¹³ If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. ¹⁴ And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. ¹⁵ More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised.¹⁶ For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. ¹⁷ And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.¹⁸ Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. ¹⁹ If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. 1 Cor 15:13-19

In today’s passage, Paul takes off his gloves and packs a punch to make his point that it’s resurrection or nothing. Basically, if resurrection is a theoretical concept of something non-existent, then that means trouble for all Christians everywhere. The implications would be huge. If there is no resurrection of the dead, then 1) Jesus was never raised from the dead. 2) This renders all our preaching useless. 3) Then we have all been lying about God. 4) Our faith is futile. 5) We are still in our sins and have not been forgiven. 6) Those that have died in Christ are lost forever. 7) We are to be most pitied among all people. So basically, no resurrection, no Christianity!

On the contrary, “Christ has indeed been raised from the dead”! The message of the resurrection of Jesus plays a central and crucial role in Christianity. It means everything to us. It validates our Christianity and sets it apart from any other religion on the face of the planet. Our God is a God who is bigger than death and was able to raise himself from the dead and is alive today, never to die and never to be defeated! We can find strength and confidence in the fact that we have such a God and we find security in our belief in him as he will never be undone or overthrown. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!

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