Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!
According to His great mercy,
He has caused us to be born again to a living hope
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading,
kept in heaven for you,
who by God’s power are being guarded through faith
for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
1 Peter 1:3-5
It is no secret that fishing is not on my list of recreational activities. It may be a surprise to some that I did a great deal of fishing as a boy growing up. Our family’s annual fishing vacations to northern Wisconsin provided great adventure to a grade school boy. In our early years, my brothers and I were relegated to fishing from the pier or the shore. The boat fishing would come in due time. Finally I was old enough to go with dad in the boat to get the “big ones.” I distinctly remember asking my dad each and every time we pulled a fish into the boat, “Is it a keeper?” It got to the point where my dad would automatically tell me if the fish was a “keeper” without my even asking.
According to His great mercy,
He has caused us to be born again to a living hope
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading,
kept in heaven for you,
who by God’s power are being guarded through faith
for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
1 Peter 1:3-5
Follower of Christ, you need not ask that question. I declare to you, on the authority of God’s Word, that you are a keeper! In our throw-away world, this Great Gospel Word – KEPT – is a truth that brings great assurance, confidence and encouragement.
1 Peter 1:3-10 presents one of the greatest doxologies of praise to our God for His great salvation in the entire Bible. The first three of these verses are quoted above. It would be a good idea to get your Bible – right now! – and read these verses through a couple of times. Read them slowly, carefully and prayerfully.
It is important to answer the question: Who are kept? Those who are ‘born again to a living hope’ are the kept ones. This phrase establishes Christianity as a Gospel of redemption. The world says reform; the Gospel transforms. The world educates; the Gospel regenerates. The world encourages turning over a new leaf; the Gospel imparts a new life. As a born again believer who has trusted in Christ alone for your salvation, our God makes a bold statement to you: Jesus said “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.” (John 10:28-29) If Jesus and the Father both say that I cannot be snatched away from them, I know for certain that God is keeping me safe, for time and for eternity!
Now back to the text from 1 Peter. Since he inserts a disclaimer regarding that from which we are not kept, it is appropriate to highlight it here. This will remind us that our keeping is on God’s terms, not our wishes and desires. We need to guard against the line of reasoning that goes something like this: Since God is loving and powerful…and since I belong to God who is keeping me…He will exhibit that love by keeping me from trials and struggles and difficulties. The problem with this line of reasoning is that it is not Biblical. It raises a false expectation. Then, when that false expectation is not met, we become disenchanted with God and begin to doubt Him. This is dangerous. Peter is clear:
In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 1:6-7
When you are being grieved by various trials, it is because, in God’s eyes, the trials are necessary. Why? To prove to you the genuineness of your faith. This is the very basis of you being kept by God. We are not kept from trials, but He keeps us spiritually safe as we go through trials.
Here are two very practical encouragements provided by the Word of God to fill you with confidence today and every day.
His keeping is non-stop, twenty-four hours a day.
My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. Psalm 121:2-4
He makes it possible for us to be kept in perfect peace.
You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock. Isaiah 26:3-4
So, I remind you that you do not need to wonder if you are ‘a keeper.’ God’s promises stand firm. He will keep them and He will keep you from spiritual stumbling and falling. This is emphasized in one of the greatest benedictions you will find in the Bible.
Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. Jude 24-25
This security of being kept by God began in free salvation when you trusted in Christ and were born again. This security displays the fullness of salvation that is being worked out through your daily sanctification. This security will be consummated in final salvation when you are glorified in His eternal presence.
Someone described Christian perseverance this way: “Keep on keeping on!” This is only possible because you and I are being kept by God!
