Gtcotr/122122
The Christmas message is a message of grace in that it is was a choice, not a demand and not a reward.
At some point in the early 60’s AD, Peter traveled to the ancient city of Babylon no doubt so that he could carry Gospel to those Jews whose ancestors had stayed behind during the return to Jerusalem after the captivity spoken of in the book of the prophet Ezra. Babylon had figured greatly in Israel’s history. It seems only reasonable that God would send an Apostle of Christ to encourage those still living in Babylon with the Good News that Messiah had come.
While in Babylon Peter received inspiration from the Holy Spirit to write a letter to God’s chosen people who were living as “foreigners” in the provinces of what we now know as the nation of Turkey. Peter has his own definition of what being a “foreigner” really means.
1 Peter 1:17 And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time as “foreigners in the land.”
Peter is not calling them foreigners because they are not native to the area, but rather because they are the children of God, citizens of heaven, living in a world that is not their home.
Peter clearly wrote his first letter to both the Gentile and the Jewish Believer in Jesus encouraging them to recognize the grace of God and embrace their responsibility to God because of His grace. God was not forced to give His only Son to save mankind, He did it by His own choice. Herein is the love of God proved and our value to God realized.
Seeing we have been loved with such a great love and thereby saved from the power of sin, death, hell, and the grave, Peter writes that we should all, Jew and Gentile alike, be thankful to God and remember to show our thankfulness by endeavoring to live a life pleasing to Him.
Now let’s read our text for this evening:
1 Peter 1 NLT
1 ¶ This letter is from
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ. I am writing to God’s chosen people who are
living as foreigners in the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and
Bithynia.
2 God the Father knew you and
chose you long ago, and his Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have
obeyed him and have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. May God give
you more and more grace and peace.
3 ¶ All praise to God, the
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been
born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with
great expectation,
4 and we have a priceless
inheritance — an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and
undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.
5 And through your faith, God
is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready
to be revealed on the last day for all to see.
6 So be truly glad. There is
wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little
while.
18 For you know that God paid
a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And
the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver.
19 It was the precious blood
of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.
23 For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God.
There is no greater love and no better story than the Christmas story.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
Have you been saved by grace? Are you thankful? How will you show it?
