Was the Resurrection Weekend a Lie?
Every year on Resurrection Sunday, believers celebrate the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. This event proclaims that He has conquered death and secured the forgiveness of sins and eternal life for all who trust in Him. But is this what everyone believes?
Sadly, no. This hope stands in sharp contrast to modern beliefs. The 2025 State of Theology study reports:
66% of Americans believe people are good by nature
74% believe people are born innocent before God
Only 23% believe even the smallest sin deserves eternal judgment
These findings reveal a massive misunderstanding of sin, human nature, and the work Christ came to accomplish.
Here’s why:
Because it misses the truth about the central point of life: You and I are commanded as image-bearers to live “all to the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31; Rom. 11:36; 1 Pet. 3:18) with an undivided heart (Ex. 20:2). He deserves your highest devotion and singular worship.
Because it misses the truth about the main problem in life: God tells us that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). “There is none righteous, not even one” (Rom. 3:10), and sin brings the consequence of death (Rom. 6:23). Therefore, we are not “good by nature” or “born innocent.”
Because it misses the truth about the utter predicament in life: You and I “cannot please God” (Rom. 8:8) on our own, and that the “natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God… and he cannot understand them…” (1 Cor. 2:14). Deliverance is “not a result of works” (Eph. 2:9), so we are incapable of fixing our problem.
Because it misses the truth about the miracle provision in life: God “sent the Son to be the Savior of the world” (1 John 4:14).
Christ alone took on human flesh as God and lived a sinless life, making Him the only acceptable sacrifice to give His life in death to pay the penalty for our sin. It was “through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men” (Rom. 5:18). If all are sinners, then all need a Savior and Jesus died “once for all” (Heb. 7:27).
But He not only died for our sin; He also bodily rose from the dead to reconcile sinners to Himself. God says, “while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life” (Rom. 5:10).
5.Because it misses the truth about the sobering punishment beyond this life: God says that sinners who reject Him will face eternal judgment, described as a place of darkness, separation, ruin, and torment (Matt. 25:31–46; Rev. 14:9–11; 21–22). God does not distinguish between “small” or “great” sins in bringing eternal judgment. He will deal out “retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus” (2 Thess. 1:7–9).
Let’s get it right: Every person is a sinner from birth, and every sinner needs what only Christ can sufficiently provide by His death and validate by His resurrection for all who put their trust in Him.
"Let God be found true, though every man be found a liar." (Romans 3:4)
Pastor Jeff
Foundational Faith Statement 27. How can we be saved?
Only by faith in Jesus Christ and in His substitutionary atoning death on the cross; so even though we are guilty of having disobeyed God and are still inclined to all evil, nevertheless, God, without any merit of our own but only by pure grace, imputes to us the perfect righteousness of Christ when we repent and believe in Him (Ephesians 2:8–9; Titus 3:5–6).