1 Corinthians 15:12-15

Now if Christ is being preached as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead?  But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.  And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is futile and your faith is empty.  Also, we are found to be false witnesses about God, because we have testified against God that he raised Christ from the dead, when in reality he did not raise him, if indeed the dead are not raised.

Today we find Paul reminding the church at Corinth of some gospel doctrine: specifically that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead. I don’t think Paul would be clarifying this unless there was some controversy about the truth here. As opportunities to speak the truth of the gospel present themselves, I am often remiss regarding Christ’s resurrection. The first statement that comes to my mind is, “Jesus died for our sins.” Yet that is not a complete statement, and by itself is not the gospel. It’s true, but it does not bring the correct message of a God who orchestrated redemption through the resurrection of His Son. For our faith to mean anything, Jesus must be alive and well. I am challenged today to evaluate the gospel message in my own mind, that my life would be a celebration of love and salvation in Christ’s resurrection.