Resurrection Confidence Series

But standing at Jefferson’s grave prompted me to realize that Jefferson is, well, in a grave. Jefferson’s anti-supernaturalism is seen in visual form in his famous Bible, with the miraculous parts cut out, most significantly the bodily resurrection of Jesus. I love Jefferson for standing up against King George, but not for standing up against King Jesus.

And yet, two hundred years later, belief in the resurrection of Jesus persists. Just days after I was at this hero’s grave, Christians from all over the world, despite all this science and all this progress and all this technology, confessed what the earliest believers in the catacombs of Rome cried out: “Christ is risen indeed.”

Thomas Jefferson is still dead. I thank God for him; but standing at his grave reminds me how limited even his legacy can be in the grand scheme of trillions of years of cosmic time. It also reminds me of the contrast with (the One) whose monument isn’t a house or… even a simple grave-marker. It’s instead a borrowed tomb that isn’t filled anymore.

That empty tomb is, itself, a declaration of independence. By raising Jesus from the dead, God declared him (and all who are in him) to be free from death, free from the curse, free from Satan’s accusation. I suppose you could say that Jesus was endowed by his Father with certain unalienable rights, among these life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness … except that these blessings don’t end in a graveyard (Russell Moore blog, “Independence Day and the Empty Tomb,” RussellMoore.com, 7-3-17; www. PreachingToday.com).

Christ’s resurrection is God’s declaration that you are free from condemnation (Romans 8:1). You no longer need to fear punishment for your sin. All you have to do trust the One who died for you and rose again.

Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, so live your lives with confidence. 1st, be confident that your faith is useful. 2nd, be confident that your witness is true. 3rd, be confident that your sins are gone! And 4th…

BE CONFIDENT THAT YOUR FUTURE IS SECURE.

Be sure that when you die as a believer, you will be in heaven with Jesus.

1 Corinthians 15:18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished (ESV).

If Christ had not been raised from the dead, then all of our dead loved ones would be eternally lost. Literally, they would be ruined; they would be destroyed. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, so they are not lost. They are right now with the Lord in heaven awaiting the resurrection of their bodies from the ground.

The Bible makes it very clear: To be “away from the body” is to be “at home with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8). And “we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17).