Hope and Perseverance

We Are Saved by God’s Grace.

This is a simple fact that’s made clear throughout the New Testament.

Ephesians 2:8-9.

Ephesians 2:8–9 CSB

8 For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—9 not from works, so that no one can boast.

We are saved by God’s grace, and not by any works that we have done. Titus 2:11.

Titus 2:11 CSB

11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people,

This makes sense. In order to save ourselves, it would require perfect law keeping, but none of us have done that. We are saved because God – in his grace – has forgiven us of our sins. Romans 3:20-24.

Romans 3:20–24 CSB

20 For no one will be justified in his sight by the works of the law, because the knowledge of sin comes through the law. 21 But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, attested by the Law and the Prophets. 22 The righteousness of God is through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe, since there is no distinction. 23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; 24 they are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

Jesus offers us a living hope.

This means that we have an amazing hope and peace in Jesus. Romans 5:1-2; 1 Peter 1:3-5.

Romans 5:1–2 CSB

1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 We have also obtained access through him by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we boast in the hope of the glory of God.

1 Peter 1:3–5 CSB

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

There are many people who don’t have hope and peace, but Christians do.

We have hope because of Satan’s defeat.

We are told that Satan is the accuser. That’s what his name means. You can think of him like a prosecuting attorney who’s standing before the judge and accusing you of crimes. Job 1:8-11.

Job 1:8–11 CSB

8 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? No one else on earth is like him, a man of perfect integrity, who fears God and turns away from evil.” 9 Satan answered the Lord, “Does Job fear God for nothing? 10 Haven’t you placed a hedge around him, his household, and everything he owns? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11 But stretch out your hand and strike everything he owns, and he will surely curse you to your face.”

Because of what Jesus has done on the cross, Satan is no longer before the throne of God accusing you. Revelation 12:7-11.

Revelation 12:7–11 CSB

7 Then war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels also fought, 8 but he could not prevail, and there was no place for them in heaven any longer. 9 So the great dragon was thrown out—the ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the one who deceives the whole world. He was thrown to earth, and his angels with him. 10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say, The salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have now come, because the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been thrown down. 11 They conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; for they did not love their lives to the point of death.

Satan was in Heaven accusing the saints, but no longer. Before Satan could recall all of our sins before the judge. Now we can have peace because of forgiveness.

So, we can have hope because the accuser has been thrown out of the courtroom, and our sins have been forgiven.

Do we have this hope?

I worry that Christians today don’t have the same type of hope that the Christians in the past had.

For them, hope was a certainty. For us, hope is uncertainty, and this is how some people view their salvation. They are uncertain of it.

This is not what scripture says. John 10:27-28; 1 John 5:13.

John 10:27–28 CSB

27 My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand.

1 John 5:13 CSB

13 I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.

Our salvation brings us hope in the sense that it brings us certainty. Christians should have a peace that others do not have.

God’s Grace Requires Our Perseverance.

Persevering in Allegiance.

The question that we need to ask is, can I walk away from God’s grace? The answer to that is yes.

Colossians 1:22-23.

Colossians 1:22–23 CSB

22 But now he has reconciled you by his physical body through his death, to present you holy, faultless, and blameless before him—23 if indeed you remain grounded and steadfast in the faith and are not shifted away from the hope of the gospel that you heard. This gospel has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and I, Paul, have become a servant of it.

This verse acknowledges that we are saved by God’s grace. But there’s an important word in this context: if.

So, we can reject God’s grace if we don’t continue in the faith.

This is something that is seen throughout scriptures… Some of these scriptures we have already read.

Titus 2:11-13.

Titus 2:11–13 CSB

11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 instructing us to deny godlessness and worldly lusts and to live in a sensible, righteous, and godly way in the present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

We are saved by grace, but that grace produces good works. If we don’t continue living faithful lives, we aren’t walking according to god’s grace.

Romans 5:1-5.

Romans 5:1–5 CSB

1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 We have also obtained access through him by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also boast in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, 4 endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope. 5 This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

We do have hope and peace in God, but that hope is also the result of endurance and proven character.

Revelation 19:7-8.

Revelation 19:7–8 CSB

7 Let us be glad, rejoice, and give him glory, because the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his bride has prepared herself. 8 She was given fine linen to wear, bright and pure. For the fine linen represents the righteous acts of the saints.

We as the bride are given fine linen to wear that makes us bright and pure. This shows us that we are saved by grace… But that fine linen are the righteous acts of the saints.

So, we can’t be saved by grace and persist in the ways of the world. I can’t say that I’m a Christian and yet return to wallowing in the mud.

This world is very alluring. Satan wants us to leave God and walk in the ways of the world, but we need to persevere.

So, we are saved by grace, but we can reject God’s grace by not responding in allegiance and faith. The way that we live is an important part of the Christian life.

Persevering in Humility.

Another way that we can walk away from God’s grace is by going to the opposite extreme of grace and thinking that our works save us. We can at times, think that we justify ourselves.

This is what the Galatians were struggling with.

There are people who were trying to teach that the resurrection of Jesus was not enough to save you. You need to save yourself by doing something. You need to justify yourself by doing something.

Galatians 5:4.

Galatians 5:4 CSB

4 You who are trying to be justified by the law are alienated from Christ; you have fallen from grace.

We talk about falling from grace, and usually we think about it in terms of someone who is rebellious and walking away from God. That’s not what we see here.

These people were super religious, and they believed that they could justify themselves with their religiosity.

These people have fallen from grace, because they don’t think they need it. They can justify themselves.

This is also what the Pharisees were struggling with. They believed they were righteous because of their good works. They never accepted the grace of Christ because they were righteous.

I think many Americans and Christians fall into this camp. They think they are going to be saved because they are pretty good.

We need to recognize that we are wholly dependent on Christ. We must persevere in humility. 1 Peter 1:13.

1 Peter 1:13 CSB

13 Therefore, with your minds ready for action, be sober-minded and set your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Persevering in Maturity.

Another way that we walk away from God’s grace is by never maturing. Hebrews 5:11-6:3.

Hebrews 5:11–6:3 CSB

11 We have a great deal to say about this, and it is difficult to explain, since you have become too lazy to understand. 12 Although by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the basic principles of God’s revelation again. You need milk, not solid food. 13 Now everyone who lives on milk is inexperienced with the message about righteousness, because he is an infant. 14 But solid food is for the mature—for those whose senses have been trained to distinguish between good and evil. 1 Therefore, let us leave the elementary teaching about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works, faith in God, 2 teaching about ritual washings, laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And we will do this if God permits.

What’s the problem here? The problem is that these people are not maturing.

They are not growing in Christ. They are not interested in learning more about their God and savior. Maybe they think they know enough – or they’ve done enough.

The checklist mentality is a problem for modern American Christians. They think they know enough and have done enough, so they stop growing.

Here’s the problem with that mentality. Hebrews 6:4-6.

Hebrews 6:4–6 CSB

4 For it is impossible to renew to repentance those who were once enlightened, who tasted the heavenly gift, who shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who tasted God’s good word and the powers of the coming age, 6 and who have fallen away. This is because, to their own harm, they are recrucifying the Son of God and holding him up to contempt.

It ultimately leads to spiritual death.

If we aren’t serious about growing in Christ Jesus, then we will leave him. We will leave the only one who can save us.

The point of this text is that if we aren’t interested in God, then there is no way that we can be saved. Only Jesus can save us, but if I’m not interested in maturing in Him, then I can’t be saved.