1 Peter 1:3-5

Heavenly Inheritance

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Sermon Text

1 Peter 1:3-5

“3 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, 4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

Sermon Summary

Main Theme: Praise God for His abundant mercy and the living hope we have through Jesus Christ.

1. Praise God for the New Life He's Given You:

Verse 3: "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."
God has "begotten us again" – He has given us new life, a spiritual rebirth, just as Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3.
This new birth is purely by God's abundant mercy, not by our merit or good deeds.
We should praise God because He has taken us, dead in sin, and made us alive in Christ.

2. Praise God for Four Advantages or Gifts:

A. A Living Hope:
- This hope is "living" because it is grounded in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
- Unlike worldly hope, which can be uncertain, this hope is a sure and steadfast assurance.
- Our hope is alive because Jesus is alive, making our faith and hope in Him firm and secure.
B. An Inheritance:
- Verse 4: "To an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you."
- The inheritance promised to believers is eternal, imperishable, and kept secure in heaven.
- Unlike earthly inheritances that can decay or diminish, this divine inheritance is everlasting and untouched by corruption.
C. Being Kept by God's Power:
- Verse 5: "Who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time."
- Believers are guarded by God's power, ensuring their perseverance in faith until the final salvation.
- This protection is likened to a military guard, emphasizing God's active role in preserving us.
D. Assurance of Final Salvation:
- The final revelation of our salvation will occur at the last time when Christ returns.
- For believers, this will be a day of joy and praise, not fear, as we stand firm in our faith.

Conclusion:

The sermon emphasizes that our response to these truths should be one of continual praise.
Whether in times of trial or in daily life, knowing that we have been given new life, a secure inheritance, and divine protection should lead us to worship and glorify God in all circumstances.

Sample Bible Study

Study Theme: Praising God for His Mercy, Our Living Hope, and the Eternal Inheritance

1. Introduction to the Passage

Context:

1 Peter is a letter written by the Apostle Peter to believers facing persecution and suffering. His goal is to encourage them by reminding them of the hope and inheritance they have in Christ, despite their current trials.
In 1 Peter 1:3-5, Peter begins by calling believers to praise God for the salvation they have received, which is characterized by a new birth, a living hope, and an eternal inheritance.

2. Biblical Themes

A. New Birth through God’s Mercy

Scriptural Foundation: The concept of being "born again" is foundational in Christian theology, stemming from Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus in John 3:3-7.
Discussion: What does it mean to be "begotten again" or "born again"? How does recognizing this new birth affect your daily life and outlook on challenges?
Reflection: Consider how God's mercy is evident in your life, especially in how He has transformed you through the new birth.

B. Living Hope through the Resurrection

Scriptural Foundation: The resurrection of Jesus is the cornerstone of Christian hope (1 Corinthians 15:14-19).
Discussion: How does the resurrection of Jesus Christ provide a "living hope"? How does this hope differ from worldly hopes or expectations? What would it mean for us if the resurrection wasn’t true?
Reflection: Reflect on the times when this living hope has sustained you through trials or uncertainties.

C. Eternal Inheritance

Scriptural Foundation: The idea of an eternal inheritance is seen throughout Scripture, such as in Ephesians 1:11-14, where believers are assured of their inheritance in Christ.
Discussion: How is the inheritance described in 1 Peter 1:4 different from any earthly inheritance? What does it mean that this inheritance is "incorruptible, undefiled, and does not fade away"?
Reflection: How does knowing that your inheritance is secure in heaven influence your values and priorities here on earth?

D. God’s Power and Protection

Scriptural Foundation: The protection of believers by God’s power is a theme echoed in passages like John 10:27-29 and Romans 8:31-39.
Discussion: How does the understanding that you are "kept by the power of God through faith" provide comfort and assurance in your walk with Christ?
Reflection: Consider how God's ongoing protection has manifested in your life and how it encourages you to persevere in faith.

3. Westminster Confession & Catechisms

Westminster Confession of Faith (Chapter 17:2 - Perseverance of the Saints):

This chapter teaches that those whom God has accepted in Christ can never fully or finally fall away from the state of grace but will persevere to the end.
Application: 1 Peter 1:5 emphasizes that believers are "kept by the power of God," aligning with the Confession’s teaching that it is God’s power, not our own, that ensures our perseverance.

