All right, let's turn in our
Bibles to 1 Peter 3. 1 Peter 3. In this passage, I preached on
this last week, verse 18, the just for the unjust. Let's read
there, 1 Peter 3.18. For Christ also hath once suffered
for sins. And we saw that in Hebrews, one
time, one offering. That's the glory and the power
of God in Christ. And he suffered the just for
the unjust. I mentioned last week of how,
and I believe I'm gonna preach this in Ruston, but we can talk
about these two things. the greatest, most wicked, most
unjust act that man has ever done on earth and will ever do
on earth. And then the greatest act of
good and righteousness and justness that God ever did on earth are
one in the same act. And that's the death of Jesus
Christ. Peter said it this way in Acts chapter 22. He says,
it was by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, the
God who must judge righteously, Peter said, when he brought his
wrath down upon Christ, the just, he did it justly. How? Because Christ came as the surety
of His people, having our sins accounted to Him." Our sin debt
charged to His account. And when God punished His, it
pleased the Lord to bruise Him. Why is that? Is God some kind
of a sadist or some kind of a... He gets pleasure out of pain?
No. It pleased Him because He was pouring down His wrath on
His Son justly for the sins of His people. And He satisfied
justice. That's the greatest act of justice
and righteousness that has ever been performed on this earth.
But Peter said, for by the determinant counsel and foreknowledge of
God, you with wicked hands have crucified the Son of Man. It
was the greatest act of witnesses of evil and wickedness on our
part. The Bible says they could find
no fault in Jesus of Nazareth. And yet we killed Him. Isn't
that an amazing thing though? How God can be just to justify
the ungodly? How God can be just and still
punish His holy, harmless, just Son? Not because He became a
sinner, He didn't. Not because He was corrupted
with our sins, He wasn't. Not because He was contaminated
with our sins, He wasn't. He suffered as the just one. The perfect God-man, but it was
justly done by God because it was based upon our sins imputed
to Him. Somebody asked me one time, how
can that be just? Well, first of all, Christ willingly
gave Himself. He wasn't forced to go to the
cross. Did you know that? He told them
in the book of John, he said, I laid down my life. The good
shepherd gives his life for the sheep. I laid down willingly.
He said, no man takes it from me. He willingly did it. And why? For that goal that was
set before him. What was that goal? It was the
glory of his father and the good of his sheep. And yet from our point of view,
it was a very wicked thing to do. We took a person, and I say
we because fallen humanities represented there on Golgotha
surrounded him. We took an innocent man and crucified
him and called him a blasphemer. That was a lie. He wasn't a blasphemer. Called him a malefactor. You
know what a malefactor is, don't you? It's a criminal. That was
a lie. He was the only person to ever
walk this earth who did no sin and knew no sin. And so in verse
18, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God.
That's the reason he did. That he might bring his people,
his sheep, to God. being put to death in the flesh,
but quickened by the Spirit, his resurrection. Now look at
verse 19. He says, by which he also went
and preached unto the spirits in prison, which sometimes were
disobedient, when once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of
Noah, while the ark was a-preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls
were saved by water, the like figure, verse 21, whereunto even
baptism doth also now save us, not the putting away the filth
of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God.
Now that's what I'm gonna talk about, a good conscience. And
he says, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is gone
into heaven and is on the right hand of God, angels and authorities
and powers being made subject unto him. So here in verse 21,
Peter describes a believer's baptism Talking about there,
he says baptism, and he talks about the answer of a good conscience
toward God. Now to understand what he means
by this, we have to understand what believer's baptism actually
is. The ordinance of baptism. You
see, the word baptism is used in different ways in the scripture.
Sometimes the word baptism is used just simply to describe
a believer's union with Christ Legally in his death burial and
resurrection. That's what Romans chapter 6
talks about Sometimes baptism speaks of a believer being the
word baptized means placed into it means immersed in And sometimes
it's referring to a believer's being put into Christ by God-given
faith. When we believe on him, we're
baptized into him, we're immersed into him, we're placed into him
spiritually by God-given faith. That's Galatians chapter three
talks about that. But sometimes believer's baptism
speaks of what we normally think of it as water baptism in the
baptistry, where we confess And that's what it is. It's a confession,
a public confession that we've already been united to Christ.
