from our Bibles again to First
Peter, chapter three. The title of the message this
evening is Baptism, the Answer of a Good Conscience. You know
that baptism is a public confession. It's a public confession of what
Christ our Savior has done for us and what he's done in us.
And the reason that a believer has a good conscience is because
Christ has put our sin away. By His death, His burial, and
His resurrection, the sin of God's people is gone, forgiven. And that's what someone confesses,
publicly confesses, to all who are gathered when they follow
the Lord in believer's baptism. And I felt led to preach on this
subject this evening since we're having a baptismal service. So
let's begin beginning here in verse 18 of 1 Peter chapter 3.
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. This verse teaches us three very
important gospel truths. The first one is this. Why did
Christ die? Peter says Christ died for sin.
Christ also hath once suffered for sins. Now we know that the
Lord Jesus had no sin of his own, did he? He knew no sin,
he did no sin. So if he's gonna die for sin,
it's gotta be the sin of someone else, doesn't it? Well, whose
sin did he die for? He died for the sin of his people. 2 Corinthians 5.21 tells us that
Christ was made sin for his people. He was made the sin of his people
and he put it away through the sacrifice of himself. The sin
of God's elect is forgiven because Christ died for that sin. That's
why he died for sin. Now it was for sin. Salvation
is not just being saved from hell. Salvation is being saved
from sin. Our great need, the great need
every one of us has is to be saved from sin because we're
such great sinners. I can tell you how we became
sinners. We became sinners in Adam. When Adam sinned, all of
us sinned. When Adam sinned, all of us became
guilty. But more than that, when Adam
sinned, we also received Adam's nature. We received a sin nature. And that's all of us, that's
all all of us have done from the time we were born. From the
time we came forth from our mother's womb speaking lies, all we've
done is sin. Because we have a sin nature.
And we must be safe from it because our sin's against God. Our sin
is against an infinite holy God. David said against thee and thee
only have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight. Our sin is
against God. But there's nothing we can do
to atone for our sin. There's nothing we can do to
pay our sin debt to God. So an unspeakable mercy and grace. God, who is the offended party
here. He's the one who paid the price.
He sent his son to do what his people could never do. He sent
his son to pay for sin by dying for it. The only way sin can
be paid for is by Christ dying in our place as our substitute,
dying for our sin. And that's why he died. At Calvary,
the father imputed all of the sin of God's elect to his son. And then in justice, he put his
son to death. Christ, our substitute, has suffered
everything that sin deserves. When he died for sin, he suffered
everything that sin deserves. At Calvary, he suffered more
than we can ever imagine how he suffered. He suffered everything,
all the punishment, all that his people deserve. And when
that was done, he died to satisfy the last demand of the law. The
law demands death for sin. So after untold agony, Christ,
our substitute, died for sin. And that's what we confess in
believers baptism. The only reason I live is Christ
died. Second, this verse teaches us
who Christ died for. Christ died for sinners. He died
for the unjust. That's what Peter says. He died
the just for the unjust. Now Christ did not die for everyone.
Christ died for sinners. If you're a sinner, Christ died
for you. Now you'll say, well, everyone's
a sinner. Oh no, they're not. No. Look
at John chapter eight. All you got to do is ask them
if they're a sinner and they'll tell you whether or not they
are. John chapter eight, verse 37, the Pharisees that our Lord
spoke to denied that they were sinners. Beginning here in verse 37, our
Lord says, I know that you're Abraham seed, but you seek to
kill me because my word has no place in you. I speak that which
I've seen with my father, and you do that which you have seen
with your father. They answered and said unto him,
Abraham's our father. Jesus saith unto them, if you
were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham.
You'd have his nature. But now you seek to kill me,
a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of
God. This did not Abraham. You do the deeds of your father.
Then said they to him, we be not born of fornication. We have
one father, even God. When they say they were not born
of fornication, what they're saying is we're not sinners. We don't have that sin nature.
That's what they're saying. Now they were sinners. They just
didn't know it, did they? They just denied it. Our Lord
tells them, you're such vile sinners. The devil's your father.
Read on here, verse 42. Jesus said unto them, If God
were your father, you would love me. For I proceeded forth and
came from God. Neither came I of myself, but
he sent me. Now why do you not understand
my speech? Even because you cannot hear my word. You can't hear
my word because you are of your father the devil, and the lust
of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning,
and a foe not in the truth. because there's no truth in him.
