Peter this morning for both hours,
1 Peter chapter 3. Now to reiterate some of the things
I said Wednesday night is every letter that's been written thus
far by Paul or whomever else was the writer thereof had a
specific purpose in writing it to a particular people. You would
not write a letter. And I said this Wednesday, we
would not write a letter and just send it randomly. It'd be
for a purpose. Um, we wouldn't write a letter
and just post it for everyone. That would be something that
would be an ordinance or a law. That wouldn't be a letter. So
this is a letter written to a particular people. And he tells us who it
is. It's you look in chapter one, verse one, apostle of Jesus
Christ to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia,
Asia, and Bithynia elect according to the foreknowledge of God the
Father." He's writing to the elect, those who are scattered
about, those who are endearing persecution because of the Roman
Emperor. Children of Israel spent most
of their times in captivity or they spent their time wandering
around a wilderness or there's no difference in the church when
the church now is being scattered abroad and placed in different
places and how few and far between churches are, but yet we know
nothing of the way that they were persecuted
at the beginning, the way that I won't go into details, but
the horrid things that they did to the early church, what they
had to endure, what they had to suffer, we've never had to
suffer it yet. We are in a wilderness and we are scattered abroad,
but thanks be to God, we're not persecuted physically like they
were persecuted, at least not yet, by the Lord's grace and
mercy. This is a letter to encourage the Lord's people that are persecuted,
that are scattered abroad. Every letter that's been written
thus far, whomever the writer of that letter was, has the same
focal point, the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's our encouragement
too, isn't it? That's why this is an encouragement to us. This
is why it applies to us, is whom it's to, the elect of God, and
who is it about, the Lord Jesus Christ and his finished work.
He starts in chapter one by saying, greetings unto you, and then
he gives God all the glory for all things for the remaining
of that chapter. Then he addresses that the Lord's people are holy
because of what the Lord has done. He continues on into chapter
two to four and encourages their life in exile. Encourage them
while they're being persecuted. Encourage them while they're
being afflicted. Then he continues through four into five by encouraging
to be steadfast in faith. Steadfast in faith. Now we could
have looked at all of this, but it would have taken much too
much time. And I have a message for us this morning, but I wanted
to make sure that we had a background, an understanding of why this
is being written and to whom it's being written. And finally,
he gives his final greeting to the people. I want to remind
us of who's writing this. It's Peter. Peter denied the
Lord. Peter denied the Lord, didn't he? He denied him three
times. The Lord said, do you love me, Peter? Three times.
He said, Lord, I love you. He said, feed my sheep. That's
what he's doing right here. Peter's trying to declare the
gospel unto them in form of letter. You remember on the day of Pentecost,
Peter was the one that stood up with boldness in the spirit.
And what does that word boldness means? Well, he was, he was arrogant
and he was loud and boisterous. No boldness means he was completely
confident in the Lord at that moment. And it was by the Lord's
spirit and grace that he was able to be confident in the Lord.
But we can't think too highly of Peter because he went from
denying the Lord and to preaching. And the Lord called 5,000 sheep
that day on the day of Pentecost. And we know the miracle of tongues
was performed that day by every man hearing in their own language.
And yet you think, okay, Peter's got it all together. Well, you
look in the book of Galatia, he got with Barnabas, didn't
he? And they were mixing works, mixing the law and grace. What's
the point? The Lord gets all the glory.
This flesh gets no glory when it comes to this. If he leaves
us to ourself, we'll be just like Peter. We'll deny him. We'll
mix works and grace. We'll mix a little bit of law
in and a little leaven. Leaveneth the whole lump, doesn't
it? Paul ended up openly rebuking
Peter, and the Lord gave Peter repentance. That's evidence of
being a believer, is the Lord, he teaches his people. And sometimes
it's painful, but he gives repentance. He gives repentance. We don't
think of God like we used to think of God. We say, woe is
me. I'm the man that's undone. I'm the chief sinner. Lord have
mercy on me. That's what repentance does. Thank God it is. That our inability to love the
Lord Jesus Christ as we would like to, our inability to love
God as we should and yet can't, it doesn't affect him. It doesn't
constrain or restrain him. It doesn't change his ability.