We've already been baptized into him spiritually and legally.
And so we get into the baptismal waters. He said, go in all the
world and preach the gospel, baptize them. And we confess
it publicly in the ordinance of believers baptism. And here
in 1 Peter 3, we have to understand the context of what the Holy
Spirit is teaching here by Peter. Well, what about this matter
of the conscience? Now remember what I said about
the conscience. The conscience is not our awareness of our sins. We're aware of our sins every
day, aren't we? If you're not, you're not thinking
right. I'm aware of my sins every day. I know they're there. I've heard preachers say that
when the Bible says things like we read in Hebrews 10, that God
said, I'll remember your sins no more. I heard a preacher say
this one time. He says, the reason God doesn't
remember anymore is because they don't exist. And I thought, are
you crazy? They don't exist? If they don't
exist, why is there a warfare within us? The warfare of the
flesh against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh.
If they don't exist, why did Peter have to tell these people
to start acting right? You know, be obedient. Why did
Paul in Ephesus have to tell believers, stop lying to one
another? And going on, how many exhortations
do we have in the New Testament? Peter, one of his main points
here in 1 Peter is that When we suffer physically, mentally,
here on this earth, let's make sure that we're suffering for
righteousness, the gospel, for Christ's sake, and not because
of our own bad behavior. Why did He have to do that if
our sins don't exist? And then sometimes, now not always,
God chastises us for our sins. Now, we don't always know if
it's for some specific sin or not. We don't have that kind
of wisdom. That's up to God. But why would God have to correct
us? That's what chastisement is, isn't it? It's not being damned for sins.
It's being corrected. Well, if they don't exist, why
would it have to be corrected? Why would you have to be corrected?
They do exist. So the conscience here It's not
that we're not conscious, aware of our sin, but the conscience
here is the seat of judgment by which, as Paul wrote in Romans
chapter two, by which we are exonerated or condemned. We know right from wrong. Does
your conscience ever bother you? What is a good conscience here?
especially one towards God. Now God sees and knows everything
we think, say, and do. He sees our thoughts. So he's talking about a good
conscience before a God who sees and knows. That dream you had
last night, I don't know what it was about. It might have been
a good one, it might have been a terrible one. God knows. That thought you had. How can
we as sinners, and that's what we are, there's only sinners
lost in their sins, sinners saved by grace, how can we as sinners
have a good conscience towards God? Is it right to follow your conscience?
You ever heard that, follow your conscience? Should we let our
consciences be our guide as we make our way through this world? Should I trust my conscience?
In the religious world, many people, multitudes, base their
hope regarding eternal life and salvation and everlasting acceptance
with God upon what they call a good conscience. Well, what
kind of conscience do I have? Is it an evil conscience, as
he wrote in Hebrews 10, or is it a good conscience? What do
our consciences tell us about ourselves? Well, here in verse
21 of 1 Peter 3, God the Holy Ghost tells us that a good conscience,
he says, here's what he says here, read it again. The like
figure, he's talking about Noah and the flood and how eight souls
were saved by water. And he said that was a figure.
