8/1

1 Corinthians 15:14

¹⁴And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.

Our faith hinges on the resurrection of Jesus. There are many religions that claim to be the truth, but the resurrection of Jesus is one of the main events that sets Christianity apart. That is one reason why it is so frequently attacked by some new author that wants us to believe it was a hoax. But in two thousand years none of those theories have stood up under critical examination. See 5/5 for more on this.

If death is the end of existence, the message of the gospel has no solution to that problem. How would we know that Jesus could raise us? How could we know His sacrifice was accepted by God? If faith in Jesus only results in a life that is persecuted with no reward, what kind of a God would we be serving? Without resurrection the curse on sin, death, would be a permanent condition. Thank God Jesus did not stay in the tomb!

Almost all of the disciples died for their conviction that Jesus rose from death. If it was a hoax, why would they give their lives for it? The enemies of Jesus bribed soldiers to lie about what happened. If they didn't believe it was true, they would have had Rome search for the body instead. The resurrection is an historical fact. It means Jesus' sacrifice for our sins was accepted by God. It means that if you accept His gift of salvation, you will be raised as He was. It means that God loves us to such an extent that He would allow Jesus to endure such a brutal execution to save us from the second death.

Consider: Could anyone demonstrate a greater example of love? You are loved!