Resurrection Living

In Exodus 12 we are introduced to one of the clearest pictures of Christ. The people of Israel have been in bondage to the Egyptians for over 400 years. They can do nothing about it but cry out for the Lord's mercy. This they do, and the Lord hears their cry. He sends them a deliverer who will lead them out of bondage into the Promised Land.
In like manner we all are in bondage, not to Egypt, but to our sin. And like the people of Israel we can do nothing about it but cry out for mercy. Thankfully the Lord has heard our cry and has sent His deliverer, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is our spotless lamb who was slain and whose blood was applied. Now those who by faith receive that covering of Christ’s blood are no longer subject to the judgment of God. They have passed from death to life. They are made new.
Now how do we know all this is true? How do we know that our sins have been removed and that we are no longer under God’s judgment for sin? Paul, in 1 Corinthians 15 tells us that the resurrection of Christ is the proof. In fact he says that if Christ is not raised from the dead we are still in our sins.
How does Paul get from the resurrection of Christ to our sins removed? What connection is he making? If you think about it and go back to Genesis 1 (remember way back there) you will remember that the Lord said, “If you eat of the tree (ie: if you sin) you will die.” God connected sin with death. They are forever connected. So, if you want to show that sin has been dealt with you will have to show that death has been dealt a “mortal blow”. That’s exactly what the resurrection shows. By raising Christ from the dead, the Father was declaring that death had lost its sting. And the only way death could lose its sting was if sin has been cancelled – removed as far as the east is from the west. That’s what happened at the cross. Sin was placed on Christ and He took the punishment – He took the hell that that sin deserved, and having done that gained for us a full and complete deliverance. Rejoice and be glad for the Lord’s mercies!
But this is not the end of the story….once we have been delivered from sin we must no longer live in it. We are called to resurrection living. Perhaps that is the symbol of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. During this feast the people of Israel were to remove all leaven from their homes. In 1 Cor 5:7 Paul likens this to our removing the leaven of malice and evil from our lives, and replacing it with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
I like the word sincerity for it means “singleness” as if life is no longer devoted to the service of many lords, but instead is devoted solely (singley) to the Lord Jesus Christ. Perhaps that is what the Lord declares in Luke 14:33 when He concludes: “So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.” Having been redeemed by the blood of Christ it is right that He is given our all. We do not receive such a gift as salvation from sin, and then continue to let it be our master. Instead we must give our lives (all of it) to the Lord and live every day for His kingdom.
That’s why Paul’s exhortation which comes after his lengthy treatise on the resurrection is so fitting for our conclusion today. “Therefore, my beloved brothers (sisters, too), be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” May God grant us who have been set free by the blood of Christ the grace to walk in newness of life this day and until He comes.