Let's turn to the book of 1 Peter
tonight. Pray for me that the Lord will
enable me to exalt our Savior. 1 Peter 2. We'll begin at verse 7 and read
through the end of the chapter. 1 Peter 2. Unto you therefore which believe
He is precious. But unto them which are disobedient,
the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made
the head of the corner, a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense,
even to them which stumble at the word being disobedient, whereunto
also they were appointed. But ye are a chosen generation,
a royal priesthood, and holy nation, a peculiar people, that
you should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out
of darkness into His marvelous light, which in time past were
not a people, but are now the people of God, which had not
obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. Dearly beloved,
I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly
lusts, which war against the soul, having your conversation
honest among the Gentiles, that whereas they speak against you
as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall
behold, glorify God in the day of visitation. Submit yourselves to every ordinance
of man for the Lord's sake, whether it be to the king as supreme
or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the
punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do
well. For so is the will of God, that with well-doing ye may put
to silence the ignorance of foolish men, as free, and not using your
liberty for a cloak of maliciousness, but as the servants of God. Honor
all men, love the brotherhood, Fear God, honor the king. Servants, be subject to your
masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also
to the froward. For this is thankworthy, if a
man for conscience toward God endureth grief, suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it if, when
you be buffeted for your faults, you shall take it patiently?
But if when you do well and suffer for it, ye take it patiently,
this is acceptable with God. For even hereunto were you called,
because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example,
that ye should follow his steps. Who did no sin, neither was guile
found in his mouth. Who, when he was reviled, reviled
not again. When he suffered, he threatened
not, but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously,
who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree,
that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness
by whose stripes you were healed. For you were as sheep going astray,
but are now returned unto the shepherd and bishop of your souls."
I've taken my title for this message from these last A few
words in this 25th verse. Sheep going astray. I want to
concentrate on the last five verses of this text. Verse 21, For even here unto
where ye call, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving
us an example, that ye should follow His steps. Who did no
sin, neither was guile, found in His mouth. Now we know that
our Lord never committed a single sin. He kept every demand of
the law perfectly. He told His disciples in Matthew
5, 17 and 18, Think not that I am come to destroy the law
or the prophets. I am not come to destroy, but
to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, till
heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise
pass from the law till all be fulfilled." Meaning every single
requirement of the law. But fulfilled by who? The sinner
who makes the right choices? We know better than that. To
be fulfilled by Christ, of course. He makes it plain that He did
not come to earth to extend the law, but rather to put an end
to it for His chosen people. We could never fulfill the smallest
demands of the law. So our blessed Savior came to
fulfill it in our stead and impute that work to us. Romans 10.4
tells us this, for Christ is the end of the law for righteousness. Christ kept the law so perfectly
when He lived in human flesh that those that are found in
Him have all the righteousness they
need by imputation. For Christ is the end of the
law for righteousness to everyone. I mean, that must be true, right?
John 3.16 says, for God so loved the world At least that's what
the religious soul winners like to say. Debbie and I went to
vote today at Bergen Baptist Church. And of course they have a gymnasium
and a family life center where they have a coffee bar. And over
that coffee bar were the letters C period, O period, F period,
F period, E period, E period. And underneath those letters
were written this, Christ offers forgiveness for everyone, everywhere. That's what coffee stood for. But I didn't read this whole
text yet because there's two words that conclude that statement
that blows that claim out of the water. For Christ is the
end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth. Believeth what? Believeth this,
that when He had by Himself purged our sins, He sat down on the
right hand of the Majesty on high. Now there are multitudes
of religious people who do not believe that, but they believe
that salvation is a joint effort to which they make a significant
contribution. These poor deluded souls willingly
put themselves under the law, thinking that they can actually
go through life and not offend a single point of God's law. But they are not among those
that believeth that He wrought the required righteousness by
Himself. Now, the law was never, never
intended to be a means whereby were justified before the sight
of a holy God. It only condemns. It only shines
a spotlight on our shortcomings. James tells us that if you offend
in one point, you're just as guilty as if you had broken every
statute of the law. And yet people say that they
can keep the law. If I were to go to my mailbox
on Saturday, and on the way back, I see a stick laying in the yard
and pick it up, Did you know I broke in God's law? That is
forbidden in God's law. And yet people who don't even
know the law, except the Ten Commandments, like to think that
they can keep it. So what purpose then does the
law serve in the life of the believer? Paul tells us in Galatians
3-4, wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto
Christ To what end? That we might be justified by
faith. It shows us that we're incapable
of keeping any of the commandments because of our corrupt heart
and mind. If we don't offend outwardly, we certainly offend
in thought. If we don't offend in deed. The
law then pointed us to Christ for the required righteousness
after our hearts had been awakened to the fact that we had no hope
in and of ourselves. Romans 3.28 makes this plain.
