Lessons of an Empty Tomb

I want to return there briefly
this morning. Mark chapter 10 verse. Beginning
in verse 32. We entitled that section divine
expectations. And I pointed to the fact that
while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Paul makes that
point abundantly clear. While we were yet sinners, Christ
died for us, and that doesn’t capture everything about Christ’s
death. Most notably, it doesn’t tell
us that Christ went willingly. This passage declares with all
clarity that Christ wasn’t caught off guard. That Christ wasn’t
surprised by Christ points to the prophets. For the knowledge
of what would befall him there in Jerusalem. But the reminder
is that Christ gave this message to the prophets. The prophets
didn’t give this message to Christ. Mark chapter 10 verse 32. They were on the road going up
to Jerusalem and Jesus was walking on ahead of them and they were
amazed. And those who followed were fearful, and he took the
twelve aside and began to tell them what was going to happen
to him. This came as no surprise to Christ. He began to tell them, saying,
Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem and the Son of Man will be delivered
to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn
him to death and they will hand him over to the Gentiles. They
will mock him and spit on him and scourge him and kill him. None of this came as a surprise
to Christ, the prophets had foretold it, but Christ told the prophets. He was going to undergo a seemingly
hopeless seizure, he was going to be carted around and arrested.
Taken from court to tribunal. ultimately condemned under this
absolutely unjust conviction. Suffering an inhumanely brutal
abuse, as we detailed last week, not only mocking but mistreatment,
as Luke records it, spitting in his face, scourging a beating
that no human should ever have to undergo. And ultimately killed,
and Jesus knew exactly what that meant. The fact that he would
be handed over to heathen in that day and age meant that he
knew that he was going to be crucified. None of this came
as a surprise to Christ. Nor did the end. Look at the
passage. Jesus isn’t finished. He tells
about the mocking. He tells about the scourging.
He tells about being killed. But he also adds one last thought. And three days later, he will
rise again. And that’s where we want to put
our focus this morning. If you would turn over several
chapters to Mark 16, some of the last verses in Mark’s gospel. An echo of what my brother read
earlier this morning, verse two, very early on the first day of
the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen, they
were saying to one another who will roll away the stone for
us from the entrance of the tomb. Looking up, they saw that the
stone had been rolled away, although it was extremely large. Entering
the tomb, they saw a young man sitting at the right wearing
a white robe and they were amazed. They said to him, do not be amazed.
For you are looking for Jesus, the Nazarene who has been crucified,
he has risen. He is not here. Behold, here
is the place where they laid him. But go tell his disciples
and Peter he is going on ahead of you to Galilee. There you
will see him just as he told you. Jesus knew exactly what
was going to befall him. What I want to do this morning is something I’ve never done.
And so if you don’t like it. Come back next week. My fear is, if you like it, I
have just painted myself into an impossible corner to reproduce
this week in and week out. What I want to do is essentially
provide you a theology, a doctrine of the resurrection. Lessons,
if you will, of an empty tomb. What do we learn from the empty
tomb? These are uncharted waters. I’m
not going to be in one single passage this morning, not just
a few verses, rather an overview of God’s revelation to us on
the doctrine of the resurrection. There are lessons, there are
truths to be gleaned from Jesus’ empty tomb. What are they? What does God want us to know
about the resurrection? You see, you remember anything
that we know. is only because God revealed
it to us. Same thing is true with the Bible’s
teaching with regards to the resurrection. Passages that refer
to the resurrection seem to follow fall into one of six categories,
and those six categories of the truths that I want to bring before
you this morning. Those lessons that instruction
that God desires to impart to each one of us this morning with
regard to the idea of the resurrection. I provided you a place for notes
and it would be helpful probably just to follow along some versus
all quoted great length. Others I will merely allude to
most of what I’ve most of what I will refer to as is jotted
down there for you. Lessons of an empty tomb. And
I would point to the fact that these are divine revelations
on the doctrine of the resurrection. God wanted us to know. That the
resurrection, first and foremost, shows that there is a restoration
of life from the dead. One of the sad features of. Our
human existence. is how permanent most people
view death to be. A loved one dies and they lament,
they wail. Paul addressing this to the Thessalonians
said, we do not mourn like those who have no hope. It’s the hopelessness
of the world. It’s the fact that they don’t
believe that there’s anything after life. Any afterlife, rather
after death, they think that merely like So many trees. Once life is removed, life is
over. God wants us to know. That the
resurrection shows us that there is a restoration of life. From
the dead, would you turn to First Thessalonians? Chapter 4 First
Thessalonians, Chapter 4. The Thessalonians were in an
absolute panic. You see, some of the people felt
like the resurrection had already taken place and they were left
behind. And Paul writes to comfort the
Thessalonians, and he does so again in this chapter. Their
lives were a testimony to all who knew them. The Thessalonian
church would have been one that we all would have wanted to visit.
