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Reason #2: Jesus Rose From The Dead...So Our Faith Would Not Be Futile

All of the Christian faith hangs on the resurrection.

As Pastor Mary Hulst says in a recent issue of The Banner: "Everything—everything—we do as followers of Jesus we do because of the resurrection. The resurrection is the sine qua non [indispensable element] of the Christian faith its foundation, its center, its core.  Everything radiates out from this."

If the resurrection did not happen there it is difficult to point to the foundation, centre or core of the Christian faith.

Without the resurrection, the Christian faith is (totally) bogus.

If the Easter story is not true the Christian faith is a worse than a sham.

As the apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15: "And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins."

Without the resurrection we have a dead Jesus.

Without Jesus rising from the dead here is no "living hope" for the present or the future (1 Peter 1:3).

Without Easter, Jesus is liar (Mark 9:30–32).

Without a risen Jesus there can be no real ascended Jesus (Acts 1:1ff)

Without a risen Jesus there can be no ongoing ministry of Intercession (Romans 8:34). 

Without a risen Jesus there can be no pouring out of the Spirit (Acts 2:1ff).

Without a Jesus who is alive there can be no Second Return of Jesus (various scripture verses).

In esesence, without the resurrrection our faith is futile, bogus, worthless, vain and pointless

But...beacuse of the resurrection, or if the resurrection really did happen, the Christian faith is full of meaning and our faith is not futile.

He is (still) risen! He is (still) risen indeed!