NRBC Blog

In Ephesians, chapter 2, Paul writes about our condition before we came to know Christ Jesus as Savior and Lord. He says, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked…!” We were dead and yet we walked in sin. It seems like a strange contradiction, yet that was the reality of our condition without Christ.

Of course, God’s definition of death doesn’t have to agree with ours. We define it as the absence of physical life, but the Bible describes a different state. Death is separation from God. Two realities make it impossible for man to naturally come into the presence of his Creator; man’s sinfulness and God’s holiness. Like matter and antimatter, the two cannot coexist; therefore, apart from God’s personal intervention, man lives his life apart from God (IE, death!) and dies to spend eternity away from God (IE, Hell!).

Jesus, however, announced that He came so that we could “have life and have it abundantly.” He turns everything around! Living people are no longer dead and dead people are really alive! (John 11:25) And, how did He do that? He did it by dying in our place!

Jesus’ power to give life is seen in the changed lives of countless millions who have trusted in Him. It is also seen in the peace with which a true believer faces death; either their own or the death of another believer they love. But, this Sunday, we will be looking at an incident which dramatically and strangely reveals the life-giving power of Jesus’ death and resurrection. It happened 2000 years ago and it was only recorded by Matthew as he recounted the day Christ died and the morning He rose again!

It’s not unusual for people who have had a stressful day to come home and want to turn the world off for a while. For women, that might mean filling up the tub with a good hot bubble bath; but, for men, it usually means grabbing the remote and escaping in front of the TV. In the late 70s a popular slang was fabricated that describes our need to escape from the world’s clutches for a while. It’s called chilling out!

We don’t normally think of chilling out as a religious exercise, but it’s really not far from biblical teaching, especially if done in the right way. Paul wrote to the Philippian believers, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.” (Philippians 4:6, NLT) And, it was Jesus who admonished the people, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28, NIV) You can almost hear Him as He tells the enslaved, the abused, the weary, and the confused, “Come to Me and ‘chill out’!”

Yet, God does not say that it is OK for us to take a vacation from our heavenly calling and just enter a state of oblivion. Resting in Jesus is not kicking back into neutral and doing nothing! The Bible may commission us to chill out, but it also commands us to put on; to put on the Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 13:14)

In the final verses of the Apostle Peter’s first letter to scattered and persecuted believers, he literally wraps things up by telling them that they needed to be wrapped up in the very character of Christ. This is such an important requirement that Peter even says that God literally arms Himself against those who don’t do it. The Christ-like quality he is talking about is true humility, and it not only commends the favor of God but it also leads to a victorious life which enables the true follower of Christ to really chill out!

Last year, a worker at a Goodwill store was going through a stack of pots, pans, and other discards which had been left at the drop-off box. In the mix was an old painting that caught their attention. Besides being an original, there was something about it which demanded further investigate. It turned out to be a rare 20th century painting by Edouard-Leon Cortes, a French impressionist, and was subsequently sold at a Sotheby's auction for $40,600!

Stories like that are not unusual, but they always seem to happen to other people. For the rest of us, rare coins, objects of art and the like are just kept in circulation or taken to the Goodwill box! Wouldn’t it be helpful if valuable things were all labeled conspicuously with a mark of authenticity!

Life is like that. Things are not always what they seem, and people are not always as they appear. There are those who boast great relationships with the Lord only to be exposed as wolves in sheep’s clothing. Others seem to live mediocre lives but after their deaths leave behind legacies of things done in secret that evidence a spiritual walk which puts the rest of us to shame! They are life’s discards who turn out to be God’s masterpieces! Somewhere in the great expanse of heaven, there is a treasure who was once a neglected widow. On earth, she was overlooked and neglected; but, her sacrifice did not escape the Master’s eye, and today she is listed in God’s hall of faith!

This Sunday as we near the end of a study on 1 Peter, the Apostle again talks about suffering for Jesus. This time, however, it is in the context of God doing a work in us and through us that is bringing Him glory and ensuring for us unspeakable joy and eternal celebration! It is meant to inspire us to exhibit life’s most notable mark of authentic Christianity, enduring to the end!