When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own, for he's a liar and
the father of it. And because I tell you the truth,
you believe me not. They did not believe that they
were sinners. But Christ died for everyone
who knows they're a sinner. Well, how do they know they're
a sinner? Because God, the Holy Spirit teaches them. Before God
saves anyone, He always teaches them they are vile sinners. Before God saves anyone, we all
say with the Apostle Paul, I'm the chief of sinners. The word
that Peter uses here, 1 Peter chapter 3, unjust. Christ died
the just for the unjust. That word unjust means wicked. Now that's what we are, wicked
sinners. born in wickedness, born under
the power of sin, born under the power of Satan, the wicked
one, the prince of the power of the air. And the only way
that a sinner can be set free from that power of sin, sin has
such a hold, just it cannot be broken except for one way. The only way that power of sin
can be broken, the only way the power of Satan can be broken
is if Christ died for it. When Christ died, he set his
people free from the power of Satan. Yes, Satan crushed his
heel, bruised his heel. Christ crushed his head, put
him out of business, crushed his power. If you're still there
in John chapter eight, look up back up here at verse 36. When
Christ died, he set his people free from the power of sin. Christ made his people free.
If the son therefore shall make you free, You shall be free indeed,
free from the power of sin, free from the fear of the law, free
from fear of punishment, fear from the power of Satan, free
because Christ died. And that's what we confess in
believers baptism. When we're baptized, this is
what we're confessing. The only reason that my sin is
forgiven is Christ died for me, me. Now, I know Christ died for
all sinners. He died for a number no man can
number. But when I'm baptized, I'm confessing
something very personal. Christ died for me, the sinner. Everything he suffered, every
moment of agony, his dying agony, he suffered for me, for my sin. That's why my sin's forgiven,
because Christ died for sinners. and I'm the chief of. Thirdly,
this verse teaches us this. It teaches us that the result
of the death of Christ is his people are reconciled to God.
Peter says Christ died that he might bring us to God. Now we
became separated from God in Adam, didn't we? Because of the
sin of the first Adam, man separated from God. Our sin has separated
us from our God. But we're reconciled to God in
Christ the second Adam. We were cast out because of the
sin of the first Adam and we're reconciled, we're brought back
because of the obedience, the righteousness of Christ the second
Adam. When Christ died, all of his people were justified. They
were made righteous. Now the only way God can be reconciled
to the likes of you and me and be friends with us again is we've
got to be made righteous. He can't accept us as we are.
He can't be friends with us as we are. We'd be friends with
one another because we're both sinners. But God's going to be
friends with us. If God's going to be reconciled
to us, we've got to be made what we're not. We've got to be made
what he is. We've got to be made righteous.
And that's what the death of Christ, our substitute accomplished.
Look in Romans chapter four. Christ died, his people were
justified. Romans 4 verse 25, who was delivered
for our offenses and was raised again for our justification. And we're not justified when
Christ arose, when he was resurrected. We're justified when Christ died. The moment Christ died, the law
was satisfied. Sin was gone. But the proof that
everyone that Christ died for is justified is Christ was raised
from the grave. That's the proof of it. If any
sin was still on him, he has to stay in the grave. But all
that sin was gone. He was raised from the dead because
his blood put it away. He was raised from the dead as
the evidence, the proof that we're justified in his death. And that's exactly what we confess
when we're baptized. We confess, I've been born again. I've been given new eternal life
because Christ both died for me and was raised again for me
as my representative. And you know, that's the gospel
that every saved person believes. That's the Savior every saved
person believes. Look here at verse 19. By which also he 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. Now there has been a whole lot
of confusion about these verses. Some people translate that word
prison in verse 19 as hell. Well, let me tell you first of
all, what these verses do not mean. These verses do not mean
that after Christ suffered and died, in those three days that
he lay in the tomb, that he went to hell and he preached to people
in hell who were already in hell. Now that, you know, that's not
so. That would have, number one,
that would have been a waste of time. Those people who are
already in hell are going to be there for eternity. Look in
Luke chapter 16. There was no changing that. Once
God sends a person to hell, it's impossible for that sentence
to change. Luke 16, this is the story of
the rich man and Lazarus after they had both died, beginning
in verse 24. Luke 16, 24. And he, this is
the rich man, he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on
me and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in
water and cool my tongue for I'm tormented in this flame.
