In my last Blog, we looked at the first of four reasons the Christian can be assured of his eternal salvation, an imperishable inheritance. The second is the Christians’ proven faith.

“In this you rejoice, although now for a little while you may have to suffer through various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that is perishable, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:” (1Peter 1:7)

Here Peter is not just speaking of any old faith, as some might say, flippantly, “I believe in God” with no more love and commitment than they might say, “I believe in dirt.” Here Peter is speaking about the quality of a faith that stands under persecutions, trials, disappointments, and all manner of spiritual warfare and yet perseveres. The God who gives faith as a gift, “who caused us to be born again” (verse 3), makes the stability of such a faith possible.

The faith of a born again believer is described in verse 8, “Whom having not seen, you love; in whom, though now you see him not, yet believing, you rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.” Such a faith is contrary to the world’s hypocritical religions that are filled with people who say they believe in God but deny Him by worshipping false gods.

The state of those who are not born again is revealed in (Romans 8:6-7), “For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” Man by his own efforts is unable and unwilling to trust God and persevere in faith to the saving of his soul, “Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.” (1Peter 1:9).

The Christian can rest secure in God who gives him a faith that will not fail; hence, he will not perish!

Imagine a world without death, disease, pain, or suffering, where all is good and nothing ends, then think how contrary that is to our present condition. It is said, “Nothing lasts,” and “You can be sure of only two things, death, and taxes.” Only the bible can assure men of eternal salvation through an inheritance that is imperishable.

In Peter’s first letter, he gives us four reasons why every believer can be assured of an eternal salvation. 1) An inheritance that is imperishable, 2) the genuineness of your faith, that is imperishable, 3) the precious blood of Christ is imperishable 4) the living and abiding word of God is imperishable.

First, The Christian’s inheritance is imperishable! “…who in his (the Father’s) great mercy gave us a new birth to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you who by the power of God…” (1Peter 1:3-5, Emphasis added)

The Christian’s inheritance is secured and eternal because it is through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. The grave could not hold Christ because the only reason He died was to take the penalty for our sin upon Himself. Christ the man never sinned so He need never die, as God He is eternal life and in His life, we are eternally secure.

Because Christ is eternal, His love, mercy, grace, and kindness are eternal as all His wonderful attributes; He will never tire of us and so we can rest secure in His love!

In the Christian life, the assurance of eternal salvation is in the person of Christ whose holy life was validated by His resurrection from the dead.  Without Christ men die never to rise again but to be eternally damned because of sinful choices inherited from their first father Adam; union with Christ alone can make a man secure in salvation because Christ alone is incorruptible, undefiled, and fades not away.   

In the Garden of Eden Adam failed to obey God because with his freedom to choose he could go either way, which meant he was weak. Christ faced temptation in His human nature, but as God He overcame it by His hatred of sin. God in Christ did not simply overcome sin, but by the fullness of His infinite power He opposed it in every way.  All Adam’s offspring are lost as they inherit his sinful nature; Christ’s people are saved by union with Him who is incorruptible, undefiled and eternal.  The Christian is one who transfers his/her hope of salvation from self to union with Christ. 

The new birth is an act of God and Peter tells us “we are begotten again,” or fathered with intensity, brought forth, conceived a second time. The first time we were lost through Adam, but the second time we are kept by the sacrificial death of Christ, which is validated by His resurrection from the dead.  The Christian is saved from sin to good works, which are works covered by Christ’s blood or made clean by His sacrificial death.  Our eternal inheritance is assured to us by the holiness of God, which covers our sins even in our good works.

The “incorruptible, and undefiled” work of Christ is imparted to the believer in everything he is and does.  Unlike the elements of this world that are continually breaking down (such as fruit on the kitchen table, or governments that begin well but morph into something corrupt) our inheritance, by the grace of God, is perfect and it will stay that way throughout eternity.

Only the person who places his/her hope in the person of Jesus Christ can be eternally assured!

The way that leads to the Victory Gate is not found on Easy Street.

“Forasmuch then as Christ has suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin.” 1Peter 4:1

Christians are engaged in a war for the souls of men; they do not know who is chosen by God’s abundant grace to receive the gift of eternal life, so they must regard all men as potential brothers. Put another way, when men treat Christians like enemies, fools, hypocrites, outsiders, and just plain dirt they are to love them as potential family.

As God He died for the ungodly, as a friend of sinners he was forsaken, one preferred nakedness than to stay by his side, no one testified on his behalf, and He suffered all the indignities of one betrayed. While we were His enemies, He died for us!

When the Christian arms himself with this mindset, he suffers in the flesh but ceases from sin because love is the fulfillment of the law.  The way to the Victory Gate is not on easy street, it is on the highway of holiness!

