By Dr. Michael Guido, D.D.
1st Peter 1:10
1st Peter 1:10
Years ago there was a dissipated fellow by the name of Oliver Martin who lived a wretched life. One day in his wanderings he came onto a gold nugget too big for him to carry. Hurrying to a friend, he persuaded him to help carry it. When the testing proved that it was genuine, the drunkard fell on his face, and in sorrow for sin he confessed his sins, saying, "Such a finding as this is truly of the grace of God." From that hour he lived the Christian life. But greater wealth did Peter find in salvation. Let's turn to 1st Peter 1:10 and
Mark the salvation. It denoted deliverance, deliverance from the penalty, the power and the presence of sin. It's by grace and not our goodness. And grace is God assuming all our sin, and suffering for our sin. Salvation is by faith, and this faith is of God. He was a judge, and his son was brought before him on a minor charge. When the boy was unable to pay the fine, the kind judge reached into his pocket and paid it. Thus the faith that God requires of you and me, He imparts. How? "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." When you exercise this faith, you're saved. "How," you ask, "do I exercise it?" Simply by saying, "Lord Jesus, I take Thee as my Savior now - by grace, by faith, I trust Thee to save my soul."
Mark the Spirit. It's written in 1st Peter 1:10-11, "Of which salvation that prophets have enquired 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, and the glory that should follow." The Bible is God-given. God wanted us to know Who He is and what He did in sending His Son to be the Savior of the world. He wanted to make the way of salvation so clear that no one would misunderstand it and miss the way to heaven. Anyone can understand that he's a sinner, that Christ is the Savior and that He is the way to heaven through faith in Him. So man is without excuse if he rejects the Savior. He wanted His born-again children to know how to live the Christian life. That's why He gave us the Bible. Now the Bible is inspired. The word "inspire" means "to breathe upon." The Bible is God-breathed. Holy men of God wrote the Bible as God breathed upon them. So the whole Bible originated from God, who caused consecrated men to write down exactly what He wanted written.
Mark the sufferings. One thing the holy men of God wrote, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, was "the sufferings of Christ." It's not what Christ said, but what He suffered that's the heart and hub of salvation. Why? Answers McClaren beautifully: "Because the deepest need of all of us is the need to have our sins dealt with, both as guilt and power, and because nothing else in the whole story of Christ's manifestation, deals with men's sins as the fact of His death on the cross does, therefore the sacrifice and the sufferings are the heart of the Gospel. But it's no Gospel to tell a man that Jesus Christ died, unless you go on to say He 'died for our sins according to the Scripture.' And it's no Gospel to talk about the beauty of His life, and the sweetness of His nature, the sinlessness of His life, and the depth, the wisdom, and the tenderness of His word, unless you can say this is 'the Lamb of God,' 'the Word made flesh,' 'who bore our sins.' Strike out from the gospel that you preach the 'sufferings of Christ,' and you have struck out the one thing that will draw men's hearts, that will satisfy men's needs, that will bind men to Him with the cords of love." Our Lord Himself said, "I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto Me." Describing his work among the North American Indians, David Brainerd wrote in his journal, "I never got away from Jesus, and Him crucified; and I found that when my people were gripped by this, I had no need to give them instructions about morality. I found that one followed as the sure and inevitable fruit of the other."
Meet the spectators. It's written in 1st Peter 1:12, "Which things the angels desire to look into." That means, "to look carefully into." While the angels can examine salvation, they can't experience it. But how they watch and wait to see if you'll accept salvation and enter into heaven. A sign in Korea bore these words: "The precious blood of the gallant officers and men of the 7th Calvary Regiment has made it possible for you to be here." There'll be no sign like that in heaven. But if there were one, it would read, "The precious blood of Christ shed on Calvary's cross has made it possible for you to be here."
copyright 2000 Guido Evangelistic Association
Mark the salvation. It denoted deliverance, deliverance from the penalty, the power and the presence of sin. It's by grace and not our goodness. And grace is God assuming all our sin, and suffering for our sin. Salvation is by faith, and this faith is of God. He was a judge, and his son was brought before him on a minor charge. When the boy was unable to pay the fine, the kind judge reached into his pocket and paid it. Thus the faith that God requires of you and me, He imparts. How? "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." When you exercise this faith, you're saved. "How," you ask, "do I exercise it?" Simply by saying, "Lord Jesus, I take Thee as my Savior now - by grace, by faith, I trust Thee to save my soul."
Mark the Spirit. It's written in 1st Peter 1:10-11, "Of which salvation that prophets have enquired 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, and the glory that should follow." The Bible is God-given. God wanted us to know Who He is and what He did in sending His Son to be the Savior of the world. He wanted to make the way of salvation so clear that no one would misunderstand it and miss the way to heaven. Anyone can understand that he's a sinner, that Christ is the Savior and that He is the way to heaven through faith in Him. So man is without excuse if he rejects the Savior. He wanted His born-again children to know how to live the Christian life. That's why He gave us the Bible. Now the Bible is inspired. The word "inspire" means "to breathe upon." The Bible is God-breathed. Holy men of God wrote the Bible as God breathed upon them. So the whole Bible originated from God, who caused consecrated men to write down exactly what He wanted written.
Mark the sufferings. One thing the holy men of God wrote, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, was "the sufferings of Christ." It's not what Christ said, but what He suffered that's the heart and hub of salvation. Why? Answers McClaren beautifully: "Because the deepest need of all of us is the need to have our sins dealt with, both as guilt and power, and because nothing else in the whole story of Christ's manifestation, deals with men's sins as the fact of His death on the cross does, therefore the sacrifice and the sufferings are the heart of the Gospel. But it's no Gospel to tell a man that Jesus Christ died, unless you go on to say He 'died for our sins according to the Scripture.' And it's no Gospel to talk about the beauty of His life, and the sweetness of His nature, the sinlessness of His life, and the depth, the wisdom, and the tenderness of His word, unless you can say this is 'the Lamb of God,' 'the Word made flesh,' 'who bore our sins.' Strike out from the gospel that you preach the 'sufferings of Christ,' and you have struck out the one thing that will draw men's hearts, that will satisfy men's needs, that will bind men to Him with the cords of love." Our Lord Himself said, "I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto Me." Describing his work among the North American Indians, David Brainerd wrote in his journal, "I never got away from Jesus, and Him crucified; and I found that when my people were gripped by this, I had no need to give them instructions about morality. I found that one followed as the sure and inevitable fruit of the other."
Meet the spectators. It's written in 1st Peter 1:12, "Which things the angels desire to look into." That means, "to look carefully into." While the angels can examine salvation, they can't experience it. But how they watch and wait to see if you'll accept salvation and enter into heaven. A sign in Korea bore these words: "The precious blood of the gallant officers and men of the 7th Calvary Regiment has made it possible for you to be here." There'll be no sign like that in heaven. But if there were one, it would read, "The precious blood of Christ shed on Calvary's cross has made it possible for you to be here."
copyright 2000 Guido Evangelistic Association
All Scripture verses are quoted from the New King James Version.
This series of messages on the books of the Bible were originally written for broadcast on Dr. Guido's radio program, "The Sower." They are collected and reprinted here for your enjoyment and spiritual edification. Go to the Sower's site for more at www.TheSower.com.
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I enjoyed looking over you blog
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