Sermon on Lord’s Day 20⤒🔗

45. Q. How does Christ's resurrection benefit us?
 A. First, by His resurrection He has overcome death, so that He could make us share in the righteousness which He had obtained for us by His death.[1] Second, by His power we too are raised up to a new life.[2] Third, Christ's resurrection is to us a sure pledge of our glorious resurrection.[3]
 [1] Rom. 4:25; I Cor. 15:16-20; I Pet. 1:3-5. [2] Rom. 6:5-11; Eph. 2:4-6; Col. 3:1-4. [3] Rom. 8:11; I Cor. 15:12-23; Phil. 3:20, 21.

Scripture Reading: Romans 6:1-14; I Corinthians 15:1-28

Singing: (Psalms and Hymns are from the "Book of Praise" Anglo Genevan Psalter)
Hymn 26:1,2
Psalm 17:4,6
Psalm 30:1,2,7
Hymn 28:1,2,3,4
Psalm 39:2,3; Hymn 51:8

Beloved Congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ!

The subject of Christ’s resurrection is well known to us; it’s part and parcel of the Christian faith we’ve been taught over the years. The question I lay before you today, though, is this: in what way does that resurrection affect you? No, I am not asking about the effect of Christ’s resurrection on your own resurrection from the dead on the last day. I ask about today, while you go about your daily affairs. What effect does Christ’s resurrection of long ago have upon your life today? To put the question differently: would your life today be any different if Christ had not been raised?

In Lord’s Day 17 the church repeats after God God’s answer to this question with the confession that Christ’s resurrection radically changes the daily lives of God’s people. So I summarize the sermon with this theme:

The resurrection of Jesus Christ changes the daily lives of God’s people 

1. The need for Christ’s resurrection.
2. The reality of Christ’s resurrection.
3. The response to Christ’s resurrection.

The need for Christ’s resurrection←⤒🔗

Lord’s Day 17, brothers and sisters, mentions three distinct benefits for the believer flowing from the resurrection of Jesus Christ from His tomb. Of the three, it’s the second I lift out today for special attention. That second reads as follows: "by His power we too are raised up to a new life."

That sentence as printed in our Lord’s Day implies a rather unpleasant thought. Inherent to a "new life" and being "raised up" is the thought that the old life was somehow not good enough. The natural life, the old, must be replaced by a new life, and somehow we cannot obtain that new life unless Christ be raised from the dead....

Just what is this ‘old life’? From what kind of existence were we raised up? To answer that question, we need to go back to the days of Adam and Eve.

Those two people, Adam and Eve, were created without sin, were perfect. It pleased the Lord God to establish a warm relation with these two people, a covenant of peace of love. Result: Adam and Eve tasted God’s care, God’s love, God’s protection. They knew no tension, there was no friction between God and these two; Adam and Eve could know themselves absolutely safe in the hands of their God-by-covenant. In a word: these two persons enjoyed life in the full sense of the word. Their labors were not futile, their relaxation was not a waste of time. Life they had, without grief, without pain, without tears. Life, for they lived close to God. If you will: they had "fullness of food" and "prosperous ease" (Ezekiel 16:49).

It all changed when they ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. God had already said that on the day they ate of that tree they would die. At the instigation of the devil, in deliberate disobedience, they ate anyway. According to God’s promise, these two persons died that same day. Spiritually they were dead, became what the Bible calls "dead in sin". That is: depravity washed over them, corruption disfigured them, so that they were inclined to all evil, incapable to doing any saving good. Because of that deadness in sin they could no longer exist in the presence of God; their deadness in sin implied that they could do nothing else than commit sin, and so they always had sins on their hands, sins that triggered the wrath of holy God. Dead they were in sin, and therefore holy God of heaven and earth exiled them from His presence, cast them out of the Garden where He used to converse with them.

