Alright, our text is going to
be in 1 Peter chapter 3. 1 Peter chapter 3. And our text
will be from verses 15 through 18. 1 Peter 3 verses 15 through
18. Peter writes but sanctify the Lord God in
your hearts and be ready always to give an answer to every man
that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness
and fear, having a good conscience that whereas they speak evil
of you as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse
your good conversation in Christ. For it is better if the will
of God be so that you suffer for well-doing than for evil
doing. For Christ also hath 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. Now, I emphasized, or put the
emphasis there on verse 18, because verse 18 is what feeds verses
15 through 17. And what I mean is that verse
18 provides the nourishment the strength and gives authority
to verses 15 through 17, providing life and the truth that is born
in the believer, the fruit that's born in the believer by the strength
of verse 18. For verse 18 begins with, for
Christ, for Christ, and that's where life begins for the believer.
It's in Christ. It's because of what the Lord
Jesus Christ did for his people, what he accomplished, that we
have any life. So, every grace that we have,
every fruit, every gift that we bear and use in the Church
of God, every stand that we take in the name of Christ, every
hope, every comfort that we have is born out of the Lord Jesus
Christ and what he accomplished. God provided his son for this
purpose, that we might have all things necessary for life and
godliness. It's the result of Christ. Therefore, what we're going to
do this morning is look initially at verse 18, and that's where
we'll spend the bulk of our time, looking at verse 18, and then
we can map out verses 15 through 17 based on what we've learned
and seen in verse 18. And I'm not going to have a lot
of time with the other verses, but that's okay because when
you understand that it's all of Christ, and you can go home
and look at verses 15 through 17 and pray that God work these
things in your own heart and teach you the truth of these
things. All right, so our title is For
Christ. for Christ. And we'll have two divisions.
Christ's work, and then we'll see Christ's fruit. Alright,
verse 18. For Christ also hath 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. And as I already noted, this
verse is full, it's pregnant, it's got beautiful truths in
this verse, right, that are precious to the believer. And I want to
begin with that last phrase where it says, being put to death in
the flesh but quickened by the Spirit. And that right there
declares to us with no uncertainty that Jesus Christ is the Son
of God. It's declaring to us that Jesus
Christ is the Son of God. Romans 1 verses 3 and 4 tells
us concerning his son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the
seed of David, according to the flesh, and declared to be the
Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by
the resurrection from the dead." The fact that he was put to death
in the flesh declares that He is a man. He's fully man. He is human just like we are,
but being quickened by the Spirit declares Him to be the Son of
God, that He is divine. He is God in the flesh. This is the Lord Jesus Christ.
He is declared to be God with power. Christ Himself foretold
of this event when He was speaking to the Jews in John 2 when He
said, Destroy this temple, and I will raise it up in three days. For He spake of the temple of
His body. And we rejoice in that, brethren,
because we know who the body are. We know who The body are,
we read in Colossians 1, 17 and 18, and Christ is before all
things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of
the body, the church. So Christ, our Savior, was given
authority by God. given the power and the authority
by God the Father to accomplish our salvation, to make reconciliation
for the people by the sacrifice of himself. Christ said in John
10, I lay down my life for the sheep. Therefore, he said, doth
my Father love me, because I lay down my life that I might take
it again. No man taketh it from me, but
I lay it down of myself I have power to lay it down, and I have
power to take it again. This commandment have I received
of my father." We rejoice in that hymn that John Newton wrote. These truths remind me of that. What he says, poor, weak, and
worthless, though I am, I have a rich, almighty friend. Jesus
the Savior is his name. He freely loves and without All
right, now let's consider the first half of verse 18. 1 Peter
3, 18, For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for
the unjust. And this, brethren, is successfully
accomplished by the fact that Christ has two natures. He is joined with himself, fully
man and fully God. human and divine. It's because
of that that he is able to save his people to the uttermost. So he took into union with himself
our human nature that he might be able to bear and suffer for
the sins of his people. Hebrews 2.10 tells us, for it
became him for whom are all things and by whom are all things in
bringing many sons unto glory to make the captain of their
salvation perfect through sufferings. And then in verses 14 and 15,
for as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood,
he also himself likewise took part of the same, that through
death he might destroy him that had the power of death. That
is the devil. That is that liar who promised
us life and liberty when he said, go ahead and take of the fruit
that you might have the knowledge of good and evil. And all it
did was deception, it was a lie, because rather than give us life
and liberty, it gave us death and bondage, right? We were bound
and we were trapped, so Christ came to set us free, to destroy
the works of the devil and to deliver his people from the corruption
that they became. And for that reason, Christ called
him a murderer from the beginning, because he destroyed the whole
human race right then and there when he When he did that, when
he promised us life and liberty and brought death and destruction
and bondage to us, so Christ came that he might overthrow
the works of the devil and deliver his people from his grip, from
his clutches, and restore them to life and liberty in himself. So Christ did deliver them who
through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
So Christ then joined us to himself. He brought us into union with
himself in order to deliver us from the wrath that is coming
upon all them that dwell upon the face of the earth. He's delivering
us from the debt of sin that we owe because we ourselves are
sinners and have offended a holy, just, and righteous God. And
so he delivers us from the bondage of those deeds. Colossians 3,
6, For which thing sake the wrath of God cometh on the children
of disobedience? So Christ is no ordinary man.
