by Kevin Lorrow, Cuyahoga Valley Church Worship Arts Assistant
“Alone in my sorrow and dead in my sin
Lost without hope with no place to begin
Your love Made a way to let mercy come in
When death was arrested and my life began…”
We first started singing this song in our services at Easter this spring. We quickly grew excited about the rich theology and the upbeat celebratory nature of the song! We loved declaring this together on that day and on many days since. But why does this song stand out from others in our hearts?
There are a lot of songs that talk about the resurrection, and several of those are upbeat. But “Death was Arrested” is unique in the depth of how it discusses the theology of our depravity and the lengths of what Christ did to bring us our freedom!
“Our savior displayed on a criminal’s cross
Darkness rejoiced as though heaven had lost
But then Jesus arose with our freedom in hand
That’s when death was arrested and my life began.”
What a sobering reminder it is to consider the lengths that Christ went to on our behalf. That he suffered, bled, and died on a cross so that we could be free from the sin that we lived in.
Romans 6 contains much of the theme used in this song:
“For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.”
In 2 Timothy 1, Paul exhorts Timothy to live in a certain way after He has considered the life Christ has brought Him.
“…Share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.”
Praise God that Jesus did not remain in the grave! The resurrection is the tangible proof that Jesus was who he claimed to be! Anyone can die, but God Alone has the power to reign over death! As we discussed in our services this last Sunday, since we know that Jesus triumphed over death, we have no reason to fear it! We are truly free!
Praise God for the freedom He has given to us! We trust you’ll be encouraged as You consider the New Life we can find in Christ!
As a parting word, consider John 8:36 “Whom the Son sets free is free indeed.”
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