Reassuring 8 Resurrection =Reflections I N the first chapter of Romans, the 4th verse, Paul the Apostle has this to say: “ And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.” T HE greatest event that ever hap pened on this planet thus far was the H E died to expiate our sins. He arose to redeem us from their power. He
By Hyman J. Appelman Dr. Appelman, the well-known Hebrew evangelist, will open a six months’ cam paign in Australia, March 11, 1948. The prayers of God’s people everywhere should support these meetings. (Col. 3:1-3). “ And ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8). H E arose to inspire us with the most elevated hopes. He arose to inspire us with the hope of Christ-likeness here, of victory over sin, of triumph over temptation, of the ability to resist Satan and the emissaries of the pit. He arose to inspire us with the hope of the first resurrection, when the trumpet shall blow, when the Lord Himself shall de scend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. He arose to inspire us with the hope of the home in the heav ens which He has promised to prepare for those of us who love Him, who be lieve in Him, who have been washed in His blood, who have been regenerated by His Holy Spirit. He arose to inspire us with the hope of an eternal resurrection and reunion, body and soul reunited to reign and rejoice with the Christ of God forever. He arose to inspire us with the hope of a mighty reward, when the- crowns of righteousness and reward shall be placed upon our brows by the angels of God at the behest of our Lord and Saviour. S URELY the resurrection ought to be the hope of every soul to the ends of the earth. Surely the resurrection ought to be the theme of the song of the saints of God. Surely the resurrection ought to be the aim of every soul, saint and sin ner, to the ends, of the earth. May God, in His infinite, compassionate grace and mercy, reproduce the resurrection favor, the resurrection fact, the resurrection force, the resurrection fervor in all of our lives. Page Seven
died to rescue us from spiritual bondage. He arose to assert His dominion over us, that, as the people whom He hath re deemed, we should live not to ourselves, neither for ourselves, but for Him who died for us, and rose again. He died to teach us that we must be crucified with Him, that the body of sin must be de stroyed, that we must be transformed by dying unto sin into the likeness of His death. He arose to teach us that, dead to our former sinful pursuits, we must live with Him; that leaving, as it were, in the tomb, into which, with Him, we descend, the polluted garments of the old man, we must put on the splendid apparel of “the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness;” and from the darkness and corruption into which sin hath plunged us, we should rise into newness of life. H E arose to assure us of the most important blessings. He, who was once a suffering Saviour, subject to the power of His enemies, and unable to save Himself from death, has now be come a Redeemer mighty to save. He arose to assure us that the atonement, which, by pouring forth His soul unto death upon the Cross, He had made for our sins, is accepted by His Almighty Father as all-sufficient and availing. He arose to assure us that for our sins there is fullness of pardon, that guilty and obnoxious as we are, liable to awful wrath, through His propitiation, we may be made the subjects of the favor of God. “Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God” (2 Cor. 5:20). H E arose to impose upon us the most exalted duty. “ That like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Rom. 6:4). “ If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God”
resurrection. The greatest miracle ever wrought was the resurrection, including all smaller ones. The focal point towards which prophecy points is the resurrec tion of Jesus Christ. The great demon stration that He was the Son of God was the resurrection. The greatest theme of preaching is the resurrection. The great complement of the redemp tion on the Cross is seen in the resurrec tion, that event which intervenes be tween Christ’s crucifixion and His coming again. It is the plentiful assurance to all children of God that they shall thus rise from the dead, and shall bear the likeness of their glorious Lord. It is a demonstration of the fact that Christ was really deathless, that though He submitted voluntarily to death, it was an impossibility that He could ever be holden of it. It was the preparation for the descent of the Holy Spirit. It is the great assurance to every believer, that in Jesus he has the Messiah of the Old Testament, and the Jehovah, the Sover eign Lord of all. T HE Lord Jesus Christ arose and proved that He was not a blas phemer when He said that He was equal with God; that He was not an imposter when He announced that His Father had sent Him into the world; that He was not a deceiver when He testified that though the Son of Man should suffer and be crucified, the third day He would rise from the dead invested with all power in Heaven and in earth, Lord of the living and the dead, holding the keys of death and hell, so that He opens and none can shut, and He shuts and none can open. He arose from the tomb not as He descended into it,' the crucified malefactor, the helpless victim of malice and persecution, but the Head of the Church, of His Church, the Ruler of the kingdoms of the world, the Lord of lords. M A R C H , I 9 4 8
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