Westminster Larger Catechism (Q. 79):

Q: May not true believers, by reason of their imperfections, and the many temptations and sins they are overtaken with, fall away from the state of grace?
A: True believers, by reason of the unchangeable love of God and his decree and covenant to give them perseverance, are neither totally nor finally fallen away from the state of grace, but are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.
Application: This catechism answer reinforces the idea found in 1 Peter 1:5 that believers, though imperfect, are secured by God’s power.

Westminster Shorter Catechism (Q. 36):

Q: What are the benefits which in this life do accompany or flow from justification, adoption, and sanctification?
A: The benefits which in this life do accompany or flow from justification, adoption, and sanctification are, assurance of God's love, peace of conscience, joy in the Holy Ghost, increase of grace, and perseverance therein to the end.
Application: The assurance of God’s love and the perseverance in faith are key benefits highlighted in 1 Peter 1:3-5 and echoed in this catechism.

4. Practical Applications

A. Cultivate a Heart of Praise:

Reflect on God’s mercy and the new life He has given you. Develop a habit of daily praise, recognizing that every spiritual blessing you have is a result of God’s mercy.

B. Anchor Your Life in Living Hope:

In times of difficulty, remind yourself of the living hope you have through Jesus' resurrection. Let this hope shape your responses to life’s challenges.

C. Value Your Eternal Inheritance:

Regularly meditate on the nature of your inheritance in heaven. Let this focus redirect your desires and efforts from temporal gains to eternal rewards.

D. Trust in God’s Protection:

Rest in the assurance that God is guarding you and your faith. When doubts or fears arise, remind yourself of God’s promise to keep you secure until the end.

5. Closing Prayer

Prayer: Thank God for His abundant mercy that has given you new life. Praise Him for the living hope you have in Christ and the inheritance that awaits you in heaven. Ask for strength to trust in His protection and to live a life that glorifies Him, secure in the knowledge of His love and care.

Weekday Devotionals

Monday: The Blessing of New Life

Scripture Reading: 1 Peter 1:3
Reflection:
"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."

As we begin this week, let us pause and consider the magnitude of God’s mercy. According to His great mercy, He has given us new life—a life that we could never earn or deserve. This new life, described as being “begotten again,” is not just a fresh start, but a complete transformation. Just as Nicodemus was told that one must be born again to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, so we too must recognize the miraculous work of God in our rebirth. This is not something we have accomplished by our own strength or merit; it is entirely the work of God's abundant mercy. Let us praise the Lord, acknowledging that every day of our new life in Christ is a gift of grace.

Prayer Prompt:
Thank the Lord for His mercy that has brought you new life in Christ. Ask Him to help you live each day with the awareness and gratitude that you have been born again by His grace. Praise God for taking out your heart of stone and giving you a heart of flesh.

Tuesday: A Living Hope

Scripture Reading: 1 Peter 1:3-4
Reflection:
"Begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you."

Our hope as Christians is not a mere wishful thinking, but a living, vibrant hope rooted in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Because Christ lives, we have a sure and certain hope that transcends all earthly circumstances. This living hope is tied to the promise of an inheritance that is beyond the reach of decay, defilement, or diminishment. Our inheritance is undying, undefiled, and unfading. Unlike earthly inheritances that can be lost, stolen, or depleted. Our inheritance in Christ is secure and eternal. This week, let us reflect on the permanence and purity of our hope. May God allow it to anchor our souls in the storms of life.

Prayer Prompt:
Ask the Lord to strengthen your faith in the living hope you have through Christ’s resurrection. Pray for a deepening of your understanding of the inheritance that awaits you in heaven.

Wednesday: The Power of God’s Protection

Scripture Reading: 1 Peter 1:4-5
Reflection:
"Who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time."

As we journey through life, facing trials and temptations, we can rest in the assurance that our salvation is not something we must guard by our own strength. It is God Himself who keeps us, shielding us by His power. This protection is active and continuous, securing our inheritance in heaven. The faith that God has given us is the means by which we grasp this protection. As we grow in faith, we become more aware of God's preserving grace, which carries us through every challenge. Let us give thanks today for God’s protection that ensures our perseverance to the end.

