Good morning, everyone. It sure is good to be back here again. It feels like a long time since we've been here. Well, because it has been, I guess.
We've been preaching elsewhere in Vernon and elsewhere. So it's a joy to gather again to worship together and to look at Scripture together. This morning, we come to a beautiful passage of Scripture. Not that any other scripture is not beautiful, but it's a passage that's written four times like these, times that we find ourselves in.
Now, we look around at the world, we look around, we just see the evil at every turn, it seems, around the world. Read of things in Afghanistan, Myanmar, this morning in the prayer meeting, other things going on. And this passage of scripture just really sets to refocus us and bring us Set our focus right so that we can have peace. And that is in 1 Peter.
So if you have your Bibles, if you would turn with me to 1 Peter 1. This morning we'll look specifically at verses 3-5, the hope that we have, the believer's hope of glory. Verses 3-5. We'll read the entire chapter though to get the context.
And we'll pray and then we'll look at verses 3-5. So 1 Peter 1. and Apostle of Jesus Christ, to the pilgrims of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. Elect, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. Grace to you and peace be multiplied.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, according to His abundant mercy, has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom, having not seen, you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith, the salvation of your souls. Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.
To them it was revealed that not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things which angels desire to look into. Therefore, gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts as in your ignorance, but as he who called you as holy, you also be holy in all your conduct because it is written, Be holy, for I am holy. And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear, knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things like silver or gold from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.
He indeed was ordained before the foundation of the world but was manifest in these last times for you, who through him believe in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit, in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed, but incorruptible, through the word of God, which lives and abides forever. because all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away, but the word of the Lord endures forever. Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you thus far.
Well, let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we come to you now, and Lord, we look to you. for aid for the ministry of your Holy Spirit to aid in rightly dividing this word of truth, rightly expounding it, delivering this glorious message that we have here in your word. We ask for your aid in listening and in understanding and applying this message to our hearts. Lord, I pray that as we looked at these things that it would be a means of encouragement and a means of strengthening the the feeble hearts, the discouraged hearts, and the means of edifying the believers here.
And Lord, I pray that it would be a means to bring salvation to those among us who do not know you, who have not believed in Christ as Lord, and Christ as Savior. So Lord, I pray for your blessing on this time together. Lord, apart from you, we can do nothing. So we look to you for assistance, for aid, and we ask this all in the name of our Savior, the Lord Jesus.
Amen.
Introduction
So the book of 1 Peter is written, as Peter addresses in the first verse there, to the pilgrims of the dispersion in that area which is now modern-day Turkey. And these pilgrims here, these ones who have been dispersed there, it's primarily a Jewish audience that he's writing to. They're scattered around in this area. They're a minority in society at this point and facing various persecutions.
Now, there was not a full-blown Persecution and for the were the whole Roman Empire was persecuting at that point that came later on in history But but now there would have been Nero was that at the time of this writing Nero was was very busy in Rome with his persecutions Particularly to Rome, but then there would have been many sort of spin-off persecutions that would have happened It's been you know very obvious obvious in our own experiences in the past you know year year and a half when when when there's any sort of of animosity shown from leaders towards the Church of Christ than those who, you know, unbelievers are so much quicker, again, to just let their feelings show on the Church. And these believers would have been experiencing that same thing. So Peter writes this book to them, this letter to them, to encourage them. And what he does is, again, he shifts our focus away from from these persecutions, from these trials that they're facing, and he shifts their focus back to Christ and to God.
In the beginning here, in the first couple verses here, in his introduction, he gives us this very theologically rich introduction, Trinitarian introduction, and it's full of just much glorious truth, the doctrines of grace in there, where he calls them elect, and they're elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the spirit, and for obedience, or I would argue that on account of the obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. So highlighting that their salvation is worked out all by, all of grace. I'm sorry, I don't get quite as animated as Pastor Butler, I won't need that. So their salvation is all of grace, and he's really drawing their attention to that as a means to lift them up out of the discouragement that they would have been experiencing from all these trials and various persecutions they were facing.
