In the last few days we covered 1 Peter 1:3-7. If you would like to read those studies, they can be read here: Day 21.0, and here: Day 22.0. For today’s study we will look at what we believe – what we believe about salvation, faith, and love. We will also look at believing in yourself, and the claim, “I would believe it if I could see it.”
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. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
1 Peter 1:3-9
Seeing is believing?
Today I wanted to cover the last part of this section, 1 Peter 1:8-9. The old saying goes, seeing is believing. So, how is it that so many millions have believed in Christ since the beginning of the church despite never seeing? I know I have quoted it in many a study on this site, but it bears repeating: faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. (Romans 10:17) We know, then, that faith – believing in him, as Peter puts it – does not require seeing.
As we did with Psalms 1 and James 1:19-22 on Day 6.0: Therefore, let’s take a look at these verses in Peter, starting with the last statement, and work our way backwards to the beginning of verse 8.
Believing in salvation
We have discussed many times on this site that salvation comes via justification. Justification comes from faith alone in Christ alone. (Romans 5:1-2) The faith we have to believe in Christ was not ginned up out of a secret well of goodness lurking in the basement of our souls, but a gift. (Ephesians 2:8-9) We do not choose Christ, he chose us. (John 15:16) It comes, as mentioned above, not by seeing Jesus face to face, but from hearing the gospel. (Romans 10:17) It is all from the will of a merciful God, who will secure our salvation. (1 Peter 1:3-5, Romans 8:28-32, John 10:27-30, Psalms 97:10-12, Hebrews 7:23-25 – not exhaustive)
So, we can rest assured that God will save those he has called. This assurance is a great blessing. It allows the faithful to move on from concern over whether or not they are “earning” salvation. If you are a faithful follower of Christ, this concept may be strange to you. But, the fact is there are many people walking among us with a sort of scale in their had.
Believing in yourself, or another goat path to nowhere
At the end of each day, or whenever they have time to think it over, they examine the balance on the scale, seeing if their actions have put them in or out of God’s favor. They may not really even use the word “God” in their minds, probably something more like “Universe” (capitalized because they seem to show some reverence here) or “karma.” But, this, while it might seem to come from good intentions, is all self-serving. They believe in a very American way that they are earning a wage – a wage owed them by someone or something.
Believing in what we do not see
The believer is not the same. They thank God for salvation, knowing it is a gift that comes from the mercy of God, and the redemption through Christ. This salvation, this redemption is the outcome of faith – believing things we do not see – in that Peter mentions in verse 9 above.
This is a reason to rejoice! Peter says we rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory. That’s some pretty serious joy. And why do we rejoice? Because we believe in Christ. Because our faith in Christ has a point. It has an outcome – the salvation of our souls.
All of this joy stemming from salvation is in spite of the fact that we have not, and do not now see him. What does the Bible tell us about faith regardless of sight?
Christ prayed for those who believe
First off, the absence of sight is part of the very definition of faith according to the writer of Hebrews: Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1) What’s more, faith is spread through the hearing of the gospel, and not the miraculous appearance of Christ to every believer. Why? The real why, as in “Why does Christ not manifest himself to every person so that they believe?” is not known to us. But, we can rest assured it was part of God’s plan from the start. Jesus said as us when praying the high priestly prayer.
20 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. 24 Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.
John 17:20-24
How amazing is this? Jesus, while still walking the earth, prayed for us! He prayed for those who would later believe in him through the word of the Apostles. How can we hear the word of the Apostles? It’s right here before us in our Bibles. In other words, the very design of salvation includes the fact that faith comes from hearing and not from sight.
Demanding a sign
Is this difficult to believe? If you think so, you are not alone. Even one of the disciples, Thomas, did not think Christ’s resurrection true. He is the prototype of all those who say, “If I could only see him with my eyes, I would believe.” In John Piper’s sermon delivered at the funeral of a friend, Jesus Raised Jesus from the Dead, Piper argues that this is false. In it he says that some people there might think that if the dead man in the casket before them rose from the dead before them, then they would believe. But, Piper states that they would not. They would still come up with reasons why it was a coincidence, that the man was never really dead, etc.
Seeing is not the mechanism of faith
Seeing is not the mechanism of faith. And, certainly the fact that Thomas lived with and followed Christ, witnessed Christ’s miracles, and no doubt performed miracles in Christ’s name, did not convince him of Christ’s victory over death.
24 Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”
26 Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
John 20:24-29
The reasoning for Peter’s initial statement in verse 8, that Christians love Christ despite the fact that they have not seen him, is apparent. They love Christ because of their redemption, and love him all the more because their redemption is not predicated on their own actions. How can you have such assurance?
Pride disguised as humility
What if, as I have, you have committed the worst of sins – even those listed as abominations? I think in the end you have to realize that you, just as I am, are not the point. Isn’t it strange that Pride keeps many from believing? And, I don’t just mean Pride that you are a “good person” or Pride that you are above all religions, etc. There is also a Pride that says, “My sins are too great.” That always masks itself as humility, but it is false humility. If you believe your sins are too great, you believe that Christ is not great enough to redeem you. That is just another form of Pride.
Believing in the love of God
But, back to love. How can we love Christ though we have not seen him? We have heard the gospel. We have been given faith as a gift. We can rest in the assurance that what we believe is real because we are not the source of it! And so, we can love. We can love Christ because we believe he loved us first.
16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because he first loved us
1 John 4: 16-19
