What would life be like if Christ actually had not been raised from the dead? Just posing this question sends painful chills through my body. In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul was discussing this exact thought. If there was no resurrection (Vs. 13) and Christ had not been raised (Vs. 13-14), then what would this mean? Here is Paul’s answer…
If Christ Had Not Been Resurrected…
– Preaching Would Be Vain (Vs. 14). Anything that would be preached from Scripture would be meaningless. There would be no point in coming to church and worshipping. The Bible would be degraded down to a “good book” on moral living. There would be no point in believing what was preached.
– Faith Would Be Vain And Worthless (Vs. 14, 17). If Christ remained in His tomb, faith would simply become ignorance. There would be no point in having faith. It would just be a waist of time. If there is no faith, then there is also no hope (Vs. 19). No hope in or after this life.
– The Apostles Become False Witnesses Of God (Vs. 15). All of the apostles’ writings and teachings would be trash. Instead of being witnesses of God, they would be liars. So for us, there would be nothing meaningful to tell people about Christ. There would be no conversions. No one would, or even could, be saved through Christ.
– We Would Be Lost In Sin (Vs. 17). This is definitely the most painful point to grasp. We would not be going to heaven. There would be no hope of salvation or peace after this life. The burden of our sins would be ours alone to bear. One that is impossible for us to change by our own power.
– Those Who Lived A Life For Christ And Died Are Not In Heaven (Vs. 18). One of the single greatest hopes after this life is to be able to see the ones we loved in heaven. However, if Christ was not raised, then they lived a pointless life. We would not see our grandpas, grandmas, moms, dads, or our brothers and sisters in heaven because even heaven itself would be a lie.
– Christians Are To Be Most Pitied Of All Men (Vs. 19). Christians would be most pitied because we have chosen to live a life abstaining from all the “pleasures” in this life. Instead of “living life to its fullest” we have chosen to miss out. But all of this would have turned out to be for nothing. In addition, we would have taught others to obey the Gospel, based on false promises, thus robbing them of this “good life” as well.
No Christ, no faith, no eternal expectations, no heaven, and certainly no salvation. What a miserable life this would be! The good news is, Christ is the Lord! And Christ died for our sins on the cross! And Christ was risen from the dead! There is a vast amount of evidence both in Scripture and outside of Scripture to support these events did happen. This makes everything we as Christians worth it. It makes every difficulty we endure meaningful.
Let’s not get discouraged by the daily challenges and struggles that come with living a godly life (1 Peter 1:6-9; James 1:2-4). It is meaningful and valuable. Keep pressing towards the goal that has been promised to the faithful (1 Peter 1:4-5; Colossians 1:5; Matthew 5:11-12; 2 Corinthians 5:1-2). Christ has been raised, therefore we too will be raised with Him one day (1 Thess. 4:13-18). Since this is the truth, let’s live our lives like we believe Christ was resurrected!
BP's Fuel For Thought 