Hope and Multiplication

So, we're going through 1st Peter right now at church. Its been a grand total of 3 weeks so far. And the free-fall has begun.

In ch.1 v.2 Peter says "may grace and peace be multiplied to you." Multiplication changes numbers exponentially. And just like 8 x 28 is so much greater than 8 + 28, the grace and peace of Christ radically changes things. Because of His great mercy, we have a living hope. We have an undefiled and unchanging inheritance. We have a sanctifying power at work in us that is stronger than our sin, stronger than our desires, and greater than our failures. Because of the cross, because of His choice of obedience, we can look back to the cross with hope (and look forward to our future, both in this life and the next) with fervent anticipation and joy. Because of the cross, Christ has given us new eyes to see the substitutionary life of Christ as what it truly is – the only hope we have. His perfect life gives me hope as I stumble along the way.

My life is full of failures, disappointment, and a constant “missing the mark.” But God does not base our merit on what we often think – it is not our self-determination that makes a difference. Our hope for change is not that we have the power in our own determination to do it, No! – our hope for change is the cross of Christ. That’s it. That’s my only hope. My strength lies in the multiplication of grace and peace that God has lavishly showered upon me. His grace (free and unmerited favor) is just that. Its free to me because it was paid for by Christ’s death and unmerited by me because it was merited by Christ. That truth, that fact brings peace. Not a peace based on circumstances or my own ability, rather a peace that comes from a hope in a God that is greater than my circumstances.

I can rejoice through trials, whether that trial or suffering is getting out of debt or losing weight or simply learning self-control or if that trial is physical pain, disappointment, confusion, discouragement, etc. God is greater than all. And He will reveal Himself. My hope is not that I can “fix it” – my hope is in the cross. Every breath that I breathe is dependent on His sustaining Hand and His desire is that every step that I take is with that realization too. That I cannot perform to earn His achievement, that His forgiveness is complete. My performance must be as John Piper put it – lifting my empty cup daily to Him with the confident assurance of His power and kindness to fill my emptiness. And realizing that dependence on God is not simply words, rather a physical action and daily acknowledgment not merely my insufficiencies but greater than that – His all-sufficiency.

1Pe 1:13-16 Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy."

God’s expectation is not that my self-attainment can ever match His requirements for holiness. As I prepare my mind for action, it is with the realization that my hope is fully on the grace of Christ. Note that Peter doesn’t say – prepare your mind because you’ve got to figure a way to get yourself out of your self-created messes. Rather, he says – prepare your mind for action – practice self control and set your hope on what Christ has done and will do. Don’t set your hope on your mind or your preparation or your abilities or your desires. Set your hope on Christ. That’s the power that enables me to be holy as He is holy. Without that grace and peace multiplied to me “you shall be holy as I am holy” is merely an unattainable target – like Sisyphus – always striving, never achieving.

But I can set my hope on my future glorification, and not be discouraged by my current struggle in sanctification, realizing that the hope for change comes from my Christ. My hope comes in what He has already done not in what strength I can muster up. It’s all because of Jesus – because of His blood. It’s because of His work that I can now have hope. He’s the hope for the struggle. He planned the steps I take and intimately cares about each step. He is with me each step of the way. That’s my hope. I will fail. I do fail. I will miss the mark that I set. But in God’s eyes – I’ve hit the mark already (His mark is dependence on Him for the process of sanctification not mustering up the ability to live a perfect Christian life in my own strength).

Through Christ, I am accepted. Through His payment and His sacrifice, I have hope for change. Not because I desire change but because He has enabled me for change. Not because I can accomplish change, but because He has already accomplished the change in my life. I am already in Him. I am already secure. I don’t “do” to earn. I “do” because I “am.” I already am accepted in His family. I have no fear of Him kicking me out of the family for failure. He will complete what He’s begun. My hope lies in that truth. He’s the Giver of every breath and the Sustainer of every step. He’s the Freedom from the curse and power of sin. My chains that I carry around are broken. They are not binding me fast – He has broken their power. Through looking to Him, those layers of chains can be removed. What a beautiful truth. What life-giving words. His grace and peace can be multiplied in my sin-filled, insufficient life not from my own merit, but because of the love displayed through His sacrifice.