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I would ask you to open your
Bibles, at least to begin with this morning, to 1 Peter and
the first chapter. 1 Peter and chapter 1. Notice especially verse 5. 1 Peter chapter 1 and the fifth
verse, where there we read how we are kept by the power of God
through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Now, why or what does Peter mean
when he says we are kept for salvation, speaking of it as
something out there in the future? I mean, haven't we already received
this? As believers on Christ, aren't
we already Saved by him? Well, indeed, we are. We have received salvation. But
not yet in its entirety. There's more to come, even as
is stated here in verse four of this chapter when he speaks
of an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not
fade away, reserved in heaven for you who are kept by the power
of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last
time. That is to say the sum total
of what Christ has secured, that salvation with which he saves,
the sum total of it will be fully manifested at last and it is
kept for us and we are kept for it in the meantime. Well notice
what Peter then went on to write of this great salvation later
in this very chapter coming now to verse 10. First Peter 1 10. Of this salvation, the prophets
have inquired and searched carefully who prophesied of the grace that
would come to you. Referring now to the Old Testament
prophets. Searching what or what manner
of time the spirit of Christ who is in them was indicating
when he testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and
the glories that would follow. To them, it was revealed that
not to themselves, but to us, they were ministering the things
which now have been reported to you through those who have
preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven,
things which angels desire to look into. So great is this salvation,
Peter's saying, that those prophets of old and even the angels show
this intense interest in it. Though limited in knowledge,
And even though those prophets of old did not receive all of
the benefits that we now enjoy, yet the minds of the prophets
and of the angels have been gladly occupied with our salvation. That's what Peter is here saying,
how it was secured and all that it includes. And then Peter gives
this excerpt in light of that. Here's the desire of the prophets
and the angels, their intense interest. In light of that, verse
13, therefore, gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest
your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you
at the revelation of Jesus Christ. That time he just referred to
back in verse 5 about that salvation ready to be revealed at last.
Well, here he's saying, now you do this, you gird up the loins. It's a picture of one wearing
these robes that they would then kind of tuck into a belt like
if they're running a race actually our Lord used the same figure
of a Servant waiting for his master to come you'd be like
that servant and gird about that is they don't want that rope
getting in your way when you're working and so or so you you
tucked it in and Notice what it is that is to be readied what
it is is to be engaged. He says the loins of your mind,
or as the ESV has put it, prepare your minds for action. That's
not an exact equivalent, but that is the point. In other words,
it's a call to engage in thinking. to have a ready and active mind
and in particular a mind engaged, a mind equipped with truth about
our salvation because that's the connection here. You see
this. If the prophets of old hear their
telling about Christ, His coming, the sufferings but also the glory
they should follow and this great salvation that He secured for
us. If the prophets are so, or so
desirous to know more and looking into these things with their
limited knowledge. If the angels, sinless angels,
if they look into this matter of our salvation with wonder
and marvel and this intense interest. Well, what about us? Having much
more light, now possessing such blessedness, Peter says, gird
up the loins of your mind. Prepare your minds for action. Engage mentally and be occupied
with what you now have in Christ. That's the burden of it. Think
in terms of what is true. That is to say our salvation
must be real and prominent in our thinking because after all
this is to govern our thoughts and our life. Thus, we've engaged
now in a study for over a year of the ordo salutis, that is,
those various facets of our salvation. And if our minds are to be occupied
with and even governed by our salvation, then we need to know
the truth about it, right? How else are we to think in these
terms? And that's so with everything
that we've seen now in our studies of the order of salvation, election,
and calling, and regeneration, and conversion, and redemption,
and reconciliation, and justification, and adoption, and then the gift
of the Holy Spirit, and various words used in connection with
his ministries. And then there's also the matter
of sanctification, both definitive and progressive. And then most
recently, we've looked at the matter of perseverance. Brethren,
these things, though we've looked at them in the past now, I hope
we don't say, OK, well, that's the past. We're done with that.
