It's a Little Like Spring, Art....

Hi, Art,
Warm greetings to you in this emerging Springtime. What a lot of snow we’ve had! But now it’s disappearing quickly. Isn’t that good?

In reference to what you wrote -- It is certainly as important for men as for their wives and children, to be involved with the ministry of the Gospel of Christ through a local Bible-believing Church, and I’m glad you brought that out. The Gospel message (redemption through Christ) is meant for all. It’s simple enough for small children, and profound enough for anyone, -- even great thinkers.

1 Cor. 15 is a great Bible chapter on Resurrection – both the undeniable fact that Christ rose bodily from the dead, and the wonderful, sure prospect that we today will receive a new resurrection body later, if we in this life come to trust in Christ as Savior, personally, that is. Glad you’re reading it.

A caution for all of us, -- We do need to be careful that our sophistication does not get in the way of the life-giving message of God’s Word. It was interesting – last Sunday in his morning sermon, Pastor cited something written by the famous philosopher named Sartre: “Life is an empty bubble on the sea of nothingness!” Wow! What was that man thinking of, Art??? That thought couldn’t come from someone who believes and cherishes the Gospel of Christ as Apostle Paul did when he wrote in one of his letters, “For me, to live is Christ….” (Phil. 1:21).

Concerning alternate explanations of the Resurrection of Christ, there have been several, but they don’t “hold water.” For one thing, many of the early disciples of Christ paid for their faith with their lives. So they were absolutely convinced that He had risen from the dead! And one very silly explanation was that He didn’t really die, but that He merely “swooned” and then revived in the cold, damp tomb! Preposterous! They buried Him, and everybody knew that He was dead. If not, why would His enemies have sought and received an armed guard to station at His tomb??? (see Matt. 28:11-15).

Remember how completely discouraged the disciples of Jesus were when He died on the cruel cross? Even though He had told them beforehand that He was going to die, they couldn’t accept the idea. And every time He had said that, He also said that He would rise again! But they were so far from grasping this, that all the first reports of His resurrection and appearances (on that first Easter morning) were counted as rubbish, i.e. nonsense! (see Luke 24:11).

Since March was a five-Sunday month this year, and Easter was the fourth Sunday, I note that our Pastor preached a 5-Sunday series of sermons, called “Christ Arose” (same as the classic hymn to which you referred). He included such aspects of this theme as:

Christ’s pre-existence (He lived before He was born)
His Incarnation (through His Virgin Birth, by which He became a man)
The essential fact that He became truly man, but never ceased to be God
He lived on earth in complete harmony with the will of the Father in heaven
He came to pay the penalty for all our sin, as well as reveal to us what God is like
He truly died a terrible death for us, and rose again bodily and triumphantly
He appeared to believers for a period of 40 days before returning to heaven

You know, Art, when the disciples and followers of Jesus finally became absolutely convinced that the One who died by crucifixion was alive from the dead, it made a fantastic transformation in their lives. From that moment on, they wanted to serve Him wholeheartedly and faithfully, even though many paid for that with their lives! They went everywhere preaching the Gospel (see Acts 8:4).

It’s a little like Spring, Art, -- there’s new life coming soon, in the trees and shrubs, and in the flower gardens and lawns…. And in people, new hope-filled life springs up when they come to realize fully that because of God’s tremendous love for them, Christ died the death they deserved to die, and rose again – all for them!

Isn’t that wonderful? I hope that you have come to participate in it by now. Or if not, that you will soon. I’m praying, Art.

Sincerely, -- PapaPops