A key word to bear in mind, as stressed in 2 Timothy 2:8, is REMEMBER. Remembrance or keeping in memory is fundamental to progress in Christianity. In other words, it can be the difference between good and bad Christianity.
Every Christian is a good person by status or position, entirely because of the goodness of God demonstrated in the work of Jesus and appropriated by the believer. He is good because of the NATURE of God within Him. Good or bad Christianity therefore relates to WALK or LIFESTYLE. It is precisely because of the significance of REMEMBRANCE [to do what has been learnt] to a good Christian walk that the word keeps recurring in scriptures[Acts 20:35,1 Cor 4:17,2 Tim 2:14, James 1:26, 1 Tim 4:6,2 Pet 3:1,2 Pet 1:12,13,15, 1 Cor 15:2
The phrase ‘CHRIST DIED’ is pregnant with meaning and should not be construed narrowly as referring to His death alone. Rather it’s a single transaction encompassing His incarnation, death, burial, resurrection, and the import or implications of what that transaction portends.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ was not a private event. They conspired to make it hidden, but to no avail. He showed Himself alive by many infallible proofs [Acts 1:3]. Bible says we should remember this because it is the basis of our Christianity, and has implications for us.
Ten implications of Jesus’ death and resurrection
- Justification – It implies our justification [Rom 4:25, 5:1, Rom 5:9]. If the Saviour had not risen, then we would have been doomed. But because He died for our sins and rose again, by identification with Him, we are free. We are no longer guilty. This is the antidote for guilt consciousness. This also enables us to approach God with boldness [Heb 10:19, Eph 3:11].
- Sonship – It brought us sonship. It brought an end to slavery and servanthood, and gave us the status of sonship. Now He has become our Father [Jn 20:17, Rom 8:15, John 1:12, Gal 4:6-7, 1 John 3:3]
- Continual abiding of His presence – This is the antidote to loneliness. Everyone in the world craves for relationship. It is wired into our nature. Because of what He did, God has made us His dwelling place, individually and collectively, by His Spirit [1 Cor 3:16,1 Cor 6:19-20, Eph2:22, 2 Tim 1:14,Rom 8:9], permanently [ John 14:16]. This is a source of comfort to believers, and that reality helped Pau when He was forsaken by men [2 Tim 4:16-17]. God never leaves the believer, and this should also help dispel anxieties [ Heb 13:5-6,Php 4:6]
- Continual access to God- By His work, we have continual access to God. This access is devoid of ceremonies, not based on her merits, but entirely on His work. What more, this access is with boldness, something unheard of under the Old Testament [Heb 12:18-22-24]. Not living right may hinder us from approaching the Father, and because of that the inclination is to want to stay away because of the perception that we are not good enough. This is compounded by the fact that we live in a performance-driven world, and we try to translate that to our relationship with God. However, in Christianity, we are not accepted on the basis of our performance, but on the basis of Christ’s performance. And even when we have failed, an understanding of the reality that He forgave us all sins – PAST, PRESENT and FUTURE, by His sacrifice, and that the same sacrifice gave us continual access should embolden us approach to find grace to help in time of need [Heb 4:16, Heb 10:19-21, Rom 5:1-2, Eph 3:11].
- Encouragement in troubled times and inner strength to carry on – An anchor for our souls came by redemption. That keeps us stable amidst contrary situations and circumstances and gives us the inner strength to forge ahead [Acts 21:13, Heb 6:19] what keeps us going is on our inside. If we must serve the Lord, do His will, we must be ready to rely on the anchor within us.
- Deliverance from the world – Because of His work, we have been delivered from bondage to this present evil world system [ Gal 1:4, 6:14], and have no obligation to live according to its dictates [1 Jn 2:15, Rom 12:2]
- Gifted/Called – Another implication of Christ work is that all believers have been gifted and called into ministry. Every member has a role to play as member of the Body, and as member of the local assembly [Eph 4:6,7,12,16, 1 Pet 4:10-11]. We may not all be pastors, evangelists, etc, but we are all ministers [Col 4:17,2 Cor 5:18-20], and we shall give account before God.[1 Cor 4:1-5, 1 Cor 3:11-14]
- Brotherhood and Oneness in the Body of Christ – The work of Christ at Calvary has abolished every barrier , and has brought about a brotherhood of believers. Before, the law of Moses was a barrier between gentiles. Now it might be status, education, lineage, race, language, societal class. His death that removed the barrier of the Old Covenant, and brought about One Body of believers, also abolished the other barriers to bring about the Brotherhood of believers. This understanding that we are one helps practical unity and bonding[Eph 2:11-19, 1 Pet 2:17]
- Guarantees a new Body – His death, resurrection and assurance is the guarantee that ALL believers would receive new glorified bodies, patterned after that which Christ had after His resurrection [1 Cor 15:34-56, Rom 8:17-23, 2 Cor 5:1-5, Php 3:20, Eph 1:13-14, 4:30].
- Irreversiblity of the benefits of His work – Because Jesus died and rose again, all that He bequeathed us are permanent and irreversible. They are eternal, and cannot be taken back [Rom 11:29, Ecc 3:14, James 1:17-18, Heb 7:25, 9:12]
Pastor Teju Fagbeja