He is the God-man, the Lord Jesus Christ. For in him dwelleth all
the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and ye are complete in him, which
is the head of all principality and power. And that power that
he has extends to his authority, his right, his power to determine
who has life and who has death. He is the judge unto life and
death. or 26 and 27 rather, he said,
as the father hath life in himself, so hath he given to the son to
have life in himself, and hath given him authority to execute
judgment also, because he is the son of man. God gave his
son this authority to give life or death to as many as God has
given him. He has life to as many as God
has given him. And as such, our Lord and Savior is the God-man
mediator. He mediates between God, who
is holy and righteous and cannot stand iniquity, and man, who
is nothing but iniquity. But Christ delivers him. He brings
peace and restores that fellowship and that union between them.
He reconciles us to God by his death rather his life when he
was raised from the dead. Hebrews 9.15 says, And for this
cause he is the mediator of the New Testament, that by means
of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were
under the first testament, they which are called might receive
the promise of eternal inheritance. 4. Paul wrote to Timothy, There
is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. So Christ laid down his life,
he shed his precious blood to pay the payment, to pay the price
of our sin, to pay that sin debt with his own blood. He paid it
to God who was judging him for the sins of the people. God poured
out his wrath upon Christ that you and me who have been given
faith to believe on him. and trust Him that His work is
sufficient and able to save us to the uttermost, that's what
Christ did. He paid that price in full. Turn over to Colossians 1.19.
Our Father now receives us because We come to Him not trusting in
our own works, but we come to Him in that precious, righteous
blood of His Son, Jesus Christ. That's how we come. And God receives
all those who come to Him trusting in the blood of the Lord Jesus
Christ, trusting that His work is sufficient to save them perfectly,
that they don't need to do anything more to receive justification
and to be delivered from their sins. It says in Colossians 119,
it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell,
and having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him
to reconcile all things unto himself. By him, I say, whether
they be things in earth or things in heaven, and you that were
sometime alienated in enemies in your mind by wicked works,
yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through
death to present you wholly and unblameable and unreprovable
in his sight." Newton's second verse of that hymn I quoted earlier
says, he ransomed me from hell with blood and by his power my
foes controlled. He found me wandering far from
God and brought me to his chosen fold. All right now, back there
in 1 Peter 3.18, there's one more phrase. Let's start from
the beginning. The last Adam was made a quickening
spirit. And so we read in Ephesians 4,
8, wherefore he saith when he ascended up on high, he led captivity
captive and gave gifts unto men. So as he rose in the grave, he
received all power and authority and gave gifts to his people.
