Christianity is the result of the early disciples' faith that Jesus Christ had overcome death, the grave, and now lives eternally. It has continued on as a powerfully active faith thanks to those who have placed their belief and trust in Jesus Christ.
In addition, the faithful have found him to be a living presence and an ongoing force in their lives. Perhaps it would be helpful to back up just a little and examine, if only briefly, how we see Jesus Christ as Our Living Savior.
It was only after his resurrection that the apostles were able to wrap their minds around the nature of his shameful and horrible death on the cross. In the days between Jesus' resurrection and his ascension back to the Father, the living Lord ministered to his disciples.
He made them perceptive to understanding the Old Testament Scriptures that called attention to the necessity for his crucifixion for the sins of a guilty human race (Luke 24:44). The apostolic preaching of the early church expounded on this point.
This was especially characterized in their preaching by a proclamation of Christ's substitutionary death on a cross, and his victorious resurrection from the dead, as proof that God had been providing a way for humanity's salvation (Acts 10:39-43).
And through the raising of Jesus from the dead, God was reassuring them that their problem of sin had been handled, both, radically and sufficiently. Thus, Christ lives to be our Savior from the penalty of sin (Romans 1:4; 4:24-25).
But, Jesus Christ came into this world to do a lot more than die for our sins on a cross. He came to save us from the seduction of evil that has plagued humankind ever since Adam. The living Christ enters the hearts and lives of believers the moment they declare their faith in him (Revelation 3:20).
By his Holy Spirit, he dwells within those of us who look to him in faith, thereby enabling us to crucify our old lives and become new creatures in him (Galatians 2:20). Christ lives to be our Savior from the power of sin.
Certainly one of the greatest joys that comes as a result of receiving Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior is the gift of a new nature (2 Corinthians 5:17). God bestows upon us a nature like his own, that we "may participate in the divine nature" as the apostle Peter tells us (2 Peter 1:4). Christ lives to save us from the very existence of sin.
In closing, only a Savior who has defeated sin and death can save us from the penalty of sin; that being death. He is an eternal, living Savior who pleads our case before God the Father; residing within the faithful to save them from the penalty, power, and existence of sin.
Scripture: Acts 4:12; 1 John 4:14; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 2:8-9; 1 John 2:2
Prayer: Dear Lord, by Your grace I have been saved through faith; this being not of my own doing but Yours; I stand humbled before You, amen.
May your day be blessed!
Blake
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