The Abundant Mercy Of God In 1 Peter 1:3

Praise comes first when you finally understand where salvation really starts. We’re continuing our series Receiving So Great a Salvation through 1 Peter 1:1–12, and we slow down on one packed verse that explains the whole flow of the Christian life: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3). 

We talk through why Peter doesn’t open with analysis but with a doxology, and why that instinct is a mark of a redeemed heart. Then we press into the source behind every blessing in Christ: the abundant mercy of God. We define mercy biblically, connect it to the Father’s heart, and show why salvation by grace can never be self-produced, purchased, or earned by moral improvement. 

From there, we follow what mercy accomplishes: the new birth. Using John 3, we explain what it means to be born again, why “whosoever” makes the gospel personal, and how the living hope of the believer is anchored in one unshakable reality: the resurrection of Jesus Christ. If you’re a believer under pressure, this is meant to steady you; if you’re not yet saved, it’s a direct invitation to repent and believe. 

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Transcript

Welcome And Scripture Reading

SPEAKER_00 0:23

Welcome back to Words from the Word of God as we continue our journey through 1 Peter chapter 1 verse 1 through 12 in our series Receiving So Great a Salvation. If you will open up your Bibles with me and turn over to 1 Peter, there we'll read the verse 12 verses. The first verse beginning Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ and a stranger, scattered throughout Pontius, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bethenia elect according to the foreknowledge of God, the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. Grace unto you and peace be multiplied. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy, hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time, wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in the heavenish through manifold temptations, that's various kinds, various different kinds of temptations, but it speaks of uh continual trials. And then he says right here in verse 7, that the trial of your faith being more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried by with fire, might be found unto the praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen ye love, and whom though now ye see him not, ye believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith even the salvation of your souls, of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you, searching what or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, the glory and the glory that should that should follow, unto whom it was received that not unto themselves but unto us they did minister the things which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven, which things the angels desire to look into. What a blessing it is uh that we these scriptures, and may the Lord bless the reading of his word to our hearts today. In part one of this series, we examine the setting of salvation in verses one and two. There we examine uh and learned of the Father who foreknew, the Spirit who sanctifies, and the Son's blood that redeems. Uh the word of God revealed to us that the divine arrangement behind our salvation, the coordinated work of the triunity of the eternal Godhead in bringing sinners into grace. But now we today will step into verse 3, where Peter and the Word of God removes from the setting of salvation, to move, he moves us into the source of our salvation. He lifts our eyes from the plan of God to the very heart of God. And what we discover in this, everything God has done for us, in Christ flows from one fountain head, and that is God's abundant mercy. We will see that as the message unfolds today. If verses one and two show us how salvation was arranged, then verse three shows us why salvation was given, and the answer is gloriously simple, and we can all attest to this who have experienced salvation and the grace of God. Mercy made it so. Mercy made it so. This verse is not a continuation of the greeting, it is a doxology. And a doxology is a great theological word, but it basically means a spirit-born eruption of praise. Because, and it's given here because Peter cannot speak of salvation without blessing the God who gives it. And I believe that should be the testimony of every and the heart of every true born-again believer that has experienced the grace of God and had the gospel of Jesus Christ come to life in their heart. But so many of us get caught up in circumstance. And that's what Peter's trying to do here, I believe, and what the Word of God is doing for us, is he's trying to encourage these believers that are scattered abroad throughout the known world at that time, throughout Asia, and they're being ostracized and cast out and persecuted and treated adversely because of their faith in Christ. But Peter here and the word of God tells us we cannot describe the believer's identity without exalting the God whose mercy made it possible. Verse three is the fountain from which the rest of this passage flows. If you read on down as we just did, you begin to see all of what mercy made possible. Hope, inheritance, security, joy, trials and joy, all of it begins here in the abundant mercy of God revealed through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, as the last line of verse 3 reveals to us. This verse speaks with equal force to every human heart, believer and unbeliever alike. To the believer, it reveals the origin of our new life, our not our decision, not our morality, not our strength, but the abundant mercy of God. That's what made our salvation so complete. It reminds us, as true born-again believers, that our hope is not fragile, it's never