BUT IF CHRIST IS NOT RISEN FROM THE DEAD, THEN WHAT?
1 Corinthians 15:1 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you - unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. 6 After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. 7 After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. 8 Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time. 12 Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. 14 And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. 15 Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up - if in fact the dead do not rise. 16 For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. 17 And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! 18 Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most miserable. 20 But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since by man came death, by man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all died, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
INTRODUCTION: WHAT IF CHRIST HAD NOT RISEN FROM THE DEAD, THEN WHAT?
Illustration: Some bones from one of Buddha’s fingers were sent as a gift to the emperor of China during the Tang dynasty (618-970AD). They were later forgotten about and then found in 1981. The finding was a sensation to Buddhists everywhere, and the bones are now visited by many Buddhists. If someone claimed to find a finger that belonged to Christ no Christians would believe him because our faith is founded on the fact that there is no finger to find - Christ rose from the dead. This Is Resurrection Sunday. What if the Resurrection of Jesus had not occurred? Have you thought of the consequences and what the Christian faith would be like? Quote: “Christmas is the promise, and Easter is the proof.” But that proof I called into question by skeptics.
BELIEFS ABOUT LIFE AFTER DEATH
1. Views On Death In Christianity: “If a man dies will he live again?” (Job 14:14). Varies between denominations and individual Christians, but vast majority of Christians believe in some kind of heaven. Some groups (Jehovah’s Witnesses and Seventh Day Adventist’s) teach “soul sleep” that at death the body dies and disintegrates, while the soul or the spirit rests.
2. Views On Death In Islam: Muslims believe that the present life is only a preparation for the next existence. Alms, fasting, prayers, and pilgrimage are often performed by the family members on behalf of the deceased. The body is laid on its right side facing Mecca.
3. Views On Death In Hinduism: Believes in rebirth & reincarnation of souls. At death, the soul travels briefly to another world & returns to earth to continue its journey. Bodies are cremated.
4. Views On Death In Buddhism: They believe in reincarnation: once a person dies on this earth, he will be reborn to a new life here and the status of that life depends on the work he did before.
NAME RESURRECTIONS IN THE BIBLE
1. Elijah resurrected the son of Zarephath's widow (1 Kings 17:17-24)
2. Elisha resurrected the son of the Shunammite woman (2 Kings 4:35)
3. A dead man comes back to life when he touches Elisha's bones (Kings 13:21)
4. Jesus resurrects the widow's son at Nain (Luke 7:13-15)
5. Jesus raises Jairus' daughter (Matthew 9:25)
6. Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead (John 11:43-44)
7. Many saints resurrected at Jesus' crucifixion (Matthew 27:52-53)
8. Christ's resurrection after 3 Days (Matthew 28:5-7)
9. Peter raises Tabitha from the dead (Acts 9:36-42)
10. Paul raises Eutychus from the dead (Acts 20:9-12)
THE BEST OF THE FALSE CLAIMS ABOUT THE RESURRECTION
1. The “Jesus Fainted” Theory / Argument: Jesus did not actually die on the cross; He simply fainted. Then the soldiers thought he was dead and took him down; put him in a tomb. He was revived by the cool air; got out of the tomb; went to his disciples who then believed he had conquered death. Thus the Christian church was born. Sounds possible? No! There are huge problems with this fainting theory. It is not believable because of 3 reasons:
? Jesus’ Physical Condition. Before the crucifixion, Jesus is whipped so that he needs someone else to carry the cross. His hands & feet are pierced with heavy nails. A Roman soldier spears Jesus in the side to make sure he is dead. Someone in desperate need of medical attention could convince his followers that he had conquered death? No way!
? “The Roman Soldiers” Themselves. These were killing machines. They speared Jesus’ side to make confirm death. In ancient Rome, if a Roman soldier took a criminal off the cross before death, the soldier had to take his place on the cross. They could not be that careless.
? The Tomb Itself. This argument would have us believe that while this “fainted Jesus” was in the tomb, the cool air revived him. He then was able: to take off his grave clothes; find the tombs opening in the dark; then roll a 2,000lb stone away from the opening; fight off a group of highly-trained Roman guards by himself; walk on spike-pierced feet to find the apostles. Then in his tortured, disfigured condition, prove to them he had conquered death.
