Why Easter?
Why Easter?
By: Dr. Danny Purvis
Have you ever wondered about the nuances of why we celebrate Christmas? I know the cultural and societal reasons such as gifts, family, trees and lights. But from a purely Christian perspective, why do we celebrate Christmas? In part, one of the primary reasons we celebrate the birth of Christ is because we are anticipating the death of Christ. It is one of the most unique paradoxes in all of Scripture. You cannot view the Babe in the manger except in the shadow of the Cross of Golgotha. As we gather to celebrate Easter…Resurrection Sunday…we gather to celebrate the very reason Jesus came to this planet in the first place. In His own words, Jesus said:
“ 17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.(John 10:17-18)” That is why we gather for this purpose every year…to celebrate the greatest event the world has ever seen. It is in this moment that God’s grace, love, justice, forgiveness, adoption, and peace all coalesce together in a single moment. It is where those who come to faith in Christ are redeemed, saved, born again. Jesus did not come into this world, suffer a cruel death, and rise again from the dead to give me a nicer life. He did not do this to make me a better person. He did not do it so that no bad things would ever happen to me again. The Bible tells us that none of these things is why He did it. He did it because we are lost (Luke 19:10). He did it because our hearts are corrupt and we have no answer for that (Jeremiah 17:9). And He did it becausewe are not good (according to His definition of good) and that we are bound to an eternity of suffering without Him (Romans 3:9-20). And He did it because there was nothing we can do to fix any of that (Eph. 2:8-9). He did it so that though we will truly die one day, it will be at that moment where we will truly live. The Gospel is the most precious gift ever bestowed upon humanity. It is the moment when the righteousness of God is placed upon us and the penalty of sin is removed from us (Romans 3:21-26). We cannot earn salvation. We cannot work enough good works or be good enough. That is precisely the reason He did it in the first place. He died to save those who could never save themselves. In Paul’s letter to the Colossians, he makes this very clearly:
13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross(Colossians 2:13-14). And that is why the Gospel is called “good news”. It is, in fact, the best news that could ever be given us. That is why we gather here this morning. It is the reason we gather at HCC every Sunday morning. So thank you for joining us on this glorious morning to celebrate this glorious event. It is our most fervent prayer that if you know Christ, you will know Him even better after this service. And if you do not know Him, that today would be the day that you would be the recipient of the greatest gift ever given.
Happy Easter,
Pastor Dr Danny Purvis
By: Dr. Danny Purvis
Have you ever wondered about the nuances of why we celebrate Christmas? I know the cultural and societal reasons such as gifts, family, trees and lights. But from a purely Christian perspective, why do we celebrate Christmas? In part, one of the primary reasons we celebrate the birth of Christ is because we are anticipating the death of Christ. It is one of the most unique paradoxes in all of Scripture. You cannot view the Babe in the manger except in the shadow of the Cross of Golgotha. As we gather to celebrate Easter…Resurrection Sunday…we gather to celebrate the very reason Jesus came to this planet in the first place. In His own words, Jesus said:
“ 17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.(John 10:17-18)” That is why we gather for this purpose every year…to celebrate the greatest event the world has ever seen. It is in this moment that God’s grace, love, justice, forgiveness, adoption, and peace all coalesce together in a single moment. It is where those who come to faith in Christ are redeemed, saved, born again. Jesus did not come into this world, suffer a cruel death, and rise again from the dead to give me a nicer life. He did not do this to make me a better person. He did not do it so that no bad things would ever happen to me again. The Bible tells us that none of these things is why He did it. He did it because we are lost (Luke 19:10). He did it because our hearts are corrupt and we have no answer for that (Jeremiah 17:9). And He did it becausewe are not good (according to His definition of good) and that we are bound to an eternity of suffering without Him (Romans 3:9-20). And He did it because there was nothing we can do to fix any of that (Eph. 2:8-9). He did it so that though we will truly die one day, it will be at that moment where we will truly live. The Gospel is the most precious gift ever bestowed upon humanity. It is the moment when the righteousness of God is placed upon us and the penalty of sin is removed from us (Romans 3:21-26). We cannot earn salvation. We cannot work enough good works or be good enough. That is precisely the reason He did it in the first place. He died to save those who could never save themselves. In Paul’s letter to the Colossians, he makes this very clearly:
13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross(Colossians 2:13-14). And that is why the Gospel is called “good news”. It is, in fact, the best news that could ever be given us. That is why we gather here this morning. It is the reason we gather at HCC every Sunday morning. So thank you for joining us on this glorious morning to celebrate this glorious event. It is our most fervent prayer that if you know Christ, you will know Him even better after this service. And if you do not know Him, that today would be the day that you would be the recipient of the greatest gift ever given.
Happy Easter,
Pastor Dr Danny Purvis
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Yes, his heart was changed, then his attitude n actions followed!
♥