Paul says regarding their love for one another, you don’t even
you don’t even need for me to say anything more about it. This
was a loving congregation. But with regards to. The resurrection. They were a little confused.
And they were a little concerned, thinking that God had already
come and called out all those who were saved and they were
left behind. Pick up, if you would, at verse
13. Where Paul writes, but we do not want you to be uninformed,
brethren, about those who are asleep, those who are dead. So
that you will not grieve, as do the rest who have no hope.
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so
God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the
word of the Lord that those who are alive and remain until the
coming of the Lord will not precede those who have fallen asleep.
For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout with
the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God and the
dead in Christ will rise first then we. Who are alive and remain
will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the
Lord in the air and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore,
comfort one another with these words. He says, look, let me
set you straight. On the resurrection, first and
foremost, there is life after death. Death is not the end. Especially not for the believer.
And the resurrection of Christ points to the fact that it is
a declaration of the father that the enemy had been conquered.
The great enemy of death doesn’t need to be something to be feared
for believers. The enemy of death is a passing
phase, a condition. Christ’s death and his resurrection
pointed to the fact that what was destined to happen to these
members of the Thessalonian church that if they place their faith
in Christ, there was not only justification, not only spiritual
rebirth, but there would be resurrection. As one pastor said, the resurrection
of Jesus Christ is proof that death is not the end of this
life. Death is, in fact, defeated by all who, by faith, are united
to him on the basis of The resurrection of Jesus Christ, the believer,
can have perfect confidence. See, what Paul pointed to here
is that this sudden departure of perhaps a great many people
there in Thessalonica was not proof that they had been left
behind. It was proof that some had gone before in death. But he comforted them and he
wanted them to comfort one another with the fact that there is life
after death. Paul sometimes just skirts across
this idea. Almost as if it’s an afterthought. Perhaps we read it that way.
Paul said in 2nd Timothy 2 verse 8, Remember Jesus Christ risen
from the dead, descendant of David, according to my gospel,
for which I suffer hardship even to imprisonment as a criminal.
But the word of God is not imprisoned. We read through that. We almost
take it for granted. This is the miraculous. Remember,
Jesus Christ risen from the dead. Death is not the end. There is
life after death, and that is a glorious truth to any who sit
here this morning. God wants us to know that there
is life after death, there is resurrection from the dead. But
there’s more. We’re learning lessons from an
empty tomb, and God wanted us to know not only that the resurrection
shows that there is restoration. To life from the dead, but it
proves, secondly, that Jesus Christ was restored from life. From death to life. If you’re
in Thessalonians, turn back to the beginning of the book, to
chapter one. 1 Thessalonians 1. And now you’ll
begin to see why Paul loved this church so much. Watch what God
had done in their lives. Pick it up in verse 2. We give
thanks to God always for all of you, making mention of you
in our prayers, constantly bearing in mind your work of faith and
labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ
in the presence of our God and Father, Knowing beloved brethren
by beloved by God, his choice of you. These were people that
were living out their salvation in glorious terms. For our gospel,
verse five, did not come to you in word only, but also in power
and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. These were not
half in half out Christians. Just as you know what kind of
men we proved to be among you for your sake. You also became
imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word with
much tribulation and with the joy of the Holy Spirit so that
you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and
Achaia. Can you imagine? Sometimes we
don’t even have a testimony in the city
in which we live. These people, their testimony
went forth to an entire region. Everybody knew about the Thessalonian
church. Look at verse eight, for the
word of the Lord has sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia
and Achaia, but also in every place your faith toward God has
gone forth so that we have no need to say anything. For they
themselves report about us what kind of a reception we had with
you. and how you turned to God from
idols to serve a living and true God and to wait for his son from
heaven, whom he raised from the dead. That is, Jesus, who rescues
us from the wrath that come now in our day and age, the resurrection
is one of those things for so many, even professing Christians
in our day and age, who it just isn’t an important doctrine.
