WHAT IF IT’S NOT TRUE?

(I Cor 15:12-19)
April 1, 2018

Read I Cor 15:12-19 – It’s a great day to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection! But
what if . . . A man asked his doctor, “Are you sure I’ll get well? Don’t docs
sometimes treat the wrong disease. I just heard of a guy who was being
treated for pneumonia who died of typhoid.” The doc replied, “Don’t worry.
When I treat a man for pneumonia, he dies of pneumonia.” Not very
reassuring. So our question today is, do you have the right treatment for guilt?

We all have guilt. It covers our life like a great cloud. Every time we ask,
“What did I do to deserve this?” or “Why am I being punished?” or “How
can I make this right?” we are acknowledging feelings of guilt. Some would
tell us do penance; others, it’s a false feeling, ignore it. But are they right?

Paul had an answer. He says in v. 1, remember the “gospel I preached to you

which you received”? Gospel. Good news. The good news in 3-4: “that Christ
died for our sins. . . 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day.”
That good news. That the forgiveness you could not achieve on your own,
Christ has achieved for you and all who believe in Him. The answer to your
guilt problem isn’t you; it’s Him. That’s the message you heard and received.

But a problem has arisen. V. 12b: “How can some of you say that there is no
resurrection of the dead?” Some in Corinth were denying that anybody could
rise from the dead. They were probably Greek dualists who taught at death the
good soul is liberated from the evil body. The last thing these folks thought
appropriate to the afterlife was a body. They believed Jesus’ resurrection was
spiritual, not bodily. By following His example, guilt might be alleviated, but
they wanted nothing to do with a bodily resurrection. They wanted their cake
and eat it too. Forgiveness thru Christ, but no embarrassing resurrection.

Current day liberal theology arrives at exactly the same place, just by a
different path. It denies anything supernatural, including resurrection of dead
bodies. That’s not possible. But they still want forgiveness – so they assign
some ethereal spiritual significance to Jesus’ resurrection and claim a new
beginning. It’s a message being preached in churches all over the world today.

Paul’s message, however, powerfully refutes the idea there is relief from guilt
apart from the physically risen Christ. Easter is, indeed, about new life. But it
is new life in Christ based on His physical resurrection. Without that, the
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whole of Christianity fails. So Paul says, let’s assume Jesus didn’t rise. Here
is the logical end. There are 2 major problems – 1 theological, 1 personal. The
theological problem is the gospel is a lie. It’s not good news, it’s bad news.
The personal problem is we’re all still guilty before God. That’s devastating.

I. Denying Resurrection is a Theological Problem – 4 reasons.

A. It means Christ was not Raised -- First, that means v. 13b:

“then not even Christ has been raised.” Why is that a problem? Well, first it’s
a problem bc Christ predicted His death and resurrection multiple times in
passages like Lu 9:22: “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be
rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the
third day be raised.” So, He was literally rejected, literally killed, so must
have meant a literal resurrection, right? He’s lied if there’s no physical rez.

Second, the evidence says He rose again; it takes a lot of explaining to deny it.
We’ve examined it before, but let me summarize quickly. You must explain
an empty tomb that virtually no one denies. And it was not a case of the body
being stolen by cowardly disciples who overcame a trained Roman guard, nor
of opposition officials moving the body or surely they would have produced it
later to negate the apostle’s teaching. There are credible eyewitness accounts,
including that of women who would never have been cited as the first to find
the empty tomb if someone were making this up. Eyewitnesses also included
people previously hostile to Jesus like brothers, James and Jude, and the
Apostle Paul – all of whom became devout believers. You must explain that!

After an exhaustive 2-year investigation to disprove the resurrection of Christ,

Harvard educated lawyer, Lee Strobel says this: “In light of the convincing
facts I had learned during my investigation, in the fact of this overwhelming
avalanche of evidence in the case for Christ, the great irony was this: it
would require much more faith for me to maintain my atheism than to trust
in Jesus of Nazareth!” Many other honest investigators like barrister Simon
Greenleaf; writer, Lew Wallace; lawyer Frank Morison and cold case
detective, J. Werner Wallace, have come to the same conclusion. Denial of
Christ’s resurrection demands an explanation no one has yet managed.

B. It Means Apostolic Preaching is in Vain – 14b: “then our

preaching is in vain.” Vain = empty, useless. So what were the apostles
preaching? They preached Rom 10:9: “But if you confess with your mouth
Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead,
you will be saved.” Sins forgiven. Guilt demolished. Heart cleansed – forever
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– bc He died and rose again. Almost 30 times the terms “resurrection” or
“raised from the dead” are used in Acts. That’s the message! Rom 4:25:
“[Christ] was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.”
No resurrection; no acquittal. If He was not raised, the message is useless.

