Fact or Fiction

GETTING STARTED

There’s an old saying that, “If everyone says it, it must be true.” As believers today, living in a culture that denies absolute truth and questions the truth of Scripture, we have to always be on our guard not to adapt our thinking to that of the culture just because of what we hear.  

  • What issues of our culture have reshaped your, or the church’s, thinking?

READ THE WORD: 1 CORINTHIANS 15:12-19 (ESV)

12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?  13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that 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 futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

DIGGING DEEPER

  1. The Corinthians were turning away from a core doctrine they had been taught. What was it (vs. 12)?
  2. What are some of the implications Paul made for the claim that there is no resurrection of the dead (vss. 13-18)?
  3. Why might Paul have reacted so strongly to this claim?
  4. If the resurrection were not true, why should Christians be pitied above all people (vss. 17-19)? Why is our faith completely dependent on the resurrection?
  5. If there was no resurrection, then we are still in our sins and have hope only in this life. In what ways would this change your outlook on life and how you live it?

RESPOND TO GOD

Paul reminded the Corinthian believers of the gospel he preached and, more importantly, they had received. If the Corinthians’ faith was limited only to Jesus’ death on the cross and did not include his resurrection, then it was a useless faith. It impacted not only their belief, but limited their hope in this life. If we discount the truth of the resurrection, we are still in our sins and have no hope of a life with him. As we remember Christ’s resurrection, we gain assurance and strength to overcome the sometimes frightening obstacles of life.

  • Pray and ask the Lord to reveal areas where your faith is limited by your beliefs.