The Consequences of the Scary Lie – 1 Corinthians 15:11-15

There is always a cost to believing a lie, but none compare to the consequences of believing that Jesus has not been raised from the dead. In these verses, Paul is incredulous at the Corinthians’ denial of Jesus’ resurrection. After all, Jesus’ resurrection was not hidden. In addition to the hundreds of eyewitnesses, the testimonies of God’s Word, His church, and Apostle Paul himself left no room for doubt to the reality of the resurrection. But there were still some who said there was no resurrection, and to them, Paul outlines the dire consequences of unbelief.

But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised…

Those who deny the resurrection are false believers, because their gospel is false. You can not receive the crucifixion with the resurrection. If Jesus was not raised from the dead, He would have been like any other man who rose in power and fell away. But Jesus was in fact raised, because He is the self-existent Son of God. (Acts 5:34-37; Jn 1:14)

…and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain…

Without the resurrection, your message becomes meaningless. The message we have is the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the message that brings eternal life to the sinner. Every teaching apart from the gospel of Jesus’ death and resurrection is solely moralistic- it becomes just another man-made religion, void of eternal life and spiritual fruit.

…your faith also is vain.

There is no life without Jesus’ resurrection, because true faith comes from the word of the risen Lord. (Rom 10:17) Those with dead faith can not enjoy the presence of God. They are ignorant of Jesus’ presence. They never seek Him or pray to Him, because to them, Jesus is dead. The message of Jesus’ death and resurrection results in living faith in the risen Lord.

Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God…

Those who deny the resurrection are the worst of sinners, because they misrepresent God. Just like the Pharisees who were cursed by Jesus for their falsehood, those who deny the risen Lord by living with self-righteousness and self-centeredness will face God’s severest judgment for practicing perjury before Him.

If Jesus’ resurrection is not yet central in your life, take heed- the consequences of dismissing Jesus’ resurrection is too costly. Examine the evidence, examine your faith. Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, He was buried, and He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.