fading and not dependent on our circumstances around us, but it is anchored in the risen Christ. But as we look to the unbeliever, this verse reveals the necessity of the new birth. As Jesus would tell Nicodemus and John chapter 3, no one can enter or see God's kingdom by the natural birth. They must, and it's emphatic because he gives it there, they must be born again. You can't get there by a religious effort. You can't pay your way in, you can't bribe your way in. It doesn't come by good works or moral improvement or self-righteousness. Salvation requires a divine act of being begotten again, made alive by the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. This verse confronts every soul with the reality that salvation is not self-produced. It is God given, it is mercy-driven, and it is resurrection-powered, and it is the only source of true living hope. With that fountain foundation before us, let us now turn our attention to the word of God itself as we come to 1 Peter chapter 1, verse 3, where we encounter a verse that functions as a doxology. As I said, uh it's a spirit-born expression of praise. A doxology is an expression of worship, basically what it's called. I know doxology is a fancy word, but basically it means an expression of worship. A moment when the heart, overwhelmed by the goodness of the mercy of God, breaks into adoration. It is theology that erupts into thanksgiving. It is truth that ignites praise. And that is exactly what happens here. Peter cannot speak of salvation without blessing the God who gives it. And neither should we. Every true-born-again believer should be this way when we come to him in prayer. You know, many times we want to come to him with a laundry list of prayer, prayer for needs. And yes, we all have needs and we all deal with adverse circumstances, but the first thing we should do is come with thanksgiving and most of all praise in our heart, no matter our circumstances, because we know no matter what we go through, our salvation is secure because of his mercy. So as we read this verse, listen carefully to how the apostle begins, not with explanation, but with exaltation, not with man, but with God. Praise God. Blessed be, read with me here in verse 3. Let's read it together. There's a lot to unpack in this verse, and I want you to bear with me today. It's going to be a pretty lengthy message, but I want us to look at each aspect of this verse as it unfolds here. He says, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again into a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. May the Lord bless the reading of His Word to our hearts today, and may He give us the open up the eyes of our hearts and mind to receive the portion that He would have each of us to have. We have read this glorious verse as we move into it. He does not ease into his message, he begins with worship. And this is not unique to Peter. If you study through the New Testament, you find it's the spirit pattern throughout. In Ephesians chapter 1, verse 3, Paul begins his great salvation testimony section with the same words. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Again, in 2 Corinthians chapter 1, verse 3, he again opens with doxology. Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort. Both apostles begin this way because they had been overwhelmed personally by the mercy of God. Peter knew the mercy, this great mercy, and he knew it was the mercy that restored him by Jesus himself after denying him three times on the cross. Paul knew the mercy, this great mercy that stopped him on the road to Damascus on his way to imprison and persecute more Christians in his persecution of the church. Both Peter and Paul, the apostles, fully demonstrating that men who have truly tasted mercy cannot begin any other way but with praise. This instinct, this instinct is one of a redeemed heart. This is a the reflex of a soul overwhelmed by grace. Are you there today? Are you thankful and praising God of mercy for your salvation? Or do you just come to him with a laundry list and dump everything at his feet, which he encourages to do? Yes. But we should come to him in thanksgiving and praise, because this is the posture of everyone who has seen the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Whenever the apostles speak of salvation, their hearts rise first to praise, because they know salvation flows from the mercy of God. And so Peter begins his doxology with these words Blessed be the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ. Peter opens this verse with a burst of worship before he speaks of the new birth, before he mentions a lively hope, before he unfolds the resurrection. He lifts his voice in praise. His heart rises first to God because salvation begins with God. The word blessed means it is and it I want you to understand it it is a word that's reserved for God alone in the New Testament. Blessed, it means to speak well of Him, to acknowledge His worth, to declare His goodness with understanding and affection. Peter is not adding anything to God, He's recognizing what God is eternally. He is blessed, He is praised, He is exalted, He is extolled, He is given the glory that He is so worthy of. This is the instinct of a heart awakened by grace. When mercy has touched a soul, a lost sinner's soul. Do you remember what you were doing? Do you remember the sad state your heart was in when he came into your heart in life and saved your soul? Praise becomes its natural language. And I know each of one of us that are truly born again can, if we look down deep, can attest to that no matter of circumstances. Peter blesses the God. The God. He said, Blessed be the God, the living personal covet covenant keeping God revealed in Scripture throughout the Old and New Testament. The God who initiates redemption, the God