What is so special about Easter morning that sets it a part from every other morning? The answer is simple. Easter morning, like no other, represents the fulfillment of promises and the giving of hope.

As we think about the first disciples and apostles we cannot overlook what that first Easter morning meant for them. They woke to that first morning with a heaviness and sadness that would be hard for us to understand. All their hopes had vanished. Everything they had longed for and hoped for in Christ seemed, at the moment, to have evaporated.

Isn’t that just like people, to lose all hope so quickly. Truly Jesus knew what He meant when He said that we are helpless and harassed like sheep without a shepherd. But little did those first followers of Christ realize that their darkest hour was in fact their greatest victory. It would take them a little time to understand this great truth. But soon, every apostle and disciple of Christ would be traveling the known world telling every soul they could about this victory that Jesus Christ achieved on their behalf.

So, Easter is significant because in it we recognize that God the Father has fulfilled every promise He has ever made. The bible says,

“As surely as God is faithful, our word to you has not been Yes and No. For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you … was not Yes and No, but in him it is always Yes. For all the promises of God find their Yes in him” (2 Cor. 1:18-20).

The apostles, and first disciples of Christ, did not realize the significance of that first Easter. God had been making promises since the beginning of time. And all those promises that God ever made found their fulfillment and completion in Jesus Christ that first Easter morning.

God told Adam and Eve that there would come from their seed a deliverer who would crush the might of the serpent which led them into sin and death. God told Abraham that through his seed (in the singular) that all the nations of the earth would be blessed.

To Abraham God promised that He would rise up a special and unique Son of promise. Through Moses, God promised that a prophet greater than himself was to come. In the book of Exodus we learn that this promised One is to be our Passover lamb. In Leviticus we learn that He is to be our High Priest. In Numbers He is our great protector; and in Deuteronomy He is our city of refuge.

In Job He is our redeemer that lives; in the Psalms He is the Good Shepherd who will guide and protect His sheep. In the book of Proverbs He is our trusted wisdom. In the Song of Solomon he is our beautiful bridegroom. In Isaiah He is the great God, Emmanuel who comes as the suffering servant to take away the sins of the world.

We could go on and on listing the many promises of God. The point: those promises seemed to linger; and indeed, they were carried upon the hearts of the faithful for generations and for centuries. And though the time grew long, and though many people became anxious, God never forget His many promises that He had given to the children of men. And in the fulfillment of time a child was born, the unique son of promise, who was the Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father and the Prince of peace. And in Him all the promises of God find their fulfillment and proclaim to the world, “Yes!”

So the disciples of that first Easter Morning would later come to recognize the significance of this time. And on Easter morning we will celebrate the fulfillment of God’s promises as well. So Easter morning is significant because is it a reminder that God has accomplished everything He ever promised.

Easter morning is also significant because in it we recognize that God the Father has given to the world a living Hope. The bible says,

“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” (1 Pet 1:3).

The disciples of that first morning were forlorn. Their spirits were ready to fail for sorrow. But when the two unhappy women approached the tomb of their beloved master, they were greeted with a strange and unexpected experience. The massive stone which covered the tomb had been moved, revealing an empty grave; and then two angles asked them a perplexing question. They asked, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?” Then they were triumphantly told, “He is not here, but is risen!” To the unexpected shock and joy of the women, they did not find a dead body, but a living Savior. And they were not simply told that He was alive. He told them Himself!

In that instant their sorrow was turned into joy, and their despair was replaced by faith and hope.

The Bible says that, “According to His abundant and great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead!” (1Peter 1:3). When God raised Christ from the dead, he was telling the world that He cares. He was telling the world that He knows our sorrows, understands our weaknesses, and He has not left us alone. He, Himself, has come to save us and rescue us. And so above all, He was telling the world that He loves us.

The bible tells us that there is nothing that can separate us from the Love of God in Jesus Christ:

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised— who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? …. No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom 8:31-39).

So when the these woman heard the great news “He is risen!”, Matthew records for us that they ran with great joy to bring word to the other disciples that Jesus Christ was risen from the dead. In a moment of time the disciples went from sorrow and defeat to great joy and victory. In there in lies our hope – a living hope based upon the power of God to bring life out of death, light out of darkness and joy and hope out of despair and defeat. The bible says, “This is the victory that has overcome the world…” Jesus Christ is our victory.

