FOUR WAYS
CHRISTIANS EXERCISE PRACTICAL DENIAL OF CHRIST’S RESURRECTION
It
is essential that Christians believe in many aspects of Jesus Christ; yet, one
of the most fundamental is his resurrection. Christ’s resurrection from the
dead is essential to not only salvation (Rom 10:9) but also to the way God’s
people live their lives. Nevertheless, there are ways we often exercise
practical denial of Jesus’ resurrection. By practical denial, I mean to imply
not a literal belief that he is still dead but rather a seeming denial in the
way we live our lives, i.e. our belief in Christ’s resurrection should surely
impact our lives in the areas I will discuss. I will, therefore, offer four
ways we deny the resurrection of Christ practically, a grave danger, for
actions often speak to others louder than words.
We Worry
Rick
Warren once tweeted, “Worry is
practical atheism. It is unbelief; acting like an orphan without a heavenly
Father who's made 6,000 promises to you.”[1]
Worry is indicative of a lack of trust in sovereign God. We might often quote
comforting scriptures such as, “. . . If God is for us, who can be against us?”
(Rom 8:31); nonetheless, the actions of our lives could easily communicate a
disparate message, namely that we do not trust God and his great promises to
his children whom he loves. Many believers likely do not consider worry to be a
sin; yet, it is a direct command of Jesus Christ himself not to worry (Matt
6:25). In a similar way, Jesus tells us not to fear numerous times in
Scripture. God is the only one worthy of our trust; God is the only person
worthy of our fear; when we feebly attempt to trust and fear other people or
things, we effectively communicate that Jesus’ commands do not matter and that
we do not believe he is alive and still interceding on our behalf. Worry then
is an exercise of practical denial of the living Son of God.
We Live without Change
A
second way we practically deny the resurrection is we live without change. If
we are who we claim to be as Christians[2], our lives will reveal
ongoing change. While repentance certainly occurs the moment the Lord awakens
one from death into life, they should also continue repenting. If we believe we
are Christians because we walked and aisle and said a prayer but there is no
continuous change, it is right to assume a lack of fruit. Such a person then
might not actually be a Christian. The resurrection of Christ then is not expressed
practically. There are many professing Christians who are not actual
Christians; the resurrection of Jesus then has not changed them. They might not
be atheists (or even agnostics), but in action, they deny the resurrection of
Christ. If God’s people live without change, we practically deny Jesus’
resurrection as well as our own resurrection from spiritual death to abundant
life in Jesus Christ.
We Live without Power
A
third way we practically deny Christ’s resurrection is we live without power.
Jesus told his disciples (and us) they would do greater things than even he did
(John 14:12). The implications of Jesus’ words here are manifold; additionally,
hermeneutics are many and diverse as well. Without exhausting the various interpretations
of what it means to do greater things than Jesus Christ, suffice it to say that
God’s people have the same Spirit living in and with them that Jesus himself
had as he performed great works and miracles, though most Christians do not
realize such a belief in their lives. What if God calls you to preach the
gospel in a closed and dangerous country? What if he calls you to quite
literally raise someone from the dead? These are acts that are only possible in
the power of Jesus Christ. Often, Christians live mediocre and comfortable
lives without employing the power of the Holy Spirit. We essentially then
communicate a dead Jesus rather than a living one. Jesus’ resurrection
guarantees us power, not fear and mediocrity (2 Tim 1:7). We should examine ourselves
regarding the power exuded from our lives. If it is lacking, we exercise
practical denial of Christ’s resurrection.
We Live without Obedience
Finally,
we communicate a dead Jesus by living without obedience. Connected solidly to
change is obedience; if we are changed, we will obey. Christ’s resurrection
ensures that we do not obey a dead God, thus exercising futility in our lives,
but rather a living God. Obedience is key to worship, i.e. it is the fruit of a
Christian’s love for Christ (John 14:15). A lack of obedience suggests
practical denial of Jesus’ resurrection.
We serve a
living God, not a dead one. Let us then be true and thankful and ever-serving
our living Christ without worry or fear, with change, with power, and with
obedience. As we sing of and celebrate God’s victory over sin and death in the
power of his resurrection, let us live in both actual and practical realization
of Jesus’ life, for we have a King who reigns eternally supreme.
