Sunday March 28, 2010				                             Phone: 570.829.5216
Pastor David Miklas					                 e-mail 
pdmikBBM@aol.com
Message Easter-2010                    	                 		    Text: I Corinthians 15:12-20

"If Christ Be Not Risen"

Introduction: From I Corinthians 15:3-4, the Apostle Paul gives these immortal words 
"Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel...For I deliver unto you first of all that which I also 
received, that Christ DIED for our sins according to the scripture; And that he was BURIED, and that he 
ROSE again the third day. This Easter Sunday morning, as well as every Sunday morning, is 
the anniversary of the fulfillment of these words, when Jesus bodily arose from the dead. 

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is by far the unique hallmark of our Christian faith. It is 
said that the resurrection of Christ from the dead is mentioned at least 104 times in the 
260 chapters of the New Testament. Thus, its denial threatens the very foundations of our 
Fundamental faith.

By the resurrection of Jesus Christ, I do not mean that Jesus went into some kind of "Faint" in the 
tomb and came forth after He revived a few hours later.
By the resurrection of Jesus Christ, I do not mean that His disciples came and revived His 
teaching and began to spread it over the earth.
By the resurrection of Jesus Christ, I do not mean that the Spirit of Jesus came forth and 
permeated the earth in some mysterious way. 

The resurrection literally means "standing up again." When we speak of the resurrection we 
mean that Jesus Christ literally, physically, visibly, bodily rose from the grave after the 
third day, in the same body that hung on the cross and that was laid in the tomb.

We believe that He CAME FORTH from the grave.
We believe that He WALKED upon the earth for forty days. 
We believe that He ASCENDED into heaven.

My friends, one reason we know that He is literally coming back is that He arose from the 
grave literally. Those two angels that day in Acts 1:11 said, "Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye 
gazing up into Heaven? For this same Jesus, shall come again in like manner even as He went away." In 
that He rose from the grave bodily, in that He ascended bodily into Glory, I say to you 
that He is coming back again literally, physically, visibly and bodily.

Hold it! I wonder if you have thought through the terrible alternative? WHAT IF CHRIST 
HAD NOT RISEN FROM THE DEAD? That awful alternative is presented to us in I 
Corinthians 15:12-20 where we read, 

“Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no 
resurrection of the dead? (13) 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. (16) For if the dead rise not, then is 
not Christ raised: (17) And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. (18) 
Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. (19) If in this life only we have hope 
in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. (20) But now is Christ risen from the dead, and 
become the firstfruits of them that slept.”  

Again in verse 13 we read, "But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen." 

First: "IF Christ be not risen, "THEN" the resurrection of Jesus Christ would be a fallacy, 
verses 13, 16. 

If there had been no resurrection, the redemptive work of Jesus would have been proven 
to be a fallacy. For the Bible says in Romans 4:25, Jesus "...was delivered for our offenses, and 
was raised again for our justification." If Jesus didn't arise on the third day, how then could I 
believe that he died for my sins? The two go together. His resurrection is God's "AMEN" 
to His death on the cross.

If Jesus didn't arise on the third day, He is the world's greatest impostor.  All of His 
words become meaningless and fraudulent. While He was alive, Jesus said in Matthew 
12:40, "For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be 
three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." Did he mean that? Is that true? "But if there 
be no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen."

A philosopher once said, "You Christians live on the fragrance of an empty tomb" and so we do. 
Oh thank God it is not "If Christ be risen” but according to verse 20, "But now is Christ risen from 
the dead."

Second: "IF Christ be not risen, "THEN" our preaching is vain, verse 14. The word vain 
means empty, void of reality.

If Christ is still in the tomb then all Gospel preaching is nothing more than a pathetic fiasco.
If Christ is not risen then all the preaching of all the ages from Noah till this hour is age-long famine 
with no spiritual food.
If Christ is still in His shroud then guilty are all the preachers, poets, pastors, evangelists and hymn-
writers whose preaching is no more than the monotonous tom-tom at a madding barbaric dance in 
the jungle.
If Christ is not resurrected, vain is all preaching, empty and void.

Vain is all the preaching that has pointed men to Christ.
Empty is all the preaching that has lead men from sin's path.
Void is all the preaching that has comforted men in time of need.

Stop and think for a moment of the last words of Christ in Mark 16:15, "Go ye into all the 
world, and preach the gospel to every creature." If there is no resurrection from the dead, of the 
Lord Jesus Christ, of what value are those words?

Stop and think for a moment of the words of the apostle Paul in I Corinthians 1:18 "For 
the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of 
God." If there is no resurrection from the dead, of the Lord Jesus Christ, then of what 
value is that statement to preach? 

Praise God, it’s not "If Christ be not raised,' but "Now is Christ risen from the dead." We do have:

a message of HOPE, a message of LOVE, a message of FAITH,	and a message of LIFE.

