The resurrection makes a difference now

1 Corinthians 15:12-34

You know, I'm always amazed how few people are prepared to check out the claims of Christianity – especially the resurrection of Jesus.

Having been ordained now almost 16 years, I've met with hundreds and hundreds of people to plan a relative's funeral.
For most of them, there's some vague assumption that, because Auntie Joan never did anyone any harm, or because Uncle Fred never had a bad word to say about anyone (except the referee and the groundsman in the Spurs – Portsmouth game last week) – because they were basically nice people – they deserve to be in a better place after death.

But this belief has no foundation – not a shred of evidence to support it. It's simply wishful thinking.

And yet, if only they'd look, they'd find that the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus is rock solid.
As Paul writes at the beginning of this chapter – Jesus died for our sins, was buried and was raised on the 3rd day. All this was foretold in the OT.
And Jesus appeared to many people – to Peter, to the rest of the apostles, to over 500 people at one time, most of whom were still living when Paul wrote this letter.
And Jesus appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus, and turned him round from being a murderer of Christians to a preacher of Christ.

And, of course, this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to evidence – an iceberg of evidence which is not melting as time goes by, but rather growing as knowledge about ancient manuscripts and archaeology increases.

But there have always been people who are unwilling to accept the resurrection of Jesus.
Why is that?
It's because of the consequences of Jesus' resurrection how we live now, and what happens when we die. Consequences which most people don't want to face up to.

But we'll come to that in a while. First, Paul shows us that there are consequences if Jesus did not rise from the dead.

Denying the resurrection is no new thing. There have always been people who tried to deny that Jesus rose again:

Within days of his resurrection, the chief priests and elders of the Jewish community bribed the Roman guards to say that the disciples had stolen Jesus' body.
20 years later, as Paul writes to the Corinthian Church, some of them are claiming there's no resurrection. 15:12f.
In the 1980's it was David Jenkins, the Bishop of Durham, who caused a storm by denying that Jesus had physically risen.

But, says Paul, there are 5 consequences if Jesus was not raised:

1.Our preaching is useless and witness is false vv14-15
“If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless”, Paul writes in v14, and then in v15, he goes on, “More than that, we are found to be false witnesses about God.”
So if Jesus wasn't raised from the dead, my preaching is useless i.e. powerless. It won't change anyone's life, it won't bring life or forgiveness or true hope.
In fact, it's worse than that, v15, it's a pack of lies. Peter & Paul, James & John were liars. I'm a liar. And Jesus was a liar, because he himself said that he would die and after 3 days be raised.

2.Your faith in Christ is futile v17
“If Christ has not been raised your faith is futile” - worthless. In fact, it's worse than useless because faith in Jesus brings you all kinds of trouble and difficulty as we'll see in a moment.

3.You are still in your sins v17
“If Christ has not been raised from the dead... you are still in your sins.”
The resurrection proved that Jesus death was acceptable to God as full payment for our sin and guilt.
If Jesus did not rise, his death was not accepted by God – in fact if Jesus stayed dead, then he must have been punished for his own sin – he was no different from the rest of us, and wasn't the 'full, perfect and sufficient' sacrifice for our sins.
And if Jesus did not take the just punishment for our sins, then we remain unforgiven. When we die, we will face the just punishment for our sin – hell.

4.Dead Christians are lost v18
If Jesus did not rise, “then those who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.” - they have perished – they died unforgiven and are therefore in hell.

5.We are to be pitied more than anyone else v19
“If only for this life we have hope in Christ we are to be pitied more than all men.”
Paul has given his whole life for Christ – if Christ wasn't raised, if there is no resurrection, then he's wasted his whole life.
The same's true for Sarah and me. If Christ wasn't raised and we're not going to be raised when we die, then we sold our house in Norwich losing £10k for nothing.
We gave up careers as Physiotherapists for nothing.
We work for St Peter's for nothing.

And if Christ wasn't raised from the dead, we all waste our money when we give to the church or mission agencies.
We waste our time when we work on the church building.
We waste our emotional energy when we encourage and love each other.

If Christ did not rise from the dead, we're pathetic. To be pitied by all those “sensible” people who have found “evidence” that Jesus did not rise again.

But, says Paul in v20, 'But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, [and he is] the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also from a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.”

I once asked a farmer how he knew when the wheat was ready to be harvested.
He showed me how a handful of grain is crushed in a tiny press, and placed in a moisture meter. When the moisture level was just right, harvesting began.
That handful of grain was his firstfruits – the guarantee that the rest of the harvest would be gathered in.

