Tuesday 7 February 2017

A New Birth. A Living Hope!

A New Birth. A Living Hope!
The apostle Peter writes to believers in Christ,
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you,  who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.  
In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 
Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” 1 Peter 1:3-9.
Peter gives praise to God for His great mercy. For the “new birth” and “Living Hope” God gives us through Jesus Christ. An inheritance that can never “perish, spoil or fade, kept in heaven”.
He notes that while we may have to suffer grief from time to time it is worth it.
Trials of any kind can do one of two things to our faith destroy it or strengthen it. Trials show just how strong and true our faith is.
Peter also commends his readers who have not seen or met Jesus in the flesh. He states,
“Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”
This is what God wants. The apostle Paul tells us,
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—
and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—  
not by works, so that no one can boast.” 
Ephesians 2:8,9.
It is our faith in Christ our faith in God that saves us. The writer of Hebrews telling us,
“And without faith it is impossible to please God,
 because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists 
and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” 
Hebrews 11:6
The apostle Paul writing to the Galatians said,
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live,
 but Christ lives in me. 
The life I live in the body, 
I live by faith in the Son of God, 
who loved me and gave himself for me.”
Galatians 2:20.
The apostle Paul wrote to Timothy saying,
“Here is a trustworthy saying:
If we died with him, we will also live with him; 
if we endure, we will also reign with him.
If we disown him, he will also disown us; 
if we are faithless, he will remain faithful,
for he cannot disown himself. 
2 Timothy 11-13.
Please think about it.

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