In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul gives six consequences that we
are faced with if there is no resurrection.
He says, if there is no resurrection…
·
OUR
PREACHING IS POINTLESS14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain.
What Paul means here is that if Christ is still in a
tomb somewhere in the Middle East, then the efforts of pastors and church leaders around the world are of no value to anyone. Why? The
Bible is clear that the Gospel itself is built on the life, death, and
resurrection of Jesus Christ. If you take one of those away, then you have removed the core of Christianity. Therefore, if Jesus
is not raised, then any time spent speaking about him is pointless.
The second point Paul makes is that, if there is no
resurrection of Jesus…
·
OUR
FAITH IS FUTILE
Paul says, at the end of v. 14,
…and
your faith is in vain.
In 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, Paul explains the Gospel in
a nutshell. He says, “Christ died, He
was buried and He rose again.” So again,
if the death and resurrection are at the heart of the Gospel message and you
take one of those away you have no Gospel.
Therefore, your faith is futile.
If there is no resurrection, we should stop believing right now because
the heart of what we believe is not true.
The third point Paul makes in this passage is that
if Jesus is not raised then the…
· OUR TESTIMONY
IS UNTRUE
15 We are even found to be
misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom
he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised.
Paul tells his readers, “If God did not raise Christ
and we said he did, then we are saying God did something he didn’t do;
therefore we are misrepresenting Him and our testimony is untrue.” There is a fourth consequence Paul gives, and it is found in v. 17. Paul says that if Christ is not raised…
·
OUR
SINS ARE NOT FORGIVEN
Paul says,
17 And if Christ has not been raised,
your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.
If Christ did not rise we are without
salvation. Paul says in Romans 4:25,
that Christ was “raised for our justification.”
It’s through His resurrection that we are made right with God; without
it, we are still in our sins and things remain as they were in Adam. If Christ is dead, we have no perfect priest who lives to stand for us and have no perfect representative who makes us righteous—if Christ stayed dead, death put the stinger in Christ instead of Christ putting the stinger in death. If he did not rise we are still in our sins without a hope in the world.
If Christ is still dead the…
·
THE
DEAD ARE PERISHING
18 Then those also who have fallen
asleep in Christ have perished. This point is closely connected with the previous point. Paul is saying, “If Christ is not raised then your faith is futile, and you are still in your sins awaiting condemnation and your loved ones who have died are perishing.”
The sixth and final point is found in v. 19. Paul says that if Christ is not raised…
·
BELIEVERS
ARE TO BE PITIED
19 If in Christ we have hope in this
life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.
I have heard it said by some, “Even if Christianity
is proven false--even if Jesus did not rise from the dead, I would still be
glad I gave my life for the faith, because I’ve lived a moral life and have
been a courteous and helpful member of society.
If this is a hoax, so be it, I’m fine with that.”
The Apostle Paul completely disagrees with this
mentality. He says, “That’s crazy!” If Christianity is untrue—if we are giving
our lives to something that is a sham, we are miserable and pathetic human
beings. If this life is all there is,
then there is no hope. So why live like
there is?
