BibleAsk Team

Can we be Christians if Christ had never arisen?

The Risen Christ

The apostle Paul states, “If Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty” (1 Corinthians 15:14). And, three verses later, he made a similar statement, saying, “If Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:17).

Without Jesus’ resurrection, no one would have any hope of going to heaven. The resurrection of Jesus is the basis of the Christian faith (Romans 1:4). The early church multiplied quickly in just a few short years because of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). The Gospel is not about a “lifeless lord,” but a “risen Redeemer.”

The Resurrection – the Basis for the Christian Faith

  • Christians partake of the Lord’s Supper to remember the Lord’s death “until He comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26). If Jesus were not raised, we would have no hope of salvation.
  • Christ is alive mediating for the believers in Heaven (1 Timothy 2:5; John 14:6; 1 John 2:1). If Jesus was not raised, our prayers would not be heard, and our petitions to have our sins forgiven could not be granted.
  • The only reason that preaching and baptizing (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15-16) are of any importance at all is because Jesus is not dead, but alive. When a person is baptized “for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38), he is raised from a world of sin, “just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father” (Romans 6:4).
  • Christians look forward to the resurrection of the dead at the end of the world. If Christ was not resurrected, there would be no resurrection for the dead (1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17; 1 Corinthians 15:51-53).
  • Christians look for the second coming of Christ to take them home. If Christ did nor resurrect form the dead, there would be no second coming (John 14:1-3; Philippians 3:20, 21).

Christianity as a faith is built on the Resurrection of Christ. Amen.

In His service,
BibleAsk Team

More Answers: