Name the most expensive personal item you’ve ever purchased (not your home or car).
So, why do I say this? The most valuable possession of mine is my salvation! It is not just for the present, but for eternity!!! Eternity has no beginning and definitely NO end!
Just as the Son of Man – Jesus, did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.
In the Old Testament, time is viewed as prophetic and looks forward to the kingdom of heaven being restored by the coming of the Messiah (kingdom coming). In the New Testament, time is viewed as apocalyptic (kingdom initiated by Jesus, but not fully realized until His Parousia at the eschaton—the end of all things).
Acts 20:28
“Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His Own blood.
Acts 20:28
“Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.
1 Peter 1:10-21
In Saving Private Ryan, Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks) is sent behind enemy lines to find Private James Ryan (Matt Damon), whose three brothers have all been killed in combat. Miller’s mission is to find Private Ryan and get him safely home. But when Miller and his men finally locate Private Ryan, Ryan is defending a bridge with a small group of soldiers. Ryan refuses to leave until the bridge is secured. Miller and his men agree to stay and help. Several of the men are killed in battle with the Germans, and Miller is gravely wounded. As American aircraft fly overhead and take out the German takes, Miller pulls Ryan close and whispers his last words: “Earn this.”
We are not tasked with earning our salvation. We can’t–we are saved purely by God’s grace. And yet that scene from Saving Private Ryan reminds me of the price that was paid for our redemption. In 1 Peter 1:10-21, Peter reminds us how precious our salvation is in two ways:
Our salvation is precious because it was longed for.
Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow (1 Peter 1:10-11).
We are privileged to experience that which the prophets searched for and that into which the angels long to look (1 Peter 1:12). Think of Isaiah, who prophesied about the Messiah. Remember Daniel, who fasted and prayed. Habakkuk, who stood on the ramparts and watched. Jeremiah, who wept over Jerusalem. All of them saw glimmers and pieces of what was to come and of what Jesus would do for us. They “searched intently and with the greatest care,” longing to know the time when God’s promises to them would be fulfilled. But they never saw it. Though they predicted Jesus’s coming, confirming for us the truth of the gospel, they never saw the fulfillment of their hopes. We who live on this side of Calvary are privileged to understand God’s redemptive story in a way that the prophets never did. Even the angels can’t fully understand the power and price of salvation as we do–we who have been redeemed. We understand now much that the prophets wished to know. Our knowledge of salvation is not something we should take lightly.
Our salvation is precious because of the price that was paid for our redemption.
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God (1 Peter 1:18-21).
Peter understood the idea of redemption. So did his recipients. The story of Israel’s redemption from slavery in Egypt was at the very heart of Jewish identity (Deut. 5:15; 26:1-10). As he practiced Sabbath, brought firstfruit offerings to the temple, and practiced Passover, Peter was constantly reminded that his nation was birthed out of slavery and redeemed by the mighty hand of God. Though they were predominantly Gentile, the recipients of 1 Peter were also well acquainted with slavery. Slavery was part of the fabric of Roman society. Some of the recipients of 1 Peter were slaves (1 Peter 2:18-21). They understood the price of redemption.
But our redemption was not purchased with silver or gold–things of this world that will one day pass away. We were redeemed with the precious blood of Christ. Our freedom was purchased by the blood of Christ, God’s own Son. We were redeemed from our empty way of life and given dignity and purpose. We live because Christ died for us.
We don’t earn our redemption. But we should live differently because of the price that was paid for us. We cannot claim the name of Christ and continue to sin. Nor should we compartmentalize our lives, playing one game on Sunday and another the rest of the week. We are no longer to conform to the desires we had before we came to know Christ. Instead, we must submit ourselves to Christ for transformation, letting God work in us and bring our wants into alignment with the heart of God. The price of our redemption was to great to treat with indifference and contempt. We are to live as the people we are: a holy people redeemed by a holy God.
For reflection:
- What helps you understand the price of your redemption?
- How can understanding the cost of our salvation motivated us toward holy living?
- 1 Peter 1:14 warns us not to conform to the desires we had when we lived in ignorance before Christ. How has God worked in you to change your desires? What desires still need to be changed?