Wednesday, November 9, 2005
1 Peter 1:3-4 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 in heaven for you.
BOUND FOR GLORY
Peter describes heaven for us with three terms. He says our inheritance is incorruptible and undefiled and does not fade away. The term incorruptible really means not subject to death or decay. Undefiled means uncontaminated by any kind of sin. And this inheritance does not fade away. It does not get less and less as time goes on. This inheritance in heaven is simply perfect, just as God Himself is perfect. And we shall be there. Our spots are reserved already. It's a sure thing.
Do you ask how this is possible? Do you wonder how a holy God can allow sinners like you and me into His perfect heaven? The answer is right here in our text. God has begotten us again to this hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
We know what happened to our sins. God took them. He took them all and gave them to His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. On the cross Jesus carried these sins and suffered the punishment these sins deserved. Later in this letter Peter expresses it like this. He says: "Jesus Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree." And he says that by that suffering we are healed. Jesus took the punishment we deserved, so that that punishment will not fall on us.
Did Jesus succeed in what He attempted? Could He be the Lamb of God taking away the sin of the world? Yes, He succeeded. He rose from the dead. This is proof of His success. This is the evidence that His sacrifice on the cross was sufficient to pay for all our sins. It was through this resurrection that we sinners today have this sure hope of heaven. It is sure because it does not depend on us in any way. It is sure because Jesus rose from the dead, and our sins are gone.
This, then, is the story of every Christian's life. Each one of us was headed on a fast road to hell. We were guilty and without hope. But God turned that all around. Jesus died for our sins and rose again. We are on our way to heaven. Our seats are reserved. Praise God!
