How can I be sure - I will be saved
1 Peter 1:3-5
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade - kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
How can I be sure?
How can I be sure I have been saved?
How can I be sure that I haven’t got it all wrong?
How can I be sure that my life is not just a waste of space?
John 10:27,28
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no-one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no-one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.
How can I be sure
1. I have been saved – there was a real and painful event in history when our salvation was dealt with. Jesus lived, was crucified for us and then rose from the dead. Jesus crucified is the event that assures us we have been saved.
2. I am being saved – since that momentous event we know the war has been won but victory has not yet been declared. We live in the time between, the already and the not yet. The living Jesus reigns in his kingdom which is advancing forcefully against the enemy. There are battles in which we take casualties but final victory is assured. Our saved lives are changing and becoming more like Jesus - we are being saved.
3. I will be saved – the day is coming when victory will finally be declared, when Jesus will reign victoriously. Then righteousness will sweep the earth and justice will prevail. There will be no more battles to fight; we will live in glorious and secure peace in the presence of the creator of the universe; we will know his love and our hearts will turn toward him unblemished by sin and pain.
The return of Jesus is a dominant theme throughout the bible.
Matthew 24:44 - You must be ready for the son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
John 14:3 – I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.
Acts 1:11 – This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.
1 Thessalonians 4:16 – The Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call, and with the sound of the trumpet of God.
Hebrews 9:28 – Christ will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.
James 5:8 - The coming of the Lord is at hand.
2 Peter 3:10 - The day of the Lord will come like a thief.
1 John 3:2 – when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
Revelation 22:20 – “Surely I am coming soon”. Amen, come Lord Jesus.
Often the language about salvation has echoes of the story in the Old Testament of the people of Israel being rescued from Egypt, getting sorted out in the desert and finally reaching the promised land.
They were saved from bondage and set free, the price for their liberation was paid in blood and they escaped from Egypt – just as we have been set free through the blood Jesus shed.
And then they almost immediately got to the borders of the promised land but didn’t take advantage of the opportunity and had to spend 40 years wandering in the wilderness desert, all the time only a few miles away from the promised land.
Eventually they were able to cross into the land, conquer it and enjoy the fulfilment of their salvation.
So we too live on the edge of the end of time, of the final roll call, of the glorious return of the king of kings, of the entry into our promised land.
1 Peter 1:3-5
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade - kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
There is a promised land ready and waiting for us, a new creation. We have a living hope, now, of an inheritance, then.
We see glimpses of our inheritance now – when we see the sick healed, the lost found, marriages restored, children reconciled, the hopeless given hope, the hungry fed. But the full inheritance, the one that can never perish, spoil or fade, is just over here, being kept for you.
You are being shielded by God’s power until the time comes for the inheritance to be revealed.
Pregnancy provides us with metaphor.
Here is a baby, being kept safe and nourished whilst it grows. The time will come when that baby will be out here with us – although a new life has begun it will reach its promised state out here. It is not far away, only a few centimetres and only a few weeks. The time will come when the baby will inherit an extraordinarily expanded, colourful world full of sensations and experiences of which it can know very little right now.
In a similar way we are not far from our inheritance. It is nearby, it is prepared for us. We are being protected from attack, continually guarded - until the time comes.
Exciting isn’t it?
Interestingly, people without faith can know nothing of the future. The future is out of man’s control and out of our natural knowledge. But we can know the future – we can believe in the promises of the God as revealed to us in scripture.
This sometimes leads Christians to get themselves muddled about timings.
I remember calling Giselle at home once and her young son Noah answered. Hi Noah, can I speak to your mum? No, she is on the exercise bike, you will have to call 5 minutes ago.
One thing from scripture that is very clear is that we don’t know the when, we only know that it will be. If anyone tries to persuade you that they know the date or time of Jesus’ return you can immediately dismiss their contention as being incorrect (be nice, just don’t go along with them!).
Time lines
But what does it mean when the bible writers seem to frequently refer to Jesus imminent return (which they wrote 2000 years ago) … what is happening?
We tend to think of time as a linear concept.
History runs in a line, Jesus’ life, death and resurrection is on that line and now we are on the next bit of line which seems to be tearing off into the distance. Are we ever going to get there?
Those guys writing the bible were right back there – are we nearer or is it still another 2000 years off?
Our time runs along the edge of The End, nearby, not far away. And when the God of the universe who is also the God of history decides it is time, we turn and cross the line.
