Dennis Gladden: If Christ is Not Risen
Faith in the risen Christ is not in vain, but begins a life that will never be the same.
“He is not here; He has risen!”
These words, spoken by the angel at the empty tomb, echo through time and eternity. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of our faith—a seismic event that reverberates across history, hearts, and hope. Jesus conquered death itself. His resurrection shattered the chains that bound humanity to sin and its destruction. In rising from the grave, He declared that indwelling Life is possible once He came forth from the tomb. Sin’s grip was broken at the cross, but its final defeat came with the empty tomb. Jesus bore our sins, and His resurrection declares forgiveness and redemption.
Let’s review what Dennis Gladden has to say about this topic!
In his first letter to the church in Corinth, Paul no sooner finishes rehearsing the basics of the Gospel than he asks them a question…
"How is it some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead?" (1 Corinthians 15:12).
This is a question we might protest if he asked us. “I believe what we say at Easter, "He is risen!" and "He is risen indeed!”
So we may debunk Paul's question, but his answer is still important for us to consider. Paul insists we must not only believe the dead will rise, but also live like it is true. How we live shows either Jesus is alive, or He’s not.
Paul goes to great length to emphasize the necessity of the resurrection. He says three times our faith is in vain if the dead do not rise. And if the repetition is not enough, he uses three different words for the futility of faith without the resurrection of Christ.
In verse two he says the Corinthians believed in vain if they abandon the Gospel he preached. Without the resurrection, the Gospel is vain, all for nothing, worthless, without effect.
In verse fourteen he repeats, "If Christ is not risen, then our preaching is vain, and your faith is also vain." Here, vain means empty. A Jesus who is still in the tomb means my preaching and your faith are "empty." There is nothing to them. They are pointless.
Once more, in verse 17, Paul uses yet a third word to insist, "If Christ is not risen, your faith is vain." This is another shade of empty. It has the idea of searching, and not finding. You look, but finish as you started—with nothing to show for it. Empty-handed. You searched in vain.
So, when Jesus says, "Seek, and you shall find," it is an empty promise if He did not rise from the dead.
In all this repetition, Paul builds to a crescendo in verse 17. Here is what it means if Jesus is still in the grave: "You are still in your sins!"
Catch the significance of this.
Jesus in the grave
You in your sins
This is your final resting place.
In other words, life goes on as always. You are born, live your days, and die. And just like all of us, Jesus was born, lived, and died. No different. Nothing more. The One we hoped would change our world is dead.
If Jesus is not risen, the tomb is not empty, but our faith is.
We are like the two disciples walking to Emmaus. When we meet them, they are in despair. They had pinned their hopes on Jesus, "who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word. We were hoping He would be the one to redeem Israel" (Luke 24:19-21)
We were hoping.
Not anymore.
Jesus is dead.
Or we are like the Apostle Paul on the road to Damascus. He has heard that Jesus of Nazareth was crucified and resurrected, but what is that to him? Paul is dead set on driving followers of Jesus away from Jesus. He is scattering Christians far and wide, sending some to their grave. And he is on a mission to round up more.
If Jesus is not risen, life goes on. The two disciples will arrive in Emmaus, still sad, still not understanding the current events, still without hope.
If Jesus is not risen, Paul will reach Damascus and more Christians will go to prison. More, like Stephen, will die.
If Jesus is not risen, the Corinthians will be what they have always been: adulterers, thieves, covetous, drunkards, and so forth.
If Jesus is not risen, you and I remain unrighteous, forever banned from the kingdom of God.
We are still in our sins.
But hear the Gospel! Hear the good news!
Your faith is not in vain.
Jesus is alive!
Jesus is risen!
You who were dead in sin have been made alive together with Christ.
Life cannot go on as it always has.
Jesus comes to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus and opens their eyes to see Him throughout the scriptures and to see Him at their side. In the morning it was only news. Now, it is truth: Jesus did rise! Their hope revives.
Jesus comes to Paul and interrupts his mission. "Why are you persecuting Me?" Paul had heard the news, but now he knows the truth: Jesus is alive! He would spend the rest of his life preaching this Gospel: Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day, according to scriptures.
And by the preaching of this Gospel, Jesus came to the Corinthians. Paul reminds them at the beginning of chapter 15, "I delivered to you the Gospel I received, and you know how it changed me. I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man. I am chief among sinners. But I obtained mercy.
"And the same Jesus who had mercy on me had mercy on you. He sent me to you when you were without Christ, strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. You had no inheritance in God's kingdom.”
"But the Gospel I received, you also received. And the Gospel that changed me changed you. I was wretched, and such were some of you. But His grace toward me was not in vain, and His grace toward you was not in vain—if you hold fast that word which I preached. You have been brought near by the blood of Christ. You were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.”
"You know for yourselves the Gospel of the risen Christ is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes."
This is the heartbeat of Paul's message to the Corinthians.
Your faith is not in vain because Jesus is alive.
Life does not go on as though nothing happened that resurrection morning.
Catch the significance of this.
Jesus is out of the grave
You are out your sins
Let this sink in.
All any of us have known is what it's like to be in sin.
Our father Adam sinned and everyone ever since has sinned.
The Psalmist said, "I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me" (Psalm 51:5).
God told Cain, "Sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it." We know, of course, that Cain did not rule. Nor have we. Sin masters us all.
Jesus told the multitude around Him, "Unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins."
We are born with a sinful nature into a sinful nature. The soul who sins shall die. The wages of sin is death. We are dead in trespasses and sins.
This is our reality—if there is no resurrection. And to believe there is no resurrection is vain—empty, pointless, worthless faith.
We can see throughout the Gospels what faith that is not vain looks like; how faith in the living Christ puts an end to life as we know it.
A centurion comes to Jesus, believing that just a word spoken by Jesus from a distance will heal his servant. Jesus marvels, "I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!."
A woman who has been hemorrhaging for 12 years believes just touching Jesus' robe will heal her. "Be of good cheer," Jesus tells her. "Your faith has made you well."
Blind Bartimaeus, begging by the road to Jericho, cries out "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me. Let me receive my sight." Jesus answers, "Go your way; your faith has made you well."
Faith in the living Christ before the cross changed the lives of these, and others. Faith in the risen Christ after the cross brings "the exceeding greatness of God's power toward us who believe, which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead."
The Gospel of this risen Christ proclaims your faith is not in vain.
Jesus is the I AM, the one who is, who was, and is to come—the Almighty.
He is the I AM who is alive forevermore.
All who were born in sin and believe in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. You who receive this Gospel are born again.
Jesus says, “See, you have been made well. You are no longer in your sins. Sin no more."
Dear reader, take Paul’s message to yourself. “Christ is risen; you are no longer in your sins!” Life as you’ve known it doesn’t have to continue. Whoever tells you, “You’ll never change,” is a liar. Jesus says “Unless you change and become like little children, you will not enter the kingdom of God” (Matthew 18:3). His command is His promise that you can.
Not by yourself, nor in your own strength. Mastering sin and living differently requires Jesus, the One who is risen and ministers to us “according to the power of an endless life“ (Hebrews 7:16). And the power that raised Him from the dead is the same that God works in us when we believe (Ephesians 1:19).
-Dennis
©Feature article published by the IM Writers Association | Visit Dennis’s Substack.