17 Mar. 2025
Good Friday and Easter are coming up. What do they mean to us personally?
Will it be another weekend of attending service, listening to the choir and messages and after that, having fellowship over lunch and catch up? Or will this season draw us closer to God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ? May the Holy Spirit enlighten us with a fresh understanding of Good Friday and Easter, enrich our lives spiritually and empower our humble service.
Easter is the heart of the Christian faith. Romans 8 captures this in three powerful truths: we are in Christ, Christ is in us, and nothing can ever separate us from His love.
In Him
Romans 8:1
Therefore there is now no condemnation at all for those who are in Christ Jesus.
The word ‘condemnation’ means someone has been officially declared guilty by a judge and given a punishment. Outside of Christ, this is humanity’s reality—every sin brings us under the just condemnation of a holy God (Rom. 3:23). But Good Friday is the day when the punishment fell, not on us, but on Jesus. He bore our judgment on the cross so that we could be set free.
Being ‘in Christ’ means that God no longer sees us in our sin; He sees us clothed in the perfect righteousness of Jesus (Phil. 3:9). This is the heart of the gospel: we do not achieve our righteousness — it is credited to us by faith (Rom. 4:5).
In Us
Romans 8:11
But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
Jesus did not only die for us; He rose again and sent His Spirit to live in us. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead now works in every believer. Without the Spirit, people are spiritually dead — even if they are physically alive. They live in anxiety, despair, and emptiness, seeking fulfillment in things that can never satisfy. But those who walk in the Spirit experience true life and peace — not because their circumstances are easy, but because they have the Holy Spirit in them. The Spirit reminds us that we belong to God and that we are loved.
Inseparable
Romans 8:38-39
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Paul gives a list of things that might seem powerful enough to separate us from God – death or life, angelic power, crisis today, unknown tomorrow. Romans 8 is God’s guarantee that once we belong to Christ, nothing can separate us from His love.
This is not only a time of personal reflection and spiritual growth, it is also a time to serve one another – to build up one another and to share the Good News with unbelievers. Think about the simple encouragement you could give fellow Christians. Think about how to encourage someone who’s curious about Christianity to come check out Easter and explore its significance. Pray for them and invite them simply to come and listen. Jesus truly rose from the dead – that changes everything.
Written by: CMW