You've got your Bibles open to
1 Peter 3. I want us to look at verse 18. Look at one verse of Scripture
this morning. 1 Peter 3, verse 18. Here we read, For Christ also
hath once suffered for sins, just for the unjust, that he
might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but
quickened by the Spirit. The title of the message is taken
from these first few words in our text, for Christ also hath
once suffered. Christ also has once suffered. Now, as I look around this morning,
I thought about this in preparing this message. Who would be sitting
here this morning? And I thought about this thing
of suffering. And I can't think of anyone in
this congregation that's not a stranger to suffering. in some form or fashion, in some
shape or form. Every one of us are acquainted
with suffering, which should be no surprise. Our Lord said,
He said, in this world, you'll have tribulation. You'll have trouble. You'll have
suffering. But here in our text, we read
of Christ's suffering. We read of the Lord Jesus Christ's
suffering. Peter makes much of the suffering
of the Lord Jesus Christ. In 1 Peter 1, we read, searching
what or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in
them did signify when it testified beforehand the suffering, the
sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow. In
chapter 2 and verse 21, He said, for even here unto you were called,
because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example
that you should follow in His steps. In chapter 4, verse 1,
for as much then as Christ has suffered for us, in the flesh,
arm yourself likewise with the same mind for he that has suffered
in the flesh has ceased from sin. And then again in first
Peter in chapter chapter five, verse one, the elders, which
are among you, I exhort whom am also an elder and a witness
of the sufferings, the sufferings of Christ. and also a partaker
of the glory that shall be revealed." Again, Peter, just in this first
epistle, he made much of the suffering of the Lord Jesus Christ.
So for a few minutes here this morning in our Bible study, let's
look at this. Let's look at the suffering of
the Lord Jesus Christ. You have your Bible open to 1
Peter. Look again at chapter 3, verse 18. The first thing
we see here, for Christ also hath once suffered for sins. Christ hath also once suffered. We read He suffered. The Lord
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the God-man, He who being in
the form of God, thought it not robbery, thought it not a thing
to be grasped at, to be equal with God. The Lord Jesus Christ
also, at once suffered." Just a few things. Consider His suffering
and being made a man. Almighty God taking on human
flesh. Consider His lowly birth, how
He His lowly birth, there was no room anywhere else for Him
but in that barn. He was born in a stable. He suffered
temptation. The Lord Jesus Christ suffered
temptation. He was in all points tempted
like we are, yet without sin. He suffered hunger. He suffered
thirst. He suffered weariness. In Matthew
8, our Lord spoke in verse 20, He said, The foxes have holes
and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man hath
not where to lay His head. He was despised and rejected
of men. Turn to Luke chapter 22. Luke
22. Before our Lord was betrayed
by Judas, He was at the Mount of Olives and His disciples followed
Him. Look here at verse 40. It says,
When He was at the place, He said to them, Pray that you enter
not into temptation. And when He was withdrawn from
them about a stone's cast, He kneeled down and He prayed and
He said, if thou be willing, remove this
cup from me. Nevertheless, nevertheless, not
my will, but thine be done. And there appeared an angel unto
him from heaven, strengthening him, and being in agony, oh,
how he suffered. Being in agony, he prayed more
earnestly, and his sweat. The very sweat that came from
his body was that were great drops of blood falling to the
ground. How he suffered. He was falsely
accused. He was bruised. He was beaten. He was scourged. He was spat
upon. And then he was fastened to the
cross. He was nailed to the cross. mocked and scorned by common
men, by those thieves on each side of him that mocked and scorned
him, mocked by the crowd that gathered around that day, the
chief priests, the scribes, the rulers, those who were allegedly
in charge that day. And they said this, they said,
he saved others. He saved others himself. He cannot
save. He saved others. Let him save
himself if he be the Christ, the Chosen
of God. How he suffered. How the Lord
Jesus Christ suffered. How he suffered when all the
sins of all his people were laid on him. He was made, he was made
sin. And there in the ninth hour,
he cried with a loud voice. He cried, my God, my God, why
hast thou forsaken me? And he yielded up the ghost. Christ hath once suffered. Is it nothing? Is it nothing? Is it nothing to you? all ye
that pass by. Behold and see if there be any
sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me. Wherewith the
Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger. As no man, no man has ever suffered
like the Lord Jesus Christ. He said, is it nothing? Isn't
that a question we could ask this very day? Is it nothing
to you? Is it nothing to you, all you
that pass by? A day like today, a day full
of religious activity, a day of foolishness, a day when children
are singing cantatas and Men are draping purple towels around
a couple pieces of treated 4x4 and sticking them out in the
yard. Is it nothing? Is it nothing
to you? I read in the paper, one of those
things I read I wished I hadn't even read, about a group that
had built a cross and they had carried it two or three miles
and they said the reason they did that is they wanted to identify
in some way with the Lord's suffering. Is it nothing? Were they spat
upon? Were they mocked? Were they scourged? Is it nothing? Is it nothing
to you? Has any man suffered? Behold
and see if there be any sorrow like my sorrow, which is done
unto me." Almighty God slew His Son on the cross for the sins
of His people. The Lord Jesus Christ suffered. He suffered for sin. So here
we see He suffered. Next, we see He wants. He once suffered. He once suffered. He made one sacrifice for sin. Paul said this, writing to the
Hebrews, and he spoke of those Old Testament priests, and he
said they stood daily, ministering and offering oftentimes the same
sacrifices over and over again, which could never, could never
take away sin. But the Lord Jesus Christ, One
sacrifice for sin. One sacrifice for sin forever. And he sat down on the right
hand of God. His work being complete. Those priests, they stood daily.