It just isn’t one of those big things. Certainly not anything
to get all worked up about. It was for Paul. The resurrection
of Jesus Christ was central and paramount to everything that
he taught and believed. The resurrection of Jesus Christ
is shown here to have what we might refer to as evidentiary
value. It proved that Jesus Christ was
restored from the dead. This was the proof that Christ
was the teacher that was sent from God, that he was the very
son of God. Paul frequently recites this
truth, and he does so not to gloss over it, not to just pass
over this truth. He does so to drive the point
home. Romans 7.4. Listen. Therefore,
my brethren, you also were made to die to the law through the
body of Christ so that you might be joined to another to him who
was raised from the dead. Galatians 1 1. Galatians 1 1
Paul, an apostle not sent from men nor through the agency of
man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised
him from the dead. It’s like every time Paul has
an opportunity, he wants to remind us that, oh, by the way. Jesus
not only died on the cross, he was raised from the dead, Colossians
212. having been buried with him in
baptism, in which you were also raised up with him through faith
in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. Second Timothy
2.8. Remember Jesus Christ risen from
the dead. Sometimes we overlook that great
fact. We downplay it. We think that
it’s just an Easter thing. This is a year round truth to
be savored. By the Christian. J.C. Ryle, a great servant of Christ,
said it this way, we need not wonder that so much importance
is attached to our Lord’s resurrection. It is the seal and headstone
of the great work of redemption. which he came to do. It is the
crowning proof that he has paid the debt which he undertook to
pay on our behalf. He won the battle which he fought
to deliver us from hell. And it is accepted as our guarantee
and our substitute by the father in heaven. In other words, you
set aside the resurrection of Christ, you set aside your own
salvation. Resurrection of Jesus Christ
from the dead is at the core of everything that Christianity
holds to be true. God wants us to know that Jesus
Christ was raised from the dead. But there’s a third truth. We’re learning lessons from an
empty tomb. God wants us to know not only
that the resurrection shows that there is resurrection of life
from the dead very generally. But it also proves that Jesus
Christ was restored from the dead. But I want you to notice
one more thing. God wanted us to know that the
resurrection indicates that God restored Jesus to life. This
didn’t just happen. If you would. Take your Bibles
and turn to Ephesians chapter one. And what a powerful verse,
this is Ephesians chapter one. In Ephesians chapter one, pick
up, if you would, in verse 15. Where Paul says, for this reason,
I, too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus, which exists
among you and your love for all the saints, do not cease in giving
thanks for you while making mention of you in your prayers. He basically
tells the Ephesians, look, I love you. I’m praying for you. I thank
God for the faith that exists in you. Not unlike what he had
for the Thessalonian believers. But then he’s going to issue
a series of prayer requests. Watch what he does. That the
God of our Lord Jesus Christ, verse 17, the father of glory,
may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation and the knowledge
of him. He basically says this. Look,
I’m going to go before the throne of grace and I’m going to plead
with God. Almighty God, that he’s going
to give you a full understanding of what he’s like, of who he
is, of all that he’s done. What a powerful truth. Look at
verse 18, I pray, secondly, that the eyes of your heart may be
enlightened so that you may know what is the hope of his calling,
what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance of the saints
and what is the surpassing greatness of his power toward us who believe
he asks basically for three things. What is the hope of his calling?
In other words, he wanted you to have the settled confidence
in your soul that, you know, this life isn’t everything. That
we do look forward to glory in heaven. He wanted us to know,
secondly, what are the riches of the glory? What do we inherit? We’ve talked about this many
times. You know what we inherit? We get to heaven. Don’t look
for a pot of money. Don’t look for a big castle. You know, we inherit we inherit
the Lord Jesus Christ. What a glorious truth. What is
the hope of his calling, what are the riches of the glory for
his inheritance and the saints? But note this, and what is the
surpassing greatness of his power towards us who believe he wanted
us to know the power of God that had come and had saved us? What
kind of power? Look at. The next section of
verse 19. These, and he points back to
those three prayer requests, these are in accordance with
the working of the strength of his might, which he brought about
in Christ when he raised him from the dead. What an amazing
statement. He says, look, the same power.
that raised the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead reaches down to
lost sinners and has the capacity to bring them to life and to
faith and to give them newness of life. What an amazing statement. Look at how he rolls those terms
together. The working of the strength of
his mighty piles words on top of one another, strength and
might and energy, the working energy. Paul almost seems to be grasping
at words to accumulate to try to show us the amazing nature
of God’s power. The might that is exercised now
in the context, I told you these talking about salvation. He’s
talking about what God has accomplished in the believer with regards
to salvation. And he pulls out all the stops.
