As we begin this new study in the epistle of 1st Peter, I want to forego a lot of the preliminary background information that might be customary when beginning a new book. Peter is a very practical book, and though there is a tremendous amount of important doctrine contained in it, it is not presented as was Hebrews, for instance, with chapter after chapter of doctrine and then a small amount of application at the end. Peter’s epistle presents doctrine and immediately application, which is kind of a reflection on his personality. Peter was a man of action. And there are problems which he wants to address and to help the early church to overcome. So his style is more direct, addressing the issues, and then presenting the remedy.
And so I want to reflect his style in my address as well, and as I said, forego a lot of background information. I”m sure you all know who Peter is. He needs little introduction. He was an apostle of Jesus Christ. He was the chief elder of the church in Jerusalem. He was a man filled with the Spirit, and yet often weak in the flesh. And in that regard he is very much like most of us. He’s probably writing just a few years before his martyrdom, before the fall of Israel and the destruction of the temple, but during a time of increasing persecution of Christians. He addresses the church which he says is scattered abroad in what was known as Asia Minor, which was under Roman occupation. Today that area is known as Turkey. [And so I hope that his message resonates with many of you here, seeing that there are a number of turkeys in attendance today.]
Now he is writing to the church to fulfill his apostolic commission to strengthen the church and to tend and feed the flock. They are undergoing or about to undergo trials and tribulations which would seem to include persecution. And so it was important to get to the point and offer them help.
So even in his greeting he is beginning to lay a foundation to that effect. Notice that as he identifies who he’s writing to, he also lays down a series of facts which are intended to shore up their faith, to assure them of the outcome of their faith, and their security in Christ. And that confidence is essential as a Christian encounters trials in their lives. The first question when you are faced with trials is why would God allow this to happen? To ask, where is God? Does God really care? Has God forsaken me? And the devil is right beside you in those times to try to push you into despair, to tempt you to think that God doesn’t care what you’re going through, and that He has abandoned you.
So look what Peter does. As he addresses the church, he lays down a series of facts, or doctrines, which are intended to offer the church hope and assure them of their security in the Lord. First he says he is addressing those who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father. Included in this statement are the doctrines of election and foreknowledge. These are doctrines that far too often cause confusion, discouragement and fear in the church because it is something that our finite minds cannot comprehend. But that is not the intent of Peter. He’s stating these doctrines to show that God has chosen according to His foreknowledge who will be saved. The emphasis on these doctrines is not intended to be exclusionary but to show the unchangeable purpose of God to include in the kingdom those who believe in Him. And so the fact that we are saved is not according to our abilities but according to God’s ability. God is able to bring us to salvation according to His divine sovereign will. As Jonah prayed, “Salvation is from the Lord.” Hebrews 12:2 says He is the author and finisher of our faith. And because of that principle, we can rest assured despite whatever circumstances the devil may use to try to make us think otherwise. The election and foreknowledge of God should be a great encouragement to us.
Notice also Peter says that our election is of God the Father. In fact, we see here that the entire trinity is involved in our salvation. We are chosen by the Father, sanctified by the Spirit, and cleansed by the blood of Christ. All three members of the trinity are at work in our salvation. The sanctifying work of the Spirit means to be set apart by the Spirit, to be brought under conviction, to be led by the Spirit through the word of God and to be holy through the Spirit. Our sanctification is brought about it says through the Spirit. It’s not through self effort, through ritual, through ceremony. It’s a work of the Spirit in us.
And then the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus speaks to the work of the Son in His crucifixion. He is the better sacrifice spoken of in Hebrews, the all sufficient sacrifice through which the payment for the penalty of our sin was made. And by whose stripes we are healed of the disease of sin. And this work of all three of the members of the trinity provides us with a three fold assurance of our salvation that secures us through the trials and tribulations of life.
Peter concludes his address by saying that through this three fold assurance we are given grace and peace to the fullest measure. Grace is not given stingily. Grace is not measured by the drop. But it is poured out, mashed down, running over. John 1:16 “For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.” He has lavished grace upon us. And because we have received the grace of God, we have peace. Both peace with God, and peace by God. We have peace with God because we are made citizens of His kingdom, made members of His family, transferred out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light by the grace of God. And we have peace within because we have no fear of death and we have the forgiveness of sins.
