We're protected because God has given us a living hope. That is to say, it's a hope for that person, protected by a living hope.
Verses 3 and 4, 1 Peter 1, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled, will not fade away...I love this word...reserved in heaven for you. Secondly, we are protected by God's own power. We just simply said last time, that phrase in verse 5, protected by the power of God is intended to remind us that we are protected by the greatest power there is.
Thirdly, and this is very important for us, we are protected by hope. We are protected by power. We are protected by trials. We are protected by trials. Look at verse 6, we rejoice even though now for a little while if necessary, if God determines that it's necessary, you have been distressed by various trials. Trials strengthen faith and they reveal true faith.
Look at James chapter 1...James chapter 1, verse 2 says essentially the same thing. Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials. You know, I guess there's something wonderful about getting to the age I'm at. People ask me, do you question your salvation? Sometimes young people ask me that. I'm struggling with whether I'm really a Christian or not. Do you struggle with that?
And my answer honestly is no. When I was very young, you know, the devil would hammer me with doubts. But the truth of the matter is, I don't question the true character of my saving faith because it's withstood so many trials. Every time you go through a trial, you see the nature of your faith. The trials don't help God find out what kind of faith you have. He gave it to you.
It's not that He needs information about your faith. But they become a joy to you when you encounter various trials. Verse 3, knowing the testing of your faith produces endurance and endurance has a perfecting result. I mean, what is more wonderful? What is a greater gift than to have the assurance of salvation?
Anything better than that? If you've ever lived with doubts and fears and all of that, it's wonderful to know you've got the real thing. It's wonderful to see its capability to survive disaster. In fact, I have found in my life that the more severe the trial, the stronger my faith is. The more my confidence in God rises. Second Timothy is another text that is helpful on this. Second Timothy 1.8, Paul says, join me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God. Verse 9, God who saved us called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to His own purpose and grace, granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity.
There is that doctrine of the election predestination which is foundational to our security. But he says in verse 10, now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher. For this reason I also suffer, but I am not ashamed.
He's saying I survive amazingly. In fact, I rise to the occasion. The greater the suffering it seems as though the brighter the shining testimony. And now Paul can say from personal testimony in the middle of verse 12, I know whom I have believed. How do you know Him?
Because He's manifested Himself. He's manifested Himself in all my suffering, in all my trials. And I know whom I have believed. I know that I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day. What is that day?
Redemption day, the day of Christ, the day you see Him face-to-face. I know whom I have believed. I know that I have believed. I know He is able, that is dunathos, He is powerful to guard what I have entrusted to Him. And by the way, that's paratheke, that's deposit, what I've deposited with Him, my life, my soul, my eternity.
I know He's able to guard it. I know He can guard it through my faith because no matter what the trial, my faith never fails. He has given me a faith that survives it all.
Real faith emerges from trials stronger than ever. You know, back to Romans 8 again, you just can't stay away from that chapter talking about this. But in Romans 8, Paul says in verse 35, who's going to separate us from the love of Christ? Is there anything that can happen that can cause Christ to stop loving us? Or you could flip it over, either way in the Greek, is there anything that could happen that could cause us to stop loving Christ? Tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, sword.
You think he just sort of grabbed those words out of the air? No, that's autobiographical. Been there. Tribulation, daily plots against my life. Distress, without food, without clothing, cold, in the sea. Persecution, constant. Famine, often. Nakedness as a prisoner, beaten with whips, rods, in peril of robbers, in peril of my own countrymen, in peril of the Gentiles, he gives a whole list in 2 Corinthians 11.
I've been there, seen that, waved at me. And I'm telling you, in it all, though we are put literally on the brink of death all day long, we were considered a sheep to be slaughtered, verse 37, but in all these things we overwhelmingly...what?...conquer. That's where the word Nike comes from.
Nike, the conqueror. See, this kind of faith that God gives us rises in the trial, it rises. I've never faced persecution. I've faced some pretty hostile environments. You have to put your faith on the line in some environments.
I find a level of energy and a level of commitment and a level of conviction and a level of boldness in those environments that perhaps is even greater than others. And there is that work of the Holy Spirit so that that trial becomes for me the affirmation that the faith, not mine, but that He's given me is the real thing. God's due, back to our text, produce distress for a little while. They come like fire to burn off the dross.
And that's the point. Not only do they reveal your faith, but they purify it. And what emerges, 1 Peter 1, is a faith that is more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire. When you get your faith tested, it comes out purer, more precious.
And I will tell you, you know, with that in your mind, you instead of asking for God to protect you from trials, you should ask Him to make sure He puts you through all the trials necessary to give you the confidence that your faith is real. I love what it says in Acts 5 41, they went on their way from the presence of the Council, you know, the Council called the Apostles and flogged them. That's what the Sanhedrin did and ordered them to speak no more in the name of Jesus. You know what their reaction was? They went on their way from the presence of the Council rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name. You know why they came out of there so happy? Bleeding, bruised, battered, embarrassed, humiliated, full of joy.