It doesn't change his love. Isn't that glorious? Your inability
to love God has no bearing on his love towards you. I can rest
in that because if it was up to me to love him as much as
I should in order to obtain favor with him, I've got no hope. I
have no hope, but that's not what he said. He said, I've loved
you with an everlasting love. While you were yet sinners, Christ
died for the ungodly. No, he don't depend upon us,
does he? Can't limit his ability. We're
simply being made to see like Peter. We have no confidence
in this flesh. We have no hope in self. We have
all our hope in him. And that's what Peter's writing
about. And we really believe that. We really believe that,
don't we? We have no confidence in self,
all confidence in him. I was talking to somebody one
time that's known me from my childhood. And they told me,
they said, I don't have any confidence in you. He said, you're a pastry.
I don't have any confidence in you. I said, neither do I. You
didn't hurt my feelings a bit, neither do I. I have no confidence
in this flesh. That's what Paul said. I die
daily. Paul said, there's no good in me that is in my flesh.
Well, if no good thing, no good thing. No, if I begin to examine
myself for good, if I can find that I wouldn't need the Lord,
but the Lord's people, the Lord's sheep, the Lord's elect as he's
writing to here, know that there is no goodness in us whatsoever.
There's one good and it's the Lord, isn't it? And that's who
we need to hear about. Paul says this in 2 Corinthians 10, he
that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. See, Peter is the
exact kind of man that the Lord saves, a sinner. The exact kind
of man the Lord saves. And the exact kind of woman the
Lord saves, a sinner. And he gives us repentance and faith.
We see our sin, we loathe our sin, and we cry out for mercy. Did not Peter cry out unto the
Lord for mercy? Sure, certainly. The Lord gave
him repentance, and Peter believed God. That's what we must do,
and the Lord must be the one that causes us to do that. Scripture
tells us it's not many noble or mighty according to the flesh,
but the Lord chose the base things, the base things to bring to naught
that which is. It's not the mighty and the noble
and the wise. Somebody said, I can't even read.
You don't have to read to know Christ. You don't have to read. You have to just know Christ.
He has to reveal that. He has to reveal himself. You
don't have to be able to write in order to know the Lord. It's
interesting. Peter would have been a fisherman.
He wouldn't have had a good education as far as Paul would have had
a spectacular education. You can tell it in some of his
penmanship, him and Timothy. And so as Peter would have been
writing, we know that he would have had a penman helping him
out. That's just how it would have to be. But that didn't matter. No, the message came through
loud and clear. Christ and him crucified. He's my only hope.
That's the message. It doesn't matter whether we
can read or write properly or if I articulate properly and
sometimes I do embarrass myself by saying words that you're not
probably familiar with and vice versa. Some things you say I
have no idea what and now I'm learning you know I've got it
all been with you long enough now I think I got it pretty much
figured out but you understand what I mean it's not about what
we say it's about who we're talking about. Paul said, I didn't come
to you with enticing words of man's wisdom, but by demonstration
of the spirit and with power. How is that? Preaching Christ
alone. That's what this letter is all about. It's Christ alone,
what he has done. See, if we fall flat on our face,
we are to blame for it. But if we remain faithful to
the end, he gets all the glory. You believe that? Yes, absolutely. If I fall flat on my face, I
know I'm the one to blame. I know it's all my fault. I know
that I did exactly the thing which I wish and was hoping I
would not do. As Paul said, that which I would,
that I can't, I don't do it. But that which I would do, I
can't perform that which I would do. I don't do that. And what
does he mean by that? Well, we find out that we're
falling on our face over and over again. We're beginning to
sink over and over again. We need a savior. We need a Savior,
and if He keeps us faithful to Him until the end, He gets all
the glory for it. In this, we heard Wednesday night
even, we're kept by the power of God. In chapter 1, that's
what Peter says, you're kept, not by yourself, by His power. By the power of God, through
faith, unto salvation, ready to be revealed at the last time.
We are saved by Him, not self. We are called by Him, not self. We are kept by Him, not self. That's the best news a sinner's
ever heard, isn't it? Because if it's up to me to save
me, I can't save myself. If it's up to me to call me,
how am I gonna call myself? I'm dead. And if it's up to me
to keep me, how am I gonna keep myself? I'm powerless. He has
all power. Aren't you glad the Lord Jesus
Christ chose to save sinners? This is what Peter's reminding
these strangers scattered throughout about, these elect, the ones
whom the Lord loved, reminding them of his gospel, that he is
our resting place. No matter what we're facing,
he is our resting place and his gospel is our only hope. That's
what I want to look at this morning, is this hope. That's the end
of my introduction, I guess, if you want me to say it that
way. But let's look at our text here in chapter two, I'm sorry,
chapter three, and we're going to read one verse, verse 18.
