Read a book about the resurrection this Easter
I was asked to preach one Easter Sunday. Usually, I enjoyed preaching, but I was busy, weary, and not looking forward to it. Shockingly, talking about Easter felt boring. I had preached about the cross many times before. I definitely believed in the truth of the resurrection, but I had assumed it rather than exploring it.
I began studying the resurrection seriously for the first time. What I discovered unsettled me. In Acts, every recorded sermon centers on the resurrection of Jesus. Yet I realized that none of the sermons I had heard or preached had fully explained its meaning and implications.
At the time, I could not find many books specifically focused on Jesus’ resurrection, its implications for the doctrine of salvation, and its life-changing power.
Why had so few books been written about the very center of the Christian faith?
I became convinced I should write a book on the resurrection and was blessed to have it published, initially by Crossway. Raised with Christ: How the Resurrection Changes Everything has been available since 2010, and is now revised and refreshed throughout. It includes study questions and an afterword by John Newton and Charles Spurgeon updated into modern English.
Since then, it has been a joy to watch the resurrection conversation grow. The twenty-first century has seen a striking increase in the number of books on this vital subject. Many of these books complement one another, and I hope you will not only enjoy reading my own but also be encouraged to explore others.
There are, however, still many more books devoted to the death of Christ. The resurrection has always been believed by Christians, but it has often been neglected. That seems to be slowly changing.
Christianity ultimately stands or falls on whether Jesus rose from the dead. The empty tomb, the resurrection appearances, the explosive growth of the early church, and the radical transformation of the disciples all demand an explanation. The Church did not create the resurrection stories. Instead, the resurrection stories created the Church.
But if Jesus truly rose, what did that achieve? Paul writes that Jesus was “raised for our justification” (Romans 4:25). Without the resurrection, the cross could not have secured our forgiveness. The cross and the resurrection are inseparably bound together in the doctrine of salvation.
The resurrection also declares that Jesus is “the Son of God in power” (Romans 1:4). If Christ is risen, then He is Lord and we are His children. This prompted me to create the following definition of a follower of Jesus that summarizes the historical view of every denomination:
A Christian is someone who believes in the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ and lives in light of the implications of that event.
Those implications are profound. Resurrection power turns fear into love and despair into joy. It wipes away guilt and shame and brings forgiveness and freedom. The same power that raised Christ from the dead is at work in every true Christian, awakening new life and relentlessly killing sin.
Christians will experience a bodily resurrection just like Jesus. Life is itself a terminal condition. We might be forgiven for arguing that resurrection is the most important theme in the Bible, at least for our hope in the face of suffering and loss.
Raised with Christ is now part of a series, Transformed by Jesus: Spiritual Renewal. Each book is built on the foundation of what Jesus’ resurrection does for us:
We are forgiven in an instant, renewed over a lifetime, and glorified for eternity. In a moment, God declares us righteous and we are born again. For the rest of our lives, He shares His own life with us, transforming us from glory to glory as we are changed from the inside out. When His work is complete, we will be like Him, living forever in His image, His glory, and His grace.
Seven years after publishing this book, my confidence in this truth was tested by weakness and chronic illness triggered by a life-threatening pneumonia and a diagnosis of blood cancer, which was successfully treated but may still return.
My body was not healed. Most of the life I had built unraveled. What followed felt like a tsunami of damaging effects across every area of my life. Nothing remained untouched. At times I was not easy to live with, and I have regrets.
At my lowest points I found myself asking:
“Do I really believe this?”
Though my faith was faint at times, somehow my hope refused to disappear.
I found healing in worship, Scripture, and returning to the eternal truths about the risen Christ I had written about in my first book and in Hope Reborn: How to Become a Christian and Live for Jesus. I pray the same ancient truths of the gospel will help you too.
This book is for those interested in the evidence for Christianity, for believers who wonder if Easter has become overly familiar, for pastors who long to preach the resurrection with clarity and power, and for Christians who want to experience spiritual renewal.
If Jesus rose from the dead, it really does change everything. Just not all at once.
Be sure that real suffering will come to you one day, if you haven’t yet felt its painful touch. None of us gets off this planet without experiencing the difficulties that Jesus promises us. Jesus always keeps his promises. But He also reassured us that He is with us, and that He is in charge:
“I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33, NIV)
Raised with Christ: How the Resurrection Changes Everything is an expanded and revised edition of my first book, initially published by Crossway in 2010. It now includes study guide questions and an afterword by Charles Spurgeon and John Newton, updated into modern English.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In