Easter is tomorrow. What will make this Easter different than every other Easter Sunday for you? Try imagining Christianity without the resurrection. What would be the result?
When Christians are asked to give a brief synopsis of the gospel, they often leave out two important elements, repentance and the resurrection. Repentance is the heart of the gospel presentation. How can a man be saved unless he turns from his sin and to Christ? Yet, this important element gets lost in the shuffle of words and some even deny its place when discussing salvation.
The other component that vanishes in most gospel presentations is equally important and cannot be left out. This element is the resurrection. We are so eager to discuss the death of Christ and his atonement for our sins that we often skip over the fact that God raised Him from the dead and that ultimately, it is this resurrection that secures our salvation. I would like to walk you through a key passage in 1 Corinthians 15 and remind you of the importance of the resurrection by showing you the consequences if Christ has not been raised from the dead.
In 1 Corinthians 15:12-19 Paul responds to doctrine being taught at Corinth that there was no resurrection of the dead. At the beginning of verse 12 Paul explains that the resurrection was being clearly preached at Corinth as it had been preached to all in the early church. This first conditional statement begins a series of conditional statements throughout this passage which Paul uses to make his argument. If this was the consistent message being taught by the early church, Paul expresses astonishment that some among the people were preaching that there is no resurrection of the dead. Paul moves on in verse 13 to show the disastrous consequences of teaching that there is no resurrection of the dead.
“But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised.”
This is a crucial premise in Paul’s argument and it is used as an exercise in logical reasoning. If you deny resurrections in general, you must also deny Christ’s resurrection specifically. Having carefully developed his logic, Paul now explains the first area which is affected if there is no resurrection.
1. If Christ is not raised, the veracity of the Apostles witness is shattered (v. 14-15).
If Christ was not raised from the dead, Paul acknowledges that the preaching of the Apostles had been in vain. The preaching Paul is referring to looks back to verse 11 and means the message they have preached. It includes the content of the gospel. This word “vain” means empty, without substance, or void. The gospel has no basis in objective truth if Christ is not raised. Not only is the gospel message tarnished, but the faith which rests on that message is vain. This is the same word Paul used to describe His preaching. Their faith is devoid of any spiritual value. Not only would their preaching and faith be in vain, but the Apostles themselves would be false witnesses.
In verse 15 Paul explains further that the Apostles were clearly giving false testimony if they had said that Christ was raised from the dead and he was not. The words Paul uses give the picture of a courtroom and present the image of Paul providing perjured testimony. There is no worse type of testimony than one who testifies falsely concerning God. All of this would be true if Christ had not been raised from the dead. Paul repeats his original statement from verse 13 in verse 16 and then moves on to his second affected area.
2. If Christ is not raised, Christian salvation is nothing (v. 17-19).
Not only are the consequences of denying Christ’s resurrection directed at the Apostles, they are directed at every Christian. Paul starts this section by stating that if Christ has not been raised, the faith of Christians is worthless. The Greek word for “worthless” is a different word than is used in verse 14. “Vain” in verse 14 focuses on lacking in reality while this word focuses on the result of their faith being fruitless. Not only is faith worthless in its result, but Christians are still dead in their sins. This phrase relates specifically to a legal, objective sense. Without the resurrection, the death of Christ has no atoning, redemptive, or liberating effect in relation to human sin.
This is the reason it is so important to preach the resurrection and stress the resurrection. Without it, Paul says that believers are still dead in their sins and Christ’s death essentially is meaningless. Even beyond this consequence, in verse 18 Paul says that those Christians who have already died have perished. By “perished” he means that they have died under the condemnation of God and are still in their sins. In Scripture perishing has the sense of being separated forever from God and eternal loss of holiness and happiness. Finally, in verse 19 Paul states that Christians should be considered the most pitiable of all men if they have hoped in Christ alone and Christ has not been raised.
This has been a very quick look at a passage that gives us some of the consequences of denying the resurrection of Christ. I hope on this Easter Sunday we will see the disastrous results of taking the resurrection out of the gospel. Salvation is tarnished, our preaching is vain, our faith is worthless, and our lives are destined for a Christ-less eternity without the resurrection.
