THEME: STANDING FIRM IN GOD’S GRACE
THE BENEFITS OF SALVATION THROUGH JESUS CHRIST
1 PETER 1:13-2:3
When we come to God and God redeems our souls, we have many wandering thoughts about ourselves, Him, and how to have a real relationship with Him and others. Our salvation, which is permanent and secured by the finished work of Christ, must then be “worked out” in our lives, our emotions, our thoughts, and eventually our actions and relationships.
The Bible teaches that no one seeks God in their sinful state, but when we come to Him and He changes our hearts, there is a misnomer or a wrong belief. We believe… “I am everything God wants me to be now.”
This is an incorrect thought. When you come to God for salvation, you don’t automatically become everything God wants you to become, you’re just getting started. You are simply beginning the journey of a true relationship with Jesus Christ, and you must learn to stand firm in the grace of God through this salvation He has given you. IT TAKES TIME. IT TAKES A LIFE.
“What are the benefits of salvation in our daily life? »
1 Peter 1:13 So, prepare your mind for actionand be sober in spirit, place your hope fully in grace which will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
BENEFIT #1: PREPARES OUR MINDS FOR DAILY ACTION.
What action should our mind perform? Peter tells us: “Put your hope fully on the grace that is brought to you by Jesus.
My life is no longer the sum of my actions. My life is now dedicated to the finished work of Christ bringing GRACE into my life EVERY DAY through my relationship with Him. So how should this affect me on a daily basis? So when I wake up in the morning, it’s not about my view of me, it’s not about your view of me. It’s about God’s vision of me through the finished work of Jesus. It is about the grace he wants to give to my life to live that day.
Some of us who follow Christ live graceless lives. We believe in Jesus for our eternal salvation, but we forget that he “saves” us every day by the grace he gives us.
Some of us spend weeks, months, years, very long seasons trying to live our lives on our own. We trust Christ for eternity, but we have not yet learned to prepare our minds for action in our daily lives by simply looking at him and saying, “I need your grace today. .
WHEN was the last time you asked for the Lord’s grace in your day? It should become a daily occurrence, several times a day. I remember when our cows came out of our farm and we were chasing the cows for hours, I said to one of my children, “Did you pray out loud and ask God for the grace of us to help. Their response, “No, why would I do that.” I told them, “We’re going to be here for a long time…and we were until we were all screaming.
Place your hope FULLY on the grace of God each day. Verse 14…
14 As obedient children, do not be conforming to the passions of your former ignorance,
What are the benefits of this salvation in our daily life?
BENEFIT #2: IT GIVES US THE POSSIBILITY TO CHOOSE OUR BEHAVIOUR.
When we give our life to Jesus Christ, we are no longer slaves to our sinful past. We have the choice. It can sometimes be a very difficult choice, and sometimes we don’t make the right choice, but we always have a choice. When we come to Christ, we receive the supernatural ability to choose holiness over our past sins.
And you know as well as I do that it’s an everyday battle and choice. Some days we do better than others. This salvation gives us the ability to change, but it does not automatically change our behavior.
Since starting Vanguard twenty-five years ago, I have known people who gave their lives to Jesus Christ and whose behavior changed momentarily, but then went back to their way of life. Peter said, “Don’t conform. Do you know how to conform to an old behavior now that you have a new life inside you? DO NOT DO ANYTHING. See this word in the Greek is passive, it designates one who does not take any action or step; thus, they end up with what they started with.
For example, if you come to Christ and struggle with lust, you will more than likely struggle with it again. If you want to act on it before you come to Christ, chances are you still want to act on it after you come to Christ. So what is the difference between coming to Christ and not coming?
The difference is the ability to choose.
Even without knowing the Greek here, one can detect that he tells them to stop living or not to live as before. It implies that the potential to live as they used to live is still there, but it also implies that the potential is there to be overcome.
When someone says I just couldn’t help it, they’re lying. They can overcome, it may take time, but they have been given the potential to overcome. I’m going to choose one that I grew up with. I grew up on a tobacco farm in Kentucky. People would say, I would like to quit smoking, but I can’t. What they mean if they are disciples of Jesus is this: “I would like to stop, but my love to stop is not as great as my love to continue. So I will continue. The Bible teaches that this salvation frees us from the bondage of sin, sin is now a choice and not the only option.
Now what is our motivation to no longer conform to the things of this world and the evil desires of our flesh?
Peter continues…
15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, You shall be holy, for I am holy.
What are the benefits of this salvation in our daily life?
BENEFIT #3: HE CALLS US TO BE HOLY LIKE JESUS.
NOT holier than you! Saint, definition “apart”. God set us apart. Before, we were like that… now, we are like that.
If you don’t have the desire to be holy, then I would question my salvation. Because the Bible teaches that we should desire holiness because we desire God and God is holy. For us, not to desire holiness is for us not to desire God and so we desire evil more.
Peter continues on this path…
17 And if you invoke him as a Father who judges with impartiality according to the actions of everyone, conduct yourselves in fear during all the time of your exile,
That is, lead your life with reverence and respect for God and God’s ways.
What are the benefits of this salvation in our daily life?
BENEFIT #4: CREATES BELIEF WHEN WE SIN.
I don’t always know when I’m sinning, but most of the time I do. And when I sin, I feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit telling me, “Do not waste God’s favor in your selfish desires.
Why does this salvation create conviction in us when we sin? Look at verse 18…
18 knowing that you have been redeemed from the futile ways inherited from your ancestors, not by perishable things like silver or gold, 19 but by the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.
Why does this salvation create conviction when we sin? Because our sin cost Christ his life!
Look what Peter says,
20 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but he was made manifest in the end times because of you 21 who believed in God through him, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope may be in him. God.
22 After having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for sincere brotherly love, love one another with a pure heart, 23since you are born again, not of a perishable seed, but of an imperishable seed. , by the living and permanent word of God;
24 for “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flower of the grass.” The grass withers and the flower falls, 25 but the word of the Lord remains forever.”
What are the benefits of this salvation in our daily life?
BENEFIT #5: IT ELEVATES THE BIBLE AS THE WAY TO LIVE.
There are people who believe that the Bible is just another book. But there are also unbelievers, my friend being one of them, who understands that if he gives his life to Jesus, he is bound to live according to what the Bible says, and frankly, he tells me that. said, he does not want .
I respect that. But if you are a believer in Jesus, it is NOT an option to live by the Bible, it is a requirement.
So Paul says closing here in the 2nd chapter…
2:1 So drive away all wickedness, all deceit, all hypocrisy, all envy and all slander. 2 As infants, aspire to pure spiritual milk, so that through it you may grow towards salvation, 3 if at least you have tasted that the Lord is good.
What are the benefits of this salvation in our daily life?
BENEFIT #6: IT CREATES SPIRITUAL MATURITY IN US.
Spiritual maturity is not just a desire, it is an action. Pierre says: “Put away…” This is a present active verb in the Greek language. It is a continuous progressive present in our lives. Spiritual maturity is not just a desire not to sin, but a proactive approach to godly living. My objective is no longer “not to sin”, but “to do and live in justice”. I am committed to it and proactive in its realization. I “put aside” the things that keep me from being what God created me to be.
What is it in your life that prevents you from being holy? What makes you desire the world instead of Him?
So what does this salvation do for us? Ultimately, it transforms your life from reflecting the evil desires of this world to reflecting the spiritual maturity of a believer who craves pure spiritual food from God.
What do you feed your soul on?
