Rande Greene

“And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless, and you are still guilty of your sins. In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.”

– 1 Corinthians 15:16-19

It seems clear that Paul is saying the resurrection of Jesus has present implications. What happened 2000 years ago has say-so in lives today. If it didn’t happen, the person who believes and lives like they believe it are deceived and that makes them pitiable. If it happened, the person who denies or ignores it will face the resurrected, living Christ as their judge someday and will answer for why they didn’t investigate its possibility thoroughly.