Well, I live here in Center City, just in walking distance from this studio, and I live in a building that was a former garment factory and it's now turned into lofts. And our building is a secure building. You just can't get into this building without a key fob, without a cell phone app, or without a code. And the building is publicized as a safe building because of that.
So, I want to ask and address the question from 1 Peter, where is security to be found? Where is true, human safety to be found? Now for our building, the most dangerous thing that the builders were concerned about is people who don't belong in that building, entering that building and maybe robbing somebody or breaking into a loft. Well, what is the greatest danger to a human being?
Well, prepare to be humbled. The greatest dangers in life don't exist outside of you. If the greatest dangers of life existed outside of you, all you would need to do is change locations to a safer place, quit hanging around with those unsafe people. But the Bible teaches us that the greatest danger in human life lives inside of me, not outside of me. It's this thing called sin because sin is always destructive, it's always deceptive, and it ultimately leads to death.
But here's the good news. Although sin is something we should be deathly afraid of, the house of God is a secure building. Let me read for you.
He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you 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.
Now, what Peter is saying is, "The thing that you should be most afraid of, the thing that is most dangerous that has the greatest power to destroy your life, destroy your relationships, destroy your righteous hopes and dreams, God has dealt with in His Son." It means that God provides the safety for you from this dangerous thing that you could never provide for yourself.
Parents, you want your children to be safe from sin, but you better know you can't do that. If you're in marriage, you want your husband or wife to be safe from sin, but you better know that you don't have the power to create that. Only God has that power! Again, that's why He sent His Son to conquer sin. That's why He gives us, according to this passage, hearts to believe. It's not natural for me to believe. God's got to provide intervention. I need grace to believe in grace. And He showers, as I said before, His glory on His Son. Why?
Because sin is about self-glory! And He puts before us a greater glory than we would ever find in ourselves. So, you can feel safe putting your faith and hope in His hands. It's never a dumb thing, it's never an unwise thing, it's never an unsafe thing to place the entirety of your life in the hands of God because the house of God is the world's most secure building. All of His ways are right and true; everything He asks of you is good; everything He promises you is the best; everything He delivers you from is the worst. There's nothing but safety and good in the house of God. Living in God's house is by far the safest place on Earth!
