THE MEANING AND METHOD OF GOD'S SALVATION

1 Pet. 1:1-12

Morning Meditation 7/13/17

"Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into."

I want you to notice the important words, phrases and expressions that appear in the opening verses of 1 Peter, chapter 1: Notice the words, elect, grace, peace (vs2); mercy (vs 3); inheritance, heaven (vs 4); faith (vs 5); and gospel (vs 12); and also the phrases: sanctification of the Spirit, the blood of Jesus (vs 2); and begotten again (vs 3). All of these might well be called identifying words of the gospel, for they are words and phrases unique to the Christian revelation. There is one word, however, that Peter uses repeatedly; it is the word salvation--look at verses 5, 9, 10, and notice the theme of verses 9-12. In this portion of Scripture we have an outline of the meaning and method of God's great salvation.

GOD'S SALVATION IS HIS REVEALED METHOD OF SAVING MEN

We learn this in verse 12, "Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into."

The word "revealed" translates the word "apokalupto" and means, "to uncover, lay open what has been veiled or covered up, to disclose, to make bare."

This reveals the difference between religion and revelation. Religion is man's efforts in reaching up to God by his own good works based on a human philosophy of how one is to be saved. The Apostle Paul was led by the Lord to deal with that in 1 Corinthians 1:19-23, "For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;"

The last clause pretty well describes those who operate according to the world's philosophy: "unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;"

Christianity on the other hand is not man reaching up to God his way, it is God reaching down to man His way. Revelation comes from above. It is conceived by God, and revealed to man. Every system of religion in the world except Christianity is man's way of being right with God. And when you examine each of the religions, it all boils down to "good works." It is a "you must do this to receive that" concept. Christianity is man receiving by faith the gift of God which is Jesus Christ and Him crucified, buried, risen from the dead, and coming again.. Christianity is what God has and is doing for man to make him right with Himself. It is the very opposite of the religion of man.

Christianity is the only way of true salvation. Verses that make this plain are: John 14:6, "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." Acts 4:12, "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." 1 Timothy 2:5, "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;"

This is the reason missionaries have a real problem in countries where there is a state religion. They pass laws against proselyting which means that you are not free to preach the gospel to anyone who is a citizen of that country. Some of the countries may allow the citizen to come to the missionary and ask for information. But how many are going to do that? Israel has that law. Missionary service in Israel is against Israeli law. You have to get into the country some other way. Why do we preach the gospel in these lands that have a state religion? Because of the above verses. If these verses are true, and they are, the people in those religions are headed for the judgment without true salvation. Jesus told the Jews who believed in the true God, but had not believed the true gospel, in Luke 13:2-3, "And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." They had never repented. Anyone who is a member of a religion and has not repented is as lost as those Jews were.

GOD'S SALVATION IS OF THE SOUL

Verse 9 says: "Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls." Our bodies will get old and die. Some die without getting old. But our souls are eternal. The rich man died and went to hell. He had eyes there. He had a mind there. He had feelings there. He said, "I am tormented in this flame." He saw what he missed. He saw "father Abraham and Lazarus in his bosom." (see Luke 16:19-21). If you had dug up his body you would have found it. But you would not have found his soul. It was in hell according to Jesus. Lazarus was in Paradise with Abraham.

Actually salvation is of the spirit and soul. The spirit (our spirit) is the part of us that is born of the Holy Spirit. Jesus in explaining the New Birth to Nicodemus said in John 3:6, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." If you will notice in your King James Bible (I checked how some of the other translations translate this and they are out to lunch) the first Spirit is capitalized because it is talking about the Holy Spirit. The second spirit is not capitalized because it is talking about one's human spirit. When we are saved our spirits that are dead to God are regenerated, quickened, raised from spiritual death and are born of the Holy Spirit so that the believer has a spirit that is created at the point of the New Birth in the image of God. Ephesians 4:24 says, "And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." God actually creates a new man from our dead human spirits. Then the Holy Spirit indwells the new man. Since our spirits are in our bodies our bodies are called the temple of the Holy Spirit.

The properties of the soul are mind, emotion, and will. We grow in this area. We are created perfect in the inner man. But the soul is the staging area of all the information that comes to us. If we will let the indwelling Holy Spirit help us sift through the information that comes to us, we will always act or react like Jesus. Because the Holy Spirit is Jesus within us. Romans 8:9 says, "But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." You will notice that the Holy Spirit is called "the Spirit of Christ." You will also notice that all saved people have the Spirit, because if they don't have, they are none of His.

