¹⁴And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is futile and your faith is empty. ¹⁵Also, we are found to be false witnesses about God, because we have testified against God that he raised Christ from the dead, when in reality he did not raise him, if indeed the dead are not raised. ¹⁶For if the dead are not raised, then not even Christ has been raised. ¹⁷And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is useless; you are still in your sins. ¹⁸Furthermore, those who have fallen asleep in Christ have also perished. ¹⁹For if only in this life we have hope in Christ, we should be pitied more than anyone. ²⁰But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.