So this passage, as we come to now in verses three and following here, it's really to show them that this world, this lower world, is not the be-all, end-all for believers. We have a future hope of glory coming to us, an amazing, amazing reality. And the next big section of this chapter story, verses three through 12, It breaks down into three sections, and he breaks it down, again, it's Trinitarian in nature there. He breaks it down verses three through five of the hope of the future, focusing on God the Father.
And then in verses six through nine, it's the joy of the present. And that is very much the practical application of verses three through five. And that's, in fact, what we're gonna look at this evening in our evening worship service is, so we're gonna continue on. in verses 6 through 9, and like I said, it really becomes that practical application. What do we do with the truths that we're going to look at this morning?
And then the verses 10 through 12 is the fulfilled anticipation of the past, and that's focusing on the work of the Holy Spirit. But this morning, in verses 3 through 5, it breaks down into three sections again, or I've broken it down into three sections here. And the first being in verse 3a is the author of salvation. And then verses 3b and 4a is the nature of salvation.
And then verses 4b and 5 is the certainty of salvation.
The Author of Salvation
So we'll begin with the author of salvation. So he starts out with this praise here. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. So his heart is overflowing.
In light of what he's just taught in verses 1 and 2, of that salvation is all of grace, he bursts forth in this praise. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It's an outpouring, it's the outpouring of a heart that understands grace, what grace really is. and and and then so uses this word bless and This this word is is the the same word that we would use eulogy in when we when we speak of eulogy at a funeral is is when somebody somebody stands up and gives a speech and they speak you know they speak well of the person that has passed away they speak well of the Things that they did that were good and of just who they are as a as a good person and that's the concept that Peter is conveying here as well, that we're praising, he's praising God for the redemption of man, not only for what God has done, that God has orchestrated it all, and he's elected according to his foreknowledge, he's set them apart by the work of the Holy Spirit, and this was all made possible on account of the obedience and the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ, not only that, but also for who God is, that this has all proceeded from the nature of God, and praising God for who He is, that He is a most loving, most merciful God, that we'll see here in a minute, as He says here, according to His abundant mercy. But first then, He says that the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Now, we see this phrase often in Paul's writings as well, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
So it's a very Christological phrase in the sense it teaches us about the person of Jesus Christ. So it says that he's, now he's speaking in regards to the Father, he says the God of our Lord Jesus Christ. So how can God be said to be the God of Jesus? Because Jesus is God after all, isn't he? you know and as christians we understand that the trinity is is you know there's one god we we only worship one god not three gods so how can how can how can the father be the god of the son it's because he's speaking here he's in regards to jesus's humanity that that has a as a man, Jesus was, or sorry, God was Jesus' God.
Jesus said that himself. If you remember, as he was hanging on the cross, he said, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani, that was my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? So Jesus is, he's suffering, he's dying, and according to his humanity, calling God his God. So Peter's here is highlighting the humanity of Christ, as he's already done previously in verse two, we've seen that. through the obedience and the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ, referring to his life of obedience and his death, his shedding of blood there.
And again, highlighting the importance of the fact that Jesus was truly man, that he did come to this earth as a man in order to earn our salvation. And then he says here, and then he also calls him the father of our Lord Jesus Christ. And now that, of course, is in regard to his divinity, that Jesus is, also fully God. And that's that inter-Trinitarian relationship between Jesus and the Father.
So we have one God in three persons. That relationship between those persons is a father-son relationship. So that's how he calls him father. So that's why I say it's very Christological.
Statement there because it teaches us of that of the the shows us of the two natures of Christ the both the human and the divine nature united together in the person of Jesus Christ and again that is fundamental to understand and to Rejoice in in regards to our salvation that salvation had to be earned by a man and so therefore God our God came down to this to this earth as a man and And then he continues on here, and he says, our Lord Jesus Christ. So blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. And in one way, he's showing a solidarity with them. Of course, these are the pilgrims of the dispersion, he calls them, those who are scattered out throughout there.
