“And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.” – 1 Corinthians 15:17-19
Easter Sunday comes unusually late this year (April 21) but it is fast approaching! As we celebrate and reflect upon the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ I want to ask a simple, yet very important, question: “Why is the resurrection of Jesus Christ so important to Christianity?” Scripture reveals that it is the very foundation of our hope and faith. Let’s explore 1 Corinthians 15.
In 1 Corinthians 15, we learn that members of the young church at Corinth questioned both the validity and purpose of the resurrection of Jesus. The Apostle Paul responds to their disbelief by first illustrating that the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus completely fulfilled Old Testament prophecy (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Add to this the firsthand account of hundreds of witnesses and Paul has answered their question of validity.
Paul then addresses the purpose of the resurrection saying that without it their faith is not only useless but hopeless as well! Paraphrasing Paul, he debates that faith in a person who lives and dies is simply dead faith, but faith in a person who lives, dies and is completely resurrected and ascended to the right hand of the Creator-Father … now that is a faith worth exploring! Christ’s resurrection is the very foundation of a believer’s faith (vs 14,17), for it is the hope of knowing that we will be reconciled with God in eternity. Glory to God in the highest!
Let me explain it in plain English. We are all sinners by nature. Therefore, as sinners, we sin. Sin separates us from a holy and just God. God seeks reconciliation with His fallen, sinful creation. God demands a blood sacrifice for the forgiveness and removal of sin. Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins (Hebrew 9:22). The death of Christ on the cross, the spilling of His precious blood, takes away the sins of all mankind thus fulfilling that requirement. Once sin is removed, the work of the cross begins to take place in the believer who places his/her trust in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and trusts Him to be the Lord of their life. The Holy Spirit instantly indwells the believer to conform their life to that of Jesus with the secured hope of one day being with Christ in eternity. It is the resurrection and reconciliation with God the Father through the work of Jesus Christ His Son that all believers live for. It is the driving force, the motivation of being a Christian.
The blood has taken care of what we have done, our sin nature. The cross has taken care of who we were. The resurrection has taken care of where we’re going. The resurrection of Christ is our precursor to being with God.
Like the famous song says, “I can only imagine”!
Dave
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