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to you as of first
importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, that he
was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures …
(1 Corinthians 15:3–4)
     
    Here are three important facts
of Christ’s life: he died, was buried, and rose again. Of these the last is the
greatest, for if Christ never rose it makes no difference that he died and was
buried.
     
    And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is
useless and so is your faith. (1 Corinthians 15:14)
     
    Certain men in Corinth were
denying the resurrection. They were saying, “The dead aren’t raised. There is
no hope. This is all there is.” Paul wrote to refute their dismal lies. He
said, “I saw the risen Jesus and so did 500 other people. He is the
first-fruits of resurrection life and all who belong to him will rise” (see 1
Corinthians 15:5–8, 23).
    For 2,000
years the resurrection of Jesus has come under attack from godless men. It
seems every few years, someone writes a book about how Jesus wasn’t raised or
didn’t really die on the cross. They are merely propagating a lie devised by
the religious leaders who put Jesus on the cross in the first place (see
Matthew 28:11–15). When we hear these made-up stories we need to remind
ourselves of the gospel that declares, “Christ has indeed been raised from the
dead” (1 Corinthians 15:20).
                       
    By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to
the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. (1
Corinthians 15:2)
     
    Paul is not saying,
“You have to believe and keep believing and never stop believing, otherwise
you’re not saved,” for that would make salvation conditional on your believing
performance. He’s saying, “If the gospel you hold to doesn’t reveal a
resurrected Jesus, you are believing in vain.”
     
    Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the
dead, descended from David. This is my gospel … (2 Timothy 2:8).
     
    The resurrection is the heart
of the gospel message. It is the climax, the punchline, and the point of
everything. We were under the curse of sin and death, but a man from heaven set
us free and proved our freedom by rising from the dead. This is the good
news of the resurrection. “ T his is what we preach, and this is what you believed” (see
1 Corinthians 15:11).
    Why does this
matter? Because a gospel without the resurrection is like a car without an
engine—it might look good, but it won’t actually take you anywhere. It’s a
lemon gospel. It won’t help you and it certainly won’t save you. But a gospel
that proclaims the saving power of God and backs it up by pointing to the empty
tomb is a gospel that can change your life.
    The best
thing Jesus ever did was rise from the dead, and he didn’t do it. God did it to
him. Jesus simply trusted that he would. “Father, into your hands I commit my
spirit” (Luke 23:46). The same God who raised Jesus raises us. He lifts us out
of the dark prison of sin and sets our feet on the sunlit uplands of his grace.
We don’t do a thing to make this happen. We simply trust that God does it all.
     
    And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the
dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life
to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit, who lives in you. (Romans 8:11)
     
    The gospel of the resurrection
is the announcement of something that happened so that something else
can now happen . Jesus was raised to new life so that you can experience new
life in him. This new life is not obtained through hard work and discipline.
It’s received by trusting in a good Father who delights to share his life with
his children.
     

Which Jesus are you trusting?
     
    The essence of the gospel is
“Christ alone.” But which Christ are we talking about? Which Jesus are you
trusting? Is it the baby Jesus who is celebrated each Christmas? Is it the kind
and gentle teacher who was friendly to sinners ?