They may have not had felt that unity, that togetherness as a body being just scattered apart. So he's sort of, he might be, saying this in order to show that he is solidarity with them, that he is one of them, there's a unity between them, they're co-heirs with Christ. But I think it's more so to point out the relationship between them and Christ, not so much between Peter and his audience, but between Peter and his audience and Christ, that relationship there. And that's what we mean when we say that we are in Christ, or we are Christians, that we are His, and He is ours.
He is our Lord and our Savior, Jesus Christ. It speaks of that relationship, that bond that is between us and the Lord. It's the Bible, or we have marriage, we experience marriage as human beings as a picture of that relationship, that bond between Christ and His church, Christ and His bride. It's a close, intimate relationship that exists so we are we are his people we are the ones that the father gave to him and that he laid down his life for so let us let's never lose sight of that that that that he is ours he is our our savior the one who has who has who has uh rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and brought him brought us into into his kingdom that he is our our savior and we're and because of that Because of that blessed union, now we can have peace with God, through union with Christ.
You know, for as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. That's 1 Corinthians 15, 22. So we are united to Christ. And this all proceeds from His abundant mercy, according to His abundant mercy, it says here.
And now again, so He's focusing on the grace of God, on God's nature, who he is as God, that he is abundant in mercy. This phrase, it harkens back to the Old Testament. We find that often in the Old Testament. Numbers 14, verse 18, Moses is talking to God.
He's interceding for the people there, and he reminds God of what God told him when God revealed himself back in Exodus 34. And he says to God just as you have spoken saying the Lord is long-suffering and abundant in mercy forgiving iniquity and transgression Psalm 103 verse 8 the Lord is merciful and gracious slow to anger and abounding in mercy So those are just those are just two of the of the many many Old Testament texts that we find that speak of God as abundant in mercy Overflowing that that his his his mercy knows knows no bounds. It's it's limitless in in our confession The London Baptist Confession, it puts it that he is most loving, most gracious, most merciful, most meaning infinite. There's no bound to it.
So that's who our God is. And we know, we understand that, yes, God does not extend his mercy to everyone unconditionally, that everyone will be saved because of that. Because we understand he will never extend mercy at the expense of his justice, but that's where, we know that's where Christ comes in. Back in verse 2 again where Peter highlighted the obedience of Christ and the sprinkling of the blood of Christ, that is satisfying God's justice so that he can extend mercy out of the abundance of mercy of who he is.
So that's just a reminder and something to think of. If we ever have that thought that God is a miser, Pastor Butler uses that word often, if God's a miser, he sort of doles out mercy. And grace, you know to a few of the the frozen chosen or whatever But perish that thought because that is that really is is completely counter to what the Bible says the Bible teaches us that God God abounds in mercy and grace and then and and that's all made possible for God to extend that mercy and grace because of the work of his son who satisfied justice, you know in order to that he could extend that mercy. So never think that God is limited in his mercy in any way.
He is infinite in that. And here, so again, when we're focusing on who God is, and as a bounding in mercy, then from that proceeds what God does. So from that nature, according to that gracious character that God has, then he, now Peter says, he begets us again unto a living hope. So that we are, that God acts on account of who he is, begetting us to a living hope, and that's where we come than the nature of salvation.
The Nature of Salvation
So we've seen God as the author of salvation, now the nature of salvation. What does our salvation look like? So it says, he has begotten us to a living hope. And begotten, that's the idea of being caused to be born again.
So it's a regeneration, a new life, a new birth as believers. That is what initiates, we could say, the Christian life, is the regeneration the heart by the Holy Spirit 2nd Corinthians 5 17 familiar familiar verse therefore if anyone is in Christ He is a new creation old things have passed away behold all things have become new Galatians 6 15 for in Jesus for in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor nor uncircumcision avails anything but a new creation. And Jesus is teaching in John 3, unless a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of heaven. So it's the idea of regeneration.
And that's necessary because of what the Bible tells us of fallen humanity, that we are dead in our sins, that we need regeneration. And that is what is from that from from the abundance of God's mercy He regenerates us and and he regenerates us So we have this new life and this new life now results in a new hope and that is what as what Peter says here He's begotten us to a living hope. So the hope that now as believers son now we have a hope it's a having a prior to being self to being say we had no hope there was there there was we had we had nothing and And now we have this hope, this hope of a living hope, he calls it. So, hope of eternal life is, I think, the idea that he's conveying there.