A man is justified by faith, that's not where it ends, without
the deeds of the law. Not by works of righteousness,
which we have done, not by keeping the law, but according to His
mercy, He saved us. It could not be stated any plainer. Hebrews 7.26 tells us that our
Lord is holy, harmless, and undefiled, separate from sinners. Until
that time that He was made sin and by imputation became what
He never was before, the most vile sinner who ever lived. He became that eternal scapegoat
who took upon Him all the sins of all the elect. Like we're
told in Isaiah, surely He hath borne our griefs and carried
our sorrows. Then verse 22 of our text here
in 1 Peter says this, neither was guile found in his mouth.
This word guile means treacherous, cunning, or skillful deceit. Our blessed Lord did not have
to con men into believing on Him like modern day religion
does. Our pastor used to say they like to sneak up on your
blind side, and he had it right. They have you believing on Christ
before you even know what happened. But our Lord did not have to
use those methods. He spoke the truth and let the
chips fall where they may. He told Pilate in the judgment
hall, to this end was I born and for this cause came I into
the world that I should bear witness unto the truth. He was the only man who ever
lived who spoke the truth with every word that ever came out
of his mouth. But we in our natural state of unbelief are exactly
the opposite. We constantly speak evil of both
men and of God. The Scripture tells us that we
come forth from the womb speaking lies. We are described in Romans
chapter 3 where verse 11 makes it plain that there is none that
understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. Verse
11 also says whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness, full
of guile, hatred, malice, and deceit. But thank God it shall
not always be so once we drop this robe of flesh and are finally
made completely whole in His presence, the presence of He
who loved us and gave Himself for us. We will finally be free
from having a mouth full of vile cursing. Turn over with me to
Revelation, just a few pages over. Revelation 14. I'm going
to pull this coat off if you all don't mind. I'm going to
pull it off even if you don't mind, Revelation 14. There will come a time when we
will no longer have a mouth full of cursing and bitterness. Revelation
14 verses 4 and 5 gives us a description of this as it paints the scene
of the redeemed saints in heaven. It says, These are they which
follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth. These were redeemed
from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb in their
mouth. And in their mouth was found no guile. For they are
without fault before the throne of God." Without fault? Me without
fault? You without fault? Yep. Jude gives us this assurance
in verses 24 and 25. Now unto him that is able to
keep you from falling and to present you faultless, before
the presence of His glory with exceeding joy. To the only wise
God, our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power,
both now and forever. Amen. Because of the finished
work of Christ on our behalf, we are now in Him faultless. Sure, we still have to contend
with the old man, and it will always be so until we drop this
robe of flesh But thank God it will not always be so. Turn over
a few pages back from Revelation to 1 John. 1 John 3. This is a description
of what we have to look forward to. 1 John 3, verses 2 and 3. Beloved, nor are we the sons
of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be, But we know
when He shall appear, we shall be like Him. For we shall see
Him as He is. We shall be like Him in what
way? In every way imaginable. Perfect as He is perfect. Holy
as He is holy. Righteous as He is righteous. And faultless as He is faultless. If it were not so, we could not
stand in the presence of His glory. Then verse 23 of our text
here in 1 Peter 2, Who, when He was reviled, reviled not again. When He suffered, He threatened
not, but committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteously.