Prayer Prompt:
Praise God for His mighty power that keeps you secure in your salvation. Pray for an increase in faith that you may trust more fully in His protective care over your life.

Thursday: The Assurance of Salvation

Scripture Reading: 1 Peter 1:5
Reflection:
"For salvation ready to be revealed in the last time."

Salvation is both a present reality and a future hope. While we experience the joys of salvation now, the fullness of what God has in store for us will be revealed at the last time when Christ returns. This future revelation is the culmination of God’s redemptive work—a moment of ultimate vindication and glorification for all who are in Christ. We have been saved, justification. We are being saved, sanctification. And, we will be saved, glorification. As we live in the light of this promised future salvation, we are called to persevere in faith. We know that our salvation is secure. Christians can rest assured that the day of its full revelation when Christ returns will be one of great joy and victory. Let this assurance encourage us to live with confidence and hope. May we look forward to the return of our Lord.

Prayer Prompt:
Pray that God would give you a greater anticipation for the final revelation of your salvation. Ask the Lord to help you live each day in light of the hope of Christ’s return.

Friday: The Joy of Praise

Scripture Reading: 1 Peter 1:3-5
Reflection:
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ…"

The call to praise is the natural response to the great truths that Peter has laid before us. As we end the week, we are reminded that all good theology should lead to doxology—praise and worship of God. Reflecting on the new life we have received, the living hope that sustains us, the inheritance that awaits us, and the divine protection that guards us, we are compelled to praise the name of the Lord. This praise is not just for the good times, but also in the midst of trials, as it is rooted in the unchanging character and promises of God. Let us, therefore, lift our voices in praise, joining with all the saints in glorifying our great God.

Prayer Prompt:
Spend time in praise. Go ahead. Pull out your psalter and sing His praises! Get on your knees and thank God for who He is and what He has done in your life. Let your heart overflow with gratitude as you consider His abundant mercy and grace to you.

Reflective Article

This week’s article is a challenge to fathers to disciple their sons: https://gentlereformation.com/2024/07/31/empowered-by-his-presence/

Automated Transcript

Reading of the Scripture

You may be seated. Will you please open in your Bibles with me to 1 Peter 1, beginning at verse 3. We are going to read verses 3 through 5. That’s where the sermon will be coming from. If you’re using your Pew Bibles, you’ll find that on page 1075.

Blessing and Praise

Brothers and sisters, hear now God’s perfect and holy word:

“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, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that does not fade away, reserved for you in heaven, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time.”

As soon as this portion of the reading of God’s words, the grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of our God endures forever.

Prayer

Let’s pray. Father, we thank you for your word. And we plead with you now, Father, that your Holy Spirit would not just bless the reading of the word, but also that your Spirit would help us meditate upon it, apply it to our hearts, and live it in our lives. Give us joy, Lord. Give us your Spirit. In Jesus’s name we pray, Amen.

Introduction to the Sermon

I don’t have time for an introduction; I just have time to tell you there’s one thing that verses 3 through 12 of 1 Peter are getting at: we have a lot to praise God for.

If you actually look at verses 3 through 12, it is one sentence in Greek. If you’re using the King James, they split it up into a few paragraphs because it’s helpful for us so we don’t get lost. But it’s one sentence. We’re just going to pick it apart over the next few weeks to kind of get at what we have to thank God for. What do we have to bless Him for? What do we have to praise Him for?

The word that the New King James translators have, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,” that word “blessed” is where we get our word for “eulogy” from—eulogio, right? So “eulogy” is from that we say good words about God and to God; we essentially praise Him. And so this whole section is based on this implicit command that we are to praise God.

The Importance of Praise

As we go through 1 Peter, if we miss that fact—if we get a whole bunch of theology, if we get a whole bunch of knowledge about God, but it doesn’t lead us to praising Him—we’ve missed the entire point. All good theology leads toward doxology. All good knowledge about God leads to praising God Himself. And so this is what Peter commands us to do: to praise God.

