This message is primarily for those who call on the name of Jesus Christ as their own Lord and Savior from sin, and serve as a Chaplain or a gospel minister in a jail, prison or a follow-up ministry such as a rescue mission – in the United States.
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In continuing this year’s messages about Jesus, I want to suggest you regularly teach that He is a RISEN SAVIOR for believers. If you would like my recommendation on what to teach inmates about His resurrection, probably the Chaplain’s Corner from April, 2001 covers it the most extensively. You can read it from the text archive section on this web site. In Revelation 1:18, Jesus said: "I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. " I want you to preach and teach that!
For unrepentant, unbelievers according to Acts 17:30-31, Jesus’ resurrection only means one thing, JUDGMENT. These verses read:
30 Truly these (former – before Christ’s death and resurrection) times of ignorance God overlooked (He did not move in final judgment), BUT NOW (meaning after Jesus’ resurrection) commands all men everywhere to repent,
31 because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness BY THE MAN whom He has ordained, He has given assurance (or, a guarantee) of this (day of judgment) to all BY RAISING HIM FROM THE DEAD."
By way of contrast, for true believers Jesus’ resurrection has real POWER and TREMENDOUS BLESSINGS both now and in the future. In His physical resurrection from the dead, which believers really should celebrate every Sunday (the day of the week He rose from the dead) all Christians should be encouraged BY THE VICTORY HE WON FOR BELIEVERS.
This month we do extra celebrating and call April 24, 2011 "Easter Sunday." I like the term "Resurrection Sunday" better. That term is cleaner and forces the issue without conjuring up mental ideas of egg hunts and chocolate rabbits.
The FIRST thing I want to remind you to tell your inmates and residents about Jesus’ resurrection is that IT IS THE DISPLAY AND GUARANTEE OF GOD’S POWER. A power that relates directly to the ultimate salvation of INDIVIDUAL sinners when they truly believe.
1 Peter 1:3-5 says:
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope THROUGH THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST FROM THE DEAD,
4 to an inheritance (this looks forward, to the future) incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,
5 who are kept by the power of God THROUGH FAITH for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.(again - in the future)
Verse 3 links the new birth to the future final stage of salvation through the RISEN SAVIOR. The final stage of salvation, often referred to as the believer’s final glorification is referred to as the "living hope." Salvation and the new birth would not be possible IF JESUS HAD NOT RISEN FROM THE DEAD. God can save and begin new spiritual life in a believer because Jesus rose from the dead after paying for the believers sins in full by dying on the cross.
In verse 4, the final stage of salvation is stressed by the compiling of wonderful words. It is INCORRUPTIBLE, which means it cannot die or decay. It is also UNDEFILED, meaning totally clean and unsoiled. It does NOT FADE AWAY, which is to say it is always blossoming! And - it is RESERVED or GUARDED in heaven - for true believers.
The POWER of the Risen Savior’s resurrection will accomplish these wonderful promises. Tell inmates that. Help them with all that is in you (from the Holy Spirit) to grasp hold of this salvation guaranteed by the power of the risen Savior for those that repent and believe.
Jesus IS the true believer’s Savior. The word "savior" means deliverer. But Jesus does more than save believers from the eternal judgment of their sins in hell fire, HE ALSO delivers them from the practices of sin daily, while they remain on earth awaiting perfect union with Him in heaven some day in the future.
Now SECONDLY, I want to urge you to teach inmates and residents something else about the biblical, Risen Savior. When they think about Jesus (which for believers, should be daily,) they should be motivated towards thankfulness and praise and to LIVING A LIFE OF PRACTICAL PROGRESSIVE SANCTIFICATION.
I bring this up now BECAUSE the POWER of Jesus’ resurrection in the life of believers born of His Spirit, ALSO HELPS deliver them from the practices of sin in their daily living. There are many verses that teach this. To begin teaching this, I would suggest you explain to your inmates and residents Romans 5:10. It says:
10 ...if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, it is much more (certain) now that we shall be saved (or daily delivered from sins dominion) through His resurrection life. (this is from The Amplified Bible)
That is saying the POWER of the risen Savior IN the believer here and now, before their ultimate glorification, DELIVERS them from the practices of sin.