Because of the resurrection, we have a message. God said it. Jesus accomplished it. The 
Bible records it. I believe it. That settles it. AMEN!

Third: "IF Christ be not risen, "THEN" your faith is also vain, verse 14. If there is no 
resurrection, then there is nothing to believe in. "Vain," in this instance, means absolute 
meaningless. Think about that fact and apply this to your soul:

If Christ be not risen, your faith becomes an empty dream.
If Christ be not risen, your faith is a foundation laid in fiction.
If Christ be not risen, your faith has nothing about it of eternal reality. 
If Christ be not risen, you walk with aimless feet, without God to guide you, with no rod and staff 
to comfort you.
Moreover, go back to the book of Hebrews chapter 11 on Faith, "If Christ be not risen,"

Then Abel's offering of a more excellent sacrifice is all a myth.
Then Enoch was not translated that he should not see death.
Then Noah’s efforts to prepare the ark was just in vain.
Then Abraham was a fool when "he went out knowing not where he went."
Then Moses chose foolishly when he chose "rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, 
than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season..."

Stop and think about this,

The Bible tells us in Ephesians 2:8 we have to have faith to be saved "For by grace are you saved 
through faith; and that not of yourselves..."
The Bible tells us in Matthew 9:29, we have to have faith to pray, "According to your faith be it 
unto you."
The Bible tells us, we have to have faith to please God. In Hebrews 11:6 we read, "But without 
faith it is impossible to please Him."

It takes faith to be saved. It takes faith to get answers to our prayers. It takes faith to 
please God. Paul says, "If there is no resurrection of the dead, your faith is all in vain." But thank 
God for verse 20 "But now is Christ raised from the dead." Thank God our faith is alive and we 
have something to hang on to.

Fourth: "IF Christ be not risen, "THEN" we are giving false witness of God, verse 15. If 
there be no resurrection of the dead, all Christians are giving false witness, not mistaken 
witness but false witness.

Think what that would mean to the Apostle Paul who said in verse 8, "And last of all he was 
seen of me also..." He declared, "I saw Him alive." He spoke to me on the Damascus road. 
Paul said "I saw Him, I heard Him." Paul was used of God to write 14 books of the New 
Testament. If he didn't see Jesus, then Paul was a false witness and more than half of the 
New Testament is immediately gone.

Just think what that would mean to the Apostle John on the Isle of Patmos who heard 
Jesus say Revelation 1:8, "I am he that liveth, and was dead; and , behold, I am alive for evermore, 
Amen..."

Just think what that would mean to the Apostle Peter who said in I Peter 1:3, "Blessed be 
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ...which hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the 
resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead."

Just think what that would mean to Stephen, the first martyr of the church, in Acts 7:55-
56 as he was being stoned to death, looking up into heaven he saw, "the glory of God, and 
Jesus standing on the right hand of God..."

Paul said "I saw Him."	
John said, "I saw Him."
Peter said, "I saw Him."	
Stephen said, "I saw Him."

Now, if there is no resurrection...all these gave false witness. If there is no resurrection of 
the dead, then all of us are false witnesses in the sight of man. 

However, since that June day in 1950, I believed, and I KNOW with all my soul THAT 
MY REDEEMER LIVETH, and because He lives, I too shall live forever. AMEN!

Fifth: "IF Christ be not risen, "THEN" you are yet in your sins, verse 17. What a bleak 
assumption this is. "IF Christ be not risen, "THEN..."
 In Isaiah 55:7 we read, "Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; 
and return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will 
abundantly pardon." What a lie, "If Christ be not risen."

In John 6:37 we read, "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh to me 
I will in no wise cast out." What a lie, "If Christ be not risen."

Here in I Corinthians we read that if Jesus did not rise from the dead, you and I are still 
in our sins. But praise God we read in Romans 10:9, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth 
the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart THAT GOD HATH RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD, 
thou shalt be saved." 

Thank God for the resurrection of Christ. "Now is Christ risen from the dead." We, who by 
faith have believed, are no longer in our sins and under the penalty of those sins.

Sixth: "IF Christ be not risen, "THEN." your loved ones are perished, verse 18-19. If there is no 
resurrection, forget about your loved ones who preceded you to glory.

Forget about your precious husband or dad who loved the Lord.
Forget about your sweet wife or mother who read her Bible and  prayed with you.
Forget about the sweet little child who one day was plucked from your home. If there is no 
resurrection, you will never see that one again.

If there be no resurrection for all the millions who have marched on toward eternity, all 
have perished. There is no beauty in their death, no light of hope, no prophecy of heaven.

"If Christ be not risen," there is no corruption putting on incorruption.
"If Christ be not risen," there is no mortal putting on immortality.
"If Christ be not risen," there is no natural body raised a spiritual body. 
"If Christ be not risen," there is no body planted in dishonor, raised in glory.
"If Christ be not risen," death is never swallowed up in victory.