What does Paul mean, “…be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage?” To understand Paul’s meaning we must look at a few words. First, the word liberty is essentially freedom as opposed to slavery or bondage. The word yoke gives us the picture of a beast of burden under a heavy oppression, which forces it to pull the plow and labor for its master.

With this picture in mind, let us turn our attention on the word entangled, which in the Greek means to hold a grudge or to hold a position, which is contrary to another party. The Gospel of Jesus Christ sets people free from the false belief that they are good enough to merit heaven, and they must earn favor with God by “good” works righteousness.

To be entangled again is to return to the teaching that we can merit heaven as opposed to the truth that God in Christ sets men free by FORGIVING them. Such entanglement turns men into beasts of burden under the heavy yoke of a lie that they are good enough to please God by their own good merits.

Those who strive for some goodness in themselves, by circumcision, water baptism, holy communion, good deeds, prayers, etc., are not living from gratitude for sins already forgiven, but seeking favor with God because of pride.

What does it mean to be entangled again with the yoke of bondage? It means to argue with God over who does the saving, as if Christ never went to the cross. Those so entangled turn gratitude into enslaving pride!

Confusion ensues when people think they can do what they want because they are not under the law, when in reality those who are not under law are under grace. Grace is that state by which believers embrace the reality that God loved them and forgave their sins, and because they love Him in return they obey Him.

Thereby, believers fulfill the law not out of duty and obligation, which would place them back under the law, but out of love. Love is the fulfillment of the law, first by a love for God, and then for one’s neighbor.

The Christian loves not perfectly, nor by the letter, but by the Spirit!

“For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. ⁶But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.” Romans 7:5-6

How does a Christian abstain from fleshly lusts, when the flesh is part of what we are? To abstain from fleshly lusts a person must accept what God has said about who and what they are.

First, we must acknowledge that there remains in those who have been redeemed a propensity to evil, which is what we were in total before we were born again.  However, second, those who have been saved by faith must by faith acquire their new identity in Christ; this can only be done by meditation in the bible, in quietness and study.

Our new identity, as stated in Peter’s first letter, is “…a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may announce the praises” of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” (2:9)

In fact the person in Christ is above the sinfulness of this world because God chose him to a royal priesthood where he can intercede through prayer and preaching for the souls of others; he is holy by justification at the cross and sanctification through the Holy Spirit’s inner working.

The Christian is no longer a slave of sin but owned by God; this is our new identity in Christ, we must receive ourselves as such, if in fact you are born again.

See Ephesians 1

“Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and aliens, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul.” 1Peter 2:11

The child of God is a person called out of the world, (a place where everyone is a stranger and alien to God), to become an alien and stranger to the world. Furthermore, we are urged to abstain from fleshly lusts that wage war against our souls.

To abstain from these persistent and powerful lusts it will take a faith grounded in biblical truth and sound doctrinal teaching.

“Sacrifice and offering You did not desire; My ears You have opened.  Burnt offering and sin offering You did not require.  Then I said, “Behold, I come; In the scroll of the book it is written of me. I delight to do Your will, O my God, And Your law is within my heart.”  Psalm 40:6-8

God does not require a sin offering from man because man is not capable of offering a sacrifice that is acceptable in His sight.   Even if there were a man who never sinned, such a man could only offer a sacrifice for himself, he could never offer himself for everyone.  Only the infinite God who assumed to himself human nature could offer a sacrifice for all those for whom He died. 

The Christian understands that he could never offer a sacrifice acceptable to God, and is eternally thankful for God’s Son who did! 

“Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.  Galatians 5:16

There are two ways to live; the first is in the lusts of the flesh and by natural power or ability deny the power of God, the second is to be led and empowered by the Holy Spirit of God.

We are told by Paul that the Galatian believers began well; they received the Apostle as an angel of God, (4:13-15) but when false brethren entered in they did not resist but listened to them.

There is a way, we are told in Proverbs, that seems right to a man but in the end it leads to death. It seems right to live by rules and regulations, and they may not be wrong in themselves, but ultimately we must live by the law of love.

Love for God and His sacrifice for sin sets men free but loyalty to the law out of a sense of self-righteousness enslave men!

Imagine a prisoner who after receiving a pardon by the governor begins to sweep the floors in an attempt to earn his freedom. But why, some will ask, would anyone condemned on death row reject the pardon that could save his life?

The scripture explains such unreasonable behavior as a rejection of the truth of guilt and condemnation, which demands an act of God to set them free. The law was given for the purpose of condemnation and not as a way of gaining acceptance with God. “But the scripture has concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.” Ga. 3:22

Only those dead to their own righteousness can place faith in the promises of God!

Grace is the benevolence of God bestowed on sinful men who deserve punishment for rebellion against the one true God, creator of heaven and earth. Grace is the king’s pardon to men blind to their own sinful condition, (John 3:3) and need to be awakened to their desperate need of Him.

