If Christ Was Not Raised

C. All Witnesses to and Preachers of the Resurrection Would Be Liars

"Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ, whom he did not raise up -- if in fact the dead do not rise." (I Cor. 15:15).

If there is no such thing as resurrection of the dead, then every person who claimed to have witnessed the risen Christ and every person who preached the risen Christ is a liar, including Paul and the other apostles.

To deny the resurrection is to call the apostles and every other leader of the New Testament church not simply mistaken but liars. There is no possibility, as some people claim, that such a mistake could have been innocent or naive. Those witnesses could not have been honest men who just were mistaken. If Christ was not raised from the dead, they were liars who conspired together for their lies to be consistent and harmonized.

And if the apostles, the prophets and the New Testament writers lied about the heart of the gospel why should they be believed about anything else? Why should their moral teachings be considered inspired and lofty if they so blatantly falsified their teaching about Jesus’ resurrection? All New Testament truth stands or falls together based on the resurrection.

Although Paul does not mention it specifically, it clearly follows that if the resurrection were not true, Christ himself lied, or at best was tragically mistaken. In either case, he could hardly qualify as the divine Son of God or the world’s Savior and Lord. Or, if the New Testament writers completely misrepresented what both Christ and the apostles taught, then the New Testament would be a worthless document that no reasonable person would trust.

D. All Men Would Still Be In Their Sins

"For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!" (I Cor. 15:16-17).

If Christ was not raised from the dead, then Christians would be no better off spiritually than non-Christians. That sounds a bit strange at first because usually we think of the crucifixion being essential to the salvation of our sins, and here Paul says the resurrection is essential.

The reason is that if Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, then sin won the victory over him and therefore it will continue to be victorious over all men. If Jesus remained dead, then, when we die, we too will remain dead and condemned. "The wages of sin is death." (Romans 6:23), and if we remain dead, then death and eternal punishment are the only prospect for believer and unbeliever alike. If Christ was not raised, then he didn’t bring forgiveness of sins or salvation or reconciliation or spiritual life, either for now or for eternity.

But the fact is that God did raise "Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification." (Romans 4:24-25). Because Jesus does live, we too shall live (John 14:19). "the God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. Him God has exalted to his right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins." (Acts 5:30-31).