But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. (1 Corinthians 15:20)

When we look at the world around us, it seems like it is spinning out of control. The 24-hour news cycle is a constant message of doom and gloom. Media alerts on our phones continually inundate us with the reality that we live in a dark and fallen culture. Murders, suicides, corruption and hate are the daily headlines. Many ask themselves “why are these things are taking place?”, but few are willing to accept the answer because it is controversial and divisive. 

We have stripped the Word of God from his rightful place in our lives. We have slowly drifted from a God centered society where school prayer was encouraged and the Creator was exalted, to a form of secular relativism where truth is determined by our own personal, subjective feelings. We are continually being inundated with the lie that life has no absolute meaning, no true purpose. Our children are indoctrinated in the public schooling system from a young age that they are simply an evolutionary accident that is here today and gone tomorrow. And the reality is, we have created a culture that is hopelessly lost and desperately looking for answers. However, those of us who have a personal relationship with Jesus know the solution to this dilemma. Hope is found in Christ alone!

Critics of the Christian Faith will immediately say, “How can Christ be the answer for the world today?” He was crucified over 2000 years ago. “How could He possibly be the answer to the world’s problems”. This kind of talk may sound impressive, but it leaves out one important historical fact: The Resurrection of Jesus Christ. If there is any one fact of history, which convinces us that there is a God, it is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. If there is any one fact of history, which convinces us that there is hope, it is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. People speak about the great events of world history, but there is no greater event than this – the mighty resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Why do we say, “There is hope”? – We say that there is hope because Jesus Christ rose from the dead. Death could not hold our Savior. He broke the power of death and gave us a living hope. 

But to know and enjoy this hope, we must come to God on His terms. First and foremost, we must understand our spiritual condition apart from Christ. All have been born into this world spiritually dead in our sins and separated from God (Eph. 2:1-3; Rom. 3:23). The Bible tells us that there are none righteous, no not one (Psalm 14:1-7). And in God’s courtroom we all stand guilty and deserve to be sentenced to death (Romans 6:23). But glory to God, He made a way for our sins to be forgiven and for us to be brought back to life! While we were justly sitting on a spiritual death row, God demonstrated His love for us by sending His perfect Son to die in our place, taking all of our sin and all of our punishment for that sin on the cross of Calvary (Romans 5:8). On that cross, Jesus endured the agonies of hell in our place so that we could be forgiven and reconciled back to God. And then after three days He rose from the dead forever defeating death for all who would place their faith in Him alone. He died to give us life. He rose to secure our hope. 

Do You Have the Living Hope?