So: did Adam and Eve still live after the fall? O yes, their hearts ticked on. But have life in that rich Biblical sense of the word they did not. Dead they were, dead in sin. That tragic reality affected their lives day by day in such a profound fashion. The peace they were used to was now replaced by fear, tension. The abundance they were used to was replaced by toil and labor. The happiness they were used to was replaced by anxiety, pain. Their spiritual deadness would invariably lead one day to their physical deadness; "you are dust, and to dust you shall return" (Gen 3.16ff). What purpose human life still had? Because people were dead in sin life could have no purpose anymore! In the words of the Preacher of Ecclesiastes; "vanity of vanities; all is vanity" (1:2). One may labor from dawn till dark, may struggle to accumulate wealth and comfort, but … all die, rich and poor alike, and in their death there is no difference. So what’s the benefit of the toil? Vanity, says the Preacher, all is vanity. This life of deadness-in-sin has no purpose.…

See there, brothers and sisters, why people need new life! That old existence into which we plunged ourselves with our fall into sin is empty, vain, futile. We need new life, life that has purpose, meaning, a goal. But where can we obtain such a new life? What shall we do in order to achieve this better life? Congregation, there is nothing we can do to obtain a better life! Human effort to be rid of terror, of hunger, of pain, of suffering is vain – simply because God said in the beginning that our lot is pain and toil, is sweat and curse, and the end of the matter is death, physical death flowing out of the spiritual death we already possess. And try though we might, we can’t undo the curse of God on our fall into sin….

Behold here now, congregation, the gospel of Jesus Christ that God has prepared for you! Says the Catechism: "by His power we … are raised up to a new life." "Vanity of vanities," said the Preacher, "all is vanity." Wait a minute, says the Christian in Lord’s Day 17, all is not vanity. For new life is available! The Son of God arose from the dead to a new life, and the people of God as it were ride on His coat tails, are raised from their deadness also to a new life. Vanity of vanities? The eye of faith has seen the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and so the heart believes and the mouth confesses that on Easter Sunday a new reality entered the world, something new, something profound, something touching the roots of life itself: "By His power we too are raised up to a new life."

That concept of being raised to a new life comes from the words of the apostle Paul. It’s what he says in Eph 2; "God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ..., and raised us up with Him" (vs 4f). In his letter to the Romans, ch 6, the apostle broadens those words. There he speaks about the union there is between the believer and Christ, a union which implies that when Christ was crucified the believer was crucified also, when Christ was buried the believer was buried also, and when Christ arose the believer arose also. Yet the apostle does not mean that the believer was physically present with Christ, visibly nailed to the cross with the Savior, bodily buried with Him and raised. The apostle speaks instead of a spiritual presence. When Christ died, in a way I can’t understand, all believers from Adam to the end of the ages were included in His death. When Christ was buried, in a way I can’t understand, all believers from Adam to the end were included in His burial; spiritually they were buried with Him. So too when Christ arose; in a way I can’t understand, all believers from Adam to the end were raised with Him. Christ arose for a purpose, and that purpose was not simply to demonstrate His power over death as such; it was also to obtain new life for the elect. This is what the Old Testament had said –the saints would not remain in the clutches of Sheol- and this is what the apostle draws out in Rom 6 under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and so we’re told that Christ’s resurrection was not just the resurrection of Jesus Christ alone; His resurrection implied our resurrection, implied not just our glorious resurrection on the last day, but implied our spiritual resurrection today. In this life already the believer is raised to a new life; behold, the old has passed away, the new has come.

But what means this resurrection of the Christian? How does such a spiritual resurrection benefit him? This resurrection, beloved, means that the relation of the believer to God is repaired! Recall: that sin of the beginning resulted in Adam and Eve becoming dead in sin, and that’s to say they could no longer stand before the throne of God; that deadness implied such corruption that all their deeds were defiled and therefore they themselves worthy of certain hell. Hence the drone of the Preacher that all was vanity….

