So, I want to talk about spiritual safety from 1 Peter 5. Listen to these words, "Who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." Where is spiritual safety to be found? Look, here's the picture of 'right here. right now.' Sin still lives inside of me, and it still rears its ugly head. I'm still susceptible to temptation. There are idols everywhere around me. My heart, sadly, is still "Prone to Wander." I live in a culture that has repudiated surrender to the Lord of lords. I attend a church that proves itself to be imperfect. The Christian life is hard. Christianity is misunderstood and under attack. We all have messy marriages and disappointments in friendships.
Where do you find a sense of spiritual safety? Well, Peter says it's not based on your wisdom, or your righteousness, or your performance. If you base your spiritual safety on your performance, you are not secure, you know you're not secure! We do not have the independent power to keep ourselves safe. We just don't. We need help. We need rescue!
Yes, you should obey. Yes, you should have a rich devotional life. Yes, you should involve yourself with a good Bible-believing church. Yes, you should study the Word of God. Yes, you should confess your sin. Yes, you should seek counsel where appropriate. But safety is found in these seven words, "Who by God's power are being guarded." God exercises His almighty power to secure the spiritual safety of His children. Let me say that again. God willingly exercises His almighty power to assure that His children are spiritually safe.
Now, He uses means; but ultimately, my salvation is secure because God Himself guards it and me. Let me say that again. Ultimately, my salvation is secure because God Himself guards it and guards me. Wow! It's just amazing to think that my spirituality is not at risk. Yes, I'll blow it. Yes, I'll have stupid moments of rebellion. Yes, there are moments where I am foolish enough to think that I'm smarter than God. Yes, there'll be moments where I will resist conviction, where I need the support, encouragement, and confrontation of the Body of Christ, and I won't seek it. Where I'll sit and listen to a sermon, and rather than apply it to me, be thankful that somebody else in the room is hearing it. But in all of that, God is at work! There's a guard over my soul! There's a guard over my heart!
And I don't have to be afraid that, somewhere, God is going to look on me with disgust; He's going to turn His back on me; He's going to remove His love from me; and He's going to walk away. Because Peter says, "No! No! No! No! No! In all of your struggles, in all of your failure, you are being guarded for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time!" So that, you will have a place in that forever, where righteousness and peace will reign forever and ever and ever! You won't get there because you're righteous; you will get there because God is faithful to His promise, and He has guarded you every step of the way. And He will welcome you into that final kingdom because He is faithful!
