But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: 14 And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. 15 Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.
1 Corinthians 15:13–15
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In 1981, a crowded hotel walkway in Kansas City collapsed without warning, killing more than one hundred people and injuring hundreds more. Investigators later determined that a small change in design—one that seemed insignificant at the time—had shifted the entire load of the structure. What appeared solid and secure failed because the support it depended on was not what it was supposed to be. Everything above it came crashing down.
Christianity is built on a single, essential truth—the resurrection of Jesus Christ. If that truth is removed, nothing else can stand. Paul wrote, “If Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain….” He stated plainly that if Christ did not rise from the dead, then everything else collapses with it. Preaching would be empty. Faith would be meaningless. Sin would remain unforgiven. Even the hope of seeing loved ones again would be lost. Christianity is not built on good advice or moral improvement. It stands or falls on a single historical fact: Jesus Christ rose bodily from the grave.
This is why the resurrection matters so deeply. R. A. Torrey wrote, “The resurrection of Jesus Christ is in many respects the most important fact in history….Every essential truth of Christianity is involved in the resurrection. If the resurrection stands, every essential doctrine of Christianity stands. If the resurrection goes down, every essential doctrine of Christianity goes down.”
Without the resurrection, the cross would be only a tragic ending. Without it, Jesus’ promises about eternal life would be unproven claims. But because Jesus rose again, every word He spoke is confirmed as true.Â
