If Christ has not been raised, your faith is in vain.

1 Corinthians 15:1-28 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

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. But when He says, “All things are put in subjection,” it is evident that He is excepted who put all things in subjection to Him. ²⁸ When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all.

There are many people today, both within and outside of the church, who do not believe the Bible is to be interpreted literally. Some believe that it needs to be updated to be relevant to today’s society and culture. Others believe that much of the Bible is more of an allegory than it is fact or truth. The problem with beginning to view scripture, God’s word that way, is that having begun, there is no end. Once the truth becomes subjective, once one part is open to the determination of people to interpret however they choose, everything becomes subject to that same interpretation. John 3:16 says: God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.   Romans 10:9-10 says: If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.  Part of believing in the Son of God, in Jesus, is that first He is Lord and then that He was raised from the dead. This fact, this truth, that Jesus, our Lord, the Son of God, died for our sins and then was raised again to life, is something that cannot be denied or debated if we say we believe; if we claim to be Christ’s followers we must believe He is Lord and the God raised Him from the dead.

In today’s text Paul says: 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, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. 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. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.  If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.  Many people do hope in Christ in this life and we should. In John 10:10 Jesus says:  “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”   God wants us to have the blessings and promises of an abundant life here and now, on earth as it is in heaven. But, we should never lose sight of why Jesus came and lived among us; why He was crucified, why He suffered and died. He came to overcome sin and death. The resurrection is the evidence of His victory over death. If we question that He was raised, if we believe that the resurrection is merely an allegory, then our faith is in vain. On the other hand we cannot believe and accept that He was truly resurrected without acknowledging why He died; that of all the things that Jesus said and did, all the miracles He worked, the greatest work was to redeem us and free us from sin.  We believe in vain if we do not acknowledge that Jesus died for our sins. In John 14:6 Jesus says:  “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”   In Matthew 5:17-20 He says:  “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”    Jesus own words are very clear. They leave no room for interpretation. His death on the cross is the way to the Father. His righteousness is the way to the kingdom of heaven. Jesus taught us to pray saying:  “Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”   We cannot expect to have eternal life if we do not accept the resurrection. We cannot expect to have abundant life; all the blessings of the kingdom of God if we do not walk in the power and the righteousness of the resurrection.  If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.  If there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. 

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit, I believe. Thank You for eternal life and the abundant life of righteousness and blessings that are mine through the cross and the resurrection.  May Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven, in and through my life.  Amen.