Salvation: A Living Hope - 1 Peter 1:3-5

0:37No, life doesn't turn out like we expect sometimes. I want to read you an excerpt of a true story of what happened to a young mother. Our worlds were dramatically altered in October of 2008. Three days after giving birth to our youngest, I was rushed to the emergency room due to severe abdominal pain, numbness in my hip, feet, and fingers, and feeling very groggy. I was diagnosed with toxic shock syndrome caused by toxins in my blood. This resulted in the loss of several limbs, both legs below the knee, the entire left hand, partial digits on the right hand, portions. Of both hips and skin removal of the entire back to complete skin graphing of wounded areas. I've been through several procedures, rehabilitation, prosthetic training, and am constantly adjusting to life on another level.

1:49This not only affected me, but also my family. We have had great struggles, many tears, and felt every feeling imaginable. Life sometimes doesn't turn out like we had hoped. Many of you can relate. Life has turned out very different than you had expected. Like this last week, spoke to an individual, married 40 years, spouse has filed for divorce. One of the things this person told me was: I never envisioned this being my retirement years. I was also informed of the rise of suicides in our community.

2:45People losing hope. They seem to be randomly putting periods at the end of their life. What is the theological basis for hope? There is one, and it's in our Texas. Morning. I am aware as I look into this congregation that some of you have already experienced your worst nightmares. Some of you are going to face some of your worst nightmares. Some of you will have your dreams shattered. Some of you will have your expectations crushed. And some of you are going to have to learn how to live in the aftermath of your shattered dreams and your failed expectations and devastated hopes. And at some point, as you cope with this, you're going to have to come face to face with the reality that God has not promised to meet all of your expectations.

3:48And the question is: how will you respond when you realize that God has not committed Himself to your dreams and your expectations for life? Will you trust God or will you grow cynical? Cynical at life and cynical at God? That's a question that I put to all of us because, in one way, shape, or form, we are going to face that if we have not already or are facing it right now. And the question becomes: how can we have hope when we come to the realization? That God hasn't committed Himself to our expectations.

4:35Well, our passage this morning was written to a people who were experiencing just such a trial. Life was turning out to be something very different than they had imagined. They were suffering for being identified with Jesus, and some of them were suffering very severely. Some of them had lost homes, someone had lost loved ones, someone had been displaced, lost jobs, whatever, and a number of more things. So Peter is writing to a people who had had their hopes or expectations shattered.

5:17But Peter also knew what it was like to have his hopes completely devastated. Peter also knew what it was like to have his hope reborn. He knew what it was like to be let down, but he also knew what it was like to have his hopes completely reborn upon the solid foundation of Christ's resurrection. In fact, if you look at verse 4, see the word born again. Literally, it is reborn to a living hope. Some people, your hope is on life support, right? Dying, barely holding on. Peter is. Saying here, he has been reborn. He knew what it was like to be reborn to a living hope, a thriving hope, a vibrant hope, one that is growing, not dying.

6:14And he writes to strengthen those who are in danger of losing their hope. As we're walking through the book of 1 Peter, we recognized in chapter 5 and verse 12 that Peter's whole purpose writing this letter was to strengthen those who are in danger of walking away from true grace. And last week, we recognized that he began, or in this first section, he begins teaching them, in order to stand firm in true grace, the first thing you're going to need to do is know your salvation. And that's what the first 12 verses are about. Know your salvation. Last week, we looked at the glorious election. The glorious election. That's where it starts. Know your salvation. Today, we're going to look at the hope of your salvation. Last week, we looked at the election of your salvation. This week, we're going to look at the hope of your salvation. What is the hope of your salvation? Well, very simply put, we'll just walk right through it: a living hope. First, we'll look at the cause of a living hope, the cause of a living hope. Verse 3, look back. 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 first cause of this hope is the mercy of the Father, the prevailing cause. Look at verse 3, who, according to his great mercy, the Father, according to his great mercy, that's the cause of a living hope. Mercy focuses on God's reaction to a sinner's miserable condition. It's the condition of the individual that is at issue. And God is merciful. He looks upon the miserable condition of humanity and he takes action. And throughout Scripture, God has revealed himself as someone who truly grieves over the miserable condition of fallen man. He grieves. Right out of the gate in Genesis 3, you remember the fall. God, death came into the race. And then God, in his mercy, made a covering for man, made garments of skin. But he did something else that was very merciful, that we don't necessarily connect with his mercy. Then the Lord God said, Behold, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil, but he never. Those good and evil from the side of evil. And now, says the Lord, he might stretch out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat and live forever. God in his mercy blocked the way to the tree of life so that man would not forever live in his fallen state.

