Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed - in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory."
"O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?" The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:51-57)
How has God overcome death and sin? According to Holy Scripture, He did so by dying upon the cross in the place of sinners and rising from the dead. Sin can only be removed by a sacrifice, and Jesus dying upon the cross was the sacrifice for the sins of all who believe. He rose from the dead as a proclamation that He has overcome death Himself, and that all who believe in Him will also rise from the dead. This great theological truth has profound implications for our everyday lives. It gives hope and purpose knowing that there is life after this, because Jesus has died for sinners and has saved them from sin and death.
How is one to respond to the message of the Gospel and Christ's victory over death by the resurrection? Believers must forsake their sins and come to God. They must repent and believe in Jesus because He has truly overcome all evil and sin. Jesus alone can save sinners. The resurrection is not merely something sentimental, but it is the power of God over all evil. The resurrection of Jesus is the foundation for all hope in this life, and the life to come.