That not so much that the hope itself is living, it may be that now we do have a hope in us where we never did before, but rather that the hope is a hope of life, a hope of eternal life awaiting us. Whereas prior to that, we did not have that. Ephesians 2 verse 12. that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. So we've been delivered from this hopelessness and now we have a joyful expectancy of something glorious that is to come, something that now, as a child of God, we will get to enjoy experience in the future.
And that is what ought to drive our Christian life, is this hope that we have, this new hope. We've been begotten to a living hope. D. Edmund Hebert, He says here this this new hope is the energizing principle of the new life.
I like that energizing principle It's what keeps us going is the hope of the future the hope of of the glory That is to come because when we look around at this world like I mentioned earlier that there's there's hopelessness we see so much evil so much terror so much destruction chaos and And it's just, it's unbelievable. It's hopelessness. If we were to, we look at the world, we look at those who are without God in this world, without hope, those, you know, atheism, nihilism, the idea that everything is meaningless, you know, it leads to utter hopelessness, life without purpose. And that's why we see things like suicides, you know, grow more and more suicide.
Or the other option is, what we also see is materialism. People getting more stuff, buying more things, trying the next thing, whatever it may be. And we'll see in a minute here that Peter will contrast our future hope that we have, he contrasts it with everything of this world. So materialism is not the answer because he'll see how it's so It's still, everything in this world is still subject to the effects of being in a fallen world.
But as believers now, we have a hope. We know where our future lies, and we ought to live our lives in light of that, that with our focus is on the future, on the glory that is to come, and knowing that that is our ultimate end. This world is not the end all, be all. And
Hope Grounded in the Resurrection
this hope that we have, it is a sure hope. It's grounded in the reality of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He says he's begotten us to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. So the fact of the resurrection, the reality of the resurrection, that it did indeed happen, that Jesus rose from the dead, that is the foundation, the ground for our hope as believers.
Turn with me for a minute 1 Corinthians 15. 1 Corinthians 15, 12 to 22. 1 Corinthians 15. Now, if Christ is preached that he has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty.
Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ, whom he did not raise up, if in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen, and if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
For since by man came death, by man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." So, without the resurrection, our faith would be empty, it would be meaningless, it would be hopeless. But we know that because Christ rose from the dead and entered glory, we can be assured that whoever is in Christ will then likewise rise from the dead and enter this glory as well. He speaks of Christ here as the firstfruits.
Now, the firstfruits in a crop spoke, they indicated what the rest of the crop was going to What's going to look like and it's that concept here of that as Christ. We know he rose from the dead We know he entered glory. It is Indicative of what is going to happen to us as believers. We will also rise from the dead.
We also will enter Enter glory with Christ. So the resurrection is the base of all our hope as as believers the basis for it proves to us that the that our sin has been paid for in full that Christ is no longer in the state of paying for sin because payment has been made in full, so now he was risen from the dead. It proves that Christ had a perfect obedience to the law of God, that he was that spotless and acceptable sacrifice to God. And it proves that death is conquered in the sense that Christ has taken away the power of death in that he has paid for our sin and that he has lived a life of obedience.
So now that death has no power over us, we, Kelvin here says, John Kelvin, he says, he cannot be the author of salvation to others if he himself has been altogether vanquished by death. So, but now Christ rising from the dead, we know that we will rise from the dead and enter that same glory. Hebert again saying here, indeed, our hope is our sure basis for personal assurance as to our past, present and future. Our hope is anchored in the past.
Jesus arose. Our hope remains in the present. Jesus lives. Our hope is completed in the future.
Jesus is coming. And that is what we are looking to as believers, looking to the future. Our hope is anchored in the past that Christ arose and it looks to the future that Christ is coming and what we will receive receive as being believers in Christ. And
The Inheritance Described
that's where Peter continues now in verse 4. Here he says, we've been begotten to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance, incorruptible and undefiled, and that does not fade away. So the concept of an inheritance, that as believers we will receive an inheritance, that implies adoption. You know, only children receive an inheritance.
