Christ Died, was Buried & was Raised

TREES THAT CLAP THEIR HANDS

I remember my first ever time hearing the gospel. I walked into that little home Bible study in Bromley, Kent to the warm welcome of a handful of people and a pastor who was going to share from the Bible. They sang a few songs before the message, during which I was very uncomfortable. I remember one of the songs was about the trees of the field clapping their hands. As all the people sang, clapping their hands enthusiastically, I remember asking myself how I had got there and wished I was standing nearer the door. The group of people gathered had no place being in the same room together. They were different ages, nationalities, and backgrounds and yet for some reason, there they were, huddled together on a Friday night, drinking tea, eating Jammy Dodgers, Bibles open, waiting to hear something from the Pastor. They certainly were real, genuine, very welcoming and there was an undeniable “something” in that place that kept me there that night. I was raised in catholic schools, and, while I had a respect for God and The Bible, had always been extremely turned off by the religiosity of it all. “If that was what God was about, I’m not interested,” I thought. But this was different.

THE DEATH, THE RESURRECTION

The pastor opened the Bible and began to speak. Somehow, though it was over 30 years ago, I still remember the text.

“Now, brothers and sisters, I declare to you the gospel, that I preached to you, which you also received and on which you stand, by which you also are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you – unless you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor 15:1-4).

He then began to explain that because of this good news (gospel) of Christ dying in my place and being raised from the grave in victory, there is a free gift that is offered to whoever would believe. It’s a gift no one cannot earn, does not deserve, yet desperately needs. He paid the price on the cross that we might be saved freely. “This”, He said, is “grace”. Grace, as I have now come to deeply treasure, means a free-gift, something freely offered and given to the undeserving sinner who will simply receive it.

A DAWNING LIGHT

That night, June 7th, 1989, it dawned on me like a revealing light. The gospel had been clearly declared and it was a “day and night” moment for me. A focused pause that altered the very course of my life. I suddenly, in an instant, knew this had to be true. It couldn’t be that I had to somehow “earn my salvation”, or “work my way to heaven”. I knew that it couldn’t be based on me being good enough. I knew it was something I could never earn and had to be by grace alone. That night I opened my heart and put my faith in Jesus as my personal saviour. My life was never the same. Oh How full and blessed this journey of faith has been!

ALL THESE YEARS LATER

I am reminded of this wonderful passage this Easter season, as Christians around the world consider that final week of suffering, rejection and crucifixion, that was shortly followed by his glorious resurrection. All of these years later I am so deeply thankful for the gospel, for His grace and for the daily opportunity to grow in a relationship with Him, the living God, The God of all grace.

HAPPY EASTER – HE IS RISEN!