Faith Lutheran Church
Markesan, WI
Pastor Mike Schierenbeck
920-398-2778
March 30, 2008 1st Sunday after Easter
Text: 1 Peter 1:3-9
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, {4} to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, {5} who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. {6} In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, {7} that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, {8} whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, {9} receiving the end of your faith; the salvation of your souls.
In Christ’s Resurrection You Have a Living Hope
Dear friends in Christ:
There is no sure thing in this world. If there were, then Las Vegas would not exist. Year after year bookies and casinos make loads of money because people feel that this horse is a sure thing, or this game is a “can’t lose” prospect, or one more tug on the slot machine is sure to pay off, but that “sure thing” doesn’t pan out. No, in this life there are no iron-clad guarantees. We expect the best, and yet prepare for the worst because there is just no way to predict for certain what’s going to happen next.
Here is where there is a separation between Christianity and a worldly view. We do have an iron-clad guarantee of eternal life because we have a living hope in Christ’s resurrection. His resurrection not only guarantees our heavenly inheritance, but gives us the strength to carry on in our earthly life as well. May the Holy Spirit open our hearts to receive this message of life and hope.
1. His resurrection guarantees our heavenly inheritance
Christianity is really a very unique religion. It is different in the fact that in most religions the payment for sin comes from man, and not from God. Most religions are based on something that man must give up, rather than on what God gave up for us. But as Christians we also worship a living God. That is the heart of Christianity. Your life does not depend on a hero or martyr that is in the grave. We do not call upon Luther to save us. We don’t rely upon the words of Mohammed, and we cannot trace back to God’s beginning, because He has always been here. Our Lord has no beginning and no end. Our God lives, and though Jesus did die at one point, He rose from the dead, and lives forever.
A living hope changes a person’s concept of paradise. In man-made religions paradise is limited by the human imagination whether it is some sort of hedonistic society that is thought of, or, as it is to some, being the god of your own world. With Christianity coming from God our hope of heaven is one that is so great that it goes beyond our imagination and expectations. Our text tells us that it is an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled. Everything good that we can think of is tainted by sin. Think of your perfect day -- the fish are biting or you’re really stroking the golf ball or you’re able to visit with a long lost friend, you’re able to travel to a dream destination - whatever the case, it just can’t compare with heaven. This earth is defiled by sin, and so we’re never going to see perfection here. But heaven has no such restrictions. There is nothing to compare it with on this earth because it exceeds our expectations. We’re also told that it does not fade away. Because the resurrection of Jesus is responsible for our inheritance it will last forever, even as Jesus lives forever. Again what on earth can last forever? There is no earthly inheritance that has such a claim - not land, not a new car, not money. None of that will last forever, but will perish on the Last Day.
Jesus’ resurrection is the guarantee that heaven is ours. It reserves a spot for the believer. If you want to go somewhere popular you have to call ahead and make reservations. Jesus’ resurrection in effect does that for us. Jesus says: Because I live you will live also. That is your personal reservation. Before I moved from South Carolina to Wisconsin I put a deposit down to reserve a duplex so we had a place to live once we got there. When we arrived in town I discovered that the duplex had been sold, and the new owners were going to live in that side, so we were out in the cold. They gave me my money back, but that reservation was worthless. Jesus’ resurrection is the real deal. Since we are connected with Him by faith we’re going to follow Him wherever He has gone. He died to sin, in effect we died to sin. He rose from the dead and ascended to the Father, the same future awaits us. The resurrection is the seal that heaven is ours.
God keeps working in our lives to make sure that we stay in the faith. That thought is expressed in verse 5 of our text who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. We do have that awful power to reject God’s mercy, but He is constantly working for our benefit. Again because Jesus is risen from the dead we have the assurance that we are indeed God’s children and have an inheritance with Him. No we have not always acted like God’s children, quite to the contrary at times, but being connected to Christ and the forgiveness won on the cross, God sees us as holy in His sight. He charged our sin to Christ and He paid the price. The resurrection proves that God was satisfied. If Jesus were still in the tomb, we would have no proof that His death meant anything at all. The empty tomb shows that all is right with Him.
2. His resurrection gives us strength to carry on in earthly life
Knowing of Jesus’ resurrection and heaven that awaits us we have the strength to go on in this life. Peter was writing to Christians scattered all around the Mediterranean Sea, and they were not necessarily scattered by their own choice. Peter wrote about the living hope of the resurrection to give confidence to those who were being persecuted. You need to understand what a culture shock it was to be a Christian in those days. After Pentecost the news of Jesus was spreading rapidly, but to many Jesus and His followers were an unknown quantity. Because they acted differently, because they did not participate in heathen rituals, or follow the desires of their flesh, they were treated with contempt by some. At first the Jews were the most notorious in persecuting Christians because with the rise of Christianity they saw the demise of what had become Judaism. Eventually the Roman Empire got into the picture as well and took persecution to a new level. They fed Christians to the lions, tortured them, used them as human torches, and at the very least a Christian could find himself without a job or a home. This was the period of time the readers of Peter’s letter were entering.
There will always be the persecution of Christians. While it may not be as violent in the United States, as for instance China, it still exists. You are different because of your hope in Jesus, and being different doesn’t sit so well with the majority. Without a doubt you will encounter various trials in your life, and if you’re not, it is very possible that your faith is not very visible. We’ll go through other trials that do not come from the world, sickness and financial woes, and uncertainty about life also plague us.
Could God prevent all persecution? Sure He could. But the fact that He chose not to is significant. We’re told that the purpose of such trials is to test the genuineness of our faith. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ. When gold is taken out of the ground it is generally not going to be 100% gold. There is ore and other impurities present. To get rid of these gold is heated up, and in this refinement process the impurities can be skimmed off, and you’re left with pure gold. Our faith also needs refinement. If things are going too well, it seems that our faith tends to get weaker. We focus too much on the things of this world, and drift away from God. But when trials are allowed to come into our lives, our focus changes to looking to God for help, and in this way our faith is found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ. We look once again to our Lord Jesus who is alive and there for us, and we get our focus back.
The long term view which Jesus and His resurrection gives us is not restrained by what our eyes can see. We’ve never seen Jesus. We didn’t see Him before His crucifixion, or after His resurrection, and yet through faith we love Him. This is what so many just don’t get. We heard about Thomas in our Gospel reading, who just wouldn’t believe unless he could touch Jesus. Our instinct is much the same. In weakness we think if we can’t put our hands on it, or make use of it right now, then it’s not worth anything. Jesus said however, Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.
Blessed are you who have a living hope, who have a sure thing in your heavenly inheritance. Jesus has made that guarantee to you. When a loved one is buried there is still the certainty of a bodily resurrection. How does a person get through the death of a loved one without the resurrection? It must be awful. Thanks be to God that He has given us this living hope to get us through this life, and even through death itself.
He closed the yawning gates of hell;
The bars from heaven’s high portals fell.
Let songs of praise His triumph tell. Alleluia! Amen.