"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 

"The Summary of a Christian Life"(1 Corinthians 10:23-33)

The Summary of a Christian Life 

1 Corinthians 10:23-33 

These days the moral values in our society are being determined by the majority. Moral decay is becoming more apparent. Christians at the time that 1 Corinthians was being written shows a similar moral chaos with the church. In the Corinthian church, those with power and privilege were given priority and making rules in the church that supported the elite but not the entire church and certainly not the lower class. 

As Christians we need to ask these three questions when it comes to morals. 

1. 1. Where do we come from? 
2. 2. Why do I live? What is my purpose? 
3. 3. What is our destiny?

God has created us and sent His son to save us from sin and death. We are to whorship and give glory to God while telling others of Jesus and His saving grace. Without knowing who we are and what we are to do, we will be lead us into moral chaos. Without a plan, we are destroyed. 

Living in this world we need standards, or else we will fall into moral decay. One way Paul told the Corinthian Christians to avoid moral decay was to edify each other. Edification is to help us shape our moral values. Remember that Jesus wants all Christians to be one. We all belong to one body. 

There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore it says, "When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men." And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 

Ephesians 4:4‭-‬8‭, ‬11‭-‬14 ESV 

 The rich in the Corinthian Church were allowed to live the privileges which were accepted in that society. The welfare of others was being ignored. There was a gap between the haves and have nots.  In today's  world, Christians face a similar problem of living a life that is acceptable to the world but does not edify the body of Christ. We should be cognizant of our behavior and follow the practices below.

1. 1. Our Life Conduct towards the believers. 

1. We should do everything to edify one another. 

2. 2. Our life conduct towards the world. 

1. We have been called and redeemed. We need to be a redeeming community that seeks out those who have not been redeemed. The world expects us to behave in a certain way because we are Christians. We also need to be a light to those who are lost in the darkness of sin.

3. 3. The Overriding Private and Public Life Conduct. 

1. The main purpose of our actions is to glorify God. Everyone who believes in God is guided by the spirit of God. We need to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit. 
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"A Righteousness that Does not Save"(Luke 18:9-14)

A Righteousness that Does not Save 

Luke 18:9-14 

Whenever a believer falls short of God's commands, we feel guilty and seek God. However, when we measure our spiritual life on my performance, we miss Jesus' love and mercy. Many Christians fall into the trap of gauging their spiritual life on their performance. Jesus warns of this righteousness that does not save.

In this parable from Luke 18, Jesus first tells the Pharisee's prayer. The Pharisee  gives account of all the good he does and even compares himself to the tax collector. The tax collector, on the other hand, confesses his shortcomings, but it is the tax collector who goes away justified. The Pharisee did not go away forgiven. 

At this time, a Jew was required to fast at least once a year and to tithe. The Pharisee fasted 104 times and tithed everything. Although the Pharisee was performing righteous acts, he relied on himself and his self righteousness rather than the mercy of God. Despite the fact that the tax collector was probably a cheat and collaborator with occupying Rome, he understands his place and the mercy God has shown him. Self righteousness can be destructive not only to the person performing the acts but also the community. 

1. 1. Performance Righteousness leads to division amongst believers. When we concentrate on what we have done, we become proud. This pride leads to contempt towards those who cannot perform as well. God will honour the commitments we keep, and we are expected to be obedient to God's word. Yet, we have to be careful that our blessings will not become obstacles to our relationship with God. We have to be careful not to look down on those whose spiritual growth is not as good as ours. Instead we need to thank God for being able to do what we can and that we have been chosen to do good works and fall under His grace. 
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3. 2. Performance Righteousness blinds one spiritual eyes. The Pharisee concentrated on what he did  and on his good accomplishments. Interestingly, he did not mention those things he had failed to do and what he could not do. Later in Luke, we see another similar example with the young ruler. Althpugh the rich young ruler was perfect in many ways, he was not when it came to wealth. It is easy to ignore what we are not perfect in. We have no reason to have pride. Instead of concentrating on our accomplishments, we need to focus on God's mercies. 
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5. 3. Performance Righteousness only makes one a bankrupt debtor spiritually. People who are bankrupt do not have freedom and are always tense because they lack. These people who center their relationship on God by their performance, will never feel satisfied or safe. Their performance will fall short of the grace and freedom which comes from God's mercy. 
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7. 4. Performance Righteousness eventually leads to self destruction. There are many cases of believers who have accomplished many things and then when they fall, they cannot rise up. The Pharisee did not humble himself and was not forgiven whereas the tax collector was forgiven. 

Performance Righteousness does not suddenly appear. It slowly builds up on top of one accomplishment after an other. All the more reason we need to remember the great mercies God shows us everyday and give thanks for the sacrifice Jesus performed on the cross.