Why? Because they knew they had a faith that was real. They knew they had the real thing. And all it did was make them bolder, verse 42, I love this, every day in the temple from house to house they kept right on teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ. Of course, the worst they could do to them was haul them in and do it all over again and that would strengthen their faith more. Even Jesus Christ Himself was strengthened through suffering. It says in 1 Peter that He did not revile when He was reviled while suffering uttered no threats but kept entrusting Himself to Him who righteously judges.
And the writer of Hebrews says He was made perfect through suffering. So we're protected. We're protected because God has given us a living hope. That is to say it's a hope built into our faith that cannot die. God has given us a faith that is energized by divine power that cannot be assaulted.
No force is its equal. And God also protects us through a faith that is tested and tried. There's something else here that I must mention to you, 1 Peter, number four in my little list. We are protected by eternal purpose, by a living hope, divine power, trials and eternal purpose. Look at verse 7. We are headed for something, the end of verse 7, to be found in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Our faith is designed to survive to the end.
This is an amazing promise. We have a faith that hopes, a faith that is unassailable, protected by divine power, a strength of faith that is only made stronger through trial. We have a proven tested faith that finds its fulfillment in the purpose and plan of God in a union with the Lord Jesus Christ at His appearing, at which time we receive glory, praise and honor from God. That goes right back to the reason we were saved in the beginning. We were chosen so that we would be brought to eternal glory.
You know what the Bible teaches about this. We'll be like Him, we'll have a body like unto His body. We have a heavenly home. He's preparing a place for us. We're just passing through this world.
We're not citizens here. This momentary light affliction that we suffer is not to be compared with that glorious weight of glory that awaits us in His presence. We cry out for the redemption of our body because we know what God has prepared for those that love Him.
You know all those verses. We are already, as it were, heavenly citizens. Our Father is there, our home is there, our life is there. The pledge of God is to bring us to eternal glory. And by the way, that was His pledge, not at the time of our hearing the gospel and believing it, that was His pledge to us in eternity past, long before we ever, or anybody ever was even created. God predetermined then that we would be brought to eternal glory. That is to say, you don't understand salvation at all if you don't understand its three dimensions. There is the point at which you believe, there is the process by which you are kept, and there is the final salvation in which you are glorified.
And when God predetermined to save you, He predetermined that all three would take place, not some part of them. That's why in Romans 8 18, Paul says, I consider the sufferings of this present time not worthy to be compared with the glory that's to be revealed to us. Whatever we might suffer here, we rejoice because it shows us we have a real faith and strengthens that faith and none of that suffering is to be compared with the glory that God has predetermined for us. So we are protected by a living hope, divine power, trials and the promise of eternal glory.
Can I just give you one more? Number five, we are protected by undying love. We are protected by undying love. Verse 8, though you have not seen Him, you love Him.
Though you have not seen Him, you love Him. That's the bottom line. We have a love for Jesus Christ. If anybody doesn't love the Lord Jesus Christ, 1 Corinthians 16 22, let him be accursed. This is a profound statement about the nature of true salvation. You can believe the facts and not be saved. The devil believes the facts. The demons believe the facts.
They know them to be true. The issue here is loving the Lord Jesus Christ and you love Me if you keep My...what?...My commandments. You love Me if you desire My glory and My honor.
Though you have not seen Him, you love Him. If you were to define Christianity in its purest sense, you would have to use that word love. You could talk about believing in Christ, but you really wouldn't get there because so many people say they believe in Jesus Christ. In fact, I read that there are three billion Christians in the world. Well, there are probably three billion people who believe in Jesus but I'm quite sure there aren't that many who love Him, who love Him sacrificially, who love Him totally, who love Him obediently, who love Him worshipfully, who love Him righteously. And because we love Him, though we do not see Him now, verse 8 says, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory.
You can tell a Christian because they love Christ so much, it comes out in joy. It comes out in joy. Why do we sing? We sing because we're filled with joy. About whom do we sing? We sing about Christ. I like praise choruses, you know, but I guess 90 percent of the praise choruses are sort of drawn out of the Old Testament. I like to sing about Jesus Christ.
I don't mind singing about the Old Testament, but I like to get to the good part. That's Christ. We love Him. What did Jesus say to Peter in John 21 when He wanted to restore him? At the Sea of Galilee He said, Peter, do you...what?...do you love Me?
That's the way He defined His relation. Do you love Me? Peter says, I love you. He said, well then do what I tell you, feed My sheep. He said to Him a second time, do you love Me? Peter said, yes, I love you, feed My lambs. And He said to Him a third time, Peter, do you love Me? And the reason He asked Him three times, of course, was paralleling Peter's three denials. The Lord knew Peter knew that love was demonstrated in obedience and He said, third time, Peter, do you love Me?
Peter knew he couldn't call on his obedience cause there wasn't any. So I love what He said. He said, Lord, You know everything. You know I love You.
Boy, I really like that. He said, You're omniscient. You know what's in here. You know I love You.
Feed My sheep. And He knows if we love Him. First John 4.19 says we love Him because He first loved us. You know, a true human relationship requires love and trust...love and trust. So does our relationship with Christ.