But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivest
thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things. But now
he's comforted and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between
us and you, there's a great gulf fixed, so that they which would
pass from hence to you cannot. Neither can they pass to us that
would come from thence. That gulf is a great gulf. It's
impossible to cross. So Christ did not go to hell
and preach to anyone who's in hell. They've been a waste of
time. They can't leave that place. Secondly, we know Christ didn't
go to hell and preach to those folks there because he already
suffered hell on the cross. There's no reason for him to
go to hell after he died. That's what he suffered on the
cross. He suffered separation from his father. He suffered
the wrath of God. There's no need for him to go
to hell. He already suffered it. Look at Psalm 16. After our Savior died, his body
rested in hope. His body didn't rest in hell,
it rested in hope. If you ever want to know what
scripture means, never try to figure out what a scripture means
with human logic. If you want to know what a scripture
means, always compare scripture with scripture. Find a scripture
that gives you a commentary. David gives us one here, Psalm
16. Verse nine. Therefore, my heart is glad and
my glory rejoiceth. My flesh also shall rest in hope. For thou will not leave my soul
in hell. You won't leave my soul in the grave. Neither will thou
suffer thine holy one to seek corruption. Now that's not talking
about David. His body corrupted, decayed and
went back to the dust. David there speaking of the Savior,
his flesh is going to rest in hope, not in hell. but in hope. So that's what that verse doesn't
mean. I only tell you that. I hate
to waste my time with it, but you'll hear it. I want you to
know why it doesn't mean that when people say that. And here's what this verse means.
It means that sinners are saved through the preaching of Christ
crucified. Preaching that the Holy Spirit
blesses. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit
of Christ. And if the Holy Spirit When He
blesses the preaching of Christ, He gives faith. He gives life. He gives salvation to those that
believe. He gives freedom to those. Everyone
who believes, He gives them freedom from the prison house of sin
that they cannot escape from. Look in Isaiah chapter 61. This
is the prophecy of what the Redeemer, the Messiah, would do when He
came. It's the Spirit of Christ that sets the prisoner free.
And he does it through the preaching of the gospel, by preaching Christ
the Savior. Isaiah 61 verse one. The spirit
of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord hath anointed me to
preach good tidings unto the meek. He has sent me to bind
up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and the
opening of the prison to them that are bound. That's the mission
that Christ came to accomplish. He came to set his people free.
And we're set free through the preaching of Christ. When we
believe Him, we're set free. And every gospel preacher who's
ever preached has preached that message. That includes preachers
that go all the way back to Noah. Noah wasn't just a shipbuilder.
Noah was a preacher of righteousness. I know most people didn't believe
Noah when he preached. And they're in hell right now.
There's no reason to go preach to him again. Noah built that
ark, and as he did, he preached righteousness. He preached Christ.
And a few, eight souls, believed Noah, and they were saved in
the ark. And Noah's family being saved
in that ark is a picture of salvation in Christ. It's what we have
in Christ, how we've been delivered from God's wrath in Christ. Noah's
family, first of all, was saved by electing grace, weren't they?
Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. That's why he was
saved. But nobody else did, just Noah. That's electing grace. Just like God's salvation in
Christ is for God's elect. This is not, when we preach,
we're not making an offer to all men. This deliverance is
for God's elect, his electing grace. Then Noah's family was
saved because God put him in the ark. God shut the door. He shut them in there so they
could not get out. Just like all of God's elect,
an eternity passed before the world began, the Father put his
people in Christ. He shut them up in Christ so
that they'd be delivered from the wrath to come. Then Noah's
family was saved through substitution. That ark bore all the wrath of
God that fell for Noah's sin and for his family. That ark
bore the rain, it bore the flood, so Noah didn't have to. And in
that way, God's justice is still satisfied. God's wrath against
Noah's sin was still poured out, wasn't it? But Noah was saved
by substitute. God's wrath fell on the substitute. It fell upon the ark, not on
Noah. So Noah lived, just like all
of God's elect are saved, because Christ suffered and died as our
substitute. He took our place and the wrath
of God fell upon our sin and killed our substitute and let
us go free. Then Noah's family being saved
in that ark is a picture of complete, utter salvation. You know, in
that ark, they never got wet. Not a drop of God's wrath fell
upon them. Christ died for you. there's
not a drop of God's wrath will ever fall upon you. Because it
was all poured out on Christ your substitute. So that God
said, there's no fury left in me. It's all poured out on your
substitute. And that's the salvation that
we confess when we're baptized. It's the same picture as Noah's
family being saved in the ark. While Noah was in the ark, God
shut the door. The rain was falling, the flood
was upon the face of the earth. Noah was hidden from view, wasn't
he? Nobody could see him. He was in the ark. Just like
Christ our substitute, after he died, his body lay in the
tomb for three days out of view. Nobody could see him. Here in
a few minutes, Lindy's going to come. She's going to confess
her savior. I'm going to dunk her under the
water and she's going to be out of view for a time. Won't be
very long, but it'll be for a time. That's a picture of salvation
in Christ. While Noel was in that ark, he
was covered by water. Water under him, the floodwaters,
but water above him. Water on the sides of him, that
rain that was falling. He was surrounded by water. Just
like Lindy, in a few moments, will be covered in water. The
water of baptism, the watery grave. But then those floodwaters
finally receded, didn't they? And when they did, that ark hit
dry ground And Noah came out of the ark, no longer hidden
from view, just like Christ the Savior. After those three days,
he arose and he came out of the tomb. Just like again, in a few
minutes, I'm gonna bring Lindy back up out of that water as
a picture of newness of life by the resurrection of Christ
her Savior. That's what Peter tells us all
this is a picture of, verse 21. The like figure whereunto even
baptism, doth also now save us, not the putting away of the filth
of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God
by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Peter tells us baptism
is a picture of salvation in Christ, just like the ark was
a picture. Noah's ark was a picture of salvation
in Christ. Now, and Peter makes sure he
points this out, the waters of baptism don't cleanse our soul
from sin. They don't wash away sin. All
that water does is get our skin wet. It doesn't reach the soul.
