Easter is the crowning jewel of Christianity and what most distinguishes it from all other world religions. What the Superbowl is to football, the World Series is to baseball, Wimbledon is to tennis, The Final Four is to college basketball, and the Masters is to professional golf...the resurrection of Christ is to Christianity. It is the pinnacle of the Christian faith.
Without the resurrection all we have is a dead martyr that is powerless to save the soul or change the life of a single person. This is the reason we celebrate His resurrection every Sunday and why Easter is a special recognition of this momentous event.
Most preachers have been studying, planning and preparing for months for this special day. They’ve been looking for the most effective/creative/powerful/profound way to make the greatest impact on as many people as possible, since it’s likely more people will be in church on Easter than at any other time of the year.
It is what has consumed much of my down-time for the last several weeks, as well, when I wasn’t preparing for other messages. But, that all changed in a specific way a little over a week ago...(tell the story).
“And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 2:4-5)
It is not our persuasiveness that saves; it is the Gospel itself that saves. Proclaiming the Gospel is like letting a lion out of its cage. (originally alluded to by D.L. Moody) Once the lion is out, he needs no help from us. When the lion is turned loose, it will take care of itself.
“If the gospel is, itself, mighty to save, the power of God resulting in salvation, then we need but to proclaim it, in simplicity, in purity, and in dependence upon God, who will by His Word save men.” (Dr. Bob Deffinbaugh)
- What is the Gospel?
- The word “Gospel” is used in different contexts to announce good news:
- A. The victory achieved in battle.
- B. The wedding of a couple.
- C. The birth of a son.
- When used about Christ it announces the Good News that He is Lord and Savior of all mankind!
- In spite of what you may have heard, the Gospel is about more than just the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. That is the heart of the Gospel, but a heart is incomplete without a body. There is a context into which the work of Jesus fits and without which the story doesn’t make complete sense.
- The Gospel is the outworking of God’s redemptive plan that began in eternity past (Acts 2:23) and culminates with God the Father being God for all, in all, and through all, with His Son Jesus Christ glorified as the One through Whom the Father is glorified. It fulfills/resolves the story of Israel through whom the Messiah was delivered to be the Savior of all mankind.
- Scholar, N.T. Wright says, “...the gospel itself, strictly speaking, is the narrative proclamation of King Jesus...Or, to put it yet more compactly: Jesus, the crucified and risen Messiah, is Lord.” It is, “an announcement about the true God as opposed to the false gods....To announce that YHWH was King was to announce that Caesar is not.” (--which is part of the reason he says he is not “ashamed of the Gospel,” seeing it wouldn’t have not been well received in Rome for this very reason.)
- It may be that there were people in Rome who despised the simplicity of the message (there were certainly some elsewhere, Acts 17:32; 1 Cor. 1:18, 23).
- This had not deterred Paul previously and it wouldn’t deter him now.
- “Paul had been imprisoned in Philippi, chased out of Thessalonica, smuggled out of Berea, laughed at in Athens. He had preached in Corinth where his message was foolishness to the Greeks and a stumbling-block to the Jews, and out of that background Paul declared that he was proud of the gospel” (William Barclay).
- To say that he is “not ashamed” is really a litotes, in essence meaning the opposite is true.
- Paul states in the opening verses of Romans that Jesus is, “...declared to be God with power...by the resurrection from the dead.” (Romans 1:4)
- Why do we need the Gospel?
Because...”it is the power of God unto salvation...”
- Power is the Greek word, “dunamis” which gives us our word “dynamite.” That’s not the idea of the meaning here, though, as first century readers wouldn’t have understood it that way. Nor is it the right image of the “power of God” because dynamite is usually considered destructive, not constructive. The image Paul is conveying is that there is an inherent power in the Gospel itself to change people’s lives.
- When defining “power” in the biblical context of the Gospel it should be understood as resurrection power.
“...the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places...” (1 Corinthians 1:18-20)
“But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” (Romans 8:11)
The effect of salvation...
- Positionally:
- salvation is a general term that encompases every aspect of our relationship to God: Justification, Redemption, Reconciliation, Sanctification, and Glorification.
- Practically:
- Our salvation includes many wonderful truths:
- We are saved from wrath (5:9)
- We are saved from hostility to God (5:10)
- We are saved from alienation from God (Ephesians 2:12)
- We are saved from sin (Matthew 1:21)
- We are saved from being lost (Luke 19:10)
- We are saved from futility (1 Peter 1:18)
- We are saved from “a yoke of bondage” (Galatians 5:1)
- We are saved from false religion (Colossians 1:13)
- We are saved from a corrupt generation (Acts 2:40)
- Unfortunately, the modern “gospel” portrays God as being more lonely and in need of our companionship rather than righteously angered by our sin. In this aberrant gospel man is not represented as a rebel under the wrath of God and destined for eternal torment, but rather as one who could use a little assistance in making his life more fulfilling and satisfying.
- Presently:
- Many Christians understand that they have no hope of heaven apart from the price Jesus paid on their behalf. But aside from gratitude for his sacrifice they see little connection between what Jesus did then and how we can live today. But, the resurrection was not only a supernatural event for Jesus, it also opened new possibilities for everyone that would become a follower of Jesus. When Jesus was raised from the grave by the power of God...the power of His resurrection life was made available to all who received Him. (cf. Romans 8:11) Certainly, Jesus came to save us from our sins, but He also came to enable us to live Godly lives that can look substantially like his life.
- How should we respond to the Gospel?
- It is universal (“to everyone”)
- It is unmatched
- It is uncomplicated (“who believes”)
Paul makes it clear that this life/soul saving power is only available to those that “believe.”
Every religion says, “Do these things and you’ll live,” but Christ says, “It’s done...you are alive.”
Closing Illus: Paul/Silas and the Philippian jailer (Acts 16:20-33)
