scripture: 1 corinthians 15:12-15:19

Baseline Christian Fellowship

If Christ was not resurrected than we have no good news and Christianity falls apart, all we’re left with is idolatry. The Resurrection is central to the gospel which produces resurrection hope.

A in-depth, verse-by-verse, expositional study examining the book of Corinthians.

Resurrection of the Body and Life Everlasting

Ralph Beerhorst discusses how the resurrection has changed our worldview and how we live our lives.

You have heard it said that some things are a “matter of life and death”. All month, as we discuss resurrection, we will be discussing life and death. At the end of the day, when the smoke clears and people stop long enough to turn off the stimulus and think, it all boils down to life and death. And the Bible is so clear and simple about these things. Let’s ask that a very basic question: “Why do people die?” Death is our universally shared human experience. It transcends color and race and economic and social status. It touches the rich and poor, young and old, good and evil, powerful and weak, popular and obscure. It is painful, confusing, and yet we accept its presence. Maybe we ask why when it seems to come before it should, like in the life of someone young, or in a way that is painful; but nonetheless, death is our constant companion. But why? Has death always been the human experience? Who says it has to exist? This is what we discuss in our next section of chapter 15! How is death connected to sin? What does resurrection say about sin? What does it even mean to be dead or alive? In this next section, Paul takes us through the hypothetical mental exercise of imagining there is no resurrection and imagining the repercussions of it!

Four resulting consequences if the message of Easter is false

If Jesus Christ did not rise from the dead, what difference would it make? Would the gospel still be the same? If He did not rise, what would that mean for us who had believed in Jesus Christ? What if we are counting on a salvation that didn’t exist?

Paul breaks down the false belief that some Corinthians held in denying the resurrection. If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ did not rise from the dead. The resurrection of Jesus assures us of the forgiveness of sins, it is the ground of our hope. It assures us Jesus is mighty to save.

By faith, Joseph... By faith, we...

Life is full of hurt. We feel pain, struggle, fear, and failure. Despite it all, most of us hope. We hope for a better tomorrow. We hope for future success. We hope to be forgiven. We hope our lives will matter. And, we hope that death will not come too soon. But, false hope is no hope at all. The Bible declares that our greatest hopes hang on if Jesus rose.

What if the resurrection did not happen? What does that say about God? What does that say about Jesus? What does that say about us? Fortunately, the resurrection changes everything. The tomb is empty and He is risen!