But the child of God has been raised to a new life by the power of Christ. Then, yes, he is sinful still; "in this life even the holiest have only a small beginning of the obedience God requires of us" (LD 44). But being raised to a new life has as blessed consequence this that God sees before Him not a defiled sinner worthy of damnation but rather a delivered saint who can expect His grace. "Raised up to a new life": it means that those words of the Preacher are no longer true for us! The Preacher spoke of all things being vanity, because this life of sin, of spiritual deadness, invariably would end in death, physical deadness, and then hell. But with the resurrection of Christ those chosen to life have been raised also, so that they can enjoy now already a new relation with the Father, a relation not of distance and anger on sin, but rather a relation of nearness and peace. Instead of being dead to God, we are now "alive to God" (Rom 6:11). "Raised to a new life;" it means that the curse spoken in Gen 3 is gone, gone!

Was it then necessary for Christ to rise from the dead? Listen to Paul: "If Christ has not been raised, then ... your faith is in vain" (I C 15:14). Again: "if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins" (vs 17). Once more: if Christ has not been raised, "we are of all men most to be pitied" (vs 19). Why? Simple: without the resurrection of Christ, we would still be dead, dead in our sins today and therefore still burdened under the weight of God’s righteous anger on our sins, and so life would be futile, would be judgment today and forever.

Our first point this afternoon was the need for Christ’s resurrection. The answer is plain now. If Christ had not been raised, the words of the Preacher would be valid for all of us today; "vanity of vanities, all is vanity." And life would have no purpose, no perspective. As it is, Christ has arisen – O glorious gospel! That brings us to our second point:

The reality of this resurrection←⤒🔗

The gospel of Christ’s resurrection is glorious, so very rich. But: do the dead actually arise?

We know the answer. None of us have ever seen a dead man live again. We also know that a resurrection is biologically impossible, all the more so for a body dead for three days. After all, the process of decay sets in immediately, and it’s impossible to reverse the deterioration.

Well now, brothers and sisters, that hard reality given massive troubles to many when they contemplate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Yes, the Bible says Jesus arose. But we all know the dead can’t arise. Hence critics have come with various theories to explain the biblical account. Jesus wasn’t realty dead, say some; He simply fainted, was presumed dead, and after three days of rest in the quiet of the grave pulled Himself together and got up: resurrection. Others prefer to speak of a grave robbery; the disciples stole the body and spread the story of His resurrection. Again others are convinced that Jesus is in the grave still, and explain the stories of His resurrection from the emotional traumas the disciples experienced; so attached were they to their Rabbi that they could not accept the fact of His death and so they dreamed up the fiction of His resurrection and kept preaching it until they themselves (and many others) believed it. What are we to think?

Let this be clear to us first of all, congregation: no one can prove the resurrection. Everyone who reads the Bible can only conclude that the Bible teaches Jesus’ resurrection. That is why this word must be believed! The reality of Jesus’ resurrection cannot be proven to the finite and sinful human mind; none today can point to the actual tomb in which Jesus was buried and then demonstrate beyond a shadow of doubt that that tomb is empty, not because the body was stolen, but rather because He arose. It’s not provable, but it must be believed – on grounds that God has said so. And it can be believed only if one has great thoughts of God, only if one is convinced that God has the power to raise even the dead, convinced that Jesus was Himself true God and so could master death. This matter of the resurrection –like any other part of God’s revelation- can be received only by faith. Those who seek logical, visible proof for that resurrection are looking in vain; God is not provable to human minds and His works are not either.

But we need to take the matter a step further. What do you think, beloved: can you afford to doubt, to deny the resurrection of the Savior? The apostle Paul answered that question in the passage we read from I Cor 15. He insists: if Christ has not been raised, all is still vanity. You see, brothers and sisters, your whole understanding of life hinges on what you say about the resurrection of the Savior. Is He raised? Then there is new life, and so a new relation with God. Is He not raised? Then there is no new life, and no new relation with God; He is angry with you still. You look for evidence of His resurrection? Forget the evidence; if God says Christ arose, then it is so. It will not do for sinners to question whether God’s word is correct. In this also it is imperative that we today have a totally different mind-set then the people of our society. Around us people challenge God; God must prove what He says. The antithesis demands that we have a different attitude; ours is to be one of humble acceptance. God says that Christ has been raised, and so that’s the way it is. And God says also that the child of God has been raised with Christ, and so that’s the way it is too. These are real facts, though they are not and cannot be proven in a scientific laboratory. These are real facts, embraced by simple faith alone.

