Resurrection Hope

Becoming Like Jesus (Romans 8) Sermon 4 of 5

April 15, 1990 - Easter Sunday

Romans 8:11 If the Spirit of Him Who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, then He Who raised up Christ Jesus from the dead will also restore to life your mortal bodies through His Spirit Who dwells in you.

John 11:25-26 Jesus said to her, I AM Myself the Resurrection and the Life. Whoever believes in Me, although he may die, yet shall he live. And whoever continues to live and believes in Me shall never actually die at all. Do you believe this?

[Easter] Romans 8:11

Introduction:

We have been looking into Romans 8 for several weeks now, seeking to define the word "Sanctification". We have seen that it means "Belonging to God." And we have seen that it means "Becoming like Jesus."

We do not need to take time out from this emphasis for Easter because the resurrection of our Lord is at the heart of what God wants to do IN us as well as FOR us. In every part of our salvation, our LIFE, Jesus, our Living Lord, is the KEY:

I. JESUS IS RESURRECTION LIFE!

[John 11:25] Jesus said to [Martha:] "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?"

Easter is all about life. Not just animation, breathing, moving about, renewal of the beauty and greening of spring. I am talking about eternal life. The kind of life that God IS.
Jesus came to bring us life. [John 10:10] "I am come that (you) might have life, and that (you) might have it more abundantly." Jesus came to open the circle of eternity, and bring us into the fellowship of glory.
1. Jesus is the Word. He brought us a message of life from God. And Jesus still is the way, the ONLY way that we can come to know God.
2. The "message" is Himself. The message Jesus brought when He came to earth was not (primarily) something to learn, or a new way to behave. Certainly that was part of it. Jesus taught us how to walk and to talk and to live. But the message IS: We can come to KNOW God!
  The eternal life, THE EASTER LIFE, IS in coming to know God. [John 17:2-3] [Jesus, praying to the Father in heaven:] " ... You gave HIM (speaking of Himself) authority over all mankind, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life. And this is eternal life, that they may know YOU, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."
Jesus has forever defeated death. That is what we celebrate this Resurrection Day morning! That first Easter Morning the stone was rolled away- NOT to let the imprisoned risen Savior out— He was already GONE. But the stone was rolled away to permit us to see that the tomb is empty. The empty tomb speaks of mighty HOPE!

II. JESUS CAME TO OFFER ETERNAL LIFE TO YOU AND ME

EASTER MEANS HOPE FOR YOU. We tend to make holidays of the events of the faith we can adapt, and to ignore those we cannot.
['EASTER' RELATES TO THE WHOLE OF CHRIST'S MESSAGE OF LIFE]
Christmas is a family occasion. That isn't bad— but how often the Advent of Christ is almost totally overlooked.
Easter is a Spring Rite— and not too many walk the Lenten pathway, or follow the Via Dolorosa— not too many really put the Open Tomb in context.
Two other great Days in Christ's "message of life" to us are largely overlooked. But when the whole message is put together, we can see an open door into Everlasting LIFE!
EASTER IS ONLY PART OF THE PICTURE. Christ's MESSAGE OF LIFE is the sum total of all He does in our behalf. Let me quickly put these four great Days of Christ into perspective with four great WORDS:
1. The first great word is ADVENT: Jesus CAME!
2. The second great word is PASSION, which climaxes at what we call EASTER: Jesus showed us how to live, He taught us how to pray— and then He died for our sins and rose again for our justification.
3. The third great word is SESSION, which is revealed to us in PENTECOST. Where do you think Jesus is right now? (Ben: In our hearts! Right! But HOW?) Jesus is at the right hand of God the Father. We know because He has sent His Spirit to live in our hearts! No Spirit, no Session! No Spirit, no LIFE!
4. There is a FOURTH GREAT WORD! PAROUSIA! Jesus is coming again! He is to be seen by every eye! He will be acknowledged by every tongue!
EASTER CELEBRATION IS SAYING: "JESUS IS LORD!" It is good and right to celebrate Christmas and Easter and recall what each of them means. But they don't finally make sense- we don't get the total picture of AVAILABLE EVERLASTING LIFE until we put all Christ's MESSAGE OF LIFE together and see how Jesus IS Lord of all history, and how He wants to be Lord of each of our hearts today!

III. JESUS WANTS A HOME IN YOUR HEART

[We come now to where Easter "comes in" to our series on sanctification:]

Romans 8 is not just for learning, it is hope for living! And yet, here are some hints at the magnitude of the victory Jesus has won, and won for us. We see:
1. THE BIRTH OF A NEW RACE (8:22) "Pains of childbirth" indicates a new and utterly incomprehensible qualitative change in life. [Matthew 25 hints at the scope of the New Race, i.e., "Ruler over many things."]
2. CREATION SET FREE FROM DECAY. (8:21) Free from the tendency to "wind down" and "wear out."
3. By this we understand that these poor, frail bodies will be set free from the limitations of death, illness, aging. (8:23) ... These are indications of the LIFE that "Easter" (I prefer Resurrection Day) is all about.
4. But these are GENERAL truths. They must be made PERSONAL. We have to know them in EXPERIENCE! We MAY know God personally! That is why Jesus came! [Remember John 17:2-3 ?]
The text speaks directly and personally about Resurrection: [Romans 8:11] If the Spirit of Him Who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, then He Who raised up Christ Jesus from the dead will also restore to life your mortal bodies through His Spirit Who dwells in you.
1. Jesus wants to live IN US by His Spirit. "If the Spirit dwells in you..." Do you know what I am talking about? Do you want to know? You MAY know! Listen!
2. The Spirit is God making the truth PERSONAL. By the Spirit we come to understand that Jesus —came in ADVENT to live among us. Can you believe that? And we come to understand that Jesus - [PASSION] ... died for our sins. For YOUR sins! For MINE! Do you believe that?
  It is the Spirit that makes us really believe that Jesus - [PASSION] ...was raised for our new life in Him. Has that happened to you?
  And the Spirit's very Presence in conviction assures us that - [SESSION] ... Jesus is at God's right hand! He is there to channel His life and love into OUR poor, imperfect vessels.
  Conclusion:
The text is a promise. It is the basis of Resurrection Hope.
1. Other scriptures express it other ways. St. John says that we have never SEEN Him, and yet we KNOW Him! But then John says that "When we shall see Him we shall be LIKE Him!" (I John 3:2)
  Here we walk by faith, not by sight. Here we get only a glimpse of glory from time to time. It does not yet appear— we cannot fully understand what we shall be. But we shall see Him!
2. Our text uses the word "IF." It is a great promise, IF we let the Spirit of God come into our lives!

Is God welcome in YOUR life this Easter Sunday morning?

[Shall we pray:]