But rather, it's so that we might think in these terms, girding
up the loins of our minds still with reference to our salvation,
so that each facet of this, well, these things are controlling
realities in how we look at life, how we live our lives. And so
also with that one final matter now to which we come, glorification. Now if you were asked to define
glorification, What would you say? What is that all about? Well, we might rightly think
of it as the final link in the golden chain of salvation, or
to change the word picture, maybe as the highest peak of that wonderful
mountain range of spiritual blessings that are ours in Christ. Please
come to Romans chapter 8, where this is clearly indicated. Romans chapter 8 and verse 30. Moreover, whom he predestined,
these he also called, whom he called, these he also justified,
and whom he justified, these he also glorified, and glorified
there pointing in the purpose of God as a done deal, perhaps
as already spoken of past tense, but it's obviously something
there in the future. Now you see that there is a chronological
order. It begins with predestination,
God's decree before time, and then that plan is effected in
time as sinners are called, that is as they are powerfully drawn
and actually join to Christ and then we read here that they are
justified in Christ, the Savior who suffered the just in place
of the unjust. Well, He bore our sin and He
secured for us a perfect righteousness which is credited to us or the
imputed righteousness of Christ and then that set the stage for
all other blessings as we stand righteous in His righteousness
and therefore you have then that final blessing listed glorified,
glorification. Now, why is this listed last
as the final? Well, obviously, because it happens
at the end. Professor John Murray, in his
very excellent book, Redemption Accomplished and Applied, said,
glorification brings to completion the process which began in effectual
calling. And you can see why he would
say that. Paul traces it out in this way.
And the point is, there's nothing beyond that. There's nothing
after this, because this has to do with our eternal state,
our eternal blessedness. And one thing is clear from here
in Romans 8.30 is that this was God's intention all along. It wasn't simply that we should
be called or that we should be simply justified, but ultimately
that we should be glorified. That's his ultimate aim in our
salvation. We were predetermined, predestined,
the word used here, especially to that with that end in view
and this is not the only text that affirms this because we
find it again and again. Ephesians chapter 1 and verse
4 which talks about how he chose us in Christ before the foundation
of the world that we should be holy and without blame before
him, that is forever, that we would be before him in his presence
in that unspeakable blessedness for eternity. Or notice the language
of 2 Timothy chapter one. Please come there, 2 Timothy
and chapter one. The point I'm wanting to illustrate
is simply that this matter of our glorification, that eternal
state of blessedness, well, that was the end in view. That was
God's plan and purpose all along. So Paul, writing to Timothy,
says 2 Timothy 1.9, God in his power has saved us and called
us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to
his own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus
before time began. Here's his purpose before time.
but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior,
Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality
to light through the gospel. Here was his plan. that he would
come to save sinners, abolishing death, ah, so that we would have
that immortality, that is to say, that never-ending blessedness
in Christ as he himself secured that for us. Or we could appeal
to Hebrews 2.10, referring to Christ's purpose in coming into
this world, that he should bring many sons to glory, that is glorified
even as sons. Or notice if you would 2 Thessalonians
and chapter 2. 2 Thessalonians and the 2nd chapter. Here's what God had in view when
we were chosen and then effectually drawn or called. 2 Thessalonians
2, we take up our reading at verse 13. But we are bound to
give thanks to God always for you, brethren, beloved by the
Lord, because God, from the beginning, chose you for salvation through
sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. He chose
you for salvation and the way you would be saved. It'd be the
Spirit's operation and your belief in the truth, to which he called
you by our gospel for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus
Christ. Now whatever this means, obtaining
of the glory of our Lord Jesus, is here set forth as synonymous
with our, it chose you for salvation, that is to say, the obtaining
of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. We were chosen, we were
sanctified by the Spirit, and we were called especially to
this end. That is, the obtaining of that
glory, or if you please, our glorification, with Christ. So, it's the final blessing because
it's the ultimate blessing that is God's great aim in all of
our salvation. But again, what exactly is it?
Glorification. Why is it called glorification? And what all does that involve? Well, that's our two heads this
morning. Firstly, this. Why is it called
glorification? Okay, I hope we've established
it refers to our final state, our everlasting blessedness,
but why is this word used to describe that? Why does God so
speak of it as our being glorified And I say that especially in
light of how that word is used elsewhere in scripture. Note,
if you would please, Galatians chapter 1. Galatians chapter
1. Paul's talking about how God
had had mercy upon him and saved him. And the churches did not
know him firsthand. Most of the churches did not
know him. But in Galatians 1.24, when they heard of how the Lord
had rescued him and he was then preaching the faith he once tried
to destroy, all those churches, when they heard that, verse 24,
and they glorified God in me. Same word are being glorified. Same word. They glorified God. Or we can see it again in Matthew
5.16, let your light so shine before men, they see your good
works and glorify your Father in heaven. Or 1 Corinthians 6.20,
you're not your own, you're bought with a price, therefore glorify
God in your body and your spirit. Glorify. That's the same word.
