After the Exodus, God instituted laws which included various sacrifices the Israelites were to make as a way of atoning for their sin. By these means, they were able to “maintain a covenant relationship with Him”, wrote one scholar. Blood would have to be shed in order to stress the importance of God’s holiness and the seriousness of our transgressions against him. Leviticus lays out the various offerings which “were temporary and needed to be repeated regularly.”

The Israelites went on making sacrifices, but they also continued sinning and falling away from God. They failed to keep their end of the covenantal arrangement which was laid out in Leviticus 26: If the Israelites followed his commands, said the Lord, “I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people” (v.12). If they did not, “I will set my face against you” (v.17).

Even when they met their sacrificial obligations, however, the Israelites’ religious observance would not and could not save them because their hearts were not fixed on God. Often, when they followed the law, it was to find their righteousness in the ability to do so, not out of a sense of devotion to God and love for their neighbors. Jesus proclaimed as much as he rebuked the Pharisees who would “tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger” (Matthew 23:4). This was religion without love, showing that they understood the rules, but not the heart of God.

When Christ came to earth, he showed the Israelites what it means to love and obey God. He prayed and sought the Father’s will. “For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me” (John 6:38). He never sinned, and by his life he reminded the Israelites that the fruit of a law-keeping, righteous relationship is obedience to the Lord with love.

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Carolyn Morris-Collier remarked in a recent article that revival could be burgeoning at Oxford, a place where secular thinkers have traditionally looked down their noses at men and women of faith. “I came mentally prepared for the ridicule I’d been told Christians inevitably receive in academia. [...] Instead of aggressive antagonism, I experienced unexpected spiritual openness from my friends and classmates.”

Morris-Collier believes her experience is due to growing mistrust of secular institutions once considered bastions of reason, including government. Moreover, “in an age of dating apps, polyamory, and porn, many young people are exhausted by the burden of self-made morality.”

Perhaps Oxford and other great universities are ready to see a major revival; maybe not. Some revivals build, grow and last for years while others fizzle out almost as soon as they begin, as both the Bible and modern history has shown us. Why do some revivals build for decades and become phenomena while others fall flat virtually right out of the gate?

Here, we will examine examples of revival, both before and after the coming of Christ, and the features which caused them to succeed or fail.

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John Piper remarks on the 131 times we see the word “grace” in the ESV translation of the Bible, most of which are found in Paul’s letters. “No wonder he’s called ‘the apostle of grace.’” One thing all of those letters have in common is that they were written after Jesus died and rose from the grave. Charis, the Greek word Paul would have used, means “favor, kindness, blessing [...]. In the New Testament, ‘charis’ primarily refers to the unmerited favor and kindness of God towards humanity.” This word is also related to salvation.

Why are grace and Easter so closely connected? Here are five ways Easter demonstrates God’s grace towards us.

1. The Grace of Salvation

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.” (Ephesians 2:8).

We celebrate Easter to remember that Christ’s death saved us; he was the offering God demanded to atone for our sins. We cannot earn salvation. We must address the cross, look at it, and contemplate that gory offering of God’s only Son. We then let our gaze shift to the empty tomb where Christ conquered death and offered us the gift of victory over death – over the sins which separated us from God.

But we cannot accept the second gift without first receiving the crucified Christ. We get to the empty tomb through the cross. While we want the shiny, celebratory grace right away, we first have to see how our undeserved gift was bought for us by the One who received undeserved punishment. The one person who never sinned was our spotless lamb.

“Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation” (Revelation 5:9). This is what the heavenly chorus declares to Christ, the Risen Lamb, seated on the throne of Heaven. We join them because of his grace.

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Most people in the western world have viewed pornography, and many of them view it regularly, even becoming addicted. Michael Chancellor observed: “porn expands the lust for sex to the point that lust displaces God at the center of one’s life. [...] It elevates itself to be the greatest need. It isolates us from others but most especially from God.”

If one spouse is addicted to porn, this triples the likelihood of adultery, while an “obsessive interest” in porn is cited as a cause in more than half of American divorces. Pornography distorts the purpose of sex and spoils a tender, three-dimensional intimacy between couples.

There is hope for healing, however. How can one spouse respond redemptively when his or her spouse becomes addicted to porn?

1. Acknowledge the Pain

Ellen Mary Dykas says that “God invites you to grieve the hurt, the broken trust, and the deep disappointment caused by your [spouse’s] pursuit of pornography.” God invites us to enter this place of deep pain and confusion with him at our sides.

Julie Ganschow explains: “You are in the midst of a trial that has broken the trust you once had [...]. Regardless of what kind of sexual sin he [or she] was involved in, the faith and confidence you once had [...] has been damaged, or, at the worst, destroyed.” Acknowledge whatever is in your heart, even if it is sinful, so you can start to heal.

The suffering you face is also a reminder of your need for the love of God. It is tempting to run from the pain, but that puts up a wall from behind which you fail to discern God’s direction and his tenderness towards you. Apart from him, you might respond to your spouse’s sin with sins of your own. Ask God to walk with you through this ordeal, and “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7).

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