“Raised Again For Our Justification” (Ready to Worship S9E4)

February 8, 2019

Ready to Worship Season 9, Episode 4 for Friday, February 8, 2019

This season on Ready to Worship, we are examining tlhe empty tomb. It is our hope that doing so will enrich our worship.In the book of Romans Paul declared that Jesus was “delivered for our offenses” and was “raised again for our justification” (Rom. 4:25). We often discuss the first part of Paul’s statement, the fact that Jesus was delivered for our offenses. However, I’m not sure that we discuss the second part of Paul’s statement, the fact that Jesus was raised for our justification, as much. The connection between His resurrection and our justification will be our focus in this podcast.

Transcript

This season on Ready to Worship, we are examining the empty tomb. It is our hope that doing so will enrich our worship. In the book of Romans Paul declared that Jesus was “delivered for our offenses” and was “raised again for our justification” (Rom. 4:25). We often discuss the first part of Paul’s statement, the fact that Jesus was delivered for our offenses. However, I’m not sure that we discuss the second part of Paul’s statement, the fact that Jesus was raised for our justification, as often. Yet, as Paul’s statement makes clear, the empty tomb is every bit as important as the rugged cross. Without the cross, there would be no salvation. Without the resurrection, there would be no justification. At the cross, Satan bruised Christ’s heel. At the tomb, Christ crushed Satan’s head. The victory that Satan thought that he had won at the cross by getting Judas to betray Jesus, the disciples to forsake Jesús, Peter to deny Jesús, and the Jews to reject Jesús, turned into defeat at the tomb. The connection that Paul made between the cross and the tomb in the book of Romans was made again in the book of First Corinthians. He wrote, “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:1-4). Please note that Paul said that Jesús died for our sins. To use Paul’s words from Romans, Jesus was delivered for our offenses. Notice also that Paul spoke of Jesús being raised. Although the passage doesn’t specifically tie the resurrection to our justification, another verse in the context does. In the seventeenth verse, we read, “And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins” (1 Cor. 15:17). If Christ had stayed in the tomb, then we would have stayed in our sins. His resurrection is inseparably linked to our remission and our justification. Every Lord’s day, we are able to draw near to a just and righteous God because of the justification that was made possible by the resurrection of Christ. Without His resurrection, the first day of the week would be like any other day and we would be like any other person. The Lord’s resurrection made it and us different. As we get ready to worship this week, let’s remember that Jesús not only died for our sins, but that He was raised for our justification. Let’s gather this week on His day as His people.