who moves toward the sinner. This has always been his way. From the moment Adam fell before judgment was pronounced in the Garden of Eden for his rebellion and disobedience, God spoke the first promise of redemption in the woman's seed that would crush, Satan said, Genesis 3 15. Even in the garden mercy moves first. And God will never sacrifice mercy for judgment. He will not first move with judgment before he offers mercy, grace, and love. By the beginning here, Peter reminds us that salvation is not rooted in human initiative, but in the character of God Himself. The gospel is the first, is first a revelation of who God is before it is a description of what God gives. Did you hear that? Understand this. And if we look at it from this standpoint, I believe the praise would the praise of God would rise more often in our hearts. The gospel is first a revelation of who God is, before it is a description of what God gives. But Peter does not stop with God, he calls him the God and Father. Here is the very heart of the verse begins to open. The heart begins to open. We start to see the heart of God clearer. This is the fountainhead of all that flows. To call God Father is to reveal the motive behind salvation. It is to show that the source of redemption is not cold sovereignty or detached power, but the warm, compassionate heart of a loving father. Scripture confirms this again and again. Paul calls him the Father of mercies in 2 Corinthians chapter 1 verse 3. We heard that. Jesus teaches that the entrance into the kingdom of heaven requires being born again. John chapter 3, verse 3. All of this points to one truth. The saving work of God flows from the Father's heart of mercy. Peter then completes the phrase, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He cannot speak of the Father without speaking of the Son also. The Father's mercy is revealed. It is expressed and it is accomplished through Jesus Christ the Lord. So he cannot praise one without praising the other, because all of what God's mercy brings is was expressed and accomplished by Jesus Christ. This title is rich with meaning. When you look at Jesus Christ, the title is rich with meaning. He is Lord, divine, sovereign, worthy of worship. He is Jesus, the incarnate Son, who entered our world, bore our grease, and carried our sins. He is Christ, the promised Messiah, the one anointed to redeem in eternity past to the fulfillment of every shadow and prophecy of the Old Testament. By uniting the Father and Son in this opening doxology, Peter shows the perfect harmony of the Godhead in salvation. The Father purposes redemption, the Son accomplishes it, the Spirit applies redemption. And the motive behind it all is the abundant mercy of God. You notice how that keeps coming up. Mercy made it so. Mercy made it so. The abundant mercy of God. This is why Peter begins with praise. This is why his heart erupts in worship. This is why the verse opens with a doxology, with a spirit born praise, because salvation flows from a loving Father's mercy. And that mercy comes to us through none other than Jesus Christ our Lord. This is the meaning and majesty of Peter's opening words. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Having now lifted our hearts in praise with Peter's opening words, we now move from who God is to why God saves. The doxology here leads us directly into the motive behind redemption. We've already spoken of it a good bit this morning, but we must cover it here as we unpack this verse. If the first phrase here, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, reveals the God who is worthy of blessing, the next phrase reveals from which salvation flows. Peter states it with beautifully simplicity. You need to understand, as complex and powerful as this verse is, it's just like the gospel. It is so simple, a child can grasp it. It is so simple that people stumble over it every single day. But Peter moves us into the message what we're talking about today. Which, according to his abundant mercy, here we arrive at the fountainhead of salvation. The loving Father's Motive behind every act of grace, the source which every blessing in Christ flowed. Remember back in for in Ephesians chapter 1, verse 3, where Paul says, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which has blessed us with all spiritual blessings and heavenly places in Christ Jesus. And then you know, remember Paul called him the Father of mercies, the God of all comforts. Peter here has blessed the God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now tells us why God is blessed. The entire saving work of God rests upon this one truth Salvation. Remember, mercy made it so. Salvation is according to according to us? No. According to our effort, no. According to who Peter is and what the Spirit had him write, no. It is according to his abundant mercy. God's abundant mercy. Before we go any further, we must understand what mercy means. And to come to fully appreciate something, we must understand what it means. Not in human terms, but in behol, eternal, divine sense in the which it's used here. Mercy when applied to God is his sovereign, compassionate movement toward the miserable, helpless, guilty, condemned sinner. Not because of anything of the sinner, because he loved us when we were not lovable, but because of everything in himself. Mercy is God seeing our condition, being moved by our need of salvation and redemption, and acting to relieve our misery at his own expense in Christ Jesus. Mercy is God withholding judgment we deserve, removing wrath we earned, and giving us life we could never obtain. Grace deals with our guilt, mercy deals with our misery. Grace gives us what we do not deserve. Mercy withholds what we do deserve. Where grace lifts us up, mercy stoops down. Grace is God's favor, mercy is