If we think of the metaphor of pregnancy – death is a transition, albeit a difficult one, into a fullness of life. But nevertheless it is most often something which causes suffering and pain for us.
What is death?
1. Make no mistake, death is not natural; it is not right; and in a world created by God it is something that ought not to be. It is an enemy; something that Jesus has demonstrated victory over by his resurrection and something that he will eventually, permanently destroy.
2. It is not a punishment. Although the penalty of sin is death, because we have been forgiven “there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).
3. Death is the final outcome of the damaged world in which we live. Whilst we are in the already and the not yet, evidence of this damaged world is all around us in the evil of pain, sickness, natural disasters and the wickedness of man. Although the Lord in his grace does answer our prayers to relieve us from some of this, in the end God allows us to die before we gain the full salvation we have been promised.
4. The often unpleasant experience of dying and death can play a part in our discipleship, our sanctification. Suffering and hardship is part of the life God brings to us to help us grow in our trust and relationship with him.
5. In death we are united with Jesus. We are called to follow in his footsteps and in experiencing death we will experience closer union with him.
6. Obedience and faithfulness to God is more important than our lives. This conviction is what enabled the early Christians and many who have been martyred since to say We must obey God rather than man. Hebrews 11:35 recounts, some were tortured, refusing to accept release. That they might obtain a better resurrection.
In our day we are not often called on to make such sacrifices but it is worth fixing this truth in our minds and being willing to give up our lives for Jesus might make it easier to give up everything else for his sake too.
We walk along the edge of time and at any moment we could be called to step into a new creation and to receive our full inheritance.
We will be saved – what does that look like?
The root Greek word for salvation is Sozo – to make whole, saved and healed, rescued and restored. Redemption from bondage. Health and wholeness, peace and prosperity. Safety from danger and disease.
The Israelites in bondage in Egypt knew there was “more to life than this”. There was a promised land waiting.
Our souls yearn for more and deep down we know there is more.
The Christian faith paints on a grand canvas - in which we know we each have a special space in God’s plan.
We are torn: we know God’s love, that we are saved, we experience the wonders of creation, the comfort of another’s love, the sheer enjoyment of good food and merriment. And yet we still experience the pain and hurt of the world.
But, as Christians we live with a sure and certain hope that Jesus will return. He will come back and bring a new creation and a new earth, rolling up the old one and throwing it out like and old carpet.
He comes to us, he saves us and his creation. It is the end of the old story and the beginning of the new, when we will know the presence of ultimate love, righteousness and good. We will be able to enjoy creation unadulterated by the pain and sorrow of this fallen world.
Green fields, rolling clouds, good food and drink, safety and security, wholeness – physical, mental, spiritual.
Restored relationships. No death, no regrets, only a riveting, purposeful forever.
We will be in the company of all whom we love and hold dear but that sense of completed relationships will pale into thinness compared to the richness of the presence of the one who loves us the most.
HOW CAN I BE SURE?
That I have been saved, that I am being saved and that I will be saved?
- God’s promise is declared in the bible and based in history
When Jesus died for us it was sufficient, it did the entire deed of forgiveness needed.
When Jesus rose from the dead he triumphed over death and brought life.
- A personal relationship with Jesus through the presence of the Holy Spirit.
- Becoming more like Jesus, sanctification. Life change.
- Decisions and declarations in your life – milestones.
Times and places when you have chosen to follow Jesus, when you have turned a corner in your journey. Maybe you knelt and prayed, or were filled with the Holy Spirit, or when you were baptised.
John 10:22-30
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no-one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no-one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.
This is Jesus’ promise to you and on the cross he has paid the price to make it possible. You have been saved, you are being saved and you will be saved.
Don’t get seduced into the tawdry compulsions of this world, its pursuit of comforts and celebrity, its foolish definitions of success and wealth.
I invite you to live a life that walks knowingly along the edge of the End of Time.
Throw yourself into the life Jesus has given you, follow him with all that is in you: doing justice and loving kindness.
But also walk humbly before your God knowing that you are always close, just a moment away from the salvation which has been preserved for you.
Thank God for the life you have been given, live it to the full but it isn’t important as faithfulness to Jesus.
Be enamoured only of Christ and his salvation.
And pray for and expect his imminent return.
Marantha, come Lord Jesus. Amen.
David Flowers, 18/09/2011