He says, you want to know how strong God is? Let me show you
just how strong, how mighty, how powerful God is. He raised
Jesus from death. He raised him up from death.
And if God can raise Jesus Christ from death to life. God. Can stir your dead sinful
heart. To life and to faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ, he can. Charles Spurgeon. I love this. He said we are as helpless to
cooperate in our regeneration as we are to cooperate in the
work of Calvary. He basically says that we are
at God’s mercy, but God’s up to the task. The same power which
raised Christ Jesus from the dead must be exerted in raising
us from the dead. The very same omnipotence without
which angels or worms could not have a being must again step
forth and do as great a work as it did in the first creation
in making us new. If you have placed your faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ, that means the almighty power of God
has come and is already. Begun to do a work in you. This
is not a thought that is exclusive to the Apostle Paul. Listen to
Peter, just listen. First, Peter chapter one, where
Peter, I mean, Peter doesn’t take any time to get on a roll.
Verse Peter 117, if you address his father, the one who impartially
judges according to each man’s work, conduct yourselves in fear. If you name the name of Christ,
if you have placed your faith in Christ, declared yourself
to be a Christian, you better live a reverent life. That’s
what he says. Conduct yourselves in fear during
the time of your stay upon earth, knowing that you are not redeemed
with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way
of life inherited from your forefathers. But, and he refreshes here, you
are redeemed with precious blood. As of a lamb unblemished and
spotless, the blood of Christ. For he was foreknown before the
foundation of the world, but he has appeared in these last
times for the sake of you who through him are believers in
God. Who raised him from the dead,
this is no afterthought, this is central to the gospel. Listen to this and just listen,
if you want to jot down the specific references, I’ll try to give
them clearly. Listen to this. The apostles
knew this. The apostles knew how central
the resurrection of Christ was to the gospel. In Acts chapter
two. In Acts chapter two, the reference
there, this Jesus God raised up again. In Acts 315, they put
to death the Prince of life, the one whom God raised from
the dead. In Acts 326, you first, God raised
up his servant. 410, Jesus Christ, the Nazarene,
whom you crucified, God raised from the dead. 530, the God of
our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had put to death by
hanging him on a cross. 1040, God raised him up on the
third day. 1330, God raised him up from
the dead. 1332, God has fulfilled this
promise to our children in that he raised up Jesus. Act 1731,
he is fixed a day when he will judge the world in righteousness
through a man whom he is appointed, having furnished proof to all. By raising him from the dead.
It’s the almighty power of God. God wanted us to know that he
has raised Jesus from the dead. And there’s a glorious truth
that follows after that. God wanted us to know that the
resurrection shows there is restoration of life from the dead. It proves
that Jesus was restored from life from to life from death. It indicates that God has restored
Jesus to life. But fourthly, it points to a
final resurrection. Of believers. What an amazing truth, turn,
if you would, to Romans chapter eight. In what is arguably one of my.
Perhaps I say this every time I preach a passage, one of my
favorite passages in all of scripture, I have I’ve documented proof,
though, because we spent almost eight months in Romans eight.
Romans eight, I’ll spend just two minutes. Look at verse one,
there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
For the law, the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free
from the law of sin and of death for what the law could not do
weak as it was through the flesh. God did sending his own son in
the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, he
condemned sin in the flesh in order that the requirement of
the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according
to the flesh, but according to the spirit. For those who are
according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh,
but those who are according to the spirit, the things of the
spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind
set on the spirit is life and peace. Because the mind set on
the flesh is hostile toward God, for it does not subject itself
to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so. And those
who are in the flesh cannot please God, however, You are not in
the flesh, but in the spirit, if indeed the spirit of God dwells
in you. But if anyone does not have the
spirit of Christ, he does not belong to him. And if Christ
is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the
spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the spirit of him who
raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ
Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies
through his spirit, which indwells you. There’s no cause for fear
of death. There is therefore now no condemnation.