Now to revile someone is to speak of them with hatred and contempt,
to lie about their character. And we know from the four Gospels
how much that happened to our Lord. He was reviled by His enemies
even unto death. When Christ stood before Pilate,
the Jews accused Him of treason. They said this, If thou let this
man go, thou art not Caesar's friend. Whosoever maketh himself
a king, speakest against Caesar. Yet, our Lord never once made
the claim that He came to this earth to be made a king. He had no desire. He said, my
kingdom is not of this world. And yet it says, when He suffered,
He threatened not. In Isaiah 57, verse 3, we read,
He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth. He did not return the reviling
upon His enemies. The exceeding mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ was
on full display as He hung on Golgotha's hill. And as He hung
there between heaven and earth suffering unimaginable agonies,
His thoughts as He viewed that mob, those thousands beholding His
death and mocking Him, could have been, Father, I will that
all these that are taking delight in my death to be condemned to eternal damnation
and suffering. But wonder of wonders, his thoughts
were with those in that mob that we read about in Acts 2 that
were his elect. At that time, relishing in his
death and not much after being brought to faith in him. So instead of a prayer of vengeance,
he prayed rather, Father, forgive them for they know not what they
do. I don't know about you, but those
words are beyond my ability to understand. When we're suffering great pain,
our only thought is to make it stop. I think the worst pain
I ever felt I was having a root canal and the dentist hadn't
numbed me enough and drilled right into a nerve
in one of my molars. And that didn't last very long,
but I can assure you when that was happening, my thoughts weren't,
I wonder what Debbie would like for her birthday this year. I
can assure you that was the furthest thing from my mind. My only thought
was to have the pain stop. Not so with our blessed Savior. I love the words of that hymn
we sing, blessed Redeemer. Father, forgive them, thus did
He pray, even while His lifeblood flowed fast away, praying for
sinners while in such woe. No one, no one but Jesus ever loved so. Our God tells us that His thoughts
are not our thoughts, and this prayer from the lips of the Savior
certainly proves that. In the midst of unbearable pain,
the Lord Jesus, we're told in the last part of this verse,
committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteously. Psalm 145.17 tells us this, The
Lord is righteous in all His ways, and holy in all His works. And when our sins were found
on Christ, our God reacted the only way His justice and nature
allowed Him to react. He poured out His wrath upon
His Son without the least measure of mercy. Verse 24 of our text
here in 1 Peter 2, Who His own self bare our sins in His own
body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto
righteousness, by whose stripes ye were healed. This verse reiterates
what we read in that great chapter of Isaiah 53, how that He bore
our griefs and carried our sorrows. The last chapter of that verse
tells us this, He hath poured out His soul unto death. He was
numbered with the transgressors and bare the sins of many and
made intercession for the transgressors. This phrase He poured out his
soul, refers to the drink offering that's described in Exodus. In
chapter 29, verse 39, it describes how there were to be two lambs
offered as an offering to the Lord. Says the one lamb thou
shalt offer in the morning and the other lamb thou shalt offer
it even. And with the one lamb, a tenth
deal of flour mingled with the fourth part of a hen of beaten
oil and a fourth part of a hen of wine for a drink offering. And the other lamb thou shalt
offer it even, and shalt do thereto according to the meat offering
of the morning, and according to the drink offering thereof,
for a sweet savor, an offering made by fire unto the Lord. Now, these lambs offered every
morning and every evening typify the continual intercession of
Christ on our behalf. Hebrews 7.25 tells us this, Wherefore
He is able to save them to the uttermost that come to God by
Him. Not those that come to God any
way they choose, but those that come to God by Him, seeing that
He ever liveth to make intercession for them. And Romans 8.34, Who
is He that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea,
rather that is risen, at the right hand of God, who
also maketh intercession for us. Now, this verse also tells
us that we were dead to sins. That we are dead to sins. But
how can that be when sin is our constant companion? Romans 7-4
says this, that we are become dead to the law by the body of
Christ. That same body in which He bore
our sins on the tree. So if we're dead to the law,
Romans 6, 7 gives us this assurance. For he that is dead is freed
from sin. Then four verses later, we read,
Likewise reckon ye yourselves also to be dead indeed unto sin,
but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Now the last
verse. Verse 25 of 1 Peter chapter 2. For ye were as sheep going astray,
but are now returned unto the Savior and Bishop of your souls."
