1 Peter 1:18: Knowing That You Were Ransomed From The Futile Ways Inherited From Your Forefathers, Not With Perishable Things Such As Silver Or Gold,

1 Peter 1:18

[18] Knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, (ESV)

There is an expression that says, "God has no grandchildren." You may be the most godly follower of Christ on earth, but the only thing that you pass on to your children, in a spiritual sense, is a sinful nature. That is not the most encouraging thought, but it is true. Peter reminds us today of the things that we all inherited from our forefathers; futile ways.

The good news is that those who belong to Jesus Christ have been ransomed from the futile life of sin that they inherited. To be ransomed literally means that we have been purchased. Who owned us previously? Is Peter talking about our earthly parents? Not at all. Rather, we understand from Scripture that all of us were under the power of Satan himself. Let's take a quick look at how Paul describes our former situation:

Ephesians 2:1-3: And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. (ESV)

Thank God that in Christ we are ransomed from our former owner, Satan, the prince of the power of the air. It helps us to understand just how sinful we are so we have a proper perspective of just how wonderful our Savior is. Charles Spurgeon once said that if we make too light of our sin, we will make too light of our Savior. We have a wonderful Savior who ransomed us from our former way of sin that we inherited.

You may have godly parents. Have you placed your faith in Jesus Christ? Have you asked him to forgive you of your sin? Each person must be ransomed by faith and repentance. Make sure that you belong to him today.