¹² But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? ¹³ If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. ¹⁴ And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. ¹⁵ More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. ¹⁶ For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. ¹⁷ And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. ¹⁸ Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. ¹⁹ If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.

–1 Corinthians 15.12-19 (NIV)

Yesterday we saw how Paul was reminding us that Jesus’ resurrection is firmly rooted in history and therefore is thoroughly believable. In today’s passage, Paul continues to lay the foundation for our belief, this time drawing out the implications of this for our faith. Paul is telling us that if we don’t believe that the resurrection is an historical event (i.e., if we don’t believe that Jesus was really raised from the dead), then our future and present hope are both lost.

Paul links Jesus’ death and resurrection in no uncertain terms. If God did not raise Jesus from the dead, then it negates all that Christians believe about the saving power of the cross. It means that Jesus was just another delusional messianic wannabe who met the same fate as countless other delusional wannabes. It means that we have no hope in God finally putting his good but flawed creation to rights through his Messiah. It means in effect that evil still is in control and has won the day.

Worse yet, it means for us Christians that we are, well, screwed. If Jesus wasn’t really raised from the dead, we are still alienated from God, the Source and Author of all life, and that means we are as good as dead. You cannot hope to have life apart from your life support system and we can only find life in God. So if God did not lay the foundation for our forgiveness and reconciliation in the cross of Jesus, that means we are still effectively separated from God and that means when our bodies die, that’s it. Game over.

But the bad news doesn’t stop there. Paul is reminding us that if Jesus’ resurrection is a lie, it means that we as Christians are most to be pitied because of the lifestyle we are called to live, a lifestyle that demands we deny our selfish desires, take up our cross, and follow Jesus. Think about it. If Jesus wasn’t raised from the dead, then that means he is a liar (and so is God). So who in their right mind would want to live the kind of life Christ calls us to live if this is the only shot we have? No, says Paul. If Christ is not raised, you had better get your own while you can because the day is coming when you will die and that’s it. Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we will all die.

Is that the kind of meaning and existence you are looking for in this life? The “grab-all-the-gusto-you-can” philosophy can only possibly work well if you happen to have the means to grab the goodies. If you are desperately poor and without political power, you will be grabbing nothing but your empty stomach and hopeless situation. No. We humans must have hope if we want to live our lives with any kind of meaning and purpose. You cannot have hope, real hope, in anything but the death and resurrection of Jesus because no other hope promises victory over death and evil. Without real hope, you will surely shrivel up and die in a thousand ways before your actual body dies. If you are looking for a recipe for hopelessness and despair, look no further.