Let us turn back to the chapter
we read in the first general epistle of Peter and I'll read
again there in chapter 4, 1 Peter chapter 4 and reading from verse
17 through to the end of the chapter. For the time is come
that judgment must begin at the house of God and if it first
begin at us What shall the end be of them that obey not the
gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely
be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? Wherefore
let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the
keeping of their souls to Him in well-doing, as unto a faithful
Creator." I want to take that first verse that we've just read,
verse 17 for a text this morning these words that the time is
come that judgment must begin at the house of God and if it
first begin at us what shall the end be of them that obey
not the gospel of God we have previously looked at this chapter
considered In times past, in particular, those words that
we find previously there, at verse 12, Beloved, think it not
strange concerning the fiery trial, which is to try you as
though some strange thing happened unto you. And that fiery trial
that is being spoken of in that verse is not really dissimilar
to the subject that's being spoken of here at verse 17. the judgment
at the house of God. In many ways that's the theme
that I want to try to take up for a little while this morning.
The judgment at the house of God, or the judgment of believers,
which is part and parcel of the trying of their faith. And clearly
here in the context of these words that we're looking at,
we see a contrast between the believer and the unbelievers. He says, at the end of this 17th
verse, through into verse 18, If it first begin at us, what
shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And
if the righteous scarcely be saved, Where shall the ungodly
and the sinner appear? There is a judgment, a judgment
that is to come when the books are to be opened
and all are to be called to account for the deeds that they've done
in the flesh. And that judgment will come with
the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. He came first, of course,
to bring in this Day of Grace, the acceptable time of the Day
of Salvation. He's coming in all that humility
of which we read in the Gospels. but having accomplished that
great work and ascended on high he is to return, he is to come
a second time and then not in humility but in great splendor
as that one to whom all the judgment has been committed as the Lord
himself says there in John chapter 5 the Father judges no man but
hath committed judgment unto the Son and has given him authority
to execute judgment because he is the son of man. And now God, in a sense, has
given a guarantee of the certainty of that terrible day that will
bring in the consummation of all things when the Lord Jesus
returns. And what is the guarantee that
God has given? Well, He has raised the Lord
Jesus from the dead. This is what Paul says in his
preaching there in Athens in Acts chapter 17. He hath, says
Paul, appointed a day in the which he will judge the world
in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained ware of,
He hath given assurance in that he hath raised him from the dead. The resurrection of the Lord
Jesus is the guarantor that he will come again the second time
without sin unto salvation so far as his people are concerned. But what a terrible day it will
be for those who are unbelieving when he utters those fearful
words, Depart from me, ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared
for the devil and his angels." There will be then a dismissal
of them. They'll be sent away from him.
Those fearful words, depart, depart from me. This is the word
of him who of course is God, the eternal Son of God. that
one who in the fullness of the time became a man in the mystery
of the incarnation, to save the sinful sons of men. But what
of those who are unbelieving, who have no faith in Him? Or
they will be sent from Him forever. And yet, as we've said many a
time, man created in God's image, made in God's likeness, made
to enjoy fellowship with his God. man's chief ends, to glorify
God, to enjoy God forever in the language of the catechism.
That great church Father Augustine says it, how God made us for
himself, our souls are restless until they're resting in him,
how dreadful then to be eternally separated from him. And yet that is the lot of those
who are the unbelievers. And Paul As you know, Paul speaks
exactly the same language as Peter. These men, though they
be their own really, different personalities, yet they speak
with one voice here in Holy Scripture under the gracious ministry of
the Holy Spirit, inspired to write such words as we find in
their various epistles. And the language of Paul there
in 2 Thessalonians, In chapter 1 at verse 7 he says, To you
who are troubled, rest with us when the Lord Jesus shall be
revealed from heaven, with his mighty angels in flaming fire,
taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not
the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall be punished
with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord.
and from the glory of his power." Here is their punishment, you
see. Everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord
and from the glory of his power. Depart from me, you see. And
sends them to their allotted place. That terrible day of judgment
for them. But as I said, there is a contrast. Because for those who are believers,
though it is the day of grace in which we're living, there
is a sense in which they know something of God's judgment even
in this present life. The time has come, it says, that
judgment must begin at the house of God. It begins at the house
of God. What is the house of God? The
reference here, of course, is to the church. Isn't that how Peter speaks of
the church as the house of God? Remember what he said previously
here in chapter 2, verse 4, "...to whom coming as unto a living
stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God and precious.
