IF CHRIST HAS NOT BEEN RAISED…

1 Corinthians 15:12-19 / Keywords 15:19

If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.

 

The Resurrection of the Dead

15:12 But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15 More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.

1. In these verses, Paul debunks doubters of the resurrection. If the dead cannot rise again, then Jesus did not rise again. If Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, then Christian faith and preaching is useless and vain. Moreover, Christians are then liars, who are preaching a false gospel and misrepresenting God by saying that he is mightier than he really is (if God cannot actually raise the dead). Does it make sense that the apostles and all the Christians who died for their faith died for a lie? Surely, they believed that Christ rose from the dead since people will not die for what they know is a lie.

2. Without Jesus’ resurrection, Christian faith is futile, and we would have no assurance or power over sin. Plus, Christians who’ve died are simply dead, and there is no heaven (or at least we can’t get there through Christ). If Christians only have hope in this world, then why would we live a holy life, denying ourselves and striving to grow in Jesus’ image? That would be pitiful. Not only that, why then did Jesus live a holy and beautiful life of self- sacrifice, and with such conviction and courage? Of course, Jesus knew the reality of resurrection and eternal life in heaven. This belief is not optional but rather vital for followers of Jesus.

Prayer Father, thank you for the compelling truth of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Christian lives are not pitiful, but full of hope, power and promise because Jesus rose, and so will I.

One Word Christian life is not pitiful, but glorious