Easter, the Cross, and Worldview

Amazingly, Easter is upon us. While Christmas is probably much more widely celebrated, and to a much larger degree, Easter is arguably the pinnacle of holidays for Christians. It is the day that we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the day that He defeated death and secured our salvation.

And when He did that, so much was changed, for the better.

I wanted to write out (since this website is largely focused on worldview) some ways in which the cross affects the Christian's worldview.

1. Worship

When Jesus died, one of the amazing events that happened was the tearing of the temple veil. At the heart of Old Testament worship stood the temple. When the Israelites left Egypt, Moses was given the plans for the tabernacle, the place where the people would worship God and offer sacrifices. Then, as the nation solidified under David and Solomon, the temple was built. There were multiple, but the idea remained the same.

At the back of the temple stood the Holy of Holies, the place where the ark of the covenant sat. Once a year, the high priest would enter and sprinkle blood upon it; this was the day of atonement.

Outside of that, no one was permitted entrance into that room. In a sense, man was, in effect, separated from getting too close to God.

But when Jesus died, that veil that separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the temple was torn, top to bottom (indicating this was obviously of God; the veil was several stories tall).

Jesus is the only way to God, as He says in John 14:6:

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me."

While He is the only way to God, He also brings us close to God, something that the Old Testament sacrificial system never did. Don't misunderstand, God had ordained that system, and it was what He put in place for that time in history. But Jesus fulfilled that work once and for all. Man could now come near to God.

And so, this flipped the idea of worship on its head for the Jewish people. While the original system was good, the man-made traditions they added to it corrupted it; their tradition was a burden upon the people, not a blessing.

But God gets to determine how He is worshipped.

As the young church grew, one of its biggest enemies was the Judaizers, those who claimed that to be a Christian, one must follow the Old Testament laws and become a Jew, and then they could become a Christian. They were adding works to it. But true salvation is not found in us, but in the finished work of Christ.

Extend that to our day and time. There are many religions, with many false gods, offering false ways of salvation. The world tells us that all of these views are equal and we ought not impose our beliefs on others. But it is apparent that God has determined how we approach Him, and it is fully revealed through Christ and His word.

Even among professing believers, many poor substitutes for true worship have arisen over the years. False teachers abound. Biblical ignorance has led many churches to adopt worldly methods to draw in the crowds. They have rejected God's way of worshipping Him.

And so how we view worship has truly been directed by Christ's work on the cross.

2. Purpose

Before He ascended into heaven, Christ gave the great commission to His disciples, and this includes us today. Our purpose is no longer solely our own; instead, we ought to ask what God's purpose is. And in large part, it is the spreading of the gospel.

This ought to permeate every area of our lives. How does the gospel impact our efforts? How do we raise our families? How do we engage others in our relationships? How do we work, and what is our attitude at work? How do we view ourselves?

How do we view God? How do we view His purpose for our lives? All of these are influenced by the gospel message.

3. Standing

As believers, our standing in this world has shifted. No longer are we friends of the world and its evil systems; consequently, neither are we at odds with God, nor are we His enemies anymore.

This shift affects how we view this world as a whole.

By the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we are enabled to live out the fruit of righteousness that God has called us to and to no longer have our minds enslaved to sin.

As such, we ought to filter our thinking through what God has done and what He has said in His word.

4. Hope

We no longer hope as the world does. Our ultimate peace, comfort, and hope are found in what Christ has done. And part of that is that He has secured for us a future home with Him.

When He declared that "it is finished", He was telling us that the debt was paid, that God's justice was satisfied, and that death was defeated.

There is, of course, still a fear around death. I think that's normal. But the consequences of death no longer have any power over us. We know that our future is secure. Jesus' work on the cross secured it.

5. Foundation

The events of the Easter story give us a foundation upon which to build our beliefs and our lives. Christ is the cornerstone. We build everything upon that. If it is built with straw, hay, or stubble, it will burn up; Instead, let us build with what lasts (1 Corinthians 3:10-15).

Basically, what I'm suggesting is that the Cross should direct our lives, in a sense. The world is building on sand, but we build on solid ground. But are we confident in the foundation that Jesus has given us in Him? Do we allow the world to influence our beliefs and our worldview?

It inevitably will. But may we learn to filter all of our lives through the work of Christ.

There is a lot more we could say about it, but I'll end it here. Let's think about those things as we look forward to Easter.