“Saved by Grace to Live by Grace”     2011

Ephesians 1:3-5, 11-14             1 Peter 1:3-9

 

Ephesians 1:3-5, 11-14

3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. 5He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, 11In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, 12so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. 13In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; 14this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.

 

1 Peter 1:3-9

3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

6In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, 7so that the genuineness of your faith—being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, 9for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

 

About to graduate from high school,       a promising young manà

              wasn’t receiving much support or encouragement at home

                        to continue his education, to be involved at church,

                                    or to focus on building a strong & faithful future.

 

   So I got involved and challenged him

            to think about what sort of man he wanted to become,

                and with his potential,  what he wanted to achieve in life…

  

             … and not just the acquisition of stuff or worldly success,

                           but also his relationship with God and God’s will.

                       

I explained that he needed to get all the education he could,

            and be a man of high morals, integrity and good character

                   whose walk of faith continues to grow, deepen and mature

                          toward a productive and meaningful career and income …

 

            …  and not so much   just for his own sake and satisfaction,

                          but also for the well-being of his future family,

                                the wife and children he hoped to have someday.

 

  Obviously the choices and compromises he made as a young man,

            would make a significant difference in what he would have,

                        and what he could do for the family he wanted someday;

                and in the end of his days,

                           whether he had lived faithfully, honorably and well.

 

I compared that idea   to past generations of young girls,

            who in anticipation of a husband, home and family someday,

                   would gather linens, cookware and other household items                                      in preparation for setting up their future home …

          … and store all that stuff in what was called, a hope-chest.

 

A girl would start collecting for her hope-chest  even before

            there were any actual marriage prospects on the horizon,

                             began long before ever seeing their husband or home,

                                 but trusting and believing that

                                        in time, there would be someone to share it.

 

A hope-chest then,   is a tangible expression of a dream or hope,

          as something pragmatic and visible

                   toward something else that is expected to come later.

 

          Though not completed or fulfilled

                    until sometime in the distant future, it is something

                          that has already starting to happen in the present.

 

* That is also the nature of our Christian faith and hope,

        the grace we’ve received and the grace we’re called to live,

                        as the author of 1^st Peter describes it,  vs. 8-9

                                    Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

 

This letter of 1^st Peter   is thought to have been written

            during a very difficult time of severe persecution,

                        when the Emperor Nero was attempting with full force

                                    to destroy the Church and crush Christianity.

 

The focus of 1^st Peter

            is how the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead

                   gives us courage and hope amid our present difficulties,

                                    based upon our future    as promised by the Lord…

vs. 1-3

            Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

 

“Blessed be God”, may seem like a very odd perspective to writeà

           to someone during a time of intense persecution & suffering,

     but the point is,

*           because we do trust,   we can have confidence and hope

                      in anticipation of the fulfillment of God’s promises,

            àwhich enables us  to live fully and boldly in the present.

 

We hear that same idea about salvation  in the Ephesians text;

            that we are sustained  by Christian hope in God’s promises

                        as in vs. 14   “… that is the pledge of our inheritance”

 

That same inheritance language is also used in 1^st Peter, vs. 4;

            ”an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you”

 

By definition,

            an inheritance is not something you earn, but is a gift.

 

                        An inheritance is something that is reserved for you,

                                    set aside for you,  until sometime in the future;

à  something like the items gathered into a hope-chest,

            by someone looking ahead toward a future home and family.

 

In both 1^st Peter and Ephesians, “our inheritance”  à

            refers to our salvation that is being “kept in heaven for us”,

                        which is further described in  vs. 4:

            imperishable,

                        meaning it can’t be damaged, lost or destroyed.

            undefiled,

                        meaning it can’t be tainted by evil or sin.

            and unfading

                        meaning it can be tarnished or diminished over time.

 

To put all that together, 1^st Peter’s  message is,    though à

            in the present we’re not immune or exempt from suffering à

                 nor do we escape from the trials & troubles of this world…

**  … yet seen from our distinctly Christian perspective,  à

                 we are sustained by hope and trust in God’s promises,

                        that await fulfillment as our reliable inheritance;à

            àwhich gives us courage, confidence and reassurance,

                        even when we struggle in ways that we don’t understand.

 

When the Golden Gate Bridge was being built,

            during the initial stages, 23 workers fell to their death.

The work progressed slowly & construction fell behind schedule,

            because knowing that any slip might become a fatal fall,

                        workers could not really focus on getting the job done.

 

Then safety nets were installed all along the bridge,

     and the amount of work accomplished each day increased by 25%…

… because once the workers were assured of their safety,

       they could concentrate on the job  and work much more quickly…

*                  … so too assurance of heaven-salvation in our future

                              gives us confidence   to face our present boldly.

 

The point of this 1^st Peter passage and the Ephesians passage,

    is that being confident in our future inheritance that awaits,

            means that we don’t just survive or endure life’s struggles;

 

*                 but we can even rejoice in assurance of our salvation,

            ~               and in knowing that through our trials and troubles,

                                       God will surely accomplish something in us

                                                that is meaningful and productive...   vs. 6-7

In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith—being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

 

The challenges we face   all serve according to God’s purpose

            of revealing & strengthening the authenticity of our faith,

                                    --- just as gold is tested and purified by fire.

 

*Our struggles are the way that God enlarges our vision and hope,

            just as a good teacher uses research papers and testing,

                  to help their students  grow & learn to think more deeply.

 

            A good and thought-provoking   research or exam question

                 is more than just regurgitation of data and information,

                               because it challenges the student to grow by goingà

                                         deeper in their understanding of the material.

 

So too God uses the struggles, trials and troubles of our lives,

            all our experiences for our benefit and Christian maturity;

                   by challenging our easy answers and assumptions,

                        and making us grow deeper our spiritual development.

 

The message to those struggling early Christians that were à

            suffering under the cruel and deadly persecution of Nero,

                        was that ultimately    God would use their struggles

                                    to prove and improve  their vision and faith,

            much the way that an athlete exercises, runs and works out

                        straining muscles in preparation for the next event.

 

Hasn’t your trust and faith in God   grown most and developed most

            during those times when things were at their worst?

Isn’t it when we struggle, that we learn to depend upon the Lord?

 

Coming to the Lord’s Table of grace and hope today,

            as a young woman chooses special things for her hope-chest,

             or a young man works toward a hopeful vision of the future;

àI want to consider the effect of God’s grace  on how I am living:

            and if my attitude and my behavior   are being influenced

                        by my hope in the future fulfillment of God’s promises.

 

    Does my life really conform to the character and love of God,

            and is it consistent with how Jesus would have me live?

 

Am I living in this world as having received God’s mercy,

          and as one who is destined for eternal life in God’s kingdom?

 

Will my life-goals stand up to God’s scrutiny that day of glory?

 

             And when I am welcomed into God’s holy & majestic presence

                    will my life be something I want to talk about with God?

 

 

Our call is to have a very loose grip on the things of this world,

        and instead cling tightly to God and trust in God’s promises,

                        as we eagerly await   for always  the best is yet to come.

 

Psalm 103:1,2 & 4

            Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name.

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget all his benefits, and steadfast love and mercy.