Well, These texts all speak of men
giving honor to God. And therefore an obvious emphasis
of the word glorified is giving honor. But wait a minute, how
can this word be used in any sense of us? Especially it's God who glorifies
us. With reference to what God will
do for us, that he will give us honor before the whole moral
universe. owning His people as His own. You remember Matthew 25-34 where
the Lord Jesus will say to all the sheep, all His own, come
you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you
before the foundation of the world, or even earlier in that
very chapter, in that parable of the talents, speaking verse
21, verse 23, of these who had been faithful as they come, faithful,
well done, faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Lord. And we can find texts that speak
of God actually praising his people. We'll come to those,
God willing, next Lord's Day. So in that sense, we will be
glorified. That is to say, all of Christ's
people will be publicly honored by God himself again before the
whole moral universe. So that's one reason it's called
glorification. We'll be honored, we'll be glorified before all
creation. But, it involves even more than
that. Because scripture bears out that
it is an experiential change in us, and how clear that is
from Romans chapter eight. Let's come back there. Romans
chapter eight. In verse 17, Paul refers to our
being glorified, even together with Christ, and then he says,
expanding on that in Romans 8.18, for I consider that the sufferings
of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the
glory which shall be revealed in us. Obviously, that's not
just talking about when we're gonna be honored before the whole
universe, but now he's talking about something that's going
to be revealed in us or done to us that will be seen by others. In fact, he goes on to speak
of how all material creation right now eagerly waits for the
revealing of the sons of God. That is, this work, this glory
will be revealed in us and at that, again, to all creation
and even more the whole moral universe. So, not only will we
be given glory, honor, but we will be made glorious. We will experience that glory
and the context of Romans 8 tells us much about that glory. Again, notice I've already referred
to verse 17. If children, then heirs, heirs of God, and joint
heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with him, that we may
also be glorified together. That is glorified together. with
Christ. When he is glorified, we are
glorified together with him. And so all of Christ's people,
again, will be experiencing this. We will partake of Christ's glory,
even forever sharing his honor and His blessedness. And therefore
that language that we saw over in 2 Thessalonians 2.14 about
our obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, as the
commentator Albert Barnes has said, that you may partake of
the same glory as the Savior, sharing His And in fact, 1 Thessalonians
2.12, 1 Peter 5.10, they speak similarly. How we were called
to God's kingdom and glory, or we were called to God's eternal
glory. This should be our portion. Well that's the point, we were
called effectually, we were justified, declared righteous in Christ
so that we might share Christ's destiny or put another way, His
everlasting blessedness. Or to put it still another way,
that we might share His reward which has now in Him become our
reward. Reward again not because of any
personal goodness in us rather because we're joined to Christ
and what is his is ours he is our head and Representative and
what he secured he secured for us so in a nutshell What's this
word glorification all about? well, it means being honored
by God before all creation and and being forever made glorious,
even partaking of Christ's glory as heirs together with him. And brethren, what this says
about the nature of our salvation. What grace. How thorough a salvation
it is. For vile sinners, former rebels
against God, to then be so honored before the universe and even
partake forever of Christ's glory as a joint heir, not simply,
well, here, you get a little trickle, but rather a joint heir
with him, all because we are joined to Christ and so bound
together with Christ, we partake of his glory. That's why it's
called glorification. Honored and then partaking of
that glory. But now, the second head. What does this involve exactly? What kind of blessedness will
it entail? And let me just say, as a gross
understatement, much. A great deal. We're only going
to touch on just a few matters now. It is my aim, when we're
done with this series of the Order of Salvation that we're
going to resume that series on eschatology, which really only
has left in it the eternal state of the righteous. So this kind
of will segue into that series that began back when the earth
was young. And we'll be spending a number of studies looking in
more detail as to what the eternal state our glorification really
looks like and what it will entail by way of our experience. But
you know, even if we should spend the rest of our days in this
world looking very closely at all that scripture has to say
on this, we would still have to say with Paul, eye has not
seen, ear has not heard, nor has it entered into the hearts
of men what God has prepared for those who love him. And by
the way, that's from 1 Corinthians 2.9. That's speaking of our salvation
now. If that's so now, what about
then, in our eternal state? In the immediate context of Romans
8.30, Paul's actually given kind of a nutshell, or maybe I should
say the essence, of our glorification. The word glorified simply speaks
of that which Paul described in verse 29. So notice, if you
would, Romans 8 and 29. For whom he foreknew, he also
predestined to be conformed to the image of his son, that he
might be the firstborn among many brethren. And then he goes
on to speak of predestined, called, justified, glorified. So glorified is really summed
up here in verse 29, or to put it another way, verse 29 is a
description of something, at least, of our glorification conformed
to Christ. the conformity of our entire
humanity to the glorified humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice
I'm emphasizing the glorified humanity. We're not talking about
Christ and his essential glory as a third member or second member,
I guess we'd have to say, of the triune Godhead. We're not
talking about his deity, but his true humanity. And remember,
he forever retains true humanity. Born that babe in Bethlehem.