First Peter 3, 18 says, for Christ also hath once suffered 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."
Titled this message, Once Suffered. He said, Christ once suffered. And in this short verse we have,
We have the gospel, it tells us who, it tells us what, it
tells us why, and it tells us how. How salvation was accomplished,
who accomplished it, why did he accomplish it? This is all
right here, this is truly our hope. Now most misconstrue the cross
of Christ. They misconstrue, what do I mean
by the cross of Christ? The two pieces of wood? No, what
was wrought there that day? We give no glory to the cross
itself. But as Paul boldly declared, we preach Christ crucified. He that glorieth, let him glory
in the cross. It was the work that was done
on that cross that we glory in. It was the Christ of the cross
that we glory in. And most misconstrue that work
that was done. Most misconstrue that offering
that he made to his father. They misconstrue what he accomplished. I'm hoping the Lord will give
us clarity on this this morning. First thing he says is that he
hath once suffered, that's past tense, once suffered, hath, past
tense. Some would say that the blood
of Christ really didn't accomplish anything. And what do I mean
by that? Well, they would say that you're not saved until you
do something. You must do something to make
the blood of Christ effectual. That means the blood of Christ
didn't accomplish my salvation. That's what that means. This
is simple one plus one equals two. If the Lord's dependent
upon me for one thing, Christ was not 100% successful in redeeming. Think about that. That completely,
he's not God then. That's that simple, isn't it?
That's the simplicity of the false gospel, is if the Lord
is dependent upon me, or the Lord is dependent upon you, then
we've made the cross of Christ to none effect. because then
he's dependent on salvation. You saved yourself. You chose
God. You let the Lord do something. This is how men misconstrue the
cross, but that's not what he's saying here. He's saying Christ
suffered once and he did it for a purpose. He suffered for sin,
the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God. See,
that's why he suffered. He didn't suffer as an attempt
to save, He suffered as an offering unto his father to successfully
redeem. That's simple, isn't it? That's
the simplicity of the gospel. If we are required to do something,
One simple thing, and I want to take my time this morning
and be as clear as I can be on this. If we are required to do
one thing, that means the Lord Jesus Christ didn't fully satisfy
his father. That's what that means. If he
requires something of me, the Lord was not enough. Aren't you
glad that's a lie? It's not true. Lord Jesus Christ
is enough and he was successful. He suffered once for sins to
redeem his people. He had a purpose. He had a cause. Gospel's not complicated. Christ
Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Those whom his
father gave him in the covenant of grace, those who were elected
before time, the Lord Jesus Christ came for that purpose, to redeem
them. And he did, and he did. Not that
he could make a way so they could be saved, he is the way. There's
the difference. Not that he could make a way,
he is the way. Look to him. He actually redeemed
every single person that he died for. The simplicity right here
in this verse is this, either we believe God or we don't. Either
it is finished or it is not. It's that simple. Either it is
finished or it is not. Either the blood was sufficient
or it wasn't. What did the angel of the Lord
say on his arrival? Call his name Jesus for he's
going to try to save. No. No, call his name Jesus for
he shall save his people from their sin. He's gonna do it,
and he did. He did, we have the record of
it, don't we? We have the eyewitness report, and we have the Holy
Spirit that bears witness in our heart, don't we? See, it
was impossible for him to fail because he's God, he can't lie.
We've heard in the past couple weeks about the Lord being the
author. He wrote the book, the beginning to the end. He knows
all of it because he wrote it. He made it to be what he wanted
it to be. He has all power. He's all sovereign. And every
character bows to his will. He's the author and finisher
of faith. He made certain his success before time in so much
that his people were declared justified before time ever began,
before the earth ever existed. Isn't that amazing? It's the
God that cannot lie. And then in time he justified
his people. And there's controversy over that in different places,
but rather than arguing the win, marvel at the amazing truth that
his people are justified. God really justified his people.
