{"id":35758,"date":"2015-04-04T06:00:29","date_gmt":"2015-04-04T13:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.olivetree.com\/?p=35758"},"modified":"2019-04-09T10:50:45","modified_gmt":"2019-04-09T17:50:45","slug":"your-labor-is-not-in-vain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/blog\/your-labor-is-not-in-vain\/","title":{"rendered":"Your Labor Is Not in Vain"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A Christian without a resurrection is a dismal Christian indeed. In 1 Corinthians, Paul goes so far as to say that if Christ has not been raised, our faith is futile. We are still in our sins (1 Corinthians 15:17<\/a>). Praise God, then, that Christ died for our sins and was raised for our justification (Romans 4:25<\/a>).\u00a0The resurrection of Christ\u00a0can be a great encouragement to us when we feel like we\u2019re experiencing deadness. Christians can feel discouraged in many areas, but the resurrection helps us to understand that our God is a God who brings life out of death. The word \u201cimpossible\u201d isn\u2019t in His vocabulary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most Christians take\u00a0encouragement from the fact that Jesus is\u00a0going to return and resurrect the dead. Jesus\u2019 resurrection means that\u00a0those who are in Christ will be raised on the last day to spend eternity with God (1 Corinthians\u00a015:24<\/a>). The resurrection is our\u00a0great hope as Christians, but the resurrection also offers us hope\u00a0in this life<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hope in This Life<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You might be discouraged because the world has grown darker in recent years. Jesus said, \u201cdestroy this Temple, and in three days I\u2019ll raise it up,\u201d referring to His body (John 2:19\u201321<\/a>). When they killed Jesus, they destroyed His temple\u2014but He raised it. He also began building up His body, the church (1 Corinthians 12:27<\/a>), which is also God\u2019s temple (1 Corinthians 3:1<\/a>6). The Church is built because Jesus\u2019 body was destroyed and because He rose again\u2014the Church is His rebuilt temple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Things never looked more grim than when Jesus was in the tomb. But God chose to start the Church when right when things looked completely impossible. Regardless of how dark and sinful the world gets, we can look to where Jesus said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I will build my church; and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.\u201d (Matthew 16:18<\/a>)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

In this way, we can be encouraged by Christ\u2019s resurrection in this life.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Another area we are often\u00a0discouraged is\u00a0that\u00a0of our own personal walk with God. John reminds us that we all sin (1 John 1:8<\/a>), and\u00a0we know that our sin can often discourage us. Our walk toward holiness sometimes feels like we\u2019re on a treadmill\u2014taking a lot of steps but not getting anywhere. The resurrection helps us here by first reminding us that we are justified before God because of the resurrection of Jesus (Romans 4:25<\/a>). There is no condemnation for sin if we are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1<\/a>). Jesus\u2019 resurrection means we\u2019ll be raised, even though we\u2019ve never done anything to deserve it\u2014not\u00a0even in our best efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The resurrection also reminds us of the new life we receive in Christ. <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Our sin-enslaved self died on the cross with Jesus (Romans 6:6<\/a>). Through the resurrection we can walk in newness of life. We see this in our baptism (Romans 6:3\u20134<\/a>). Even though we may see a lot of sin and darkness in our lives, God is transforming us by His Spirit through Christ\u2019s resurrection. The fact that you can say \u201cno\u201d to sin at all and you\u2019re not\u00a0totally enslaved is an evidence of that new life working in you. If you\u2019re having trouble saying no to sin, remember that your wishing you could say no more is also an evidence of God\u2019s grace working new life in you. Dead men don\u2019t want to love God more. Thank God for this grace and ask for\u00a0then seek more grace through prayer, reading Scripture, and attending church.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are many other reasons that we can be discouraged as Christians. Relationships, marriages, churches, businesses, and more can be marred by sin. The resurrection reminds us that nothing is impossible for God and that He loves to bring life out of death. He loves to work good out of evil (Genesis 50:20<\/a>)\u2014although it\u2019s not always the good we\u2019re expecting. If you\u2019ve been discouraged lately, this\u00a0Easter might be a good time\u00a0to read\u00a0and study 1 Corinthians 15\u00a0to\u00a0see the triumph God is working in Christ through the resurrection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1 Corinthians 15:58 (ESV<\/strong>)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Christian without a resurrection is a dismal Christian indeed. In 1 Corinthians, Paul goes so far as to say that if Christ has not been raised, our faith is futile. We are still in our sins (1 Corinthians 15:17). Praise God, then, that Christ died for our sins and was raised for our justification<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":43283,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5341],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-35758","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-topical"},"yoast_head":"\nYour Labor Is Not in Vain - Olive Tree Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Paul says that is the resurrection didn't happen, our faith is futile. But thankfully, the resurrection is true. 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