SIN AND DEATH DEFEATED!

Two of mankind’s greatest enemies were conquered at Easter: on Good Friday God conquered sin, and on Easter Sunday God conquered death! How did this happen?

When Jesus Christ died on the Cross, he wasn’t a criminal getting what He deserved. He was the Son of God getting what WE deserved, because He died on the Cross as our substitute. WE should have been cursed and condemned by God for all the wrong things we have done and thought, but instead Jesus died in our place, taking our wrongdoings upon Himself so that we might be forgiven and delivered from bondage to sin.

The Bible says that if we believe that God carried out this marvellous exchange for us, we are forgiven and adopted into His spiritual family forever. “The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of eternal life is in Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23). We deserve death, but God offers us eternal life!  However we need to personally believe that God did this for us in order for it to be effective. “To all who received him, who believed in his [Jesus’] Name, God gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12). We are adopted into God’s Kingdom family forever.

But there’s more! Three days later, God did something totally unexpected: He brought back His Son from the dead and by that miracle, proved that Jesus was truly God. On Easter Sunday, death was conquered for all to see!  Jesus was not only seen after His death, He was also touched and spoken to therefore he was not a ghost. He even ate with his disciples after He cooked breakfast for them on the beach (John 21).  One of his disciples named Thomas said “unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side (where a spear punctured his abdomen), I will not believe it.” Knowing Thomas’ doubt, Jesus graciously appeared to Thomas and said “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” Thomas said, “My Lord and my God!” which showed he stopped doubting.

This is the message of Easter: God has done something absolutely amazing for all people, of all cultures and all ages - everywhere. He has done this to get our attention because our response has eternal consequences. When you believe that God did this for you, you share in that marvellous victory over sin and death. Please say “Yes, I believe!”

Ps Graham