How Great A Salvation! (2)

We, as Christians, can sometimes feel as if we have been left out in the cold. The biblical saints often asked why it seemed as if the wicked flourish while the righteous suffer.

After the Israelites were defeated at Ai, Joshua asked:

Joshua 7:7 CSB

“Oh, Lord God,” Joshua said, “why did you ever bring these people across the Jordan to hand us over to the Amorites for our destruction? If only we had been content to remain on the other side of the Jordan!

Job questioned:

Job 6:11–13 CSB

What strength do I have, that I should continue to hope? What is my future, that I should be patient? Is my strength that of stone, or my flesh made of bronze? Since I cannot help myself, the hope for success has been banished from me.

Jeremiah wept:

Jeremiah 12:1 CSB

You will be righteous, Lord, even if I bring a case against you. Yet, I wish to contend with you: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the treacherous live at ease?

And David sang:

Psalm 13:1–2 CSB

How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long will I store up anxious concerns within me, agony in my mind every day? How long will my enemy dominate me?

These are similar to some of the unspoken questions in 1 Peter. The people of God are scattered. They are persecuted. They are cut-off from society.

But God gives us 1 Peter and other books of the Bible to help us to have thankful hearts in spite of the current challenges. He doesn’t really answer our philosophical questions. Instead, He gives us hope. He gives us himself.

In other words, God doesn’t answer our questions about suffering with an academic exercise. Instead, He comes alongside of us to be with us in our suffering. He doesn’t give us immediate relief. He gives us future hope.

God not only gives us himself. And gives us hope. But He gives us one another.

One person wrote:

All of us face times of physical illness, disease, and pain. In such times we do not normally need philosophical axioms—as important as they can be to legitimate philosophical investigation. We need words and ears that understand suffering, that can handle honesty, vulnerability, and questions, and that know how to bring the wounded to sustaining faith, hope, and love. —Kelly Kapic, Embodied Hope, 23.

Today, from 1 Peter 1:10-12, we are going to see that God’s means of helping us to be thankful even during difficult times is that He gives us a salvation that far outweighs our present suffering.

Our greatest reason to be thankful is that He has saved us!

Now, looking toward the future doesn’t always help us when we are in the immediate suffering, right?

If someone has just had their arm torn off you’re not going to look at them and say, “It’s ok. It won’t hurt forever. You’ll get over it.”

No. That doesn’t do much good.

So God not only points us to the future. But He also reminds us that He has been faithful in the past.

Let’s read the text:

1 Peter 1:10–12 CSB

Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who prophesied about the grace that would come to you, searched and carefully investigated. They inquired into what time or what circumstances the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating when he testified in advance to the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you. These things have now been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—angels long to catch a glimpse of these things.

In order to strengthen us through our present suffering, God focuses our minds upon the great salvation He has provided in Christ.

This great salvation cannot be separated from the Christian virtues of faith, hope, and love.

Though this text does not necessarily place the words explicitly within this text, we can see that they are there implicitly. A close reading of the text will show us these three virtues are clearly present.

Hope: The Gospel of Salvation is a Prophetic Message (10)

As NT believers, we can sometimes think that we are underprivileged.

Abraham apparently heard the audible voice of God. Moses saw the back of God. David had a heart for God. Isaiah and Jeremiah and Ezekiel had a vision of God.

But Peter leaves no room for debate. The gift of salvation that we have been given is greater than anything the OT saints experienced.

The OT prophets serve a two-fold purpose in God’s plan. 1) they confronted the people with their sin and 2) they extended God’s willingness to forgive if they would repent.

Looking forward, the messages of the OT prophets were messages of grace. Their preaching is a message of grace because God warning of judgment is, itself, an act of grace.

A parent may tell their child, “I am going to count to three. If you haven’t quit, you’re going to get in trouble.”

The warning of what is to come is an act of grace. God warning people that judgment is coming is an act of grace.

But God’s invitation to salvation is also grace. God tells us that there is a way for us to escape what is coming upon us.

That message of salvation stretches all the way back to the OT.

Now, the OT prophets could not understand what they were preaching. This message of grace was over their heads. The Bible says that they searched (ἐξεζήτησαν) and they carefully investigated (ἐξηραύνησαν).

What the prophets searched for; what they inquired about; has been made known to us. We are not seeking to understand this salvation. God has told us!

We are seeking to live out this salvation.

The question, then, is “What is the message of salvation?”

