**Daily Devotional** **May 21** *17 And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. 18 Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. 19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. - 1 Cor 15:17-19 (KJV)* Thank God Christ is raised again (Matthew 28:6), and our faith is not vain. Paul was correcting the teaching that people can not be raised from the dead. If that were true then our faith would be in vain, but since Jesus rose again, all our sins have been forgiven (1 John 2:2). The only things that will send you to hell is not believing on Jesus as your Savior (John 16:8-9) or blasphemy against the Holy Ghost (Matthew 12:31-32), or trusting in your own righteousness by keeping the law (Romans 3:20), or not obeying Jesus (Hebrews 5:9). The dead perishing would be only if the dead do not rise again, but Jesus did rise again, and the dead also will all be raised again (1 Corinthians 15:52), either to live on the new earth, or in hell, for eternity. If there is no life after this physical death, then Jesus was not raised from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:13), and did not return to heaven. This would mean that the entire Christian faith was not true, as it is based on Jesus being raised from the dead, and thereby atoning for our sins. Of course Jesus did rise again, and our faith is secure, if you have been born again, and don’t blasphemy the Holy Ghost, or trust in earning your own righteousness, or disobey Jesus. It would be a most miserable life, if all we had was this physical life on earth, as having the hope of eternity with God and Jesus is what makes this life bearable. This life is like a mist, as it is here today, and gone tomorrow, and knowing that we, who are born again, will have a resurrected life afterwards, is what keeps us happy in this life, no matter what happens. Praise God for our eternal life. Devotional by Pastor Joe W. Green, www.infinite-faith.com