WHAT IF IT'S NOT TRUE?

We're STILL reading through the apostle Paul's letter to the early Christian church in Corinth at ikon. Tonight Brian's going over chapter 15 and asking us, "What if it's not true? What if Jesus didn't come back to life after he was crucified? What then?"

Here's some of what Paul says in chapter 15 of his letter...

Now, let me ask you something profound yet troubling. If you became believers because you trusted the proclamation that Christ is alive, risen from the dead, how can you let people say that there is no such thing as a resurrection? If there's no resurrection, there's no living Christ. And face it—if there's no resurrection for Christ, everything we've told you is smoke and mirrors, and everything you've staked your life on is smoke and mirrors. Not only that, but we would be guilty of telling a string of barefaced lies about God, all these affidavits we passed on to you verifying that God raised up Christ—sheer fabrications, if there's no resurrection.

If corpses can't be raised, then Christ wasn't, because he was indeed dead. And if Christ weren't raised, then all you're doing is wandering about in the dark, as lost as ever. It's even worse for those who died hoping in Christ and resurrection, because they're already in their graves. If all we get out of Christ is a little inspiration for a few short years, we're a pretty sorry lot.
(1 CORINTHIANS 15:12-20 from THE MESSAGE translation)