Ye also as lively stones are built up a spiritual house, and
holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God
by Jesus Christ. Wherefore also it is contained
in the Scripture, Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone,
elect precious, and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. All those who are believing in
the Lord Jesus Christ, they are those living stones in this spiritual
house. This is the church, isn't it?
The church of the living gods, the pillar and ground of the
truth, as Paul calls it. And there's a judgment. There's
a judgment that begins in this house. The time has come. The judgment must begin at the
house of God. And if it first begin at us,
what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? Well, first of all this morning,
to emphasize again the fact as to when this judgment comes to
the house of God, to the church, It comes, as I said, in the day
of grace. And he's so plain, really, in
the words of the text. It says the time is come. The time is come. If we go back
to what the Apostle says previously, writing in the opening chapter,
He says there at verse 6, wherein he greatly rejoiced, so now,
for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold
temptations. The judgment is now. Now for a season, he says there.
And again, look at what he says here in this 17th verse. It must
begin, he says. at the house of God. Again he says it, if it first
began at us, it is evident that he is speaking here very much
of the present tense, the here and now as we say. The Lord deals
with his people, and how does the Lord deal with his people?
In a sense he He judges them even in the day of grace. He makes them to feel something
of what their sin is. They're brought to recognize
it. They're brought to come and to
acknowledge it. In that awful day that is yet
to come, the final day, the day of judgment, then the unbelieving
will be made to realize what their sin is. But the great blessing
that comes to the church of the Lord Jesus Christ is that they
are brought to that realization of sin even in this day of grace. If we not just think of it in
that hymn of John Kent's. And how the hymn writer understands
it truly. Speaks of the church there in
verse three. To his church, his joy. and treasure. Every trial works for good. They
are dealt in weight and measure, yet how little understood, not
in anger, but from His dear covenant love. If today He deigns to bless
us with a sense of pardon sin. Perhaps tomorrow He'll distress
us, make us feel the plague within, or to make us sick of self and
fond of Him. You see, whom the Lord loveth,
He chasteneth and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth. If ye
endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons. What son
is he whom the Father chasteneth not? Oh, here is the mark, you
see, of God's favour, God's blessing. There will be that trying of
their faith. The Lord grants them that precious
gift, that faith of God's elect, that faith that comes by the
operation of God, and yet, together with the gift, there comes the
trying of it. Unto you it is given in the behalf
of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but to suffer. for his
sake. And Paul knew it. Paul understood it. It was his
great desire, wasn't it, that I may know him and the power
of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made
conformable to his death. We have it here in the opening
words of the chapter, for as much then as Christ have suffered
for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind.
For he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin."
Or the Lord is that One who suffered here in the flesh when He bore
the dreadful penalty of the sins of His people. But they that
are suffering, those who are in His church, those who know
Him, all they know what crucifixion is, they're crucified with Christ.
Nevertheless I live, yet not I, says Paul, but Christ liveth
in me. The life which I now live in
the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me
and gave himself for me. It is to them such a present
reality. There are those sufferings that
come upon them, the trying of their faith, the testing of them. Look at what he says here at
verse 16, "...if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be
ashamed, but let him glorify God on this behalf all the time
is come, that the judgment must begin at the house of God." All
the time is come. It's so evident in what he says,
it's the present time, it's the day of grace in the world. Ye
shall have tribulation, says Christ. Be of good cheer, I have
overcome the world. And so we see quite clearly,
when it is, that it all begins. It's the here and now. Paul says,
I reckon that the sufferings of this present world are not
to be compared with the glory that shall yet be revealed in
us. It's in the church. And we see
it, do we not, in the way in which the Lord, the glorified
Christ, addresses those seven churches in Revelation 2 and
3. As many as I love, He says, I
rebuke and chasten all the churches. All the churches shall know that
I am He which searcheth the reins and the hearts, He says. When
does the judgment come? It is today, it's in the day
of grace. Quite clearly, quite evidently
it's dated. But in the second place, let
us seek to examine more carefully what exactly this judgment is. What is it? It's not judicial.