Notice how this unlearned, rough and tumble fisherman who has been transformed by the power of God, who has been filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, is moved further to praise the Lord even further for His salvation, which should also serve to move us to praise God as we consider the wonders of His mercy towards us. He says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”
The word blessed when used in regards to God means to praise God. Peter praises God the Father and Jesus Christ, for causing us to be born again. This hope of our salvation, which is being born again, is founded upon the fact that Jesus is the Son of God, that He died on the cross, and was resurrected by the power of God. Remember that Peter personally knew Jesus as a man of Galilee. He knew Jesus in all His humanity. And in that human form, Jesus was completely a man. He wasn’t a superman. He had no stately form or majesty. He had no angels attending his every move. He had no outward signs like a halo to indicate His being deity. So for Peter especially, it was a life changing truth to recognize that Jesus was the Son of God.
Remember when Jesus asked the disciples who do men say that I am? And Peter responded, “You are the Christ, the Son of God.” That was the moment of believing in Jesus which resulted in His salvation. In being born again, not of a corruptible seed, but an incorruptible seed, which is the word of God. Down in vs23 Peter says, “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God.” But there was another moment when Peter’s faith was made more sure, and that was at the resurrection. That’s when his joy was complete. That’s when God confirmed the gospel message. That’s when God made public that Christ’s sacrifice was complete and sufficient for all men. Christ’s resurrection by God was proof that our salvation is guaranteed. The resurrection proved that God found Christ’s atonement satisfactory. And by that atonement, we are saved and assured of our salvation. That is worthy of our praise.
I want to make sure that you don’t miss the phrase “has caused us to be born again.” To be born again is to be given new life. I was discussing this question the other day when my wife and I were driving back from the airport in DC; what constitutes salvation? And I was addressing that on the basis of what is the very least that must happen to ensure salvation. At what point is there a new birth? What must be done in order for that to begin? Because there must be a starting point to birth, to new life.
And yet I was aware as I was discussing this, that the question is not the best question because it’s based on determining this new life by it’s lowest denominator. It’s like planting a seed in a jar of earth and setting it on the windowsill, and watering it and making sure it gets sunshine. And waiting to see when it starts to grow. There must be four factors involved simultaneously. There must be a good seed. There must be good ground. There must be water. There must be sunshine. And if those four things are there, then you can count on the seed to metamorphosis into a plant, to begin new life. Now that is just for life to begin. In order for the life of the plant to reach fulfillment, to reach maturity, and to bear fruit, there often needs to be many other factors as well in addition to those needed at the beginning.
And I suppose that can be an analogy of salvation. There must be certain things which happen in order to for there to be new birth. We’ve already seen in salvation the choosing of God, the sanctifying work of the Spirit, and the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. The only ingredient that is left is faith on the part of the believer. The jailer asked Paul and Silas, “What must I do to be saved?” And the answer was, ““Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” And Acts says they spoke the word of God to them.
Now there is more to salvation, but it is the maturing, or growth that happens as a result of the new birth. But there must be a new birth. Being spiritually born again. And that happens simply by believing that Jesus has died for your sins and receiving forgiveness. There doesn’t have to be a full theological understanding of all the doctrines and theology. Just call upon the Lord to save you. Coming to the end of yourself and calling on God to have mercy on you and save you. And if you do that, He will do it. 1 John 1:9 says when we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. That’s when we are born again, we receive a new nature.
And because we are born again Peter says we now have a living hope. What does that mean? It means that we have a living faith. We have a new life by faith. It’s a live faith. It’s a living faith. It’s faith by which we live. Faith is hoping for, believing in what we cannot see. Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
This faith is not just in the past work of Christ on the cross, but the present work of Christ in heaven and the future work of Christ when He comes for His own. That’s why it’s a living hope. It’s a faith that trusts in what Christ did at the cross, confirmed by the resurrection, but it’s also faith in this new life we now live by faith. As it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” It’s a faith that can endure trials and tribulations now because we believe in the power of God to raise the dead and give life to the dead. And so our faith is that God will one day resurrect us, and this new life will be joined to a new body, and a new realm and dimension that cannot now be understood or even conceived of.
