Resurrection Fellowship

“Christ is risen” is the battle cry of the Christian faith. It is the historical fact that changes all of human history. Instead of the slow grinding rot of sin and death progressing and spreading and consuming all life and light, the One who is the Light and Life of the world took our death-infection into Himself and died with it in Him, crushing it, so that all who have been infected might be healed. Jesus became the pierced serpent for all who have been snake-bit. And the resurrection is the definitive proof that the serpent poison has been eliminated. Jesus died because He took our poisonous guilt upon Himself, but He could only stay dead as long as our judicial death was upon Him. But as soon as our death was paid for, as soon as justice had been done, Jesus rose. And so “Christ is risen” is the defiant cry of sinners saved by grace. “Christ is risen” is the battle cry of our militant war against all the vestiges of sin in our lives. We chase the remnants of darkness with the assurance that Christ was crucified for it all and now He is risen. 

And this is why the gospel urges us to make no provision for the flesh. Because Christ is risen, we are at war with all sin. Because Christ is risen, reckon yourself dead to sin. Because Christ is risen, do not love the world, or the things of the world, the lust of the flesh, the pride of life. So how do you talk in your home, with your family or friends? Do you talk like a Christian, or do you countenance cursing, foul language, or course jesting? How do you fill your free time? Are you thoughtful about using your time for good, to build up and bless others? Or are you surfing the internet like a fool walking down a virtual red light district? When you gather with friends and family, do your gatherings and hangouts have some measure of planning and structure, activities and games, readings and Psalms or is it the kind of thing some of the local frat boys or sorority girls could accidentally barge into and feel right at home? This doesn’t mean that Christian gatherings must all be Bible studies, but they must be informed by the Bible, by the speech of the Bible, the songs of the Bible, the joy of the Bible, and the grace of the Bible. Why? Because we are Christians, and Christ is risen from the dead. 

Photo by Cailin Grant-Jansen on Unsplash