Death Could Not Hold Him

"But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him." Acts 2:24

Dear CBC family,

“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). This is one of the most magnificent verses in the all the Bible. Spurgeon called it the heart of the gospel. If you understand it, it is the gospel in one verse. Everything you need to know can be unpacked in these 23 words. There is an amazing simplicity here–21 words of only one syllable, one word of two syllables, and one word (righteousness) of three syllables. It could hardly be simpler than this–yet whole books are written on the meaning of each phrase.

How important is this verse? Well, if you miss the truths here you’ve missed the truth of God. In these days of rampant theological confusion, it is vitally important that the church of Jesus Christ be firmly settled on the gospel message. That is, after all, our only message. God has not committed to us a message about political power, social agendas, or military might. The church has been given one major task–to preach the gospel to every person on earth (Mark 16:15). If that is our God-given task, then it behooves us to make sure we know what the gospel is and isn’t.

Today I am pondering the gospel through the narratives of the Apostles. I have seen a few things I never noticed before and I will be sharing them both on Good Friday as well as Easter Sunday morning.

Good Friday begins at 5:30 PM and will be limited to about an hour. It will be a very reflective time as we see the actions of that fateful day through the eyes of people who were there. The message will be deeply profound with the application, matching the title, in three words “Pick it Up”!  

Easter will be a great celebration of the hope of the resurrection. Join us for both services and bring a friend who needs Christ.

Blessings,

Scott