We need to be careful here, you see. There is nothing judicial
in it. There cannot be. Christ himself
has borne that judicial punishment of the sins of his people. And
Peter knew it. And Peter emphasizes that truth
in what he says in this epistle several times. Look at what he
says, for example, there at the end of chapter 2. Verse 24, "...who
his own self bare our sins in his own body on the truth, that
we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness, by whose
stripes ye were healed." He himself then bore that punishment that
was there just as earth the just desert of all his people, he
was punished in his own body, and by his sufferings, by his
strikes, they are healed. Again, in chapter 3 we have the same
truth, verse 18, Christ also has once suffered for sins, the
just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God being put
to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit. Christ has once
suffered, there can be no more sufferings for sin, because Christ
himself has paid that dreadful price that was demanded by God
in His holy law. He has paid that ransom that
the law demands, or the ransom price. And many are confused. They imagine that the price is
being paid to the devil. There's no payment to the devil.
He is a usurper. He has no claims upon the sons
of men. The ransom is paid to God. It's
paid to that Holy Lord of God, that Lord that says, the soul
that sinneth it shall die. And Christ is that one who has
died as a substitute. It's that great doctrine of substitutionary
atonement. It's the Lord Jesus in the sinner's
place. Christ hath redeemed us from
the curse of the law, being made a curse for us, says Paul. For
it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree. And God is a just God, of course.
And is it just God? He would never demand a second
payment. If the Lord Jesus has paid the
penalty that was demanded by the Holy Law, that is enough. And Toplady puts it so beautifully,
doesn't he, in the hymn 227? If thou hast my discharge procured,
and freely in my room endured the whole of wrath divine, payment
God cannot twice demand, first at my bleeding surety's hand,
and then again at mine." Well, there's the truth, you see, of
particular redemption, limited atonement. Christ has actually
paid that penalty that was due to the sins of His people. Who
are His people? The whole election of grace.
He has not died for all to make salvation a mere possibility
for men. That's what the Arminian says.
His death upon the cross has not really purchased anything
at all. He's just made salvation a possibility. Whereas limited atonement makes
it clear that he has actually paid the price. And a just God
cannot demand a second payment of that price. And so, this judgment
that is upon the house of God, upon the church, in the Lord's
dealings with His people, that's what Peter is particularly speaking
of. A man suffering as a Christian.
It is not a judicial punishment. What is it? Well, we've already
intimated something of it. It is, of course, corrective. Now, we have to take account
of the whole context here. As I said at the beginning, we've
previously looked at those words at verse 12, Beloved, think it
not strange concerning the fiery trial, which is to try you as
though some strange thing happened unto you, but rejoice in as much
as ye are partakers of Christ's suffering. that when his glory
shall be revealed ye may be glad also with exceeding joy it's
not strange it's the common light of God's
people it's their experience they know something of that terrible
trial of faith as we said they have it there or Peter mentions
it there in in chapter 1 and the 6th and the 7th verses. And as we said, it's just now. But I do like those verses and
the force of the language that he is using. You are to rejoice
in this, he says. It's now, just now, it's for
a season, it's for a little while. And if needs be there, it's only
as it's necessary. But in the midst of all the Lord's
strange dealings, you're in heaviness, you feel it. But the trial of
your faith, you see, is more precious than of gold, he says,
that perisheth though it be tried with fire. But it's all to be
found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of
Jesus Christ. Oh, it's God who is in these
things, working effectually in the souls of His people. And
the time has come, it's the present time. It's now in the day of
Christ that the Lord is doing this work in the souls of His
people. Now, we might ask the question,
if this belongs to God's people, belongs to His church, in the day of grace, why is it
spoken of as judgment? Why is it spoken of as judgment?