So it shows, it implies that we have been adopted into the family of God. Galatians 4 verse 4 through 5 says, but when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth his son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who are under the law that we might receive the adoption as sons. So we have been adopted. God is now our father because of our union with Christ.
God is now our father. We are his sons and daughters. And something else in regards to inheritance is that inheritance is something that's freely given. Inheritance is not earned in any way.
It's important to understand. focus too much on that now, but grace is free. This inheritance that we receive is free. We do not need to earn that. But what is this inheritance?
The Bible speaks often of it. It often uses the word inheritance, that the believers will receive, will inherit. Acts 26, verse 17 and 18. Paul there, he's recounting his conversion to King Agrippa, And as he's recounting what Jesus said to him, Jesus saying, I will deliver you from the Jewish people as well as from the Gentiles to whom I now send you to open their eyes in order to turn them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in me.
Hebrews 9 verse 15. And for this reason, he is the mediator of the new covenant by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance." So what is this inheritance? The Bible speaks of it as inheriting eternal life, Matthew 19, 19. Inheriting salvation, Hebrews 1, verse 14.
And we see both of those words in this passage here as well, this eternal life or this living hope. Or in verse 6, we see salvation. The salvation of our souls. So that's part of it there, of this inheritance.
Salvation, that we receive eternal life. But it's not simply the concept of eternal life, an abstract sort of concept, and the forgiveness of sins. But there's more to our inheritance that the Bible speaks of, because heaven is not sitting back on a fluffy white cloud playing a harp for all of eternity. That's not at all what heaven is.
The Bible tells us that there's going to be a new heaven and new earth. There's going to be a new creation. All things are made new, that we will have our bodies. We just read that in 1 Corinthians there, that we will receive our physical bodies back, a glorified body, to be sure.
No, so it is a, and we see New Jerusalem in that idea. There's a new creation with a new city, but it's dwelling in the presence of God, in the presence of Yahweh himself. So it is a physical inheritance that we are receiving. And it's important to understand that, to think of these things, that sometimes I think we can just sort of look at eternal life as an abstract concept, but rather we are headed for a new heavens, new earth, a new creation that we will inherit.
And Peter really highlights here how he contrasts it to the present world that we find ourselves in now, this temporal realm that we are living in right now as we know it today. So he says first here, he says that it is incorruptible. So it's not, or not subject to decay, perhaps your Bible uses that translation. So it does not belong to this fallen earthly realm, this realm where all of creation is groaning, Romans 8 tells us.
So it's a death proof. inheritance. It is not subject to the effects of death. There will be no more death, no more dying, no more decay. So it is that heavenly realm that Jesus spoke about, where he says, where neither moth nor rust will corrupt, where thieves will not break through and steal.
So it is not subject to death, to the effects of death. And because of that, then, it is undefiled, he says here now in this second characteristic. It is undefiled. So it's untouched.
It's untouched by sin. That's the idea there. So there's no sin, no sorrow, no sighing, no pain. So it's free from any sort of defilement because there is no evil there in order to defile it.
So that threat no longer exists. Jesus has conquered that. And further on, or actually in the second epistle of Peter, in chapter 3, verse 13, he says, nevertheless, we, according to the promise, Look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. So if we just think about that for a minute in contrast to the world that we live in now.
In the world we live in, we see so much unrighteousness, unjustice. And we have this hope as believers of a new heaven, a new earth wherein righteousness dwells. It's a glorious thought to think of. There will be no more discussions of, oh, did you see what happened there?
Oh, did you see what happened there? That will not be. It's perfect. It's glorious.
And it does not fade away, the last thing he says here. It does not fade away. So it's not subject to the effects of time. Here on this lower world, everything changes with time.
Time goes on and things change. Things come, things go. But this inheritance that we have is not subject to the effects of time. It will be glorious for all of eternity.
