Ep. 313. 1 Corinthians 15-16 | Resurrection

EPISODE 313

RESURRECTION: 1 CORINTHIANS 15-16

First Corinthians Fifteen may be one of the most critical chapters in the Bible. If there is no resurrection from the dead, if we die and our lives are just over, then not even Christ Jesus has been raised from the dead, and if Jesus wasn't raised from the dead, then everything that has ever been preached about him and everything ever believed about him is worthless. We don't follow Jesus just as a moral guidepost. We don't believe in Jesus just for a little bit of peace and comfort in this dreary world. If Christ has not been raised from the dead, let us "eat and drink for tomorrow we die." In other words, Jesus is the reason and hope we have for living and dying. Without the resurrection of Jesus, we might as well fall into all manners of debauchery and sin, for there is really no purpose at all to anything in this world.

Every now and again, you will meet a so-called Christian who says, "But even if Jesus is not real, I'll still believe." They typically add something biblically ridiculous like, "If I'm wrong in my belief in Jesus, then I've lost nothing, but if you're wrong in your disbelief about Jesus, you have lost everything." NO! Christian, hear me, hear Paul say, "If we have hope in Christ in this life alone, we are above all men most to be pitied." We've been fools to believe if there is nothing to believe in.

Without the resurrection, everything else becomes moot. This is why we see several places in the book of Acts where the people were engaged with the message of the preacher up to the point of the resurrection being proclaimed. The resurrection was always the dividing point of the story. The resurrection was always the part that divided the crowd. Believing in the resurrection of Jesus is the key to salvation. "If we confess with our mouths that Jesus is Lord, and believe in our hearts that God raised him from the dead, we will be saved." Without the resurrection of the Lord and belief in that fact, there can be no salvation.

ADDITIONAL READING: Romans 5:12-21; Psalm 8:6; Isaiah 25: 8; Hosea 13:14; Romans 10:9-10