When you and I say “Yes” to Christ’s free gift of salvation, we’re exchanging our sins, our madness, our bad stuff for His perfection. His goodness. His love. It’s not a fair exchange. He didn’t have to come and die for us, but He came because He loved us that much. Today we’re going to talk about how that was not the end of the story.
Show Notes:
- 1 Corinthians 15:55 – “Oh, Death, who’s afraid of you now?”
- Who Is Jesus? Let us introduce you!
- Have a prayer request? Leave it here.
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Transcription:
It’s one of the greatest questions ever uttered in human history. And the way the angel says it in the message translation of the Bible goes like this: Why are you looking for the living one in a cemetery? He is not here but raised up. Welcome to the Bible for Busy People. My name is Erica. I’m your host and boy, I hope that those words fill your heart with more hope than you ever thought possible right now, because last time you and I had a conversation about how Jesus died for my sins, for your sins. He redeemed us right? When you and I say “Yes” to his free gift of salvation, we’re exchanging our sins, our madness, our bad stuff for his perfection. His goodness, His love. It’s not a fair exchange. He didn’t have to come and die for us, but he came because he loved us that much. Today we’re going to talk about how that was not the end of the story.
Maybe you’re in some circumstances today and you are just looking up and going, I don’t understand what’s going on. Maybe that’s your holy Saturday. The day between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, because there was waiting. People really didn’t understand. Even Jesus’s closest followers didn’t understand that he was going to rise again, even though he told them He was! It was a confusing time. And perhaps it’s a confusing time for you. I hope that the passage in the Bible that you and I are going to study today is going to clear away the cobwebs of doubt from your heart and your spirit. So, what do you say? Let’s dive in and talk about what the resurrection of Jesus Christ means to you and means to me. Here at the top of 2024, we’re going to be reading Paul’s letter to the Romans in chapter five, beginning in verse 18.
Here it is in a nutshell: Just as one person did it wrong and got us in all this trouble with sin and death, another person did it right and got us out of it. But more than just getting us out of trouble, he got us into life! One man said no to God…
Adam, from Adam and Eve.
…and put many people in the wrong; one man said yes to God and put many in the right. 20-21 All that passing laws against sin did was produce more lawbreakers. But sin didn’t, and doesn’t, have a chance in competition with the aggressive forgiveness we call grace. When it’s sin versus grace, grace wins hands down. All sin can do is threaten us with death, and that’s the end of it. Grace, because God is putting everything together again through the Messiah, invites us into life—a life that goes on and on and on, world without end.
Is there any doubt in your mind why somebody would write a hymn called Amazing Grace? John Newton, by the way, wrote that hymn. He was a former slave trader who certainly understood the amazing grace of God. Okay, so we’re going to stay in Paul’s letter to the Romans, a book in the Bible that we call Romans. And by the way, I probably should note here we’re reading The Message version this week because the third most popular reason people give for not picking up God’s word is because the language is too difficult to understand. That’s why we’re reading it in the most modern language possible, The Message version this week. So, let’s stay in Paul’s letter to the Romans, but we’re going to move on to chapter six beginning in verse one. He’s going to continue his theme on grace.
So what do we do? Keep on sinning so God can keep on forgiving? I should hope not! If we’ve left the country where sin is sovereign, how can we still live in our old house there? Or didn’t you realize we packed up and left there for good? That is what happened in baptism. When we went under the water, we left the old country of sin behind; when we came up out of the water, we entered into the new country of grace—a new life in a new land! 3-5 That’s what baptism into the life of Jesus means. When we are lowered into the water, it is like the burial of Jesus; when we are raised up out of the water, it is like the resurrection of Jesus.
Maybe you never knew that before. You didn’t really understand what the whole baptism thing is about. Now you know! It’s symbolic of dying to our sins and rising again to a new life. Okay, moving on now.
Each of us is raised into a light-filled world by our Father so that we can see where we’re going in our new grace-sovereign country. 6-11 Could it be any clearer? Our old way of life was nailed to the cross with Christ, a decisive end to that sin-miserable life—no longer captive to sin’s demands! What we believe is this: If we get included in Christ’s sin-conquering death, we also get included in his life-saving resurrection. We know that when Jesus was raised from the dead it was a signal of the end of death-as-the-end. Never again will death have the last word. When Jesus died, he took sin down with him, but alive he brings God down to us. From now on, think of it this way: Sin speaks a dead language that means nothing to you; God speaks your mother tongue, and you hang on every word. You are dead to sin and alive to God. That’s what Jesus did.
Hallelujah! I feel like raising a shout. We began our time today with a question. Remember the angel said, why are you looking for the living one in a cemetery? to the followers of Christ who showed up thinking they were going to anoint him with spices, and they realized he’s not here? What does that mean and all of a sudden hope sprouted in them? Well, I want to end our time today together with a question as well. You can find out where this verse is in the Bible in your show notes, and you may have heard of it in the form of a different translation. Oh, death, where is your sting? But this is how the message puts it.
Oh, death. Who’s afraid of you now?
Thank you Jesus for dying and rising for us. Oh, how we love you. In Jesus name, amen. Alright, until next time, you are so loved.
Thank you for making time for the Bible for Busy People today. If being part of this community is a blessing to you, it’s super easy to share this podcast with someone you love. We’re all about spreading the hope of Jesus like butter. So, if you’ve got a moment to write a review, boy, we’d really appreciate that. Maybe you need a little prayer today, or you are ready to take that next step with God. I invite you to check out our show notes. You’re going to find lots of encouragement there. This podcast is one branch on a tree called Purposely, a podcast network designed with practical podcasts to help you find and thrive in God’s purpose for your life. If you’ve got a pulse, you’ve got a purpose.