living that very human life, suffering and dying in the place
of sinners, bodily raised, ascended on high, and now there's one
mediator between God and man, the man, Christ Jesus, who forever
retains his true humanity, now and forever glorified, and so
we're talking about being conformed to the image of God's Son. That is to say that we shall
be like Him. Now already we know conformity
to Christ by degrees. Remember 2 Corinthians 3.18 how
were being transformed into that same image from glory to glory
by the Spirit of the Lord as God the Holy Spirit uses the
scripture and then more and more there is that increasing conformity
to Christ in this life. But come that day it is conformity
in full. And to further appreciate that,
let's break this down a little bit into at least a few specifics. Firstly, this. It involves the
outward man. That is to say, we will be physically
conformed to our Savior's glorified humanity. As you know, come Resurrection
Day, we're gonna be given New bodies. Okay. Well, what will
those bodies be like? Well, we see this in Philippians
chapter 3 notice that Philippians chapter 3. I know you're familiar
with this And Paul says well, let's take
up our reading at the 20th verse of Philippians 3 For our citizenship
is in heaven for which we also eagerly wait for the Savior,
the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body, that
it may be conformed to his glorious body, according to the working
by which he is able even to subdue all things to himself. That ladder
language, that ladder wording shows this is no small feat,
to raise all of his people, and not just to raise them, But to
transform the lowly body, even if somebody who died yesterday,
that body still looks like it did when they were alive, but
it's still a lowly body. Or for those who will be changed
when he comes, it's still a lowly body. And those who've been in
the grave and have already gone to dust over the millennia, still
they will be raised and given a body by his great power, his
working, all the power involved, all of his people, all in the
graves coming forth and yet he has the power to subdue all things
to himself and he will. Even doing this he will change
our body to be like unto his glorious body. If we believe
that Christ died and rose again, even so, he will bring with him
those who fall asleep and then you've got bodies being raised
and body and soul being reunited and so forth. First Corinthians
15, you know, that's the great so-called resurrection chapter
when there's much there about our new bodies. We won't take
time to go into all of that. But the point to understand is
we're not going to be disembodied spirits. That's the intermediate
state. Again, we'll come back to all of this, God willing,
when we get to our eschatology series again. But we're not,
that's the intermediate state. That is something betwixt now
and the final state. We're not going to be disembodied
spirits. Glorification is beyond the blessedness
that Paul wrote of in Philippians 1, absent from the body to depart
and be with Christ is far better, or 2 Corinthians 5, absent from
the body, present with the Lord. No. Paul writing in 1 Corinthians
15 says we're all going to be changed. Very suddenly, even
those who are still alive and remaining when he comes, they
will be changed, but so too those who are in the grave. But changed
to what? Well, notice 1 Corinthians chapter
15. 1 Corinthians chapter 15. Think about reading at verse
47. The first man, Adam, he was of
the earth, made of dust. The second man is the Lord from
heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made
of dust. And as the heavenly man, so also
are those who are heavenly. And as we have borne the image
of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly
man. Saying the same thing. Christ
in his glorified state, well, that glorified humanity, that
body, a body like unto his glorious body. Now, maybe you have a number
of questions in this regard. You know, actually, what Paul's
addressing here in 1 Corinthians 15, people were asking, how is
this going to happen? Well, maybe questions come to mind. I mean,
our Lord ate and drank and went through walls after his resurrection.