You always have to remember that baptism is a confession. We don't
become, be baptized in order to be saved. Baptism is a confession
of what God's already done. Baptism is a confession that
Christ has already cleansed me from all my sin in the blood
of his sacrifice. And he's given me life in the
new birth. He died in my place and gave
me his life. So baptism is a confession. It's
the confession of Christ that He is all of my salvation. Everything
Christ did, He did for me. As if I were the only one that
Christ came to save, He still would have had to do everything
He did in order to save me. Everything He did was for me.
If Christ died for you, everything He did is for you. Everything
Christ did, I did any because he's my representative. Baptism is a confession that
Christ must be my Savior. When I'm baptized, I confess
that I'm such a sinful wretch. The only way my soul could be
saved is if the Son of God was punished and suffered for my
sin. It took that perfect sacrifice
to put my sin away because I'm so vile. When I'm baptized, I'm
confessing my sin is so great. The only way it could be paid
for is if the son of God shed his blood and died in my place.
When I'm baptized, I confess that my sin is so great. The
only way I can live is if the son of God died in my place and
was raised again for me. And that's exactly what Lindy's
going to be confessing in just a few minutes. I want to give
you this in closing. At the start, I told you the
title is the answer of a good conscience toward God. I haven't
got there yet. Let me give you this in closing. Peter says that
baptism is the answer of a good conscience toward God. Now, what
does that mean? The answer of a good conscience
toward God. Look at Hebrews chapter nine.
The only way a sinner can have a good conscience toward God
is if Christ died for me. You know, my conscience is always
going to bother me as long as I've got sin that my conscience
can accuse me of. Well, the only way that my conscience
cannot accuse me, cannot bother me, is if Christ took my sin
away. Christ had to die for me. Hebrews
9 verse 11. But Christ, being come in a high
priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect
tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building,
neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood,
he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal
redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and
of goats, and the ashes of an heifer, sprinkling the unclean,
sanctifies to the purifying of the flesh, 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. The answer of a good conscience
is this, Christ died for me. Our conscience is clear by faith
in Christ, by looking to him and believing. Christ is everything
that God requires of me. Yes, I am a vile sinner and I
may as well quit all my dead works, quit trying to make it
up to God. I don't have to. Christ my substitute did for
me. He paid the debt for me. That's the answer of a good conscience.
The answer of a good conscience is Christ. So the conscience
of a believer is clear because he took my sin away. So my conscience
doesn't have anything to accuse me of. Now we, you and I both
know, we still feel guilty about our sin. We wish we didn't do
it. We wish we could stop sinning. We wish we could stop these sinful
thoughts and desires. And we feel guilty about that.