Well… its a Christ-centered message.

Faith: The Gospel is a Christ-centered Message (11)

1 Peter 1:11 CSB

They inquired into what time or what circumstances the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating when he testified in advance to the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.

There were two questions asked by the OT prophets: 1) When will this happen and 2) what will be the circumstances or the signs of this happening?”

Humanity is consumed with timing and circumstances. Look at all of the people who try to figure out the end times. Russia. Syria. China. America. People spend all kinds of time trying to figure out what God said we can’t know.

Prognosticators, so-called prophets, and promoters try to get you to buy books, donate to ministries, and sow seeds of faith into the snake-oil that they’re selling.

The earliest disciples—like the Prophets—could not fully understand the message of Salvation.

You remember the two disciples on the road to Emmaus immediately after Jesus’s crucifixion.

They were walking with the resurrected Christ, and yet they did not know it.

They knew the promises of the OT prophets, but they could not understand them.

We meet them in Luke 24 as they are walking down the road. Heads drooping. Feet shuffling. Faces downcast.

Jesus—who they didn’t yet recognize—asks them “What’s wrong?”

They said basically, “Well, we at pinned our hopes on this Jesus person. He said that he was going to bring us the salvation that we have been waiting for. But then our own leaders had him turned over to the Romans and they crucified Him.

Then there were some of the women who went on to the tomb and his body was gone. Now we can’t find him anywhere.”

Jesus basically said, “You don’t need to find Him. He has found you.”

And then he walked them through the OT Scriptures and explained to them why the Savior had to suffer in order to bring salvation.

After Jesus departed they said:

Luke 24:32 CSB

They said to each other, “Weren’t our hearts burning within us while he was talking with us on the road and explaining the Scriptures to us?”

You see, the promises of OT Scripture—and the promises of NT Scripture—only make sense if Jesus Christ stands in the middle of them.

The Gospel of Salvation has Jesus Christ at its very center.

People look for salvation in:

Self-esteem

Self-worth

Self-effort

Self-exertion

But all of these put ourselves at the center. They are based on self-centeredness.

The Gospel is not about self-centeredness. It’s not even about other-centeredness.

It is about Christ-centeredness.

But while the Gospel is Christ-centered, it is inherently a serving and sharing message.

Now, notice the connection of the “Persons” of God in this text. We see a clear connection of the Trinity. Father, Son, and Spirit. We also a clear connection that Jesus is God. The Spirit belongs both to God and to Jesus.

Let me say this lovingly, carefully, and clearly: If you knowingly and consciously deny the Trinity or deny the full humanity and divinity of Jesus Christ, then you are not saved. You are confessing a god who is not presented in the Bible.

If you have someone who is teaching that, then they are a heretic. It is not a misunderstanding. It is not a different opinion. It is heresy.

I don’t say that to be bold or abrasive. Obnoxious or rude. I say it because it makes the difference between heaven and hell. It is loving to speak the truth. Even if the truth is inconvenient.

Love: The Gospel is a Serving and Sharing Message (12)

1 Peter 1:12 CSB

It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you. These things have now been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—angels long to catch a glimpse of these things.

It was revealed “to them” and “for you.” The very nature of the Gospel is that it is received so that it might be given.

It is not an heirloom to protect. It is a gift to share.

The prophets preached the message given to them by God—not for themselves—but for others.

There is a particular type of selfishness that can begin to pervade our understanding of salvation if we’re not careful. This selfishness shows itself in a few ways:

On the other hand, there is something inherently self-giving about a believer who is walking in the Spirit of Christ.

Christians should have a spirit within them that compels them to serve others.

Christians should have a spirit within them that compels them to share with others.

Christians should have a Spirit within them that compels them to pray for others.

Peter concludes that this salvation doesn’t even make sense to the angels. Why doesn’t it make sense to the angels? Because angels aren’t saved.

They weren’t created in the image of God. They aren’t called the children of God.

Jesus came has a human in order to save humans. He didn’t come as an angel.

Conclusion:

This message is not only the message of Thanksgiving, but it is the message of Christmas. As Zechariah prophesied at the birth of Jesus Christ:

Luke 1:68–71 CSB

Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has visited and provided redemption for his people. He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, just as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets in ancient times; salvation from our enemies and from the hand of those who hate us.

The Gospel of Salvation is a message of

Hope: The message gives us hope

Faith: The message require faith

Love: The message provokes love