That is that they might have life and the knowledge of him
and be delivered from the power and of death and darkness that
we were all born into and the misery that we deserve, Christ
gave us the gift of life, the gift of faith, the gift of hope
and joy and rejoicing in Him so that He gave us all things
necessary for life and godliness. He left nothing undone, nothing
that we need to stand before Holy God, Christ provided it
all the death and the resurrection of himself for his people. Our
Lord Jesus Christ himself is a quickening spirit, so that
Christ has the authority to judge those who are raised unto life
and those who are raised unto death. He said in John 17, 2,
As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should
give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. so that
in that great and that final day we have this glorious promise,
brethren, that we shall be raised with a new body, a heavenly body
obtained for us, made for us by the Lord Jesus Christ. We
shall receive that heavenly garment, that garment of the righteousness,
that white robe of His righteousness whereby we can go in to that
wedding and there be accepted and received of God the Father
rather than being thrown out because we have that wedding
garment that Christ Himself made for us when He laid down His
life on the tree bearing our sins and putting them away. 1
Corinthians 15 verse 50 says, Now this I say, brethren, that
flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, neither doth
corruption inherit corruption. So we're going to have to put
off this corrupt flesh. This flesh is going to have to
go. And he said, and Paul says, Behold, I show you a mystery.
We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment. in the twinkling of an eye at
the last trump for the trump shall sound and the dead shall
be raised incorruptible and we shall be changed for this corruptible
must put on incorruption and this mortal must put on immortality
so when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption And
this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought
to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory.
O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin, and
the strength of sin is the law. All our lives were subject to
bondage because we feared to die. And we shouldn't fear death,
because it's the disrobing of that which is mortal and corrupt,
and putting on that which is immortal and not corrupted. But the sting of death is sin.
That's why we're afraid to die. That's why we don't want to die,
because we know that when we die, we shall stand before the
throne of God and be judged for all the works that we've done,
whether good or evil. And we know what we've done.
nothing but evil, nothing but filthy works that God shall not
receive. But Christ took that sting out. He put away the sin of His people
so that when they die, they don't need to fear, they don't need
to worry. When we stand before God's throne, we'll come in the
blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. He'll be there with us and we
won't be looking at our works. We'll be looking at the work
that He did and that's where God will receive us in the work
that his son Jesus Christ did. That's why Paul said, but thanks
be to God who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul wrote to the Philippians,
he put it this way, Philippians 3.21, who shall change our vile
body that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body according
to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things
unto himself. All right. So this Jesus, who
became a quickening spirit, he now has the power over all flesh,
and so blessed and glorious is he, and so real is our union
to the Lord Jesus Christ, that when he died, we died with him. we died with him. It says in
Romans 6, 6 and verse 7, knowing this, that our old man is crucified
with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth
we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed
from sin. All right, now listen closely.
In Revelation 14, it says, verses 12 and 13, here's the patience
of the saints. Here are they that keep the commandments
of God and the faith of Jesus. And it says, I heard a voice
from heaven saying unto me, write, blessed are the dead which die
in the Lord from henceforth. Yea, sayeth the Spirit, that
they may rest from their labors, and their works do follow them.
We died in the Lord Jesus Christ. We died in him. We were dead,
and we died in the Lord Jesus Christ. This flesh has been crucified,
the life which we now live, we live by the faith of the Son
of God who loved us and gave himself for us. That's the life
that we now live. It's in the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed are the dead which die
in the Lord from henceforth. Brethren, we're already crucified,
and we don't live unto this life. We don't pursue the kingdom and
what we can get in this life thinking that this is all that
there is. We look to our inheritance, the Lord Jesus Christ. We live
in Him. Our heart and our affection is
to be set on the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul wrote to the Colossians
saying, and we'll turn over there to Colossians 3, And look in
verse 1, Colossians 3 verse 1, If ye then
be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where
Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on
things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and
your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ who is our
life shall appear, Then shall ye also appear with him in glory. And John wrote, Beloved, now
are we the sons of God. Right now, even now, are we the
sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be.
But we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him,
for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this
hope in him purifies himself, even as he is pure. And then
he went on to say a little later, John did, for this is the message
that he heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.
Now, Peter clarifies that purification for us. If you look over in 1
Peter chapter 1, 1 Peter 1, and look there at verse 22, and we'll
look at it to the end of that chapter, he clarifies, or he
brings to light more and more what that means. Every man that
hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
Peter says, verse 22, 122, Seeing ye have purified your souls,
and obeying the truth through the Spirit, unto unfeigned love
of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure
heart fervently. Right? He's saying the same thing
that John is saying. They have the same spirit and
are declaring the same truth by the same Spirit of Christ. But it's not by our strength.
