“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them” (Acts 16:25).

It has been said that the way a person looks at a rose bush determines whether he is an optimist or a pessimist. A pessimist is sad that rose bushes have thorns. An optimist is delighted that thorn bushes have roses. Our attitudes, or perspectives, are extremely important and often will determine how effectively we can witness.

The context surrounding the verse quoted above from Acts 16 contains Paul’s and Silas’ witness in Philippi. After Paul and Silas had cast out an evil spirit from a slave girl, the owners of the girl dragged Paul and Silas before the authorities with trumped-up charges. The crowds joined in the attack against these two godly men, after which the authorities had them stripped, beaten and severely flogged. Then, without any medical attention to their severe wounds, and though they were Roman citizens, they were thrown into the jail where they were placed in the inner cell. Their feet were placed in the stocks—a device that caused severe pain.

Our attitudes, or perspectives, are extremely important and often will determine how effectively we can witness.

Even though they were publicly humiliated and were in intense pain, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns. The other prisoners were listening. No doubt they were wide-eyed as Paul and Silas, rather than complaining and threatening to retaliate against their accusers or the authorities, were praising God through their prayers and hymn-singing. Suddenly, God miraculously delivered them by an earthquake. In the process the jailer, his family and possibly even some of the fellow prisoners were saved through the gospel testimony of Paul and Silas. 

Paul’s and Silas’ attitudes (or perspectives) were an important ingredient in their testimony. Had they been grumbling, complaining, even cursing their situation, nobody would have listened to them. But instead, they were doing what Peter urged his readers to do when he wrote: “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have suffered grief in all kinds of trials” (1 Peter 1:6). Peter’s readers had been dispersed because of persecution and had lost all things—their homes, their jobs, their worldly possessions and, in many cases, their families. Like them, we are also called to rejoice even when we are suffering.

Our attitudes (or perspectives) are very important ingredients in our Christian walk. They not only affect our own outlook but also those of our families, our co-workers, our friends and neighbors, our fellow church members and the lost whom we hope to evangelize. If our outlook is pessimistic or dismal, people simply do not want to be around us, much less listen to us. If we exhibit a genuine optimism and a joyful spirit, people will be attracted to our testimony.

A number of years ago I learned a phrase from a young man who was an energetic witness of the gospel. When people nonchalantly asked him, “How are you?” he would always answer, “Much better than I deserve,” meaning that he was living joyfully under God’s grace. I now answer people who ask me that question the same way. It has led to a number of brief discussions about the Lord’s wonderful grace and mercy. When one answers that question with, “OK, considering the circumstances,” or “I could be better,” or “Alright, I guess,” an opportunity is missed. An answer with a genuine, Christ-honoring statement of some sort can generate both a rich testimony and a setting in which to discuss God’s wonderful gift of grace.

However, it is not just the response to a greeting with which we are concerned—it is our overall attitude. If we are truly children of God, we have so much about which to be thankful and to rejoice. Our sins have been eternally forgiven. Our home is heaven. Someday we will share God’s glory. Our trials and difficulties in this life will soon end. Sin will be totally eradicated when we get to heaven. God is our loving Father. His grace will sustain us. His arms of protection are surrounding us. He has given us loving brothers and sisters in the Lord. Even our sufferings are here to develop character and, subsequently, hope—and we know that in the end we will win with Christ.

If we are truly children of God, we have so much about which to be thankful and to rejoice.

There is no end to God’s graciousness toward us. How can we help but rejoice? Paul reminds us of this throughout the letter to the Philippians. He summarizes his thoughts by a command in chapter 4, verse 4, where he says, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”

How can we make this joy apparent in our lives and, especially, in our local church bodies? Here are some practical suggestions:

• Make a habit of verbally expressing your gratitude to the Lord for His choosing you to be one of His children.

• Express your optimism that God has all things in control and that He is working all things together for the spiritual good of His children.

• Be willing to optimistically accept your responsibilities in your local church. If you are needed on the construction crew, volunteer willingly. If you are needed on the clean-up crew, or needed in the nursery, or needed as a teacher, express your joy at being able to serve Christ in that way.

• If problems occur in your church body, rather than complaining, seek to help in a God-honoring way to bring about a solution or resolution.

• Never complain about others. Use your tongue to build up others, rather than tearing them down. 

• Pass along to others your gratitude and joy when good things are happening. Good attitudes are helped along by positive enthusiasm. (Remember that bad attitudes are also passed along to others.)

• Let people know that you are praying for them. The church staff especially needs this. Often they receive more criticism than verbal support. A word or note of positive encouragement can mean much to them.