2. "People Looked For Jesus In The Wrong Tomb" Theory. Wrong. Everyone knew which tomb it was. The women, apostles, Jews, guards knew the tomb. But this theory would have us believe that the women, disciples, Jewish leaders, Roman soldiers individually went to the wrong tomb. Everyone forgot where they buried Jesus. If there was any question about which tomb it was, the Jews and Romans would have opened every tomb. But they didn’t, because they knew which tomb he was buried in. The fact that no one searched the other tombs is proof.
3. "The Disciples Stole The Body" Theory. This theory is false. If they had stolen the body, would they have suffered and died to try to convince people to believe in a dead man who had lied to them. No one in all of religious history has willingly suffered for years and then died as a martyr while knowing all along that what they believed in was a total lie.
4. "Unknown Person(s) Stole The Body Of Jesus" Theory. If this happened, the disciples would still know that their testimony was a lie. They died for their testimony, which was that they saw Jesus after the resurrection. Not that they heard about it from someone else.
5. "Wild Dogs Ate Jesus’ Body” Theory. Unbelief will grab to believe the impossible. Instead of admitting that the evidence for the resurrection is insurmountable, they say “wild dogs ate him up”. This is at the heart of atheism and skepticism – a refusal to believe in God or anything miraculous. So they look elsewhere for nonsense. Man searches the stars with powerful telescopes; uses powerful microscopes to probe the depths of the atom trying to find order in life, but refusing to come to Jesus – the one who brings order to life. They dig through layers of dirt searching for the origin of man, but refusing to come to Jesus, the Author of Life.
CORINTHIAN CHURCH HAD ISSUES
1. Favoritism & Cliques In The Church – Conflicts, Divisions, Pride (1 Cor. 1-4).
2. Sexual Improprieties In The Church – Incest, Adultery, Fornication, Divorce (1 Cor. 5-7).
3. Believers Taking Each Other To Court Instead Of Settling Matters Between Them (1 Cor. 6).
4. Eating Food That Had Been Sacrificed & Dedicated To Idols (1 Cor. 8-10).
5. Abuse of Communion, Spiritual Gifts, brotherly love, Abuse Of Tongues) (1 Cor. 11-14).
6. Denying The Resurrection of Christ (1 Cor. 15).
7 DISASTROUS CONSEQUENCES IF THE RESURRECTION IS NOT TRUE.
The widespread rejection of the resurrection had proved difficult for the Corinthian Church. So Paul addresses the issue. He lists 7 disastrous consequences if such a compromise is embraced:
1. If There Is No Resurrection, Then Christ Is Not Risen. 1 Corinthians 15:13 “But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.” Many false prophets entered the church and sowed humanistic doctrines. “Since Christ was God,” they said, “He was not actually human, and therefore he could not die.” They said, “When the disciples saw Jesus after the resurrection, they only thought they were touching a human body.” But the Gospels clearly prove Jesus was human. He was born to a human mother, ate, drank, slept, grew tired like any man. He felt pain when beaten; shed blood; and his human body died – as was verified by Roman soldiers. When He appeared to His disciples after His resurrection, He urged them to touch and see that he was not a ghost – but actual flesh and bone. He ate with them. The Corinthians failed to understand that Jesus had to be human in order to pay for our sins. He had to die because our redemption required it. Jesus was truly God; and truly man.
2. If Christ Is Still In The Grave, Then Our Preaching Is Meaningless. (1 Corinthians 15:14a) “And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty…” If Christ is still in the grave; if there was no resurrection; then Jesus would not have conquered death, and death would be forever man’s conqueror. Without the resurrection, the good news would be bad news and there would be nothing worth preaching. Without the resurrection, the gospel would be empty hopeless message of meaningless nonsense.
3. If Christ Is Still In The Grave, Then Faith Is An Empty Fantasy. (1 Corinthians 15:14b) “…and your faith is also empty.” If Christ is still in the grave, then “The life of man is a long march through the night, surrounded by invisible foes, tortured by weariness and pain, towards a goal that few can hope to reach and where none can tarry long. One by one, as they march, our comrades vanish from our sight, seized by the silent orders of omnipotent death.” Brief and powerless is Man’s life; on him and his race the slow, sure doom falls, pitiless and dark.”
