The Resurrection and Justice

 When Jesus rose from the dead, he came as the first installment of the power of God, which will renew the world at the end of history.  The Bible tells us that, at that time, God will not just save individuals and discard the world as if were an unimportant shell or chaff.  Rather, "the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God" (Ro. 8:21).  All the effects of sin - all the decay - of the world will be healed.  Not only will there be physical liberation from disease, aging, and death, but there will be social liberation from the poverty, war, racism, and crime that infest our world now, as well as psychological liberation from the fear, guilt, shame, and despair that infect us now.  All things will finally be mended, put fully right.  We ourselves will be made new, but we will also receive a renewed world in which to live with Christ in our resurrected bodies......  In the new creation we will know Jesus, the infinite fountain of love.  We will love one another for his sake  and for their sake.  All relationships, then, will finally be right and just.  So 2 Pet. 3:13 says, "But God has promised us a new heavens and earth where justice will rule."

So, the resurrection means that the liberating, repairing power of God is here now, through the risen Christ and His presence in our lives through the Holy Spirit.  We have not been saved just to be safe, but saved in order to serve.

NT Wright says, Easter means that in a world where injustice, violence, and degradation are endemic, God is not prepared to tolerate such things - and that we will work and plan, with all the energy of God, to implement victory of Jesus over them all.  Take away Easter and Karl Marx was probably right to accuse Christianity of ignoring problems of the material world.  Take it away and Freud was probably right to say Christianity is wish fulfillment.  Take it away and Nietzsche probably was right to say it was for wimps.  

But if Easter happened, it is the secular theories of Freud, Marx, and Nietzsche that will eventually find themselves in the ashbin of history.

Tim Keller

Beautiful Paradox of Jesus’ Great Reversal

 He was sold, to buy us back; captive to deliver us; condemned to absolve us; he was made a curse for our blessing, sin offering for our righteousness; marred that we may be made fair; he died for our life; so that by Him fury is made gentle, wrath appeased, darkness turned into light, fear reassured, despisal  despised, debt canceled, labor lightened, sadness made merry, misfortune made fortunate, difficulty easy, disorder ordered, division united, ignominy ennobled, rebellion subjected, intimidation intimidated, ambush uncovered, assaults assailed, force forced back, combat combated, war warred against, vengeance avenged, torment tormented, damnation damned, the abyss sunk into the abyss, hell transfixed, death dead, mortality made immortal.  In short, mercy has swallowed up all misery, and goodness all misfortune.

 John Calvin

GIVE 'EM HELL!

 I remember sitting in the shower room when my coach in his pep talk ended with, “Give ‘Em Hell!”  We ran out pumped up ready to defeat the enemy!

At 25, I was called to reach young people across America to help them discover freedom and eternal life through becoming a follower of Jesus.

At that time I realized I better get to know the One who called me through His Word.  I quickly learned that I was given a gift called Faith.  When I used it to believe in Jesus, I stepped into a whole new dimension of existence.  My present was altered by the Spirit of Jesus coming in with power and understanding to create a new reality.  I was no longer alone, dirty and sinful.  Instead, I was loved, forgiven and made a container to bring the message of hope.  

We all have the possibility to tap the source who created us by faith, to not only bring good out of present struggles, but to be captured by His Story of creating new life and living forever.  

So transformation begins today and will intensify even greater when Jesus physically joins us to restore and recreate all things lost and destroyed.

I had an old man shout at me one time as I was running out on stage, “Paul, Give them Heaven!”

I understood!