You ever worry that you won't persevere in your faith all the way to the end? Will one of life's challenges cause you to give up? When asked if you'll go to heaven, can you confidently answer yes, or is your reply more along the lines of "I sure hope so"?
Well, today on Truth for Life, Alistair Begg shares a message of assurance for every believer. Open your Bible to First Peter chapter one. Blessed or praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, because according to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Born again to a living hope, a living hope, and that is not some sentimental notion. It's not clinging to a possibility.
Again, it is divine in its origin. That's the the way in which he puts it. He has caused us to be born again to a living hope. What must I do to be saved? The Philippian jailer said.
The answer was, "Well, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved." What an amazing thing! He has caused us to be born again, as Paul puts it. We've been made alive together with Christ, that being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us. And the remarkable thing about it, and the distinguishing feature for these people in these scattered contexts in the first century, was that hope was not something that was markedly obvious in the world of the day. In fact, life was tenuous.
Life was short. Relationships were fragile. There was so much that represented the almost the futility of it all. And one of the distinguishing features for these people was that they were born again to a living hope, not some dead anachronistic notion or formula, but to a genuine reality. Peter, the disciples.
When they discovered that Jesus had arisen, that Jesus was Lord and living Lord and King, then what a radical transformation that made for them! I think there's surely a reason why Francis Schaeffer, in his day, wanted always to begin in communicating the gospel with the resurrection of Jesus Christ—that he is the risen Lord, and that he has brought us into a realm of reality that is unlike anything else before. The Christian hope is is is fantastic. It is fantastic. It is a hope that is grounded in the past because Jesus rose.
It is a hope that remains in the present because Jesus is alive, and it is a hope that is completed in the future because Jesus is coming. And Peter understands this, and that's why he drives it home. To an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you. I was with one of my friends here, one of my new friends. He took me to some.
Little place down the road, there was apparently Victoria and Albert had liked it, or the people who built it liked Victoria and Albert. I'm not sure, but there were a couple of places there that they said they had they had antiques from from the fifties. (Laughter) I said to myself, "Golly, that's my stuff. That's that's that's in there. This this can't possibly be the case." But I said, "I said, Mark, let's look in here because I I want to see what what what what is here that that might possibly be an inheritance, you know, for for one of my children.
I can take it back from the Victoria and Albert Museum, as it were. What what do you have that you're going to be passing? What kind of inheritance?" There's only one imperishable inheritance that is untouched by death and by decay, that is undefiled, that is unstained by sin, that is unfading, that is unimpaired by time. And it is that says Peter to these folks, many of whom would have felt there is very little that we have in this world. We're alienated in the context.
It would appear that the wind is blowing fiercely in our faces. But this is a wonderful letter, and we've only read a small part of it. They would be saying to themselves, "This is quite remarkable. Kept in heaven for you. It's hard to imagine, isn't it?" In fact, when Paul writes to the Corinthians in one Corinthians two, he says, "I has not seen; it's invisible.
Nor ear heard; it's inaudible. Nor has the heart conceived; it's it's actually inconceivable." The things that God has prepared for them that love Him, and the Spirit of God, by the Word of God, gives to the people of God just an inkling of these things, just every so often. Don't you sometimes feel that maybe on a Sunday evening, when you've gathered amongst the people of God, is maybe been a rotten week? Maybe there were difficulties at home, whatever it might be, and all of a sudden, just in the magnifying of God, in saying to one another, "Oh, come, let us magnify the Lord together. Let us praise His name." It's almost as if a tiny edge of the curtain of eternity is pulled back just for a moment or two, just.
Enough for us to be reminded, in almost a visceral way, the truth of the Word of God, which we're laying hold on.
Well, they might have been prepared to say, "Well, I suppose there's an inheritance that is kept in heaven for me," but I wonder, am I going to be able to keep going long enough in order to get the inheritance?
Well, He answers that as well. Is kept in heaven for you, who, by God's power, are being guarded or kept through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed at the last time. Paul does the same thing when he is writing his final letter to Timothy, and he lets him know that henceforth he says there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me. And then he adds, and not only to me, but also to all who have loved his appearing. You know, it is it is remarkable, isn't it?
The keeping power of God. I mean, I know there's somebody out here who's been coming here for a hundred years, which is longer than the thing has been going. But that's all right. I'm a novice. This is my first and last visit, I would imagine.
But the fact is, we understand if we look on one another the keeping power of God. It's it's it's amazing that He keeps us. It's the old farmer's prayer in Scotland. Oh Lord, keep me kept, keep me kept. You know the hymn.
Unnumbered comforts to my soul, your tender care bestowed, before my infant heart conceived, from whom those comforts flowed. When in the slippery paths of youth, with heedless steps I ran, your hand unseen. Conveyed me safe, and brought me up to man, the keeping power of God. That might be a word to somebody today, particularly you've just been wrestling or struggling in that way. The devil is a roaring lion, loves to unsettle us.