• As you are around the lost, be especially mindful of the ways you express your attitudes. Many of them live in a dismal, dog-eat-dog world where there is little hope or joy. Brighten their days with a genuine, helpful, positive outlook. That may help attract them to your Lord. Paul instructs us to make the doctrines of our Lord attractive (Titus 2:10).

Our perspectives matter. In our church for many years we held an annual Christmas banquet during which we had a fun time, usually including some Christian entertainment. It was an occasion when the congregation expressed gratitude to the staff and a time of joyful fellowship. At one year’s banquet, a church member had invited a lost friend. After the banquet, that lost friend went back to his home where, unable to sleep, he pondered and mulled over what he had witnessed. Finally, at 2:00 AM, he awakened his Christian friend with a phone call, in which he said “I don’t know what you folks have, but whatever it is, I want it.” Our member explained to him that it came through a personal commitment and relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. As the member witnessed to him, the Holy Spirit opened the man’s heart and he was gloriously saved. 

This wonderful story began with the members of our church collectively expressing joy as they fellowshipped together. This man knew that his life was empty and joyless and he finally saw something much better.

We, Christians, have the best of the best—the good news of a gospel that works! Let’s express it everywhere and always—by our words and by our perspectives.

This article is an excerpt from Curtis Thomas’ book – Life in the Body of Christ: Privileges and Responsibilities in the Local Church. A new hardcover edition is now available for pre-order for $19.98 at press.founders.org

As marvelous as Jesus’ resurrection is, Christians often forget much of its significance. We often assume the resurrection, failing to think on it as deeply as we ought or to teach it as frequently as we should. That is why we must reflect on the significance of Jesus’ resurrection, not just on Easter, but all year long, for a consistent, maturing faith. 

In 1 Corinthians 15:12-20, the Apostle Paul rebukes the church because some have denied the possibility of bodily resurrection, and others have spiritualized resurrection. Paul shows how inconsistent that is with the Christian faith because Christianity teaches that Jesus bodily rose from the dead. Here, Paul gives six results of the Corinthians’ false understanding of Jesus Christ’s resurrection, which, in turn, helps believers to appreciate its great significance.

First, if Jesus had not been raised, then Gospel preaching would be worthless.

Paul unfolds the significance of Jesus’ resurrection in verse 14. “If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain.” If Christ had not been raised from the dead, all evangelism and Gospel preaching would be worthless. All efforts to tell friends, family, and neighbors about Jesus would be a complete waste.

But notice verse 20. “But now Christ has been raised from the dead.” All evangelistic work IS worth the effort, time, toil, energy, and finances put into it! All ministries aimed at reaching out to the lost ARE worthy of prayer, support, and time. Christ’s resurrection turns this implication on its head. If Gospel preaching is vain apart from Jesus’ resurrection, then it is significant because He has been raised. 

Second, if Jesus had not been raised, then faith in Christ would be worthless and meaningless.

In our culture, people say things like, “You just have to believe. You need to have faith.” This wasn’t the Apostle Paul’s take on faith, though. Paul’s view in verses 14 and 17 was that, apart from Jesus’ resurrection, faith is a complete waste of time. Some have said, “Even if they proved Jesus never bodily rose from the dead, I wouldn’t give up on faith. I’d still have my faith.” Paul’s response would have been, “Why would you have your faith? It would be utterly meaningless!” 

But because Christ has been raised from the dead, faith is not meaningless, if, it is in the resurrected Savior. Our faith is worthwhile because we believe, not in a dead savior, but in a Risen Lord! When we have faith in Jesus, we are trusting the One who died, rose again, and lives forever as the Triumphant Lord!

Third, if Jesus had not been raised, then the Bible would be a false witness about God.

Paul and his fellow apostles would be liars about God if Jesus had not been raised because their message was that God had raised Jesus from the dead. This is serious. What Paul is saying in verse 15 is that the New Testament is a book of lies if Jesus is not alive today. 

But because Christ has been raised from the dead, the apostles and the New Testament are true witnesses of God and His redemptive acts! Jesus’ resurrection means that our Bibles are completely faithful and worthy of our trust. Whenever we have the privilege to share the Gospel, we are telling the truth about God.

Fourth, if Christ had not been raised, our sins would still rule over us.

There are two implications presented in verse 17. 

First, we would be under the power of sin. In Romans 6:11, Paul said, “Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” If the resurrection did not happen, then the power of sin would rule over our lives. Not only this, but we would remain under the penalty of sin. In Romans 5:10, Paul wrote, For if 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. We would still be under the wrath of God if Jesus did not rise from the dead. 

