“And if the righteous is difficultly saved, where shall the impious and the sinner appear?” (1 Pet. 4:18).
The difficulty of this verse is increased by the fact that some translations have the rendering ‘scarcely’ or ‘barely’ instead of the word “difficultly”. The Greek word molis thus translated is a derivative of molos: ‘work, toil, effort, strife’. Some translations of the Bible do indeed give the impression that salvation is on a knife edge and that there would not much that would have to happen for a believer to be lost. But that is not the meaning of this expression. It intends rather to tell us that God uses great effort to bring us as believers to His end-point. But He will get us there because He does not let go of His own. Salvation here – as it is usually the case with Peter – is not the salvation of the soul, but the complete salvation of spirit, soul and body at the coming of the Lord Jesus.
Satan uses everything in his power to attack believers in order to rob them of the power of their testimony and the joy of their salvation. The only thing he cannot do is to snatch them from the hand of God (John 10:29; Rom. 8:39). But how often he succeeds in bringing down children of God! Then he can accuse them before God as the “accuser of [the] brethren” (Rev. 12:10; Zech. 3:1–5). But the Lord Jesus as our “patron (advocate) with the Father” intercedes on our behalf and restores us when we have sinned (1 John 2:1). It is true that the Father must often chastise us, but everything works for good to those who love God. What trouble God has with His own until He has brought them safely to their destination! This is what is meant by the words: “If the righteous is difficultly saved …”. The words should not sow any doubts, but on the contrary they emphasize the security of the redeemed in spite of all difficulties!
Saved with difficulty (1 Pet. 4:18)
“And if the righteous is difficultly saved, where shall the impious and the sinner appear?” (1 Pet. 4:18).
The difficulty of this verse is increased by the fact that some translations have the rendering ‘scarcely’ or ‘barely’ instead of the word “difficultly”. The Greek word molis thus translated is a derivative of molos: ‘work, toil, effort, strife’. Some translations of the Bible do indeed give the impression that salvation is on a knife edge and that there would not much that would have to happen for a believer to be lost. But that is not the meaning of this expression. It intends rather to tell us that God uses great effort to bring us as believers to His end-point. But He will get us there because He does not let go of His own. Salvation here – as it is usually the case with Peter – is not the salvation of the soul, but the complete salvation of spirit, soul and body at the coming of the Lord Jesus.
Satan uses everything in his power to attack believers in order to rob them of the power of their testimony and the joy of their salvation. The only thing he cannot do is to snatch them from the hand of God (John 10:29; Rom. 8:39). But how often he succeeds in bringing down children of God! Then he can accuse them before God as the “accuser of [the] brethren” (Rev. 12:10; Zech. 3:1–5). But the Lord Jesus as our “patron (advocate) with the Father” intercedes on our behalf and restores us when we have sinned (1 John 2:1). It is true that the Father must often chastise us, but everything works for good to those who love God. What trouble God has with His own until He has brought them safely to their destination! This is what is meant by the words: “If the righteous is difficultly saved …”. The words should not sow any doubts, but on the contrary they emphasize the security of the redeemed in spite of all difficulties!
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