That brings us to our last point:

The response to this resurrection←⤒🔗

Sunday after Sunday we recite in our hearts the Apostles’ Creed, including the part that Jesus died, was buried, and on the third day He arose again. Thereby we state that Yes, we believe Christ arose. Question: is that a sufficient response?

Remember, congregation, what we said before: Christ’s resurrection touches us today. I said: Christ was not the only one to die on the cross, to be buried, to arise from the dead; the people of God were spiritually present with Christ and so they died with Him, were buried with Him, arose with Him. Died to what? Died to sin, and so were raised to a new life, a life not dominated by sin. Says the apostle Paul of Christ: "the death He died He died to sin, once for all, but the life He lives He lives to God." Then he adds concerning the Christian: "So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus" (Rom 6:10f). Dead to sin and alive to God: that’s what the Christian is, insists Paul; these are facts, facts as real and true as is the resurrection of Christ itself (cf vs 2). That’s why Paul can make an astounding statement in vs 14: "Sin will have no dominion over you." That’s not a wish, as in: I hope sin will have no dominion over you. It’s not a command either, as in: don’t let sin have dominion over you. It’s rather a statement of fact: "sin will have no dominion over you." This is the reality for all who died and rose with Christ; such a person has died to sin, has been raised to a new life with as result that sin is no longer his boss.

So: what response should the gospel of Christ’s resurrection bring forth? Who actually believes that Christ arose from the dead? Is it the person who opens his mouth to recite the Apostles’ Creed, the person who says: "I believe that Jesus Christ died, was buried, on the third day arose from the dead"? Lord’s Day 17, brothers and sisters, would have us conclude that No, the confession of the mouth is not sufficient! Lord’s Day 17 would have us know that the Christian necessarily has been raised to a new life and that’s a very real and visible thing.

Here is then the question: are you raised to a new life? Christ arose, of that the Scriptures are clear. With His resurrection His people are also raised to a new life; of that the Scriptures are also clear. And the wealth of this resurrection is also promised to you in the covenant God made with you. So then: are you raised to a new life? Are you dead to sin, do you hate sin, do you flee from sin? Or does sin still dominate over your life such that you produce works of darkness, be these pride and selfishness, hatred and enmity, jealousy and envy, materialism and greed? It’s easy to say with the mouth that one believes Jesus’ resurrection. But whether one really believes that resurrection is ultimately demonstrated by one’s works; those works demonstrate whether one is raised to a new life, and as such is united with Christ in His death and resurrection.

Here, then, is also the reason why I formulated the last of our three points as I did: the response to this resurrection. One can respond to that resurrection by simple words: I believe Christ arose. One can also respond to that resurrection by works. Words are cheap; words are not the fruit that reveal what kind of a tree one is. One can sing the Apostles’ Creed while he continues in works of darkness. But such a person is a fraud and a liar. Such a one must repent of hypocrisy and embrace in true faith the reality of Christ’s resurrection. The new life that results cannot be hidden; it will be obvious for all to see – yourself included. How that new life is obvious? Listen to Paul: "if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is…. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on the earth" (Col 3:1f). There you have it, beloved; that’s what being raised with Christ is all about. It’s to have one aim in life, one focus in 1ife, and that’s not pleasure or self or work or money, but it’s Christ, Christ.

How does the resurrection of Christ benefit us? He arose so that we might be raised from the spiritual death into which we’d plunged ourselves at our fall into sin. He arose so that we might have life, and have it abundantly. He arose, and so my existence today is not futile; my existence is today rich beyond measure, for I have communion with God again, a communion even death can never destroy. Life: in the midst of brokenness I have peace-under-God’s-care. Paradise restored!  Amen.