Loves. I mean, I have friends in the Free Church of Scotland who write to me all the time, and they're they're wondering about this and wondering about that. I don't understand what it is causes it in them, apart from the the pushback of the evil one himself. But we may be absolutely certain that having been made new by the mercy of God, born to a living hope, prepared for inheritance that is there for us, we are being kept.
Now, the promise of that, that blessing, described, anticipated, is not yet, and it's tempered by the possibility of, or the inevitability of, various trials. Which, if your Bible is open, you see there in verse six. In this, you rejoice. That prospect, though now for a little while. And a lifetime would be a little while in light of eternity.
If necessary, you have been grieved by various trials. The Puritans used to say that trials come to prove us and to reprove us. And the experience of undeserved suffering. Lies heavy on our shoulders. In fact, in the King James version, it uses that terminology.
It says, "Even though you are in heaviness through various trials, just as if somehow or another a dead weight has rested upon me, and somehow or another, when I awaken in the morning, it appears that the matron horn is in front of me. That there's no possibility of scaling the heights of this at all." That the blankets are formed up in such a way as to make it the greatest challenge. There is a heaviness that comes, and yet in the experience of that, Peter says to these dear, beloved ones, "In this, in this, through these various trials, through these challenges, through these sufferings, you may prove the providence of God." The grace of God that has called you and keeps you and will fulfil all these promises in you and through you. Again, hymn writers have been so helpful to me because they summarise so much in short order. There's a wonderful hymn that begins, "My God, I thank Thee who has made the earth so bright," and so it's like, "I thank you, it's a nice day," and then it goes to, "I thank you too that Thou hast made joy to abound." So far, so good.
It's a good day, but my favorite verse goes like this: "I thank Thee more that all my joy is touched with pain, that shadows fall on brightest hours and thorns remain, so that earth's bliss may be my guide and not my chain." See, liberated. From that which offers to us security and hope and treasure and everything else, into a world that is not a carefree world, and what he points out is that if perishable gold is purified by fire, how much more should faith be tested in the life of the Christian? And the testing is purposeful. You see, in verse seven, so that the tested genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that perishes though it's tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. And then he goes on to say, though you have not seen him, you love him.
And he comes to this inexpressible joy. There is perhaps just one noticing that Peter includes himself in verse three, where he is referring to the first person plural. There he says that he has caused us, that is, us, to be born again to a living hope that that is ours. But here now, he employs the second person plural. It is to you, he says.
Though you have not seen him, you love him. I think the contrast is just simple. It's the contrast between Peter having seen Jesus and his readers never having had the privilege of seeing Jesus. We have not had the privilege of seeing Jesus, so this fits perfectly, doesn't it? You haven't seen him.
Yeah, you love him. Remember, Jesus has prayed not only for his disciples in John 17, but for those who will become followers of Jesus through their ministry. And he prayed to the Father, "I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word." We have come to believe in Jesus through the word that the apostles have proclaimed, and we haven't seen him, but we love him. I was struck by the fact that our brother said that he he fastened on this seventh and eighth verse. I understand that.
I want to love Him. I love You because You have first loved me, and purchased my pardon on Calvary's tree. And though You haven't seen Him, You love Him. And though You do not now see Him, You believe in Him. Believe in Him.
The verb there is in the present continuous tense. In other words, your believing is a habitual or typical activity. It is to believe, to believe. I do believe. I will believe that Jesus died for me, that on the cross he shed his blood from sin to set me free.
When Satan tempts me to despair and tells me of the guilt within, the sin within, upward I look and see Him there who made an end to all my sin. I do believe, I will believe, that Jesus died for me. And Peter is driving this home. The joy that is recounted for us here is an inexpressible joy and is filled with glory. It's not only joy then, but it is joy even now.
Joy that is different from happiness. Joy that may sustain us in times of suffering and disappointment and trials. Surely, all of us, if we had ten minutes of each other's time, would tell of how we have been greatly helped by living through an experience with someone. Who, in the most devastating circumstances, has, in a way that is entirely realistic and sensible, expressed a deep-seated conviction that they are being held and kept by God, and that there is even joy in the midst of all of this? Years ago, in speaking at a conference in.
Outside of San Francisco, I must have said something along these lines, because afterwards a lady came to me to tell me a story, which was so stirring to me that I wrote it down, and that's why I've still remembered it. It went along these lines: She came to me and she said, "A friend of mine was suffering through brain cancer and its treatments. His relationship with Jesus." Was such, and his response to his trials were such that the nurse that was on duty wrote as a critical comment in his chart, "Mr. X appears to be inappropriately joyful." In other words, you could find no basic Premise as to why there should be a radiance about this man. Where this is a spiritual geography I can observe from a distance.
I haven't been in that position, but when I see it, I I long for it. That I might know this. That I might understand this. That I might live in the light of this. And Peter is writing to these dear ones in that context.