9:24And then in Genesis 6:5, the Lord looked down and he saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually, and the Lord was very sorry that he had made man on the earth, and he was grieved in his heart over the state of mankind. In Ezekiel 18:32, God says, I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies, declares the Lord. Therefore, repent and live.

9:57Remember in Jonah 4, 11, as the book of Jonah comes to the close, God utters these words, Should I not have compassion on that great city, Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know the difference between their right and their left hand? God is a God of mercy, moved by the miserable condition of humanity. And then when he walked among us, When God walked among us in Mark chapter 1, a leper came up to Jesus and beseeched him and fell on his knees and said, If you are willing, you can make me clean. And Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out his hand and touched, making himself ceremonially unclean. He touched the leper and said, I am willing. Be clean.

10:58In Matthew 23, 37, Jesus is not only does he grieve over the state of individuals, he grieves over the state of nations. And he said, This, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stones those who are sent to you. How often I wanted to gather your children together the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. That's the heart of God. The driving cause for Peter's living hope began in the mercy of God.

11:41And the driving cause for any of us to have any kind of living hope is the mercy of God. He wants people to be joyful for what's ahead. And there is a real basis to be joyful for what is ahead. So, the cause of a living hope is the mercy of the Father. But it is expressed through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Look at how he expressed it. It's the mercy of the Father expressed through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Look again at verse 3.

12:19Blessed 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. And I'm going to interpret this in its most narrow interpretation here. Sometimes we see the phrase born again, and all of a sudden our minds go into a framework of a salvation theology and being born from above, which I think there is certainly application. And in a broader sense, that applies here. But in its narrowest interpretation, Peter is talking about himself. He is, look at that. In his great mercy caused us. I, Peter, was born again. And it's not the same as in John 3:7, where Jesus is talking to Nicodemus and he says, you must be born from above. The language here is different. You must be reborn. You must be re-begat.

13:24You must be born again. Peter is expressing. How he came to know a reborn hope. I just want to look at this. Let's take a moment just to think through the life of Peter for just a moment. And let me illustrate for you this reborn hope that he experienced. Well, there was originally there was a hope awakened in Peter. Probably going all the way back to John chapter 1. John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked, John the Baptist, and he looked as Jesus was walking, and he said, Behold, the Lamb of God. And one of those that was standing when John the Baptist said this was Andrew. And he ran to get his brother, Simon Peter.

14:20And he first found his own brother. And he came up to Simon and said, We have found the Messiah. And he brought him to Jesus. And Jesus looked at him and said, You are Simon, the son of John. You shall be called Cephas, which means Peter. So you can see an awakened hope right there, a spark of hope in Peter. We have found the Messiah. And then the Messiah says to Peter, you're going to be called a rock.

14:52And then, as time goes on, the teaching of Christ, there were many followers he got very popular, but then Jesus started teaching. The hard truths. Don't just look at the miracles. Don't just come here to get fed, but understand the implication of the miracles, who I am in your midst. And unless you eat of my flesh and drink of my blood, you'll have no part in me. He was saying, accept the implications of the miracles for who I am and embrace who I am.

