Without Jesus being alive,

Without Jesus being alive,


John 19:30
 "When Jesus, therefore, had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost."


When Jesus cried, "It is finished," He was not referring to the whole plan of salvation as being completed.
He still had to descend into the lower parts of the earth and lead the captives out (Eph. 4:8-9), as well as come back from the dead and ascend to the Father to make intercession for us (Heb. 7:25).


Paul made it very clear in 1 Corinthians 15:14 and 17 {1 Corinthians 15:14-17}

14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15 More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised.
16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either.
17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still yet in your sins.    

Why is the resurrection so important? The resurrection of Jesus makes Christianity different from every religion because we are dealing with a real, live person, not just principles. Christianity is fellowship with a real person who is now alive.

Also, forgiveness of sins is not obtained by a doctrine, but by Christ Himself.
If Jesus did not rise from the dead, He cannot give salvation to us.

 However, He did rise from the dead and now He lives forever to make intercession for us

(Heb. 7:25).  A Superior Priesthood
…24 But because Jesus lives forever, He has a permanent priesthood.
 25 Therefore He is able to save completely those who draw near to God through Him since He always lives to intercede for them.
26 Such a high priest truly befits us - One who is holy, innocent, undefiled, set apart from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.…


It is Christ living in us which gives us the power to live a victorious life. 
If there was no resurrection, there would be no power.


The resurrected life of Jesus is the guarantee of our physical regeneration.

Because Jesus conquered death, the fear and sting of death have been removed for us. 
This produces great comfort for those who believe.


So, faith in the present ministry of Jesus is essential to true Christianity and would be impossible if Jesus was not alive. 
Without Jesus being alive, Christianity would be just another of the dead religions in the world!