Well, does that mean we're going to do that? Eat, drink, go through
walls? Well, There's much we don't know for sure. And even
when we have completed our study of the eternal state of the righteous,
we'll still be saying there's much we don't know for sure. But this much we can be dogmatic
about. We will be like him, his glorified humanity, physically. God the Son became man. As I've
already said, forever retains that true humanity, now glorified,
and he will change these bodies of our humility to be like his
glorious body. And the importance of this is
underscored right here in 1 Corinthians 15. Picking up where I left off,
now verse 50, Paul says, now this I say, brethren, that flesh
and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does corruption
inherit incorruption. That is to say, our bodies in
our present state, even if you're some big he-man, alive and well,
when Christ comes, doesn't matter. Our bodies in this present state
are not suited for such blessedness. even the strongest and most healthy
and the like, well, we're all subject to disease and weakness
and death. And we know limits in our own
constitution that now limit our ability to glorify and enjoy
God. You think of Moses and how God
said, no, you cannot see my face, you would die. That'll be it
for you. Well, We will not have such limitations
then. In fact, scripture speaks of
how we will see God, that beatific vision, that we will have a physical
frame capable of this that's gonna last forever. We put on
incorruption. Never again weary, no pain to
distract, no weakness to hinder. Is that appealing to you? Well, with some I know it's very
appealing because you're constantly wracked in pain, it seems. There's
always weakness, there's always, but again, I don't care if you're
young, very picture of health, doesn't matter. These limitations, don't get
used to them, they're not gonna last forever. Especially that we might worship
and delight in God as we want. Don't you know the frustration
from physical dullness and weariness, as well as other limitations
that now hinder? Brethren, the day comes when
that will cease to be the case. We'll be glorified together with
Christ, given a body like unto his glorious body forever and
ever. That's glorification, conformity
to Christ. But more, our glorification will
also give us conformity to Christ, not just in the outward man,
but in the inward. man, that is morally and spiritually. That hymn that we sang earlier,
the reason I asked for that one, when all the ransom church of
God will be saved to sin no more. That day comes. 1 John chapter
3 and verse 2. 1 John chapter 3, and whereas
I readily acknowledge that this includes what we've just considered,
the physical conformity to Christ, it clearly goes beyond that.
1 John 3, two, beloved, now we are children of God, right now,
and boy, loved with that kind of love, and it has not yet been
revealed what we shall be, but we know that when he is revealed,
we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. That
will include the physical body, a body like his glorious body,
but notice what John goes on to write in the very next verse,
and everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself just
as he is pure. Meaning that it's not only going
to be a physical conformity to Christ, but it's going to be
that inward, that moral and spiritual conformity to Christ. Saved to
sin no more. This was God's purpose when he
chose us before time, that Ephesians 1 passage, that we should be
holy and without blame before him. This was Christ's purpose
in giving himself for us to make us his perfect bride that he
should cleanse, sanctify and cleanse her with the washing
of water by the word, that he might present her to himself
at last as that holy bride, perfect, blameless, spotless. And so it
is, too, the work of the Holy Spirit that he's now carrying
out in our sanctification, transforming us into the same image from glory
to glory. Well, that's all going on now,
but then it's going to be complete. Colossians 1.22, how we'll be
presented holy and blameless and above reproach in God's sight
or Jude's benediction. He is able to present you faultless
before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy. And he's
not only able, he's going to do it. That is our future. Come that day, No more sin. Ever again. Ever again. Is that
appealing to you? If you're a Christian, it most
certainly is. You know the frustration of remaining corruption. You
read Romans 7, and you don't need to read a commentary on
it. Your own heart says, yeah, I
got that. When I would do good, evil's present with me. The good
I would, I don't do. The evil that I would not, that
I do. Sadly, you identify too readily with that. The deliverance
that you long for, like Paul, oh, wretched man that I am, who
shall deliver me from this body of death? Ah, Jesus. come that day we will see him
and we will be like him. Outward man, yeah, and the inward
man, and even more. Another area of conformity to
Christ that will be ours is that we will experience his status
and his blessedness. Right now, as you know, our Lord
Jesus is rightly called the King of Kings, meaning he's king over
all kings. He reigns now and forever. Now as king of kings, well obviously
he's always above and over us. But even so, we will also be
kings reigning with him. Revelation 5.10, as kings, we
shall reign on the earth. 2 Timothy 2.12, if we endure,
we shall also reign with him. Talking about the future, Revelation
22 is another text, or we could even see quotes from our Lord
in the Gospels. Now, what exactly does that mean? Well, whatever it means, it's
our blessed future. as part of our conformity to
Christ, that we forever reign with him, that we are glorified
together with him as joint heirs. What is his is ours, our status,
our blessedness. Also, Christ is the son, and
he forever enjoys that status and all of its benefits. no less
will we. That's the point of that language,
joint heirs together with Christ. Now granted, yes, Romans 8, 29,
he is the firstborn among many brethren. The idea of firstborn
doesn't simply mean he's born first. It's the idea of the head
and the chief over all the brethren. But the point is, we are brethren.