They never sat down. Because that sacrifice, it was
a continual, it was a picture. But the Lord Jesus Christ, He
made one sacrifice for sin forever and He sat down. He sat down. By one offering, he hath perfected
forever them that are sanctified. One sacrifice forever. And he
sat down on the right hand of God. His work complete. His work
finished. That's what he cried out on the
cross. He said, it's finished. One sacrifice for sin. Why can't we man be satisfied
with that? God is. God's satisfied with His sacrifice
for sin, but yet man continually tries to add to it. One sacrifice for sin. His sacrifice
accepted. His work completed. His work
finished. His people sanctified. Our sin
pardoned. By one sacrifice, He accomplished
that which He came to do. He completely cleansed and perfected. made holy all that had been given
to him by the father. Once in the end of the world,
he hath appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. The Lord Jesus Christ suffered.
He suffered once and he suffered once. We read it there for sin. He suffered once for sin. The wages of sin is death. Turn to Isaiah 53. He suffered, he died for sin,
but he had no sin. Look at Isaiah 53. But beginning with verse three, surely he hath borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows, yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten
of God. But he, he was wounded for our
transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquity. The chastisement of our peace
was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray,
we have turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord hath laid
on him the iniquity of us all. He died once for our sins, the
sins of His people. I remember Henry used to say,
if you really want to get a feel for that verse, go through there
and put your name. Put your name in there. He suffered for me. He suffered for my sin. For He, Almighty God, had made
Him to be sin for us who knew no sin. that we might be made
the righteousness of God and the end in Christ, the work of
God the Father. He suffered once, once for sin. Back to our text, 1 Peter 3,
again with verse 18. For Christ hath also once suffered
for sins, the just for the unjust. the Lord Jesus Christ, the holy
and just one, holy in his nature, righteous in his works. He was
referred to in Isaiah 53 as God's righteous servant. He's holy,
he's just, he's righteous. We read Esau, Esau, not only
by unjust men and the Jews and Pilate and the Roman soldiers,
But he suffered in the room instead of his people. He suffered in
the room instead of unjust men, of sinners, of sinners, ungodly,
who were destitute of righteousness and full of unrighteousness. He suffered in our room instead.
He suffered there for his people. He died for his sheep. You notice
the scripture doesn't say he died to make salvation possible
for all. It says this, he died the just
for the unjust. He put away sin by the sacrifice
of himself. He, by himself, purged our sins. We're sanctified, sanctified
through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once, once for
all. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's
Son, cleanses us from all sin. It's been put away. In 1 Peter
2, verse 24, it says here, who His own self bear our sins in
His own body on the tree that we being dead to sin should live
unto righteousness by whose stripes you were He died just for the unjust. Why? Why? He died to satisfy God's holy
law. He died for the sins of his people. Why did Christ die on the cross?
Why did he suffer? Why did he suffer for our sin? Why did he die just for the unjust? Look at our text. that He might bring us to God. Listen for a minute and consider
what we've just read. For Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ
hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that
He might bring us Isn't that what Job said? Turn back to Job 19. And think about this while you're
turning there. Who did that work? That He might bring us to God. This is His work. But Job 19, Look at Job 19 beginning with
verse 23. Job said, Oh, that my words were
now written. Oh, that they were printed in
a book, that they were graven with an iron pen and led in the
rock forever. For I know, I know that my Redeemer
liveth and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth,
and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my
flesh I shall see God, who I shall see for myself, and mine eyes
shall behold, and not another, though my reins be consumed within
me." Job spoke of a Redeemer. This Redeemer that's God in human
flesh. A living Redeemer. He said, I
know that my Redeemer liveth. He shall stand at the latter
day. You know, only a living Savior can save a dead sinner. And He's not just a Redeemer. Job said, he's my Redeemer. He's my Redeemer. A Redeemer that's revealed to
his people. Job said, I know this. By faith he saw Christ
afar off. He said, I know. And Job had
confidence, didn't he? Not in himself, in his Redeemer.
He said, The worms destroy this body.
I shall see, I shall see God. Christ suffered. He died once
to sin. Just for the unjust, that He
might bring us to God. Put the death in the flesh, but
quicken by the Spirit. Turn with me to one more passage
of Scripture here. Jude 24. We'll close with this. Jude 24, Thou unto Him that is able to keep
you from falling and to present you faultless before the presence
of His glory with exceeding joy." Ever stop and consider that.
He's going to present us. Us. Did you look in the mirror
this morning? He's going to present us. How? Faultless. Faultless not just
as Somebody knew we just met, but faultless in the presence
of God. God who can't look upon sin. Faultless before the presence
of His glory, with exceeding joy. For the only wise God, our
Savior. With glory, majesty, dominion,
power, both now and ever. Amen. How can a sinful man, like you
or I, stand before a holy God? For Christ also hath once suffered
for sin, just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God,
and he put the death in the flesh quickly. God be pleased to bless you.