If Christ Is Not Risen
- The Love Church
- Apr 5
- 8 min read
Every year on this day, the church of Jesus Christ rises up — in every time zone, in every language, in every style of worship — and declares the same earth-shaking truth: He is risen. But I want to do something with you this Easter that goes deeper than the declaration. I want to press into why the resurrection actually matters — not as a theological item we affirm and move on from, but as the hinge upon which every single thing in your life either holds together or falls completely apart. The power of the resurrection is not a footnote to the Christian faith. It is the foundation of it.
And the Apostle Paul, writing to the church at Corinth in what has become known as the resurrection chapter, said it as plainly as it can be said. 1 Corinthians 15:17 — in the Amplified version — reads: "If Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless and powerless and a mere delusion. And you are still in your sins and under the control and penalty of sin."
Those are startling words. But I am so grateful Paul wrote them — because the flip side of that conditional sentence is the most liberating truth a human being can ever hear.
If Christ Is Not Risen — Everything Unravels
Paul begins from an uncomfortable premise, and we need to sit with it for a moment before we get to the glory. He starts with this: all have sinned. Romans makes it explicit — there is none righteous, no not one. Every person who has ever drawn breath on this earth has, at some point, broken the law of God and become an offender before a holy Creator.
And here is where it gets serious. James 2:10 tells us that "the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God's laws." Think about that. God's law is like a chain — if one link breaks, the whole chain is broken. It does not matter that you kept nine out of ten. The one you broke made you an offender. We like to console ourselves by measuring our sins against someone else's — at least I never did what they did — but that is not the standard. God's standard is perfection, and every single one of us has fallen short of it.
So if there were no resurrection — if Christ had simply died and stayed in that tomb — we would each be left holding an unpaid debt we can never settle on our own. Our faith would be, as Paul says, useless. Worthless. A delusion. We would still be guilty.
But the story does not end there.
God Never Forgets — and That Is Actually Good News
I want to tell you a story that has weighed on me for most of my life. When I was seven years old, riding with my family through the Elmira area, someone in the car pointed out a wooded spot and said, softly, "That's where they found her." A twelve-year-old girl named Mary Teresa Simpson had disappeared in March of 1964, walking home, and four days later her body was discovered. She had been abducted, violated, and murdered. It shook the entire town.
For decades the case went cold. The killer — a local man named Alfred Murray Jr., who lived near Mary and was never a suspect — went on with his life. He died in 2004, never arrested, never tried, never convicted. It seemed, by every earthly measure, that he had gotten away with it.
But just one month ago, in February of 2026, investigators using modern DNA science and genetic genealogy finally matched the evidence to Murray's family and confirmed his guilt. They had kept a tiny DNA sample from Mary's clothing for over sixty years, and they never stopped looking for the truth.
Here is what I felt when I read that story through the lens of eternity: God never forgets. Not one sin, not one offense, not one crime — hidden or public, confessed or buried — escapes His knowledge. Psalm 130:3 says it this way: "If you, Lord, should keep an account of our sins and treat us accordingly, who could stand?" The answer is no one. Not a single person. If God kept a perfect record and rendered a verdict based on our performance, there would be no case to argue. We would all be guilty.
And that man — who perhaps went to his grave thinking no one would ever know — stood before the One who knew all along. Every unconfessed sin eventually faces its Judge. This is not meant to terrify us. It is meant to drive us to the only remedy that exists.
A Moment to Reflect
Before you read on, pause here. Is there something buried — something you have been carrying quietly, something you have not yet brought fully before God? You may have known Christ for years, and still there are things left unattended. Today is not just a celebration. It is an invitation. Ask the Holy Spirit right now: "Is there something You want me to bring to You today?" He is faithful to answer gently.
The Resurrection Is the Proof That the Debt Was Paid
Here is where everything changes. Here is why Easter Sunday is not merely a religious holiday but the pivot point of all of human history.
God proved that He accepted the sacrifice of Jesus — that the death of Christ on the cross fully, completely, and permanently atoned for the sins of the world — by raising Him from the dead. The resurrection was the divine receipt. The Father's public declaration that the debt had been settled. That the Perfect Lamb had succeeded where every other offering had fallen short.
