The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

I Corinthians 15:12-20, “Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?
13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised;
14 and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain.
15 Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised.
16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised;
17 and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.
18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.
19 If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.
20 But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.”

In our last Letter, we emphsized the Resurrection of our LORD Jesus Christ. We spoke of it as the key to His Crucifixion’s validity. In these verses, we have a logical continuation of that Message. Some were saying, as some say today, that Jesus did not rise from the dead. Paul argues that if there were no resurrection, then all the preaching of Christ’s Resurrection is “vain” (?????, kenos, empty, foolish, futile).

Without the Resurrection, It would then follow that all the Christian ministers throughout history were then “false witnesses” of Almighty God. Further, “if Christ has not been raised, your faith (i.e., all of you who are now reading this Letter) is worthless…” and what’s more, “you are still living in your sins.”

Tell me, what could be worse? The loss of all your possessions, or the notification of your total indebtedness to someone of whom you’ve never heard – nothing is comparable to being wrong about the Resurrection of Jesus Christ!

Oh, and what of the dead, who have believed in His Resurrection? Your husband, your wife, your child, your parents –all of them having been taught and believed that Jesus arose from the dead— only now you discover that there is no resurrection from the dead. Think about that!! What if that were true? Thank God it is not!

Ah, but “Christ has been raised from the dead…” He was the initial Sacrifice, the One who assures us that all who believe on Him before they die, will indeed be raised from the dead, when He returns! The only hope anyone has to be resurrected when Jesus comes again, lies in the repentance of his sin and trust in Jesus before he dies. Have you called upon Christ Jesus for salvation? Are you trusting in Him alone? Trust Him today before it’s too late! Every day brings us one day closer to the day of His Return!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

“We never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom