And this inheritance can never perish, never be stained, never fade, and is secured to us and we

to it. And Peter says, I don't care what your physical circumstance, I don't care what your earthly

condition, you ought to praise God for that.

Welcome to Grace to You with John MacArthur. I'm your host, Phil Johnson. You've probably read

news articles about how common it is for Americans to describe themselves as middle income,

even though statistically their wealth would actually put them in a higher category.

Of course, it doesn't really matter how much you have in the bank. The fact is you could be broke and

yet have riches beyond compare. I'm talking about the treasure that is yours if you're a Christian,

the stunning riches available today and for eternity in heaven. But specifically, what are those

riches and how should they affect the way you live even now? Find out with John MacArthur as he

continues his study, our great salvation. Turn now to 1 Peter chapter 1 and follow along.

Stephen Charnock writing in that great classic on the existence and attributes of God said,

regeneration is a universal change of the whole man. It is as large in renewing us as sin

was in defacing us, regeneration. What's the result of it? The result of it is we are born again to a

living hope, a living hope. What does he mean by this? Well, a hope which is perpetually alive,

a hope which has a quality of life. You say, why does he say that? In contrast to the hope of men,

which is always a dying or a dead hope? You realize, don't you, that all hope that men and women have

in other than Jesus Christ is a dead or dying hope? The world knows only dying hopes.

At best, all the hopes and dreams of men will die when they die if they haven't died long before.

That's why the Scripture says, if in this world only we have hope, we are of all men most what?

Miserable. You're a miserable person if your only hope is in this world because it'll all die.

They all die. Death cuts the nerve of all hope. But we have an undying hope. We have a living hope,

...