Because only Jesus could do this. James 2:10 tells us every person who has broken even one of God's laws is guilty of all. But Jesus — fully God and fully man — kept every law perfectly, lived without a single sin, and then volunteered to die in our place. What happened at the cross was a great exchange. He took our sin into His account. And in its place, He transferred His righteousness — His perfection, His purity, His standing before the Father — into ours.
You do not earn that. You cannot. Grace, by definition, is receiving what you do not deserve. It is God's gift — His unmerited favor, His forgiveness, His love — extended to people who have given Him every reason to withhold it. And mercy is the other side of that same coin: not receiving what you do deserve. The death penalty that every sin earns, absorbed by Jesus on the cross so that you and I do not have to face it.
I think about John Lennon's famous song — Imagine no heaven, imagine no hell, imagine no religion. A beautiful melody wrapped around a hopeless worldview. He might as well have added: imagine no hope. Because a world without the resurrection is a world where sin has the final word. Where guilt is permanent. Where death wins. Where every Mary Teresa Simpson goes without justice and every Alfred Murray Jr. goes without consequence. I want nothing to do with that world. And I do not believe you do either.
The Power of the Resurrection Changes Your Story Today
Because He is risen, your faith is not useless — it is alive. Because He is risen, you are not still guilty — you are forgiven. Because He is risen, you are no longer under the control and the penalty of your sin. You are free.
I know He is alive. Not just because the historical evidence is overwhelming — though it is. I know because of a day in fifth grade when I was wracked with arthritis, falling on the sidewalk trying to get to school, unable to walk without pain. And in that moment, Jesus came. He filled me with power. The aches vanished. For the first time in years, I walked pain-free. That was not a delusion. That was the risen Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever, making Himself known in the body of a child who needed Him.
He still does that. He still shows up. Not just for pastors or people with enough faith or people who have it all together. He shows up for the guilty, the burdened, the broken, the ones who have been carrying something heavy for a very long time.
And here is what He offers you today — not just as a historical celebration, but as a present-tense reality: He wants to forgive your sins. Every weight of guilt, every shadow of shame, every regret you have dragged through years of your life. He wants to cleanse your soul. He wants to transfer His righteousness into your account and put your sin — all of it — on the cross where it was already paid for.
You do not have to stand before the Judge carrying your own guilt. Jesus already stood in your place. What you do have to do is come to Him with an open hand and a humble heart and say: I believe. Forgive me. I receive what You have already done.
1 John 1:9 promises: "If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." All of it. Whatever is buried, whatever is lingering, whatever you have quietly pushed into a corner and tried to ignore — He can handle it. And He is ready to.
Christ Has Died. Christ Is Risen. Christ Will Come Again.
The resurrection of Jesus is not the end of the story — it is the guarantee of what is still to come. He was the first one raised, Paul tells us, and we will be raised at His second coming. That is the glorious hope beating in the chest of every believer. Not just forgiveness for the past. Not just help for the present. But the certain promise of an eternal future with the One who loved us enough to die for us and powerful enough to rise again.
He is coming back. And between now and that day, the power of the resurrection is available to lift you out of whatever you are sinking into. Out of the mud. Out of the pain. Out of the patterns that have held you down. Not because you deserve it. Because He paid for it.
Whatever this Easter Sunday finds you carrying — bring it to the cross. Let the burden fall. Walk away free.
Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again. And that changes absolutely everything.
A Prayer and a Next Step
This is the most important day of the year to settle something with God. Wherever you are — whether you are stepping toward Jesus for the very first time or bringing something long buried back into the light — pray this with me right now:
"Father in heaven, I come to You today believing in the death and resurrection of Jesus. I know I have sinned. I know I carry guilt I cannot remove on my own. I ask You to forgive me — for everything, including the things I have buried and carried quietly. I believe the blood of Jesus is enough to cover all of it. I receive Your grace. I receive Your mercy. Fill me with Your Spirit and give me the power to walk forward free. Thank You, Jesus. Amen."
If this message stirred something in you today, I would love to hear from you — leave a comment below and share what this Easter means for you. Share this post with someone who needs to know that the resurrection is not just history — it is hope for right now. And if you are looking for a community to walk this journey with, we would be honored to have you join us for a service. The tomb is empty. The door is open. Come in.
He is risen.
Preached on April 5, 2026 — Easter Sunday (Resurrection Day) | Horseheads, New York
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