“Moreover, we are found to be false witnesses about God, because we have testified wrongly about God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up, if in fact the dead are not raised.” – 1 Corinthians 15:15
If Jesus didn’t live, die, and rise from the dead, then we are in a world of trouble. What kind of trouble? Well, our preaching would be in vain. Our faith would be in vain. And we would all be false witnesses about God.
Paul tells us this in 1 Corinthians 15:15 when he says “Moreover, we are found to be false witnesses about God because we have testified wrongly about God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up, if in fact the dead are not raised.”
The Bible doesn’t say we are simply mistaken. It says that we are false witnesses. Do you know what a false witness is? It is somebody who sits in a courtroom and knowing, and willingly purges themselves and becomes a liar. They commit perjury. They tell a lie. They are a false witness.
If Jesus is still in a tomb, we are liars and we have testified that Jesus is a liar. Many of those disciples had seen Him, talked to Him, ate with Him, fellowshipped with Him, and touched Him AFTER the resurrection.
Somebody says, “Pastor, how do you know they didn’t just make it up? How do you know they didn’t just make this entire story up, just to save face?” I’ll tell you how I know. You won’t die for a lie if you know it’s a lie.
People are willing to die for something they believe to be true, but men will never die for something they know to be false. And yet, when you look at how the stories played out for most of Jesus’ disciples, the majority of them lost their lives because of the gospel message.
If Jesus Christ hadn’t been raised from the dead, our preaching is in vain. Our faith is in vain. And we are false witnesses about God. That is how important it is that Jesus overcame death.
Thank Him and praise Him today, that because He died for us, but also because He was raised from death to life, the gospel is true and He is coming back for us again one day!