Two-Point Sermon

This is really a two-point sermon. The first point is that you need to praise God for the new life He’s given you. And the second point is examining four different advantages or gifts that God has given you that are described in verses 3 through 5.

The New Life Given by God

First, please look with me at verse 3 about what God Himself has done. “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.”

What has God done? What is the verb that’s controlling all of this? He’s begotten us again. He has given us new life. This is exactly what Jesus was talking about when Nicodemus, the Pharisee, came to Him at night. He said, “What must I do to inherit the kingdom of heaven?” And Jesus tells him, “If you’re going to inherit the kingdom of heaven, you need to be born again.”

And this really messes with Nicodemus’s mind, doesn’t it? You remember that story where he says to Jesus, “Hold on, can a man enter into his mama’s womb a second time and be born?” And Jesus says, “You’re supposed to be a teacher of the Jews and you don’t understand these things? No, the wind blows where it wishes.” The point is that it is God who gives this new life. It is God who does what Ezekiel promised, taking out that heart of stone and giving a heart of flesh.

Praise for New Life

Praise be to God if He has given you new life. If you have been born again, the command from Peter is that you have everything in the world, every reason under creation, to thank God, to praise Him. This is the whole point of what we got into last week with verses 1 and 2. We don’t want to get bogged down in just the intricacies of foreknowledge and election if it doesn’t lead us to recognizing that we are those who have grace and peace and can worship Him because He’s made us alive.

We who were dead in our transgressions and sins, He has made us alive in Christ Jesus. And notice both who did the action and why He did the action. Look at verse 3 again. It is God. It is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who did this action of making us born again, but also notice why He did it: according to His abundant mercy.

None of us are born again, none of us are remade, none of us are given life because we’re good enough, but it’s because God is merciful enough. And God isn’t cheap with His mercy, but He is abundant in His mercy. He is rich in His mercy here. He saved you because He wanted to save you. He didn’t wait for you to get your act together, to do enough good things, to finally reach up to heaven by climbing one rung of the ladder after another of good works. No, He looked down upon you in your sin and transgressions, and while you were yet still a sinner, Christ died for you.

Do you see the mercy that God has given you in Christ Jesus? This is how God made you alive again. We deserved coal in our stockings, but instead, He gave us the greatest present alive. He gave us a Son. He gave us new life. We deserved punishment, but He gave us grace. He gave us mercy. I don’t know about you, but that leads me to a posture and a desire to praise Him, to say, “Lord, I’m not good enough for that.” And the point is, no, you’re not, but He’s good enough to be praised for it.

Self-Examination: Are You Born Again?

The wages of sin is death, but according to His mercy, He gave us life in His Son. That’s the part where I have to stop though, right? I don’t have regeneration goggles. I can’t put on special glasses where I’m able to look into your souls and see that, “Oh, okay, you’re definitely saved. Oh, you’re not saved.” All I can do is kind of see the outward things and see what you say. But I don’t know if you’re born again or not. Only you know that. Only you know whether or not you’re truly one of God’s children.

So I need to ask you today, are you one who truly loves the Lord? Are you one who is still so in love with this world that the things of this world crowd out any praise for God? Are the concerns and cares of this world choking out your joy? When you think of persecution and trials that could come upon you, would you abandon Jesus? Maybe for some of you, that’s like, “Oh, that big thing out there, maybe that’s not me, right? Because I don’t think I’ll ever face that type of persecution here in the US.” And that might be true.

But I have to ask, does it show in your everyday life? If I was to ask you, and you were to answer honestly, if I said, “What’s your prayer life look like? What does it look like for you to read your scriptures? Are you following the Lord?” Does it look like if somebody took a scan of your day—how you use your time, how you use your money, what you pay your attention to—does it look like you actually have a heart that wants to glorify God? Or does it look like everyone else’s life in the world?

Are you born again? What is your joy? What is your hope? What is most valuable to you? And if you are one of those that God has, in His great mercy, taken out that heart of stone and given you a heart of flesh, if He has breathed new life into you, oh, Peter’s going to go on here with all sorts of advantages you have, all sorts of gifts God’s given you in Christ Jesus.

A Living Hope

Look with me at verse 3: “He has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” You have something to praise God about because He has given you a living hope.

