Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, (4) to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, (5) who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (6) In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, (7) that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, (8) whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, (9) receiving the end of your faith – the salvation of your souls.
The first letter written by the apostle Peter was written by him to Christians, shoring up their eternal perspective in the face of their present suffering. A problem of man is the emphasis on the here and now and the precipitous change in our “normal” lives today is giving us a mini lesson in what it means to be lost (or spiritually dead). Our situation today should open our minds to what Peter is saying: we are born spiritually dead and of this world. Human nature predisposes us to think that we, through our free will, good works and merit, can earn salvation – natural man has a very high view of his/her self and his/her worth. Peter is saying that salvation comes only from God the Father through God the Son, sealed by the Spirit. This most emphatically means that salvation does not come from man in any way – actually it comes from God in spite of man.
We have been restored to life by God in faith, in Christ, and our inheritance is said to be reserved or beyond the reach of danger because it is in God’s hands. Salvation is not indiscriminately for all and those in faith are distinguished from the rest. God didn’t choose the elect because He knew they would receive the gospel BUT because He determined before hand that they would believe the gospel. Scripture does not teach that Christians will inevitably continue to persevere in faith but it does teach that God will persevere in His commitment/promise and will bring all who have loved Him to heaven.
Trials are temporary, necessary and under God’s control. They are temporary compared to eternity and necessary to refine our faith. We learn through adversity and failure but the promise of Christ is that He is always with the faithful and He will be revealed. So the warning here is: Don’t drift.