Now that word figure is like a type. that physical deliverance in
that physical arc of eight souls, Noah and his family, was a type
wherein to even baptism doth also now save us. Now he's talking
about baptism, that's union, immersion, and he says, not the
putting away of the filth of the flesh, baptism does not wash
you from your sins, you see. Water baptism does not save you. What he's talking about here
is what water baptism typifies. You understand that? This is
the whole context. Just like Noah and the ark typified
believers being saved by God's grace through our ark who is
Christ the Lord. You see that? That ark is a type
of Christ. How am I, a sinner, who deserves
nothing but damnation, how am I going to be safe from the rain,
the floods of God's wrath? I've got to be on the ark. Not
a literal ark like Noah and his family was, but a spiritual ark. And that's a real ark now. Just
because it's not a boat made of wood, it doesn't mean it's
not real. Christ is real. And you remember how that ark
was pitched within and without with pitch? That word pitch is
the word that they use for atonement. How am I shielded, safe from
the wrath, the flood of God's wrath? Through Christ and His
blood shed on the cross for my sins. And that's what baptism
in water typifies. Did you know that? The death,
the burial, The resurrection of Christ. Do you remember when
Christ himself was baptized? Do you remember he came to John
the Baptist? He said, baptize me, John. John
said, well, I'm not worthy. And he said, suffer it to be
so for us to fulfill all righteousness. Now, what did Christ have to
do to fulfill all righteousness? Be baptized in water? No. He had to go to the cross. But
what was he saying there to John the Baptist and those people
in his baptism? Here's what's got to happen,
John. I've got to die. I've got to be buried. And I've
got to be raised again. That's what he was preaching
to fulfill all righteousness. The waters of baptism didn't
do that. It was the death of Christ that did that, typified
in his own baptism. And so when we climb into the
baptistry, it's to do what? It's to confess that our only
hope of salvation and righteousness and forgiveness and being shielded
from the flood of God's wrath is in our union with Christ in
His death, His burial, and His resurrection. Do you see that? Over here in verse 19. He talks about the just suffering
for the unjust in verse 19, it says, by which also he went and
preached unto the spirits in prison. Who's he talking about
there? There are some preachers who
say that that means that when Christ died, he actually went
into hell and preached to people in hell, give them a second chance.
My soul, that is not biblical. That's just the machinations
and rationalizations of man. How did he preach unto the spirits
in prison? He preached to those who were
during that time of Noah. Christ actually preached to them
through Noah. While Noah was building the ark,
you know what he was doing other than that? He was preaching the
gospel. Hebrews chapter 10 tells it. And Peter said he was a preacher
of righteousness. He was a preacher of the gospel.
He is an heir of the righteousness which is by faith. That's the
righteousness of Christ imputed to us. Whenever, listen to me now, you
gotta understand this. Whenever any preacher preaches
the true gospel, the true word of God, that in essence is Christ
preaching to you because as Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5, we are
ambassadors of Christ. That's what we are, if we're
telling the truth now. When a preacher stands up and
tells a lie, he's not an ambassador of Christ. That's not Christ
preaching. Christ preaches to us through his preachers by his
spirit and by his word. So if I tell you the truth, and
I'm not doing this to elevate myself, we're just the mouthpiece,
we're just the signpost. John the Baptist, I'm not even
worthy to untie his shoes. Do you remember what the testimony
of John was? They heard John speak and they
followed Jesus. I don't want you to follow me,
I want you to follow Christ. I don't want to point your attention
to me, I want to point your attention to the Lord of glory who saves
sinners from their sins. And that's what Noah was doing.
He says in verse 20, which sometime were disobedience when once the
long suffering of God waited in the days of Noah. while the
ark was a preparing, and Noah was building the ark, but he
was preaching, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved. So Christ, through Noah, by his
spirit, went in the ministry of Noah, the preacher of righteousness,
and preached to those wicked, disobedient people through Noah.
Noah preached. He built an ark before their
eyes. This was not just Noah alone, but the Spirit of God
speaking, warning, teaching, preaching the gospel. And then in light of that, now
this is the context, the baptism of a believer is a picture, a
figure, just like Noah and the ark, as I said. So again, I want
to emphasize that. Being baptized did not wash away
our sins. If it did, If being baptized
could wash away our sins, or if it could some way mystically
apply the blood of Christ to us, it cannot. If it could, the
Apostle Paul would never have made a statement like this, Christ
sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel. If baptism
could wash away our sins and save us, I'll tell you, I'd be
begging every one of you, let's get up in here in this pool. Do you need to be baptized? If
you have been brought to faith in Christ and repentance, and
you have not confessed Him in believer's baptism, yes you need
to be. Not to be saved, but to confess
that God has already saved you by His grace. That's what that's
all about. You understand that. But here
he says it's a confession of a good conscience towards God.
