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The Hope of Our Inheritance

I’ve been posting from First Peter about the living hope we have in Christ. In my last post I talked about how the Lord’s mercy brings about hope in us through the resurrection of Christ.

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…

1 Peter 1:3-4 NIV

So far we’ve seen that this hope is birthed by mercy through the resurrection of Christ. But we also need to see that this living hope brings us into an inheritance.

The fact is that this hope points to an inheritance that we didn’t deserve. There was nothing we could have done to lay hold of it. It was all a work of Jesus Christ for us.

In the above verse there are three “nots” associated with this inheritance.

First of all, it does not perish or decay. Praise God! That means that my inheritance in Christ is not affected by inflation.

It also says that it will not spoil. That means that it will not become soiled or dirty. It will always remain pure and new to us.

Finally, our inheritance will never fade. That means that it will never be used up or become worthless over time. Nothing on this earth meets those criteria. That’s why our hope, our treasure, is in Christ alone. I can always look forward to His blessing in my life.

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Colossians 3:23-24 NIV

It’s because of this hope of the inheritance that we can work for God with all our heart. But there’s more. The above verse from Peter doesn’t end there. He says that this inheritance is kept in heaven for us…

…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.

1 Peter 1:5 NIV

Yes, we are birthed by mercy, through the resurrection, into an inheritance; but this living hope shields us by God’s power. I don’t need to remind you about the shield of faith. It keeps us secure in times of trial.

But it’s fed by the living expectation that’s fresh and new every morning. Paul puts it this way…

…a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time…

Titus 1:2 NIV

Paul mentions both faith and knowledge in this verse. Faith is our trust in God’s Word; while knowledge is what we have once our faith has been proven. It’s through these that we can rest on the hope of eternal life.

…so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.

Titus 3:7 NIV

It’s this hope of eternal life that gives us joy in the trials that we face. This is because we know that the Lord is going to show up and work on our behalf. Never give up your hope; it will be richly rewarded.

Question: How has God proven Himself in your life?

An Inheritance of Dirt

25 Sep

As we continue going through Paul’s first letter to the Corinthian church, we can see that he’s trying to give them an eternal perspective. Paul wants them, and us, to be looking forward to the return of Christ on Resurrection Day.

Our inheritance is going to be glorious in Christ. That means we need to be focused on what is ahead of us.

To do that, we need to understand the difference between us and the world.

As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven.
1 Corinthians 15:48-49

We know from Scripture that we were created from the dirt. Even the name, Adam means red, because of the color of the clay God used to form him.

That’s important because the word, earthly in the above verse literally means dirt-like. Just like Adam was dirt-like, we have the same makeup.

I’m glad that the story doesn’t end there. There’s a higher calling that we can share. This verse also talks about the Man from heaven – literally, the one from beyond the sky.

So now we have a choice. This passage tells us that we can wear like a garment, the likeness of dirt or the likeness from beyond the sky.

That’s the two different perspectives before us. You can have your eyes on the dirt, or on heaven. What do you focus most of your attention on?

But you might ask me why that’s so important. I’ll let Paul explain it.

I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
1 Corinthians 15:50

To put it simply, dirt can’t inherit that which is beyond the sky. Unfortunately, too many of us want the inheritance of dirt.

What do I mean by that? Every material thing that we have in this world is either dug out of the dirt or grows from the dirt. Yes, even your computer chips are made of silicone which is simply refined dirt.

Why are we so mesmerized by the things from dirt, that we ignore the things from heaven – beyond the sky? We need to retool our priorities.

Scripture teaches us that this is how we do our best for Christ.

We need to be eternity minded. That’s where our treasure resides. Allow the Holy Spirit to cleanse you from the “dirt mentality”. God’s kingdom offers us so much more.

Question: How do you know the difference between being earthly-minded vs. heavenly-minded?

Have You Seen the Red Flag?

04 Oct

There’s something interesting that happens when you’re watching football. Have you ever noticed that everything stops when the announcer says, “There’s a flag on the field.”

That means that something happened that shouldn’t have. Now we’re waiting to find out what happened…and what needs to be done about it. Did you know that we have that same type of experience in our Christian walk?

Listen to how Paul explains it to the Galatian church.

The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Galatians 5:19-21

Paul has just told the Galatians that if they cultivate their walk in the spirit, then the flesh will not be an issue. Now he goes on to tell them that the work of the flesh shines its light through the following list.

Some of these things we classify as really bad. Things like sexual immorality, idolatry, witchcraft, drunkenness, and orgies. But the interesting thing is the list of sins that we barely even think about as sin. Paul sandwiches them right in the middle of all the “big” ones. In God’s eyes, they’re all the same.

First of all, I want to talk about what this list is NOT. This isn’t a checklist for judging whether someone’s a Christian or not. The phrase, those who live like this, literally means those who perform these things repeatedly or habitually. He’s not talking about a one-time failure.

Also, he’s not saying that Christians who live like this are not saved. There’s a difference between our salvation and our inheritance. We do not inherit salvation. Salvation is our supernatural birth into God’s family.

Our inheritance is our reward for being a contributing member of the family. As a matter of fact, if you believe he’s talking about losing your salvation here, then according to this list, most churches in America are unsaved.

If you’re habitually involved in one or more of these activities, then there’s something you’re not doing that you could receive a reward for. The things on this list can rob you of your inheritance in Christ. Paul makes it clear that you can be saved and yet have absolutely no rewards (1 Corinthians 2:10-15).

We need to understand what this list is really all about. Paul says that it’s the shining light of the flesh. These things are warning signals to us. It should be like a flag the referee throws down on the field of our life.

These were not given so that I could judge you. I have this list so that I can assess my own walk with the Lord.

My goal is to cultivate my walk in the spirit. These behaviors are a sign that some area of my life is off track. In my relationship with God, I need more interaction with the Holy Spirit.

So the bottom line is that Paul isn’t telling the Galatians a list of activities to keep away from. He’s giving them a group of signals that will point them back to Christ. They show our need for a deeper walk in the spirit.

Don’t get caught up in guilt and condemnation. If you see these things appear, there’s a simple solution. Go immediately before God and admit your fault in humility and repentance. Receive His forgiveness. Then use this experience to propel you forward into a deeper fellowship with the Holy Spirit.

Question: How have you seen your life change as your relationship with the Lord grows?

The Spirit and the Word

Tag Archives: inheritance

The Hope of Our Inheritance

An Inheritance of Dirt

Have You Seen the Red Flag?

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