"Unto you therefore which
believe He is precious..." —1st Peter 2:7
What is precious to you? Something
which is “precious” is something of value (high worth or cost). In this modern
world of materialism and wickedness, fewer and fewer people recognize the
things of God as precious.
Very few people place any real
value upon the Bible these days. Very few people recognize the name of “Jesus”
as precious.
In fact, many people express
contempt at the mention of the name of Jesus. The Apostle Peter knew that the
Lord Jesus Christ is very Precious to the believer...
“Unto you therefore which believe
He is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the
builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner.” —1st Peter 2:7
Jesus is Precious to me because He
loves me for who I am, a rotten sinner deserving of Hell...
“For scarcely for a righteous man
will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to
die. But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were
yet sinners, Christ died for us.” —Romans 5:7-8
Jesus did for us what no one else
would have done, He gave His life for our sinful soul. I can't think of anyone
that cares about me enough to die for me, but that's exactly what Jesus did for
me. Jesus sacrificed His life upon the cross for my sins because He loves me.
Jesus is Precious to me because He loves me and proved it by suffering to pay
for my sins. What a Precious Savior!
Our Trials and Tribulations are
Precious
The Apostle Peter also recognized
his problems and hardships as precious...
“That the trial of your faith,
being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with
fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus
Christ.” —1st Peter 1:7
Peter realized that unshakable
faith only comes from having our faith shaken. Few Christians comprehend this
truth. Few believers realize that the road to a stronger faith is a road of
trials and tribulations. The way to stronger muscles is not lying around
relaxing. No, the road to stronger muscles is a road of painful muscle tearing
and rebuilding. The lactic acid burns! No pain...no gain. Or as some say, no
pain... no pain!
The Bible tells us to pray in our
affliction (James 5:13).
If you ask God to increase your
faith, then you are really asking God to send problems and hardships your
way... because that is the only way to stronger faith. Peter realized this
truth and esteemed the trial of his faith as being precious.
The Word of God is Precious
The Apostle Peter also recognized
the promises of God's Word as precious...
“Whereby are given unto us
exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of
the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through
lust.” —2nd Peter 1:4
It is through the PROMISES of God's
Word that we can partake of the “divine nature.” This simply means that God's
power and blessings are obtained through His promises. God keeps His promises.
The rainbow is more than just a remainder to us that God will never destroy the
earth again by flooding; it is a constant reminder to all humanity that God
keeps ALL His promises! Titus 1:2 declares that God cannot lie. There are
thousands of promises in the Bible which God has made to us.
For example: God has promised to
save anyone who calls upon the Lord. Romans 10:13, “For whosoever shall call
upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” That's a promise from God. If we
simply call upon the name of Jesus, then we will be saved. The word “call”
means to go to the Lord to be saved.
Concerning the Lord Jesus Christ,
Acts 4:12 declares “there is none other name under heaven given among men,
whereby we must be saved.” Eternal life is a gift from God. Titus 1:2 tells us
that God PROMISED eternal life before the world began. I know I am saved
because God PROMISED to save whosoever believes upon the name of Jesus Christ,
the Son of God (John 20:31).
If you want to see God's hand of
power and blessing working in your life, then you need to claim the PROMISES of
God. Some promises are condition, others are unconditional. The promise of
eternal life is conditional, you MUST believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ or you
will not obtain it (John 3:36). God's promise to never destroy the world again
by flood is unconditional, it will never happen again, as God said.
The Blood of Jesus is Precious
The Apostle Peter also recognized
the blood of Jesus Christ as being precious...
“Forasmuch as ye know that ye were
not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain
conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious
blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” —1st Peter
1:18-19
Indeed, Jesus’ blood is wonderfully
precious to the believer. No true believer would ever deny the importance and
necessity of the blood of Jesus Christ. Jesus' literal, physical blood is the
central theme of the entire Word of God; from the blood of Abel's slain lamb to
the saint's robes washed in the blood of the Lamb in Revelation 7:14, the Bible
preaches the blood of Jesus! Hebrews 9:22 declares that there is NO remission
of sins without the shedding of Christ's blood. Hebrews 9:12 teaches that Jesus
entered into the heavenly Holy Place “BY HIS OWN BLOOD.” The blood of Jesus is
the ONLY way for our sins to be forgiven...
“In whom we have redemption through
His blood, even the forgiveness of sins.” —Colossians 1:14
Thank God for the redeeming blood
of Jesus Christ, the Son of God!
What is precious to you? Is Jesus
precious to you? Do you cherish the redeeming blood of Jesus Christ? Do you
recognize the hardships in your life as a means to a stronger faith? Do you
value the promises of God and lean upon them to get you through day-by-day?
Most of the people in today's world mock and laugh at the teachings of God's
Word. Most people in the world today have the same wicked cynical attitude as
the unbelievers who viewed Christ upon the cross...
“And they that passed by reviled
Him, wagging their heads, And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and
buildest it in three days, save Thyself. If Thou be the Son of God, come down
from the cross. Likewise, also the chief priests mocking Him, with the scribes
and elders, said, He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He be the King of
Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. He
trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now, if He will have Him: for He said, I am
the Son of God. The thieves also, which were crucified with Him, cast the same
in His teeth." —Matthew 27:39-44
Notice the word “if” mentioned
three times in the preceding Scriptures. The unbelievers continually mocked
Christ by challenging His authority, power, and deity. Oh how wicked and
deceitful are the sinful hearts of mankind...
“The heart is deceitful above all
things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” —Jeremiah 17:9
Do you think for one moment that
those unbelieving religious leaders would have accepted Jesus if He had come
down off the cross? Not for a moment! They hated God unconditionally. No matter
what Jesus did, the wicked religious leaders never would have accepted Him
because Jesus had a good heart and was a righteous man. A man once said to me,
“When God Himself hands me that Bible, then I'll believe it.” This is exactly
what the heathens said to Jesus... “If you come down off the cross and save
yourself, only then we will believe you.” The wicked are always placing God on
trial. Romans 1:20 says that all the proof you need or will receive is outside
your front door.
To the believing, no explanation is
necessary; to the unbelieving, no explanation is possible!
The world's heathen will never
accept Jesus Christ, just as they will never accept the righteous person. The
things that are precious to us as believers are meaningless to the unsaved
heathen world. Even the Gospel of Jesus Christ itself is foolishness to the
unbelieving...
“For the preaching of the cross is
to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of
God.” —1st Corinthians 1:18
What is precious to you, my friend?
Do you have God? Have you come to the saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus
Christ? If not, please trust Jesus now.
Posts
