Core 52 | Beyond Belief — Resurrection

Of all the doctrines in the year's study, this one is named the most important — because every other piece of the gospel is built on the central fact that Jesus rose. The text is 1 Corinthians 15, called here perhaps the most consequential chapter in the Bible. Paul preaches the death, burial, and resurrection, then the proofs: appearances to Peter, the Twelve, more than five hundred witnesses many still living, James, and Paul himself — "abnormally born," a former hunter of Christians transformed by grace. The message presses the implications if the resurrection were false: useless preaching, futile faith, no forgiveness, no hope for those who have died. Then the pivot on a single word — but Christ has been raised. Because he lives, salvation can be both provided and received, and the closing charge is to stand firm and get that message out.