Now, hope here isn’t being used in the sense that I often use it. I’m regularly hoping that we have ice cream after dinner, and I can be disappointed. But this isn’t that type of hope. This is looking forward to an assurance of something you know is true. Because if Olivia or her mother says, “Oh, no, we’re going to have dessert after dinner,” they don’t make that type of promise unless there’s ice cream in the freezer or there’s gas in the tank, because they know that’s going to get my hopes up.

In the same way, God is giving us a hope that’s dependent on who He is and what He’s done and what He knows He will do. God has given us a hope that is living because Jesus is living. Did you notice how Peter puts those together? How the Holy Spirit inspired him to connect our living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ? If you don’t believe that Jesus Christ physically, literally rose from the dead, Paul in another letter says, you’re without hope. You’re most of all to be pitied. Right, because if Jesus didn’t actually rise from the dead, our hope is meaningless. It means God is powerless. It means that we’re still dead in our trespasses and sins. Not a single one of us has been declared righteous and justified before God.

But if Jesus truly did die on that cross, and if He was buried, and if indeed it’s true that He rose again from the dead on that third day and He appeared to over 500 people, and people were able to touch Him and feel Him, see Him eat breakfast by the lake, then your hope is real. Because see, we hope not in a fairy tale or in a fanciful idea of something that we think maybe did or didn’t happen. No, we believe that the grave is empty, that Jesus rose from that tomb, and that our Lord and Savior didn’t just rise from the dead, but He also ascended up into heaven, and our Redeemer lives. And with Job, we say, “I know in my flesh I shall see God. I shall see my Redeemer.”

Right, because we have that assurance, we have that hope that Jesus is alive. It’s a living hope. We can hang our hat on it. Because we have faith. And our faith is fed by our hope, and our hope is fed by our faith, and as we continue to read the Bible, and it gives us more hope, it gives us more faith, and as we have more faith, it gives us more hope, and it builds you up into the stronghold that God intends for you to be. A faith and hope.

Testimony of Ignatius of Antioch

And you know what it’s like when this is true, don’t you? When you’re reading the scriptures, or you’re meditating on what God has said, or you’re listening to a sermon, or you’re singing a psalm, and you know it’s so true that you almost get a glimmer of heaven. It’s like you could taste God, and you could see that He’s good, and that His words are more true than anything else that you’ve ever had in your entire life. By the way, that’s what it means to be reborn—that the things of God become more real to you than even the things you hold in your hands.

There is an early pastor in the church further away from where this letter is being written, but still in Turkey, though on the very edge of it. His name was Ignatius. He was actually installed as the pastor of this church in Antioch by the Apostle Peter himself. I want to read to you a little bit about what he said about the resurrection of Jesus. This is what Ignatius of Antioch wrote:

“For I know and believe that Jesus was in the flesh even after the resurrection. And when He came to Peter and his company, He said to them, ‘Lay hold and handle me and see that I am not a demon without a body.’ And straight away they touched Him, and they believed, being joined unto His flesh and His blood. Wherefore also they despised death, nay, they were found superior to death. And after His resurrection, He both ate with them and drank with them as in the flesh, though spiritually He was united with the Father.”

Ignatius Facing Death

From the very early beginnings of the church, this is one of the very first, what we call the church fathers, right after the apostles, the very first writers of the early church. He says, “I know that Peter, the guy who put me as a pastor of this church, actually felt Jesus, ate with Jesus, and that the resurrection was true.”

But as Ignatius got older and the Roman government started to turn against the Christians, he was sent by Emperor Trajan to go to Rome to be devoured, literally eaten to death by lions. And I want you to hear what Ignatius wrote, the same early pastor who Peter put in place there. I want you to hear what he wrote to the people as he was getting ready to go to the Colosseum to be eaten by lions. This early Christian wrote:

“Bear with me. I know what is expedient for me. Now I am beginning to be a disciple. Many things that are visible or things invisible envy me, that I may attain unto Jesus Christ. Come fire and cross and grapplings with wild beasts, cuttings and manglings, retching of bones, hacking of limbs, crushing of my whole body. Come cruel tortures of the devil to assail me.”

And notice what he says here is his hope: “Only be it mine to attain unto Christ Jesus.”