That's how it's really defined. And there's no such thing as a Christian who doesn't love Christ. And all your life long as a believer, you grow in your love for Christ.
You grow in your affection for Him. That's why the Apostle Paul says that I may know Him cause the more you love someone, the more you want to know them. Paul knew he was loved. And back to Romans 8 again, he knew nothing could separate him from Christ's love for him. But he also knew nothing could separate him from his love for Christ.
I mean, isn't that the idea? You can hit me with whatever you want. You can hit me with tribulation, distress, persecution, nakedness, famine, sword and nothing will change my love for Christ...nothing. I love Him with the love that He gave me, Romans 5, 5, the love of Christ shed abroad in your heart, it's a gift from God just like faith. You've been given a supernatural faith, you've been given a supernatural love which never change. And so it is that undying love that holds on to us. It's a component of our faith. So we're kept through faith, verse 5, and now verse 9, finally.
What is the end? Obtaining...listen to this...as the outcome of your...what?...your faith, the salvation of your souls. That's why we say this, folks, that this doctrine should be called the perseverance of the saints, or better yet, the perseverance of faith. You have been given a faith that never perishes. You have been given a faith that is protected by the power of God, a faith that has a hope that never dies, a faith sustained by a divine power that can't be overthrown, a faith that is proven, tested, strengthened through trials, a faith that is designed for the fulfillment of eternal glory which was promised before the world began, a faith that contains within it an undying love for Christ. And the outcome of that faith will be the obtaining of the final salvation of your souls.
Simply folks, there is no escape from this reality...no escape. The result of this saving faith is your final salvation. The present salvation which you now experience is a result of this faith. The initial salvation was the result of this faith and the final salvation will be yours because this faith will persevere and endure to the very end. That is the nature of this faith. It is nothing less than a permanent gift from God.
And it's probably a good place to end if there ever is such a thing. Philippians 1 verse 6, I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. Does that not end the argument? If He started it, He'll what?
You got it. This is Grace to You with John MacArthur, Chancellor of the Masters University and Seminary. His current study is titled, God Won't Let You Go. John, a point you made near the end of your message. You said that our salvation is secure because of the undying love of Christ, and that's a magnificent truth. And yet, people will debate the doctrine of the eternal security of the believer, and Christians will find themselves questioning the authenticity of their salvation.
So why is that? Why do believers have doubts about whether they have genuine saving faith and possess eternal life? Well, I think it should be understood that true saving faith is available to the person who comes to Christ.
It's not something that you develop. In other words, you can go from unbelief to belief in the miracle of the moment of regeneration. Having said that, that faith, that real faith, that saving faith will grow, and it becomes a more confident faith as the believer begins to see the operation of God in his or her life. You know, I would say I believed when I came to Christ as a young guy. My faith was the real thing. Fast forward 60 some 70 years, and I can tell you my faith now is so far beyond the faith that saved me, because all these decades of being in the Word of God and seeing God's hand, seeing his power in my life and the lives of people around me, living through the divine providence that comes my way seemingly every day, I have a faith now that is confident and strong in a way that it never was in those early years. It was the real faith. I believed the right things about the right person, the Lord Jesus Christ, the gospel truth, but really your whole Christian life long, your faith will grow. And that leads me to mention the fact that we want to offer you a copy of a booklet called Unshakable Assurance. You are more prone to question your salvation and maybe even question whether your faith is a saving faith. You're more likely to do that when you're young in the faith. And so to help you with that, as you're in the journey of faith and get you along the way toward that confident faith, we're offering a free booklet, Unshakable Assurance.
And that is exactly what the book is about. It'll give you eight reasons why Christians struggle with assurance. And then I'll show you 11 biblical tests that can help you know if your salvation is real, and you do want to know that. If you're struggling with any uncertainty, this is the booklet for you. Again, we'll send you a free copy, the title Unshakable Assurance, available for a limited time. Free booklet is yours today if you let us know.
Thanks, Jon. And friend, this booklet gets right to the key biblical truths that can help you know whether your faith in Christ is genuine. Request your free copy of Unshakable Assurance today. Call us at 800-55-GRACE or go to GTY.org. You can also request Jon's booklet by email when you write to Letters at GTY.org.
Unshakable Assurance walks you through eight reasons that you might question your salvation, and it shows you how to overcome those doubts. Again, to request your free copy, call us at 800-55-GRACE or go to our website GTY.org. While you're at the website GTY.org, take advantage of the thousands of resources available. You can download any of Jon's more than 3,600 sermons for free, and that includes the study he wrapped up today called God Won't Let You Go. You can also download the Grace To You Sermons app for access to all of Jon's sermons wherever you take your tablet or smartphone.
Those resources and many others are free at GTY.org. Now for Jon MacArthur, I'm Phil Johnson. Watch Grace To You television Sundays on DirecTV channel 378, and then be here Monday when Jon helps you develop an attitude that's good to cultivate but essential for your growth as a Christian. Don't miss Jon's lesson on contentment. It's another half hour of unleashing God's truth one verse at a time on Grace To You.
