easter?

easter. what's all the fuss about?

well, for starters, God knew that you and i would be selfish humans, and that we would all disobey him, choosing to go our way in life rather than God's way. since God is just and perfect, he would have to punish us for our disobedience. therefore, we were all doomed to be damned.

however, God is extremely loving. He is the only place you will ever find true unconditional love. because of how much he loves us, he chose to give us a way out. he didn't want to punish us. so God sent his only Son, Jesus Christ to earth. (john 1:1-4, 14; colossians 1:15). God humbled himself in the likeness of this man Jesus, and bore the weight and punishment of our sins himself.

Jesus lived completely perfect life. out of God's abundant grace (grace means- we get something we don't deserve. a free gift.), he decided to punish Jesus for our disobedience instead of punishing us. it'd be like you getting pulled over for speeding and being issued an expensive ticket, but your friend with a completely clean driving record asks the cop to put it on his driving record instead, and he'll pay the cost of the ticket...just because he cares about you that much. well guess what? God cares about your salvation- THAT much.

to undertake the punishment for our disobedience, Jesus was tortured and hung on a cross- the most gruesome and excruciating death possible. he was innocent, but he died for you and for me because of how much he loves us and doesn't want us to have to experience Hell. after Jesus died, he was resurrected from the dead- God restored him into a perfect body, and three days later sent him back to earth to tell the world that they were officially free from sin and free and clear to get into heaven, because Jesus paid their ticket there. all we have to do is believe with all our hearts in the person of Jesus to accept our ticket into heaven.

sounds like a pretty good deal to me.

i'm putting some verses below on assurance of salvation. i'd put just the reference verses, but i know most people are probably too lazy to read this whole post, let alone look up verses i put, so here they are all typed out! enjoy.

Jesus died so that we could live eternally. because of his death, our hope for eternal life is not transient, it is assured. we as Christians don't "hope" for our salvation like we "hope" the Redskins will go to the super bowl. we HOPE with assurance- we know. we celebrate his resurrection from the dead on easter and we rejoice- because we are assured of our salvation. on easter, we are saved- there is no guilt in life, and there is no fear in death. hallelujah! Christ is RISEN.


Romans 10:9-10, 13 "..if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame...Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."


Romans 8:1-4 "Therefore, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit."


Romans 9:16 "It [salvation] does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy." (it is an undeserved, free gift. nothing we do will ever make us worthy of it.)


Romans 5:6 "You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."


John 5:24 "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life."


1 Peter 2:22-25 "He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth." When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of  your souls."