Easter is a very exciting time of the year. It is a day that celebrates springtime and all things new. Children love the surprise of finding their baskets on Easter morning filled with colored eggs and chocolate candies.
For Christians, Easter celebrates the best surprise of all time… that of the empty tomb! The resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is pivotal to the hope believers have… the hope that one day, they will rise to meet their beloved Saviour and be together with Him for all eternity!
While we await that day, here are 7 amazing promises that we have as a result of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
1) The Promise of a Risen Saviour
“He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.” – Matthew 28:6
Imagine the surprise of the ladies who arrived at the tomb of Jesus that first Resurrection morning. They were fully expecting to anoint the body of Christ, but they were met by angels who declared that Jesus had indeed risen from the dead.
The resurrection of Jesus proved that He is truly the Son of God and was sent by His Father to be the Saviour of the world. His victory over death and the grave demonstrated that He alone had the power to forgive sins and give mankind the gift of eternal life in heaven.
“Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.” – Romans 6:9
2) The Promise of Forgiveness of Sin
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” – 1 John 1:9
It is our sin that separates us from God and condemns us to eternal punishment in hell. In order to spend eternity with God in heaven, our sins must be eliminated, but we are powerless to do anything about them. However, the love of God did what we could not do. When Jesus was crucified, He became the sacrifice for our sins taking our punishment upon Himself. That Bible tell us in 1 Peter 2:24, “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” Jesus took our punishment and paid the penalty for all of the world’s sins when He went to the cross.
“The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.” (Acts 5:30-31)
The resurrection of Christ presented Him as the Saviour of the world, and by simply trusting in Him and asking for His forgiveness of our sins, we can have God’s free gift of salvation.
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.” – Ephesians 2:8-9
3) The Promise of the Holy Spirit.
“And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;” – John 14:16
After the resurrection, Jesus reassured His followers by promising them the gift of the Holy Spirit. He told them that He would not leave them without a Comforter, God’s Holy Spirit, who would come soon to them after His ascension to His Father. Everyone who has trusted Christ as their Saviour has that same Comforter dwelling within them! Imagine that! We have God with us 24/7 from the moment of salvation throughout all eternity… never to be separated!
“But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.” – Romans 8:11
4) The Promise of an Intercessor
“Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.” – Hebrews 7:25
An intercessor is one who speaks on behalf of another. Jesus is our intercessor, who sits on the right hand of God the Father, praying for us. When we pray, Jesus speaks to God on our behalf! He is our advocate, making intercession for us always.
“My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:” – 1 John 2:1
5) The Promise of a Personal Relationship with Jesus
“… for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” – Hebrews 13:5b
Jesus could not possibly be with us to the “end of the world” if He had remained in the grave. His resurrection is the assurance that He can and will always be with us. He is our dearest friend, our loving Saviour, our God, and wherever life takes us, we are never alone for Jesus walks with us.
“Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” – Matthew 28:20
6) The Promise of Salvation from the Wrath of God
“Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.” – Romans 5:9
The Bible speaks of a period of “Great Tribulation” in the not-so-distant future, but those who have trusted Christ as Saviour will not be here for that 7-year time of terrible judgment upon the earth.
“For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,” – 1 Thessalonians 5:9
Instead, if we are still living, we will be “caught up” or “raptured” to meet Jesus in the air, taken to heaven by Him to participate in what the Bible calls the marriage supper of the Lamb. There we will live forever with Him. If our death precedes this event, we will ourselves experience our own resurrection to meet Him in the air just before those Christians who are still alive are raptured. We will never know the wrath of God’s judgment upon an repenting sinful world.
“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” – 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
7) The Promise of Our Own Resurrection from the Dead.
“Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you.” (2 Corinthians 4:14).
We have a promise that since Jesus was resurrected, so shall we be! What a glorious assurance to know that those Christians who have passed on will also rise on that day when Jesus returns for those who have trusted Him as their Saviour!
“But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.” 1 Corinthians 15:20
If you have a time in your life when you asked Jesus to forgive your sins and be your Saviour, the resurrection of Christ should fill your heart with unspeakable joy knowing that every one of these items listed above pertain to you!
If you’ve never trusted in Jesus for forgiveness of your sins, never accepted His wonderful gift of salvation, then the resurrection of Christ and its promises have no significance for you.
If you’d like to ask Jesus to save you from your sins today and be your Saviour, it’s as simple as A-B-C.
A – Admit you are a sinner. We all are. The Bible states in Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” Why is this important? Because if you don’t realize you’ve sinned against God, trusting in Jesus is meaningless to you. Once you understand that you are a sinner, you’ll understand how much you are in need of the Saviour!
B – Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as God’s only Son, who died on the cross, taking the punishment you deserve for your sins, and that He was buried, and rose from the grave three days later, proving He is indeed God and the Saviour of the world! The Bible tells us in Romans 5:8, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”, and in 1 John 4:14, “And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.”
C – Call upon Him for salvation! Ask Him to forgive your sins and invite Him to be the Lord of your life! The Bible says, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13)
If you’ve just prayed to Jesus and trusted him as Saviour, please send me a short comment. I’ll pray for you to grow in your new life as a Christian, and I’ll look forward to meeting you one day in heaven!
He lives! He lives! Christ Jesus lives today!He walks with me and talks with me along life’s narrow wayHe lives! He lives! Salvation to impart!You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart
(from “He Lives” by Alfred H. Ackley)
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” – John 3:16
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Since the first sin, humanity has been trying to work its way back to God, but it cannot. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” God made salvation so easy because He wants to save each one of us! Jesus is just a prayer away!
AMEN!