God gives eternal life freely as a gift by grace, to those who cannot obtain it on their own, which is why Paul would not “frustrate” set aside, disannul, or make void because of its surpassing value, the grace of God. If men could obtain righteousness by the law then Christ need not die, and died in vain.

The person who seeks to earn favor with God by obeying His law sets aside the sacrifice of His Son.

False prophets in every generation do not understand that the primary teaching of Jesus was the condemnation of fallen humanity and the exaltation of the Father who sent the Christ to rescue man from God’s wrath.

World religions are busy propagating the idea that man is good enough to make up for his own sins, merit favor with God, earn his place in the sun, and live a “good” life. It is all about emotional comfort, temporary happiness, and mind games.

To those beset by false brethren, the Apostle Paul gave his own personal testimony, though a religious zealot like few others, he stated in no uncertain terms that the good of his life was not inherent but bestowed through the life of another.

“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” Ga. 2:20

“But they had heard only, that he who persecuted us in times past now preaches the faith which once he destroyed.” Galatians 1:23

Paul gave his personal testimony in the letter to the Galatian churches for several reasons, one of which was the purpose of illustrating the effects of the gospel in the life of the converted.

Paul, once motivated by the traditions of his ancestors (Ga. 1:14) became a zealot for the gospel, a destroyer of the church, (Ga. 1:13) he became a tireless builder, a destroyer of the faith, (Ga. 1:23)  he then preached.

Paul’s testimony has become scripture and as such is a witness to a transformation of his life, which testifies to the folly of zeal for traditions that destroy the truth and work of God.

All Christians as Paul are called not of men but of God. Paul received revelations of Christ and we study them, which are now Holy Writ.

“But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel…” Galatians 2:14

The ability to focus is essential if you are going to compete as a sharpshooter. Likewise, the apostle Paul continually focused on the truth of the gospel as the main concern for life and ministry. So much so that at the end of his life he could say with a clear conscience, “…I have kept the faith…” (The body of truth contained in the scripture).

Paul never deviated from the truth, “…false brothers secretly brought in, who slipped in to spy on our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, that they might enslave us— to them we did not submit even for a moment..” Ga. 2:4-5

The healthy Christian is able to keep his eye on the target and thereby avoid false teaching and faulty living.

Religious and nonreligious people alike are always on a quest to justify their actions. Our God-given conscience tells people when they are wrong, so it becomes necessary to rationalize one’s evil behavior. The false religions of the world teach salvation by good works, however God is clear, neither circumcision, or baptism, long prayers, nor missionary endeavors mean anything (with regards to earning heaven) for the person identified with Jesus Christ.

Godly fear is good, it is the beginning of wisdom according to the bible, but perfect love casts out fear because fear has torment, so where there is torment there is no love.

The rock solid Christian understands that, “We love him, because he first loved us.” 1John 4:19 and it is that love that energizes faith, and faith receives the promises of God. The one who trusts God, loves God, and in so doing gives Him glory.

In our text, Paul says his calling was not of or by man, in the Greek the first term “of” focuses on the idea of coming from someone else, the second “by” is more of a channel through which a thing occurs. Paul then is saying his calling to preach Christ among the Gentiles did not come from men nor is it accomplished through the enablement of men.

Paul ministered spiritual truth by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, and the means that God used to enable Paul was the resurrection from the dead.

The Christian is one alive from the dead (dead in sins and trespasses) alive by union with Jesus Christ in His resurrection and victory over sin.

It should be obvious from the previous statement the Apostle Paul held no respect for false teachers, and he thought the best thing for a deceiver would be their inability to reproduce.

It staggers my mind when I consider the naivety of our present generation of “evangelicals”, who consider themselves spiritual when they refuse to judge the preaching of others. The Apostle Paul thought no such thing, “I marvel that you are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ” Galatians 1:6-7

To pervert the words of any mere man is never a good thing, however, to pervert the words of the infinitely powerful, correct, just judge, and holy God is infinitely worse. There are men pleasers and there are God pleasers, men pleasers do just that, they seek to please men by appearing to be good teachers of Christ, however in reality they are deceivers because they do not seek to please the only One who is inherently good.

“For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I yet pleased men, I should not be the slave of Christ” Galatians 1:10

Jesus died for our sins so that He might rescue, deliver, and pluck us out of this present evil age or generation; yet in each age men pervert Christianity into a system of rules to justify their otherwise godless living. So in an ironic twist, false religions author sinful behavior while pretending to be godly.

“For, brethren, you have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another” Galatians 5:13. Paul in his letter was setting aright the false teaching that returns men to the bondage of the law, which no man can fulfill. It was John Bunyan who once said, “The greatest prayer I ever prayed had enough sin in it to condemn the whole world.”

However, only a wicked false prophet would pretend to preach liberty in Christ, and then give his hearers permission to continue in sin, howbeit subtly, in light of Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection.