15:23Boy, this was a tough teaching for many. In John 6:66, as a result of this, many of his disciples withdrew, and they were not walking with him anymore. So Jesus said to the twelve, Do you not, you do not want to go away also, do you? Simon Peter answered and said, Lord, to whom should we go? You have the words of eternal life. What a profession. What Peter is saying, you are the prophet whom Moses spoke about. Your words are an exact representation of reality. They thoroughly describe eternal truth. Where should we go? You are the prophet, and we are to listen to you.

16:17And then in Mark, you remember that moment in chapter 8 when Jesus is going along with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea and on the way. He started asking them, Who do people say that I am? They told him, John the Baptist. Others say Elijah, but others one of the prophets. And he continued questioning them. But who do you say that I am? And Peter answered and said, You are the Christ. You are the king. Not only are you the prophet that Moses spoke about, whom we should listen to, but you are the king. The scepter is in your hand.

17:01You are the lion of Judah. I see that in you. Boy, and Matthew adds the details. Matthew 16, 18 says, This, I say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not overpower, and I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven. Wow. Peter recognized the prophet. He recognized the kingship of Christ. But not only that, the Lord Himself said, You, Peter, are going to have a prominent place in my kingdom. Wow. Is that not hope? I mean, that's Peter's original hope, full blazing sun. There it is. This is great.

17:55But immediately, immediately, his hope began to die. Immediately. It's kind of like a cruising altitude. You know, when a plane that's on one of these short little flights gets up to cruising altitude and immediately starts coming down. That's what happened to Peter. His hope reached its peak right here in Mark chapter 8, and immediately it was overshadowed. Look at what happens next. In Mark chapter 8, verse 31, and he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed and after three days rise again. And he was stating the matter plainly, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. Can you imagine that rebuking the Lord? But turning around and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, Get behind me, Satan, for you are not setting your mind on God's interest but man. Peter, you're right, I'm the king.

18:56But this king is going to die. And a cloud hangs over Peter's hope. And that cloud will stay there till the end of the gospel. And from that moment on, there was growing distance between Jesus and his disciples as their hope began to darken and die. In Mark 9:30, from there they went out and began to go through Galilee. And he did not want anyone to know it, for he was teaching his disciples and telling them, the Son of Man is to be delivered into the hands of God. Men, and they will kill him, and when he has been killed, he will rise three days later. And then get this, but they did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask him. See that growing distance? Mark chapter 10. They were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them, and they were amazed. And those who followed were fearful, because he was going up to die.

20:01Don't make a mistake, they loved him. They loved him to the end. A picture of Mary breaking the alabaster jar and pouring the expensive perfume all over Jesus was an expression of love, an expression of devotion. But do you not see the shadow of a darkened hope, even in that setting? She has anointed me for my burial. And then in Mark 14, you see the sunset of Peter's hope. In verse 72, immediately a rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had made the remark to him, Before a rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times. And he began to weep. Matthew adds the detail bitterly.

20:57And there goes Peter's hope. And then that final dark hour, Mark 15, verse 37. And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. And there were some women looking on from a distance. There's their king, there's their Messiah, there's their prophet gone, alone, deserted. Never did bring in that kingdom. Well, that's the death of Peter's hope. Everything he had hoped for was gone. And this was not at all how he expected things to go. His prophet was dead, and now his teaching was irrelevant. He was a good man, good thoughts, but just that, now he was dead. Their prophet and the words of life now irrelevant. Their king now dead, the kingdom impossible.

22:03But then came the resurrection. And Peter's living hope, a reborn hope. You get the first glimpse of this in the news from the women. In Luke 24, 11, when the women came and told them about the empty tomb, but these words appeared to them as nonsense, and they would not believe them. But Peter got up and ran to the tomb, stooping and And looking in, he saw the linen wrappings only, and he went away to his home, marveling at what had happened. Something had happened in his heart. Something began to awaken. And then, somewhere, and we don't know when or where, Jesus appeared to Peter. We don't have the encounter, but you remember on the road to Emmaus, after the two had met the Lord and they had come back to tell the other disciples they were all excited.