That inability to be able to comprehend what Peter calls our inheritance is because “heaven” is indescribable. And so Peter, as well as many of the other gospel writers, doesn’t try to describe this inheritance, other than to say what it is not. Notice what he says it is not. It is not perishable. This eternal life will never die. We will never die. Jesus said, “He who believes in Me will never die, do you believe this?” Our inheritance is imperishable. Because we will never die we ought not to ever be afraid. “What can man do to me?” What can Satan do to me? I am a child of God and I am immortal. This body will pass away, but my soul and spirit will live forever and I will receive a new immortal body as part of that inheritance.
Secondly, our inheritance is undefiled. I have been credited with the righteousness of Jesus Christ. I did not receive a little bit of righteousness. I received an eternal measure of righteousness. 1 Cor. 5:21, “God made Jesus, who knew no sin, to become sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” We have the undefiled righteousness of God abiding in us, forever. Our penalty has been paid in full, forever.
Thirdly, our inheritance will not fade away. Have you ever hoped for something and you waited a long, long time for it? And the longer you waited and hoped for it, the more unlikely it became that you would ever get it. Your hopes start to fade, and then one day you realize that there is no more hope. Well, Peter is saying that our inheritance is not like that. It is guaranteed and promised by God, ratified by the blood of Jesus, and secured by the Holy Spirit. As Hebrews told us, God has made a unilateral covenant with Himself. Heb. 6:17-18 “In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us.”
This inheritance which has been defined by three things it is not, is reserved in heaven for us. God has made a reservation for us. It is guaranteed by the Father. It has been paid for by the Son. And it has been secured by the Holy Spirit. And it has been reserved for us, who Peter says, are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation to be revealed in the last time. So not only do we have a reservation in heaven, but that reservation is protected by the power of God. There is no power in heaven or on earth that can affect our reservation. Jesus said nothing can snatch you out of My Father’s hand. Sin cannot defeat me. The devil cannot stop me. The world cannot overcome me. No person can discourage me. Nothing can take away my inheritance. Jesus died on the cross, and written in God’s will by the blood of Jesus Christ I have been bequeathed His inheritance, and it is more secure than if I had the last will and testament drawn up and deposited in Fort Knox. Fort Knox might be secure, but it pales in comparison to being kept in heaven under the watchful, powerful eye of God Almighty.
Then Peter says in vs 5 that this inheritance will be revealed at the culmination or the consummation of our salvation in the last time. He’s going to go on to speak of those last days as we go further along in the book. He says in chapter 4 vs 7 “The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober [spirit] for the purpose of prayer.” If it was near in the days of Peter, how much more in our day?
He goes on to say in his second epistle, 2Peter 3:8 “But do not let this one [fact] escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.”
Ladies and gentlemen, I am convinced that we are living in those last days, like the days before the flood, like the days before the fire and brimstone fell upon Sodom and Gomorrah. I believe the most significant and telling mark of the end of the age is not the world market’s financial meltdown, nor widespread plagues or diseases, nor natural catastrophes such as earthquakes and hurricanes, nor wars and rumors of war. The most significant indication that the end of the ages is near is the degradation of morality. This was the telling sign of Sodom and Gomorra’s impending doom. It was the telling sign of the days before the flood. It was the condition in the land of Israel before it was taken into captivity. It was the predominant condition of the Greek and Roman Empire before their fall. And though the world has seen all sorts of tribulation in the last 2000 years, the present degradation of morality as evidenced in the western world is to my mind the most telling that the time is at hand. Paul said in 2Tim. 3:1-5 “But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.”
Peter said in as a follow up to 2 Peter 3:8, speaking about the way the earth and it’s works will be burned up in the last days, he said in chapter 3 vs.11 “Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless, and regard the patience of our Lord [as] salvation.”
Listen, do you have that peace with God? Do you believe in Jesus Christ and His atonement for your sins? Have you been born again into this righteousness which will live eternally with God? God is calling you today. The Holy Spirit is convicting you. The Lord Jesus has shed His blood for you that you might be spotless and blameless before God, and inherit all the things which are promised to those who are born again. The only thing preventing you today from being born again is your reluctance to call upon Him to save you. I pray you repent of that unbelief today, and call upon the Lord in the day that He may be found. Jesus said, all who come to Me I will never cast out. Come to Jesus today. Call upon Jesus in faith today.
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