Ignatius literally had a death notice above his head. He was on his way to Rome. He was in Ephesus writing this letter, knowing before that letter even got there, he was most likely going to be torn apart. As he says elsewhere in this letter, his tomb would be in the belly of the lions. But he knew that even if he went there and he died, he would attain unto Christ. Because if Christ lived, then he would also live.

Brothers and sisters, your Lord Jesus Christ lives. And you can praise God, because if you believe that Jesus Christ is alive, then you have a living hope. Because you know that you also will live.

Our Inheritance in Christ

The second advantage God gives us is that we get to praise God for our inheritance. We get to praise God for our inheritance. Look with me at verse 4 and the very beginning of verse 5:

“To an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith.”

You have an inheritance. The English translation kind of loses the poetic nature of this because it’s not easily translated into English. So I’m going to give you some bad English to kind of show how this is described as inheritance. But if I was to translate this, it would go more like “unperishing, undefiled, and unfading.” There’s an alliteration in the Greek. It all starts with the letter A, and each word is... it just loses translation, because you can’t say “unperishable” because that’s not good English, but I’m going to say it, right? Your inheritance is “unperishable.” It ain’t going to die.

Every inheritance on this earth that your parents might hand down to you—by the way, kids, inheritance means your mom and dad got some stuff, and someday your mom and dad are going to hand down all their stuff to you. They’re going to have an estate, and hopefully, you won’t fight over their stuff, but their stuff is going to go to you.

And here it’s saying that God gives us an inheritance. But unlike what your parents might hand down to you, you’re not going to have to rebuild the house that’s had neglected maintenance. You’re not going to inherit a car that’s going to just break down in five years. You’re not just going to have money that’s going to slip through your fingers. You’re not going to get an inheritance that you’re okay with for a little while, but then the glory just starts to fade away, and you become used to it. No, we as Christians have an unfading, uncorruptible, imperishable inheritance.

Adoption as God’s Children

Implicit in that idea that we have an inheritance is that God has adopted us as His children. You don’t give an inheritance to a stranger. God has adopted us as His children, and He loves to give us good gifts.

The Gifts of Our Inheritance

What are some of these pieces of the inheritance that He gives us? Well, first and foremost, He gives us our Lord Jesus Christ. And in Jesus Christ, He gives us a new kingdom. He gives us a new heaven and a new earth. He gives us eternal life. He gives us access to His throne of grace. He gives us His Spirit that cries out, “Abba, Father.” He gives us His protection. He gives us His pity. He gives us... ooh, this is an uncomfortable one. Sometimes we don’t like it, but it sure is good for us. As a father, part of His inheritance is He also gives us His fatherly correction. He gives us eternal life.

The Security of Our Inheritance

And notice what it says about this eternal inheritance. Look with me again at verse 4. It’s not just described as incorruptible, undefiled, and unfading, but it is reserved for you in heaven.

I don’t know about you, but if I go to the bank, I feel pretty secure that the money’s going to be safe. At least it’s insured that it should be safe, right? But if I really want to make sure something’s safe, I’m not going to keep it in my little safe at home. I’m going to take it to the bank, and I’m going to get a security deposit box or safety deposit box. And I’m going to have a key to it, and you’ve got to have a second key. And we’re going to make sure that this thing is locked up. And at night, someone shuts the vault door and seals it shut.

Your inheritance is kept safe, not in any bank. Notice where it says, in heaven. No army can storm the doors and steal your inheritance away from you. Your inheritance is secured, reserved for you in heaven.

God’s Protection of Us

But notice there is something else to praise God about. Not just that you have the inheritance, but notice who’s protecting your reserved inheritance. Again, verse 5: “We have an inheritance that does not fade away, reserved for you in heaven, who are kept by the power of God through faith.”

God is the one who is guarding both you and your inheritance. This is military language that’s used here in verse 5. “Who are kept,” that word is... if you’re familiar with military terminology, it would be “who is... there’s a guard set outside or there’s a sentry there making sure that your inheritance and you yourself are safe.” All the power of God is bound and determined to protect you, Christian. All the power of God is there to protect you.