23:05We read these words in Luke 24, 33. And they got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem and found gathered together the eleven and those who were with him. So they're going to go back and tell them that they had seen the Lord. But first, the eleven respond to them in verse 34 and say, The Lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon. In other words, guess what? We've already seen him. He has really been raised from the dead and he has already appeared to Simon. Somewhere in there, the Lord came and found Simon. And I can assure you, his hope went from black to full awakened, fully reborn. It was pumping. It was alive. Their prophet really is the prophet. His teachings really true.

24:00The kingdom really coming, the blazing light. The moment Peter met the resurrected Lord, his hope was reborn into what can only be described as a living hope. A living hope. Now, let me read to you again Peter's statement in verse 3. Blessed, you hear the doxology. 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.

24:42He's alive. And Peter's hope is thriving. And so the cause of a living hope is the mercy of the Father through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Next, it's not all that he says about it. I want you to see the content of a living hope. The content of a living hope. Look in verse 4. First, content is the possession of paradise. 1 Peter 1:4, 2 obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away. Word for inheritance literally is a possession. In Acts 7:5, it refers to Abraham's God-given entitlement. To the land of Canaan. In Luke 12, 13, it is referred to a property which is due to an heir, an inheritance, a possession, a literal possession. It's interesting as you work your way through the Bible that the Bible reiterates that man is nothing, he owns nothing, God owns everything, and that man is merely a vapor. Yet here we have the language of a tangible possession.

25:59That is an entitlement to God's people, a possession, an inheritance. Well, you remember ancient Babylon? You remember Nebuchadnezzar had a dream, and Daniel interpreted that dream. And in Daniel 2:44, Daniel tells him the significance. He says, In the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people. It will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it itself will endure forever. And ever since Daniel explained to Nebuchadnezzar his dream, the resounding question through time has been: who is this king? And who are his people?

26:50Who are the people of this kingdom that is never going to pass away? Well, Luke. Jesus tells us in Luke 12, 31, he exhorts his followers, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you. Do not be afraid, little flock. Your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom. You see, the kingdom is the inheritance of God's people, and it's not going to be left to another people. And I love the three terms that Peter uses to describe this kingdom. Look back at verse 4. First, it is imperishable. That means it's not subject to breaking down or being worn out. It's impervious to corruption. It's impervious to decay. It's impervious to death. It's a kingdom that's not decaying.

27:51It's a kingdom where thief cannot come in, rust or moth cannot destroy. Look at the second term. It's undefiled. Undefiled. That term means it's not subject to sin. It's unstained in the eyes of God. It's an inheritance that is completely unstained. It solicits nothing except God's full approval. In other words, God's excited commitment is to this inheritance. It's thoroughly pure. It's imperishable. It's undefiled. But look at again. I love this one. It's unfading. It's unfading. That is, it's not subject to losing its newness. The term really literally means a flower in bloom. As James 1 says, for the sun rises with the scorching wind and withers in the grass, and withers the grass, and its flower falls off, and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed. So too, the rich man in the midst of his pursuits will fade away like a flower out of bloom, like a rich man.

