“Begotten
Unto A Living Hope”
2)
Elect
according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the
Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto
you, and peace, be multiplied.
3)
Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant
mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead,
4)
To an
inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth
not away, reserved in heaven for you,
5)
Who
are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed
in the last time.
6)
Wherein
ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness
through manifold temptations:
7)
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:
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he
scripture states in I Corinthians 2:8 that if the people at that time knew who
Jesus was—God manifested in a body of flesh—they would not have crucified the
Lord of glory. Even Jesus Himself stated in His most agonizing yet triumphant
moment, “Forgive them for they know not what they do.”
Those
same words, “they know not what they do,” or “they are just plain ignorant” can
be said about anyone whose mind-set is to deny the opportunity to be saved.
Salvation—being
baptized in Jesus’ name and filled with the Holy Ghost speaking in other
tongues, and living a holy life, separated from the world and consecrated unto
God—is looked upon as “death” to those who know nothing about God nor the
benefits of living for Him. Intelligent deduction, right?
The fact that man can walk upright and communicate orally with others is not an
indication that man is an intelligent being.
Man’s
intelligence leads him to reject anything or anyone without any knowledge of
the person or the thing which he rejects. Man’s intelligence tells him he can
exist by trial and error, and to preserve his flesh at all costs. We know from
experience that one’s flesh can never be satisfied and the more one gives it,
the more it wants, whether it be in the form of drugs,
alcohol, cigarettes, sex or just plain pride and self-will. However, with all
of man’s getting he is unable to deduct this that form of living is death. Yet,
he continues to fight the invitation to be “Begotten unto a Living Hope.”
However, by doing so, he continues to prove his bondage to the flesh by the
excuses he makes for not accepting salvation.
Yes,
man with his human mind would refuse to accept the greatest miracle
provided—the ability to live in a body of flesh but not after the flesh. It is
amazing that man would prefer death over life, the temporary over the
permanent, struggle over ease; sickness over health, famine over feast, sorrow
over joy?
The
man without salvation has made such a choice and this choice will doom him to
death—spiritual death. We must know that Hell was not created for man.
Everything God has created is good and everything He makes is perfect. The
human man or the fleshly mind lends itself to corruption when, like Eve, he
gives ear to the devil and begins to question the word of God. The Word of God
cannot be added to nor taken away. It is designed for us to hear it, accept it
and follow it. If we do, we are guaranteed success and heaven in this life and
in the hereafter. If we refuse to heed the Word we will remain dead in our
trespasses and sins and miss the greatest gift possible: to be “Begotten into a
Living Hope.”
As
a notable teacher remarked, “To those on the outside, salvation looks undesirable,
but once inside its beauty is breathtaking and overwhelming.” Then again,
beauty is in the eye of the beholder.