“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? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 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. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.” (I Corinthians 15:12-19 NIV)
A few years ago, I read an opinion piece in The Washington Post where the author argued for a de-emphasis on Jesus dying for our sins and His resurrection. He believes, rather, that Christians should emphasize all the wonderful teachings of an extraordinary man. In his opinion, this would make Christianity much more relevant.
This is not a new argument. Since the 1st Century, people have been debating the significance and the historicity of the resurrection. As this passage shows, there was debate shortly after the death of Jesus as to whether or not He was raised back to life.
Many have argued, and still do, that the resurrection has no real significance. What is important, they say, are the teachings of Jesus. As the author of the Post opinion piece argued, these teachings can sustain the Christian faith without all the emphasis being on the hope of an afterlife. He sees that as diminishing the focus on the here and now. Christians so obsessed with the afterlife, he says, are missing the opportunities to impact their world.
Of course, there is some truth to this because there are those Christians whose whole focus is on getting to heaven and getting others there with them. They don’t really care about the needs in this world because they don’t matter. And perhaps the Post writer has met more than his share of those; however, the argument against the necessity of the resurrection ignores the claims of Jesus Himself and common sense.
Jesus told His disciples He would be killed and then rise from the dead. (Matthew 20:18-19). After His resurrection, He explained from the Old Testament scriptures how that had been the plan from Day One. (Luke 24:25-27) Paul clearly states that apart from the resurrection, the Christian faith is meaningless. And, without the resurrection, the New Testament would never have been written. All of its writings were penned after Jesus arose. If He hadn’t risen, not one of those books would have been written because the true significance of Jesus and the Christian faith is linked to the resurrection.
The resurrection and the hope of eternal life are the foundation on which our faith rests. The resurrection validates the claims of Jesus as Lord of all, and the hope of eternal life motivates us to live our lives in service to Him. So, far from this making our faith irrelevant to the times, it is what makes it the most significant. There is hope in this life because He has risen. We love people and meet their needs because He is alive. And if there were no resurrection, Jesus would be a liar or a delusional person, not a great teacher.
With all due respect to those who diminish the significance of the resurrection, true Christianity cannot exist without it.
© Jim Musser 2014
No comments:
Post a Comment