When Death Was Arrested:
I read that the song, “When Death Was Arrested” was inspired by an epitaph on a tombstone. The drummer for the group, North Point, took a picture of the tombstone with his phone and saved the photo. The words, death was arrested, were written on the tombstone of Samuel Burr. Sometime later, the writers of the song would look at the picture and reflect on those three words.
Alone In My Sorrow And Dead In My Sin:
That’s where we all start. Alone in our sorrow and dead in our sin. Romans 6:23 says, ‘For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord’. We are doomed in our sin – BUT GOD provides a way for us to have eternal life through His son.
Your Love Made A Way And Let Mercy Come In:
God’s love did make a way. ‘God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, so that whoever believes in Him will not die but have everlasting life’ (John 3:16). Jesus had to die on a criminal’s cross, bearing our sin, making it possible for us to have life. What mercy! Jesus took the punishment for our sin. He took what we did deserve – DEATH. You might think the story ends here, but it doesn’t. God’s word tells us that not because of anything we have done, but by His mercy He saves us. He cancelled my debt and He called me His friend is one of my favorite lines in the song. It takes a sinner from a rebellious and sinful life to being a friend with Jesus who paid the price for all sin.
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Oh Your Grace So Free Washes Over Me:
We don’t deserve eternal life; yet, God extends grace to us. This free gift of grace washes over us and makes us new. He gives us a new life in Him. But, a gift is not any good to us if we don’t accept it. ‘For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not of yourselves, it is a gift of God’ (Ephesians 2:8).
Ash Was Redeemed Only Beauty Remains:
When we are saved, we become a new creation. ‘Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!’ (2 Corinthians 5:17). The old self gives way to the new creation we are in Christ. All the guilt and shame are covered by Jesus’ work on the cross. He died for all past, present and future sin. Only the beauty of the new eternal life remains.
Released From My Chains, I’m A Prisoner No More:
At the exact moment we believe and surrender, the chains of bondage are broken. We are no longer a prisoner to sin. This is where the story of death ends – with the resurrection of Jesus. He passed from physical death into life. Death was arrested!
HAS DEATH BEEN ARRESTED FOR YOU?