I Corinthians 15:1-19
And if Christ has not been raised, … we are of all people most to be pitied. (vv. 17a, 19b) For many years I was quoting this “verse”, except that it was not one verse, but the combination of two partial verses. So much for my Bible memory skills…!! But the reality of what I had been quoting (and still do) is absolutely relevant. If Jesus was not raised from the dead and we have been placing all our hope on this truth, then we are stupid. Stupid! Actually, no! Pitied by others, maybe. But stupid? NO! We are absolutely blessed in our belief that Jesus physically rose from the dead. We have joy, we have confidence, we have peace. We are not to be pitied. Others may think what they want, but we are COMPLETE in Christ and in the workings of His Holy Spirit in our lives. Live with that confidence, folks, and be blessed! GLORY!!
Slava Bohu!
IF Christ has not been raised than we are indeed stupid! And any blessings we think we have are just illusions. And all the persecutions and sufferings of Christians down through the ages are a complete waste. And we are indeed most to be pitied. But Christ has most definitely been raised, and it is in that Fact that we can rejoice. We are not blessed in believing a fantasy. We are blessed in believing the one central Fact of history.