So Easter is a reminder that in Christ every promise of God has come to pass; and as a result we are given a living hope that gently reminds us that we are not forgotten, we are not alone, we are loved, we are forgiven, we are accepted by God and will one day be brought before Him and hear, “Enter into the joy of your Lord!

Scratch below the surface and one will discover that just about all churches bleed green. No, they are not environmental enthusiasts; they bleed the older green, the type that has defined civilization since the time of Nimrod. Greenback is another slang that most churches would not wish to be associated with. But there it is. Churches need money, spend money, and like all people and organizations, can’t live without it.

The hard reality is that everything costs money. Life is expensive. Just ask new parents who are spending what was once going-out money on diapers and formula. Spending money on others is hard work. It takes intentional effort not to to spend it on yourself. Window shopping can be a painful experience. Seeing the things you really want but having the discipline not to buy it – even better, using that money in a way that gives someone else what they want, even when those things generate zero interest on your part.

Oh, but there is the rub. Using money on what blesses others. Church life, at least as defined by the Bible, is about learning to follow Christ. Christ followed the Father, and in so doing He was obliged to spend a tremendous amount of capitol on others – even others who violently reject Him. Of course His currency was His blood – and he spent it all, giving it freely away to those who would become eternally rich by His offering.

I don’t like to part from by greenback. Most churches don’t like to either. I suspect that Jesus was not too fond of being parted from His blood. In fact, the Bible tells us that He pleaded with His Father to take that cup from Him. The Father declined. Jesus spent it all. We are saved.

Why do we find it so hard to spend on others? We sometimes cling to our money as though it were our blood. The funny thing though, the Bible indicates that when we freely give away, the more we receive. In fact, the investment strategy of the Bible is very different from that of the world. The world says, build and save. God says, give it away. When we do, God replaces what was given. When we invest in others, God promises we will receive a return. But when we save for ourselves we seem to have a diminished return. Maybe we should view our money like Jesus view His blood – as a blessing to others?

Hum, maybe we should bleed green? If my money is your blessing, then what am I saving it for? And if God seeks to replace what I use to bless others, what am I afraid of? I won’t go hungry or homeless. I may have to sacrifice something, but … well, Jesus bled for me. Praise God for all those who have bled for me!

Judgment. Today it’s deemed a strange word. It has fallen out of use. It was once an accepted reality. No longer. Many people have jettisoned this idea as being not credible. They cannot reconcile how love and judgment can come from the same source. Recently there has been a flurry of books that attempt to teach that love and eternal judgment are irreconcilable. Instead, we are confidently told that “Love Wins;” the idea that in the end, there is no such thing as eternal judgment. Sounds nice, even comforting; but what if such ideas are wrong?

Everything is at stake. It’s a winner take all, loser loses all proposition. But there’s the rub. For those who propose that there is no eternal judgment, it’s winner take all and everyone is a winner proposition.  It sounds good, but has no correlation to reality. Unfortunately, people have accepted the idea that they can live as they wish, embracing any form of deviancy, call it normal and expect God to approve of their decisions. But they are wrong, and it will cost them everything.

But some cry foul and say that is just unfair! After all, they assert that there is no such thing as sin, only choices, and man, not God, makes the distinctions. Such a response, however, is visceral. They “feel” that it is simply unfair to send someone into a state of eternal torment – because despite their sin, they are good people – just ask them, they’ll tell you so. And they’ll respond, “How could a god who ‘loves’ all people torment people forever?” On the surface it sounds like a good question – even reasonable – especially when the idea of love is expressed as feeling. Feelings are always nice – especially nice feelings. But the only effect they have is to free us from the responsibility of good thinking.

The current trend that judgment is no longer a credible truth is born out of a generation that has been raised in a toxic brew of narcissism were conclusions are based on a “me center” approach to … well everything. The central issue is, “How does this affect me?” Of course, eternal judgment affects people very significantly. If one takes time to consider the implications of their sin, then what follows is the possibility of someone having very bad feelings about themselves. Unfortunately bad feelings are no longer accepted in our culture. It no longer matters what people think, so long as they feel good about what they think.

