The resurrection of Jesus Christ stands at the center of every legitimate Christian’s life. While the teachings of the Bible – from Jesus in the Gospels to Paul in his writings – are important as guides for how to fulfill God’s will, the transformative message of Christ begins and ends with his resurrection. I feel that this is important because it shows the redemption offered by Jesus and illustrates the fact that Jesus, unlike many gods, is a living entity that a person can enter a personal relationship with. Jesus’s resurrection is a promise to all believers that if they believe in Jesus, they will be risen up after death to heaven and they will be risen from their own dead lives into new life in Jesus.
The writer of Romans laid out the case clearly for why Jesus’s resurrection is an important thing in the lives of Christians. There, in Romans 6:4 he wrote, “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life” (ESV Bible). The message there is that before a person chooses to believe in Jesus, he is dead in spirit. That person lives under the decay of sin, and he lives in separation from God. While God still loves that person and cares for him, the Bible states that the wages of sin is death, and because of that, one who is afflicted by sin cannot enjoy the newness of live that God provides. The resurrection, however, makes it possible for people to rise up from the death of an old, sinful life.
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"Why is the Resurrection of Jesus Christ Important".
When Jesus was killed on the cross, he died so that all people would not have to die for their own sins. That was not enough, though. Jesus rose from the dead because the savior is a living entity. People who choose to believe in Jesus are not worshipping a dead man, and we certainly are not worshipping a dead code of laws like many people worship within their own religion. Rather, we are worshipping a real man who lived a real life, and more importantly, a man who continues to live. Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus comes into the life of those people who choose to believe in him and accept him as savior. This could not be possible if Jesus had not been risen from the dead. If he continued to just be a dead savior, then people would forever be disconnected from God until judgment day. Because he was risen, however, people have the opportunity to experience Jesus on a daily basis. This is truly what salvation is all about. While it does have an end-game in heaven, salvation is also about the current. People have no capacity to live sinless, fulfilled lives on their own. Rather, we are dependent upon Jesus for that if we are going to enjoy a robust life. Without the resurrection, a dead god would have to try and impart his wisdom through some other means. A living God is essential to the faith, as a living God can serve as an earthy guide for people who claim to believe in Him.
I believe that Jesus’s resurrection is important because it indicates a promise. The Bible, both in the Old and New Testaments, is very much about the promises that God makes to people. God makes people take the first step – a so-called leap of faith – but that first step is routinely rewarded so that people feel as if they are in a legitimate relationship with a God that cares about a two-sided dialogue. The promise – or some might call it a covenant – in this context is that God will rise a person up from the dead, just as he rose Jesus from the dead after Jesus’s death. As Christian people, we will not have to spend eternity in isolation, away from God. As a function of being a believer, I will spend heaven with God, being judged for my actions and redeemed by the grace of my salvation. Jesus’s resurrection, in some ways, is a promise to people that they will get to spend eternity in heaven if they accept Jesus. This theme is common throughout the Bible. While God does ask His people to show faith in a number of different ways, He also does things to show His people that His power is real. In John 6:40, Jesus gives an indication of this promise when he says, “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day” (ESV Bible). While it could be possible for God to do this without ever providing an example or a promise, Jesus’s resurrection is that step that God takes forward while asking us to take our own step in the right direction.
Ultimately, the resurrection of Jesus Christ is one of the most important events in Christian history. To us, as Christians, it provides a picture of God’s love, and it offers hope for a new life away from the effects of sin and in the grace offered by Jesus. It is a promise and a sign from God about what a person can experience in Him.
- Corner, M. (2005). Signs of God. Ashgate.
- ESV: Study Bible: English Standard Version. Crossway Bibles, 2007.