Is there a difference between grace and judgment? Well, the reason why the word
judgment is used here is to assure us that there is nothing haphazard,
we might say, in the way in which God deals with his people. He always deals with them in
the way of righteousness and equity. He doesn't take them
up and play with them, as it were, as his creatures, simply
for his own interest. There's nothing capricious in
the way in which the Lord deals with his people. Go back in Genesis,
remember the words of Abraham, shall not the judge of all the
earth do right? That's the comfort of the believer.
We know that all God's judgments are right and proper. He weighs his every action so
carefully. The language again of the Prophet
Isaiah, Thou most upright, dost weigh the part of the just. That's the light of the justified
sinner, the part of the just. It's those who, by faith in the
Lord Jesus Christ, are at peace with God. And how the Lord, in
all his dealings with them, weighs their path. There's nothing comes
into their lives, nothing that occurs that God does not carefully
weigh. And he brings it because he sees
that it's so necessary for them. Doesn't James remind us? No,
Paul it is. That no temptation of come to
us but such as is common to man and with the temptation or the
trial God will make a way of escape that we may be able to
bear it that's the way the Lord deals with us again the prophet
says he stayeth his rough wind in the day of his east wind there's that that's equitable
and right and careful This is why it's spoken of, you see,
as a work of judgment. He is the judge of all the earth.
And what we have here in verse 18 is most interesting. If the
righteous scarcely be saved. If the righteous scarcely be
saved. We might read that statement
and think, well, is there some doubt here as to the certainty of their salvation?
Is it really possible that those who are justified by faith in
the Lord Jesus Christ might yet lose their faith and lose their
whole salvation? That they might make complete
shipwreck and so be lost? Is it really possible that they
can be in Christ and saved today and yet tomorrow can lose that
salvation? Do we not say that there is a
precious doctrine in God's words and we call it the doctrine of
the perseverance of the saints? Remember that little mnemonic
tulip that we often use to summarize the great doctrines of grace?
Tulip, total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement,
Irresistible grace, the perseverance of the saints. Sure, we're familiar
in some measure with those great truths. The last of those doctrines
of grace speaks of the perseverance, or we might say the preservation
of the saints. They are preserved because God
preserves them in the midst of all their trials, but they are
those who are persevering. They cannot lose their salvation
once in Christ, in Him forever, thus the eternal covenant stands. So what are we to make of that
statement? If the righteous scarcely be saved. Well I like what the
old Puritan says about that. He says it's not a word of doubt,
it's a word of difficulty. It's not doubt, there's no doubt
they will be saved. all that Christ shed that precious
blood for can never be lost because he has procured there sure and
certain salvation but all the difficulty of the way the difficulty
of the way because there's trials and troubles
and difficulties well we've said When does the judgment come?
It comes in the day of grace. We sort of say something of what
this judgment is. It's not something judicial,
because Christ has borne that definite penalty of the sins
of his people. It's God dealing with his people
in the way of correction, in the way of teaching and establishing
in righteousness. So let's, in the third place,
Consider more carefully why the judgment is appointed. It's because
God has a good end in view. He has a good end in view. I know the thoughts that I send
towards you, he says to his people. Thoughts of peace and not of
evil to give you an expected end. or the Lord Jesus himself says
it, doesn't it? These things have I spoken to
you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall
have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world. It's to teach us to be those
who would be looking to Him and trusting in Him. God has
a blessed end in view then for His people. As He says here in
verse 19, Wherefore let them that suffer according to the
will of God commit the keeping of their souls to Him in well-doing,
as unto a faithful Creator. This is what the Lord will bring
His people to. To commit their souls into His
safe keeping. He goes on to say something more,
doesn't he, in the last chapter? There at verse 6, Humble yourselves
therefore unto the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you
in due time, casting all your care upon him, for he careth
for you. Or commit the keeping of your
soul to him. Look to him as that one who will
care and make every provision and bring through all those trials
and all those difficulties. Is that what he's saying? I like
the language of the Prophet Isaiah there in chapter 26. In his book, Isaiah 26, verse
8, he says, Yea, in the way of thy
judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee. The desire of our soul
is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee. With my soul have I
desired thee in the night, yea, with my spirit within me will
I seek thee early. When thy judgments are in the
earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness."