When people “think” about God they above all, want to feel good about themselves. This has become the central concern of much of what passes for Western Christianity today. Books and sermons by the truck-load can be found where the main thrust of the message is that God wants to make you feel happy and encouraged. Truth is not of matter of God’s revelation. It is a matter of how I react and therefore feel about such things. The new measurement of truth is a barometer that moves only with good feelings. The more bad it makes me feel the more untrue it must be.

But what if God really does not care about how we feel? In fact, what if God wants us to feel bad about our sin? Unfortunately that is an unpopular message. Today people will stand in line for an opportunity to hear some good encouraging words. Welcome to American Christianity in the 21^st century. From radio stations to endless books and the many televangelist of the new gospel of feel-goodism comes the mind-numbing message that God wants you to feel encouraged. Sin does not matter. Hell is not real. All that matters is that we love one another, and make people feel good about themselves.

However, many of such people still cling to an idea of sin. But only as an antidote against those who teach such an uncouth idea that there is such a place as hell. The real sin, it is believed, is making people feel bad about their decisions and behavior. We have developed new words for such people – all ending with the Greek word “-phobe.”

But back to the question: what if God really is not interested in our feelings? I have yet to hear someone raise the question. It seems almost weird writing it. After all, if one accepts the new trendy view of God, then the very question would be … a sin!  Maybe it should not be a question. I’ll be bold. God does not care how you, me, or anyone else “feels.” Self-esteem is not on God’s agenda. But I’ll tell you what is: sin, repentance and salvation. God does not care how we feel about such topics. They simply are a part of the fabric of life – as defined by God – and He demands that we take note and respond accordingly.

In fact, there is a very revealing passage in the bible:

“For even if I made you grieve with my letter, I do not regret it—though I did regret it, for I see that that letter grieved you, though only for a while.  As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us. For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death” (2 Cor. 7:8-10, emphasis added).

According to this passage we see that God is interested in how we feel. He actually wants to make us feel bad … for a season. Feeling bad is not a bad thing, especially when it leads to forgiveness and salvation.

The simple truth is that judgment is a reality of life. One does not even have to understand the Bible’s teaching on the subject to know that it exists. Most people have a well-honed sense of justice, and therefore intuitively know that justice demands judgment. When wrongs are done we want to be recompensed for that wrong. But from where did we get that sense of justice? We received that from God. He has written His law on our hearts.

When God is wronged He too wants to be recompensed for the wrong done. This is where our narcissism leads us astray. Most children who are spoiled have a hard time understanding that their actions affect other people. So too, we have a hard time understanding that our actions affect God. When we sin, we hurt God. When we break His laws, we offend Him. When we rebel against His ways, we wrong Him. God’s sense of justice is perfect. His character therefore demands perfect justice. And perfect justice will be meted out.

Enter stage right the reality of judgment. Because God’s justice is perfect, he awards accordingly. Sin is perfect rebellion against God. It is telling God that His character (holiness) is of little consequence, and that His will (righteousness) is of little account. God’s reaction against sin is in complete proportion to the offense. The punishment is equal to the one being offended.

God is not a man that He should overlook rebellion. He is the sum of all things. He is the fabric upon which all things exist. He is the creator, author, and sustainer of life. A rip in the fabric means the whole is affected. Sin rips at the very fabric of life, generating violence, chaos and death. But the fabric is not a disinterested piece of cloth separate from God. It is God. To do violence to the fabric is to do violence to God. Since God is the sum of all things, He has an obligation to prevent the tares, and to react with swift vengeance when they come. To judge sin is to heal the fabric and remove the cause of death. The God of life does not share company with death.  It is utterly and eternally abolished.

Enter God’s love. The reality is that we all have sinned. We all have torn that most sacred fabric of God’s being. God is under obligation to remove the offense. But being a God of eternal love, He was able to reconcile His love with the necessity of Judgment. Jesus is the answer. Only the eternal Son of God could withstand the eternal wrath of God. He took our place under that wrath. In so doing He removed the offense of our sin while at the same time opening a door for eternal restoration and life.

When I faced the fact that I was a sinner who stood condemned before a Holy God, I did not feel good about myself. Indeed, I wept bitterly. My prideful self-esteem suffered. But then I met the risen Savior. He died in my place. He healed the hurt of my sin. He rose from dead for me. Because He lives, I will also live. Today I am encouraged, but only because I grieved first.

To all those who scoff at the idea of judgment my encouragement for you is to embrace judgment. It’s the only path to life.