It's not by the works of our flesh that we purify ourselves. It's not by our works and what
we do that justifies us or sanctifies us or does anything profitable
for us. Look at the next verse. Being
born again. That's not a work that this flesh
can do. We cannot make ourselves be born
again. That's a work that Christ does
for the sinner. So we do these things. We walk
in this walk that is pure and right before our God because
Christ has given us life. We've died in him and when he
rose from the dead We rose in Him and He's given us His Spirit
dwelling in us so that now our heart and our affections are
set on the things above. They're set on the Lord Jesus
Christ. And when we stumble and when
we fall, He'll burden us and turn our hearts to seek Him out
that He would forgive us and cleanse us of our sin and restore
us to that fellowship and that union with Him. Because in reality,
it never was lost. We felt the pain of our sin,
but Christ never forsook us. He never threw us away. His heart,
His feelings, His love for us never changed, even though we
sinned. So he says, being born again,
not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible by the word
of God, which liveth and abideth forever. That word is the Lord
Jesus Christ. And here's how we know it's Christ
and not our flesh. The next verse, for all flesh
is as grass, And all the glory of man is the flower of grass,
and the grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away.
So our flesh can't do anything profitable, anything that's eternal,
because it withers and dies in this life. Whatever we do here
in the flesh, it withers and dies when we pass on and go away. But the word of the Lord, the
Lord Jesus Christ, endureth forever. Christ and His work, what He's
accomplished for His people, that endures forever, and this
is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you. So we see,
brethren, that Christ has accomplished our eternal works. We shall be
raised from the dead, covered in the blood of Christ, and we
shall go on into eternity trusting Him and having life in the work
that Christ did for us. So we're not looking to what
we do, in this flesh. They wither and die, but his
work is eternal and it shall live on. So we have this joy,
brethren. We know the infirmities that
we have, but we trust and know that he loves us still now, even
as he shall love us then when we are raised in the likeness
of his heavenly body. Though we feel this flesh's utter
weakness and lusting for the worldly things like we do, we
know that this corruption shall soon put off shall soon put on
incorruption, and this mortal shall soon put on immortality. And that third verse of Newton
goes, he cheers my heart, my needs supplies, and says that
I shall shortly be enthroned with him above the skies. Oh,
what a friend is Christ to me. All right now. So that was the
first point, and now quickly let's look at Christ's fruit.
Verses 15 through 17 in 1 Peter 3. Verse 15. Let's see what Christ
has accomplished in us. But sanctify the Lord God in
your hearts, and be ready always to give an answer to every man
that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness
and fear. We don't sanctify God. God already
is blessed. God already is holy. and happy
and perfect in himself. We sanctify him in the sense
that we joy and rejoice in what Christ has done for us. We're
rejoicing in him and boasting in what he has done for his people. And that hope that's spoken of
here is that though I myself am a sinner, though I myself
can do no lasting work to perfect myself, to recommend me to God,
to motivate God, to have mercy on me, though I can't do that,
I trust that everything's been provided for me in the Son, the
Lord Jesus Christ. That's my hope. That's our glory. That's our boasting and our rejoicing
is in what Christ has done. So when someone asks us for the
hope that we have, the llama sinner, Christ shed his blood
for me. He bore my iniquity and bore
the penalty for my sin. He bore my debt and put away
all that I owe to God, restoring fellowship and life to my heavenly
Father. me to my Heavenly Father, so
that we rejoice in Him. That's what we're declaring.
We're boasting of Christ. That's our hope, is that Christ
has saved me. Our works, Isaiah 64, 6 tells
us about our works. We are all as an unclean thing,
and our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. And we all do fade
as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us
away. Everyone who comes before God
saying, look, Lord, look what I did. Didn't I do this for you?
I did this in your name. Aren't you pleased and happy
with these things that I've done? And the Lord will not be pleased
with them. But our iniquities, because it's notice that it says
they are our righteousnesses. It doesn't say our evil works.
