28 Mar The Resurrection Changes Life

The Resurrection Changes Life

The day you believe in the resurrection is the day you change your life. If the resurrection doesn’t become a living reality in our lives, every day of the week, of every year, then Jesus died and rose again for nothing. Let’s look at 3 timeless transformations that should happen in our lives given us by God as a result of His resurrection.

1. From Despair of Life to Hope in Life

1 Peter 1:3, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”

Hope in the Bible means confident expectation about the future. The words hope and resurrection are two ideas regarded as one. The resurrection defines our hope. Our hope is said to be a living hope. It is not based on positive thinking. The resurrection promises us that in the midst of our deepest darkness the Son rises to overwhelm the darkness forever.

The testimonies of believers down through the generations proclaim the glorious hope that there is always a way – a way out of crushing financial debt, unbearable suffering, temptations, and terrible trials. The hope that God gives us is a living hope based on a living God who fulfills all His promises written in His living Word. When trials and difficulties surround you, the hope and assurance of your salvation can turn the worst situation into an opportunity for your good and God’s glory. Jesus brings us hope in our desperate situations to live with faith against the impossible. Hope in God is our anchor and assurance of greater things to come.

2. From Wrath of God to Eternal Life with God

John 3:36, “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” The wrath of God is the opposite of eternal life. There are only two groups of humanity in the eyes of God: those who put their faith in His Son, Jesus Christ and are saved, and those who have rejected Him and are condemned.

1 Peter 1:4, “To obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,” No other group of people on earth has a promise beyond the grave except Christians. All of the founders of religion are dead except the Lord Jesus. That is what makes Christianity unique. We have a sealed promise of eternal life. (2 Corinthians 4:14)

For the Christian, death is a servant that leads us into the presence of the Lord of Glory. People may place our bodies into urns, coffins and graves. But we never end up there. Our soul goes instantaneously, automatically, as soon as death strikes our body, into the presence of the Lord. As His children, we are guaranteed an inheritance. This is the precious promise of God. Jesus alone is the source of eternal life that gives us meaning and purpose for living.

3. From Bondage to Sin to Power over Sin

1 Peter 1:5, “Who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” Our salvation is not maintained by our personal power but by the power of God. The Spirit of God living inside of us gives us the strength not to indulge in sinful acts of our old nature in order to have victory over sin. Our responsibility as a born again believer is to make certain that we are filled to overflowing with the fullness of the Spirit of Jesus Christ so that we might overcome sin and also splash out the reality of Him on people we come in contact with.

Jesus living in us saved us from the penalty of sin. As He sanctifies us we are being saved from the power of sin. When we get to heaven, we will be saved from the presence of sin.

The tomb is empty. New life is available; a life that truly exceeds the empty way of a life without God. Let us take hold of the new life that Jesus has called us to live because of His resurrection.