And in many ways those two verses sum up what we are really seeking
to say here this morning. that judgment that begins at
the house of God, those offerings that are the lot of the people
of God. Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited
for thee. The desire of our soul is to
thy name, and to the remembrance of thee. With my soul have I
desired thee in the night, yea, with my spirit within me, will
I seek thee early. For when thy judgments are in
the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. If you remember nothing at all
of what's said this morning, I want to commend those two verses
to you. Why this judgment is appointed
are two things. Here we see that we are to be
those who would walk in the way of faith. We have to walk in
the way of faith. The Psalm, it says, commits thy
way unto the Lord. Trust also in him, and he will
bring it to pass. What is it to commit thy way
unto the Lord? Well, there in the Psalm, Psalm
37, 5, we have a marginal alternative reading. for the word commits
and it's the word roll that's the literal rendering of what's
there in the Hebrew we're told roll thy way upon the Lord well
we have to lean upon him and trust in him and rest in him
roll thy way upon the Lord trust also in him and He will bring
it to pass. It's that life of faith bringing us to the end of ourselves
and as John Kent says in the hymn, making us fond of Him. Makes us fond of Him, that One
who is able to support us and strengthen us and stay us. The just shall live by faith,
says the Prophet. Remember those words there in
Habakkuk chapter 2 and verse 4. The just shall live by faith. Who are the just? That's the
justified ones. Who are the justified ones? Those
who have justifying faith. That's what saving faith is.
It's justifying faith. It's looking to Christ. The end
of the law for righteousness. to everyone that believe us,
always looking to Him, the Lord, our righteousness, the great
Jehovah, Sidkenu, that One who has submitted Himself to the
Holy Lord of God and honoured and magnified it in life and
in death. How in His life He has obeyed
every commandment, brought a righteousness. How in dying He has made atonement
for every sin of His people. Oh, that's the justified sinner.
And he lives by the faith of Jesus Christ. And remember how
those words in that short book of Habakkuk are taken up in the
New Testament three times. Three times the Apostle mentions
those words. Romans 1.17 Galatians 3.11 Hebrews 10 38 and the preacher in Ecclesiastes
reminds us that threefold cord is not easily broken or what
a comfort it is the just how does he live his life he lives
by faith a life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith
of the Son of God says Paul who loved me and gave himself We
are to walk then by faith and not by signs. We said at the
beginning that when that awful day, that day of judgment comes, the unbelieving are thrust from
the very presence of the Lord. Depart from the useless. An eternal separation. The amazing
thing, of course, with regards to those of faith is they are
always coming to the Lord. Isn't that what faith is? Isn't
that what the life of faith is? It's a continual coming, ever
coming to the Lord Jesus. He says, He that cometh to me
shall never hunger. He that believeth in me shall
never thirst. And those clauses are really
parallels there in John 6.35 what is believing? Believing
is coming not in a physical sense but in a spiritual sense is that
coming to the Lord that desire to come to the Lord continually
and the unbeliever you see thrust away from the Lord. Oh, there's
the difference. There's the difference. It's
a life of faith. And this is why God appoints
these judgments, these trials, these troubles, these tribulations,
these vexing difficulties that come upon the believer as he
seeks to walk in that narrow way that leads to life. We must
walk then in the way of faith. And then also, the second thing
with regards to why the judgments are appointed, we have to learn
to walk in the way of holiness. It's the way of holiness. We're to commit the keeping of
our souls to Him, it says, in well-doing. That's how we commit our souls
to Him. in well-doing. And we need to observe those
words. We are to do well. We are to do the thing that is
right in His sight. Go and go back to James, the
previous epistle. And what does James say there
in chapter 1? Verse 2, My brethren, count it
all joy when ye fall into diverse temptations. Knowing this, that
the trying of your faith worketh patience or endurance, but let
patience have her perfect work, that she may be perfect and entire,
wanting nothing. Now, the perfection here is not
to be thought of as sinless perfection, but it's maturity. It's maturity. It's growing in
grace. and in the knowledge of our Lord
and Saviour Jesus Christ. Again, isn't this what the Christians
call to? Here in this first epistle of
Peter remember the words that we have in chapter 1 at verse
15 He which hath called you is holy So be ye holy in all manner
of conversation, because it is written, Be ye holy, for I am
holy." There is the Christian's calling to holiness of life. The Lord Himself continually
directing the steps of His people. And how does He direct us? By
His words. by his precepts, by his commandments. The steps of a good man are all
ordered of the Lord. And he delighteth in his way.