And writing to us in our context, and saying, "This is all yours in Jesus." Robert Louis Stevenson one day in his journal wrote, "In his journal, I have been to church today, and I am not depressed." And one of the one of the features of Scottish Christianity, the further north you go, is that you would be you would be surprised really that these people had the joy of the Lord. They've got it so remarkably hidden away, and it's it's it's just too bad. It is too bad, because, and we must draw this to a close. He then says about this salvation in ten and following, the prophets and the angels have their own angle on this, the grace. That was to be yours," he says, "was prophesied about, and these prophets searched and inquired diligently.
They were putting the pieces in the jigsaw puzzle of God's redemptive plan, and the salvation story they were searching and inquiring about, and they were dealing with a time and a place and a fulfillment that was out and beyond them." So, for example, Isaiah fifty-two thirteen and following. Behold, my servant shall act wisely; he shall be lifted up, and he shall be exalted.
Now, I don't know if your mind works this way or not, and if it doesn't, then I apologize for declaring how mine does. But when I read that, and I imagine Isaiah stopping just for a coffee around eleven in the morning. And Mrs. Isaiah says to him, "So what? What were we working on this morning?" And he said, "Well, I just I just finished the thirteenth verse.
Behold, my servant shall act wisely; he shall be lifted up, and he shall be exalted." And Mrs. Isaiah says, "And and who exactly is that?" And Isaiah says, "Well, right now I don't have a clue. I don't have a clue. Of course, he didn't have a clue. But man spake from God." As they were led along and empowered by the Holy Spirit, the prophecies that Isaiah and the rest wrote were inspired by the Spirit of Christ.
It is His witness, rather than their witness, that they're made aware of in verse twelve. The witness of Christ, the Spirit of Christ in them, was indicating. When he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories, and it became apparent to them that they were serving not themselves but you—that is, us—in the things that have now been announced.
So that to you, through those who preach the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. It's really quite fantastic when we've studied the Old Testament, and I tried for a while to go through First and Second Samuel with help from abroad, and we we frequently went to the fourth verse of Romans 15 to remind ourselves of what we were doing. Where there Paul writes, "For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction." That through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope, and they are able those Scriptures to make us wise for salvation through faith in Jesus. The same Spirit that inspired the prophets was poured out on Pentecost to enable those who then went to preach the good news about Jesus to the ends of the earth. How important it was for those disciples to have that that Bible study that came there in Luke chapter 24, so that the pieces of the puzzle in their minds might be clarified for them, so that Peter, having learned those lessons, is able to go out post Pentecost and testify to the reality of these things, the testimony of the prophets, and the New Testament apostles.
And gospel missionaries to today is unified in pointing to Jesus, in order that we might live increasingly in a world that knows Jesus.
So the prophets are on their tiptoes, gazing down the corridors of time, and the angel host, we're told, are looking over the ramparts of heaven. They long to look into these things. They would have given anything, if you like, to be in on this. We won't delay with the angels, but again, a hymn that just helps clarify the matter for us. I think it's an old Salvation Army song or something, but I I only knew one verse of it, and it's the one verse that I needed.
It goes like this: "There is singing up in heaven, such as we have never known, as the angels sing of victory and the Lamb upon the throne." But when we sing redemption's story, they will fold their wings. For angels never knew the joy that our salvation brings. Concerning this salvation, chosen by God, born anew to a living hope, guaranteed an inheritance, living through various trials, discovering in His goodness inexpressible joy. Stars will fade, and mountains fall. Christ will shine forever, love's unfading splendor.
Earth and heaven will bow in awe, joining in salvation's song. Father, we ask you to write your word into our lives tonight, and in the days that lie ahead, in order that we might live to the praise of your glory. And we ask it in Jesus' name, Amen. You're listening to Truth for Life with Alister Beg. He's titled today's message: "How Great a Salvation." As Aleister just explained, the Old Testament prophecies predicted the sufferings as well as the glories of Christ.
The Scriptures were recorded to encourage us to endure, to give us hope, and to make us wise for salvation through faith in Jesus. And to show you how the Old Testament promises and prophecies ultimately point to Jesus. Today, we want to recommend to you a book called "There Shone a Holy Light." Beholding Christ and Christmas in the Old Testament, this is a 25-day Advent devotional that explores various people, events, and symbols found in the Old Testament that all point to Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah, to the ministry he would fulfill. You know the holidays often leave us feeling exhausted and discouraged, and the daily readings in the book they're shown a holy light will help keep you focused on our promise-keeping God and the hope of the gospel all the way up to Christmas Day. Ask for your copy when you donate to Truth for Life today.
Go to truthforlife. dot org slash donate, or call us at eight eight eight five eight eight seven eight eight four. Thanks for listening. You know, before Peter outlined the Christian's new lifestyle, he first helped us understand our new identity in Christ. Tomorrow, we'll find out what truths we need to take hold of to understand our identity and why.
The Bible teaching of Aleister Beg is furnished by Truth for Life, where the Learning is for Living.
