Telling it Like It Is

1 Corinthians 15: 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and  you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only,  we are of all people most to be pitied.
 
There are those who cling to a fuzzy , spirituality. They say  believe in a god, hope in life after death and  Jesus as a good teacher , great moral example or use him as an example of love . But they do not hold to the fact he rose from the dead.  They have what I call crisis belief that comforts them when someone dies or bad things happen. Its disjointed and has no depth but their own imaginations.

You also have those who deny God , life after death out right . That this material universe is all that exist. But at the same time they still talk about meaning , hope and purpose. They practice a form of morality , holding  you shouldn't lie,steal,murder etc.. you get the picture. However why should they? From what truth can they hang the hat of the need to be moral at all if we are just a random bunch of cells , evolved by accident and all our love,joy,awe and wonder are nothing more than chemical reactions in our brains making us feel these things that ultimately serve and have no purpose.

I was in both of these camps at one time or another. But God was very gracious to me , a sinner who deserved no mercy , awakened me from my dead walk of sin to repentance and faith.

So I love what Paul says to both of these camps . That as plain as possible , that if Jesus has not been raised from the dead , then there is no resurrection. Without Christ risen , then we are dead , period. No hope , no nothing.  Even if you say you follow Christ , apart from the resurrection , your faith is futile.Its useless and we are to pitied . We would be fools to even follow him or exult him in anyway .

Paul goes even further in verse 32 . "What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” If Jesus just died , his corspe laying , rottening in a grave , who cares what he said , did . It means nothing . If it means nothing then what of life . Should we try and be nice , form a type of morality . Paul says it very clear . Its party time.If I do not have to worry about ultimate judgemnet , what does it matter if I pursue pleasure to satisfy my cravings . Do not talk to me about being concerned for those in Haiti , Africa or wherever , its all about me . Thats there problem . I will eat , drink and be merry for if this is all I got , maybe 70-80 years fill my cup with whatever I can to numb my senses form this meaningless life. Thats the honest reply , you may not like it buts too bad . I don't care what you think.

But , and that's a big word , Christ has been raised .If He is raised, it means He is who he said He was , God the son , the one true Savior who  calls sinners to repentance and faith in Him . It points to the fact one day a judgment will happen , all will stand before a holy God . He is Lord of every life and all authority has been given to Him form the Father to execute judgment . So I will tell you like it is , there is no fence seating . If Jesus Christ is not risen , then why worry , party , drink and live only for you .Indulge your sin , oh wait if there is no "god" , no sin , no morality . But here is the deal , He lives and you are a sinner , a wretch to the core . Christ came to give His life a ransom to satisfy holy justice for our rebellion and in His perfect , sinless life , death and resurrection we can be saved , justified . So repent , believe the gospel or face the wrath to come .