Read 1Peter 1:17-21…
“17 If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth; 18 knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, 19 but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. 20 For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you 21 who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.”

Through Jesus’ shed blood we are made righteous.

Jesus Christ’s sacrificial death and sovereign resurrection provides the opportunity for you to actually know God, and be made acceptable to Him! God created us so that we might know and worship Him; He saved us so that we might know and serve Him, while enjoying His blessings.

Jeremiah 9:23-24
“23 Thus says the LORD, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; 24 but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the LORD.”

Ecclesiastes 2:24,
“There is nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and tell himself that his labor is good. This also I have seen that it is from the hand of God.”

Until a person realizes that their main purpose for existence is to know, honor, and worship God, they are living in vain

(Ps 14:1),
“The fool has said in his heart, there is no God.”

Everyone is a sinner having been born dead in sin and separated from life with God, unable to have a relationship with the holy and righteous God of creation because of sin’s curse.

Romans 3:23
“23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

God’s Word (Rom 3:23) says no one is acceptable to God because of sin;

Romans 6:23
“23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Romans 6:23 says the penalty for sin is death; but God’s grace [undeserved and unmerited favor] is freely given to all who believe in and receive Christ as Savior; for Jesus took our punishment upon Himself

Romans 5:8
“8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

Romans 5:8 declares that because of His great love for us, expressed by dying on the cross we are forgiven.

God requires the death of a perfect sacrifice as payment for sin’s curse
and Jesus Christ took upon Himself our penalty, in order that we might personally know God,
be made acceptable, and receive unconditional love and eternal life from Him

Romans 8:38-39
“38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Romans 10:11-13
“11 For the Scripture says, “WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; 13 for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED”

Hebrews 9:11-12
“11 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; 12 and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.”

Hebrews 9:15
“15 For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.”

Hebrews 9:26-28
“26 Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. 27 And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, 28 so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.”

Through Jesus’ shed blood we are made righteous.

The writer of Hebrews tells us, by the shedding of His own blood Jesus became the one and only sacrifice for all time, that we might not only receive forgiveness, and eternal life, but also spiritual birth into the family of God, having been made righteous through Christ.

2Corinthians 5:21
“He (the Father) made Him (the Son) who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

John 1:12
“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” [born of God].

John 1:1-4
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.”

Jesus is the Word [Logos, the fullness of God].

Jesus is declared to be the Word of God [the Logos, the complete and full embodiment, expression, and manifestation of God's character, nature, and revelation; through Whom all things were made and the Life of God [supernatural/ eternal] and Light of God [revelation of Himself] came to us, and darkness [godlessness, all that opposes God] has been completely understood and overcome.

2Corinthians 4:4
“The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

2Corinthians 4:6
“6 For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”

John 3:19-21
“19 This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.””

Ephesians 5:8-12
“For you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret.”

Jesus was not just a physical expression of God’s revelation,
He was God in human flesh

(John 1:14)
“And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

John 1:18
“No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.”

Colossians 1:15-17
“15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”

Colossians 2:9-10
“9 For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, 10 and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority;”

The word Christian (meaning “adherent” or “follower” of Christ)
comes from the Greek word christianos, and it
occurs only three times in the NT: First, it is used in

In Acts 11:26
“26 and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And for an entire year they met with the church and taught considerable numbers; and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.”

where the believers and followers of Christ were called Christians, at Antioch. Second, it is used in Acts 26, where Paul (as a prisoner) stands before King Agrippa and gives his personal testimony as to how he was saved through faith in Jesus Christ, then King Agrippa says to him

(Acts 26:28)
“Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?”

Third, it is used in 1Peter 4:15-16, where we are told not to be ashamed if we suffer for being a Christian, but instead praise God that we are called by His name.

In 1Peter 4:15-16
“15 Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler; 16 but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name.”

Christians are believers and followers of Christ.

God’s Word speaks of becoming a Christian, growing up in Christ, suffering for Christ, and demonstrating God’s love in the relationship we have with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Christians are believers and followers of Jesus Christ .

(John 14:6)
the way, the truth, the life; the only way to have a personal and eternal relationship with God the Father through God the Son.

John wrote (1John 1:3)
“indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ,”

and Jesus said (John 14:20),

John 14:20
“I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.” This relationship is initiated and cultivated by God, who loves us, calls us, saves us, sets us apart, purifies us, provides for us, and protects all those who belong to Him, having become one with Him through Jesus Christ, now and forever.

God loves us, calls us, saves us, purifies us,
provides for us,
and protects us through Christ, now and forever!

1Peter 1:22-23
“22 Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart, 23 for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God.

Our love for God is shown by our love for one another,
from the heart, for we have been born again through the eternal Word of God.

Matthew 12:34-35
“the mouth speaks from that which fills the heart. The good person brings out of his good treasure good things; and the evil person brings out of his evil treasure evil things.”

Our love for God (and for others) is to be expressed by what we do and what we say, because we belong to God.

1Peter 1:24-25 is a direct quote from Isaiah 40:6-8, but what doers it mean?

1Peter 1:24-25
24 For,
“ALL FLESH IS LIKE GRASS,
AND ALL ITS GLORY LIKE THE FLOWER OF GRASS.
THE GRASS WITHERS,
AND THE FLOWER FALLS OFF,
25 BUT THE WORD OF THE LORD ENDURES FOREVER.”
And this is the word which was preached to you.”

Isaiah 40:6-8
6 A voice says, “Call out.”
Then he answered, “What shall I call out?”
All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.
7 The grass withers, the flower fades,
When the breath of the LORD blows upon it;
Surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the word of our God stands forever.

See James 1:11
“The sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; and its flower falls off and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed.”

See James 4:13-15
“Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.’ Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. For you are just a vapor that appears for a little while, and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.’

Do you see, everything is temporary except the Word of God,
which is in us, making us eternal beings.

Jesus said to the religious leaders (John 10:27-30),

John 10:27-30
“27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; 28 and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. 29 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. 30 I and the Father are one.””

Read 1Peter 1:22-25…
“22 Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart, 23 for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God. 24 For,
“ALL FLESH IS LIKE GRASS,
AND ALL ITS GLORY LIKE THE FLOWER OF GRASS.
THE GRASS WITHERS,
AND THE FLOWER FALLS OFF,
25 BUT THE WORD OF THE LORD ENDURES FOREVER.”
And this is the word which was preached to you.”

Speaking to His Father (John 17:22-23) Jesus said,

John 17:22-23
“The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.”

A personal relationship with God is only available through a genuine belief in and a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

1John 5:11-13
“11 And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12 He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. 13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life

Do you have the assurance that you belong to God?

Do you believe in Christ for salvation,
having called upon Him for the forgiveness of your sins?

1John 1:8-9
“8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

If I claim not to sin, I deceive myself and I am not speaking the truth; God knows me, loves me, and in spite of myself He saved me, because He is faithful.

God wants you to have an intimate and eternal relationship with Him, but you have to come His way, and this is the message that has been declared to you: The Only Way to God, the Only Truth of God, and the Only Life from God, has come to earth, from the Father, full of grace and truth; He is the Living and Eternal Word of God, who put on flesh and lived among us, in order to show us and then to become the only means of forgiveness and eternal life

1Corinthians 15:1-5
“ 15:1 Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.
3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.”

and therefore

(Romans 10:13)
“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved,” for we are sanctified and secured by the Word of God that endures forever. “And this is the word which [has been] preached to you.”

Pastor Mike Hale
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