When Christians are asked to give a brief synopsis of the gospel, they often leave out two important elements, repentance and the resurrection. Repentance is the heart of the gospel presentation. How can a man be saved unless he turns from his sin and to Christ? Yet, this important element gets lost in the shuffle of words and some even deny its place when discussing salvation.
The other component that vanishes in most gospel presentations is equally important and cannot be left out. This element is the resurrection. We are so eager to discuss the death of Christ and his atonement for our sins that we often skip over the fact that God raised Him from the dead and that ultimately, it is this resurrection that secures our salvation. I would like to walk you through a key passage in 1 Corinthians 15 and remind you of the importance of the resurrection by showing you the consequences if Christ has not been raised from the dead.
In 1 Corinthians 15:12-19 Paul responds to doctrine being taught at Corinth that there was no resurrection of the dead. At the beginning of verse 12 Paul explains that the resurrection was being clearly preached at Corinth as it had been preached to all in the early church. This first conditional statement begins a series of conditional statements throughout this passage which Paul uses to make his argument. If this was the consistent message being taught by the early church, Paul expresses astonishment that some among the people were preaching that there is no resurrection of the dead. Paul moves on in verse 13 to show the disastrous consequences of teaching that there is no resurrection of the dead.
“But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised.”
This is a crucial premise in Paul’s argument and it is used as an exercise in logical reasoning. If you deny resurrections in general, you must also deny Christ’s resurrection specifically. Having carefully developed his logic, Paul now explains the first area which is affected if there is no resurrection.
1. If Christ is not raised, the veracity of the Apostles witness is shattered (v. 14-15).
If Christ was not raised from the dead, Paul acknowledges that the preaching of the Apostles had been in vain. The preaching Paul is referring to looks back to verse 11 and means the message they have preached. It includes the content of the gospel. This word “vain” means empty, without substance, or void. The gospel has no basis in objective truth if Christ is not raised. Not only is the gospel message tarnished, but the faith which rests on that message is vain. This is the same word Paul used to describe His preaching. Their faith is devoid of any spiritual value. Not only would their preaching and faith be in vain, but the Apostles themselves would be false witnesses.
In verse 15 Paul explains further that the Apostles were clearly giving false testimony if they had said that Christ was raised from the dead and he was not. The words Paul uses give the picture of a courtroom and present the image of Paul providing perjured testimony. There is no worse type of testimony than one who testifies falsely concerning God. All of this would be true if Christ had not been raised from the dead. Paul repeats his original statement from verse 13 in verse 16 and then moves on to his second affected area.
2. If Christ is not raised, Christian salvation is nothing (v. 17-19).
Not only are the consequences of denying Christ’s resurrection directed at the Apostles, they are directed at every Christian. Paul starts this section by stating that if Christ has not been raised, the faith of Christians is worthless. The Greek word for “worthless” is a different word than is used in verse 14. “Vain” in verse 14 focuses on lacking in reality while this word focuses on the result of their faith being fruitless. Not only is faith worthless in its result, but Christians are still dead in their sins. This phrase relates specifically to a legal, objective sense. Without the resurrection, the death of Christ has no atoning, redemptive, or liberating effect in relation to human sin.
This is the reason it is so important to preach the resurrection and stress the resurrection. Without it, Paul says that believers are still dead in their sins and Christ’s death essentially is meaningless. Even beyond this consequence, in verse 18 Paul says that those Christians who have already died have perished. By “perished” he means that they have died under the condemnation of God and are still in their sins. In Scripture perishing has the sense of being separated forever from God and eternal loss of holiness and happiness. Finally, in verse 19 Paul states that Christians should be considered the most pitiable of all men if they have hoped in Christ alone and Christ has not been raised.
This has been a very quick look at a passage that gives us some of the consequences of denying the resurrection of Christ. I hope on this Easter Sunday we will see the disastrous results of taking the resurrection out of the gospel. Salvation is tarnished, our preaching is vain, our faith is worthless, and our lives are destined for a Christ-less eternity without the resurrection.
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