Zombies or Brilliant Picture of the Gospel?

And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many.
~Matthew 27:51-53

I have been known to tease about there being zombies in the Bible. The above text is my proof text when playfully defending my position on zombies and the role they played in spreading the Gospel (I call them my "Zombies for Jesus"). However, when looking at this passage with a bit more serious thought and contemplation I believe that we see an amazing picture of the Gospel.

Many times we read in Scripture that before the grace and mercy of God was poured out upon us, we were dead in sin. And like the bodies in those tombs, we were utterly helpless and unable to do anything until the power of God fell upon us.

If you were to walk into a graveyard and command the dead which lie in their graves to rise up and flee their confines, nothing would happen. They are unable and incapable to do whatever it is you command them to do. Likewise the Bible reminds us that we were once like those bodies; dead. Unable, we could not repent. We could not turn away from our sin. We could not do that which all have been commanded to do by God.

Prior to the work of God in us, we were nothing more than slaves to sin and death; following in passionate pursuit the desires of a corrupt and deceitful heart. But God, being rich in mercy, has made us alive through Christ.

Those believing, He has called specifically and intentionally out of death and into life. By the power of God upon us, we have errupted out of our tombs. We have been brought from death to life. Transformed from slaves of sin and death to fellow heirs with Christ; living and alive in Christ. And like those saints who came up out of their tombs to appear to many, we now stand before all men as witnesses to the Gospel which raised us from the dead, echoing with God that all men must repent, believe, and be saved.

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
-Ephesians 2:1-10

Stark Realizations

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
-Romans 5:1-11

There are nights when I dive heavy into the Word of God and I become so angry. The Blood, the Grace, the Mercy, and the Glory are right there on every page, and we treated it like an elementary principle to be learned in an hour and moved on from.

Our message of reconciliation is for believer and unbeliever alike. It is not part of the message; it is THE message. Our foundation, our hope, our life, and we treated it with such scandal. It was a technical knowledge briefly displayed before moving on to the more important topics of "how to live your life like a good Christian should."

We neglected to realize that what we were being taught, and in turn taking out and pushing onto others, was a form of moralistic deism. Our premise was that if we did the good stuff and avoided the bad stuff, then we would please God, and He would be happy with us.

This resulted in a backbiting congregation that constantly compared everyone to everyone else. Those who were better and more blessed were obviously the Christians that most pleased God because they were able to do the most good stuff. Those who struggled and weren't as blessed, obviously were failing at being good Christians.

Somehow we made the message about us. We were heroes strong and mighty to do every good work that brought us praise and earned us points. We claimed that we had the way, but in truth what we had was religion, and we used it against each other.

The message isn't about us. It is about God. It is about who He is and what He has done. It is about the one and only God who reached down into this wrecked world and SAVED bad people. It is about Him and the hope He has given us. And all of this, and all things, are for and to HIS glory.

What absurdity that we would try to make our message of hope and reconciliation about us. And how offensive we become when we make the Gospel out to be a minor elementary principle to be learned and moved on from so we can talk about what we ought to do in order to be a good Christian.

The things the Bible calls us to, the things that we ought to do as Christians is what we ought to do because of God in us. Meaning ought as in as a bird ought to fly or a fish ought to swim, (to borrow from John Piper). Certainly we will fail daily in those things that we ought to be doing, but it is all the more reason for us to take joy in the message of the Gospel which proclaims that all who repent and believe are redeemed, forgiven, reconciled, and loved by God. When we fail we can be all the more thankful for the grace and mercy of God which reminds us that:

There is therefore now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.
-Romans 8:1

The foolishness that God has rescued me from is staggering. I cannot help but to stand back and see the filth that I once loved and know, that if not for the grace and mercy of God, I would still be wallowing in the religious excrement of my youth trying to be the best good Christian I could be by the works of my own hands.

The call of my heart isn't to be a better person by doing all the right things, but to draw closer to God. As I draw nearer to Him, I become more and more of what we are called to be; a reflection of Christ.

Yes. Yes, it has.

"I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel..." -Philippians 1:12

Despite these nights wracked with ghost whispers and hard shadows, reminders of how sometimes it just hurt so much, and the knowing that there are some bridges best left burnt to the ground, by God's GRACE I am able to look up and see Christ. And I offer, without excuse or apology, looking at all the things the Lord has seen me safely through, this comfort; that for those of us who love God and are called according to His purpose, all things work together for our good. Namely, we -daily- being conformed into the likeness of His Son.

This long and broken road, filled scar tissue and bruises, has been an ongoing journey to see that the Gospel is the message of and for every believer. We carry with us "a bloody cross and an empty tomb" story of scandal, reconciliation, and glory. And this road has given opportunity upon opportunity to preach the Gospel.

Praise God.

Ryan Dunn: A Brief Thought

He died while drunk behind the wheel of a car that was travelling in excess of over 140MPH. How many of us have shook our heads in disbelief at the stupidity of such actions when it involved people less infamous? His fame is not an excuse for what he did, nor earns him a free pass. He is not a hero.

We can praise God for His mercy in that during their reckless passion of pursuing that which brought them joy, they did not harm anyone else. May they be to us a cautionary tale and a reminder that we are not guaranteed a life lived to a ripe old age. We are here today and gone tomorrow. It is, then, all the more important that we consider carefully and intentionally and fearfully eternal matters.

There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.
-Luke 13:1-5

But in compassion and loving kindness, may we also pray for God's mercy to fall on those these men have left behind. That the Lord would change hearts and draw these to Himself through the preaching of the Gospel. May we ask that those who would attempt to offer them a different gospel be silenced and put to shame.

THE Shocking Youth Message given by Paul Washer

"The Reality of the Resurrection" by Odd Thomas

Sermon Jam

Declare These things...

"For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

Declare these things..." -Titus 3:11-15

Uncompromising

"When the Gospel is preached, men are drawn to the church without entertainment, activities, or promises beyond those offered by the Gospel."
-Paul Washer