So he candidly laid out the whole matter of the value of the Christian religion, apart from a resurrection, from six points of view. He objectively lays it down that if Christ were not raised, then gospel preaching is vain, faith is vain, the apostles are false witnesses, we are still in our sins, believers have perished at death, and, therefore, Christians are of all men to be pitied the most. Gospel preaching is vain. All that hocus-pocus about our coming back from the grave would be as vain as Houdini's boast to return from the dead. Christianity without a resurrection would be like a book without words.
Faith is vain.
It is impractical to conceive of the Christian faith apart from a personal faith in the resurrection of Jesus since the object of our beleif in eternal life is the Lord Jesus himself. Without his resurrection there would be no one to look to to perform the resurrection. Belief would be useless, even senseless. The apostles are false witnesses. If the stories they told of Christ and his resurrection were not true, it would be ludicrous to regard them as sincere and honest men.