God's compassion. And Scripture makes this clear when it speaks of look the Lord's forgiveness of our sins, trespasses, and our iniquities. Turn with me if you will to Lamentations chapter three. Lamentations chapter three, where we'll be reading verse 22 and 23. As a matter of fact, for the point of the message, just take a note, get a notebook and take some notes down, because we're going to walk through a good many scriptures and we're going to probably go a little long today, but I ask you to be patient because, like I said at the beginning, we have so much eternal weight to unpack here in this very one verse, in this very one verse. These 34 some odd words that uh Peter had written by the uh guidance of the Holy Spirit, they're breathed out by God, speaks so much of eternal weight to every heart and life today. So just bear with me and let's walk through these scriptures together. Don't bother turning, just listen. I'll read it and then you can mark the scriptures down in your notebook and go back and study them out and listen to the broadcast again. But Lamentations chapter 3, verses 22 and 23 tells us, it is the Lord's mercy that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning. Great is thy faithfulness. Then Paul writes, But God, who is rich in mercy for his great love wherewith he loved us in Ephesians chapter 2, verse 4. And then again he writes in Titus chapter 3, verse 5, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he has saved us. He saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost. Mercy is not a momentary impulse in God, it is a the steady, eternal expression of his own heart. It is the posture of God toward fallen man, the posture, a posture rooted in his very nature, not in our worthiness. And let me reassure you of that. It is not because of anything we do or anything we are. That's why if you're trying to clean yourself up and make yourself good enough to be saved, it'll never work. You just have to have faith in Jesus Christ and the mercy, grace, and love of an Almighty God. It's not about your worthiness. When Scripture speaks of God's mercy, it is describing his compassionate response to our helplessness, our hopelessness, and his determination to act for our good when we could do nothing of ourselves. This mercy is not abstract, it is revealed in the person of Jesus Christ. Christ is the manifestation of God's mercy in human flesh. His incarnation was the ultimate expression. Calvary was the ultimate expression of God's grace. In Christ, the mercy of God becomes visible, tangible, and active. Everything Christ did, his coming, his teaching, his healing, his suffering, his cross, his resurrection, was the outflow of divine mercy toward sinners. When God purposed to show mercy, he sent his son. When God desired to make mercy known, he revealed Christ. When God extended mercy to the world, he did so through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is why Peter says Excuse me, salvation is according to His abundant mercy. Not mercy measured. Did you notice that? Abundant mercy. May I stress that according to His abundant mercy, not mercy that is measured because it's boundless, not limited mercy, not any reluctant mercy. Abundant mercy speaks of overflowing, rich, unending, renewed every morning, rooted in God's eternal heart. Mercy is the first movement of God toward fallen man. As I said, I want to bring you back to the Garden of Eden where Adam had disobeyed and rebelled against God and sinned and brought sin and death into the human race. But if you notice, he God pronounces uh uh curse upon the serpent first, and then he pronounces the curse upon Satan. But before he ever judges Adam and Eve, before their ever curse or their judgment is told out, before Adam could speak, mercy spoke. Before judgment was pronounced, mercy was promised in a redeemer. Genesis 3.15, the woman's seed that would crush Satan's head, although his heel would be bruised, speaking of none other than the crucifixion of Christ on the cross, because at that day when Christ died upon that cross, Satan's head was crushed, but Christ's heel was truly bruised. But the mortal wound came to Satan that very day on the cross. And this was told right before the judgment was passed on the man who brought sin and death into the whole world, Adam. Before he pronounced judgment upon Eve, before he pronounced judgment upon them, he spoke of redemptive mercy in the woman's seed. And we know that to be Jesus Christ. Peter wants us, and the word of God wants us to understand, salvation does not arise from human worthiness, effort, or desire. It arises from the boundless mercy of God. If salvation depended on anything in us, we would still be lost. We can never be saved because we are temporal. Everything that we do is fading and falling away. But salvation depends entirely on something in Him, His abundant mercy. Praise God for that today. Folks, you ought to be praising God by this point. We gotta keep unpacking this thing. And I know we're gonna go a little long today, and I apologize ahead of time for that. But listen, God is speaking to our hearts today through this verse. This is why salvation is secure. You understand that? This is why our salvation is secure. This is why salvation is certain. Anyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. That's why God's mercy. People say God's grace, but yeah, they they don't reflect often on his mercy. And not only that, but his abundant mercy. This is why salvation cannot be undone, because salvation does not rest in the stability, instability of the human effort, but on God's abundant divine mercy. This is why we say with confidence and worship, mercy made it so. Having shown us that salvation flows from the abundant mercy of God, Peter moves us down and tells us what that mercy has