The great liberty of the child of God is to serve Christ out of love for His sacrifice, by faith in His promises, and humbly because of His forgiveness.

“…The Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age…” Galatians 1:3-4

The greatest evil in the world attacks the truth of God to replace it with a lie, so men will not know the truth and be saved. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes…” Romans 1:16

Gospel truth is the instrument God uses to save men; the devil knows to corrupt the gospel is to corrupt the means by which men are saved. For this reason, when Paul referred to false teachers he said, they should be accursed (incapable of being redeemed), and then he repeated himself because he knew the Galatians believers would think they misunderstood him. Galatians 1:8-9

Paul valued the souls of men so highly that he opposed all false teachers who would mislead men regarding the way of salvation by their preaching.

Jesus Christ died to deliver us from this present evil age, which includes the teachings of deceivers, charlatans, and false prophets. Every Christian should feel strongly about the means by which men are saved, and do everything in their power to safe guard it.

“…he is a Jew who is one inwardly…” Romans 2:29a

It is difficult for a sinful man to grasp the reality of Romans 2:29 for himself because of his inability to see inside himself: in his heart, the place of his affections and will. Sinful people naturally consider them selves to be good, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? Jeremiah 17:9

For the Jew circumcision was the act and symbol of their separation to God and from all other people; Paul explains that the true Jew is one who is separated in his heart and not outwardly. Attending a certain church, wearing special clothes (dress or casual), singing specified songs (traditional or contemporary), and a whole host of incidentals is not circumcision to God – it is a transformation of a sinful heart.

Circumcision that matters to God is circumcision of the spirit (pneuma), which in the Greek has the idea of breath or the living soul of man, that which is beyond the physical body. When a person is separated to God, then his spirit is made alive and his praise goes to God and not men or self.

“…circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.” Romans 2:29b

Jesus’ admonition “you shall not judge” is the most quoted to avoid judgment – ironically! There are instructions that qualify His command, such as, 1Corinthians 2:16, “But he who is spiritual judges all things…,” or 1Corninthians 6:2, “And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters?”, or 1Corinthians 11:13, “Judge among yourselves,” or 1Corinthians 11:31, “For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged,” and many others.

‘Judge not’ is widely misunderstood, Christ meant outside of the parameters set by God. He continued; first remove the beam from your own eye so that you might see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye.

In Romans 2, Paul warns, “You are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge,” because they who judge do the same things. Judgment without repentance brings God’s wrath! As it is written, “In accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath.” (Emphasis added)

The Christian should understand that he is called to be discerning and to judge correctly, as God supplies him with a repentant and humble heart. 

Those who ‘judge not’ wrongfully and remain unrepentant will not escape God’s wrath. 

It is unreasonable to acknowledge that sin exists and refuse that a holy God would judge it harshly, this inconsistency is a lack of understanding in the nature and depth of sin.  Even the worst sinners make excuses for the wrongful things they do, and self justification is the minimizing of sin.

A sinful person who tries to earn acceptance from God is like a leper winning as Miss Universe, a cripple an Olympic race, a mercenary the Nobel peace prize, or a moron the National Intelligence Achievement Medal.  The distance between man’s tolerance of sin and God’s rejection of it, is as great as man’s finite limits and God’s infinite greatness.

The Christian should always proclaim the biblical wickedness  of sin, because only then can people appreciate God’s love in suffering as a sacrificial substitute.

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If you have ever talked with someone who would not listen to you, then you know what it means when the bible says, “they did not see fit to acknowledge God.”  It can be frustrating to talk to an unreasonable person, who is unwilling to consider another point of view.  

Everyone is entitled to believe what they will, but only reasonable people can know the truth.  Romans 1 refers to the cyclical history of the world, and why God abandons people to a depraved mind, which is a mind incapable of reason.  God created men to reason, which is the ability to think loigically, question cause and effect, and understand why things happen the way they do, if possible. 

In the context of Romans 1 the universe is complex and orderly, which gives clear evidence of design and an eternal creator, however, because men did not want to be held accountable to God for their actions, He gave them over to an inability to reason in this way.  Therefore men replaced the true eternal God with idols of wood, iron and, stone that hear, see, and exist not.

Only God can open the mind of the unreasonable, which is why every Christian is inadequate to save, however, by faith we share the gospel and trust God to accomplish all His will.

It was understood among the Israelites that no one could see the face of God and live, which is why Gideon expressed deep concern when he realized He had looked upon The Angel of the Lord. 

The LORD tells Gideon not to fear because there was PEACE between them, which we see in the words, “…Peace to you…”  When the crowds saw the great miracles Jesus did they said, “"BLESSED IS THE KING WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD ; Peace in heaven and glory in the highest !"

Let us remember the peace we (Christians) enjoy was planned in heaven, accomplished at Calvary, and placed in our hearts!