“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,”

Can you think of any better news
than that?

You have inherited salvation!!

Don’t you just want to shout it from the rooftop?  Don’t you just want to turn on your cell phone right now and call everyone you know and tell them you are saved?  I know how difficult it is for you not to stand up and shout Amen!

“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.”

How do I know you want to stand up and shout? Peter. Peter said,

“You believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy for
you have received the goal of your
faith, the salvation of your souls?”

I am sure most people would have no problem expressing their joy if they inherited a million dollars or something else of great value.  But when it comes to inheriting salvation we have become almost mute.

Why is that?

Well here are some theories that might explain why.

The doctrine of salvation is offensive to society. We live in a pluralistic society that embraces the adage that all religions lead to God and to heaven. To say that Jesus is the only way could be offensive so we have adopted the attitude you believe what you want to believe and I will believe what I want to believe.

The second theory is that we lack a sense that we need salvation. We have embraced the belief that people are essentially good. Therefore we are not in need of God’s grace. Since we are not in need of God’s grace then we certainly are not in need of God’s recreation.

Unfortunately our pluralistic society is not all to blame.  The church must accept some of that responsibility.  This leads me to my third theory, which is that the church denies her calling to announce salvation in Christ alone.  The church for whatever the reason has become less and less a saved community and more and more a social organization.

Author and Biblical scholar Scot McKnight gives as an example of this fact. The YM & YWCA started out as a Godly organization designed to lead men and women into the Christian faith. It educated them theologically.  It provided them with Christian fellowship.  Today it has succumbed to the spirit of social services.  Their main purpose is no longer to give

“Praise 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,”

Unfortunately churches in every denomination and denominations themselves have allowed society to determine its agenda.  We have become more concerned about issues and political correctness then proclaiming salvation and revealing the joy of that salvation.  We have become more concerned about running fundraisers, restoring buildings, holding social events than responding to the call of God to trust and to obey Jesus.  We have spent too many hours fretting over the way we worship instead of worshipping.  We have become more concerned about selling the church instead of taking action as

“God’s elect who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of
God the Father,
through the sanctifying
work of the Spirit,
for obedience to Jesus Christ
and sprinkling by His blood.”

The church is like a bicycle wheel.  The hub of the church is the message of salvation.  The spokes are the various ministries. The outer rim is society.  Each spoke, each ministry has to be attached to the hub so that the message of salvation through Jesus Christ can be taken to our society.  Also the message of salvation must never become just another spoke in the wheel.  When the good news of salvation ceases to be the hub, the church ceases to be the church that God calls us to be.

This is also true for our own lives. There are many things, demands, and interests, fighting for your time, your devotion, and your commitment.  None will fill you with an inexpressible and glorious joy than Jesus.  Because only Jesus Christ offers you an inheritance that can never perish, never spoil, never fade.  The love of your life needs to be Jesus Christ.  The goal of your life needs to be faith, belief and obedience in Jesus.

May Jesus Christ be the hub of your life, and may every activity, every thought, every desire, be connected to Jesus so that in all you do and say you will proclaim in word and deed that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God our father.

“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,”