And the emphasis there is no less, are we God's sons? Adopted,
yes, he's the only begotten. But that is our status, and we,
as we're told in Revelation 21-7, shall inherit all things, and
God himself says, I will be his God, he shall be my son. That's
you. That inheritance is undefiled,
incorruptible, and doesn't fade away, kept for you, you're kept
for it, as God's dear child. And therefore, joint heirs, we
enter in, even sharing Christ's inheritance. Yeah, he's the firstborn,
the double portion, if you want to think of it that way. Ah,
but wait, wait, no, no. We too are joint heirs. We enter
in fully to that. Well brethren, in a thumbnail
sketch, that's something of what's involved in this facet of our
salvation that's called glorification. The conformity of our entire
humanity to the glorified humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ. Physically,
spiritually, and morally, and the same inheritance and reward,
his blessedness will be ours forever. And it's especially
this that Peter had in mind when he wrote those words in 1 Peter
1 and verse 5, with which I introduced this study. You are kept by the
power of God through faith for salvation, ready to be revealed
in the last time. Doesn't yet appear what we shall
be, but when he appears, well, we'll see him as he is. shall
be like him. Now, there are many applications. Boy, we could go through, in
fact, when we come to that completion of the eschatology series, looking
at the eternal state of the righteous, we will be looking at at least
some of the applications that the Bible draws out from this. There are many. But for now,
I just want to focus on one application. Just one. It's that one that
Peter focuses on in 1.13 of verse Peter, talking about our salvation. It's going to be revealed in
the last time. Oh, the prophets, not just the sufferings of Christ,
but the glory that should follow Christ and ours. And they long
to know more about it. Even the angels, they see it
and they marvel. In light of that, verse 13, therefore
gird up the loins of your mind. Think right. In light of your
coming glorification, this facet of our salvation, think this
way. Prepare your mind for action. equip it and engage your mind
with this blessed truth. All of our salvation and certainly
our future. Peter here calls us to think
soberly about, to be level-headed in our thoughts about this as
those who are living in touch with reality. You have some people,
they just They don't live in touch with reality. Maybe they're
in some mental institution, but maybe they're walking the street.
What's wrong with that guy? Doesn't he know? He's out of
touch. Well, that's not to be us. We're to live with this in
view, or to put it another way, we're to live with a view to
this of our eternal blessedness. Peter talks about setting our
hope upon this, that is our supreme desires as well as our confident
expectation all focused on that coming day. When he says, gird
up the lawns of your mind, it's basically saying, in light of
this salvation and all that it entails, including our glorification,
think this way so as to now live like it, to live this way. Mindfulness of our glorification,
brethren, is to shape our lives in the meantime. And you can
see the many practical applications and outworkings of this doctrine,
they begin right here, with our thinking, right? Doctrine and
practice. It begins here, with the mind
being engaged. Well, let me ask you, how is
it with you? These things that we've looked
at, and we've just given a thumbnail sketch, how much of a reality
is all of this to you? How life impacting? How does
it direct your steps? Well, let me put it another way.
How often did your eternal future come to mind this past week? And if it did come to mind, What
have you done because of it? Or even without consciously recognizing
this truth, how has it shaped your life? What have you done?
