A theology of the cross with no resurrection is a gospel of condemnation without forgiveness, of punishment that never becomes atonement, of a human Jesus but not a divine saviour, of a world condemned and abandoned but never redeemed and transformed.That isn’t the gospel of the apostles. Check out Acts, for example. Or look at Paul’s magnificent opening salvo to Romans:…the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendent of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord…For Paul, the resurrection of Jesus from the dead means the public declaration of Jesus of Nazareth as the Son of God.

via More than an afterthought | Culture analysis | Sydneyanglicans.net.

Over at Adrian’s blog it’s Support your Christian bookshop weekend. You will see a list of UK stores known to be stocking Raised With Christ. Let us know if you know of any more.

Ever since the launch of Raised With Christ, Amazon.co.uk has been struggling to keep it in stock due to higher sales than they predicted. The good news is that they have now taken a new delivery and are able to send copies immediately. If you are waiting for a copy from them it should be dispatched today, and if you have yet to order you can do so now by clicking here.  Elsewhere Amazon.com, Amazon.fr, and Amazon.de have good stock. Meanwhile Amazon.ca say they currently have limited stock, and Amazon.jp say they can ship within 1-3 weeks.

Whenever I hear about a book that deals with resurrection in some form, I get excited.  As I’ve been teaching the Bible in a local church context for a few years, I’ve encountered few people with much knowledge regarding the Bible’s teaching on resurrection.  Christians believe that Jesus rose from the dead, but that’s about it.  When I ask what the implications are of Christ’s resurrection, I’m answered with confused looks and blank stares . . . So naturally I’d gravitate toward a book like Adrian Warnock’s Raised with Christ: How the Resurrection Changes Everything . . .  His discussion on the central role of Jesus’ resurrection in the book of Acts was extremely helpful.  I’m not sure how anyone could not reference the resurrection in their evangelism after reading this chapter!

. . . Like Warnock, I care deeply about this subject and burn to make known the glory of Christ’s resurrection . . .There were a couple places where Warnock was simply outstanding.  I mentioned his discussion on Acts, but perhaps the most powerful place for me was in his discussion of experiencing the risen Savior.  As I read through quotes from the likes of Edwards and Spurgeon, I literally had to stop reading multiple times because I was so thoroughly convicted by my own apathy.  Keep in mind, this almost never happens with me.  If I truly believe that the same power that God used to raise Christ from the dead exists in me, I would not be so complacent.  Oh Lord, forgive me!

via Book Review: Raised with Christ « Boston Bible Geeks.

The church in the 21st century is neglecting to preach about the resurrection, according to a new book by popular Christian blogger Adrian Warnock. “Jesus’ resurrection is often only mentioned at Easter time. But if we take someone to the cross and leave them there, we have only done half the job,” says first-time author Warnock, whose book, Raised with Christ, has just been published in the UK and USA. “Not preaching about the resurrection is a major reason for the weakness, lack of joy, poor growth, spiritual decline, compromise with sin, and many other problems in the church today.”

Warnock goes further on what he believes are the problems that have resulted from neglecting the resurrection. “Without the resurrection, the cross is just a meaningless tragedy. If we don’t declare that Jesus rose again, we have not shared the biblical gospel at all. There is therefore no surprise that we see few conversions. We are not declaring the full gospel, which is the power of God to save us.”

via Is the church neglecting the Easter message of the resurrection?

This morning Adrian Warnock was interviewed by Tony Miles on the UK’s leading Christian radio station, Premier Christian Radio. You can listen to the mp3 of the interview here.

I would thoroughly recommend this book to anyone whose background is “Reformed” or conservative evangelical and whose faith seems to be somewhat doctrine-centered and dry. In fact I can think of people I might like to give it to. I would think that anyone like that who read this book would find it acceptable – and if they then took its message to heart their faith would be transformed. I hope and pray that God uses the book in this way to revitalize many Christian lives.

via Gentle Wisdom» Blog Archive » Raised with Christ: Review part 8 and conclusion.

This book is one of the most important, in my humble opinion, ever written on the topic of the resurrection. It is not that Warnock has necessarily said anything that has not been said before in different places and in different ways. Instead, the value in the book is that Warnock has made the sort of hum-drum reality of the resurrection come to life for the church and the Christian! The resurrection of Christ, far more than just some historical event, has ongoing ramifications in the our lives today! The resurrection has great implications for our lives and we fully grasp the nature of and importance of the resurrection of Christ it will profoundly change our lives. That is where this book is so important. It makes so much of the resurrection! And rightly, we should make much of it. Hopefully this book will drive more preachers and teachers to talk about the importance of the resurrection. I heartily recommend Warnock’s book to this end. May the resurrection again be a topic of constant address in the church and may we live like a community brought from death to life in our own resurrection!

READ MORE at  Working out Salvation with Fear and Trembling.

IVP UK is the British distributor for Crossway’s Raised With Christ. They have had significantly more demand than anticipated, more stock has now arrived, however, so individuals and bookshops can call them on 0115 978 1054 to order.

