"Called to a Gracious Hope"(1 Peter 1:3-8)

Called to a Gracious Hope

1 Peter 1:3-8 

One common feature of religions with deities has a life after death. Christians have one difference from these religions which is hope and grace. Other religions have a hope for life after death, but they operate on determinism. You need to do perform and a better life after death is set by your actions. With Christians, Christ has done this and salvation is a gift of grace. There are no strings attached. 

"Grace is solely operated by love", C.S. Lewis 

Grace operates like the rail of a train. The train cannot travel without the rail. Grace is the beginning and the end of our spiritual journey. Grace operates on His love and not by our merits. We need to know how to use this grace in our journey. 

In Peter's first epistle, he addresses a group of believers going through difficult times. Nero had exiled the Christians from Rome and many Christians were being persecuted. Peter encourages the Christians to focus on the hope that has been given them. Peter also tells these Christians to remember where they came from and how they have been saved. Every believer has been brought into the same hope which Peter speaks of, and we need to pattern our lives to the challenges ahead. 

Here are three patterns to allow us to live within this hope.

1. Develop a deeper understanding on how they were brought into this hope. 

...According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

1 Peter 1:3 

These people were  given hope through the mercies of God. We must remember that grace operates on unconditional love and is different from mercy. Mercy operates on the understanding that the helper needs to help because you would be harmed or even destroyed otherwise. The recipient has no choice but to receive the hope. God brought us in because of His mercies when He saw we could not save ourselves. 

  

2. Actively bear in mind the implications  of this unmerited hope. God's mercy sustains us and saves us. We often say that we are born again and being born again means that something is restored back to life. Considering how undeserving we are of God's mercy and grace, we therefore have an obligation to yield to the transforming work within us.

And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 

Colossians 1:21‭-‬22 ESV 

We understand that an animosity was created between man and God when Adam sinned. We need to understand that we are no longer enemies of God. God's mercies have brought us back to  Him.

For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 

Romans 5:10 ESV 

It is not by own effort that we are saved or sustained. We also have the responsibility to live a life that is aligned with God, and yet it is not in our strength. 

At the time of this letter, hundreds of Christians had died and many had gone into hiding because the persecution had been so great. 

who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 

1 Peter 1:5‭-‬7 ESV 

3. We should live with the conviction that our earthly life is all but temporal. 

The happy and sad moments are temporal. Our lives are seasonal but there are reasons we go through these seasons. It is up to us to search the reason and know the purpose. We should also remember that God will strengthen us to endure.

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. 

1 Corinthians 10:13 ESV