Inter-Varsity Press

Contents

Foreword

Introduction

1 Assurance

2 Transformation

3 Hope

4 Mission

Foreword

It used to be said that teaching about the Holy Spirit was the Cinderella of Christian doctrines. If that was ever true, it certainly isn’t now. But the resurrection of Christ would have a much better claim to that title. There are plenty of books and sermons that outline the arguments for its historicity but very few that explain its significance, despite the fact that the New Testament writers proclaim again and again that everything has changed now that Christ is risen. I warmly welcome this excellent book by Sam Allberry and pray that it will be used by God to restore the truth of the resurrection to its proper prominence in our thinking.

I first heard this teaching at a conference for students from St Ebbe’s Church, Oxford. We sat in a cold barn with a fierce wind whistling outside but our attention never wandered. We were held not just by the simple clarity and quirky humour of Sam’s style, which you will soon appreciate as you read on, but above all by the dynamic power of Christ’s resurrection. One student told me afterwards that he had since begun a habit of starting each day by reminding himself that Christ has risen. ‘Now that I’ve been gripped by that truth,’ he said, ‘I feel like a new man; my understanding of myself, the future and the world I live in have all been completely transformed.’

May God use this book to produce a similar effect in many lives. There is much that could depress us as we read the newspapers or look into our hearts, but those who know that Jesus is alive will always have hope, even in the most depressing circumstances. Jesus Christ is Lord! He has the power to change us now, so that we begin to be the people we long to be. And one day he will return to rid the world of all the ravages of sin.

Christ is risen!

He has risen indeed! Alleluia!

Vaughan Roberts

Easter 2009

(From the) Introduction

It was dark and raining and I was late. I was driving through unfamiliar country lanes to visit friends who’d recently moved to this region. According to the route finder I should have arrived some time ago. The road seemed to twist around and fling me about in all sorts of directions I didn’t remember noticing on the map when I had set out. I was evidently lost.

Eventually the road took another unexpected turn and plunged me straight into a village whose sign indicated that I’d somehow managed to find my destination. I pulled up against the first building I could find and was about to call my friends to find out where they actually lived, when I realized that I was already right outside their window. I was happy to see them, of course, but even happier to see their spare bed.

After a long, cold, damp and tiring journey I wasn’t really interested in doing anything other than sleeping. When I pulled back the curtains the next morning I was amazed. We were high up overlooking a valley whose floor was spread below. Wooded hills stretched in each direction and a river cut its way through the bottom of the valley. The mist hanging over the trees made it feel like somewhere more exotic than Somerset. Down to the left was a beautiful viaduct that I must have passed on my way up the night before. I’d had no idea my friends had moved to such a stunning place. It occurred to me how strange it was that I’d spent so much time in this beautiful scenery the previous night without even realizing it. And yet here it was. It’s where I’d been all this time.

Studying what the Bible has to say about the resurrection of Jesus Christ has had a similar effect on me. It has shed light on a Christian landscape that I’d spent so much time in without even realizing it. The contours, twists and turns that I’ve been navigating for years – sometimes with frustration, sometimes with exhilaration – are now more visible. I can now make sense of them in the light of this extraordinary doctrine. The truth and reality of the resurrection illuminates the detail of so much of our everyday Christian experience.

It occurred to me a couple of years ago that I’d never really heard much teaching on the resurrection that (a) didn’t take place on Easter Sunday, or (b) wasn’t directed primarily at the sceptic or enquirer. In either case the main focus was attempting to establish the historicity of the resurrection. It is not hard to see why. If we’re honest, the resurrection is not always an easy thing to think about. We know (probably) that it matters, and that it matters a great deal. But to those who aren’t Christians it can often seem as though the resurrection lacks credibility. And among Christian believers it can often feel as though it lacks relevance. It is a belief we often affirm but rarely consider. It doesn’t seem pressing. Lots of other issues feel more immediate and more urgent.

Credibility and relevance …