FAITH'S END RESULT

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

1 Peter 1:6-9

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

As a Christian believer, life is most often a marathon and not a sprint. Once we emerge from our mother’s womb, we set course on a journey that will last on nearly 80 years on average, the median 2024 expected life expectancy in America. That’s a lot of days for a person to exercise faith through the multitude of challenges that sheer living inevitably brings.

Thankfully, those who have placed their belief in Jesus have a living hope as we looked at in yesterday’s message and it’s that living hope that brings us a great reward at the end of this thing called life, a glorious end result of the faith we held onto over time.

What is that end result?

Look at these verses as we continue to study from the first chapter of 1 Peter:

In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls. Vv. 6-9

In these words of encouragement shared with the Christians who lived in the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia (v.1) and to us today as we read God’s Word, we are reminded that although we may “suffer” through “grief in all kinds of trials”, we will one day reap the greatest gift ever from our Lord because of the “proven genuineness” of our faith. For when Jesus Christ, God’s one and only Son, returns as He promised and “is revealed”, all who believed in Him will experience the blessed result, a result grounded in “praise, honor, and glory”. This is what the Apostle Paul was talking about when he wrote this in the eighth chapter of his letter to the Romans:

...those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by Him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in His sufferings in order that we may also share in His glory. Vv.17-24

Indeed, on the day of Jesus’ return, we will share in His glory and be filled with the greatest measure of “inexpressible and glorious joy” that we have ever felt. For on that day, we will have made it through life and crossed the finish line, gaining our inheritance and changing our address permanently from the world to the place our Savior has prepared for us (John 14:1-3).

This is faith’s end result for all Christians, the sure finish for all those who are in Christ Jesus. Today and every day, join me in proclaiming these words Paul wrote in regard to the assurance of eternal life in 1 Corinthians:

“...thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 15:57

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.