We feel bad about that. But not before God. Not before
God. Because Christ paid for it. Put
it away with the blood of his sacrifice. Our conscience is
clear because we know the Father satisfied. The death of Christ,
the sacrifice of Christ satisfied the Father. So I don't need a
theory. Christ is all the Father needs
to be pleased with me. for you. And when someone is
baptized, that's exactly what they're saying. They're saying,
I'm satisfied that Christ is all it takes to save my sinful
soul. He's satisfied the Father and
I'm right satisfied with Him too. He's my Savior. And then
the conscience of a believer is clear this way too. That now
we've been obedient to confess the Savior just like He commanded
us to do. The Lord commands everybody that
believes on Him to be baptized and to confess that Christ is
all of your salvation. To confess that when Christ died,
He died for your sin. That when He died, you died in
Him. When He was buried, you were buried in Him. His death
was your death to the law and to sin. And that when He arose,
you arose in Him to new life, eternal spiritual life. Now,
if God saved you, He's commanded you to follow Him in the waters
of baptism, to confess Him. And I'll tell you, if He saved
you, He's not gonna give you any rest. He just won't give
you rest until you follow this first commandment, to confess
Him as your Savior and believer's baptism. And I know many people,
once they come to this, they wrestle with it, you know, and
then they come to the conclusion that they asked to be baptized
and, oh, When it's done, there's such joy, they say, I did. I
said, I wish I'd done that a long time ago. Well, you know, Lindy's
thought about this for some time, this confession of Christ. And
that's good. That's not something you ought
to do flippantly. But now she's come to the point, this is something
she has to do. She has to. It's not something
she can put off any longer. And it's not something her pastor
talked her into. Not something her mom or daddy
talked her into. This is something the Spirit
led Lindy. This is the conclusion. She must
confess her Savior. And that will give her confidence.
It's not just anybody else pushing her, trying to influence her
to do this. Her pastors have faithfully preached the gospel
to her and left her alone. What happened? The Spirit taught
her, the Spirit led her, and she can confess Christ with confidence
in that way, can't she? And we'll be thankful, won't
we? All right, now Mike's gonna lead us in singing a song while
Lindy changes and we prepare for the baptism. Let's turn to 190. 190, I think appropriate for
the occasion. Good words. Especially that third
verse. We bless the name of Christ the
Lord, we bless him for his holy word, who loved to do his Father's
will, and all his righteousness fulfilled. him with pure delight, to sanctify
his sacred right, and thus our faith with water sealed, to prove
obedience that Baptized in God, the Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit, three in one, with conscience free, we
rest in God, in love and peace through Jesus. love. ? By grace we have a father cry
? ? By grace the comforter comes nigh ? ? And for thy grace our
love shall be forever only, Lord for thee ? Thank you, BC. A couple weeks ago, Lindy came
and asked to be baptized. And you can understand my thanksgiving,
my joy. She's heard a lot of gospel.
And the Lord blesses his work. And I'm so thankful. In the subsequent
days, I have thought about this congregation in a time that you
can't call anything else but a time of affliction. That includes
Lindy's family. And in that time of difficulty
and sorrow, heartache, the Lord's mercy is just verse four. God's
word and God's mercy is not bound by the weakness of our flesh.
And I'm so thankful. Lindy's not Very fond of being
the center of attention, but when you make a public confession
of Christ, it's just gonna have to be. And if he saves you, you
overcome that, just like she did. We're very, very thankful
for that. For Lindy Simpson, upon your
profession of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, in obedience to
his divine command, I baptize you, my sister, in the name of
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. The man in the air is going to
lead us in prayer. He's going to come stand right here. I'd like to read just a few verses
of scripture. Over in Acts, when that Philippian
jailer, the gospel was preached to him. Just let me read a few
verses here. The keeper of the prison, awakening out of his
sleep, seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword and
would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.
Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, do thyself no harm, for
all are here. And he called for a light, and
sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and
Silas, and brought him out, and said, sirs, what must I do to
be saved? They said, believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ. Thou shalt be saved in thy house.
And they spake unto him the word of the Lord. They spake unto
him the gospel, and all that were in his house. And the same
hour of the night, He washed their stripes and was baptized. He in all His straight way. When
He brought them into His house, He set meat before Him and rejoiced. Let our hearts rejoice this night.
Rejoice. Our Lord over in Luke 15, He
said there's joy in the presence of the angels of God over one
sinner that repented. How thankful we are. rejoice believing in God with
all his house. Let's go to our Lord. Our God and Father in heaven,
Lord, we thank you for this day. Lord, we thank you for this opportunity
to gather together. Lord, to sing hymns, to hear
thy word preached. Lord, to See one of our young
ones confess Christ. Oh, how our hearts rejoice. Lord,
we give thee thanks. Lord, that this is of thy hand.
Lord, that salvation is of the Lord. Lord, bless this congregation. Lord, continue to call out your
sheep. Lord, bless our sister Lindy. Be with her in the days to come.
Lord, strengthen her. And Lord, help us to be a source
of encouragement. Be with her. Protect and keep
and defend. Lord, bless us in days to come.
Be with those of our number who are in a time of trouble. And
Lord, we pray that you would bless our upcoming Bible school.
Continue to bless the preaching of thy word. We ask these things
in Christ's name for thy glory.