Now throughout God's Holy Word, His people are referred to as
sheep. This verse describes us as sheep going astray. David
wrote of this in Psalm 119. He said, I have gone astray like
a lost sheep. This is a man that used to be
a shepherd. He knows of what he speaks. And among the things
we know about sheep is that without a shepherd, they tend to wander
and to get lost. And since they are completely
without any defense abilities whatsoever, they're vulnerable
to be caught and destroyed by predators. Sheep aren't even
smart enough to be on the lookout for danger. They're just concerned
with one thing, eating. During the winter, I spend a
fair amount of time out at Shaker Town riding my mountain bike.
And they have some sizable herds of sheep. They have two or three
pastures that they keep them in. And I've sat and watched
those sheep quite a bit. And one thing I've never seen
one of them do is, you ever see a cat eat? They'll look up every
once in a while, look for anything wrong. These sheep, they're just
munching away, couldn't care less. And they're not even smart
enough to know when a predator is stalking them. They're only
concerned with one thing, their next bite of grass. But our shepherd and their shepherd
is always on guard and looking out for the sheep. And we wandered
through life just like that is described in Ephesians 2.3. fulfilling
the desires of the flesh and of the mind. All we cared about
was finding that next tasty morsel of sin. But even at that time,
our gracious God kept watch over us and kept us from harm until
the time of love. But on occasion, a sheep may
be taken from the flock by a predator, and when that happens, the Good
Shepherd pursues the beast and recovers the sheep. I remember
that story. In 1 Samuel 17, David told Saul
this story before he went out to slay Goliath. If you'd like
to turn over there with me in 1 Samuel 17. 1 Samuel 17. Starting
in verse 34. 1 Samuel 17, 34, And David said
unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came
a lion and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock. And I went
out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth.
And when he arose against me, I caught him by the beard, and
smote him, and slew him. Thy servants slew both the lion
and the bear, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of
them, seeing he hath defiled the armies of the living God."
Now, in telling of this story, David gives us such a great picture
of what our Lord does for His chosen elect people. We have always been sheep. Our pastor told us this many
times. We have never been goats. Goats
don't turn into sheep. We have always been part of the
flock of God. And in the same way that that
lion and bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, so Satan and
sin captured us. And for some of us, we were already
in the mouth of Satan waiting for that last bite that would
have crushed our soul. but it was not to be, because
our Great Shepherd pursues those destroyers of men's souls, and
by His blood, rescues His sheep from eternal destruction. We
have always been and forever will be in the hand of the Father
and in the hand of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is what Christ told
us in John 10, 28. He says, I give unto them eternal
life, and they shall never perish, Neither shall any man pluck them
out of My hand. My Father which gave them Me
is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of
My Father's hand. I and My Father are one." Now
this word astray, we are a sheep going astray, it means away from the correct
path. Away from that which is good and right. And isn't that
not a perfect description of us? before our God came and sought
us out, going away from everything that was right and good and heading
toward a path of eternal destruction. Isaiah 53, 6 says the same thing. All we like sheep have gone astray.