It doesn't say our bad deeds. It says our righteousnesses are
as filthy rats. So the best of the best of the
best of the best that you have If you come to God trusting in
your best works, you will be carried away. Those works are
going to carry you away off into hell, into the eternal flames
of judgment. But those who come, not looking
to their own works, but looking to that work and say, Lord, this
is the righteousness which you provided. This is all my hope. I have nothing else, Lord. Don't
look at my works. Look at what Christ did. Those
who come humbly trusting in Christ, They shall find peace and mercy
and joy and life everlasting, which God prepared for them before
the foundation of the earth. Our Savior said, blessed are
they which do hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall
be filled. The Lord's going to teach his
people in heart that they are unrighteous. They have no good
works by which God will receive them. They don't look and trust
to their works. They look and trust in the work
that the Lord Jesus Christ did for them, and he's going to create
that hunger in them. Christ said, except your righteousnesses
exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall
in no wise enter the kingdom of heaven. Christ and Christ
alone is the one who has the righteousness that exceeds the
righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. We all fall short,
but Christ, he's the only one who far exceeds every work that
any man has ever done, Christ and Christ alone. So if you're
gonna have the righteousness that exceeds that of the scribes
and Pharisees, it's by the Lord Jesus Christ. It's coming in
his work, not doing your own works, not trusting what you
did. That voice that says that we'll hear his voice, And that
voice that we hear is, O everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the
waters, come ye buy, or he that hath no money, come ye buy, and
ye, yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. So the Lord's gonna lead us through
this path. He's gonna lead us to his heavenly
Father. He's the one that's gonna take
us through all these afflictions and trials and sorrows, not trusting
and looking to what's going on here in the flesh, but continuing
to look to what Christ has done. So that now, brethren, I can
stand here with a good conscience and tell you, look to the Lord
Jesus Christ. Don't look to your own works,
look to what Christ has done. Christ clears the sinner by the
cleansing blood of the Son Jesus Christ. By His blood, He cleanses
us from all sin and iniquity. and we declare it to others how
that God saves sinners. As Paul said, therefore seeing
we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint
not, but have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking
in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but
by manifestation of the truth, commending ourselves to every
man's conscience in the sight of God. When you pretend that
you're something and you're nothing and you tell people, Look at
me and look at what I do because I've got it right and hear what
I have to say because I'll tell you how to get to God. I'll tell
you how to do everything right. You just do what I do. They're
going to see pretty quickly you're a hypocrite and you're a liar
and you don't know the truth. But we come confessing we're
sinners. and that it's not because we're
so good and because we're so righteous that you should hear
what we have to say. We're declaring the works and
the righteousness of another, the Lord Jesus Christ. And God
has promised that all who come to him through the sun, they
shall be received. So we can stand there in good
conscience and say that. If we had to pretend like we
were something when we know that we're nothing, all the while
our conscience is stinging us because we know I'm a hypocrite,
I'm a liar, I'm a fake, I'm a phony. but we're not coming because
we're so righteous and so good in ourselves, we're coming in
the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's why we can
stand in good conscience and tell others what Christ has done
for us. For we preach not ourselves,
but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your servants for Jesus'
sake. For God who commanded the light
to shine out of darkness has shined in our hearts for to give
the light of the knowledge the glory of God in the face of Jesus
Christ. That's where our hope is. That's
the darkness he took us out of, thinking that by our righteousnesses,
by our religion, that we were acceptable to God. And now we
know, we see there in Christ is the righteousness of God.
I ain't looking no more to my religion and my works and what
I've done. I'm looking to the Lord Jesus
Christ. That's my hope. And we can say
that in a good conscience to people. We can say that in a
good conscience. You don't have to pretend and
fake it anymore. So we preach Christ without shame
and that clear conscience that by Christ and Him alone God saves
sinners. Acts 10 43, to Him give all the
prophets witness. that whosoever believeth in him
shall receive remission of sins." So we don't want to keep putting
up all these extra obstacles and all these other things that
people have to do. We look to Christ. We look to
Him. We declare Him. We preach Him because Christ
then is going to bear the fruit in His people. He'll teach them.
He'll give them a heart to love Him, to love their brethren,
and to want to be to help and not do anything that shames the
name of Christ, he works that in. We just preach Christ and
keep declaring him over and over again. All right, quickly, verses
16 and 17, having a good conscience that whereas they speak evil
of you as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse
your good conversation in Christ. For it is better if the will
of God be so that ye suffer for well-doing than for evil doing."
