Introduction
Are you treating the resurrection as a true story you agree with, or as a living reality you’re actually staking your life on? The central teaching of Easter is this: “He is risen” is not merely a historical claim, it is the power of God that turns hopeless people into hopeful disciples when we truly believe it. (Luke 24:1–6)
Luke tells us that on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, women came to Jesus’ tomb with spices, found the stone rolled away, and did not find His body. In their confusion, angels asked the piercing question: “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but He is risen.” Those three words, He is risen, have echoed across centuries and cultures, spoken today in over a thousand languages. And they still confront us: not whether they have power, but whether we will believe them with our lives. Many people “believe” the resurrection in the sense that they accept it as tradition or history, yet there can be a breakdown between confession and conviction. I want to disciple you into a faith that doesn’t just nod at Easter, but is reshaped by it.
Main Points
Are you treating the resurrection as a true story you agree with, or as a living reality you’re actually staking your life on? The central teaching of Easter is this: “He is risen” is not merely a historical claim, it is the power of God that turns hopeless people into hopeful disciples when we truly believe it. (Luke 24:1–6)
Luke tells us that on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, women came to Jesus’ tomb with spices, found the stone rolled away, and did not find His body. In their confusion, angels asked the piercing question: “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but He is risen.” Those three words, He is risen, have echoed across centuries and cultures, spoken today in over a thousand languages. And they still confront us: not whether they have power, but whether we will believe them with our lives.
Many people “believe” the resurrection in the sense that they accept it as tradition or history, yet there can be a breakdown between confession and conviction. I want to disciple you into a faith that doesn’t just nod at Easter, but is reshaped by it.
Three Words That Change Everything
Three words can redirect a whole life: “I love you.” “Can we talk?” “We are over.” “I am lost.” Even spiritual questions often come in threes: “Where is God?” “Why me, God?”
Easter gives us three words that turned world history upside down: He is risen. Christianity didn’t begin with good advice; it began with news, Jesus defeated the grave, and that announcement launched a movement from Christ to His disciples, to the church, and out into the world.
So I’m asking you personally: will you keep Easter at arm’s length as a meaningful tradition, or will you let the risen Christ claim your whole life?
If Christ Is Not Risen, Faith Collapses
Paul helps us by running a “thought experiment” in 1 Corinthians 15:14–15. He says if Christ is not risen, then preaching is empty and faith is empty, we would be false witnesses, selling a hope that isn’t real.
That means the first and most important critique of Christianity is not, “I don’t like Christians,” or “I don’t like Christian ethics,” or “What about other religions?” The hinge point is simpler and more personal:
- If Jesus rose from the dead, you must bow your knee to Him.
- If He did not rise, Christianity is a dead end.
Unlike movements that can continue even when their leader remains in the grave, Christianity stands or falls on this: if there is no Christ alive, there is no message alive. John Stott captured it well: if the person and work of Christ are removed, the whole structure collapses.
Without Resurrection, Sin Still Owns Us
Paul continues: “If Christ is not risen… you are still in your sins.” (1 Corinthians 15:17)
Let me disciple you into clarity here: the deepest problem in the world is not merely politics, economics, or social decay, it is sin. G.K. Chesterton famously answered the question “What is wrong with the world?” with: “I am.” That diagnosis fits every one of us. We have been sinned against, yes, but we also have sinned. We’ve departed from God’s design, what Scripture calls righteousness.
And here is why Good Friday and Easter cannot be separated: the cross is where Jesus paid the penalty of sin (death), and the resurrection is God’s victory announcement that death did not defeat the Savior. A dead savior cannot save. If Christ stayed in the tomb, you would still be searching for cleansing, carrying guilt and shame, enslaved to patterns you cannot break.
But because He is risen, forgiveness is not wishful thinking, it is offered reality.
Without Resurrection, Death Has The Final Word
Paul says if Christ is not risen, “those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.” (1 Corinthians 15:18)
Even the word cemetery carries Christian memory: a “resting place,” because believers spoke of death as sleep, waiting for resurrection. Scripture says God has set eternity in our hearts (Ecclesiastes 3:11). That’s why death feels wrong. Every funeral awakens the ache that death is an intruder, not the way things ought to be.
I want you to face this honestly: every funeral you attend is a preview of your own. If Christ did not rise, then death wins and the story ends in expiration “for good.” But if Christ did rise, then death is not a wall, it is a doorway for those in Him. Easter is not only something we look back on; it is a promise we look forward to.
