In 1 Corinthians 15:12-19 Paul hypothetically discussed "for if Christ is not raised." Read, listen, or watch to learn what it means for believers if Christ was not raised, and what it means for unbelievers that Christ was raised.

Table of contentsWe All Have DoubtsWhat Makes People Heretics?What It Means for BelieversFor If Christ Is Not Raised a Believer’s Preaching is WorthlessFor If Christ Is Not Raised New Testament Authors Are LiarsFor If Christ Is Not Raised a Believer’s Faith Is WorthlessFor If Christ Is Not Raised a Believer’s Sins Are UnforgivenFor If Christ Is Not Raised the Dead Cease ExistingFor If Christ Is Not Raised a Believer Should Be PitiedWhat It Means for UnbelieversBecause Christ Was Raised an Unbeliever’s Works Are WorthlessBecause Christ Was Raised New Testament Authors Are WatchmenBecause Christ Was Raised an Unbeliever’s Sins Are UnforgivenBecause Christ Was Raised the Dead Live Eternally in Hell or HeavenBecause Christ Was Raised an Unbeliever Should Be Most Pitied

https://youtu.be/r3v2SV_Bm1c

"For if Christ is not raised" is a hypothetical situation in 1 Corinthians 15:12-19. Learn what it means for believers and unbelievers.

We All Have Doubts

Having doubts is common. Sometimes we have doubts about insignificant things like our orders at restaurants or the clothes we put on. Other times we have doubts about more significant things: "Should I have taken this job, moved here, made this purchase, or married this person?" You should not have this last doubt, because as soon as you’re married your spouse became the right person.

The Corinthians were having doubts about, of all things, the resurrection!

1 Corinthians 15:12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

Paul makes a logical point: “If you believe Christ was raised from the dead, you should believe Christians, or those in Christ, will be raised from the dead as well.”

Why Gentiles and Jews Doubted Christ's Resurrection

Gentiles doubted the resurrection, because of their pagan philosophies and religions. When Paul was at Athens he preached about the resurrection, and Acts 17:32 says, "When they heard [Paul preach the] resurrection of the dead, SOME MOCKED." They mocked because they thought everything physical was bad, and couldn’t believe God would raise physical bodies from the dead. John MacArthur said the idea was “repulsive and disgusting” to them.

The Jews struggled with resurrection because of the Sadducees., who didn’t believe in anything supernatural. Acts 4:1-2 says, "As [Peter and John] were speaking to the people…the Sadducees [were] greatly annoyed because [Peter and John] were…proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead." The Sadducees were prominent Jewish religious leaders, more than likely they influenced the Jews not to believe in the resurrection.

What Makes People Heretics?

If they doubted Christ’s resurrection, they wouldn’t be believers, because there are certain non-negotiables in the Christian life, and Christ’s resurrection is one of them. People who deny Christ’s resurrection are heretics. The Corinthians had many problems, as the previous 14 chapters reveal, but they weren’t heretics.

One fourth of professing Christians don't believe in the resurrectionfrom, which means one fourth of professing Christians are heretics. Unfortunately, most of the articles said, “one fourth OF CHRISTIANS don’t believe in the resurrection.” This language is terrible, because it implies people can be Christians AND NOT believe in the resurrection. So, it’s worth noticing I said “one fourth of PROFESSING Christians” deny the resurrection. This one fourth must not be familiar with these verses, because Paul explains the terrible problems associated with doubting the resurrection. He plays a game with the Corinthians: “Let’s pretend Christ was not raised.”

What It Means for Believers

For If Christ Is Not Raised a Believer’s Preaching is Worthless

1 Corinthians 15:13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 

Paul is working backward. If there’s no resurrection, then Jesus hasn’t been raised from the dead. If Christians can’t be resurrected, then Christ couldn’t have been raised.

The Greek word for vain is kenos, which means “empty.” It’s related to the word for "emptied Himself" in Philippians 2:7, where we get the doctrine of the kenosis, that at the Incarnation Christ emptied Himself.