We have turned everyone to our own way. And the way we turned
was the one that would have led to eternal misery had God not
interceded on our behalf. Those of us who were raised in
Christless religion thought we had it all figured out. We were
told our good works just need to outweigh our bad, and everything
would be alright. But there's a warning for all
men and women who think that way in Proverbs 14.12. It's a
verse that we're familiar with. There is a way that seemeth right
unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." Notice
the wording here. The end, singular, are the ways,
plural, of death. There are many paths that natural
man takes to try to get to God, but they all lead to one place,
eternal death. This verse also tells us we are
now returned unto the shepherd and bishop of our souls. One of the definitions of this
word returned is this, to restore to a former or proper place. And notice the wording here.
It does not say, ye have now returned, but rather it says,
we are now returned. Indicating clearly that this
returning was something that was done to us, not by us. Like if you would return a book
to its proper place on a bookshelf, the book did not move itself,
it was returned to its proper place by another. And this is
another important distinction because it tells us that our
coming to Christ was done to us by another without any assistance
from us. Which completely destroys all
the arguments of the workmongers This being returned was not our
decision. We did not move ourselves from the place of wandering to being back in the sheepfold
of Christ. No, rather, we were returned. Our Lord illustrated
this in His parable, The Lost Sheep in Luke 15. Starting in
verse 4, we read this, What man of you, having a hundred sheep,
if he lose one, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness,
and go after that which is lost? until he find it." This verse
doesn't say that he seeks that lost sheep until there's just
no hope of ever finding it and he gives up and goes back home. That is not an option for a good
shepherd. No, it says that he seeks it
until he find it. Now, our Lord never went seeking
one of His sheep that He didn't find it. And as I wrote those
words, I thought, How many lost sheep has our great shepherd sought
out since Adam's fallen in the garden? You would think he would
eventually say, you know what? I'm getting really sick of pursuing
these sheep. But what do the Scriptures tell
us? He knows our frame. We are but dust. We're worse
than stupid sheep. We're just dust. And when our Lord finds that
sheep, He doesn't grab it by the nape
and say, you know what, you stupid sheep, I am tired of looking
for you. And you run away again, you're
gone. Just the opposite. And when He hath found it, He
laith it on His shoulders, Rejoicing. Laying it on his shoulders, just
gently, gently, handling that lamb that he does not harm it. And it says, when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends
and neighbors, saying unto them, Rejoice with me, for I have found
my sheep which was lost. He found that sheep and returned
it to its proper place in the fold. Which results in rejoicing
by both the shepherd and his neighbors. Which brings into
mind that verse in Luke 15 when our Lord said this, I say unto
you that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that
repenteth, more than ninety and nine just persons, which need
no repentance. And verse 10, likewise I say
unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God
over one sinner who repents. Now where is that presence of
God? It is before the throne where is seated the sovereign
ruler of this universe, the Lord Jesus Christ. And every time I read these verses,
I'm amazed that an event which occurs on earth has an effect
in heaven. That is way beyond my comprehension
to even start to understand. And I'm sure it is yours as well. But we know it's true because
it came from the very mouth of the Good Shepherd Himself. And
who is it that we're returned to? It says, to the shepherd
and bishop of your souls, not the shepherd and bishop of your
bodies, but rather of your soul. In his Discourse of the Good
Shepherd, in chapter 10, our Lord describes to His disciples
what constitutes a good shepherd. In verse 3, He says that a good
shepherd calleth his sheep by name. Verse 4 says that a good
shepherd goeth before his sheep. Verse 11 and 15 both say that
he is a good shepherd because he giveth his life for the sheep. But it is also clear from Isaiah
53 that our Good Shepherd not only gave His life, but He sacrificed
His very soul to redeem ours, of which He is the Bishop and
Shepherd. Verse 9 of Isaiah 53, And He made His grave with the
wicked and with the rich in His death, because He had done no
violence, neither was any deceit found in His mouth. Now, deceit
means the act of causing someone to accept as true those things
that are false. Every word that came out of our
Savior's mouth, from His first word to His dying breath, were
all divine truth. Nothing deceitful. All true. And verse 10 of Isaiah 53 continues
that even though there was no deceit found in His mouth yet,