Without Resurrection, Life Has No Meaningful Hope
Paul presses it further: “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most to be pitied.” (1 Corinthians 15:19)
Some people say, “Even if the resurrection isn’t true, Jesus’ moral teachings are still beautiful.” But Paul says that kind of Christianity is tragic, because the Sermon on the Mount makes sense only in a universe where God will set things right.
Why turn the other cheek if there is no final justice? Why sacrifice, forgive, give generously, endure suffering, and go the extra mile if there is no resurrection, no reward, no restoration? Paul sums up the alternative worldview bluntly: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:32)
And you can feel how modern that is:
- Lie, cheat, and grab what you can, tomorrow you die.
- Worry, despair, and numb yourself, tomorrow you die.
- Scroll, swipe, and avoid the ache, tomorrow you die.
If Christ is not risen, this life is all you have. But Easter refuses that despair.
But Now Christ Is Risen, So Live Risen
Paul’s turning point is thunder: “But now Christ is risen from the dead.” (1 Corinthians 15:20) He is the “firstfruits”, the preview and pattern of what is coming for all who belong to Him. His ending becomes your ending. His beginning becomes your beginning.
If you’re skeptical, I won’t pretend it’s easy to prove an ancient event without being there. But I will urge you: read all of 1 Corinthians 15, where Paul points to witnesses (including “over five hundred at once”) and to his own testimony as one who opposed Christ until encountering the living Christ.
And beyond the historical defense, I want you to know you can encounter resurrection power now. C.S. Lewis said he believed in Christianity like he believed the sun had risen: not only because he sees it, but because by it he sees everything else.
Because He is risen, you can experience:
- Power for a changed life: “If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you… [He] will also give life to your mortal bodies.” (Romans 8:11) The gospel is not just information; it is Spirit-empowered transformation.
- Freedom and forgiveness from sin: We keep records, we carry shame, we repeat what we hate. Jesus teaches that sin enslaves. But in Christ there is redemption: “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.” (Ephesians 1:7) The cross is the payment; the resurrection is the receipt, paid in full.
- Hope in the face of death: The Lord will return, and “the dead in Christ will rise.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16) Grief remains real, but despair is not ultimate for those who are in Him.
- Courage for costly obedience: Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble,” but also, “Take heart, I have overcome.” (John 16:33) If He overcame death, what in your life is too great for Him to overcome?
So I call you to more than Easter attendance: I’m calling you to Easter discipleship, living as someone who truly believes Christ is alive.
Conclusion
“He is risen” is not sentimental religious poetry. It is either the collapse of Christianity or the cornerstone of everything. If Christ is not risen, the message is empty, sin remains, death wins, and life has no lasting meaning. But now Christ is risen, and that changes everything: the gospel has power, sins can be forgiven, death can be faced with hope, and obedience can be lived with joy and reward.
So I’m asking you to decide what you will do with these three words, not just in your opinions, but in your life:
He is risen.
Risen Lord Jesus, we confess that we often treat the resurrection as tradition rather than truth that reshapes our lives. Forgive us for the gap between our confession and our conviction.
Thank You that You died for our sins and that You rose again in victory. Let the power of Your resurrection become real to us today. By Your Spirit, give life to our hearts, break the chains of sin, and replace guilt and shame with Your forgiveness and grace.
Strengthen those who are grieving with hope, and steady those who are fearful with the promise that death does not have the final word. Teach us to live as Your disciples, courageous, obedient, and full of hope, because You have overcome.
We declare with faith: He is risen. Amen.
Conclusion
“He is risen” is not sentimental religious poetry. It is either the collapse of Christianity or the cornerstone of everything. If Christ is not risen, the message is empty, sin remains, death wins, and life has no lasting meaning. But now Christ is risen, and that changes everything: the gospel has power, sins can be forgiven, death can be faced with hope, and obedience can be lived with joy and reward.
So I’m asking you to decide what you will do with these three words, not just in your opinions, but in your life:
He is risen.
Closing Prayer
Risen Lord Jesus, we confess that we often treat the resurrection as tradition rather than truth that reshapes our lives. Forgive us for the gap between our confession and our conviction.
Thank You that You died for our sins and that You rose again in victory. Let the power of Your resurrection become real to us today. By Your Spirit, give life to our hearts, break the chains of sin, and replace guilt and shame with Your forgiveness and grace.
Strengthen those who are grieving with hope, and steady those who are fearful with the promise that death does not have the final word. Teach us to live as Your disciples, courageous, obedient, and full of hope, because You have overcome.
We declare with faith: He is risen. Amen.