Faith as a Means of Protection

So how do we see and seize upon this guarding of God? How do we know that’s real? How do we get our hands around it? Notice, “You who are kept by the power of God through faith.”

The God who made you alive again gave you faith. It was a gift from the gracious God of the universe. And by exercising that faith that He has given you in the Spirit, you trust more and more that He is good, that His promises are true, that His inheritance is reserved for you.

The Strength of Living Faith

See, this living faith has been given to you through making you born again, and it becomes the tool by which you are able to, as if with your very eyes of faith, see that you are being protected by God Himself. God has called you who were born again to exercise your living faith. Because as you continue to praise God, as you continue to hope in Him and in His promises, as you continue to look unto Him, and as you continue to conform your life to who He is and who He’s called you to be, your inheritance becomes that much more real to you.

God didn’t call you to a life of constantly worrying, “Oh no, I don’t know whether I’m a Christian or not. Maybe God loves me today, but maybe He’s not watching over me tomorrow.” One of my favorite illustrations of this is that God’s not walking around like a little girl with puppy dog love with a daisy—“He loves me, He loves me not. He loves me, He loves me not.” No, He loves you. He’s guarding you. He’s protecting you. He knows you.

The Doctrine of the Perseverance of the Saints

This is where we get our doctrine for the perseverance of the saints. It’s not because we’re good enough to keep ourselves alive, but He’s the one who keeps us safe. He’s the one who guards us even to the very end.

I know some of you are just older and you’ve seen too many people walk away from the Lord. And you’re like, “Ah, I don’t know. I don’t know really if I believe in this whole perseverance of the saints, that, you know, if God has saved me, then I’m guaranteed to be saved. It seems like apostasy is real and people really do walk away who are real Christians.”

I’m going to try to encourage you to think more biblically about that. What does the apostle John say about those who once profess faith and then walk away? 1 John 2:18-19: “Little children. It is the last hour. And as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many Antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us. For if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.”

Those who are born again are those who persevere to the end. They’re the good seed that produces a crop five, fifty, a hundredfold. Not the seed that seems to sprout up quickly, but then when persecutions and trial comes, withers and dies away.

Perseverance Under Persecution

There’s actually a litmus test for this in the early Roman era. When especially the churches in this area started to undergo horrible persecution, the Roman governor of that area, his name was Pliny the Younger, he had a litmus test. He had a test to see whether somebody was actually a genuine Christian or not. I’m not saying that the elders should start doing this to think that we could figure this out. But let me just read to you what Pliny the Younger wrote to Emperor Trajan when he said that he was trying to figure out whether people were really Christians or not.

Pliny wrote:

“All who denied that they were or had been Christians, I considered should be discharged, meaning he wasn’t going to kill them anymore, because they called upon the gods at my dictation and did reverence with incense and wine to your image, which I had ordered to be brought forward for this purpose, together with statues of the deities, and especially because they cursed Christ, a thing which, it is said, genuine Christians could never do.”

The Test of Genuine Christianity

What was the test that he did? He said, “Okay, you guys don’t want to be killed, right? Because that’s what’s going to happen if you’re an atheist and I’m going to charge you with being a Christian against the empire. How am I going to prove if you just say, ‘Oh, I’m not really a Christian?’ We’ll prove it by your works. Bring in the statues. Bring in the bust of the emperor himself. Bring in the deities and tell you, you have to pray to them, do the incense, bow down to them, and then we’ll see if you’re really a Christian. But just to make sure, we’ll make them actually curse Jesus.” And as 1 Corinthians 12 says, as no one who has said Jesus is Lord could then forsake Him, Emperor Pliny the Younger clung onto that, and he said, “Okay, I got a test. See if they’ll die, or if they’ll worship.”

What we call the perseverance of the saints is that those who are genuine Christians, those who are born again, as 1 Peter 1:3 says, will be protected by God and will persevere to the end. There are many people who aren’t genuine Christians. They may say it for a while, but they don’t have deep roots in the fertile soil of Jesus Christ. There’s a whole bunch of reasons why people will have false conversions.

So this is why I’m begging you to check your heart and ask yourself, are you truly born again?