Now what is he talking about? Well, baptism does not give us
a good conscience towards God. Now, it's possible, you know,
we're complex creatures in a lot of ways. And sometimes we can
do things that bother our conscience, some things we can not do things.
You know, I know a lot of people who wrestle with this issue of
baptism. Should I be baptized? Have I
been baptized? And to me, it's a clear shot.
I mean, it's a clear thing. Listen, I was baptized a couple
of times under a false gospel, but that's not baptism. I wasn't
confessing the true Christ. So I was baptized after the Lord
brought me to faith in Christ. And it was settled for me. And
you may be wrestling with that. I don't know. That's in your
conscience. But baptism doesn't give us a
good conscience to God, but it's the answer or confession of one
who already has a good conscience towards God. If you don't have
a good conscience towards God, You don't need to be baptized. If you have a good conscience
toward God, you need to be baptized. But what is a good conscience?
Well, a good conscience before God
begins with the conviction of sin. Turn to John chapter 6 with
me. A good conscience before God
begins with the conviction of sin. And I could go to so many scriptures
here, but let's just hit one that kind of hits it all. Christ is telling His disciples
that He must go away. He's going to Jerusalem, He's
going to the cross, and He's going to die, be buried, raised
again the third day, and then He's going to the Father. And
He tells them, He said, that's expedient for you, that's necessary
for you. If I don't go away, there's no
salvation. If I don't do this work, there's no life. The Bible
says you must be born again by the Spirit. Isn't that right?
Well, if Christ didn't do his work on the cross, there's no
life to give in the new birth. Christ is our life. And so he
says in verse 7, look at John 16, verse 7. Nevertheless, I
tell you the truth. It's expedient for you that I
go away. For if I go not away, the Comforter, the Holy Spirit,
will not come unto you. But if I depart, I will send
him unto you." And verse 8, and when he has come, he will reprove,
convict or convince the world of sin. Now that's not the world,
there's not everybody with that exception. Whoever he's talking
about here, they're going to be convicted, convinced of three
things, of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. Look at it,
verse nine. Now what does he mean convicted of sin? Of sin
because they believe not on me. Now what is he saying there?
He's telling us that without Christ, without his blood, We
have faith in His blood. You know what Romans 3 says?
We know that His blood washes away all our sins. But without
Christ, without faith in Him, everything we are and everything
we do is nothing but damnation and sin. These preachers who are telling
people today that there's other ways to heaven but Christ, they're
lying to you. They're lying to their people.
Christ is the one way of salvation. I am the way, the truth, and
the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. There's
one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. And the Holy Spirit's going to
convict us in our conscience that if I come before God not
having His blood to wash away all my sins, not being clothed
in His righteousness imputed to me, then I will be convicted,
I will be judged damned in my sins. Christ told the Pharisees,
he said, if you don't believe that I am, you'll die in your
sins. Now a good conscience is one
who's convicted of sin. Without Christ, I don't care
how religious you are, I don't care how good you try to be,
I don't care how much money you give to charity. Without Christ,
in God's sight, according to God's standard of righteousness,
according to God's standard of goodness, it's all sin. It's
all iniquity, it doesn't equal out. How good must I be? to be accepted with God, I must
be as righteous as Christ is, Acts 17, and if you don't believe
that, you need to repent, Acts 17 31, because God hath appointed
a day in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by
that man whom he hath ordained, and that he hath given assurance
unto all men, and that he hath raised him from the dead. So convicted of sin. Verse 10,
a good conscience is convicted of righteousness, of righteousness,
Because you've straightened up and now have taken on a new lease
on life. Is that what that verse says?
No. Convicted of righteousness, Christ
said, because I go to my Father and you see me no more. What
is that? It means that my only righteousness before God is Jesus
Christ crucified and risen from the dead. I stand before God
not in my works, My sins have been washed away by His blood.
