The BBC recently reported that 25% of Christians surveyed did not believe in the Resurrection.   This is not a new problem in the Church – but it is a problem.  The Apostle Paul addressed this same problem in the ancient Corinthian Church.  To that church he wrote.

Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead.     1 Corinthians 15:12-20

Note what Paul says, “in fact Christ has been raised.”  But is the Resurrection a verifiable historical fact?   Or is it is just a wishful Christian myth or fairy tale, as skeptics claim?   The women who were the first witnesses of the empty tomb and the angel’s proclamation of the resurrection were astonished!  Likewise when confronted by the truth and significance of the resurrection we ought rightly be astonished.  The resurrection is hard to believe and conceive, yet it is the lynch-pin of our faith.

Join us this week in worship at Pottsville Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church on the square in Pottsville as we examine these two astonishing facts: the truth of the resurrection and the significance of it for our faith.   Worship begins at 10:45 am.  For directions click here. We look forward to seeing you.

One difficulty in theology is the creation of categories which are too neat and tightly defined.  Theologians often speak of the obedience of Christ in terms of His active obedience and His passive obedience.   We must guard, however, against relegating any particular aspect or action in the life of Christ  to one category or the other since His active and passive obedience are often exhibited simultaneously.  The trial and crucifixion of Jesus offer prime examples of this.

Jesus is a sacrificial victim, but not a hapless victim.  He is not victimized in His trial and crucifixion.  He lays His life down of his own accord and takes it up again.  No man takes it from Him.  At every moment during the trial and crucifixion Jesus actively obeys the will of the Father.  With every twist and turn of the action, Satan finds an opportune time to say to Jesus, “if you are the Son of God then….”  With unbelievable resolve, Jesus exerts His active obedience in the midst of the most intense temptation imaginable.   He, who spoke with authority and whose razor sharp wit had untied all of the Gordian knots thrown at Him on the Tuesday of this passion week, had the power to undo the schemes of Pilate and the Sanhedrin with the powerful and effective Word of God.  He had the power to come off the cross and destroy his taunters.  He had the power over every creaturely element that held Him there on the cross.  Yet, in the midst of passive obedience as a sacrificial victim, He obeyed actively at every nano-second to triumph over powers and principalities and disarm the powers of hell and death.  What an incredible Savior!

How prophetic were the taunts of his enemies – “He saved others, Himself He cannot save.” Join us this week in worship at Pottsville Associate Reformed Presbyterian as we meditate upon this great truth and rejoice that in refusing to save Himself, our Lord saved us.  We meet for worship at 10:45 am this and every Lord’s Day on the square in Pottsville.