But because Christ has been raised, sin’s power has been broken in believers, who are also free from sin’s penalty. Romans 8:1 is true for us who are in Christ through faith: “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” The significance of Jesus’ resurrection is that we are alive to God in Christ and dead to sin. 

Fifth, if Jesus had not been raised, Christians would suffer divine judgment at death.

Paul’s argument in verse 18 is that deceased believers would be under divine judgment, as would all future Christians at death, if Jesus had not been raised from the dead. If Jesus had remained dead, then the apostles, missionaries who died for the cause of Christ, and believers throughout church history, are in hell. And someday if Christ had not been raised, we would be, too. 

But now Christ has been raised from the dead. God’s judgment has been satisfied through Christ’s death and resurrection! There is hope for forgiveness, salvation, and sinners beyond the grave! All saints who have gone before are rejoicing in Jesus’ presence because He has been raised from the dead. And, someday, when we face death, these words can comfort our souls.

Sixth, if Christ had not been raised, Christians would be the most pathetic people in the world.

“If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.” Verse 19, perhaps, just doesn’t ring true in our American culture of peace, joy, prosperity, happiness, and heaven as the cherry on top of it all. So, if Christ has not been raised, and we will not be raised, so what? At least we had a good life, right?

Here’s how Paul saw the Christian life, however: It’s a war against sin, unbelief, and false teachers; and it’s a war for the souls of peoples of every tribe, tongue, and nation. If I’m fighting this war and giving my life for it, and at the end, I’m not raised from the dead, I’m a fool!

The real question is not, Why did Paul think the Christian life was not worth it apart from resurrection? but, Why do we think it is? Jesus’ resurrection should be moving us to make choices and sacrifices that are absurd in the world’s eyes.

But because Christ has been raised from the dead, Christians are the most blessed people on the planet. In the end, we give up nothing, and we get everything by being raised from the dead. Anything we sacrificed will be returned to us a thousand-fold. The solution to self-centered living that says, “I don’t want to die every day and I don’t want following Jesus to cost me,” is to remember the significance of Jesus’ resurrection. 

Has, perhaps, Jesus’ resurrection become nothing more than a slogan to us? If Christ had not been raised, evangelism and faith would be worthless, the New Testament would be a book of lies; everyone would still be in sin, facing condemnation at death, and our lives would be the most pathetic on earth. But now Christ has been raised from the dead. Now, evangelism is worthwhile, our faith is significant, the New Testament is absolutely true, we are free from our sins, we have hope beyond the grave, and giving our lives for the kingdom of Christ is the wisest decision we can make – all because of the all-significant, all-glorious resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord.

1 John 3:2-6

“Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be.

We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.

You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin.

No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him.”

John calls those whose sins are forgiven “children of God” (1 Jn. 2:12), yet in these verses he observes that we do not look like the Father who has begotten us: “it has not appeared as yet what we will be.” Furthermore, we are told that everyone hoping in Christ should “purify himself, as He is pure.” But how can we do this since we fall short of our calling? To encourage us in pursuing holiness, John reviews three indisputable facts, regardless of our external appearance:

First, sin is lawlessness (v. 4). When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden, they transgressed God’s law, rejecting His standard and substituting their own. They, and their posterity with them, became lawless and thereby separated from God. As long as we are sinful, as long as we are lawless, we cannot be reconciled to the law-giving Lord. This fact would drive us to despair, were it the end of the story.

But the second fact answers the need of the first: Christ appeared in order to take away sin (v. 5). As the Godman dwelling with us (Jn. 1:14, 6:38), He lived perfectly because “in Him there is no sin”; He obeyed where we did not. Additionally, in His work on the cross, Christ takes our sin upon Himself, bearing its punishment in our place. His death settles the matter of sin. If Christ took away my sin, and in Him there is no sin, then where is the sin He took away? “As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us” (Ps. 103:12).

These two facts, (1) sin is lawlessness and (2) Christ takes away sin, lead to John’s concluding third fact: God in Christ justifies His children: “No one who abides in Him sins” (v.6). While God’s children prescriptively should not practice sin (cf. 1 Jn. 3:9), here they are told that they do not sin. Whereas lawlessness is applied to those “practicing sin” (v. 4), the absence of sin is applied to those “abiding in Christ.” Those forgiven in Christ are not judged by their present shortcomings but according to the effective righteousness of Him in whom “there is no sin.”

These facts should fill us with joy, and hope for our sanctification! In Christ God the Father has forgiven our sins and named us His children. Whether we feel worthy or not, those who abide in Christ are the Father’s children and still will be when Christ returns (1 Jn. 3:1-2).

Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift (2 Cor. 9:15)!