"If Christ be not risen" Then, as verse 19 says, we are of all men most miserable. Thank God, 
because Jesus arose our loved ones have not perished. I thank God for the sweet and 
wonderful hope of a reunion in Glory with all those who have died with faith in Christ. 
Because He lives, someday the trumpet shall sound and the dead in Christ shall rise.  We 
which are alive and remain, at His coming again, together we will be caught up to meet 
the Lord in the air and SO SHALL WE EVER BE WITH THE LORD." Amen!

"But now is Christ raised from the dead and become the first fruits of them that sleep", verse 20. Now 
Christ is raised from the dead. 
	
And because He lives I Corinthian 15:51-57 gives us this powerful assurance, 

“Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, (52) In a 
moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead 
shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. (53) For this corruptible must put on 
incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. (54) So when this corruptible shall have 
put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass 
the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. (55) O death, where is thy sting? O 
grave, where is thy victory? (56) The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. (57) 
But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 

Because HE LIVES, I CAN face tomorrow
Because HE LIVES ALL fear is gone
Because I know He HOLDS the future
And life is worth the living BECAUSE HE LIVES.

"But now is Christ risen from the dead."

Historical facts are AGAINST His being yet dead.
Spiritual experience is AGAINST His being yet in the grave.
Regenerated lives are AGAINST His being yet wrapped in a shroud.
The testimony of the saints is AGAINST His being yet in the tomb.
The instincts of immortality in our souls are AGAINST His being yet in Death's dreary 
dominion.

One day a man stood looking at a large painting on display in a store window, a painting 
of Jesus on the cross with the soldiers standing by. A little lad, who attended Sunday 
School and had learned something about the crucifixion, stood behind the man. 

After a few moments the boy said, "Mister, Mister, that's Jesus on   the cross." 
The man didn't say a word but keep staring at the picture. In a minute the boy said, "Mister, 
Mister, them soldiers there, they killed Him!
The man still didn't say anything, he just kept looking at the picture. The boy spoke again, "Mister, 
Mister, them disciples there, they buried Him.
Without a word the man walked away. When he was nearly a block down the street, the little lad 
ran as fast as he could to catch him.  Again the lad said, "Mister, Mister, I forgot to tell you, He 
came out of the grave on the third day!"

My dear friends that is what Easter is all about!

It is not a day of cute little bunnies and Easter candy and Easter eggs.
It's not a day to dress up in a new Spring outfit and parade into church saying, it's nice we are 
all here on Easter Sunday.

My friends every Sunday morning is a commemoration to the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 
a reminder of our guarantee that because HE came out of the grave alive, so shall we one 
day.

As we read again verse 20, "But now is Christ risen from the dead." we realize that

Our preaching is NOT in vain! It is infused with the very life of the risen Lord.
Our faith is NOT in vain! It gives us vital connections with the living Lord.
As believers, we are NOT in our sins. We are emancipated children of grace.
They who have fallen asleep in Christ have NOT perished, rather they have opened their eyes in 
the Saviour's presence.

Since these things are true, then if you truly know the reality of the resurrection because 
of your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, today you can sing:

I serve a risen Saviour, He's in the world today
I know that He is living, WHATEVER MEN MAY SAY;
I see His HAND of mercy, I hear His VOICE of cheer
And just the time I need Him, he's always near.

Rejoice, Rejoice, O Christian, lift up your voice and sing,
Eternal Hallelujah to Jesus Christ the King.
The HOPE of all who seek Him, the HELP of all who find,
No other is so loving, so good and kind.

Unto Martha at the grave of Lazarus Jesus said in John 11:25-26, "I am the resurrection and 
the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and 
believeth in me shall never die. Believeth thou this?"

Unto us Paul wrote in Romans 10:9, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and 
shalt believe in thine heart that God hath RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD, thou shalt be saved."

**********************************************************************

If God has spoken to your heart after reading the sermon "If Christ Be Not Risen" then right now talk to 
God about what He has spoken to you. 

Do you have the assurance that one day you will go to heaven? If you have no assurance that you know 
Jesus Christ, then I trust you will decide to accept Him as your personal Savior. The Bible tells us in 

Acts 16:31, “...Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved...” 
Romans 10:13, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
This prayer is here for those who need to ask Jesus to be their personal Savior: “I do want to go to Heaven. 
I know I am a sinner, and I do believe Jesus Christ died for me. I realize I cannot buy this great 
salvation, nor can I earn it. Knowing Jesus died on the cross and arose from the grave to pay my sin 
debt and to purchase my salvation, I do now trust Him as my Savior, and from this moment on I am 
completely depending on Him for my salvation.”
If you made the decision to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior let me know. Please send an e-mail 
to, pdmikBBM@aol.com and I will send you some literature that will help you in your Christian life.
The “Weekly SERMON” was sent as a ministry of Bible Baptist Ministry, 48 Alexie Rd., Hanover 
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