29:02But this inheritance is not fading away. It is eternally fresh. Now, you probably know how we celebrate Christmas, right? You remember the anticipation we have for Christmas? We get the gifts, we decorate the house, we've got presents everywhere, we've got a feast plan, and then comes Christmas morning, we gather around the tree, we start opening up presents, we start intaking or mainlining sugar, our calorie intake goes way up, our gifts, you know, we start opening them up, and then all of a sudden, that beautiful place becomes a disaster, and after the evening comes along, you're kind of a little bit worn out, and kind of, whoa, newness is kind of worn off, and then in the next couple days, you're just kind of man, let's get this tree out of the house, let's clean this place up, I'm ready to move on, right? Any of you guys ever been there? Or is it just our heat? Prospects of Christmas that gets me there. But anyway, the inheritance that we have is unfading. It's not ever, the newness is never going to wear off. The excitement. Isn't that incredible? Can we describe anything in this world like that that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfailing, fading, permanently new? And we always see it as enjoy it as if it's perfectly new? Well, that's his inheritance that he has for his people, and nothing in this whole realm can be described by these terms. So the content of a living hope is the possession of paradise. But there's more. Look back. Second part of verse 4. There is the protection by the power of God. The inheritance is, in verse 4, reserved in heaven for you. And in verse 5, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Word for reserved literally means to be protected, kept, preserved. It's used as the centurion kept Jesus under guard, the centurion guarding Jesus at the cross. And in John chapter 2, it refers to that wine that was kept till the very end of the feast. Reserved, kept back, held back. There is a reservation for you.

31:31In this imperishable, undefiled, unfading inheritance. But look back. Not only is the inheritance protected, but so also those who will inherit the inheritance. It doesn't do any good to have an inheritance if the people themselves cannot be protected for the inheritance. So not only is the inheritance protected, but also those who will inherit the inheritance. Verse 5, who are protected by the power of God. And the sense of being protected here is not to protect from somebody else taking it away.

32:13The sense of protected here is in the sense of being held under custody or confined. Let me give you a sense. Like in Paul, in 2 Corinthians, remember in 11, chapter 11, he's talking about his experience at Damascus. And they put guards at the gate so that he couldn't get out. And they let him out in a basket because they wanted to keep him in the city. They wanted to catch him. In Galatians 3, 23, the term is used to speak about how the law kept us under custody until faith would come. Again, it's this idea of being kept in, not protected from outsiders, but being kept confined in.

32:59So the sense. Here is that we are protected. And look back. We are protected by the power of God through faith. Faith is that protector, guards us. And it is through the means of a person's faith that God is continually protecting his people for a salvation ready to be revealed in the end. Faith guards, faith protects, and we are protected by the power of God through faith. So the cause of a living hope is the mercy of the Father through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The content of a living hope is the possession of paradise and the protection of the power of God, so that you will inherit the inheritance.

33:46Wow. What a difference the resurrection made in Peter's life. What a difference. And what a difference it can make in our lives. If you will take those resurrection glasses, if you will put them on, and if you will look at the world through the resurrection of Christ, it will give you a living hope like you will never imagine. Let me tell you what it did to Peter. The resurrection totally changed Peter's view of the future. Remember how bleak the future was looking for him?

34:29Peter had Seen Jesus' authority over every realm of earthly existence. Peter saw Jesus' authority over the human body. He saw Jesus' authority over the realm of nature. The man walked on water. He saw him over the realm of matter. He created matter out of nothing. Peter saw this. Jesus demonstrated himself as the authoritative one over all the spiritual realm and the hosts of evil forces. Then he died. And the resurrection guaranteed that not even killing Jesus could stop him.

35:12His future kingdom and your inheritance is sure. It changed Peter's whole outlook. I've seen what Jesus can do. And now I saw him die and I saw him resurrected. And there is nothing, no power on earth, over the earth, under the earth, whatever you want that can possibly thwart his plan. He is coming. His kingdom is sure. I have a very, very joyful expectation for what is coming because my Lord lives. And that ain't going to ever change. And so he, Peter's, the resurrection changed his view of the future. And friends, put him on. It'll change yours as well. But the second thing, the resurrection changed his view of the cross.

36:01The resurrection changed his view of the cross. You see, the cross was not a defeat. He thought when he saw Jesus go down on the cross, total defeat. But it wasn't a defeat. Suffering at the hands of sinful men did not lessen Jesus' kingship. A suffering Messiah does not imply that Jesus was not king. It points to something else. He is king. He is authoritative. But he went to the cross. And only through the resurrection can the mystery of the cross really be seen. Put on those resurrected glasses and look again at the cross as Peter did. Jesus is indeed the prophet. Jesus is indeed the king. But the cross tells us something else. The cross is the altar of sacrifice. And Jesus Himself is that sacrifice. And Jesus Himself is the high priest who offered himself on that altar.

