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In writing to the Christians at Colossae, the apostle Paul sets out the parameters of life as a Christian: ‘If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.’ (Col.3:1-3) For Paul to write such words, he had to have clearly believed in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead – that the condemned and suffering criminal on the Friday was risen as the triumphant Lord of all on the Sunday. We often become blasé about anything that has become too familiar to us, and this can true even of the greatest event in human event – the resurrection of Christ from the dead. What difference does it make to our lives if we embrace it by faith?

It puts life in a gospel perspective

All the honours systems of the world will be turned on their heads. ‘Many who are first will be last, and the last first.’ (Matt.19:30; 20:16) The other day, a writer quoted J. C. Ryle to me: ‘The last day will prove that some of the holiest men that ever lived are hardly known.’ Convicting words! What matters is not the state funeral, the honours lists, the academic awards, the premiership trophies in the cupboard, or the applause of one’s peers. What will matter in the resurrection life is Christ’s evaluation of you and me. ‘What do you think about the Christ?’ (Matt.22:42) is a vital question, but what does He think of you determines your eternal destiny.

This affects the way we look at everything. The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil, and the fact that God may at any time require our souls means we need to see earthly riches in their right perspective. ‘Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. (Luke 12:15)  We came into this world with nothing, and we shall leave it with the same amount (1 Tim.6:7).

It is a check on sin

There are many cogent reasons why we ought to be diligent in keeping away from sin, but one of them is the resurrection. Why, for example, should we seek to avoid sexual immorality? One compelling reason is that ‘The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power.’ (1 Cor.6:13-14) The body is important because God created it, and He raised Christ in the body, and He will raise us in the body. At death we will not leave our bodies as a bird might flee a cage. The body is more precious than that. We will be separated from our bodies for a time, and then there will be the general resurrection of everybody and the Last Judgment.

Christ Himself could endure the cross despising the shame, for the joy that was set before Him (Heb.12:1-2). Sin so easily clings to us and ensnares us, and the example of Christ is one impetus to keep us away from sin and looking to what is beyond the grave. God is a God of joy (e.g. Ps.16:11; John 15:11), but He desires our holiness more than our comfort (Heb.12:10-11). Maintaining this perspective will help us when we feel spiritually weak, and drawn to lie for convenience, cheat to obtain our way, or to watch pornography to excite our spirits. We will face Christ in the resurrection.  

It is our only comfort in suffering and death

If the jihadists are let loose, or even if the empire builders of large corporations want to exert their authority over us with Purple Days and the like, the Christian has an assurance given by Christ that he or she is blessed. He will reward those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness (Matt.5:10-12). This is a far greater comfort than changing the laws or winning the battles – which is not to belittle such earthly victories. This is a victory in the midst of the most abject defeat.

About the year 155, the Roman proconsul threatened Polycarp, the aged bishop of Smyrna. Here is how the conversation unfolded:

‘I have wild animals here. I will throw you to them if you do not change your mind.’ ‘Call them,’ Polycarp replied. ‘It is unthinkable for me to repent from what is good to turn to what is evil. I will be glad though to be changed from evil to righteousness.’

‘If you despise the animals, I will have you burned.’

‘You threaten me with fire which burns for an hour, and is then extinguished, but you know nothing of the fire of the coming judgment and eternal punishment, reserved for the ungodly. Why are you waiting? Bring on whatever you want.’

If Polycarp did not believe in the resurrection, he could never have uttered such words.

At Thessalonica, the new church consisted of new Christians, and some of them seem to have been derailed somewhat by deaths in the congregation occurring before the return of the Son of Man. Paul explains that those who have died in Christ will rise first, then those who are still alive when Christ comes again. In this way, Christians will always be with the Lord. ‘Therefore encourage one another with these words.’ (see 1 Thess.4:13-18)

One of the most excruciating demands that God ever made on any of His people was the command to Abraham to sacrifice his beloved only son of the promise, Isaac (Gen.22). How could a man be expected to obey this? And how can it be understood as coming from the God who was to thunder against child sacrifice as something worthy of death? (Lev.20:1-5) The only way Abraham could place one foot in front of another in making his way up Mount Moriah was remember the promises of God: ‘He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.’ (Heb.11:19) As Jonah’s three days in the belly of the great fish was a sign of death and resurrection, so Abraham’s near sacrifice of Isaac was something similar.

The alternative is hopeless despair

This last point needs to be faced squarely. If Christ did not rise from the dead, and there is no resurrection, then Christianity is a delusion; it would be based on a hoax. As Paul says, we would be of all people most to be pitied (1 Cor.15:19). Believing in the resurrection means that everything in life is significant, and all our labours in Christ are not in vain (1 Cor.15:58). If I gain the whole world but lose my own soul, I lose everything (Matt.16:24-28).

If we believe in the risen Christ, we have a reason for living, a hope for time and all eternity, the strongest motive for holiness, and comfort in suffering and death. ‘What is your only comfort in life and death?’ is the question number one of the Heidelberg Catechism. The first part of the answer is: ‘That I am not my own, but belong with body soul, both in life and death, to my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ.’ Compare that to all the banalities, delusions, and sophisticated follies of the present world’s responses to life and death.

– Peter Barnes