The great flu epidemic that swept the world in 1918 took more than 500,000
lives in the US alone – 50-100M worldwide. Devastating. Many people woke
up perfectly well one morning and were dead by nightfall. Feverish efforts to
find a cure for the virus all failed. The disease finally ran its course and stalled
to natural immunity. But suppose some doctor sent out word that he had found
a cure – only to die himself days later after being inoculated. His message
would have been vain, right? Empty. Useless. His dead body would have
negated his claim. And so Jesus’ message of victory over sin, Satan and death
would have been negated had He remained in the grave. “The wages of sin is
death.” If Jesus stayed dead, then sin won. Guilt got Him. How could He
save anyone else if He couldn’t save Himself? The preaching would be empty.

C. It Means Faith is in Vain – 14c: “and your faith is in vain.” If

the preaching is false, then faith in the message would be equally useless.
Believing a lie doesn’t make it true, right? As kids we had a tire swing in our
climbing tree. We’d go 12-15 feet up and launch ourselves for a great ride.
One day we decided to pile about 5 guys on at the same time. Tested below,
the rope held. But when we launched from the tree, the added centrifugal force
caused that rope to break. Lucky we didn’t kill ourselves. Believing it true
didn’t make it true. Neither would faith in a resurrection that didn’t happen
have any value. It would be a crash landing waiting to happen.

D. It Means the Apostles Were Liars – 15 We are even found to

be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ.”
“Found” = “caught out, detected”. The reputation of all the apostles, including
Paul, is on the line. If there is no resurrection, they’ve lied about God! It can’t
be simply a mistake. They claim they saw a risen Christ. It’s either true or
they are absolute liars. They have “testified about God” – better, testified
against (κατά) God. They’ve gone to court and said God did something He
didn’t do. If you say there is no physical resurrection, you have undermined
the credibility of the whole apostolic witness. That’s a serious, serious charge.

And you must explain why these men died horrendous deaths -- for what they
knew to be a lie. Yes, people die for a lie all the time. The Muslim extremists
of 911 believed they had a guaranteed place in heaven – with 70 black-eyed
virgins for company. They died for a lie they didn’t know was a lie. But the
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disciples had to know! The disciples either saw Jesus or they willfully lied
about it. If it was a lie, they knew it for sure – and no one dies for a lie.

II. Denying Resurrection is a Personal Problem

But denying the resurrection is not just a theological problem; it’s personal.
The very forgiveness you think you have, you don’t – bc it all depends on
Christ’s resurrection. Without resurrection the new life you claim is stillborn.
The cleansing you claim is just whitewash. The acquittal is non-existent.
Note how Paul repeats his premise. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even
Christ has been raised.” It’s a repeat of 13b, but with 3 personal consequences.

First, 17b your faith is futile, and you are still in your sins.” This is the heart of
the passage. No physical resurrection; no forgiveness. Our sins are on us like
glue. Our guilt is real. No resurrection; no redemption. Satan won. But if
that’s true, what do I do with my guilt? From day one guilt has dominated the
human psyche. So how do we deal with it? Without Christ, what do we do?

One way is by shifting blame. It’s not my fault. He led me on. She hit me
first. My boss insisted I lie. I had to cheat to get into college. The government
already gets more than it deserves. Shifting blame. We’re a society of victims,
scarred for life by some poor, long-forgotten 4th grade teacher who ruined our
self-image. It’s been so since Adam said, “She did it. The woman – who you
gave me – she made me do it.” Shifting blame, but the guilt refuses to move.

Another tactic. Redefine sin. Adultery is an affair. Gossip is a prayer request.

Anger is defending my rights. We throw out God’s definitions, spin things
our way, but the guilt – still there. Bc we can’t redefine our heart where His
law is written.

How about escapism? Don’t think about it. Stay extra busy at work – get
involved in lots of activities, pursue pleasure. You can throw yourself into sex,
substance abuse, hobbies, materialism, even ministry – all to escape the
feeling. But late at night – there it is – the guilt won’t erase.