Nothing will change. Turn to Revelations for a minute. The book of Revelation, chapter 21, gives us a little insight there of the inheritance that we have, this new heaven, this new earth. Revelation 21, verses 1.
Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also, there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people.
God himself will be with them and be their God, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain. For the former things have passed away.
Then he who sat on the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said to me, Write, for these words are true and faithful. And he said to me, It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.
I will give of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. So, both of these passages here in 1 Peter and in Revelation 21, they both describe our future glory in terms of what it is not. It's not subject to decay, it's not defiled, it does not fade away, there's no death, there's no sorrow, there's no crying, no pain. In this life, we experience so much of that, don't we?
There's all around us, we see the effects of sin. The trials that we go through, hardships, death, sorrow, loss of jobs, loss of friends, loss of family. But heaven is so glorious that it's almost too glorious for words here. He has to use, it can only be described in terms of what it is not.
It's not like our present life, and that is something to be to be so encouraged by. It's not that our present life is only ever, only miserable. That's not the point. But the point is that we will not experience any of those negative things that we have on this lower world in glory that is to come.
And that glory, it's a guarantee. It's certain. So we don't need to worry that perhaps maybe it might not be so. We have this assurance here of the certainty salvation in the second half of verse 4 now the certainty of salvation So he says here that it is it is it is So first we see that that the the inheritance itself is preserved.
So this this inheritance that we have That is preserved here. It's reserved in heaven for you. So it's in heaven, meaning it's beyond the realm of this lower world, and it's beyond the reaches of the effects of death, the effects of evil and sin and time. It's outside of that.
So it's reserved in heaven. It cannot be affected by that. And then also here that the errors are preserved. Us as believers, we are preserved. in order to get to experience this future glory here.
So he says that we are kept, kept by the power of God. through faith, sorry, I lost my spot, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. So kept here, kept is a military term, the idea of being shielded. And now we are the ones being shielded there. We're not doing the shielding, we're not doing the keeping, but it's passive form.
So we are being kept, and we're being kept by God's power. Now turn to Romans 8 for a minute, where Paul here really highlights the power of God in keeping us as his children, keeping us as heirs of this glory. Romans chapter 8, verse 31. What shall we say then to these things?
If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own son, but delivered him up for us all. How shall he not with him also freely give us all things? See there's that inheritance that he speaks of.
Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or distress or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, for your sake we are killed all day long. We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing shall be able to separate us. from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Very clear there, very clear that God, He did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us. Then how much more? How shall then He not with Him also freely give us all things?
So we can be assured that we are kept for this salvation, not in our own power, but through the power of God, by the power of God. And it is through faith, Peter says here. It is through faith, but faith is not the power. Faith is not the holding power.
It's not the condition, but it's the means here. Back in verse two, we read the word, the foreknowledge of God. And it speaks of that foreknowledge. And the concept there is not a concept of foresight.
It's not God looking through time and seeing something in us, but it is that God set his love upon us in eternity past. And that electing grace of God, it proceeded from who God is, as a loving God. That's the idea there. And it's not conditional to anything outside of himself.
So anything that we did, but it's strictly from who God is, is what he does in election. And so it's the same thing with the power of God of preserving us unto this salvation. It's not conditional to anything outside of God himself. It's not conditional to how much faith we have, but rather it proceeds from who God is as sovereign God, and that power is not conditional to outside forces, outside causes.
And of course, as Paul highlighted there in Romans, that it also cannot be overcome by any other principalities, powers, any sort of spiritual force, any sort of Tribulation anything there's nothing that can overcome that power that power that God that the power of God for preserving us unto salvation so And then he says here then that it's ready to be revealed ready to be revealed so that that everything the everything has been accomplished. There's nothing more that needs to be done for our salvation. All has been accomplished and that has all been accomplished through the work of the Lord Jesus Christ in time and space, through the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts and according to the to the electing grace of the Father in eternity past. So everything is done and now it's ready to be revealed.