accomplished. Mercy is not passive, it moves, it acts, it brings life. Where there is was death, where there was spiritual death, it brings spiritual life, and that's where we're moving into now. The first great work of mercy in the soul is this. He hath begotten us again. These words bring us into the miracle at the very center of salvation, the new birth. Peter does not describe moral improvement, religious awakening, spiritual refinement. He is describing a divine act, a supernatural work, a creative miracle performed by God Himself through Jesus Christ and the Spirit, His Spirit. The phrase begotten us again means to because, to be born anew, to bring forth again, to give life where there was none. It is the language of regeneration, the imparting of spiritual life to a soul that was dead and trespasses in sin. Folks, I'm gonna try to move as quickly as I can here. I'm trying to get through this. This is the same truth Jesus declared to Nicodemus in John chapter 3. Must understand Nicodemus was a Pharisee. He was highly morally disciplined, he was highly religious and respected in the nation of Israel, educated, he was a devout man of Israel. If anyone could enter the kingdom of heaven by human effort, it would have been him. Yet Jesus looked at his religious, this religious man in his religiosity, his self-righteousness, and said, Except the man be born again, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. Nicodemus was stunned. He asked the question that every lost sinner eventually must ask, How can these things be? Jesus answered and said by revealing the nature of the new birth. Anything born of the flesh is flesh. You must be born of water. That's the natural birth. And then there must be a spiritual birth. You must be born of the spirit, for that which is flesh is flesh, that with spirit is spirit. Marvel not, and I said unto you, must be born again. It is not humanly produced. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, Jesus would say. It is divinely produced. That which is born of the spirit is spirit. It is not optional. He said you must be born again. That's emphatic. That means, yeah, we have a choice, but there's only one way, and his name is Jesus. The old saying, if you're born once, you will die twice. If you're born only in the natural birth, the birth of water, you will die twice. You will die physical death, and without Christ, you will die second death, cast into the eternal lake of fire, eternally separated from God's presence. But then there's hope for that because if you're born twice, you only die once. You only die in the physical realm if you're spiritually born again. That's only one death. You don't die spiritually, you don't die eternally. You live with Him forever. The new birth is not a second chance at the old life. It is a creation of a new life. It is not improvement of flesh, it is the birth of the spirit. It is not the renovation of the old man, it is the resurrection of a new man. And Jesus goes further. John chapter 13, verse 20, 30, excuse me, 3, verse, uh, I'll give that right in a minute. Hold on a minute. John chapter 3, verse 13 through 21. Turn over there with me. I'm trying to hurry, folks. I really am. I know I'm gonna go long on this, but this is a blessing, folks. God's revealing something to us today. Uh let's read there, starting in uh verse 14. He says, And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God sent not his son, listen closely into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation that light is coming to the world, and men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be manifest, that they are wrought in God. The Son of Man must be lifted up. There's two must here. You must be lifted up, and you must be born again. Uh, you know, but that then it says, Whosoever, that is an all-inclusive, singular word. It's speaking of anyone, one person at a time, comes to salvation. It's not a group effort, it must be between your heart and God in Christ Jesus for you to be born again. He said, the Son of Man must be lifted up. Then he goes on whosoever shall believe in him shall have eternal life in verse 15. And then whosoever shall believe in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life in John 3.16. Whosoever does not believe is condemned already. Folks, he didn't come into the world. The world was already condemned. He came to save the world. Light has come into the world. If you're in darkness today, are you, are you, would you rather stay in that darkness? Is that your choice? Well, that is your choice if you want to do that. But there's only one way to heaven, and that's to walk into that light, to receive that light of Jesus Christ into your heart and be born again into the family of God. Those who come to light, it says in verse 21, show that their works are wrought in God. That's where the new birth comes in. John 12, 13, and excuse me, one, John chapter 1, verse 12 and 13 says it beautifully with clarity. But as many as received him, he gave he the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name, which were born, listen closely, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor the will of man, but the will of God, but of God. The order here of the new birth, of us being begotten again, unto a lively hope, is believing, receiving, believing, and becoming born of God. That's the order. That's the correct order of it. This is the miracle Peter is describing. God has begotten us again. Moving on down to the next phrase, let's move on down here. He says right here, excuse me. He says, unto a lively hope. When Peter says that God has begotten us again unto a lively hope, he is telling us that the new birth ushers us into a new kind of expectation. A hope that is alive because its source is alive. It's eternal because the source of this hope