“And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 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.” (1 Corinthians 15:14-15)
If you don’t believe Jesus was resurrected — or that those who follow him will be resurrected — just turn around and walk away. That’s what Paul said.
He had already written 14-and-a-half chapters of teaching to these Corinthians. And now he said that if you can’t get behind the idea of a physical resurrection from the dead for believers, then just wad the whole thing up and toss it in the outhouse.
If we don’t rise again, and if Jesus didn’t, Paul said his whole ministry would be a useless lie. Anyone who believed him was wasting their time.
How crucial is the resurrection to what Christians believe? Without it, we’ve got nothing but pews and preachers and pot lucks (if you’re lucky). But because of it, we’ve got everything. It is the evidence that God’s goodness, power, and love are all real — that all this stuff we do together in response to him has a point.
Think: In difficult times, do you ever wonder if the Christian life is really worth it, if it really means anything? Does the reality of Jesus’ resurrection help to convince you that it is?
Pray: Thank God that our faith is not useless because Jesus really was raised from the dead and we will be, too.
Do: Have you invited any unbelievers to go to church with you on Sunday? There’s still time.