It got me to thinking...

My 9-year-old likes to ask questions. He is a lot like his mom that way. I was putting him down to bed recently and he asked me, “Dad, why did God create everything including the chance to sin?” I paused. Then I silently asked God for wisdom. Finally I said, “He created us to save us. Those two decisions were actually the same decision by God.” Then he paused.

I could tell his little brain was working to sort out what I just said. Eventually he asked, “Well, how do you know that’s possible?” to which I responded, “Only by the resurrection of Jesus, son. His resurrection proves that our salvation is possible.” “Hmm…ok,” he responded, and then the next question was about Legos. He followed that up by asking about an issue with the timeline of a few events in Star Wars. It was a very brief, but sweet moment, and it got me to thinking about the connection between my salvation & Jesus’ resurrection.

This Sunday, Dr. Powell will be back in town, and we will gather together at McGregor to celebrate Easter. Celebrating the resurrection is not just about being hopeful about life in general. It’s not some sort of analogy for mystical renewal that happens because it’s springtime. It’s also not intended to inspire us to try harder to be good. No, for those whom God has saved, our confidence is inevitably tied to the resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday morning two millennia ago. Jesus’ resurrection proves that our salvation is possible because He made it possible. Celebrating the resurrection is all about giving God glory for everything His work accomplished in saving us.

In Romans 4, the Apostle Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, connects salvation to the resurrection. In a reference to Abraham’s salvation, Paul says that Abraham was…

21“fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. 22That is why his faith was ‘counted to him as righteousness.’”

Abraham didn’t know the name “Jesus.” He lived prior to the incarnation, but that doesn’t mean he is somehow unable to be saved. Paul makes it clear here in Romans 4 and elsewhere (Galatians 3:1-9) that Abraham is among those whom God has saved. In the Old Testament, people were saved not by their own righteousness and good works, but just like Abraham, they were saved by God’s grace through the gift of faith in the promised One to come. Paul drives this point home by drawing the parallel between Abraham then and the redeemed now:

23“But the words ‘it was counted to him’ were not written for his sake alone, 24but for ours also.”

Paul makes it clear that Abraham’s salvation is not unique, even though he was alive prior to Jesus’ birth. If Abraham was justified by faith, then every other person whom God saves is justified on that exact same basis. Salvation is now and has always been by grace through faith alone, not works. Everyone who has ever been redeemed has been so by the faith God gives in salvation. Again, Galatians 3 makes this exact same point.

So there’s just no way a person can make himself or herself right before a holy God by his or her own effort. Salvation is only possible because God makes it possible. It only happens by faith whether your name is Abraham, Jorge Bergoglio, David Miller or whoever. If that is true, celebrating the resurrection can’t be about trying harder to justify myself. That’s impossible. The resurrection is proof of the salvation that God made possible. Paul continues…

24b“It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, 25who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.”

Do you see it? Do you notice the double mention of the resurrection in those two verses? The object of belief for those who have been redeemed is “him who raised from the dead.” That’s Jesus, and one Friday night many years ago, Jesus was “delivered up” to die and be crucified because of our need to be justified. We can’t justify ourselves. We can’t make ourselves right before God. We can’t cover the gap between our sin and His holiness. It’s so impossible that even trying to do that insults God (Isaiah 64:6).

No, salvation is only possible because Jesus made it possible, and His resurrection proves that God fully accepted the sacrifice of His Son on behalf of the redeemed. To quote Pastor Russell from this past Sunday, “Friday afternoon is when the card got swiped and the transaction took place. Sunday morning is when the receipt printed out to prove it.”

If God has saved you, I encourage you in the run up to Easter Sunday to stay focused on what God made possible in you that you could not. Do not get distracted with reports of religiosity around the world and idiotic discussions of self-renewal. Be reminded of what God has accomplished in saving you as you look at the proof that has been provided in Jesus’ resurrection. Hope to see you Sunday as we celebrate the resurrection that proves salvation is possible.

David Miller
Associate Pastor of Membership

Our Family Easter Devotional guide is a great tool for families. Check it out here http://www.mcgregor.net/news-and-events/easter-2013/

Join us on Wednesday, April 3 for Fellowship Night! Food & Fun for ALL! For more details, go here www.mcgregor.net/news-and-events/all-church-fellowship-night-2013/


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