I stand before God clothed in the righteousness of His Son. That's a good conscience. I have everything that God requires
and everything that I need for salvation and eternal life. And
I did not contribute one iota to it. It was all Christ, the
grace of God. It's His righteousness charged
to me. And then thirdly, A good conscience,
verse 11, is one that's convinced of judgment. Of judgment because
the prince of this world is judged. Now what does that mean? When
was the prince of this world judged? When was he cast out?
On the cross of Christ. What does that mean? That means
my sins were judged righteously in my substitute, in my surety,
my substitute and redeemer, Jesus Christ. And they've been put
away. That's a good conscience. Justice has been satisfied in
my stead by the sin-atoning blood of Christ. You see, those who do not believe
in Christ, they have a conscience. Now, sometimes that conscience
can lapse into such degradation to what God in Romans chapter
one calls a reprobate mind. You ever see anybody, they don't
have a conscience. You ever read about them on the
news? You know God gives everybody a conscience, but the conscience
of natural man is defiled. It's fallen. They have some sense
of right and wrong, but it's a sliding scale. It's like situation
ethics. Well, today this might be looked
upon as being evil, but today it's all good. You know how that
goes, don't you? And man tries to clear his conscience
with human religion, human works, won't do it. And some consciences
are so hardened by works, free will, conditional religion, that
it's called a conscience that's seared over with a hot iron.
They won't listen to anything. So how can a sinner have a good
conscience? Well, look at Hebrews 9. I'll close with this. Let
me show you this. A good conscience toward God.
Now, over there in Hebrews chapter 9, he speaks of the conscience. Look at verse 9. He talks about
the elements of the old covenant, verse 9, and the tabernacle. He says, which was a figure,
a type for the time then present in which were offered both gifts
and sacrifices that could not make him that did the service
perfect as pertaining to the conscience. In other words, there
was no purging of sin, You see, like we read in Hebrews
10, it's not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could
take away sin. Those things were done year by
year, week by week, month by month, and it continually brought
up that matter of sin. But look at verse 13 of Hebrews
9. For if the blood of bulls and of goats and the ashes of
an heifer sprinkling the unclean sanctified to the purifying of
the flesh, that is a ceremonial purification of their persons. Look at verse 14. How much more
shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered
himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead
works to serve the living God? That's faith in Christ and repentance
of dead works. Purged by the blood of Christ.
And then look back over at Hebrews 10, the last part of this, look
at verse 18. He's talking about the substitutionary
death of Christ on the cross to purge away the sins of his
people. Here's one offering. And he says in verse 18, now
where remission or forgiveness or pardon of these is, these
sins, there's no more offering for sin. Once Christ died for
our sins, there's no more offering. There's no more payment. Jesus
paid it all. Verse 19, having therefore brethren
boldness to enter the holiest by the blood of Jesus, you can
come into the very presence of a holy God who knows everything
about us. but on the basis and ground of
the blood of Jesus Christ. That's a good conscience. A new
and living way which he, Christ, hath done, consecrated for us
through the veil, that is to say his flesh, having in a high
priest over the house of God, let us draw near, draw near to
God with a true heart, a sincere heart. That's the new heart given
by the Spirit. I'll give you a new heart, a
new mind. In full assurance of faith. What's the full assurance
of faith? That's not being fully assured that I've done enough,
or have enough, or believe enough. It's the full assurance that
I have in Christ. Having our hearts sprinkled from
an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. When
are our hearts sprinkled with an evil conscience? It's when
the Holy Spirit convinces us of sin, and of righteousness,
and of justice. When he gives us, in the new
birth, faith to believe in Christ. That's sprinkling of the heart,
the mind, the affections, the will, the conscience with the
blood of Jesus Christ. That's a good conscience before
God. And all who have that good conscience
are commanded by the Lord to confess Him in believer's baptism. That's what that means. Isn't
that the way of God? All right, let's turn to hymn
number 227.