If you have placed your faith in Christ, you don’t need to
fear death because death is very temporary. There is going to
be a resurrection. A resurrection to life from death. And he points here to our mortal
bodies, pointing to the fact that most of us will experience
this great human tragedy, the effect of sin on our bodies. We will die and perish. But he says that that body someday
is going to be reconstituted, it’s going to be joined again
with its soul. As one pastor said, the life
which we derive from Christ shall ultimately affect A complete
triumph over death. It is true that our present bodies
must die, but they do not continue under the power of death. The
same spirit which raised Christ and his body from the grave shall
also quicken our mortal bodies. What a glorious truth. We don’t
have to fear death. We don’t have to fear what most
people fear the most. Paul says the same thing in 1
Corinthians. Don’t turn just. I’ll be gone by the time you
get there. All things are lawful for me, not all things are profitable,
all things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by
anything. Food for the stomach, stomach
for food, but God will do away with both of them. Yet the body
is not for immorality, but for the Lord. If you place your faith
in Christ, your body, your life now belongs to God. Your body is not for immorality,
but for the Lord and the Lord is for the body. Now, God not
only raised up the Lord, but also will raise us up. Through
his power. That’s not wishful thinking,
that’s a promise, that’s a promise from God himself. Thomas Watson, the Puritan, said
Christ is risen, therefore, the bodies of the saints must rise. Christ’s rising is a pledge of
our resurrection, just as the first fruits are a sure evidence
that the harvest is coming. So the resurrection of Christ
is a sure evidence of the rising of bodies from the grave. Paul
echoes this same thought in 2 Corinthians 4, 14, knowing that he who raised
the Lord will raise us also with Jesus. See what Paul points to here.
This great comfort to the Corinthians, who were so fearful and so feeble
in so many different ways from a doctrinal standpoint, they
took this as a truth. That God had raised the Lord
Jesus Christ, and that meant that they soon would follow.
That once they were dead, ultimately they would be raised. And the
believer would be united not only with his mortal body, but
with his Savior. Paul said the same thing to the
Thessalonians, remember? For if we believe that Jesus
died and rose again, even so God will bring with him those
who have fallen asleep in Jesus. You don’t have to fear. God wants
us to know that we will be raised. But there’s a fifth. There’s
a fifth truth that we learn from the resurrection. God wanted
us to know that the resurrection, point four, not only points to
a final resurrection of believers, but point five, God wants us
to know that the resurrection communicates God’s purpose for
the resurrection. Stay with me on this one. This
is the hardest to follow of all. We make it through this, we’re
home free. Romans, Chapter four, turn and
I’m not going to read it in full. I’m going to allude to a couple
of passages because, you know, the truths of these. I just want to take us there
so that we can land. In one particular spot. The book of Romans, Paul. has
basically detailed that we all need salvation. And he’s looking
at this idea of salvation by works, and he says, we know that
that didn’t work. It didn’t work for the Jews.
Adherence, strict adherence, even perfect adherence to the
law, even if they had tried with all their might, they couldn’t
have done it perfectly. So it was utter failure, this
attempt to live according to the law, and Paul takes up another
approach to salvation, the approach of faith faith specifically in
the Lord Jesus Christ. But he first takes up the idea
of faith as opposed to works using the person of Abraham. First of all, he questions Abraham’s
justification, and what I mean by that is what gives Abraham
the right to stand before God, a holy God, a sinful man now
going to stand before a holy God. Where does Abraham get the idea
that he can do that? The fact that he has been justified.
