Go! And... Ask The Hard Questions: What If Christianity Is A Lie? Series

Go! And... Ask the Hard Questions: What If Christianity Is a Lie?

INTRODUCTION: STARTING WITH A SHOCKING QUESTION

What if Christianity is a lie?

That’s a bold question, isn't it? Even hearing it in church might feel unsettling. But let's face it: If Christianity is not true—if Jesus didn’t really rise from the dead—then everything we believe, preach, sing, and stand for crumbles into dust.

But here’s the power of our faith: Christianity not only invites scrutiny—it welcomes it, because truth has nothing to fear. In fact, the Bible itself tackles this question head-on.

Let’s begin with Paul’s striking words in:

1 CORINTHIANS 15:14–17 (NLT): “And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless. And we apostles would all be lying about God—for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can't be true if there is no resurrection of the dead. And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins.”

1. IF JESUS DIDN’T RISE, EVERYTHING FALLS APART

Paul was writing to the Corinthian church, a group immersed in Greek culture. Some denied the resurrection of the dead, influenced by a worldview that saw the afterlife as non-physical. Paul’s response is blunt: If Christ is not raised, your faith is worthless.

The Greek word for "useless" in verse 14 is kenos, meaning empty, hollow, devoid of value. Paul is saying that apart from the resurrection, Christianity is a hollow shell. But because Jesus lives, our faith is full of substance!

When doubts come—and they will—return to the empty tomb. Christianity doesn’t stand or fall on our feelings but on a historical, bodily resurrection.

Tim Keller: “If Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept all that He said. If He didn’t rise from the dead, then why worry about any of what He said?”

Keller makes it simple. The resurrection is the hinge. If it happened, it validates everything Jesus claimed about Himself. If it didn’t, then Christianity is no better than positive thinking.

The Broken Bridge

Imagine trusting a bridge with your whole weight, only to realise halfway across it’s collapsing. If Christianity were false, our faith would be like that bridge. But friends, the tomb is empty, the bridge is strong, and Jesus holds it all together.

2. JESUS: MORE THAN A GOOD TEACHER, HE IS LORD

Let’s go to the words of Jesus Himself.

JOHN 14:6 (NLT): “Jesus told him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.’”

Jesus was comforting His disciples before the crucifixion. Thomas was confused about where Jesus was going. Jesus didn’t offer a map—He said I AM the way. Not a way, but the way.

He hodos kai he aletheia kai he zoe — each definite article ("the") in Greek emphasises exclusivity. Jesus isn’t one truth among many; He is the truth.

Jesus cannot merely be a moral example or a spiritual guru. His claims leave no room for neutrality. Either He is Lord, or He is a liar. And if He is Lord, then we owe Him everything.

C.S. Lewis: “You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God.”

Lewis was right. Jesus doesn’t allow fence-sitting. If He really is who He says He is, then ignoring Him isn’t just unwise—it’s deadly.

3. THE DISCIPLES DIDN’T DIE FOR A LIE

Consider this:

ACTS 4:20 (NLT): “We cannot stop telling about everything we have seen and heard.”

Peter and John stood before religious leaders who threatened them with imprisonment and death. Yet their boldness was unwavering. Why? Because they had seen the risen Christ.

People may lie for gain, but not one of Jesus' apostles gained anything in this world. Most were tortured and killed. They didn’t die for an idea—they died because they met the risen Saviour.

The Eyewitness Stand

In a court of law, an eyewitness account can make or break a case. The apostles were eyewitnesses. They didn’t just believe the resurrection—they saw Him, touched Him, ate with Him. That kind of conviction can’t be manufactured.

Charles Stanley: “The apostles’ willingness to suffer and die for what they claimed to have seen is the most convincing evidence of all.”

Charles Stanley nailed it. No one willingly dies for a lie they invented. Their courage was fuelled by the truth that Jesus conquered death.

4. JESUS IS ALIVE — AND THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING

ROMANS 6:9 (NLT): “Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him.”