August 7
Nehemiah 12-13
Psalm 89:19-26
Proverbs 19:28-29
I Corinthians 15:1-19
Resurrection of the Dead
“But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.” I Corinthians 15:12-14,17-19 NIV
Shortly after Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection, people started spreading the lie that Jesus had not been resurrected from the dead. They said that He had not really died, but was instead unconscious and woke up, or that the disciples stole His body. Both lies were proved to be false. A spear was jabbed into His side by the soldiers to prove that He was in fact dead, and He was seen alive by numerous witnesses following His resurrection. But many chose to believe the lie then and the lie is still being told to this day. Many people who claim to be Christians do not believe in His resurrection. They claim that it doesn’t matter whether He really raised Himself from the dead or not. In these verses, Paul refutes this idea. Paul explains that Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection is the foundation of our faith and if it is not true then our faith is worthless. If Jesus was not able to raise Himself from the dead, then He did not conquer death and Hell and we are still dead in our sins. Paul is arguing that if it is not true, then we have been deceived. If it is not true, we are all fools and should be pitied because our hope is meaningless. If we do not have the hope of resurrection into eternal life, then Jesus is no different from any other prophet or religious leader. He can give us advice on how to live a good life, get along with people and deal with difficulties, but ultimately it is no better than self-help books and pop psychology that also offer those things.
No other world religion claims that their god came to Earth, lived a perfect life, took the punishment for our sins by dying in our place and then resurrected Himself from the dead. Moses, as great of a prophet as he was, is dead. Muhammad is dead. Buddha is dead. Confucius is dead. Baha’u’llah is dead. Joseph Smith is dead. All the founders of the world’s religions are dead. Only Jesus overcame death by resurrecting and proving that He is in fact God. If it is not true, then He is no different from all the rest and He does not deserve our honor and devotion. He claimed to be God. If that is not true, He was either crazy and believed it, or He knew it wasn’t true and was a liar. Either way, He is not someone we should follow. If He was in fact God, then He of course could raise Himself from the dead because He has ultimate power and control. We either believe it all or there is no reason to believe any of it.
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