Brethren, do we have anything better to think about? Wouldn't
it be better to think about the Olympics and the blasphemy that
was just there at the opening ceremony? If you've not heard
of that, blessed are ye. Wouldn't it be better to be engaged
in politics Who's gonna be Kamala Harris' running mate? Wouldn't it be far better to
think about those things? Or to think about the economy? Or
to, do we have anything better to think about than our full
conformity to Christ forever and ever? Our entering into his
glory? You know, non-Christians sometimes
mock the Lord's people. Oh yeah, you people, you go around
thinking about pie in the sky. No we don't. For one thing, it's
not in the sky, it's the new heavens and new earth in which
righteousness dwells, and it's certainly far more than pie,
my friend, far, far more. But sadly, that accusation doesn't
hold in this way, is we don't go around thinking of our coming
blessedness enough. We don't think of it as we ought. I mean, this is our future. And are we
not the losers for not thinking about these things? In fact,
in many ways, we are. Because this truth is to be relevant.
This truth is to be controlling now. Therefore, gird up the loins
of your mind. Think this way. Recognize what
is true. In fact, Peter here talks about
some of the outworkings of this salvation in this very chapter. For instance, when he talks in
verse 8 about how you're now being a tribe, but even so, you've
not seen him, yet you love him and you rejoice now with a joy
that's full of glory. That is kind of a pre-taste of
the glory and the joy that will be ours. Or notice what he says
in verse six. In this, that is your inheritance,
you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be,
you have been grieved by various trials. Various trials, you're
grieved by these things. It's caused sorrow, it's a heaviness
that they cause. But wait a minute, he says, but
you're greatly rejoicing even so, because you're looking at
that inheritance and you know your future, you know what you
have there, all because of Christ. Well, that's the one point of
application. Our coming blessedness is to be that real to us, brethren.
It's to be that relevant so that it now directs our steps. And if so, Peter says, it must
be in our minds, our thoughts, gird up the loins of your mind.
See what is yours, what will come. It's worth thinking about. And indeed, this is our future. Well, brethren, we walk by faith,
not by sight. Looking at things that are not
seen, Paul says, we live this way. Well, might God help us
so to do more on how we're to do so in our future studies. If you're here without Christ,
maybe a very nice person, easy to love, we enjoy getting along
together and so forth, but this is not your future. This is not
your future. On the day when the Lord says
to his saved ones, come you blessed of my father, inherit the kingdom
prepared for you before the foundation of the world, He will then say
to all those who do not know him, depart from me, you cursed,
into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. I would say to you, if you're
without Christ, that you ask, that you answer the question
Jesus put to some very religious people. How will you escape the
condemnation of hell? You. How will you escape? Surely you know you've sinned
against God. You should know what that sin
deserves, eternal damnation. Someday that will be your portion
and it will be forever if you're without Christ. So how will you
escape the condemnation of hell? Bless God, there is an answer,
my friend. There is an escape. Christ Jesus came into this world
to save sinners. He suffered the just one in place
of the unjust that he might bring us to God. Now he ever lives
to save to the uttermost all who come to God by him. Whoever
calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. He's the one
who said, come to me. More than once, come to me. He
also said, those who come to me, no way will I cast them out.
Believe on the Lord Jesus. You will go to Christ. What will
you now do? If you're without Christ, what
will you now do? Go to Christ. Trust in him. Call upon him. Lord, save me. Trust him to do
so. If you will not, well, the other
question, Hebrews 2.3, how shall we escape if we neglect so great
salvation? What's it going to be? Go to
Christ. Let's pray. Father in heaven, we do thank
you. for such a salvation for sinners. Lord, those born in sin, those
who have lived in sin, and even having been shown much light,
much love, so much grace, yet we still sin. And yet that's
not forever. Lord, we as your people, fully
conformed to Christ our Savior, physically, a body like unto
his glorious body, morally and spiritually, pure as he is pure,
and that forever, and even well-suited to enjoy his inheritance with
him forever. Father, grant that this would
be much in our thinking, that we would marvel and praise and
adore and thank you now, but also that this would also then
direct our steps that we should live not for this world, but
for eternity. Please give us grace to that
end. In Jesus' name, amen.
Glorification - What Is It?
Series The Order of Salvation
Pastor McKinnon examines the biblical doctrine of Glorification as he continues his sermon series on The Order of Salvation.
| Sermon ID | 731241846128009 |
| Duration | 51:07 |
| Date | |
| Category | Sunday - AM |
| Bible Text | 2 Thessalonians 2:14; Romans 8:30 |
| Language | English |
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