We’ll talk more about our faith being vain after verse 17, when Paul says the same thing. If Christ wasn’t raised, then preaching vain or empty. Every Gospel presentation, sermon, Sunday school teaching, Bible study, funeral message promising people their loved ones were in heaven and they would see them again, were vain. They were empty without the resurrection. And it’s not just preaching that's in vain...

For If Christ Is Not Raised New Testament Authors Are Liars

1 Corinthians 15:15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 

I preach Christ’s resurrection, but if Christ wasn’t resurrected, I’m not a liar. I’m deceived, and I’m deceiving others. The New Testament authors are the liars because they claimed to be eyewitnesses of the resurrected Christ, when He wasn’t resurrected:

1 Corinthians 15:4 that he (this is Jesus) was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas (or Peter), then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep (they died). 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me...11 Whether then it was I or they (referring to the witnesses of Christ’s resurrection he just mentioned), so we preach and so you believed.

Paul listed several people who said they saw Christ after His resurrection. But if Christ wasn’t resurrected, they were lying. They would also be some of the worst deceivers who ever lived. Think of the thousands of martyrs who went to their deaths and the countless others who sacrificed so much living for Christ, because they believed with these men.

Regarding the twelve apostles lying, Charles Colson said:

I know the resurrection is a fact, and Watergate proved it to me. How? Because 12 men testified they had seen Jesus raised from the dead, then they proclaimed that truth for 40 years, never once denying it. Every one was beaten, tortured, stoned and put in prison. They would not have endured that if it weren't true. Watergate embroiled 12 of the most powerful men in the world-and they couldn't keep a lie for three weeks. You're telling me 12 apostles could keep a lie for 40 years? Absolutely impossible.

If you’re deceiving people, when you’re about to be tortured or killed, that’s when you throw up your hands and admit you were lying.

For If Christ Is Not Raised a Believer’s Faith Is Worthless

1 Corinthians 15:16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17a And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile...

Verse 16 sounds familiar because Paul said the same thing back in verse 13. He repeated it because it’s that important to consider what they’re saying: if people aren’t resurrected, then Christ couldn’t have been resurrected. Verse 17 also sounds familiar because Paul said this back in verse 14. He wants us to understand how worthless our faith is without Christ’s resurrection.

Years ago, a woman was cutting my hair and I saw a Chinese symbol on her arm. I asked her what it meant, and she said, “Faith.” I was immediately curious because I thought she might be a Christian. When I said, “Faith in what?” it seemed to catch her off guard. It took her a moment to come up with an answer, but finally she said, “Just faith. Believing. Faith in yourself.”

Her answer captures a common belief that simply having faith is good. The problem with this thinking is faith is only as good as the object we put our faith in.

The Importance of the Object of Our Faith

For example, when you drive, you demonstrate significant faith. You get into a vehicle that contains gallons of flammable gasoline. You start the vehicle and have faith that it won’t blow up even though parts of it became very hot and had sparks. If you aren’t driving, you have faith in the driver that he or she will get you safely to the destination. You also have faith in other drivers on the road. You head toward traffic in the opposing lane and believe that they won’t drift over even a few feet and crash into you head on.

Fail Army is a collection of videos of an army of people failing. They climb something but end up falling, drive something but end up crashing, or carry something but they end up dropping it. These people had misplaced faith in their ability to do certain things.

It doesn’t matter how much faith you have, if you put that faith in the wrong thing, you fail. If we put our faith in Christ, but He was not raised, our faith is misplaced. It is worthless. Christ didn’t do what we thought He did. We put our faith in the most significant event that’s ever happened, but it never happened.

For If Christ Is Not Raised a Believer’s Sins Are Unforgiven

1 Corinthians 15:17b and you are still in your sins. 

Jesus’s death made Him like everyone else, but His resurrection set Him apart. Maybe you are saying, “But what about other people who were raised from the dead, such as Lazarus? Weren’t they like Jesus?” There’s a difference between being raised from the dead and resurrected. Lazarus, and others, were raised from the dead,