Some people try to have Christianity without the cross, because the cross is bloody and offensive. Others try to have Christianity without the resurrection, because the resurrection is mysterious and supernatural and can’t be scientifically explained. It violates our rationalist sensibilities, and surely no educated person believes in such things anymore.

But the fact is that Christianity without a cross and an empty tomb is not Christianity. It is mere pabulum dispensed in the vain hope that we will all become better people. It is mere moral teaching. The problem with mere moral teaching is that it is impossible to live by. People don’t need to be told what to do and how to live.

What we need is not moral teaching but transformation. We need to be changed at the core of our being.

The good news is that the power of evil and sin has been shattered by the cross, and the power of death has been broken by the empty tomb. The Lord is alive, and he lives in us and through us, giving us the power to truly live.

Ray Stedman