4. If Christ Is Still In The Grave, Then All Christians Are False Witnesses. (1 Corinthians 15:15-16): “Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up--if in fact the dead do not rise. (16) For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen.” If there was no resurrection then every person who preached that Christ has risen is a liar. They conspired together in their lies in order to present a consistent and harmonized account. They also died for that lie. Matthew was speared to death. Mark was dragged through the streets of Alexandria until his flesh tore from his body. Luke was hanged and John was thrown into boiling oil. Peter was crucified upside down and Paul was beheaded. These would not have given their lives if they the resurrection of Jesus was false.
5. If Christ Is Still In The Grave, Then Our Sins Are Not Forgiven! 1 Corinthians 15:17: “And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!” If there was no resurrection then Christians are no better off spiritually than non-Christians. Our assurance of forgiveness, our peace of heart and mind, our bright hopes of the world to come, are all imaginary. There is no hiding place, no hope for mercy, no loving Christ to say, “I’ve paid the penalty on your behalf, I’ve taken your place!” Instead when we stand before God we get everything we deserve for every evil and hateful act or thought we have ever had.
6. If Christ Is Still In The Grave, Then Our Loved Ones Who Have Died Are Lost. 1 Corinthians 15:18: “…Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.” All those loved ones we thought had gone on to be with the Lord, whom we hoped to see again, we will never see again. Our parents, our friends, our children; family members we will never see again. They are gone forever! If there was no resurrection then every saint, Old Testament and New Testament, who died would have perished forever. Their faith would have been in vain, their sins would have been unforgiven, and their destiny would be Hell.
7. If Christ Is Still In The Grave, Then We Are Of All Men Most To Be Pitied. 1 Corinthians 15:19: “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.” That means: “And if we have hope in Christ only for this life, we are the most miserable people in the world.” We must give up our beautiful dream and go back to drab coldness and grim darkness. And it is all made worse by the fact that we thought we had hold of something so beautiful, so marvelous. But if there is no resurrection it all crumbles into dust at our feet, it is all taken away from us and our darkness is all the more dark for what we have lost.
But Praise God The Story Does Not End In Doubt Or Defeat. 1 Corinthians 15:20 “But the fact is that Christ has been raised from the dead. He has become the first of a great harvest of those who will be raised to life again.”
Illustration: Boy & father – you don’t have to worry, I have taken the stink for you.
ABUNDANT EVIDENCE OF THE RESURRECTION AS GIVEN US BY GOD.
1. Prophecies: It was prophesized by the prophets and Jesus Himself.
2. Empty Tomb: You would expect that if a resurrection occurred, then the tomb must be empty, right? Yes. But is the “empty tomb” enough evidence – by itself -- to convince us that Jesus rose from the dead? The answer is NO.
3. Eyewitnesses: The testimony of the women convinced the apostles. Today the testimony of the women is good evidence, but in ancient Israel, unfortunately a woman’s testimony was unacceptable in court. The women were convinced, but the disciples needed more proof.
4. The Change In The Disciples’ Attitudes. Before the resurrection, the disciples were cowards, hiding in shadows, afraid of being discovered as followers of Jesus, afraid of being killed. But after the resurrection, they were fully committed; boldly preaching in the presence of enemies. What caused such a radical change in their attitudes? Was it the empty tomb? The testimony of people who talked to angels? John 20:19-20 “They saw him with their own eyes!” No other explanation can account for such a complete turnaround in their behavior.
5. Disciple’s Willingness To Suffer. Satan accuses God of blessing Job and that was while he loved God. God allowed Satan to take all Job had. Job passed the test – he still loved God. Nothing shows others the sincerity of your beliefs more than your willingness to suffer and sacrifice for it. And the disciples suffered for their testimony that Jesus had risen from the dead. They endured whippings, stonings, hunger, shipwreck, beatings, poverty and imprisonment. They could have easily avoided all of this but they refused to stop telling people that Jesus rose from the dead and that they personally saw Him.
6. Willingness To Die. As if a willingness to suffer years of persecution were not enough evidence of the apostle’s conviction to the risen Christ, the Bible and church history give us the confirmation of their willingness to gladly die rather than deny the resurrection. Some people might suffer and die for what they believe to be true, but no one in religious history was ever willing to gladly suffer and die for what they knew to be a lie. If the disciples knew the resurrection was a lie, would they have died for it? Of course not.