is eternal. The word translated lively or living means this is not a dead hope, not a fading hope, not a hollow optimism. It is a hope that has lack in it, power in it, endurance in it. It is as living as the Christ in whom it rests. Praise God. Before we were born again, we did not have this hope. Paul says in Ephesians chapter 2, verse 12, that we were having no hope, and without God in the world, whatever we called hope then was really just desire tied to uncertainty, which is attached to things that could be taken away. Health, money, relationships, reputation, plans, all are of fragile existence. All are temporary. Everything today that we hold so tight to one day is gonna be burnt up in ash. It's just gonna be ashes. Only thing that will matter in eternity is not how much money you have, not what kind of car you drive, not what kind of mansion you live in. The only thing that will matter in eternity at judgment will be your relationship with Christ Jesus, that you were truly born again into the family of God. That is the living hope that you know beyond a shadow of a doubt. You know that you know that you know, no matter what happens here, no matter what circumstance, you know, you know, you know, you have a hope in that that is not seen, but you know it's there. You know it's there, and your hope because of that faith in Christ is living because you've been born into the family of God. You've been born again into a lively hope, a living hope to understand that what God has promised in this word, what Jesus said, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believed in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. You know that's a fact. You know that you can stand upon that promise. That is a living hope because the living source has he's made it so it flows from the risen Christ. I'm gonna move on down here. I'm gonna skip over some notes here because we just don't have time to go into every little thing here, but let's move on to the last phrase. He says, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, Peter now brings us to the blazing center of Christian faith, the resurrection of Christ. Everything he has said so far, and everything he will say after this, everything in the word of God and pertaining to the gospel rests here and hangs on this one reality. The new birth is possible because Christ lives. The living hope is alive because Christ lives. The inheritance we have at verse 4 he talks about is secure because Christ lives, and our future is certain because Christ lives. Anyone who is saved, born again, into the family of God. This resurrection is not an appendix to the gospel, it is the gospel's beating heart. When Peter writes, the word of God tells us he is not speaking of doctrine he learned from it secondhand. He is speaking of as a man that ran to the empty tomb, stooped down, and saw that the grave clothes lying. There and the tomb was empty, the napkin folded because Christ is coming back one day. The stone was rolled away, not to let Jesus out, but to let the world in and understand that the tomb in Jerusalem was empty and it stands empty today. He is speaking as a man, Peter, here spoken, who saw the risen Christ with his own eyes. He heard his voice, he touched him, his resurrected body. He ate with him, he walked with him 40 days after the resurrection until he ascended to heaven, and he was a visible witness of when Christ ascended into heaven. Peter never recovered from that moment and he never wanted to. The resurrection was the turning point of his life. The fire of his preaching, the fire of the preaching of all the apostles, the fire of their preaching today, the hope of our faith, the living hope that we've been born again because we worship a living Savior. Paul would say, if Christ be not risen, we are in our sins and we are men most miserable. Our faith in preaching is in vain. But we know, praise God, Christ is risen. We just celebrated Easter. And I spoke and I shared many posts about Christ being risen. And you remember the old song, Because He lives, I can face tomorrow. Well, because, praise God, my Lord lives, I can face all the coming tomorrow. I can face any circumstance on earth because my Christ lives. My Savior lives, therefore I will live eternity. Therefore, we can say, Oh grave, where is thy thing? Oh death, where is thy sting? Oh grave, where is thy victory? There is none over us who are born again into the family of God. Because Christ was risen, he ascended, he rose again to defeat death, hell, and the grave for us. He remember the testimony of the angels. He said in Matthew 28, uh 6, he said, He is not here, for he is risen, as he said. And Mark, he adds, Mark, his uh record was he is risen, he is not here. Luke said, uh, the angel said, Who seek ye or why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, he is risen. And then Paul would talk about in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, I believe, he talks about the five over 500 witnesses that saw uh the risen Christ walking around. They saw him after his death, and they were they could testify that he is risen. He lives, and through him we can live. And sinner friend, if you have never received Christ as your Lord and Savior, you face nothing but the penalty of death. Remember what I said. If you're not born again, if you're only born one time, you will die twice. You will die twice, you will die the physical death. Then uh as recorded in Revelation chapter 20. We don't have the turn time to turn there, but I invite you to do so if you don't believe what I'm saying. The great white throne, Revelation 20, verse 11 through 15. Fall back to verse 10 in chapter 20, where Satan is cast into the lake of fire that burns with fire and brimstone forever and ever. And that's where you will be cast one day. But if