We encourage you to support your local Christian bookshop. We know that some stores are stocking Raised With Christ, but why not check with your local store and let us know if they have it.

Newfrontiers Resources have a good level of stock at the moment and are able to fulfill orders immediately.

Amazon.co.uk reports that they only have two copies in stock at the moment, but say they have more on order.

Abebooks also have some stock at a heavy discount, but stock seems unlikely to last long.

Bob Kauflin has served us well by sharing a list of songs that focus on the resurrection of Jesus. See Songs that Celebrate the Resurrection in View of the Cross.

When the New Testament writers refer to either the death or resurrection, “they so presuppose that the death and resurrection of Jesus are entwined that they refer to either one of them and intend for us to understand that they mean both of them. If this is the case, straightforward sentences that tell us ‘Jesus died to save us’ or ‘Jesus was raised to save us’ actually mean exactly the same thing.” And Adrian is not alone in this thinking. John Calvin seems to also agree . . .

Raised With Christ quoted at Saved By the Cross, or the Resurrection? « Voice of the Sheep.

“[It is] the most important question we can ever ask.” And in pursuing this critical question, our writer looks at explanations that have been put forward seeking to explain the empty tomb, the transformation of the disciples, the rapid growth of the church with Sunday as the primary day of worship, and the conversion of church-persecutors like Saul of Tarsus . . .

None of these explanations are credible in any way. As Adrian concludes, “…the only realistic interpretation of the first Easter is that Jesus did rise from the dead.”

If you’re reading this post, and you’re not sure about the resurrection of Jesus, then check it out. Investigate. Read Chapter Three in Raised with Christ, ‘chew on it’ and read the Gospel accounts in the New Testament. In my own life, the historical fact of the resurrection of Jesus was fundamental to turning to Jesus Christ in repentance and faith as my Saviour and Lord.

via Deep Creek Anglican Church Blog » Raised with Christ 2.

HT Justin’s Blog.

Everyone says that it is important to take Amazon.com sales ranking figures with a pinch of salt, and they are, of course, right. These figures fluctuate quickly and are far from being the only gauge of a book’s popularity.  But they are almost the only publicly available way to assess how a book is doing.

Those who believe in the central premise of Raised With Christ, which is that we must stop neglecting the resurrection, will be encouraged to hear that people do seem to be buying this resurrection book at Amazon.  As of today,  Raised With Christ is reported as being in the top 7000 books sold. Remember that millions of books are listed there.  Amazon.com also reports that they are likely to temporarily go out of stock as they only have one copy left.

If you haven’t ordered  your copy yet, and they do have a brief period without any books to send out, there are several other online bookstores listed in the sidebar on this site.  Or, you could visit your local bookstore and ask if they have it in stock; many do.

UPDATE – Amazon appears to have received a new delivery, so remain able to fulfill orders.

At times, the American church seems to neglect the resurrection.  I, along with others, have been guilty of trying to explain the Gospel of Jesus Christ without a significant emphasis on the resurrection. We say things like, “Jesus died for your sins.” Now that is certainly true, but it is incomplete without any mention of Jesus’ subsequent resurrection. Jesus’ penal substitutionary death on the cross and victorious resurrection from that death are what guarantee those who are in Christ eternal life.

via Indeed #1: The Hinge of the Gospel « Theologicalsynergy.

Adrian Warnock was interviewed live in the studio at Moody Radio last week. You can listen to the interview online.

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“Christians have the same power that raised Christ Jesus from the dead living inside them. One day that power will complete the work of saving us, but in the meantime the normal Christian life can be one in which we are very aware of the change that the resurrection brings. We are citizens of the age to come, living in a world that is dead to God. But we are not dead to him. We live to him. May God help us live in the light of that fact more each day. One day we will all see that, thanks to the death and resurrection of Jesus, everything really has been changed. The whole creation will have been renewed, and we will be like him.”

A quote from the  book cited online at  Raised with Christ « Fellow Traveler.

Justin Taylor has posted about Raised With Christ and has shared the video of Sam Storms interviewing Adrian Warnock about the book. Here is what one of Justin’s readers had to say about the post:

I sincerely encourage you to go read the post and listen to the video – it is only about eight minutes long.  I promise you that it will fill your eyes with tears and your heart with wonder when you are reminded of the benefit that has come to us through not only Jesus’ death, but His resurrection!

via The Power of the Resurrection « Goodbye Ordinary.

Peter Kirk, mentions that he has had many disagreements with Adrian Warnock over the years. But in the first part of a review at Gentle Wisdom » Resurrection he strongly agrees that it is of concern that the resurrection is often not included in gospel presentations. His review will continue over several posts as he reads the book.

A blog entitled For the Elect Alone has reviewed Raised With Christ and come up with the slightly confusing notion that it is promoting an Arminian perspective. But, he also lists a number of  modern reformed teachers and says they are Arminians too.