The Believer’s Passion for the Resurrection

The following is an excerpt from a book called, Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross: Experiencing the Passion and Power of Easter, edited by Nancy Guthrie (and available for sale on our book table). It features a collection of contributions from authors like John Piper, Jonathan Edwards, Phil Ryken, Martin Luther, J.C. Ryle and Augustine, all on the subject of Good Friday and Easter. The excerpt below is from Tim Keller:

“On the one hand, the resurrection is a fact to be believed. On the other hand, it is an experience to connect with. If you have one without the other — if you believe in the resurrection as historical fact, but never experience the resurrection personally, or if you think of the resurrection as a spiritual experience but don’t believe it was a fact — you come out with a form of religion and no power. “My question is — do you believe them both? Do you believe in the resurrection as a historical event, and have you also had that profound personal experience of spiritual resurrection? Christianity refuses to be stuck in either category. It is not all about rationality, nor is it all about mysticism. It’s both. “On one hand, Christianity is about beliefs, proposition, and ethics. But that’s not enough. You have to experience him to know him. There has to be a real connection. And on the other hand, Christianity is not only a mystical religion. It’s not like Eastern religions with no rational content. Christianity has hard edges to it. It says, ‘This is true, and this is false. This will get you saved. This will get you damned. This actually happened.’ “Christianity says that if you want to experience God, you have to believe the truth. You have to believe that he really lived, that he really died, that he was really raised. And if you see that truth and believe in it, it leads to an experience, which leads to more understanding of the truth, and the truth leads to more experience. . .” “To be a Christian is not just to believe in a set of propositions. It is that, but it’s much more. It is to say, ‘I count everything as loss or rubbish in comparison to my number one ambition, which is to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his suffering.’ Paul is saying that if you understand the doctrine of the resurrection, you don’t just believe, you have a passion.” My love to you In Christ, Bob