1 Corinthians 15:12-19 “Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.”
What are the consequences if Christ has not been raised from the dead? (1) The Apostle Paul is saying then, that no resurrection of Jesus means that the Christian faith is futile, everyone is still in their sins, Heaven is a farce and eternity doesn’t exist. If Jesus Christ has not been raised bodily from the grave that then Christianity is a fraud. But, Jesus Christ raised bodily from the grave defeating sin and death, the redemption by atonement and Heaven are real, and repentant converts are saved by grace through faith. Many people are spiritual, where the soul and spirit could rise, but struggle with a supernatural bodily resurrection. In 1 Corinthians 15:32 Paul states the logical conclusion, “What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.””
(2) If Christ has not been raised from the dead then there is no life beyond the grave, so this life is all there is and we should all live for the moment and go for the gusto – relax, eat, drink, be merry for tomorrow we die. The apostle uses Ecclesiastes 8:15 which states, “And I commend joy, for man has nothing better under the sun but to eat and drink and be joyful, for this will go with him in his toil through the days of his life that God has given him under the sun.” Every Christian can relate to King Solomon’s struggle under the sun for meaning and purpose in life. Yet, the reality is stated in 1 Corinthians 15:20-26, “But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.”
So, if Christ has been raised from the dead then (1) all who believe and receive the risen Savior and Lord will be made alive, and death is destroyed forever! Jesus is the first of a great harvest of all who have died. Adam brought sin and death into the world, but Jesus brought the hope of resurrection into the world. Revelation 20:13-15 explains that in Heaven, “The sea gave up its dead, and death and the grave gave up their dead. And all were judged according to their deeds. Then death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. This lake of fire is the second death. And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.”
We are mere morals and at some point in our lives, we wrestle with the morality of our close family relations, loved ones and our own mortality. The sting of death is too strong and its impending nature upon every person is so evident. We are all born with an expiration date. Psalm 39:4-5 asks, “Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered— how fleeting my life is. You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand. My entire lifetime is just a moment to you; at best, each of us is but a breath.” We may live a great portion of our lives shoving our impending death into the back of our minds. But, sooner or later, everyone of us has to answer the question for ourselves. Where will I go when I die? Death is the ultimate enemy and hope-stealer. We are afraid of so many things in life because we do not want to die. Jesus’ resurrection from the dead was His passing the test of death, defeating it forever. Because Jesus overcame death, God said that if we believe in the finished work of Christ on the Cross, believe that He was raised from the dead and receive Him as our personal Savior and Lord, then when our expiration date comes, we pass the test also and received into Heaven as well. That is the hope which we have as Christians.
Let's conclude Pastor Kyle Easter message in the next post.
In Christ, Brian
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