Ignatius’s Prayer Before Death

Again, when Ignatius was taken to be devoured by the lions, this early church father, he wrote to the Christians in his church, and he wrote this:

“Only pray that I may have power within and without, so that I may not only say it, but also declare it. That I may not only be called a Christian, but also be found one. For if I shall be found so, then can I also be called one and be faithful then, when I am no more visible to the world.”

Ignatius is saying, “Pray for me. Because when the lions come and they want to devour me, he knows that the only way out of this is to forsake Jesus.” He says, “Pray for me that I’ll persevere to the end, and that everyone in that Colosseum who’s come for entertainment will see that I praise God, even to the death, and I’m truly a disciple of Jesus.”

The World’s Temptations

Brothers and sisters, this world wants nothing more than for you to forsake Jesus, to lure you away by any means possible. To put all sorts of different philosophies in front of you to make you abandon your Lord and Savior. There are kind of subversive ways in which they’ll do this through the normalization of all sorts of immoral and idolatrous things in your life, but there are also outright ways in which they will try to do it, like Pliny the Younger tried here.

Persevere and Pray for Each Other

If they can’t do it by trying to change your mind, they’ll do it by putting you at the edge of the sword. Will you persevere? Pray for one another. I hope that as you pick up your calendar that has all the different names on it, you’ll pray that the Christians that you have covenanted with in this congregation would persevere in the Lord. And praise God that He gave them new life. God protects us. It’s God who provides for us. It’s God who’s watching over us. But we need to pray for one another, that God would give us strength to do these things. God uses these means; He uses one another for encouragement in this.

Praise for Salvation

And praise God for your salvation lastly. Verse 5, the very last part:

“Who are kept by the power of God, through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

What’s that talking about? Someday Jesus is going to come again to judge the living and the dead. Someday the King of Glory is going to return, and the day of the Lord is going to be at hand. And it’s going to be a scary day for a lot of people. There are no more second chances. Now’s the judgment. When Jesus Christ returns again, He is coming not as the Lamb who was slain, but as the one whose robe will be dipped in blood and out of His mouth will come a two-edged sword. That is a scary day for most people, but not for you.

The Last Great Day

If you are one who has been born again, if you are one who is in Jesus Christ, if you are one who has faith in His Son, the last great day for you is not a day of terror, but a day of sanctification. A day when even though, yes, even we will go through that refining fire, those things that we thought were uber valuable, they’re just going to get burned away like chaff. And all that will be left is the gold and the silver. But we know that He’s not going to reject us. We know at the last time when Jesus comes again to judge the living and the dead—this is why we say this in our membership vows—we get to give our account with joy at the last great day because we get to tell even King Jesus that we have loved Him and served Him and that we know our inheritance is in heaven.

And so even on that last great day, when the world, the universe will be terrified because the King of Kings has come back to judge, we get to join the host of heavenly angels, worshiping and praising God, even in that last day, because He is coming as the judge of all the earth.

Praise in Trials

We get to praise Him. In the depths of your trials, you get to praise Him. When you might have your 401k that goes to pot, and your life just seems to be going down the toilet bowl, you know that this world isn’t all that you see, but your inheritance is kept safe for you in heaven.

When you are having the worst days of your life, and your spirit is crushed, and you just think, “Lord, have you forsaken me?” You can know that God is protecting you. He is standing guard over you. He is watching you, and you can praise Him.

When you think about all that He has done and prepared and preserved for you, it ought to well up in our hearts. Hallelujah. Praise the Lord, for His goodness is good. The Lord is worthy of praise.

Conclusion and Final Prayer

So, brothers and sisters, as you think about what He’s done for you in His mercy, making you alive, making you reborn, praise Him for the inheritance He’s given you. Praise Him for the new life He’s given you. Praise Him for protecting you, and praise Him that even on the last great day, you know that your standing is firm.

Let’s pray.

Father, you’ve given us great news today, that even in the face of death, we do not need to fear. For Lord, what could separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus? Lord, we know that mountain cannot separate us, valley cannot separate us, oceans cannot separate us, not even death itself can separate us from the love of God which you have shown us in our risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And so, Father, we pray that you would well up in our hearts hope and praise, for you are good. In Jesus’s name. Amen.