When Jesus died on the cross,
He paid for the sins of the world. But the apostle Paul makes a stunning statement
in 1 Cor. 15:17, “If
Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless. You are still in
your sins.” I’ve often wondered WHY that was true.
The answer is found in our being united with Him. Every
believer is “IN Christ” (Eph. 1:7, 13) and Christ is IN every believer (Rom.
8:9-11). When Jesus died, we died with Him (Rom 6:8). “Even
when we were dead in our transgressions, (He) made
us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with
Him, and seated us with Him in the
heavenly places in Christ Jesus”
(Eph. 2:5-6)
Jesus said, “I am the way, the
truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but though Me” (John
14:6). If He was still in the grave, we
could not go with Him to the Father in heaven. We would still be in the
grave with Him. That’s why Paul said, “If Christ has not been raised…you are
still in your sins.” If there is no resurrection, there is also no
redemption, no reconciliation with God, no justification, no
salvation.
But then Paul continues, “But now Christ
HAS been raised for the dead” (1 Cor. 15:20). Paul had seen Jesus in His
resurrected body (15:8) and spent his entire life trying to convince others of
that fact. “If you confess with mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your
heart God raised Him from the dead, you
will be saved” (Rom. 10:9). www.makinglifecount.net www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com
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