Easter Sunday

March 31, 2024

1 Corinthians 15:12-20

Without the Resurrection—

Faith is Futile!

Dear fellow worshipers of our living Lord and Savior,

He is risen! He is risen indeed!

What if it’s not true? What if the women and the apostles were all lying? What if somebody did steal Jesus’ body and put it somewhere where no one would ever be able to find it? What if the accounts of Jesus’ physical resurrection that we read in the Bible were added long after Jesus died in an effort to make the Rabbi from Nazareth look far more powerful and far more impressive than He actually was? What if the Easter story is just that— a story and not historical fact?

While questions like that send a chill up our spine they are questions that people have been asking for a very long time — probably since that first Easter Sunday! Praise God that we know the Truth: He is risen! He is risen indeed!

Our sermon text for today comes from the Great Resurrection Chapter of the Bible, 1 Corinthians fifteen. In 1 Corinthians 15:12-20 Paul says, 12But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. 16For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.

20But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

Since Paul himself was the one who proclaimed to the Corinthains that “Christ has been raised from the dead,” he was astonished that there were members of this congregation who claimed that “there is no resurrection from the dead”! Just as this did indeed astonish the apostle Paul, so also, it astonishes us. There are people right down to this very day who adamantly deny the resurrection of the dead— including Jesus’ physical resurrection from the dead! And if you are going to go simply by what you can see with your eyes, if you are going to abide only by what science and logic can prove— then no, there is no resurrection of the dead. All the evidence we have points to the conclusion that life always ends in death. You can fight it, you can deny it, you can even ignore it, but death always wins! Death comes to everyone. Death is final. Death is permanent. When you’re dead, you’re dead.

What astonished the apostle Paul and what still astonishes us is when a Christian takes that stand— but doesn’t think through what that stand means! That’s what Paul helps the Corinthians— and us!— to do here in this portion of his letter. So let’s take a moment to think through what a denial of the resurrection of the dead would mean, shall we?

Paul emphasizes two main points here. Point number one: If there is no resurrection of the dead then not even Christ rose from the dead. Either His body remained in the tomb where it was placed on the day He died, or His body was moved someplace else where it decayed into dust just like every other dead body. If there is no resurrection of the dead, if even Christ Himself did not rise on the third day, then not only is Paul’s preaching “useless,” but the preaching and teaching of every pastor and every teacher, every parent and every grandparent who has ever shared with you the Easter message of “He is risen!” their teaching and their preaching is “useless” and “empty,” foolish” and “senseless.” Then each and every one of these individuals— including us!— is a “false witness about God.”

Paul’s second main point is this: If there is no resurrection of the dead, if not even Christ has been raised then your faith is “futile.” It is “worthless.” It is “useless.” A futile and worthless faith, a faith that is empty of any real object brings us no benefit at all— no grace, no forgiveness, and of course, no eternal life. What is worse is that if our faith is futile and worthless and useless then that means that our loved ones who died believing and trusting in Jesus “are lost.” They are “ruined.” If there is no resurrection of the dead, if not even Christ has been raised that renders Christianity as just another one of many philosophies about how to live your life in this world If there is no resurrection of the dead, if not even Christ has been raised then as Paul says, “We are to be pitied more than all men.” Why are we to be “pitied”? Think of all the time and all the effort that we invest in following Jesus as His disciples. Think of all the resources and all the dedication that we pour into sharing the message of our risen Lord and Savior with others. If Easter is not true, if it was all made up to make the Rabbi from Nazareth look far more powerful and far more impressive than He actually was, then for the last 2,000 years everyone who has based their life and their eternity on the message of Easter— well, then they would all look “pitiful.”

Praise God that our sermon text for this glorious Easter Sunday does not end on that sad and depressing note! Praise God that Paul goes on to say in the closing verse of our text, “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.”

Notice how emphatically Paul proclaims that Christ has indeed risen from the dead— just as He promised He would! It doesn’t matter what anyone else says. It doesn’t matter what anyone else believes. By the grace and power of God we know, we believe, we trust in the words that the angels spoke to the faithful women on that first Easter Sunday, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen”! (Luke 24:5, 6)

What does this mean, my friends? We see what it means when we go back to the two major points Paul emphasizes in this text! First, since there is a resurrection of the dead, since Christ has kept His promise and rose from the dead on the third day, then Paul’s preaching and my preaching, then the preaching and teaching of everyone who has joyously proclaimed the glorious message of Easter— their preaching and their teaching is not “useless” or “empty”! It is not “foolish” or “senseless”! Since Jesus has kept His promise and has risen from the dead that means that instead of being “false witnesses about God” we are faithful witnesses about who the true God is and what the true God has done for us!

Second, since Jesus has kept His promise and has risen from the dead our faith is not “futile” or “useless” or “empty” of any real object. No rather, our faith is valuable and powerful and profitable! Our faith in our risen Lord guarantees that our risen Savior daily showers us with His amazing grace. He daily assures us that His resurrection guarantees that our sins are forgiven! He daily comforts us with the truth that because He lives we too shall live— forever!

Since Jesus has kept His promise and has risen from the dead we have the confidence of knowing that our loved ones who died believing and trusting in Jesus as their Savior are not “lost.” They are not “ruined.” No, rather they are living with their living Lord in the glory and the perfection of Heaven!

Since Jesus has kept His promise and has risen from the dead we know that Christianity is not just another human philosophy. It is not just a guidebook on how to live your life. Christianity is the one true faith! It is the only faith that is built on a living Savior! It is the only faith that has the power to transform us from pitiful mortal sinners into dearly beloved adopted children of God and heirs of God’s heavenly Kingdom!

Since Jesus has kept His promise and has risen from the dead then as Paul says here in our text, we know that Jesus is “the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” This is where the reality of Easter becomes relevant for each and every one of us. Jesus’ physical resurrection from the dead is proof that one day we too shall physically rise from the dead! Unless Jesus comes back to this earth first, we will all die— or as Paul says in our text, we will all “fall asleep.” But one day— one glorious day!— we will all experience Easter on a very personal level! One day— one glorious day!— Jesus will wake us up from the sleep of death just as He woke Lazarus up from the sleep of death. One day— one glorious day!— Jesus will “transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body” (Philippians 3:21). One day— one glorious day!— we will join all the saints and all the angels and bring our thanks and our praise to our living Lord and Savior!

What happened in Jesus’ tomb on that first Easter morning is real and it is miraculous! It is an event that was witnessed by real people— people who were willing to die rather than deny the truth of Easter. Just as Jesus Himself rose to life after being put to death on the cross (Pointing to the cross), so also our God will not abandon us to our graves after our mortal bodies die. Easter assures us that we can rejoice with our whole being in the certainty of our own resurrection. Easter assures us that our faith is not built on the shifting sands of human philosophy or human logic. Easter assures us that our faith is built on the rock-solid foundation of an historical reality. Without Easter our faith is indeed futile! With Easter our faith is phenomenal! Why? Because Easter gives us the confidence to believe and to proclaim the Truth:

He is risen! He is risen indeed!

To God be the glory!

Amen