How do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

1 Corinthians 15:1-27 (NASB) from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

The Fact of Christ’s Resurrection

Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, ² by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.

³ For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴ and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, ⁵ and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. ⁶ After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; ⁷ then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; ⁸ and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also. ⁹ For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. ¹⁰ But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me. ¹¹ Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

¹² 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? ¹³ But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; ¹⁴ and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. ¹⁵ Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. ¹⁶ For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; ¹⁷ and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. ¹⁸ Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. ¹⁹ If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.

²⁰ But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. ²¹ For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. ²² For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. ²³ But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming, ²⁴ then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. ²⁵ For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. ²⁶ The last enemy that will be abolished is death. ²⁷ For He has put all things in subjection under His feet.

I guess it should come as no surprise that there are so many who doubt the truth of the resurrection today.  After all Paul was writing this only years after Jesus resurrection. He says:

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴ and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, ⁵ and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. ⁶ After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep… There were still many who were eye witnesses of Christ’s resurrection living at the time, yet there were also many who did not believe. They of course did not have the power of media and technology to spread the gospel that we have today, so many simply had not heard. That’s not the case in our day. What we see is a gradual lessening of value, respect and belief in God and the Bible, His word, which has happened over years.

While the entertainment media is in many ways one of the strongest forces pushing our culture and society away from Godly morals and values, it does also provide a historical look at the changing values of the culture itself. Watch an old western movie for example, the outlaws and criminal will have more respect and reverence for God and the church than what we see in many parts of our society today. That is a reflection of what was normal, what was accepted and believed by the overwhelming majority of people.

Although it was officially all the way back in 1963, which was before I started school, that the Supreme Court ruled that state sponsored prayer was no longer allowed in public schools, much of our society and culture did not abide by that for many decades. As I grew up we still sang Christian hymns in school. While prayer may not have been allowed to be officially led by school staff, it was certainly more than tolerated, it was encouraged. We have now gotten to the point that even an individual’s right to pray or read the Bible is being challenged, how far we have fallen in just 50 years.

It’s no wonder then that so many today do not believe the truth of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The reality though is that not much has really changed from Paul’s time until now.  Jesus says:  No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him (John 6:44) and "But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. 8"And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment (John 16:7-8)

So then as now, the ability to accept and believe in the truth of the resurrection of Jesus Christ is dependent on the drawing and revelation of God the Father and the conviction of the Holy Spirit. The media does not reveal what is true. Neither our culture, our society nor the government, determines what is true. They can determine what they believe is acceptable and they can determine what is legal, but God alone determines what is true.

Each individual has a choice to make with the revelation of truth that they receive from God. What our culture and our society says does not change the fact that Jesus willingly died on the cross for the sin of all mankind. He was buried and later was resurrected from the grave.  One day He will return again. It matters not what our society says about Him. What matters is what He says about Himself and society.

He says: "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, 26and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. (John 11:25-26)

He says:  “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done. ¹³ I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” ¹⁴ Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city. ¹⁵ Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying…. ²⁰ He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. ²¹ The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen. (Revelation 22:12-21)