What we believe has consequences. What difference does it make to believe the resurrection, as opposed to not believing it?

Death is the great reality of life it is more certain than taxes. It is the great leveler — death comes to the rich and the poor, the wise and the foolish (Eccles. 2:13-14). Paupers die, million­aires die, ordinary people die, Princess Diana dies, Kerry Packer dies, the Prime Minister will die and the Leader of the Opposition will die, Christians die and unbelievers die, you will die and I will die. "It is the same event for all" (Eccles. 9:2). We all know that it will happen but we do not know when.

Death is the touchstone of life. In January 1738 John Wesley was on a ship coming back to England from the Americas when there was a fierce storm. On board there was a band of Moravian missionaries. In the face of the storm they knew no fear, but Wesley himself was terrified. It showed him the true state of his heart, that he possessed only what he called "a fair summer religion", and led him to seek after God more earnestly. If death is the touchstone of life, resurrection is the touchstone of the Christian faith. So what follows if Christ did not rise from the dead, and hence nobody else will be raised from the dead?

First, the whole Christian message would be finished. That's what Paul says at length in 1 Corinthians 15:12-19. If Christ is not risen from the dead, I have nothing to say to you. We should all stop now, throw away this maga­zine, and go and have coffee. To con­tinue on would make us of all men most to be pitied. If death is the end, then resurrection is a delusion. Better to face the truth, better to close the church down, get rid of all the Bibles, and sit down to watch 1001 movies before we die.

Second, life would be ultimately meaningless and futile. It would be the message of the book of Ecclesiastes: vanity, vanity, everything is vanity. What would we live for? To eat and drink, that is all (1 Cor. 15:32b). If there is no resurrection, the logical alternatives seem to me to be pleasure or suicide. Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote: "If there is no immortality, I shall throw myself into the sea." Bismarck said something similar: "Without the hope of an afterlife, this life is not even worth the effort of getting dressed in the morning."

Two characteristics of modern life in the West are inordinate pleasure-seeking and a sense of despair. People have made a god of pleasure, of drink, of drugs, of having a good time. Ronald Conway has called Australia "the land of the long weekend". People are addicted to their diversions, and live like this so that they will not have to think about their spiritual wretched­ness and sin and death. If they stop to think, they are in danger of giving in to despair.

What follows if Christ did rise from the dead, and all of mankind will be raised from the dead?

First, there will be a judgment. Jesus tells us this, and Paul repeats it (Jn. 5:28-29; 2 Cor. 5:10). This life is not meaningless. Every act, every word, every thought, every motive will be judged by God. This is terrifying, but at least it gives our lives some meaning. If there is no resurrection, there is no judgment. If there is a resurrection, there will be a judgment. This world will not go on and on; it will all be called to account on that day of days.

Second, life here and now has meaning. Let me look at this briefly in three areas.

The first of these involves everyday life. At the conclusion of his most extensive treatment of the subject of resurrection, Paul concentrates on its implications for this life:

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labour is not in vain. 1 Cor. 15:58

Why prepare the Sunday school lesson, why face that Scripture class again, why help that hard-faced neighbour who never appreciates anything, why send money off to missions, why change nappies, why go off to work this week? You have a reason if there is a resurrection; there is purpose in everything. Even a slave has a reason for living (Col. 3:23-24).

The second area involves how we approach risk. Paul said that he could fight the beasts at Ephesus (1 Cor. 15:32a). This is probably a figurative expression. Why face the lions if there is no resurrection? Why do anything even mildly dangerous if this life is all you have? If we find six thugs beating up a defenceless victim, why not flee and say that it's none of our business? A Christian is not to be reckless with his life, but neither is he to be paralysed with fear. Faith gives courage; unbelief makes for fear.

The third area involves personal char­acter. There is a new heaven and a new earth coming in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, we are to be diligent to be found by Christ without spot or blemish (2 Pet. 3:13-14). Because the resurrection is coming, we must be prepared for it. If you take away the resurrection, then you take away any incentive. The Christians who have made the greatest progress in the Christian life have been the ones who thought most of the resurrection life (Col. 3:2; 1 John 3:2).

Finally, if the resurrection is true then we have hope in the face of death. We do not grieve as those without hope but are encouraged (1 Thess. 4:13, 18; 5:9-11). Death touches each of us. While there is no hope for the person outside of Christ, what happens when the Christian dies? He is received into the presence of Christ. What effect does that have on believers still on earth? They are sad but not desolate. The ship rocks in the storm but it does not sink. There is an end to life here on earth, but there will be a glorious reunion.

Look at David at the death of his child he knew he would die and go to be with his child but his child would not return to him in this life (2 Sam. 12:23). This was David at his lowest ebb. His life had been shattered by his own sin — his adultery, his murder of Uriah, his deception, his exposure, and now the death of the little boy. Where could he find any hope? Not in himself but in the God who puts lives back together, who re-creates, who brings grace, who raises the dead. Even his great sin could not prevent God's grace and power from accomplishing that.

If there is no resurrection, there is nothing but unthinking pleasure or terrible despair. If Christ is risen, then there is a final judgment, there is meaning to everyday acts on earth, and there is a foundation to courage, a spur to live rightly, and there is hope in the most terrible of situations. That is why the Bible consistently tells us that there are two paths before each one of us one of death, and one of life. In choosing Christ, we choose life, in all its fullness, for time and for eter­nity.