Born Again to a Living Hope

1 Peter 1:3-5 ESV

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! 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, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

These words were written to the elect of God, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ (see verses 1-2). 

We are the chosen of God who were chosen out of this sinful world to come into his heavenly kingdom. We are those chosen to serve him with our lives, who were chosen to believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of our lives. We have been chosen to live holy lives in obedience to God, separate (unlike, different) from the world, because we are being conformed by God to the likeness of character of Jesus Christ.

[Romans 8:29; 2 Timothy 1:8-9; Ephesians 1:3-4; 1 Peter 1:14-16]

We are the ones God has caused to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. By God-given faith in Jesus Christ we were crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness. For Jesus died on that cross that we might die to sin and live to righteousness (Romans 6:1-23; 1 Peter 2:24).

We are those whom God has caused to be born again to a living hope to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for us who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. So what is this saying? Who does it apply to? 

This does not apply to those who give lip service only to God, who have made confessions of faith in Jesus Christ of their own flesh who then continued in deliberate and habitual sin without regard for God and for his commandments and for his will for our lives. Please pay attention to the wording here, for all this that is of God comes from God. Even the faith to believe in Jesus Christ is gifted to us by God and is not of our own doing, and that is why that faith submits to Christ as Lord to do his will.

So, just because we make a profession of Christ as Savior and Lord of our lives, it does not necessarily mean that all these promises apply to us. For we are to be God’s holy people who are living different from the world because becoming like Jesus in character. And we are to be those who are walking in obedience to his commands, in practice. And our salvation is deliverance from our slavery to sin and empowerment of God to live holy lives, pleasing to God, in obedience to his commands.

And when is this salvation ready to be revealed? Well, if our faith is genuine, we are saved (past), we are being saved (present active), and we will be saved (future) when Jesus Christ returns and he takes his faithful ones to be with him for eternity, which is when our salvation will be complete. But we must be those who are walking according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh, not in sin, but in righteousness and in obedience to our Lord.

And we are to be those who are continuing steadfast in that faith and who have not fallen back into living in sin and for self while ignoring our Lord and his commandments. For the Scriptures teach us that if sin is what we practice, and if righteousness, holy living, and obedience to our Lord are not what we practice, that we will not inherit the kingdom of heaven. Only those who obey God will enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 7:21-23).

1 Peter 1:6-9 ESV

“In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”

Now, during the time that we have on this earth we are going to go through trials which will test the genuiness of our faith. If our faith is not of God but of the flesh, we will not pass the test. If our faith is weak, we may fail the test, at least for a time, but God may use that to then strengthen us in our walks of faith and to grow us to maturity in him. But the trials themselves will point out to us where our faith is weak and where we need to change, and then in the strength of the Lord we can grow stronger in our faith.

And if we find that our faith was of the flesh and not of God, this will give us the opportunity to believe in Jesus with God-given and God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ which leads us to be crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin, but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness (Romans 6:1-23). We will have the opportunity through the testing of our faith to have genuine faith and/or to mature in our walks of faith in Jesus Christ.

For the goal of our faith is that it may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. For the outcome of our faith is the salvation of our souls. For our salvation will not be complete until Jesus returns to take his faithful ones to be with him for eternity, and provided that we are those of genuine faith who are walking in obedience to his commands (New Covenant), in practice, and who are living holy lives, pleasing to God, and who are not walking in sin.

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15] 

Refiner’s Fire  

By Brian Doerksen

Purify my heart,

let me be as gold and precious silver.

Purify my heart,

let me be as gold, pure gold.

Purify my heart,

cleanse me from within

and make me holy.

Purify my heart,

cleanse me from my sin, deep within.

Refiner's fire,

my heart's one desire

is to be holy;

set apart for You, Lord.

I choose to be holy;

set apart for You, my Master,

ready to do Your will.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSIazjrA0Ls