Or the Lord delights in the ways of his people. Do we delight
in the ways of the Lord? It's true that there's a cost
if we're going to seek to be conformed more to the image of
the Lord than to the ways of the world. He that departeth
from evil, we're told, maketh himself a pride. The world won't
understand. The world will refer to us as
those narrow-minded bigots. That's how they'll speak of us. But we're to depart from their
ways. And we're to walk in the steps
of the righteous. that blessed one that the Prophet
speaks of you'll never find that chapter
that little short chapter in Isaiah's book where he speaks
of the way of holiness I can't find it. I think it's
chapter... Ah, here it is. I found it. Chapter 35. And highway shall be there, and
the way, and it shall be called the way of holiness. The unclean
shall not pass over it, but it shall be for those the wayfaring
men of fools shall not err therein. That's the way. The highway of
holiness. that the child of God is to seek
to be walking in. And how are we preserved in this
way? Only as the Lord himself is pleased
to keep us. And so we have that exhortation
at the end. Commit the keeping of their souls
to him, it says, in well-doing as unto a faithful creator. Kept. as we have it in chapter
1 and verse 5, kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation,
ready to be revealed in the last time. Well, there's the keeping. But what we have here is interesting,
isn't it? We commit the keeping of our
souls in well-doing to God as a faithful Creator. You know, the doctrine of creation
is a wonderful truth. Special creation. It's full of
comfort to the people of God, because there's a design in everything
that the Lord does. And we see it there in the very
opening chapter of Scripture, of course. There's a wondrous
order in the way in which God was pleased to create all things
out of nothing. He could have done it, as we
said before, in one moment of time. He could have completed
the work at once, in a split second. But now, in his wisdom,
he creates in six days. Six 24-hour days. There's an order there. You think
about the alternative. What is the theory of evolution? It's cruel. It's built on chance. Nothing ordered there. Things
just evolve out of complete chaos. That's not the way of God. And
this is the one, you see, that we're to look to and we're to
commit the keeping of our souls to. He's a faithful creator.
He's a faithful creator. He's the God of judgment. And
even when He deals with His people in this day of grace, in His
judgments, that judgment is always good, and equitable, and right,
and proper. Sometimes we look at our lives
and we think, wow, there's so much confusion here. And as we
read there in Isaiah 35, we feel ourselves to be fools. many times
as we seek to walk in that narrow way that leads to life. Well,
we might be fools. All but thank God we look to
one who is wise and righteous and just in all his ways and
all his dealings with us. What a blessing then to have
dealings with God in this way, in the day of grace. And that
difference you see between those who know nothing of those dealings
now The time has come that judgment must begin at the house of God. We know the Lord's dealings in
this life. Thank Him for that. But if it first begin at us,
what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of our God? If the righteous
scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear. May the Lord be pleased to bless
this word to us. Amen. Let us conclude our worship this
morning as we sing the hymn 315. The tune is Norton 590. Righteous are the works of God. All his ways are holy. Just his
judgments fit his rods. to correct our follies, all his
dealings, wise and good, uniform though various, though they seem
by reason viewed, cross or quite contrarious." The Hymn 315, Tune
590.