Without Resurrection, Our Faith Is Meaningless

And if Christ has not been raised, then . . . your faith also is vain.
—1 Corinthians 15:14

Look closely at what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:14, “And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain.”

If Jesus Christ was not raised from the dead, then the so-called faith you exercised to become a Christian that was just an emotion. That faith that sustained you in a time of trial in your life—that was just a sham. That faith that gave you comfort in a loss of the loved one—that was just your imagination.

Well, you think, so what? I got over the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus, and the Tooth Fairy when I learned the truth about them. It was a little disappointing, but I got over it. So what if Christ really wasn’t actually raised from the dead? I can get on with my life even if that’s not true.

The truth is, the entire Bible is nothing more than one big Aesop’s fable if, in fact, there is no resurrection from of the dead. If some of Scripture can’t be trusted, then none of it can be trusted. If the resurrection is untrue, then the Bible is a book of lies, and everything we believe in the Christian faith is also a lie.

Paul is saying, if there is no resurrection, and then your faith is meaningless. It is just make-believe. Everything you’ve ever thought was faith in God is only an imaginary emotion. That’s the consequence of no resurrection.

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Today’s devotion is excerpted from “Simple Answers to Sincere Questions,” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2011; and “If Christ Has Not Been Raised,” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2012.
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.