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‘So be on guard; then you will not be carried away by the errors of these wicked people and lose your own secure footing. Rather, you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ’ (2 Peter 3:17-18 NLT).
The epistles Peter wrote don’t take long to read, but they are packed with truth and well worth meditating upon. Today’s Teaching highlights four words that will help us to avoid error and experience the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. The first word is, Faith. I am sure Peter never forgot when Jesus commended his faith. ‘Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven’ (Matthew 16:16-17 NLT). Peter became a believer and stayed true to his faith, even though his life ended in crucifixion. There are six truths his epistles teach us about faith.
1. Protection – ‘Who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation’ (1 Peter 1:5)
What a comfort to know someone much greater is keeping us. Jesus said, ‘My Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand’ (John 10:29 NLT). There’s a greater power keeping us, than the devil who is trying to destroy us. If we keep the faith, the faith will keep us!
2. Evaluation – ‘These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold’ (1 Peter 1:7 NLT).
Faith helps us to correctly evaluate the things in this world. Jesus said, ‘What do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?’ (Mark 8:36 NLT). The poor can be richer spiritually than the very rich, although they have nothing in comparison. ‘God has chosen poor people to be rich in faith, and the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs, for that is the gift God has promised to all those who love Him’ (James 2:5 TLB). You may not have much in this life, but the time is coming when, because of your faith, you will inherit all things.
3. Salvation – ‘Receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls’ (1 Peter 1:9).
Faith’s end is really God’s beginning, when there’s a new heaven and earth and we are clothed with an eternal body. When we have something of value that people want to see, such as an art collection, we want them to see everything. God is no different, for the bible says, ‘That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus’ (Ephesians 2:7).
4. Resurrection – ‘Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God’ (1 Peter 1:21 N IVUK).
Believing in the resurrection of Jesus from the dead is essential to faith. ‘For if you tell others with your own mouth that Jesus Christ is your Lord and believe in your own heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved’ (Romans 10:9 TLB).
Abraham, whom is the father of our faith, believed that God would have raised his son Isaac from the dead, that’s why he willingly sacrificed him (See Hebrews 11:17-19). A dead Jesus cannot save anyone, but the bible says, ‘I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold I am alive forevermore’ (Revelation 1:18). The same Holy Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead, will change us and we shall live eternally.
5. Addition – ‘Add to your faith’ (2 Peter 1:5)
Faith alone is not enough. James wrote that faith needs to be accompanied by works that reveal the faith is genuine (See James 2:14-26). Peter wrote about what we need to add to faith – virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness and love. This is similar to the fruit of the Spirit described in Galatians 5:22-23. Faith is the inward power that works out of our hearts in a demonstrative way that glorifies God and lets the world around us know that we are true Christians and not hypocrites.
6. Resistance – ‘Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believersall over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are’ (1 Peter 5:8-9 NLT).
Satan may go around like a roaring lion creating fear, but I don’t want to let him catch and eat me! We may be having a battle now, but many throughout the world are having it much worse. If they can resist, we can too!
Faith enables us to stand our ground. ‘So use every piece of God’s armour to resist the enemy whenever he attacks, and when it is all over, you will still be standing up … In every battle you will need faith as your shield to stop the fiery arrows aimed at you by Satan’ (Ephesians 6:13, 16 TLB).
Paul reminded the Corinthians, ‘Now abide faith, hope and love’ (1 Corinthians 13:13). Faith is in the top three that abide. By faith we believe in the God who loves us. By faith we have hope for a glorious future in heaven. ‘For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourself, it is the gift of God’ (Ephesians 2:7).
Thank God for the gift of faith!
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