in spite of that, Yet please the Lord to bruise
him. He hath put him to grief. Stop and think for a minute what
that means. He hath put him to grief. Deep, deep sorrow. But it was necessary. for Him
to be put to grief so that we never would. And that verse continues, When
thou shalt make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed,
He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall
prosper in His hand. And we have another word of assurance
concerning the Lord seeking out and delivering His sheep from
harm, In Ezekiel 34, it says, For thus saith the Lord God,
Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep and seek them
out. As a shepherd seeketh out his
flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered,
so will I seek out my sheep and will deliver them out of all
the places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark
day. What a mighty deliverance took
place in the saving of our lives and souls. Paul wrote to the
Corinthians concerning this in Corinthians 1, 9 and 10. He said, but we have the sentence
of death in ourselves that we should not trust in ourselves,
but in God which raiseth the dead, who delivered us from so
great a death. And doth deliver us in whom we
shall trust that He will yet deliver us. When this first speaks
of so great a death, it is not referring to our physical death,
but rather a death which is eternal, a death too terrible to contemplate,
a death which never ends, forever dying and never dead. He also wrote of this to the
Colossians in chapter one, speaking of our God, who hath delivered
us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the
kingdom of His dear Son. And again in 2 Thessalonians,
to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead,
even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come. But please,
dear saint, never forget that in order for you to be delivered,
delivered from death, Another had to be delivered to
stand in your place. And that deliverance is described
in four verses in the Gospel. Let me quickly read them. Speaking
of Christ in Luke 23-25, and He, speaking of Pilate, released
unto them that for sedition and murder was cast into prison whom
they desired, but He delivered Jesus to their will. Luke 24,
7, the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men
to be crucified, and the third day rise again. John 19, 16,
Then delivered He therefore unto them to be crucified, and they
took Jesus and led Him away. And in Luke 24, 20, in that conversation
between the two disciples and the Lord Jesus on the Emmaus
road after He had risen from the dead, but before He had made
Himself known to them, where Cleophas tells the Lord how the
chief priest and our rulers delivered Him to death and have Him crucified. Now wicked men did to the Lord
Jesus Christ what their wicked heart desired, but everything
that took place came to pass because it was ordained by our
God from the foundation of the world. We know this to be the
case. because of what Peter told those Jews on the day of Pentecost
in the book of Acts chapter 2. He said, ye men of Israel, hear
these words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved
of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which
God did by Him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know,
Him being delivered by the determined counsel and foreknowledge of
God, ye have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain. Before we could be delivered,
He had to be delivered to stand in our place as our great substitute
and bear that punishment which would have been ours to bear
for eternity. But that shall never be, because our great Shepherd
sought us out, us sheep going astray. He sought
us out and returned us to the foal. forever to be safe and
secure from all harm, but more than that, to be forever in His
holy presence singing His praises for an unending eternity. I hope the Lord has blessed that
to your heart. Lord willing, Eric Lutter will be with us this
coming Lord's Day and also a week from tonight on Tuesday. This
coming Lord's Day, Bill is heading up to West Virginia to be with
the Pendletons and those folks there at that assembly. So, be
in prayer for those men as they prepare to minister to God's
flock. Let's be dismissed in prayer. Our merciful Father, we praise
You and thank You for our great Shepherd. Our Great Shepherd who gave His
life for the sheep. And Father, it is a wonder that a God who needed nothing, dwelling in perfect peace and
harmony, would decide to choose a people But more amazing than that is the fact that He would choose
to die for those people. Father, we have nothing to offer
but our praise. And were it not for the intercession
of Christ on our behalf, that would not even be acceptable. But Father, we thank You that indeed Your mercy endureth
forever. Help us, Father, to never take
for granted the enormous cost of our salvation. And help us, Father, enable us
as you allow to bring glory to His name. We ask all these things in His
name and for His name's sake. Amen. Lord bless you. You're
dismissed.