Living in Light of the Resurrection

May 2, 2025

Our faith and our salvation are built upon the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  The historical fact of His resurrection cannot be over emphasized.  There is no way in which we could speak of it too often, for it is the critical component to everything we believe.  As Paul writes to the church at Corinth (who were doubting the resurrection of the dead), “But if there is no resurrection from the dead, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain… and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.  Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.  If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.” (1 Corinthians 15:13-14, 17-19 NASB95) Without the resurrection of Christ, our faith is meaningless, we are still in our sins, and we have no hope for the future.

But the fact is, “Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.” (1 Corinthians 15:20, NASB95) This is the glorious fact!  Jesus was raised!  There are many powerful and convincing proofs of this fact.  There are many eyewitness accounts of this fact.  We can be assured that His resurrection is real, and our faith can rest solidly in this reality.  And because He is alive, we too are alive!  Because He is risen, we have been raised with Him and seated with Him in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 2:6) Because He is risen, we are now dead to sin and alive to God.  Because He is risen, one day we too will be raised with a glorious new body.   Because He is risen, we have hope of seeing our loved ones who have died in the Lord again.

Jesus is alive!  And we have been made alive with Him!  Shouldn’t this truth have a major impact on our lives?  How should we now live?  As Paul writes, “Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.  For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:1-3 NASB95).  We should now continue to seek the things above, setting our mind on heavenly things rather than earthly things. 

How should we now live?  We should continue to put to death our earthly ways. (Colossians 3:5) Immorality, greed, anger, slander, lying, and the like should all be rooted out of our lives with the help of God’s Spirit. 

How should we now live?  By putting on the qualities of the resurrected life: Compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, and love. (Colossians 3:12-14)

Let’s rejoice on this day!  Jesus is alive, and we live with Him!  Let us now walk as those who are alive from the dead!

—Scott Colvin

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Posted by Scott Colvin

Keep Seeking, Keep Pursuing

June 13, 2022

“Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of
God.” (Colossians 3:1, NASB) When you and I were baptized into Jesus, we were raised up with Him. We were raised with Him to a new life. We became a new creation. We were made alive again. Haven’t we been blessed beyond measure in Christ?

Since all of this is true, what shall we do now? The verse above makes it clear. Keep seeking the things above! Keep on moving forward in His ways. Keep on striving to know Him more deeply. Keep on pursuing holiness in your life. We must never stop pursuing God. We must never think that we have arrived or that we have grown as much as we need to grow. We must never become complacent or stagnate in our walk with Him. God wants us to keep seeking Him with all our heart.

I am encouraged by these words of Paul concerning our ongoing pursuit of God: “Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” (2 Corinthians 7:1 NASB) Notice that he did not say “having perfected holiness”, but “perfecting holiness.” This carries the idea of pursuit, of continual striving, of growth over time. Perfecting holiness requires that we don’t get discouraged and quit in our struggles against sin. It requires that when we fall short, we confess our sins to Him, ask for His forgiveness, get up, and continue to pursue holiness, trusting in His promise to keep us continually cleansed by the blood of Christ.

God knows we’re all sinners. He knows we fall short. But He expects us to keep seeking and to keep perfecting. Don’t ever give up the pursuit!

—Scott Colvin

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Posted by Russell Holden