you die right now in your sins, you will go to hell, the temporary holding place of the souls that rejected Christ. And that is eternal torment. As the rich man in Lazarus, Lazarus would carry when he died by the angels into Abraham's bosom. The rich man died and in hell he looked up and he said, I am in torment. Go tell my brothers, go tell my father that they come not to this place where I am in torment. It is a place of torment. I think that word's used five times and five or six times in four verses. Torment, torment, torment. In other words, you have nothing to look forward to if you're without Christ. You have no hope. You have no lively hope. You have not been born into the family of God. Yes, it's only it's uh it's an inclusive, it's an inclusive message, the gospel message, but it's because it says whosoever. That means you, sinner friend. Right there in John 3.16, where it says, For God so loved the world. I I don't want to change scripture, but what I'm saying is personally, you can insert your name right there instead of world, because that world there and whosoever means the uh single identity, but it means mankind on the face of the earth. It's not talking about the bottle of dirt we stand on. But Jesus said, for God who loved the world, and you can put your name there, sinner friend, that he gave his only begotten son, he gave his son for you, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. And then I turn back, turn with me back over to 1 Peter chapter 1, there verse 3, and I'll tell you what you got to look forward to. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. And right there in verse 4, I don't want to get ahead of us in this in the series, but next verse we'll cover is to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you. The risen Lord. You can have hope in the mercy of God. You can have that mercy, love, and grace come flooding into your heart as well, and all you have to do is receive Christ today as your Lord and Savior. If you have not done so, I invite you to repent. Jesus said, repent and believe the gospel, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. He said, just repent and believe. That's turning from your sin, turning from the world, turning toward God. Finally and for all, you mean it. You don't just make a profession, emotional effect uh profession and go out and live like you want to. No, you allow that transformation to take place. In other words, if you receive Christ into your heart, you call him Lord, you accept him as Lord, the risen Lord, the Son of God, the Lord of all. You accept him into your heart, and you believe in him, putting all your trust, all your faith, all your weight upon him and his finished redemptive work on Calvary's cross, you will be saved. He said, For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Don't wait. You're not guaranteed another second. You're not guaranteed another tomorrow. Our life, our human life is compared to a vapor in Scripture. And Scripture tells us that it's like a vapor, it's here for a little while and then it's gone. But scripture also tells us that it is appointed unto men once to die, and then the judgment. Let your sins be judged in Christ now, that you may have this living hope and experience the mercy of God that we've talked about today. That loving compassion that He's waiting on you. You might be the last one to be saved before the church is raptured out. Because I can promise you, if you're if the church is raptured out and you're left behind, you will go through hell on earth before you're cast into hell and then the lake of fire for an eternity. And the lake of fire that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. Also the spiritual death. You will never have another opportunity to be saved. God is not there. He will not be there. You will be eternally separated from him. Outer darkness, where the gnashing of teeth is and the wailing and gnashing of teeth. No doubt, hearing this very invitation, where you will be reminded time after time after time for eternity that you had an opportunity to be saved and you yet denied it again. Accept the mercy of God today and be saved. Become born into the family of God by the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, and be born into the family of God as a child of God, a son and daughter of the Most High God. I pray you will today if you haven't received him. Born-again believer, if you're in the sound of my voice, you can take hope in this verse that we've covered today. I didn't get to cover everything like I wanted to. I had to skip over a great deal because I didn't want to go too long. But I believe God has spoken to our hearts today. I believe that God is speaking to you, Christian friend, that you would, no matter what your circumstance is, because that's what Peter is encouraging us with. That's what the word of God is telling us. No matter what our circumstances are, no matter how bad it looks, we have all this blessing, and we can praise God because everything that we have is not based upon those circumstances that we're in. They're based upon a God who loved us so much that he saved our soul, and he has given us a living hope by his mercy, love, and grace through Jesus Christ the Lord. The grace of God which bringeth salvation unto all men hath appeared. And that's the that's the Lord we know, and we can take hope in that, and we can say, all together in unity, say it with me. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which hath according to his abundant mercy, hath begotten us again into a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Say it with me again. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you so much for joining us today, and I look so forward to the next time we can share a word from the Word of God. God bless you all.