The two verses that we mentioned earlier in 1 Corinthians 15 are very precious. Verse 14 says, "And if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation is vain; your faith is vain also." Verse 17 then says, "And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile." If Christ has not resurrected, one will not know what has become of the things that he has believed in. Another wonderful thing is seen in 1 Corinthians 15:3 which says, "Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures." But in verse 17 it says, "If Christ has not been raised...you are still in your sins." Do not these two verses contradict each other? Verse 3 says that He has died for our sins. That means He has solved the problem of our sins. Why does verse 17 say that if Christ has not been raised, we are still in our sins? This verse is quite peculiar. Perhaps you would have changed that to, "If Christ has not died for you, you are still in your sins." If we changed the words been raised to died, we would readily be able to understand it. Since Christ has died for us, we are no longer in sin. But verse 3 says that Christ has died for our sins already. Now verse 17 says that without Christ's resurrection, we are still in our sins. What does this mean?

My friends, the matter is actually very clear. On the one hand, Christ has died for our sins. But when do we know that we are no longer in sin, and when do we know that we have been freed from sin? It is when the Lord Jesus was resurrected. It is when the Lord was resurrected that we realized that we were redeemed from our sins. We have to distinguish between these two. The redemption and deliverance from sin before God is due to the Lord's death; it is not due to His resurrection. But for us, it is the Lord's resurrection, rather than His death, that we realize. For my creditor, the time a debt is settled is when he sees the money. But for me, it is settled when I see the receipt. My creditor only looks at the money, and I only look at the receipt. God's eyes only see the death of the Lord Jesus, and our eyes only see His resurrection. God does not need the resurrection of the Lord as His proof. He knows very well that the Lord's death is adequate for redemption. The problem is that we do not know. A receipt is not written for the one who receives money. It is written for one who pays the money. No receipt is prepared for the creditor. All receipts are made out for the debtors. They are written to give the debtors peace of mind. Hence, before God the Lord's death is sufficient for our sins. As long as He dies, God is satisfied. Resurrection tells us that He is satisfied, that the death of the Lord has redeemed us from sins. But if the Lord has not resurrected, even though we have been redeemed from our sins, we still would not know it. With the death of the Lord, the problem of sin is forever dealt with before God. Without resurrection, we would not have the confidence that our sins are indeed dealt with. The fact of forgiveness lies in His death. The assurance of forgiveness lies in His resurrection. The Lord's death redeems us from sins, and the Lord's resurrection allows us to know that we have been redeemed from our sins.