Resurrection Is Foundation of Salvation

But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.
—1 Corinthians 15:20–21

Every now and then, I hear people saying, “Well, if this Christianity thing turns out to be a hoax, I’m still glad I’m a Christian because even if there’s nothing on the other side of the grave, the Christian way is the best way to live.”

But that’s not what Paul said. Christianity isn’t just a moral lifestyle or better-than-nothing belief system.

You know, the only people who can say, “If this Christianity thing turns out not to be true, I’m still glad I’m a Christian” are people who have not sacrificed very much to be a Christian. The apostle Paul had gone through a shipwreck and imprisonment and torture, ultimately facing beheading. If there’s no payoff on the other side of the grave, then all our suffering here for the sake of Christ is worthless. Paul is saying, “If I have sacrificed all this, given up everything to follow Christ and there is nothing to this message, then we are of all people to be pitied most. Our life is miserable if there is no resurrection.”

But then in 1 Corinthians 15:20 Paul says with great confidence, “But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.” If Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead, then it means those of us who are in Christ will be raised as well. Jesus Christ was just the first fruits; He was the sample of a great resurrection train that is marching toward heaven.

Notice that Paul and Jesus both say that there is a heaven and a hell. The same fate does not await everyone. Whether we spend eternity in heaven or hell depends upon what we do with Jesus Christ in this life. The core of the gospel messages is this: “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3)

The Bible says that every one of us has sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. We owe God a debt that we could never pay in ten thousand lifetimes because of our sin. Somebody has to pay our sin debt; somebody has to suffer the consequences for our sin. You can choose to suffer the consequences of your own sins; you can choose to live out your sentence of eternal separation from God. If you make that choice, then you will spend an eternity of hell trying to pay off your sin debt and you’ll never be able to do it. Or you can say to God: “I choose to allow Jesus to pay that debt for me. I believe that when Jesus died on the cross, He died for me. He died to pay my sin debt, and I am trusting in what Jesus did for me to save me from my sins.”

The choice is yours. What will you do with the resurrection of Jesus Christ?

***
Today’s devotion is excerpted from “Simple Answers to Sincere Questions,” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2011.
Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.