Chuck Larsen

Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins, but being a Christian goes beyond that. Once you’re forgiven, there’s a life to live. Jesus also said that he came that we may have life, but not just life. We all have biological life (can you fog a mirror?), but Jesus said he came so that we might have “abundant life.” In John 10:10, Jesus says, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” This abundant life begins with our sins being forgiven. That happens at the cross of Calvary. However, the Gospel message must go beyond the cross to the resurrection. Just as He arose, we, too, arose to a new life as well. Paul tells us that we are “dead in our trespasses and sins” in Ephesians 2:1. We were not only sinners in need of forgiveness. We were corpses in need of life, His life, real life, abundant life. In Romans 6:4, Paul explains, “We were buried with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”

Unlike the prosperity gospel being preached by many today, the abundant life that Jesus wants for us is one that transcends material prosperity. The most important things in life are NOT things at all. The most important things in life are relationships: our relationship with God and one another. It’s the healing of relationships through forgiveness that makes life “abundant.” Again, Paul tells us this in Colossians 2:13. He writes, “And you, who were dead in your trespasses…God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses…”

Even secular movies realize this truth. The movies like “Scrooge” (or Scrooged), “Pretty Woman,” “Wall Street” and many others teach us the futility of wealth in achieving an abundant life. The common theme in these movies and others is the miserable man who tries to amass more and more wealth in order to amass even more wealth. But instead of providing “abundant life” it actually destroys their lives instead. It takes away from them the very thing they are searching for. If the world recognizes this and writes stories about it, why do many Christians still subscribe to the “prosperity” gospel? Jesus put money and wealth in opposition to God when he talked about the impossibility of serving God and money. Wealth promises something that only Jesus can give us: a truly abundant life received by grace through faith. It’s the outcome of a “post-forgiven” life.

The phrase “clean slate” comes from the era of chalkboards. They were commonly made of slate, and what was on them could easily be erased so something new could be written. That’s what we celebrate at Easter. My favorite Easter verse in 1 Peter 1:3-5. It begins, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead…” There are several parts to this passage, but this morning, I invite you to consider the first two parts: God’s great mercy and our new birth.

First, I like what Warren Wiersbe says about Grace and Mercy. He distinguishes between the two when he says, “Grace is what God gives me that I don’t deserve; mercy is what God doesn’t give me that I do deserve.” The thing that we all deserve is death as an eternal consequence of sin. But instead of eternal death, what we do deserve, He gives us “eternal life,” which we do not deserve. Peter shouts out, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!” It is an exclamation! Easter is our exclamation! David Jeremiah adds a little to the understanding of the difference between Grace and Mercy when he writes, “Mercy releases us from the penalty of our sin; grace gives us abundant blessings besides. And that is what God does for all who will accept His free gift of grace in Jesus Christ. Mercy cuts the bonds that bind us to our past; grace sends us into the future with resources for a better life. Mercy removes the filthy rags of our self-righteousness; grace clothes us with the white robes of the righteousness of Christ.”

The means by which God gives us this living hope is a new birth. Everyone is familiar with the phrase from Jesus to Nicodemus; “You must be born again.” It’s a new start: a fresh perspective. It’s a life lived in the glow of a new paradigm of reality, the reality that changes the way we understand the universe, time, and space, as well as ourselves and others. One writer told the story of a painter in Paris. The painter set up his easel, opened his paints, and started to paint a picture called “Life.” He noticed pigeons in the park, tulips blooming along the Champs-Elysees, and the bustle of people on the street. But he messed up his painting. His colors weren’t true, and his perspective was poor. Looking at his work with disfavor, he threw it away. He took another canvas and started “Life” all over again. Jesus allows us to do that through the new birth. Our old sins are buried in the deepest part of the sea, and we get a clean slate. Eugene Peterson’s interesting translation of the New Testament quotes Paul as saying, “Everything that we have—right thinking and right living, a clean slate and a fresh start—comes from God by way of Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 1:30 (The Message)