7. Apostles Miracles After The Resurrection. Mark 16:20 “Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his Word by the signs that accompanied it.” Jesus performed miracles and so did the apostles. Thousands of people joined the church because of the testimony and the miracles performed by the disciples in Jesus’ name. Could a dead Jesus perform miracles? Of course not.
8. Conversion Of Paul. I love this piece of evidence primarily because of its irony. The greatest hater of Christianity turns into its greatest defender. Suffering for many years and giving his life for his testimony that he too saw the risen Jesus.
9. The Existence Of The Church. The church has lasted onslaught, created and transformed new believers, etc. Look at your lives and where God took you from.
Illustration: A man went on vacation to the Holy Land with his wife and her mother. While in Israel, the mother-in-law died from heart attack. A local undertaker explained that they could either ship the body home costing $15,000, or they could bury her right there in the Holy Land for $150. The man said, "We’ll ship her home.” Surprised, the undertaker responded, "Are you sure? That’s an awfully big expense, and we can do a very nice burial here.” The man said, "Look, 2000 years ago they buried a guy here and three days later He rose from the dead. I just can’t take that chance."
BENEFITS OF THE RESURRECTION (1 PETER 1:3-9)
1. Forgiveness & New Birth: If Christ had died for our sins but not resurrected, we would have forgiveness of sin but no new birth. It would be like having a baby in the womb but no birth, forgiveness without justification, canceling of sin without the power to live a new life.
2. Living Hope: Because He lives, I too will live: Our hope is not in a dead Savior but a living one. Hence our hope is alive. It is not pretension, speculation or sentiment. Hope of seeing Jesus: A hope that we will see Him, be like Him and receive all our inheritance in Him.
3. Sure Inheritance: We have an inheritance in heaven: Jesus is the guarantor of this inheritance. He has given us the deposit of His Holy Spirit assuring us of the full inheritance that we have in Him. John 14:1-3 He is preparing a place for us. Matt. 16:16-20 Inheritance does not perish, spoil or fade. We must store up our treasures there where moth/rust/thieves cannot get to it.
4. Divine Power: Shielded by God’s Power. Faith is the means of this protection: All God’s blessings including his preservation flows into our lives through the connection of faith.
5. Joy In Sufferings: The previous blessings lead to rejoicing in suffering: One blessing leads to another. A little while: Bible calls them light and momentary trials (2 Co 4:17, Jam 1:2,12).
6. Genuine Faith: Trials in the face of the resurrection have a purpose: They prove our faith and show it to be genuine (2 Peter 3:10). Our faith is imperishable based on the resurrection.
7. Hope To See Our Loved Ones: Because Christ is raised, those believers who have fallen asleep in him have not perished. Or positively, they are alive. They will live forever.
8. Second Coming: The resurrection leads to the sure hope of the Second Coming. Act 1:11 “This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”
Illustration: This is a tradition in certain South African tribes: "When a heathen is dying, the witch doctors put in his hand a dead bone as a passport into the world beyond. But we do not grasp a dead bone as we pass through the veil. We grasp the hand of the living Lord."
“The Tomb Is Empty! He Is Not Here!” the Angel said! And no matter how you feel today, you can be set free from your Tomb of Hopelessness! Whatever the situation is, there is Hope for you because the Tomb is Empty! Because the Tomb is empty, You have Hope for your parents and your kids and grandkids; you have Hope in your marriage, you have Hope for your future; you have Hope for more than Just this life! And we can have HOPE as a church family too!
CONCLUSION: GIVE YOUR LIFE TO JESUS.
I believe in Jesus because the evidence shows that He rose from the dead. And because he conquered death, I can trust that his claims about the way to eternal life are true. If a desire to hold on to sin is what is stopping you from giving your life to Christ, then no amount of evidence will change your heart. (1) Let your sin go (Repent) (2) Confess to God that you are a sinner unable to save yourself and unworthy of heaven. (3) Accept the fact that Jesus died to pay the penalty for your sins, and that he rose from the dead as proof that he will save those who believe in Him - that includes you only if you put your faith in Him. (4) If you are a Christian but has been playing church, now is the time to get committed. This is the only way can you experience the sweet forgiveness of a God who loves you. Accept His offer of salvation now. I urge you with all my heart this Resurrection Sunday to lift up your heart and sing with me: Amazing Grace…
