GOOD NEWS FOR GOD’S PEOPLE
I Peter 1:1-6
In this life there is no shortage of things that are discouraging and frustrating. Inflation is real, prices are high, and wages are low. For the last four years we have endured various consequences as a result of a worldwide pandemic. The border is a mess, there is crime in the streets, and the citizens of our country are increasingly divided. Nick Saban retired, Eli Gold got fired, and your favorite team probably didn’t win the Super Bowl. (Playful sarcasm intended)
On top of these issues that dominate the news headlines, there are the more personal problems that we deal with. Within this assembly, some of you are struggling with serious health issues. Others have marriages that are in peril. Some have rebellious children, troubles on the job, bills that you can’t pay and many other circumstances that are negatively impacting your life.
Certainly, there is much that we could complain about today. However, if you are a child of God there is ample reason for you to rejoice. Every trouble and struggle that I have mentioned today is temporary in nature. While there are issues that affect our daily lives we must never lost sight of the reality that this world is not our home. We are merely strangers and pilgrims passing through.
In the verses that we have read together, the Apostle Peter provides us with ample reason to rejoice. I would like to walk through this passage and consider some “Good News For God’s People.”
- These verses provide us with some good news about our privilege, our hope, our inheritance, and our security. In verses 1-2 we see:
I. SOME GOOD NEWS CONCERNING OUR PRIVILEGE
There is no greater privilege than being a child of God. It is astonishing and incomprehensible to consider that God is the one who initiated the relationship that we enjoy with Him. In this passage we find several amazing truths about our great privileges as children of God.
Peter addresses this letter to “the pilgrims of the Dispersion” and he also refers to them as “the elect”. Pilgrim (or exile) is a word that speaks to the temporary nature one’s stay in a certain place. “Dispersion” was a reference to the Jews living outside Palestine. On several occasions throughout their history, the Jews were forced away from their native land as a result of oppression and persecution. This designation had a double meaning for Peter’s original audience. They were exiles from their literal/earthly homeland, but as followers of Christ they were ultimately strangers and pilgrims in this world for their true home was in Heaven.
The same is true for us, our sojourn here is very brief compared to eternity. James describes this life as a vapor or a mist that appears for a short time and then vanishes away. But if we belong to Jesus we share in an eternal inheritance.
- As we consider our privileges as children of God we must begin with the reality that:
WE HAVE BEEN CHOSEN
Peter reminds the Saints that they had been chosen as a result of God’s sovereign grace. Considering the hardships that they were enduing; it must have been encouraging for them to be reminded of their great privilege.
As Christians, we share that very same privilege. We are strangers and exiles on this earth. It is important for us to remember that we have been chosen by God’s sovereign grace and as a result our citizenship is in Heaven.
Paul says in Ephesians 1:4 that God “chose us in (Christ) before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace…”
God chose us and called us unto salvation in Christ Jesus. In spite of all of the troubles and struggles that we may face in this life, nothing can change our position in Him!
- We have been chosen and Peter goes on to remind us that:
WE HAVE BEEN CLEANSED
In v2 Peter references the “sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ”. In the Old Testament the blood of a sacrifice would be sprinkled according to the Law. This served as a picture of the atoning work of Jesus Christ. Jesus is our only hope of being cleansed completely and eternally.
Later in this chapter, Peter says. “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. (1 Peter 1:18-19)
The Lord Jesus came to earth, lived a sinless life, and though He knew no sin, He was made sin for us. Jesus went to Calvary and willingly shed His blood for our redemption. The precious blood of Jesus is the only substance in the history of the world that was sufficient to wash away our sins. There is an abundance of bad news in the world today, but the fact that Jesus’ blood has the power to wash away our sins is some eternally good news!
- Because of God’s grace we have been cleansed and as a result:
WE HAVE BEEN CHANGED
Notice the phrase “through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience”. To "sanctify" means “to consecrate,” or to “set apart.” The Holy Spirit makes us holy by saving us and setting us apart from sin and unbelief. The Sanctification process begins with justification. Justification is defined as the judicial act of God, by which he pardons all the sins of those who believe in Christ, and accounts, accepts, and treats them as righteous in the eye of the law,
Sanctification is also a process of purification that continues throughout our life. Through sanctification we are not just set apart for salvation, we are continually transformed into the image of Jesus Christ. This process brings about an inevitable change in our lives. (2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”). Even though we will never achieve sinless perfection in this life, when we truly surrender to Jesus there will be a change.
