The Significance Of Being A Christian
Guarded By The Power Of God - Part One

Reviewing what we have seen thus far in this series, a Christian is "a person reborn", living in newness of life. One that now "belongs to the Lord", God’s special child sojourning in this world as a pilgrim. Is "living by faith", trusting in the Lord and desiring to be a trustworthy servant. Is "consecrated to God", set apart by the Spirit to pursue holiness. This does not mean being a Christian is easy. The world in which we sojourn does not encourage godly living. There are powerful forces that are bent on our spiritual destruction. Of course, this is true whether we are Christians or not, but the significance of being a Christian includes help that others do not have, from our Father in heaven, who is concerned for the child that now belongs to Him. His own special protection, available to those who remain faithful to Him. Peter writes of this protection in 1 Pe 1:5 "who by the power of God are guarded through faith unto a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." He refers to how we are "kept by the power of God through faith..." He employs a military term meaning "to mount guard as a sentinel; figuratively, to hem in, protect" (Strongs) -- Therefore we can rightly say that a Christian is "Guarded By The Power Of God"!

To appreciate the need for such protection, the nature of it, and how we may ensure it in our lives will be the subject of our study. We begin by noting Satan’s goal: Our Destruction. Our adversary, Satan is like a roaring lion - 1 Pe 5:8 "Be sober, be watchful: your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour," He is on the prowl, seeking whom he may devour. He often appears as an angel of light - 2 Co 11:14 "And no marvel; for even Satan fashioneth himself into an angel of light." Working through his ministers - 2 Co 11:15 "It is no great thing therefore if his ministers also fashion themselves as ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works." Misleading through false doctrines - 1 Ti 4:1-3 "God's Spirit clearly says that in the last days many people will turn from their faith. They will be fooled by evil spirits and by teachings that come from demons. They will also be fooled by the false claims of liars whose consciences have lost all feeling. These liars will forbid people to marry or to eat certain foods. But God created these foods to be eaten with thankful hearts by his followers who know the truth."

There is a need for Christians to beware. Some say there is no need to be concerned by proclaiming, "once saved, always saved", or "the impossibility of apostasy". But this would make all the warnings in the Bible pointless. The Bible warns about the danger of becoming hardened - He 3:12-14 "My friends, watch out! Don't let evil thoughts or doubts make any of you turn from the living God. You must encourage one another each day. And you must keep on while there is still a time that can be called "today." If you don't, then sin may fool some of you and make you stubborn. We were sure about Christ when we first became his people. So let's hold tightly to our faith until the end." Hardened by "the deceitfulness of sin". Who better equipped to harden us than he "who deceives the whole world"? - Re 12:8-9 "But the dragon lost the battle. It and its angels were forced out of their places in heaven and were thrown down to the earth. Yes, that old snake and his angels were thrown out of heaven! That snake, who fools everyone on earth, is known as the devil and Satan." Because the danger is real, the need to "resist him" (1 Pe 5:9 "But you must resist the devil and stay strong in your faith. You know that all over the world the Lord's followers are suffering just as you are.") who seeks our destruction is very
real! But we are not alone in our resistance; "the God of all grace" (1 Pe 5:10) stands ready to
assist us.

This leads to our next point of God’s provisions for the Christian: Our Safe Keeping. God is our helper. He provides Jesus Christ:
As our Mediator - 1 Ti 2:5 "For there is one God, one mediator also between God and men, himself man, Christ Jesus," (ASV)
As our Advocate - 1 Jn 2:1,2 "My children, I am writing this so that you won't sin. But if you do sin, Jesus Christ always does the right thing, and he will speak to the Father for us. Christ is the sacrifice that takes away our sins and the sins of all the world's people."
As our merciful and faithful High Priest - He 2:17-18 "He had to be one of us, so that he could serve God as our merciful and faithful high priest and sacrifice himself for the forgiveness of our sins. And now that Jesus has suffered and was tempted, he can help anyone else who is tempted."
Whose blood cleanses us from our sins - 1 Jn 1:7-10 "But if we live in the light, as God does, we share in life with each other. And the blood of his Son Jesus washes all our sins away. If we say that we have not sinned, we are fooling ourselves, and the truth isn't in our hearts. But if we confess our sins to God, he can always be trusted to forgive us and take our sins away. If we say that we have not sinned, we make God a liar, and his message isn't in our hearts."

He provides other blessings designed to keep us safe:
Our public assemblies and mutual edification - He 10:24-25 "We should keep on encouraging each other to be thoughtful and to do helpful things. Some people have gotten out of the habit of meeting for worship, but we must not do that. We should keep on encouraging each other, especially since you know that the day of the Lord's coming is getting closer."
Our mutual edification - He 3:12-13 "My friends, watch out! Don't let evil thoughts or doubts make any of you turn from the living God. You must encourage one another each day. And you must keep on while there is still a time that can be called "today." If you don't, then sin may fool some of you and make you stubborn."
The Scriptures - 2 Ti 3:16-17 "Everything in the Scriptures is God's Word. All of it is useful for teaching and helping people and for correcting them and showing them how to live. The Scriptures train God's servants to do all kinds of good deeds."
Prayer - Ph 4:6-7 "Don't worry about anything, but pray about everything. With thankful hearts offer up your prayers and requests to God. Then, because you belong to Christ Jesus, God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand. And this peace will control the way you think and feel."

He therefore provides a way of escape:
In some cases, to avoid temptation altogether - Mt 6:13 "Keep us from being tempted and protect us from evil."; 26:41 "Stay awake and pray that you won't be tested. You want to do what is right, but you are weak."’
In other cases, to bear up and overcome the temptation - 1 Co 10:13 "You are tempted in the same way that everyone else is tempted. But God can be trusted not to let you be tempted too much, and he will show you how to escape from your temptations."
God is our victory. Our confidence comes from God’s power, not our own - Ph 4:13 "Christ gives me the strength to face anything." He provides power that is greater than Satan - Ep 3:16,20 "God is wonderful and glorious. I pray that his Spirit will make you become strong followers" "I pray that Christ Jesus and the church will forever bring praise to God. His power at work in us can do far more than we dare ask or imagine. Amen."; 1 Jn 2:13-14 "Parents, I am writing you, because you have known the one who was there from the beginning. Young people, I am writing you, because you have defeated the evil one. Children, I am writing you, because you have known the Father. Parents, I am writing you, because you have known the one who was there from the beginning. Young people, I am writing you, because you are strong. God's message is firm in your hearts, and you have defeated the evil one."; 4:4 "Children, you belong to God, and you have defeated these enemies. God's Spirit is in you and is more powerful than the one that is in the world." Yes, it is God who gives us the victory through Jesus Christ (1 Co 15:57 "But thank God for letting our Lord Jesus Christ give us the victory!")! By His grace we are "Guarded By The Power Of God".

But that such grace might not be received in vain (2 Co 6:1 "We work together with God, and we beg you to make good use of God's kindness to you."), we need to remember our responsibility: Remain Faithful.

We will continue this lesson in a second part looking at what our responsibility as Christians is in order to remain faithful.