pilgrim people

In 1 Corinthians 15, the apostle Paul says that if Christ has not been raised, then those who call themselves Christians have a faith that is vain and futile. Mataios is the word he uses, which means, “idle, empty, useless.” It is pointless to be a Christian if Christ was not really raised from the dead. “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins…If in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.” (1 Cor 15.17, 19)

Oddly, that is not the way in which many people view Christianity. Many people today would disagree with Paul, such as the pragmatist, the mystic, and the pietist. The pragmatist says, “It doesn’t matter whether or not a person has the correct doctrine about the resurrection. Who cares? As long as I find my religion meaningful and helpful, it doesn’t matter if the doctrine is correct. As long as it gives me a sense of hope and inner peace, and makes me a better citizen in society, then my faith isn’t futile and useless at all. It’s very practical.”

The mystic says, “Whatever. You can have your theology and doctrine; it doesn’t matter to me because I am experiencing God. And who are you to tell me that my experience is futile and useless?”

And the pietist says, “Well, I would rather have the correct life and the incorrect doctrine, than have the correct doctrine and the incorrect life. Christianity is more about deeds than creeds. So, if I am off on in my doctrine on the resurrection, big deal. As long as I try to live my life by the Sermon on the Mount, and God knows my heart then I will be OK. You can’t say my faith is futile.”

But Paul denies all three of these positions. He says flat out, “If there is no resurrection (both of Christ in history and believers on the Last Day), your faith is worthless.” It comes down to what we confess. This is essential, non-negotiable doctrine. Without it, one’s experience and piety are pointless: “you are still in your sins.”

It is important to remember that Paul did not preach Christianity because it gave him a rich spiritual experience or made his life better. The stripes on his back and the “marks of Jesus” which he bore in his body (which were most likely severe scars from the many beat-downs he endured) testified of the exact opposite. Paul preached Christianity for one reason and one reason only: because he believed it was true. Christ had been raised from the dead, proving that he is the fulfillment of Old Testament.

On the contrary, if Christ wasn’t raised from the dead, however, then Christianity is all a sham. “Don’t give me this ‘Christianity is a practical religion’ or ‘meaning spiritual experience’ nonsense,” says Paul in essence, “if this doctrine isn’t true, then I am wasting my life and giving people a false hope. I should go right back to where I left off years ago on the road to Damascus when I was a Pharisee. At least I was contributing order to society, not causing riots. At least I got paid well and was respected by people. Now, people throw rocks at me and put me in jail. If Christ wasn’t raised from the dead, why am I putting myself at risk everywhere I go (v.30), dying every day (v.31), fighting with beasts in places like Ephesus (v.32a)? If Christ wasn’t raised from the dead, and there is no bodily resurrection for us to look forward to, then let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die! (v.32b)”

If Christ wasn’t raised from the dead, then we are just plain stupid for being Christians. If a personal spiritual experience is the thing we really want, there are things more interesting than Christianity that can satisfy that goal. Yoga and meditation at least has the added benefit of physical fitness and mental relaxation. Kabala and Scientology makes you look chic (or a little weird, if you’re Tom Cruise).

If ethics is our thing, then we must admit that the Bible is more than a little confusing, what with all that blood and sacrifice in the Old Testament. William Bennett’s Book of Virtues seems to offer something a little more sanitary (and nice).

If it is self-improvement and self-esteem we want, we certainly do not need Christianity for that! The world offers us all sorts of positive coaches and motivational speakers, such as the “smiling preacher” himself, Mr. Joel Osteen.

And for goodness sake, if Christ wasn’t raised from the dead, why should we waste our Sunday mornings going to church? Think of all the time wasted, the gas money spent, the frustration in trying to find those elusive matching socks for your little ones (OK, maybe that last one is only true in my house). Why not spend Sunday doing something YOU want to do, like sleeping in or going to the beach? If Christ wasn’t raised from the dead, what’s the point? I’m saving my tithe money and living my life according to my standards, not God’s.

On the other hand, if Christ was raised from the dead, the Gospel is true and it is worth believing. In fact, we would be fools not to believe it, for in it God has spoken definitively: Christ is the fulfillment of the Old Testament. He has accomplished redemption for sinners and reconciled them to God. The glorious age to come has broken in and been inaugurated in history. This pointless, plotless, passing age is winding down and drawing closer each day to its goal: the return of the risen God-man, the firstfruits, who will come for his harvest, destroy death forever, and bring heaven to earth (vv.20-28).

This Easter message is not a message of self-improvement, spiritual experience, or moral education – any offer of hope based on those things is a hope that is only empty, vain and futile. The Easter message is good news because it is a real resurrection has happened - not one that took place in our hearts, but one that took place in tomb outside Jerusalem 2000 years ago. Hundreds of eyewitnesses saw him, and all of redemptive history bears witness to him.

If you are in Christ, your life is not just a bunch of experiences in a plotless, pointless, passing age. Your life is a part in his great story of redemption! You are a crop in his harvest! And your resurrection in the future is just as certain and objective as his resurrection that took place in history. If this message is true, it’s something worth believing.