John Newton, the writer of Amazing Grace once said, "I am not all that I should be or what I want to be, but thank God I am not what I used to be."
- God has chosen us, called us, cleansed us, and changed us. That is some really good news for God’s people. As we move deeper into the text we will see:
II. SOME GOOD NEWS CONCERNING OUR HOPE
v3 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,
Jesus went to the cross, died for our sins and on the third day He rose again. Peter says that because God raised Jesus from the dead, we are able to possess great hope. In the Bible, the word "hope" is much more than wishful thinking, it refers to a confident expectation of things to come. This hope that we possess was supplied by our Heavenly Father. Peter says “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”
Those who are estranged from Christ are pitiful, desperate, wretched sinners with no hope and that is exactly what we would be without Jesus. But the good news is that in His “abundant mercy" God has “begotten us again to a living hope”.
Because of Christ’s resurrection we possess the hope of our own future bodily resurrection. We find great hope in the promise that this life is temporary, and we are just pilgrims and strangers passing through. We have the hope of eternal life, and our hope is found only in Jesus Christ. We possess the good news that one day we will experience a literal bodily resurrection, furthermore we possess some good news about what comes after that resurrection. In verse 4 we find:
III. SOME GOOD NEWS CONCERING OUR INHERITANCE
Peter reminds the Saints that they have a priceless inheritance that is reserved in Heaven. An inheritance is something that is received as a result of a personal relationship. One typically does not leave their estate to someone that they do not know personally. The inheritance that is waiting in Heaven is only available to those who have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Peter says that our inheritance is “incorruptible, and undefiled”. The Greek word for "incorruptible" literally means something that is unravaged by an invading army. Peter’s original audience had watched as the Romans destroyed their cities. They needed to understand that they possessed an inheritance that could not be taken away. Likewise, we possess a priceless inheritance that is in a place that will never be invaded by any enemy and our inheritance cannot and will not be taken away from us.
Our inheritance is also spoken of as being “undefiled”. Undefiled is a word that is used to describe something that cannot be soiled or stained. Throughout all eternity our inheritance is and will remain unpolluted and unstained by evil. Heaven will not and cannot be touched by the things that defile this world. This promise is reiterated in Revelation 21:27 - “there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life”.
It is foolish for a Christian to waste their time storing up earthly treasures. In fact, Jesus warned His followers against doing this. Why? Because they are temporal and in the end they will all pass away. Instead, we are to spend our days investing in treasures that are spiritual in nature for they are the only things that will last throughout eternity.
Peter goes on to say that this inheritance “does not fade away, (and it is) reserved in heaven for you”. Our inheritance is "reserved" for us. The Greek word used here literally means "guarded". Therefore, our inheritance is as secure as if we had already passed through the gates of pearl, inside those walls of Jasper, on the golden street and standing before our Savior in our glorified body.
- These truths lead us to one final piece of good news for God’s people. Notice that:
THERE IS SOME GOOD NEWS CONCERNING OUR SECURITY
v5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
There is great assurance to be found in the promise that we are "kept by the power of God." This means that if you are truly saved you are eternally secure. Jesus spoke of this promise in The Good Shepherd discourse. There He said:
“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.” (John 10:27-28)
We are not saved because of what we do, we are saved because of what Jesus did, Likewise, we are not secure because of what we do, we are secure because of Who Jesus is. You did not work to earn your salvation and you cannot work to keep your salvation. Peter says that we are “kept by the power of God”. God saved us and it is God who will keep us. My friend, that is some good news for God’s people!
The “scattered Saints” that Peter was writing to were suffering intense persecution. They needed to be reminded of the eternal hope that they possessed in the midst of their current circumstances. There are some of you who desperately need to be reminded of Who you belong to and all of the benefits that come with this relationship. This short passage is filled with good news. We have been chosen, called, cleansed, and changed by God. We possess the hope of a future resurrection and a promised inheritance; one that is incorruptible, undefiled, and will not fade away. We are secure and we have the assurance that nothing and no one can take our inheritance away from us. There is certainly “Some Good News For God’s People”.
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