Today is Easter Sunday. Easter may represent many different things to you. For some Easter is all about the Easter bunny, chocolate and eggs. For others it is a day that you are expected to be in church. You know it’s about the resurrection of Jesus. Ultimately though, It’s All About You!!! That’s right the Easter season is all about you and God’s master plan for your life.
To examine the key truths of Easter and how they relate to your life we need to step back and see the whole picture.
You have a problem! Did you know that? Well let me tell you what your problem is:
“For all have sinned; all fall short of God’s glorious standard.”
Romans 3:23 (NLT)
Hey listen, I’m with you. I don’t think you’re a bad person either. Even if you are a bad person...I’m not that bad of person. Oh...we’re measured on God’s standard. Well, nobody’s perfect! Exactly. No one is perfect, we all fall well short of God’s standard. For God’s standard is nothing less than complete perfection. In God’s eyes there are no big sins and little sins, there is only sin and perfection...no gray areas in between.
Unfortunately there are consequences for not "measuring up." The Punishment is quite severe.
“For the wages of sin is death…”
Romans 6:23 (NLT)
All of us want what is rightfully ours don’t we. How many times have you said, "You owe me!" By God’s standard of perfection what we deserve is death. That’s a rather hefty price tag, wouldn’t you agree. Anyone in here care to step up and pick up the bill for everyone in the room today? No takers? Imagine that.
Good thing for us that God already had a plan. He already had a solution to take care of that tab.
The Provision was His Son. A promised Savior, who would set us free.
“But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.”
Romans 5:8 (NLT)
“But He was wounded and crushed for our sins. He was beaten that we might have peace. He was whipped and we were healed! All of us have strayed away like sheep. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on Him the guilt and sins of us all.”
Isaiah 53:5-6 (NLT)
I’m going to show you a quick video clip detailing the physical abuse and torture of Jesus crucifixion and beatings.
Insults, betrayal, cheap shots, humiliation, torn flesh, spikes in the wrist and ankles, suffocation, seperation from a Father’s love. Jesus endured all...all for you. For in an instant the sin of this world...the ugly things that you and I do was cast upon His shoulders. The sky darkened, the earth shook and with a final cry "It is finished!" Jesus paid your bill. But was this where it all ended? Sunday was coming.
“But very early on Sunday morning the women came to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. They found that the stone covering the entrance had been rolled aside. So they went in, but they couldn’t find the body of the Lord Jesus. They were puzzled, trying to think what could have happened to it. Suddenly two men appeared to them, clothed in dazzling robes. The women were terrified and bowed low before them…
Then the men asked, “Why are you looking in a tomb for someone who is alive? He isn’t here! He has risen from the dead! Don’t you remember what He told you back in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that He would rise again the third day!”
Luke 24:1-7
You see this Savior came with something much greater. A promise! A promise that He would rise again bringing victory over sin and death for all eternity.
Yet now God in His gracious kindness declares us not guilty. He has done this through Christ Jesus, who has free us by taking away our sins. For God sent Jesus to take the punishment for our sins and to satisfy God’s anger against us. We are made right with God when we believe that Jesus shed His blood, sacrificing His life for us.”
Romans 4:24-25 (NLT)
You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ. He forgave all our sins. He canceled the record that contained the charges against us. He took it and destroyed it by nailing it to Christ’s cross.
Colossians 2:13-14 (NLT)
Did you catch that. Your record has been expunged. There are no traces of the sin that sought to destroy you. Every unclean thought, every unkind word, every deceitful act was nailed to the cross and died with Jesus. By His death God sees us in the perfection of Christ.
“But God is so rich in mercy, and He loved us so very much, that even while we were dead because of our sins, He gave us life when He raised Christ from the dead.”
Ephesians 2:4-5 (NLT)
“And since we died with Christ, we know we will also share His new life. We are sure of this because Christ rose from the dead, and He will never die again. Death no longer has any power over Him. He died once to defeat sin, and now He lives for the glory of God.”
Romans 6:8-10 (NLT)
The Plan
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.”
John 3:16 (NLT)
God wanted to give you much more than just forgiveness. He wants you to experience eternal love, eternal fellowship with Him. You’ve been given new life...a fresh start...a future illuminated by His majesty.
This gift of grace. This deliverance from eternal judgement. This promise of new hope and new life is made available to each and every one of us. There are no exemptions or discriminations. Jesus died for all sinners.
“We are made right in God’s sight when we trust in Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we all can be saved in this same way, no matter who we are or what we have done.”
Romans 3:22
God tells us how to grab hold of this gift of Grace. Today He wants you to experience new life. God wants to save you...from sin, from failure, from judgement, from fear, from death. Hear these words and hold on to them for they are your lifeline for all of eternity. This gift of grace is all about you, but you didn’t make it happen. Your works will not purchase it for you. You must freely receive as it has been freely given.
“For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.”
Romans 10:9-10 (NLT)
“God saved you by His special favor when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.”
Ephesians 2:8-9 (NLT)
It’s All About You…
And It’s All Yours For The Asking!!!
Will you accept God’s free gift today???
