Now Is Christ Risen

I Corinthians 15:12-22

Today is a day which has been set aside for the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The resurrection of Jesus is the most important event in all of human history and it is the resurrection which distinguishes the Christian faith from all other world religions.

The resurrection is a crucial element of Christian doctrine and to deny the resurrection is to deny the truth of Christianity altogether.

There are many still today who, just like those in Jesus day, deny the resurrection and insist that men do not rise from the dead that “there is no resurrection of the dead?”

Today we will explore a passage which asks and answers the question “What if Jesus did not rise from the dead?”

This passage will clearly show that there are serious and tragic implications if Jesus Christ has not risen from the dead.

If Christ Be Not Risen (Vs. 12-19)

This passage is plainly directed towards those who insisted that resurrection is impossible and by extension that Jesus Christ could not have risen from the dead.

Maybe this morning you are among those who would question if it is true that Jesus Christ has risen from the dead and is alive forever more as the scripture claims.

Maybe this morning you are here to celebrate Easter but in reality your mind is filled with doubts and questions and you wonder if it can be true that a man would rise from the dead.

Maybe you have never personally considered the implications of the resurrection even though you have celebrated Easter all your life.

Maybe you are here this morning simply to satisfy a friend or loved one who invited you to come but in your heart and mind you are yet convinced that Christianity is untrue.

It has long been understood that the most crucial tenet of the Christian faith is the resurrection of Jesus Christ and if this singular detail were omitted or rejected then the entire structure would collapse.

This passage deals with the simple question “What if Jesus didn’t rise from the dead?”

The point of the passage is to demonstrate how critical the resurrection is and to force men to reckon with this truth from a proper perspective.

Now let us take a few moments to consider what the impact would be if Christ has not risen from the dead.

First of all—if Jesus Christ has not risen from the dead then “our preaching is in vain”—this was a reference of course to the preaching of Paul and his fellow-laborers who were preaching the gospel.

If Jesus Christ has not risen from the dead then my preaching today is utterly in vain and I cannot offer you any hope for eternity.

Those who stand and proclaim the gospel today do so in vain for their promise of hope in Christ is an empty promise if Jesus has not risen from the dead.

Not only is our preaching in vain but “your faith is also vain”—this simply means that if Jesus has not risen from the dead those who have believed on Him have done so in vain—the object of their faith being nothing more than a corpse.

If Jesus has not risen from the dead, then each one of you who have placed your faith in Him will ultimately face only disappointment and condemnation.

If Jesus has not risen from the dead then we who have testified that God raised Him up are found to be liars who have borne false witness to something that did not actually take place.

All those men and women throughout history who testified that God raised up Jesus from the dead are all liars, deliberately deceiving men.

If resurrection is an impossibility then it is evident that Jesus Christ has not been raised from the dead.

If Jesus Christ has not risen from the dead, then every one of you (myself included) are yet in your sins—you remain hopelessly lost, you are yet “dead in trespasses and sins.”

Apart from a risen Savior there is no remedy for sin and there is no hope of forgiveness and redemption.

If Jesus Christ has not risen from the dead then all those throughout history who have believed on Jesus have perished in their sins and have not received the eternal life which was promised to them.

Finally in summary if Jesus has not risen from the dead, whatever hope we may have in Christ is confined to this life only and does not extend into eternity, and this means ultimately that “we are of all men most miserable.”

How miserable it would be to think that we should have no hope beyond this life—that our faith in Christ has no effect at all upon our eternal destiny.

Now is Christ Risen (Vs. 20)

This verse is a declarative statement which affirms the fact that Jesus Christ has indeed risen from the dead!

Paul speaks with bold confidence having seen the risen Savior personally as is affirmed in Vs. 8.

Jesus has risen and He is only the firstfruits of them that slept—this verse is in reference to the future resurrection of those who have believed on Jesus.

This is seen in 1 Corinthians 15:50–54

1 Corinthians 15:50–54 “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.”

Those who have preached the gospel of Jesus Christ have not done so in vain! Those who will repent and believe on Jesus shall have their sins forgiven and shall receive eternal life.

If you have believed on Jesus Christ, your faith is not in vain for you have believed on the one and only living Savior!

Jesus Christ has risen from the dead and is alive for evermore and has the power to save all those who will place their faith in Him.

Revelation 1:18 “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.”

Hebrews 7:25 “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.”

Death came by man and by man (the man Christ Jesus) came also the resurrection of the dead—in Adam—representative of the natural state of man—all die—but in Christ shall all be made alive.

All those who are found “in Christ”—those who have placed their faith in Him and are now identified with Him—shall receive life eternal.

The point here is that it is Christ’s resurrection which has secured our redemption and which has given us spiritual life.

It’s Up To You (Romans 10:8-10)

John 20:24-29- Doubting Thomas Now the question that remains for each of us to answer is simple— “Do you believe that Jesus Christ has risen from the dead?”

There is obviously more than sufficient evidence to show that Jesus was indeed raised from the dead.

There were many eyewitnesses who saw the resurrected Savior and many of these would ultimately suffer and die for their belief in Jesus refusing to recant.

Yet it is true that resurrection is a supernatural phenomenon which is not a part of ordinary events so to believe that Jesus has risen does require faith.

Your belief concerning Jesus resurrection is of critical importance because salvation is bound up with this truth.

If you are to be saved from your sins and from eternal condemnation, you must believe that God raised up Jesus from the dead.

This is not merely an intellectual belief but a belief that flows from the heart which calls out to the risen Savior in faith, trusting in Him for salvation.

I can provide you with the evidence and I can tell you today what I believe concerning Christ, but you must now make up your own mind regarding the resurrection.

Jesus Christ has risen from the dead and all those who will place their trust in Him will have their sins forgiven and will receive eternal life.

If you persist in denying the resurrection and in doing so rejecting Jesus Christ you will remain in your sins and you will die hopelessly lost without Jesus Christ and you will face eternal condemnation for your sins.

If you are here today and you have already believed on Jesus Christ, you can be assured that your faith is not in vain and that God will keep every promise which He has made to you.

You can be confident today that your sins have been forgiven and that you now have eternal life.

You can rejoice now in the new life which is now yours because of what Christ has done—just like God raised Jesus from the dead, you have been raised now to walk in newness of life.

Conclusion

I hope today that you understand the critical importance of what it is that we are celebrating on “Easter” Sunday.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ stand as the most critical event in all of human history.

If Jesus did not rise from the dead we preach in vain, our faith is vain, and we are yet in our sins—what a miserable thought.

Because Christ did rise from the dead we have the hope of eternal life, the opportunity to have all our sins forgiven, and the wonderful joy of spiritual life in Him.

Today, we who believe, celebrate the moment which brings to us hope and victory over sin and death, today we celebrate the resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

If you are here today and you have not yet believed on Jesus Christ and received Him as your personal Savior I want to challenge you just as the Lord Jesus challenged Thomas in his doubt with the words…

“…be not faithless, but believing” (John 20:27)

Will you today move from doubt to faith just as Thomas did—won’t you believe that God raised Jesus from the dead—won’t you put your faith in the risen Savior today!