So we don't want to do things that will bring shame on the
name of Christ. We're not looking to do that, but we're not trusting
in those things, but we're looking to walk rightly before people
and giving all the glory to Christ. But it's no secret that this
world hates Christ. They hate Christ, and in that
they hate him because he declares the truth to them. He says, your
works are darkness, your works are filthy. God isn't pleased
with the works of man. He's pleased with one, the Lord
Jesus Christ. And when you declare that, men
hate that. And by hating the Christ who
we preach, what they're saying is, I hate the God who sent him.
I hate that God saves his people that way, by the Lord Jesus Christ.
Man doesn't like that. And by rejecting Christ, he really
is rejecting God. If you notice, the world is pretty
happy to talk about God in a very general sense, because then there's
so many ways to come to that general God, right? But as soon
as you say, uh-uh, it's by the Lord Jesus Christ, he alone is
righteous. And God's only accepting anyone in the person of his Son,
covered in the blood of the Son, Jesus Christ, trusting in his
work, that's when men get angry and they get mad, because now
you've just took salvation out of their hands, and you put it
in the hands of another, the Lord Jesus Christ. But he's the
one who God gave authority to. He's the one who has it. Yea,
and all that will live godly, Paul said to Timothy, all that
will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. And
again to the Philippians he wrote, only let your conversation be
as it become of the gospel of Christ, that whether I come,
you can almost hear not Paul saying this, but the Lord Jesus
Christ. Hear Christ saying this to his
church. Only let your conversation be
as it become of the gospel of Christ. Not trusting in those
works, but let it be becoming of the gospel of Christ, that
whether I come and see you, whether the Lord comes today to bring
us home, or else be absent, or whether I tarry and wait longer
and leave you here on this earth, I may hear of your affairs that
you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind, striving together
for the faith of the gospel. and in nothing, be terrified
by your adversaries, don't be terrified, which is to them an
evident token of perdition. but to you of salvation and that
of God. For unto you it is given in the
behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer
for his sake." So we can endure all things through Christ which
strengthens us, Paul said. And then he wrote to Timothy
and said, thou therefore endure hardness as a good soldier of
Christ. Endure hardness, whatever the
Lord is pleased to do. But turn over to Revelation,
and we'll close with Revelation chapter 2. Revelation chapter
2 and verse 8 is the one that we'll look at. As you know in
Revelation 2 and 3, the Lord is writing letters to the seven
churches. And he says in Revelation 2,
8, unto the angel of the church in Smyrna, right? Now the angel
in the church of Smyrna was that that faithful Bishop Polycarp,
right, who at the age of 82 years old, when the emperor said, renounce
Christ and I'll let you go. And he said, 80 and two years
have I served the Lord and he's never once done me wrong. Should
I now then betray him? Should I now disown him who never
disowned me? And he let them kill him. He
was faithful unto death. And so He says unto the angel
of the church in Smyrna write, these things sayeth the first
and the last which was dead and is alive. If we have any testimony
of any of the churches, this would be the blessed one to have. He says in verse nine, I know
thy works in tribulation and poverty, but thou art rich. And
I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews and are
not, but are the synagogue of Satan. Fear none of those things
which thou shalt suffer. Behold, the devil shall cast
some of you into prison, that ye may be tried, and ye shall
have tribulation ten days. Be thou faithful unto death,
and I will give thee a crown of life. He that hath an ear,
let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. He that
overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death. All right,
brethren, let's pray and let's get ready for the next service,
too. Our Lord, we thank you, Father, for your grace and the
power and the authority that you've given to your son, Jesus
Christ. Help us, Lord. Let us see our need of him. Make
us, Lord, to rejoice in him. Give us of his spirit. Cover
us in his blood and make us the very righteousness of God which
you receive, that is, the righteousness of your Son, Jesus Christ. Lord,
teach us in the heart. Help us, Lord, to walk in a way
that glorifies the gospel of Jesus Christ which we proclaim,
not because we are something that we're not, not because we
ourselves have it all together and are righteous in our own
works, but, Lord, because Christ is the risen Savior. He is a successful Savior. and
he promises to bring us to God our Father. Lord, we pray that
your will would be done in this. Gather your people together here,
Lord, under the sound of the gospel. We pray this in Jesus'
name, our Lord and Savior. Amen.