37:11He is priest. He is the sacrifice. Put those lenses on and see the cross. You see, it changed his view of the cross. But the resurrection changed something else. It changed Peter's view of the present. And that's what he's writing to these people about who are suffering. It totally changed his view of the present. You see, Jesus could have circumvented the cross, but he didn't. He could pull his people out of this world and cause them to avoid suffering, but he doesn't. Why?

37:58Because Jesus is building a kingdom of people who will trust God even in the face of suffering. Get this. Get what is going on in the present. Jesus is building a kingdom of people who will trust God even in the face of suffering. Adam and Eve didn't get this. Adam and Eve had a perfect environment. And many times that is our prayer. Lord, put me in a perfect environment. Well, let me tell you something. Adam and Eve didn't trust and obey God in a perfect environment.

38:34Jesus is doing something better than the original Adam and Eve. Jesus is raising up a people, a new creation. This is what he is doing in the earth. A new people who will trust God even in the most horrific circumstances. That's what he's doing. He is raising up a body of people who. Will trust him in the most horrific circumstances. And then he's going to give them paradise. See the difference? He is fashioning a people for paradise. And unlike Adam and Eve, they will possess it because they have learned to trust and obey God even in the most difficult of circumstances. There's a deep mystery here.

39:28Make sure you have your resurrection glasses on because there is only one place where the cross could happen. And there is only one place where we can learn to trust God in difficult circumstances. And you know where that is? A fallen world. It is only in a fallen world that Christ's love could be displayed for us on the cross. And it is only in the fallen world where we can suffer for the name of Christ and learn to walk with God through our sufferings.

40:08Last Sunday evening, last Lord Day, we spent the evening working through this mystery of election and God's sovereignty and man's responsibility in salvation. And afterwards, a young lady came up to me and I hope she doesn't mind if I won't mention her name, but I love the thought. She quoted to me Proverbs 16:4 and said, The Lord has made everything for its own purpose, even the wicked for the day of evil. How do you explain that? Well, my response is it's true. It's biblical truth, an accurate picture of eternity.

40:51I also said you need to supplement that with the truth that God is not the author of evil. Scripture makes that very plain. God cannot be tempted by evil, and God tempts no one with evil, that God is not responsible for man's sin, but it does say that God controls and has authority over even the realm of sinful man. And remember, it was that realm. They will be responsible for their sin, God will hold them justly accountable. But God also used them to bring about the glory of the cross. It could not have happened in any other place but a fallen world.

41:37And God uses the wicked for his purposes. If you're going to walk away from God, if you're going to suppress the truth, don't think you've moved outside of his control, he still will use you for your glory. For his glory, I'm sorry. Listen, the resurrection changes our view of what God is doing in the present. I want to return to the lady who lost her limbs just for a moment. As she was going through this trial, she saw that God's goodness was, in fact, in her life. And she was able to say these words: God is faithful and will never leave or forsake His chosen ones.

42:20That's what Peter is saying. Don't just wallow in your misery as if something strange is happening to you. Glorify God in your sufferings because we have a living hope. And that is what Peter is saying. Know the hope of your salvation, the mercy of God, the resurrection of Christ. You have an inheritance that is never going to be taken away. You are protected. Now go out and see what God has next for you. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, I give you thanks for the living hope that you've given us. We thank you how you've given us new lenses to see the world through the resurrection of Christ, our King, our prophet, and our priest, and our sacrificial Lamb.

43:24And Father, we thank you. Now I ask, Lord. That you would just move upon our hearts and accomplish the thing that you want to do. In Jesus' name.