God's salvation is the salvation of the soul. He wants control of our lives as well as indwelling us. What is the "end of your faith?" It is the salvation of the whole man. Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5:23, "And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." The word "end" means, "the purpose or the goal." The goal of our faith is that we not only be a Christian but we act like one. When our souls are saved we are under the complete Lordship of Christ.

GOD'S SALVATION IS ALTOGETHER OF GRACE

Notice the word "grace" in verse 10: "Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:"

Grace is defined as the unmerited favor of God. Romans 5:15, "But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many." Ephesians 2:8, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:" Ephesians 3:7, "Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power." Ephesians 4:7, "But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ."

This is the difference between all the religions of the world and Christianity. Religion says men are saved by works, i.e., by their own human merit.. The Bible says we are saved as a gift of God's grace. Salvation has to be either by works or by grace. It can't be a mixture of both. Paul said this in Romans 11:6, "And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work." And the Bible is plain about which one it is.

No one will ever understand the doctrine of eternal security until they understand the doctrine of grace. Our security is based on salvation by grace. If you get salvation as a gift and you have to work to keep it, it is salvation by works and that perverts the doctrine of grace. God forgives the sinner and gives him salvation by grace and grace is provided through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. If man could be saved by works there would have been no need for the cross. But in the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus prayed this prayer found in Matthew 26:39, "And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt." This is a prayer recorded for our benefit. We needed to know that there was no other way. And that issue was settled right there in Gethsemane. If there had been another way of saving a sinner without the death and resurrection of Jesus, the plan would have changed right there. It is the "nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt" that took Jesus on to the cross to die for us.

Romans 3:24-26, "Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus." God could not as a Just God forgive our sins without them being paid for. And Jesus was the only sinless sacrifice that could be made and live again to carry the plan out. When God forgives me, he doesn't sweep my sins under the rug. Someone else died in my place. Someone hold my mules!!! Hallelujah!!! That was so that God can be just and the Justifier of the believer. If a man rejects Jesus, he has no substitute. And for one to pay for his own sins, God has made it plain that he will have to do it by going to an eternal hell.

GOD'S SALVATION IS RECEIVED BY FAITH

Repentance is a necessary prerequisite to salvation. Repentance is a change of mind. This is how Paul preached it in Acts 20:20-21, "And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publickly, and from house to house, Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ." The word "repentance" translates "metanoia" and means, "a change of mind, as it appears to one who repents, of a purpose he has formed or of something he has done." This then is a change of mind toward God. God is a holy God and cannot tolerate sin. A lost man doesn't believe this. He must change his mind. A holy God has declared that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Man doesn't believe that. He must change his mind. No one can get to heaven without coming through Jesus. Man doesn't believe that. He must change his mind. A holy God says that one will give an account for his evil thoughts. Man doesn't believe that. He must change his mind. Repentance is a necessary prerequisite to salvation. When he repents it does not mean he quits sinning. He will sin without even knowing it at times. But if he changes his mind about sin, as soon as he finds out that he has done wrong he will go to the Lord for forgiveness. Repentance is taking God's side against yourself.

Repentance makes one realize his accountability and prepares the heart to ask God for mercy. Luke 18:13-14, "And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted."

Salvation is a matter of justification by faith. Romans 5:1, "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:" Justification is a judicial term that does not deny one's guilt but sets him free because the penalty of his sins is paid for by Jesus. Faith is a non meritorious act that receives God's free gift of salvation. It is not the measure of faith that saves, it is God who saves.

GOD'S SALVATION RESULTS IN A COMPLETE CHANGE OF LIFE

2 Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."

Have you noticed the change in a person who is really saved? Billy Sunday the famous evangelist in our country was before he was saved a famous ball player. He became a drunk. His testimony is that he staggered in the Pacific Garden Mission and staggered out of sin. He went in one way and came out another; from the power of Satan to the power of God. There is nothing to compare to being saved. It will change your whole life. I have seen people go to their knees in a church altar in complete ignorance and get off their knees an enlightened person. I've heard them say, this is the first time I have ever understood.

The intent of God's salvation is to glorify us at the rapture of the saints and the resurrection of the dead in Christ and take us to be with Him forever. Heaven is a place where there will be no sickness, sorrow, or dying. It will be a place where we will never grow old. We will have that quality of life in spirit, soul, and body that God has. That life begins with the New Birth. It reaches its full fruition at His coming.

May the Lord bless these words to our hearts.

In Christ

Bro. White