So it's just awaiting that perfect timing of the Lord when He chooses. to reveal it, and then it's fully realized by us. So we can say that, yes, we are heirs now, that we have this hope now, that we are saved now, but yet we do not have that full realization of these things, of what is all encompassed in that. That is ready to be revealed at the last time here. So that's when we experience the consummation of all things, the ultimate end of this world, And then that becomes, this inheritance, this salvation of our souls becomes full reality to us.
And then we will fully understand it. We will, there will be, faith will not be necessary anymore because we will now see it. So then we will be able to say that we see it, we don't need that faith anymore. So right now we don't have that full reality, but we can be assured of the reality that it is there, that it is coming.
And part of that, and Peter doesn't really get into it, hear so much, but we don't have the full reality. But what we do have is the Holy Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, as a guarantee that God will, in fact, fulfill these things for us. That God has given of himself in the person of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, living in our hearts as that guarantee that he will, in fact, bring this to pass, that he has said, that he has promised that he will do. Ephesians 1 verse 13 to 14, in him you also trusted after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession to the praise of his glory.
So it's that guarantee of that inheritance, until the redemption of the purchased possession. Time continues on until all of Christ's church is gathered, all of the sheep are gathered into His fold, and then comes the end. And then we can see here that we are headed for glory. John Calvin again, we do not have the full enjoyment of it at present.
We walk in hope, and we do not see the things as if it were present, but we see it by faith. Although then the world gives itself liberty to trample us underfoot, as they say, although our Lord keeps us tried with many temptations, although he humbles us in such a way that it may seem we are as sheep appointed to the slaughter, so that we are continually at death's door, yet we are not destitute of a good remedy. And why? Seeing that the Holy Spirit reigns in our hearts, we have something for which to give praise, even in the midst of all our temptations." Beautiful quote by Calvin there.
Application
So that ends our exegesis there. So in conclusion, then, is first of all, Peter wants them to understand the doctrines of grace. We didn't look at that in such detail, because that's more detail in the earlier chapters there, but he does highlight it again in the earlier verses, but he does highlight it again in verse 3, that salvation is by grace, that it proceeds from God's abundant mercy. And because of that, then we can know that we are we are secure in Christ, that we are secure, this salvation is, we don't need to worry about losing it, and this living hope, this hope of eternal life that we have is guaranteed for us.
So this serves two purposes, one being that it protects these believers from having their faith Shaken, you know by a false doctrine that would suggest otherwise I think many of us here are very familiar with the doctrines of grace and and we don't necessarily struggle with you know Could we perhaps lose our salvation? but but but if if you if you perhaps do have that you we can know we can be assured that that we don't need to worry about that we don't need to to think you know is my Salvation based on my faith or my something from me. No, it's not it's based on who God is from the from the character of of Yahweh himself. But primarily what Peter's doing here, he wants to strengthen their faith and encourage them there. And that is what we need to do as well when we read through this.
We need to think of these things as concrete realities, that it really will, we really are going to experience this for all of eternity. This is not just an abstract concept, you know, or something in the future, but rather we look forward, like Peter said, to a new heaven and a new earth wherein righteousness dwells, and when we dwell on that, when we realize that we are headed for glory, then difficulties in this life, you know, they don't become so depressing or leading us to despair, but rather we can focus on the future that we have, the future glory lifting, and it lifts us out of our lifts us up and sets our focus to the future, gives us that hope and that comfort. And we'll see that tonight, Lord willing, the joy that we can have even in the midst of trials and difficulties. How is that possible?
A big part of it comes by understanding what we as believers have in store for us. And it's also a reminder that to not live our lives as, you know, that this life is the end, or we're always looking for the next thing in this life to give us some sort of feeling of happiness or fulfillment, because we will never be satisfied. Experience teaches us that very, very, you know, when we look back on our own experience, we understand that, but yet we're so quick to maybe the next thing will bring us satisfaction. But everything in this world is subject to the effects of death and sin and time, like Peter said here.
