Now, brothers and sisters, I remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, 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 Corinthians 15:1-4)
Katie the Encourager
Even the best of believers can lose sight of our glorious comfort in Christ and get discouraged. Martin Luther (1483–1546) was often a cheerful follower of Christ, but sometimes he struggled with severe depression. That happened in Bible times, since Jesus’ first coming, and right up to now.
Luther translated the Bible into German, wrote books with great insight into Holy Scripture, and sometimes spent hours a day in prayer. And yet even with these disciplines of grace, Luther sometimes became very disheartened and miserable. His wife Katie (Katharina von Bora) was the Lord’s messenger to help her husband through these dark times. She “preached” the gospel to Martin Luther, the great preacher.
One time, when Luther was overwhelmed with negative thoughts and feelings, he locked himself in his study, brooding for several days. Katie had someone take the door off the hinges and forced Martin out of his gloomy room. When Luther came out, he saw Katie and the children dressed in black and asked, “Who has died?” Katie wept and said, “It’s our Lord. He’s dead!”
Luther thundered, “Nonsense, Christ isn’t dead. He’s risen and reigning. He’s King of kings and Lord of lords and returning soon. Jesus cannot die again!” Katie asked, “Then why then have you been moping around as if Christ were dead? I thought our Lord must have died, judging from the way you were acting.” Luther burst into a hearty laugh, and said, “Kate, you are a wise and loving wife. We have a living God to trust in. Thank you for the reminder. Now take off your funeral clothes.”
No matter how devastating our struggles, disappointments, and troubles are, they are only temporary. No matter what happens to you, no matter the depth of tragedy or pain you face, no matter how death stalks you and your loved ones, Jesus’ resurrection promises you a future of immeasurable good. (Josh McDowell)
What About Us?
Mathew Santhosh Thomas is a Christian medical doctor in India, who wrestles with depression himself. He writes of stigmas surrounding mental illness and ignorance about it. He says that the three major challenges he faced personally are a preoccupation with self, challenges in decision-making, and confusion in his personal spiritual journey. Depression is a complicated problem, often involving a mix of spiritual, physical, and psychological factors. I’m not a doctor or a therapist, so I’ll write about Scriptural remedies for spiritual depression.
Are We Ignoring the Risen Jesus?
Sometimes Christians can forget about the big Bible truths that Christ has died; Christ is risen; and Christ will come again. Then we may be tempted to live like the rest of mankind who have no hope. Then we may grow weary from spiritual battles and burdens. We can become grumpy and gruff with loved ones, strangers, and co-workers, when we neglect the cornerstone of our faith
God Turns the Worst into the Best Thing
Scripture says: By God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge, Jesus was put to death by wicked people who nailed Him to the cross. It was not an accident. Christ’s murderers were 100% responsible for their actions, but the Lord was 100% in control of everything and still is. To prove that, God the Father and God the Spirit raised Jesus from the dead, freeing Him from death’s agony, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on Christ. (Acts 2:23-23, my paraphrase)
Jesus’ crucifixion was the worst event that has ever in human history. Christ is holy, blameless, pure, and set apart from sinners. He’s the only person who has ever loved God with all His heart, soul, mind, and strength, and loved His neighbors even more than Himself. Yet Christ was humiliated for 33 years, tried unjustly, tortured, executed publicly on the cross, and buried in a borrowed tomb. Jesus was the one and only perfect person who has ever lived. His thoughts, desires, words, and actions were impeccable.1
But God turned the worst into the best thing! By Christ’s cross, He canceled our indebtedness to God because of our sins and marked it “paid in full.” On the cross, Jesus also disarmed Satan and shamed him by His triumphant victory which rescued us.2 This was God’s plan from the beginning when He promised that the woman’s offspring (Jesus) will crush the serpent’s head.3
Christ’s atoning death and resurrection was God’s perfect way of forgiving human sin and reconciling billions of people to Himself. Christ’s death brings new life and new hope for His followers. He says, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”4 Our eternal life begins now, continues even after we die, and will be consummated when Jesus brings us home into the new heavens and new earth, a world filled with God’s righteousness.5
God’s Way, Not Bad Things, Will Win
All through the Bible, God (Father, Son, and Spirit) shows He has the wisdom, power, and love to excellent things out of very bad things. The devil and other people intend to harm us, but the Lord is sovereign and uses it for good to accomplish His perfect plans for us!6
The Impact of Jesus’ Resurrection
Here are some ramifications of Christ’s resurrection that increase our joy and peace in Him. (Note: we’ve covered more of these in other posts):
1. Christ’s resurrection proves He is God. “Jesus our Lord through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead.”7 Christ demonstrated His identity and deity by fulfilling Old Testament prophecies of His death and His rising from the grave. Because Jesus fulfilled these Scriptures, He will also fulfill every other promise that He makes in the Bible and we can rely on Him to do that. “Those who trust God wholly find Him wholly true.”8
2. Christ’s resurrection guarantees our forgiveness. “He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification (pardon and acceptance with God).”9 Because Jesus died and rose for our forgiveness, we can and must forgive people who wrong us. Forgiveness is God’s command. (Martin Luther)
It’s Satan’s delight to tell me that once he’s got me, he will keep me. But at that moment I can go back to God. And I know that if I confess my sins, God is faithful and just to forgive me. (Alan Redpath)
3. Christ’s resurrection guarantees that we are already raised to a new way of thinking, desiring, and behaving. “We were buried with Jesus through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”10 Jesus has broken sin’s power to control us, so let us not slide back into the swamp.
4. Christ’s resurrection guarantees our place with Him forever in Paradise. “Jesus said, I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in Me will live, even though they die. And whoever lives by believing in Me will never die.”11
5. Christ’s resurrection guarantees that Satan is defeated. “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy (loose, unbind, unravel, dissolve) the devil’s work.”12 Jesus keeps us safe and the evil one cannot harm us.13
6. Christ’s resurrection guarantees that our service to and for Jesus is never pointless or useless. “My dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”14
So let’s preach to ourselves: Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God! (Psalm 42:5,11, 43:5)
You may also like Jesus’ Resurrection and Ascension, Jesus’ Resurrection Gives Us Significance and Stability, Jesus’ Resurrection: Something New Begins, Eyewitnesses of Christ’s Resurrection, Muggeridge and Jesus’ Resurrection, Jefferson and Jesus’ Resurrection, Christ Is Everything: Resurrection Reality, Watergate “Proves” Jesus’ Resurrection.
Notes (various Bible translations): : 1 With help from Paul Tripp’s message “The Worst Thing Is the Best Thing.” 2 Col 1:14-15. 3 Gen 3:15. 4 John 10:10. 5 2 Peter 3:13. 6 Gen 50:20; Jer 29:11; Rom 8:28. 7 Rom 1:4. 8 From the hymn, “Like a River Glorious Is God’s Perfect Peace.” 9 Rom 4:25. 10 Rom 6:4. 11 John 11:25-26. 12 1 John 3:8. 13 1 John 5:18. 14 1 Cor 15:58.