Wednesday, August 30, 2017

Awe-inspiring grace


Remember that verse in Hebrews? Such a "great" salvation? And remember that "great" didn't mean back then what we think of today.....
It's a great sandwich, a great harvest from our garden, a great kick our kiddo did in a soccer game.... yes, the words "great" and "awesome" are over-used today, but they truly describe the importance and significance, and even the awe-inspiring-ness (I know, I just manufactured a word, but stick with me here) of our salvation.

Seriously.

Our salvation is definitely awe-inspiring. First, because of God's grace. Peter mentions that in verse 10 (and again in verse 13):
Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care,11 trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow. 12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.13 Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. (I Peter 1:10-13)
Peter is using salvation and grace interchangeably; I believe that in Peter's mind, they were synonymous. That salvation that covers past, present, and future. But do believers today have a more casual acquaintance with grace? Do we take it for granted? I'm wondering if in some churches, and in some believers' minds, if we are kinda "laid back" about our faith and our salvation? Are we pretty mellow? Casual?  We don't want to be too judgmental of others, do we? Perhaps be called intolerant?  And maybe we aren't even too tough on ourselves....are we tolerating sins that the Word talks about plainly?
Oy vey. Maybe part of the problem is the culture we are living in -- how many self-help books have you seen, that talk about building up self esteem? Think positively about yourself. You are worthy. You are good. Don't think poorly of yourself.....on and on and on.
And I'm sorry to say, that's not Biblical.
We know in our minds that the preachers tell us, "Grace is un-deserved favor." We truly are sinners, saved by grace. I don't think we can really appreciate His grace until we understand it in our minds and also feel it in our hearts, and feel emotionally how unworthy we are.
Maybe we were raised in a Christian home. Maybe we went to church every single time the doors were open. Maybe we were saved at an early age. We probably think we lived a pretty clean life, but we believed the verses that said we were actually sinners.

I hope you don't mind my getting personal here....
You know, the more I grow in Christ, the more my heart is hurt by just how much of a sinner I am. The closer I grow to Him, the more I see the wickedness of my natural self, and the more I cling to Him and to His cross, crying out for His grace. I've learned that grace isn't just God giving a step ladder to a fairly decent person; grace is His mercy to me, a sinner that deserves to be permanently parted from Him, in hell. He has forgiven so much! That is the wonder of His grace. And that is one reason why our salvation is "great" and awe-inspiring.....there is hope for every sinner, if we will let go of our pride and confess our sins.

Another reason our salvation is awe-inspiring is that it was predicted long, long ago by the prophets. The prophets in our Old Testament sought God's wisdom and the knowledge of when and how His Messiah would come. Peter mentions that the salvation we have received is just what they were searching for -- now, that doesn't mean they were not saved -- it just means they didn't fully understand. They couldn't. They couldn't comprehend it as we do, for they lived before Christ came.

Isaiah prophesied and Jesus preached on his prophecy in Nazareth. Look at this:

He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,    because he has anointed me    to proclaim good news to the poor.He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners    and recovery of sight for the blind,to set the oppressed free,19     to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him.21 He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4:16-21)
Did you know that He stopped in the middle of a verse in Isaiah's prophesy? The rest of it says, "And the day of vengeance of our God."  The part He read aloud referred to Him, on earth, right then....the second part refers to when He comes the second time in judgment! No wonder the prophets and those who tried to understand them, missed the mark!
In Daniel 9, Daniel is praying and fasting, seeking wisdom as he studies the words of Jeremiah many years earlier. God gave Daniel a prophecy in the second half of that chapter, but in chapter 12, Daniel himself admits that he couldn't understand what the angel was telling him about the future. Those things were concealed, he was told, for the end time.

If the prophets themselves had trouble understanding, it's no wonder that Satan can grab us when we are suffering, and introduce thoughts like, "What if Christianity isn't real?" or "What if I'm believing in myths, or just fables from ancient Hebrew times?"  Peter said that our salvation is rooted, grounded firmly in prophecies made hundreds of years before Jesus walked our earth. Their prophecies were fulfilled by His heritage, His birth, His life and death, and His resurrection. Our salvation is awe-inspiring because it was predicted many, many years ago.

I know this was a lengthy study today; I hope it blessed and perhaps helped someone. We'll continue in these verses tomorrow.


3 comments:

  1. What glorious, great, awesome hope this gives. To know all this was planned, thousands of years ago. To know that the God who planned all this, still is in control.

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  2. I would have said what Cathy said. But she did it so well . This study should encourage ANY one.

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  3. It has so very much encouraged me! I say Amen and AMEN!!

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