He has been made worthy to stand before God. How? Look at verse
1. What shall we say then that Abraham,
our forefather according to the flesh, has found? For if Abraham
was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but
not before God. In other words, he said, look,
Abraham didn’t earn his salvation by doing good things, adhering
himself to the law. Paul goes on in verses 9 through
15 to point to the emptiness. All that the law did, if we could
adhere to it perfectly, we would be saved. But no one can. We
have that. Prove it. Abraham wasn’t justified
by his works. He was justified by faith. It
was justified by faith. Look at verse 19. Without becoming
weak in faith, he contemplated his own body, now as good as
dead. He was about a hundred years
old as the deadness of Sarah’s womb. Yet, with respect to the
promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief. He had been promised
a child. The only problem was, he was
an old man and he was married to an old lady. There was no
human hope of having a child. And that’s where faith takes
over. Abraham believed God. And Paul goes on to say, Abraham
believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Because
of Abraham’s faith, God said, come before me, Abraham. You
have been justified to stand before me. Trickle down, if you would, to
verse 25. And just to set the context,
he’s pointing to the Lord Jesus Christ there in verse 24, he
who was delivered up because of our transgressions and was
raised because of our justification. It takes one second to explain,
he’s not for an instant saying. That the only reason Jesus was
raised because we were justified, he’s basically pointing to it
as the cause. Jesus Christ was raised. God’s
stamp of approval was put on the offering that Christ made
on the cross for you and for me. And that’s how we’re justified. That’s how we’re given like our
friend and forefather Abraham. That’s how we’re given the privilege
to come before Almighty and Holy God. It’s because of our faith. It’s because of our faith in
the Lord Jesus Christ and in nothing else. One said it this way, the atoning
work of Christ, if it was to be effective at all, had to terminate
not in death. But in life. Furthermore, it
was the father’s seal on the completed work of Christ, the
public declaration of its of its acceptance. Paul would say
it this way in Romans 4, he was declared the son of God with
power by the resurrection from the dead. Chapter 1 verse 4. See, God not only wants us to
know that there’s life after death. There’s a lot of people
that believe that in all kinds of wacky terms, right? God not
only wants us to know that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead.
What good is that for us if we don’t press on? God wants us
to know that he raised Jesus Christ from the dead. He wants
us to know that he is almighty God, but God also wants us to
know that we, too, shall be raised. God wants us to know that Christ’s
sacrifice was fully accepted. Sixth, and finally, and we might
just make it. God wanted us to know, number
six, that the resurrection reveals the expected result of the resurrection. Don’t lose me now. Turn, if you
would, to Second Corinthians, chapter five. Second Corinthians, chapter five,
and we’ll pick it up in verse 11. where Paul wrote, therefore,
knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are made
manifest to God. And I hope that we are made manifest
also in your consciences. We are not again commending ourselves
to you, but are giving you an occasion to be proud of us so
that you will have an answer for those who take pride in appearance,
not in heart. For if we are beside ourselves,
it is for God. And if we are a sound mind, it
is for you, for the love of God controls us. Having concluded
this, that one died for all, therefore all died and he died
for all so that they who live might no longer live for themselves. But for him who died and rose
again on their behalf, there’s a purpose to the resurrection.
And the purpose is that we don’t go on living the same kind of
mundane, sinful, sordid lives that we live before we came face
to face with the Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 14, Paul says, not one
of us lives for himself. Colossians 3 says, therefore,
if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things
above. Our life is supposed to be different. We’re supposed to look different
and live differently. Think just briefly as I close. of Romans 6. What should we say
then, Paul says. He’s already said that there’s
an abundant provision for sinners. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ
will overcome any sinful condition. And he says, what should we say
then? Are we to continue in sin that grace might increase? Should
we just continue to live it up in sin? Because God, we know,
can overcome. Paul says, may it never be no
way. How shall we who died to sin
still live in it? Or do you not know that all of
us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized
into his death? He’s not talking about water
here. You know what he’s talking about? It’s talking about those
who place their faith in Christ. Are they themselves placed into
Christ? They are immersed into Christ.
Listen to this. Look at verse 4. Therefore, we
who have been buried with him through baptism into death, in
order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory
of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. We’re
to live a different life. We’re to live a grace filled
life. We’re to live a resurrected life. And all of that sordid
past fades. We press on by God’s grace. When faithful pastor said it
this way, we die with Christ in order that we should live
with him. We share his death that we may
become partakers of his life. These two justification and sanctification
are inseparable. There is no participation in
Christ’s life. Without a participation in his
death, and we cannot enjoy the benefits of his death. Unless
we are partakers. of the power of his life, God
wanted us to know that we are to live resurrected lives. Would
you go before the throne of grace? Our merciful King. We humble
ourselves before you. Joyful at the fact that there
is life after death, that Christ rose first and you raised him.
And that because you raised Him, you will raise us also. Because you accepted His sacrifice
as payment in full for sinners. O Lord God, for all who have
placed their faith in Christ, may we renew our commitment before
you to live lives that testify of that great grace. Father, if there are any here
who have not made that commitment, who have not placed their faith
in Christ, that are hopeless at the thought of death and powerless
over their own sin, there is forgiveness. There is forgiveness
in the resurrected Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ. May any who
need Him find Him today. It’s in Jesus’ name that we pray.