Which Jesus Do You Trust In?

In the movie Talladega Nights, Ricky Bobby prays to the infant Jesus.  Which Jesus do you see when you pray?  Which Jesus do you trust in?

–    Is it the infant Jesus of Christmas?

–    Is it the merciful and kind Jesus who was friendly to sinners?

–    Is it the Jesus who died on the cross?

I know this will shock some of you, but hopefully, it is none of these.  Why?  Because there is only one Jesus that saves, heals, and gives us new life, and that is the resurrected Jesus!  A baby Jesus can’t save us, a friendly Jesus can’t save us, a dead Jesus on the cross can’t save us.  If Jesus had not been raised to new life, then everything He did was for naught.  Consider the preacher who tells sinners, “Jesus died on the cross for your sin.”  That’s wonderful but how do we know Jesus’ death was enough?  How do we know that all our sins – past, present, and future – have been eternally forgiven?  Answer: Because Jesus was raised from the dead!

He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification. (Rom 4:25)

It is because Jesus has been raised from the dead that you have been justified and made righteous by God. It is His resurrection that makes the good news good.  It’s important that you get this.  A gospel which proclaims the cross but not the resurrection is not the whole gospel.  A gospel which proclaims a dead Jesus but not a living, all-conquering, ruling and reigning King Jesus, is not the whole gospel.  If you would preach the whole gospel, then tell the whole story, not the one that ends at Calvary.

The resurrection is not simply an Easter sermon.  Why is the resurrection so important, first to the Christian faith and then to you individually?  It’s so important because we are saved by resurrection, not just by believing He died, but that He rose again —

Romans 10:9 (NKJV)

that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

I’ve been in services where the preacher said that if you could not recite the exact time and date that you were saved, then maybe you’re not really saved.  Do you remember your natural birth?  No, but I’m sure that it happened.  It’s only been in the last 150 years of church history that we have had a “sinners” prayer.  Our confidence for salvation is not in us, not our confessing our sins, not in our saying a prayer, but in our believing in the resurrection of Jesus.  The Apostle Paul said—

But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen.  And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. 1 Corinthians 15:13-14 (NKJV)

Paul is saying that if the gospel you hold to doesn’t reveal a resurrected Jesus, then you are believing in vain.  He goes on to say, “And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!”  1 Corinthians 15:17 (NKJV)  

Look at this truth- if Christ is not risen, you are still in your sins, BUT if Christ is risen, if there has been a resurrection, then YOU ARE NO LONGER IN YOUR SINS!  Do you see it?  You are not in your sins, You are in Christ!  Your location has changed, your geography has changed.  Don’t live your life like you’re still in your sins, because you are not!  How do we know this is true?  Because Jesus Christ was raised from the dead!  Jesus is not a dead martyr; He is a living King. He’s not on the cross, He’s on the throne!  Unless you see Jesus resurrected, you’re not going to experience his resurrection power here and now.   If you don’t see yourself seated with Christ and reigning over your circumstances, you’ll live under your circumstances.  Without resurrection, Christianity is a powerless religion.  We will celebrate this Sunday that Jesus was resurrected, but we will also celebrate the grace of God, that we were resurrected with Him.  Most Christians have never celebrated their resurrection.  Happy Easter!