As Christians, we have a place reserved for us in heaven. Have you ever gone to a hotel and found that they mixed up your reservation and did not have a room for you? That happens with earthly reservations, but we do not have to worry about that with heavenly reservations. We have a room reserved for us in our Father’s heavenly house. Jesus put it like this:
John 14:1-4 (ESV)
1 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. 4 And you know the way to where I am going.”
How can we be sure that our room is being reserved? Peter writes to us about the security of our hope and inheritance.
1 Peter 1:3-5 (ESV)
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
The word translated kept in ver. 4 is a military word that means guarded or shielded. Strong’s Dictionary says that this word means to hem in or protect. Adam Clarke says, “The true disciples of Christ are under the continual watchful care of God, and the inheritance is guarded for them.” Barnes Notes says, “The idea is, that there was a faithful guardianship exercised over them to save them from danger, as a castle or garrison is watched to guard it against the approach of an enemy.” So then, the word kept points to the security of our heavenly hope. This security under consideration has a divine side and a human side.
A. The divine side: We are kept “by the power of God.”
If we were kept by our own ingenuity, our hope would be precarious at best. If we were kept by our own strength, the devil would have no problem having his way with us. But the fact that we are kept by the power of God should give us confidence and assurance regarding our hope. What power is Peter talking about? We know that God has all power. We know that He has miraculous power, creating power, etc., but what power keeps us in good standing with Him so that our inheritance and our hope remain secure? We do not have to guess because Paul tells us (Romans 1:16).
The power Peter is referring to is the gospel of Christ. God has provided for us His complete will for our lives through the written Word revealed by the Holy Spirit. This Word can guide, guard and protect us against all the assaults of the devil (2 Timothy 3:16-17; Titus 2:11-12; James 1:21; Psalm 119:11, 105). Without the power of God’s Word to shield us against the evils of Satan and sin, we would not stand a chance. Thank God for His protecting power. It is the security we need to give us real hope.
B. The human side: We are kept by the power of God “through faith.”
To continue in this “kept” state that Peter spoke of in 1 Peter 1:4, we must continue in the faith. Is it possible to lose our faith? The answer is a resounding yes (2 Corinthians 13:5; 1 Timothy 4:1). This does not mean that one stops believing that Jesus is the Son of God. We stop continuing in the faith when we stop living by the gospel. If we stop doing that, our state of security is lost. So, if we want to remain safe, we must stay within the fortress that God has set up around us by living according to the Word of God. This is the human side of our security. So the bottom line is this: we are safe just as long as we want to be (Jn. 10:27-29).
This should bring all of us a great deal of comfort. We are so secure in Christ that the only way to lose our inheritance is if we voluntarily give it up. If you are a Christian, I would advise against this.
As you wind down for the night, think about these things.