Or here’s a good one – listening to or providing gossip. At its core, gossip,

speaking ill of others, is a guilt-based event. If it weren’t for guilt, gossip
would be no fun at all. Why do gossip magazines sell? Why do we find it
delicious? Why do we enjoy reading of other people’s foibles? Why do gossip
shows proliferate? Because they show the seamy side of everybody. It makes
us feel less guilty about ourselves to compare others with worse struggles.
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There’s nobody in this room – I’ll be the first to say I hate gossip. I don’t want
to hear it. But I’m human too. It’s delicious. It tastes good. Why? It makes me
feel better. Comparing, fault-finding, criticizing, gossiping – just ways of
dealing with our own guilt. Think of that next time you’re tempted.

Or, Overachieving. Makes us feel like a good person. Or another way many
choose – rescuing others. Helping people can be good – or, just another way
of trying to get rid of the burden of guilt. The problem is none of it works.
None of it. Why? Bc guilt isn’t primarily an emotional problem. It is primarily
a spiritual problem. V. 56: The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is
the law.” Why guilt? Bc we really do break the law in word, thought and deed.
And the only solution is to have someone keep the law perfectly for us. That’s
Jesus. What we can’t do, He’s already done. But if He did it, died and stayed
dead, then there’s no victory, no forgiveness, no cleansing and no relief from
guilt. “You are still in your sins.” That’s the heart of the passage.

The story of David and Goliath illustrates this truth. Goliath challenged Israel.
I Sam 17:8b: “Choose a man for yourselves and let him come down to me. 9
If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if
I prevail against him and kill him, they you shall be our servants.” It’s not a
tale of moral courage; it’s an illustration of deliverance. Had David failed, all
Israel went down with him. But he won and Goliath died. Our problem isn’t
Philistines; it’s far greater. “The wages of sin is death”, and that’s a battle no
person has ever won. But Jesus came as our greater David to deliver us from
sin, Satan and death. And either He is dead and sin lives; or sin is dead and
He lives. Apart from His victory there is no victory for us. But just as David’s
victory delivered Israel, so Jesus’ victory delivers all who accept it. Yet deny
His resurrection, and you’ve pulled the rug from your own deliverance – “you
are still in your sins.”

Now Paul gives two more personal consequences of denying the risen Christ.
First, 18) Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.” If
there’s no resurrection, then your dead friends and relatives have perished,
Paul says. The gospel promises Phil 3:21: The Lord Jesus “will transform our
lowly body to be like his glorious body.” It promises I Cor 15:53: “For this
perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put
on immortality.” It’s not just the soul that is saved, but the body as well. The
whole person is renewed in a perfected body. Which is why we can say, “O
death, where is your sting?” (I Cor 15:55b). But if there is no resurrection,

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then even Christ was not raised, and if he was not raised there is no eternal life
of soul or body. All is lost.

And the third personal consequence: I Cor 15:19b: “we are of all people most
to be pitied.” We are either the most envied people on earth or the most
pathetic. It all depends on whether Jesus arose. If He did not our common
future is to stand before God to hear the verdict – Guilty, now and forever. If
He could not save Himself, how could He save us?

Conc – Thus, to try to have Christ without a physical resurrection is only to

fool oneself. Paul’s logic is irrefutable. What if Jesus didn’t rise again? Then
we are all alike “dead in trespasses and sins” with no hope of recovery. But –
thank God for the but’s of the Bible! It never fails to tell how bad things are so
we’ll see how good things can be – in Christ. We need that contrast. But – v.
20: “But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead.” That makes all the
difference. We need not be in our sins; dead believers have not perished and
we are the most fortunate people on earth.

In Randy Alcorn’s children’s book, Wait Until Then, he tells the story of a boy
in a wheelchair who loves baseball and dreams of running the bases. His
grandfather, once a pro player, now relies on a walker. But fast forward to the
final page where Nathan arrives on the new earth. He is running the bases
after hitting a home run, family, including Grandpa cheering him on. At the
far left of the pix, two relics – Nathan’s wheelchair and Grandpa’s walker –
with flowers growing up thru them. Only possible if Jesus truly rose from the
dead. But the best evidence says – He did, indeed. So now, Rom 10:9, “Bc if
you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that
God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Now and forever. Let’s
pray.

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And it’s physical. Peter quotes Psa 116 to show it was predicted 1,000 years
before it happened in Acts 2:27: “For you (the Father), will not abandon my
soul (the Son) to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption” – that is, rot in a
grave outside Jerusalem. Peter clarifies that this had to be about Jesus. Acts
2:29: “I may say with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died
and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. . . but 31 he foresaw and
spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to
Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. 32 This Jesus God raised up, and of
that we are all witnesses.” The message was absolutely crystal clear. Guilt can
only be relieved bc Jesus took it on himself in his death and resurrection.