Without the resurrection not only our lives and our faith, but the lives and faith of every Christian believer since the Apostles have been based on a lie. Not only that, but if Jesus did not raise from the dead then we, believers in Jesus Christ, have no hope beyond this life. This is it. This is all there is. 1 Corinthians 15:16-19 says,
[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 futile and you are still in your sins. [18] Then those also who have
fallen asleep in Christ have perished. [19] If in Christ we have hope in this
life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.
There are three significant
statements in this these four verses. The last of the statements, “If in Christ
we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied” I wrote
about in a previous post. Everything we have done for Christ has been based on
a lie. We have sacrificed, served, worshiped, and given all for nothing. The
other two statements are just as significant.
First, “You are still in your
sins.” We preach that Jesus died for our sins, and that is so. But if he died
without rising from the dead then we serve a dead God who cannot forgive sins. The
death without the resurrection becomes meaningless. Romans 1:4 says that Jesus
“was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness
by his resurrection from the dead.” In Romans 4:3 Paul reminds us that Genesis
15:6 says that Abraham’s faith was counted to him for righteousness. Then he
says in Romans 4:24-25, that this wasn’t recorded just for Abraham’s sake, “but
for ours also. It will be counted to us [that is, our faith will be counted to
us as righteousness] who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our
Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.”
As many have said before me, the resurrection demonstrates that Jesus' death is
sufficient to save his people from their sins. It shows that God’s justice was
satisfied. Without the resurrection we are still in our sins; there is no
forgiveness.
The last statement in this First
Corinthians text says not only that without the resurrection we have given our
lives to a lie and we are still in our sins, but that “those who have fallen
asleep have perished.” 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 says, “that you may not grieve
as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose
again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen
asleep.” One Atheist said, “When I’m dead, I’m dead. If I find out that there
is life after death I’ll be really surprised.” I think he’s going to be really
surprised, but not in a good way. For believers we do not say “Goodbye” to our
loved ones who pass, but “See you later.” We have hope beyond this life.
Back around 1989 my hands started
hurting so much that just a slight bump would crumple me on the floor in pain.
I went to the Doctor who said that it might be bone cancer. I had a friend with
bone cancer and I knew the pain he lived with. I have to tell you that I didn’t
sleep that night. The doctor later told me that it wasn’t cancer, just bone
cysts that would probably go away, and thankfully they did. But I didn’t sleep
well waiting for a diagnosis. Reflecting on that night, what I found
interesting was that I wasn’t afraid of dying. I was okay with that. I was
afraid of two things. First, I feared for my family, leaving my family without any
means of financial support and without a husband and father. Second, I feared
the possibility of facing a long and painful death. I feared the process of
death, but death itself held no threat.
As believers we anticipate that
day when life will be what it was intended to be. It will be life in perfect communion
with God and with each other. It will be a life in which we perfectly fulfill
our purpose in being. I remember as a child being told that Heaven was gold
paved streets; that we would be standing on the gold paved streets singing
forever. Somehow that didn’t sound particularly exciting to me. I didn’t really
like to sing, and thinking of an eternal songfest just didn’t appeal to me.
When I voiced that to my grandmother her answer was, “When you get there,
you’ll really like it.” Hmm, somehow that didn’t help. But when I read
Revelation 21, I got excited about Heaven. I get excited about a new creation
in which we live in perfect fulfillment of our purpose as those created in the
image of God. I get excited about living in a new heavens and new earth where I
get to bring in the fruits of my labor in worship. I get excited about living
with no pain, no conflict, and where the earth responds to my care rather than
overwhelming my garden with weeds and pests. The older I get, the more I look
forward to that day. And the more friends and family I have in Heaven, the more
I anticipate that reunion not only with Jesus, but with my friends and family
as well.
Without the resurrection, not
only are our lives and our faith based on a lie, but if Jesus did not raise
from the dead then we have no hope beyond this life. This is it. This is all
there is. But thankfully, the resurrection is not a lie. It is a well
established and documented truth upon which we build our faith. He is risen!
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