And so Jesus' resurrection is the guarantee of bodily resurrection for all who are united to him by faith.
In vv23-28, Paul explains that Jesus' resurrection was proof that he had power & authority over everything – even over death itself.

But Jesus' resurrection isn't just some past event that guarantees us a happy future when we die.

I remember leading a Lent Bible study in the Old Vicarage in Heydon, the conversation turned to heaven, and one lady said, 'It's all very well talking about heaven, but some people become so heavenly minded they're of no earthly use'.

Karl Marx, the founder of communism, said that 'religion was the opiate of the people'. What he meant was that because religion gave people hope of a better life after death, their sense were dulled and they couldn't be bothered to change this life.

This idea that confidence in the resurrection could lead people to apathy in this life is unthinkable to Paul.
In fact, the hope of heaven lead Paul to a life of risk-taking and danger for the sake of those he met, and he explains this in vv29-34.

But he begins with one of the most opaque verses in the whole of the NT: v29
What is this all about? We don't really know for sure!
The best guess is that there was a group of people who would be baptised on behalf of people who had died, in the hope that it would benefit them in some way.
It's not that Paul agrees with this practice, he just notes that it happens, and says, 'This is what some people do because they believe in the resurrection of the dead.'
He then goes on, in vv30-34, to show what he does as a result of his belief in the resurrection.

And as for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour? I die every day--I mean that, brothers--just as surely as I glory over you in Christ Jesus our Lord. If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for merely human reasons, what have I gained?
If the dead are not raised, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die." Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character." Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God--I say this to your shame.

And so belief in the resurrection leads us to do two things:
1.Take risks for the sake of others
2.Stop sinning

And it's these consequences that stop people from investigating the claims of Christ.
People don't want to stop sinning. They don't want to stop being immoral.
And they don't want to have to love others if that means putting their own lifestyle at risk.
And, because they have no real hope of the resurrection, this is not surprising – their philosophy is 'Let us eat & drink, for tomorrow we die'.
Since they have no real hope of eternal life, they just have to make the most of this life because this is all there is.
So for the non-Christian, life doesn't get any better than this. And he's not prepared to risk this life's pleasures.

But for the Christian, who knows he will be raised to eternity with Christ, life doesn't get any worse than this.
Do you remember the song that was played following Tony Blair's 1997 election victory? 'Things can only get better'.
Now, whether Britain is better now than it was 13 years ago may be debatable, but there's no question at all that, because Christ was raised from the dead, we know that everything can only get better for us as Christians.
And that's why Paul is prepared to put himself in danger for the sake of others, and why he does everything he can to live a godly life.

And this is what the Corinthians needed to hear.
They were living for today – as if this life was all there was:
in Chapters 1-3, we hear about them boasting & quarrelling about which church leader was the most powerful & impressive speaker.
in ch 4, they were boasting about their wealth and power.
in ch 5, they were proud of their sexual freedoms which meant they were more immoral than the world around them.
in ch 6, we read about them suing each other in court.
in ch 11, the rich Christians are getting drunk and eating all the food, leaving their poor brothers & sisters with nothing.

And so on and on.
These Corinthian Christians had stopped believing in the resurrection. The inevitable result is that they were living entirely for the pleasures of this life – sleeping around, getting drunk, boasting, quarrelling, spending on themselves.

And they laughed at Paul because he suffered as he gave his life to bring the hope of eternal life to others.

But Paul knows that this life is not all there is. So he's prepared to take risks in loving others and sharing the great news of Jesus' death & resurrection.
So, in 2 Corinthians, he says, “Five times I received from the Jews 39 lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have laboured and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.” “Why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do!”
Knowledge of the resurrection leads us to a life of risk-taking, danger and sacrificial love.
It leads us to fulfil the great commandments – to love God with all that we are, and to love others as ourselves – whatever the cost in this life.
It leads us to fulfil the great commission – to make disciples of all nations – whatever the cost in this life.

This is the effect of believing in the resurrection: we have such certainty about the future, and such joy in our present hope, that we're able to make real sacrifices for the sake of others.
We're able to go without so that gospel work can grow and prosper.
We're willing to risk losing our job if it means honouring and obeying Christ.
We'll sacrifice our immediate lusts and passions, and stop sinning because we know there are far greater pleasures to come.

We'll do all this now because we know that there is no greater joy than seeing Christ face-to-face, living with him and being like him forever.
And we won't want to lose him for the sake of momentary pleasure now.