Easter Must Happen Inside Us

Easter Must Happen Inside Us

Easter must happen inside us, or it is nothing more than a historical event.

Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? ⁴ Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. ⁵ For if we have become united with [Him] in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be [in the likeness] of His resurrection, ⁶ knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; ⁷ for he who has died is freed from sin. (Romans 6:2-7 – NASB)

It is possible to believe in the death and resurrection of Christ and yet not fully experience the reality of it in a personal way.

God’s purpose is for Christ’s death and resurrection to not only believed, but also be re-enacted in us. I know this is an incredible thought and almost unbelievable if approached with human reason. It is, however the core of the Gospel message. If the death and resurrection of Christ happened to Him alone, then it is merely a historical event that has little impact upon our lives personally.

Jesus Christ did not just die and rise again for Himself. He did it for us, so it follows that what happened to Him ought also to happen to us – if we believe.

No other Scripture brings this out more clearly that the passage we have here before us.

There are two words we need to understand with regard to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The first is SUBSTITUTION. It means when Jesus died on the Cross He was our substitute, that is He was punished for the sins we had committed. He paid the debt of sin we should have paid.  Instead of us being punished for our sin, He was punished instead.

The other word that is just as vital is IDENTIFICATION. This word means that, by faith, what happened to Jesus in his death and resurrection also happened to me. He died, and spiritually I died with Him. My sinful life died as He died. It also means when He was raised from the dead, I was raised to newness of life. It is absolutely vital we understand this. Easter is not just a memorial service where we remember that Jesus died and rose again. Easter is a victory celebration in that we rejoice in experiencing the death and resurrection of Jesus in our personal lives.

1. When HE died WE died.

That is, our old lives and our old sin nature died with Him.

³ Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptised into His death?

…knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin…

If we truly believe Christ died for us, we must also believe that something also died in us. The apostle called it our body of sin, also called our sin nature. That something in us that causes us to sin has been done away with.  We no longer have to be slaves of sin.

2. When HE rose WE rose with Him

For if we have become united with [Him] in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be [in the likeness] of His resurrection (v.5)

3. We Must Appropriate the Death and Resurrection of Christ for ourselves

Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Romans 6:11 – NASB)

It is not what men eat but what they digest that makes them strong; not what we gain but what we save that makes us rich; not what we read but what we remember that makes us learned; not what we preach but what we practice that makes us Christians. – Francis Bacon.

Unused truth becomes as useless as an unused muscle.  A.W. Tozer, That Incredible Christian.

God our Father has made all things depend on faith so that whoever has faith will have everything, and whoever does not have faith will have nothing. – Martin Luther.

Easter Happened in Me

© Friday 3^rd April 2015 – by Christopher Shennan)

Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Romans 6:11 – NASB)

Easter didn’t just happen to Jesus;

It happened to me and to you.

By our faith when He died, we also died;

And by faith we were raised up, too.

It’s not just a lesson of history,

Speaking of an ancient event;

It’s a living, present realty –

Straight to my heart it’s been sent.

Though I live in this present, evil day,

I was also there at the Cross;

By faith I died when my dear Saviour died,

By faith all my sin I lost.

I was also there when He rose again

And the stone was then rolled away;

I was raised again to a life of bliss,

And I’m living this life, today.

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​Image is in the public domain.

Seeing People as Trees – The COST of the Correction

Photo by Simon Speed. 18 February, 2010. Photo is in the Public Domain.

Then again He laid His hands on his eyes; and he looked intently and was restored, and began to see everything clearly. ²⁶ And He sent him to his home, saying, “Do not even enter the village.” (Mark 8:25-26 – NASB)

We must never forget that, while the benefits of the Gospel are free, they did not come to us cheap.

In a lot of instances our spiritual blindness has been deliberate. Jesus can’t just go around forgiving and healing and restoring simply because He wants to. That is not how the moral universe functions. Every sin and failure; every sin of commission and of omission must be paid for, or every act of mercy would be a violation of the righteous law of God. The law could not just simply be put aside; it had to be fulfilled, and every transgression punished before mercy could be made available.

So when we see in the Gospels that Jesus healed diseases, both physical and spiritual, we need to remember that He was even then carrying all our transgressions to the cross. The punishment due for our sins He was even then carrying. All the sin and failure he encountered He was putting to His own account till He could finally say, “It is finished!”

It Cost Him

© Sunday 25^th January 2015 – by Christopher Shennan

My Lord gave me a second touch;

I no longer saw men as trees –

The way I relate to them now,

Is to aim my dear Lord to please.

But I know this change still cost Him;

It wasn’t cheap by manner or means –

The blood that he shed was the price

That He paid to fulfil my dreams.

All that God gives His dear children

Is free, and not one can be earned;

There’s nothing at all to pay Him,

Yet still, friend, by some it is spurned.

When I receive some great mercy

From the hand of my God and King,

I remember what it cost Him,

To give me this glad song to sing.

It was free to me, for certain,

But what He paid was His all

To procure for me redemption,

And each miracle when I call.

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You Pay at the End … Unless

(picture by Joanne Shennan – used with permission)

You Pay at the End … Unless

I took my daughter to drop off her cat for grooming at a grooming facility.

The grooming would take a couple of hours so I offered to take her out for lunch.

As we settled into my car I asked her casually, “Have you paid them yet?”

“No, Dad,” she replied, “you only pay at the end, when the job is finished.”

The phrase stuck in my brain: “You only pay at the end.”

“Just like life,” I responded, “you may not always have to pay for a life of sin in the here and now, but you will always have to pay at the end.”

In one way or another, the debt for sin will have to be paid. “The wages of sin is death…” (Romans 6:23)

After a moment of silence I added, “Unless…”

“Unless what?”

“Unless you have been redeemed and the price for sin has already been paid by the blood of Christ.”

And according to the Law, [one may] almost [say], all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. (Hebrews 9:22 – NASB)

…knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, ¹⁹ but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, [the blood] of Christ. (1 Peter 1:18-19 – NASB)

Jesus Paid it All

(© Sunday 23^rd November 2014 – by Christopher Shennan)

…knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, ¹⁹ but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, [the blood] of Christ. (1 Peter 1:18-19 – NASB)

I knew I had a debt of sin,

A debt I could not ever pay;

There was no coin except my death –

That, indeed, was the only way.

Not just death, but eternal woe

Would be my reward and my plague,

And there was nothing I could do

To ever wipe that debt away.

In terror I cried for mercy,

For I could not pay at the end.

Someone would have to pay for me

And come my broken soul to mend.

Then I heard the voice of Jesus;

It was so gentle strong and true,

“You won’t have to pay, dear pilgrim,

For I have paid it all for you.

“All you must do is believe it,

And follow Me all of your days;

My strength is yours to receive it,

And I’ll teach you all of My ways.

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