And so we're gonna be constantly disappointed as each thing passes away, never find that satisfaction. So our focus needs to be on heaven, our satisfaction needs to be on our Savior, on Christ. and our focus on that glory, future glory that we have, that we will inherit with Christ, an inheritance so glorious it can only be described in terms of what it isn't, right, that it's not subject to death or to sin or to the effects of time. That is what we as believers have in store for us. And if you're not a believer here this morning, What you have in store for you is the opposite of what we talked about.
If you do not come to Christ, if you do not repent and come to Christ, in 1 Peter chapter 4, a few chapters further, he says, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? We saw now what will be the end of those who do obey, who have believed, who have come to Christ. This is a glorious, the most glorious inheritance that we have But what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? It's everything that that that that the believers and It's everything that it's it's the opposite of everything So the believers hope is there's there's no more sorrow no more sighing no more pain the unbeliever It's only sorrow only sighing only pain.
It's only it's wailing and gnashing of teeth that Jesus said there's there's There's nothing bad about heaven. We've seen that. But there's nothing good about hell. Nothing.
There's a common, I don't know how you would say it, but this idea that hell is going to be a place where we can just live our lives without morals or without guilt for what we do. Hell will not be like that. Hell, in fact, Jesus says very clearly that your conscience will be one of the biggest parts that will torment you. If you're here this morning, And hopefully you've been here in the past, you've heard the faithful gospel preaching, and that your conscience will torment you for eternity if you reject that, if you do not obey the gospel of God.
And the other, just mentioning with some of the brothers this morning, they're in hell. In the prayer meeting this morning, we read all these stories about the Suffering that goes that happens because of the persecution from from wicked wicked men around this world in Nigeria and Iran and Afghanistan and horrible atrocities horrible and and in hell there that there there's That is who you will spend hell with and you're you and there will be no restraint There's right now this world is is is comfortable. It's livable because of the grace of God that restrains evil and In hell, that is all, that is, God has released those restraints and everyone will be like that. I think of the, sometimes I think of the song that I'm on the highway to hell, celebrating that you're on the highway to hell.
And one of the lines in that song, in that song says, my friends will be there too, but you will not have friends in hell. There will be, it will be horrible, horrible. There's nothing good about hell. So I urge you today, Do not play games with God.
Why would you risk eternity? So believe on Him. Come to Christ. Trust in Him.
If you are in union with Christ, with faith in Him as your Lord, as your Savior, He will bring you into glory with Him. There's nothing bad in heaven, and there's nothing good in hell. Nothing. So repent today, please.
Let's pray.
Closing Prayer
Father, we thank you for this passage, and I thank you for the glorious hope that we, as believers, those who are safe in Christ, have that we can have this future awaiting us. Lord, what a glorious thought that it is. Lord, how that helps to focus us or to lift us up out of the... When we look around at this world, Lord, there's so much chaos and so much destruction.
And, Lord, this just... It strengthens us. It encourages us. And I thank you for this passage of Scripture that just helps to focus us on the glory that we have to come.
So, Lord, I pray this morning that it would be a means of encouragement a means to strengthen the brethren here. And Lord, that it would be a means to sound the alarm for those who are not in Christ, that they would know that what they have is the polar opposite, is horrible. Lord, glory cannot be expressed in words because it is so glorious. And Lord, the horrors of hell is the same.
It cannot be expressed in words because it is so horrible. So Lord, I pray that everyone here today who does not know you would run to Christ, run to find security in him, Lord. And I pray, Lord, we look to you as sovereign God over all things. We do not appeal to the dead hearts of man, but we look to you that you would be pleased in your mercy to call out of darkness into this marvelous light, Lord.
And I thank you for your goodness. I thank you for your abundant mercy that you are a God who delights in forgiveness, delights in forgiving all kinds of sin, and iniquity and transgression, and that is all possible through your Son, the Lord Jesus. And Lord, I thank you and we praise you for redemption, and I pray this in Christ's name. Amen.
All right, well, we'll close with hymn number 568. I believe that's the doxology. 568. We will stand and sing together, please. ♪ Bless his soul ♪ ♪ Praise him, all creatures there below ♪ ♪ Praise him, all the living world below ♪ ♪ Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ♪ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
You may be seated for a time of meditation.