Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, and Eliud the father of Eleazer, and Eleazer the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.  So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.”

We believe as Christians that Mary mothered Jesus.  While we believe in the virgin birth and the deity of Christ, we also believe that Jesus came out of His mother the same way we all did.  We believe He had a childhood, and was raised like any other boy (though I doubt He got in trouble much).  Luke 2:52 says “And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.”

We have numerous examples in Scripture of Jesus being hungry, tired, weeping, thirsting, etc.  This is a pretty clear example of Jesus being human.  When paired with the gospel of John, with the many “I AM” statements, we get the complete picture of Jesus, the God-man, come to save the world.

He also came to fulfill the law.  Look at these examples in Scripture of Jesus’ mission of salvation:

“And Jesus cried out and said, ‘Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me.  And whoever sees me sees him who sent me.  I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.  If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.'”–John 12:44-50

“The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!'”–John 1:29

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.  For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.”–Matthew 5:17-18

This last verse in its section in Matthew ends with Jesus telling us that our righteousness has to exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees, otherwise, we won’t go to heaven.  Here’s the catch: If you know anything about the scribes and Pharisees, you know they aren’t very righteous.  They were outwardly legalistic, and inwardly prideful and selfish sinners.  Jesus is calling us to true righteousness, not human tradition.  How, then, do we gain this righteousness?  This Godly, obedient, holy, perfect righteousness?

Isaiah 49:8-10: “Thus says the Lord: In a time of favor I have answered you; in a day of salvation I have helped you; I will keep you and give you as a covenant to the people, to establish the land, to apportion the desolate heritages, saying to the prisoners, ‘Come out,’ to those who are in darkness, ‘Appear.’ They shall feed along the ways; on all bare heights shall be their pasture; they shall not hunger or thirst, neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them, for he who has pity on them will lead them, and by springs of water will guide them.”

Go back to the verse in 2 Corinthians.  Paul’s words carry the authority of God because they are God-inspired.  They echo the words of Christ, who had the authority of God because, well….He is God.

“For our sake, he made him to be sin who knew no sin so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”–2 Corinthians 5:21.

Told ya.  That’s the gospel.  We’ve established that Jesus was indeed a man, and as a perfect man, He was able to fulfill the law and take our place on the cross.  His substitution was perfect for us, and ALL of our sin, past, present, and future, are paid for at Calvary.  Oh what a sweet exchange, that Christ would die for this wretched sinner to make Him a redeemed saint, child of God!  What marvelous news, that He took our sin, and gave us His righteousness.  This is the great exchange.  Hebrews adds that Jesus took the death for everyone.

“But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.”–Hebrews 2:9

Christian–Your sins are paid for.  Even after coming to know Christ, we’re really good at messing things up.  Fear not.  If you are repenting, following Christ, and hold fast to the confession you had in the Lordship and Salvation found only in Christ, you are a child of God.

For those of you who do not know Jesus, please read the Gospels.  Mark and John would be a good place to start.  Email me.  Call me (email for number).  My life’s mission is to point to the glorious salvation of Christ.  Find a church.  Jesus came on earth to become a man, live the life we could not live, which we’ve seen tonight, and to die the death we could not, all to save us because He loves us.  He has a purpose in this love, and it is the glory and worship of God Almighty.  I can tell you this: There is no greater joy I know than to glorify God.  There is no greater peace than to trust in the Word of God which says that Jesus paid it all, and that because I call on His name, not only have I been redeemed, completely forgiven, but my life will look different.  Not materially, but in that I will be given power to make Jesus known.  That’s what I hope I’ve done here tonight.

May we not forget what Jesus has done.  May we not sit in our guilt, trying to “earn it back.”  May we remember that the law has been fulfilled by Jesus.  May we live in grace, as He changes us for His glory.  May we constantly repent, not in rote prayers of forgiveness, but by a changed life that glorifies God on high.  May we spread the gospel, and give our lives to make this radical, relentless, amazing grace of Jesus known.  May God bless you, my readers, with grace and peace.

God bless,

Neal E.

This Sunday, I hope to blog about Jesus fulfilling God’s Word, and on the marvelous words “It is finished!”  It may seem like I hit similar points over and over….I am.  But we should constantly be reminded of Jesus, so I think it’s good.  And then…April 8th….the most glorious message of all: Jesus lives.  God bless you guys and gals.