By Russ Ramsey
Paul told the Corinthians, “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins….If we have put our hope in Christ for this life only, we should be pitied more than anyone.” (1Corinthians 15:17,19). His point is this: If we base our lives on believing Jesus that rose from the grave— when in truth, He didn’t—we should be pitied by the world. Our religion would be a lie and the hope we’ve clung to is going to fail us.
Christianity isn’t built on an empty hope but on the reality that Jesus lived in real time and space, died in the place of sinners, was raised from the grave, and will return once again to rule and reign. Unless Christ did something to save us, we are not saved. If all we have in Christ is inspiration, all we can hope to be is inspired. But if that’s all we have, Paul says we should be pitied. Why? Because the condition we’re in requires more than hoping God might like you.
In our reading today, we’re reminded that the hope of any who’d call themselves Christian is that Jesus lived and died in our place. He rose from the grave, securing victory over death’s otherwise inescapable hold. Some of us come to these passages wishing to not be reminded of the cost of our salvation. Some of us come wanting to read the story again, desperate for hope because of the beatings of our own sin.
The story is still unfolding. Jesus is in heaven at the right hand of God, but He will return in the same way His early disciples saw Him go. In the meantime, they had a mission to tell the world about Him. The result was that churches began to spring up all over Europe, Asia, and Africa. Eventually, that same story would be heard in Australia, South America, and North America. Here we are considering the story of Jesus’s resurrection, so allow me to ask a very important question: Do you believe this story?
Why does that matter? Because as John tells us, “these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:31). Jesus hasn’t yet returned, so His disciples continue the mission He gave—to be His witnesses wherever we find ourselves. Because He has not yet returned, there is still time for you to believe and have life in His name. Put your trust in Christ. His resurrection guarantees ours when our faith is in Him.
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