Next, teach them daily progressive sanctification from Romans 6:4-14, which says:
4 …just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection,
6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we SHOULD NO LONGER BE SLAVES OF SIN.
7 For he who has died has been freed from sin. (a dead slave no longer has to serve their master)
8 Now if WE DIED WITH CHRIST, we believe that we shall ALSO LIVE with Him,
There it is, true believers have a true union with Jesus in his DEATH and RESURRECTION. This theme is also touched upon in Galatians 2:20.
20 I have BEEN CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST, it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
And again in Colossians 2:20 and 3:1
20 Therefore, if YOU DIED WITH CHRIST, …
1 If then YOU WERE RAISED WITH CHRIST, seek those things which are above …
I will end with the passage in Colossians 3, but for now look back to Romans 6 –
8 Now if WE DIED WITH CHRIST, we believe that we shall ALSO LIVE with Him,
9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him.
10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.
11 Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.
13 And do not present (this is a command to stop constantly offering) your members (your bodily parts) as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God (another command at specific points in time) as being ALIVE FROM THE DEAD, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.
The same command to present or offer at specific points of time your members (or bodily parts) as instruments for righteousness TO GOD, comes across the word "and," here in verse 13. Verse 14 tells believers WHY.
14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, …
That’s practical and progressive sanctification. Professing Christian inmates need to be constantly urged on in the pursuit of it. This should be where true biblical Christianity in the facility stands out and STANDS APART from all other religious systems. Man-made religions have no power to live a holy life. Only in Christ, by the power He gives can it happen. That power is His resurrection power.
Lastly, consider and teach them, Colossians 3:1-5.
1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek (a command to keep on seeking) those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.
2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. (this is also a command to continue to practice – keep setting your mind on the things of God in heaven)
3 For you died, (at a specific point in time, when by faith you were united with Christ in His death and subsequent resurrection) and your life is (now) hidden with Christ in God.
4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.
5 Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: …"
What follows in verse 5 and verses 8, 9 is a long, but not exhaustive list of 12 sinful acts and attitudes. These are things which your Christian inmates have in most cases, been slaves to in the past. The command at the beginning of verse 5 is for the specific times of temptation to sin that a true Christian (inmate or free) faces.
In verse 5, these sins include: FORNICATION – which covers all forms of sex outside of male-female marriage. UNCLEANNESS - meaning impure thoughts, PASSION, which is strong vile urges. EVIL DESIRE – which means lustful craving.
COVETEOUSNESS – greediness, desire for what another has. And IDOLATRY which is the ultimate fruit of coveting, also includes anything put in the place of the true God, either mentally or as a physical object of worship.
Verse 8 adds ANGER – this word means a settled seething as in hatred. WRATH - which is outbursts of rage, and MALICE – a desire to hurt or injure others. BLASPHEMY – speech intended to defame another’s character. FILTHY LANGUAGE – dirty words. The list ends in verse 9, with LYING.
You see all of these things and more in a jail or prison facility. But the power of the risen Savior of believers helps men and women puts these things to death with Christ.
The power of the RISEN SAVIOR also helps them put on practical progressive works of true righteousness. Some of these are listed in Col. 3:12-16. They include: tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving others. Added to those righteous acts and attitudes believers are commanded to love, to let God’s peace rule in their heart, to be thankful, to worship and to immerse themselves in the word of God.
In closing, I want to go back to where we began this month’s message. Saving faith in the Risen Jesus brings a salvation that will conquer all sin and death. The crisis of physical death is always related to sin. People die because sin in God’s world brought death into reality. BUT the One who died for the believers sin, said to a grieving woman whose brother had just died the following words in John 11:25-26.
25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.
26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. DO YOU BELIEVE THIS?
That is what you need to constantly challenge your residents about. Do they really believe in a Risen Savior, Jesus? Do they believe that through His death and resurrection all their sins and even their death problem is conquered?
Ask them, “Do YOU BELIEVE, ‘…the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us (that believe) and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in CHRIST JESUS before time began, but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, WHO HAS ABOLISHED DEATH AND BROUGHT LIFE AND IMMORTALITY (eternal life) to light through the gospel,’ ?” (2 Timothy 1:8-10)
Rich Hines
Minister to Chaplains, Aurora Ministries’ Chaplain Help Ministry
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