That's amazing. We're justified in the Lord's
sight. Because he put away the sin of
his people on the cross, we have these words. 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. Christ once suffered Because
of sins. Because of sins. Now I understand
that the word they use right here is for sins. It's the same
word as because. It was because the sin of his
people that he had to be nailed to the tree. It was because of
the sins of his people that he had to die. A blood sacrifice
had to be offered up. And without the shedding of blood,
there is no remission of sin. The Lord Jesus Christ had to
die in order to redeem, and He did. He did. Isaiah 53, 4 says,
Surely He hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet
we did esteem Him, stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. He was wounded for our transgressions.
He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace
was upon him and with his stripes we are healed. Who is the hour
here mentioned? who is the, our transgressions.
He's talking about our iniquity. It's the same people that Peter's
addressing. Verse one, chapter one, it's
the elect of the Lord. He literally bore those in his
own body. See, this is simple. Why would
the Lord go to the cross of Calvary bearing the sins of someone and
putting them away and bearing their sins and yet that not accomplish
something unless they allowed him to put the sin away? Well,
that doesn't make any sense, does it? But that's exactly what's
being preached in today's time. No, the Lord went and he bore
the transgression of his people. He bore all of their iniquity,
all of their inability to fix their sin. He bore that. Every
thought became his. He owned it. He owned our sin
in his own body. He bore our grief, our grief. carried the elect sorrow in his
own body. He being made sin for us endured
the wrath of God. He was stricken and smitten of
his father. He died because our sin because
our sin to honor his father in the covenant of grace. He was
smitten by the sword of justice by his own father, so that you
and I might be made the righteousness of God in him. Now there is no
transgression to the child of God that can be brought up because
it doesn't exist. There's no trespass that's been
done by the child of God because it doesn't exist. There's no
iniquity. Why? He bore our sin in his own
body on the tree. All the iniquity, all the transgression,
all the trespasses, every bit of the wrong that we are, he
made it right. He made it right by his own blood. And the scripture
says when he purged our sin, he sat down. He sat down because
they were purged. The work was finished. The work
was finished. He accomplished it on the cross
of Calvary. He was afflicted beyond measure
for our transgression, our trespass, and our iniquity. Not anything
because of what he had done. Not any transgression he had
committed, not any sin that he had done, not any iniquity that
he had done. Everything he did was perfectly
righteous. Everything he did was perfect.
But it's what we had done. It's the sin that we had, the
sin that we are that separated us from our God. It's the inability
to fix what we are. It's the inability to not be
able to change what we do because of what we are. He bore that. He bore that once, one time. And then he sat down after he
bore it and put it away. Never to bear it again, it's
gone. It's been permanently put away. Don't you love that? He
doesn't see the sin that we do right now. He doesn't see that
sin, it's gone. It's already gone. Now, if you
can explain that to me, you're welcome to try, but I can't understand
that. Faith don't need an explanation. Faith believes. Lord, I believe,
help my unbelief. I know you did that. I know that
if you put my sin into yourself, if you bore my sin in your own
body on the tree, That sin's gone. I believe that. Right now,
I believe that. That's what faith does. Faith
can't explain. Faith just believes the Lord
Jesus Christ and his word. What is his word? Well, he was
bruised for our iniquities. He was wounded for our transgressment.
The chastisement of our peace was upon him. And with his stripes,
you were healed. You were healed. That's not partial. That's entirely, isn't it? Not
a partial healing where You know, you go to the doctor and you
have infection, they give you an antibiotic and it takes time
for that antibiotic to work. Sometimes it works, sometimes
it doesn't. You might have to go back. And some of you have experienced
this before. There may be another ailment that you have that requires
different kind of medicine, whatever it may be. When the Lord Jesus
Christ healed his people, it wasn't a slow, progressive thing. It was instantaneous. It was
immediate. Why? Because it was an eternal
healing. It was in time, but it was also in eternity. It's
not progressive. It's not progressive. No, it
happened. It's sanctification's been accomplished by the finished
work of the Lord Jesus Christ, and we're not getting any better.
No, Paul said, oh, wretched man that I am, not that I was. No,
he started out as being the least of the saints to being the chief
sinner, didn't he? That's progression. That's what
progression looks like. The way up is down, certainly. That's what our Lord did for
his people. He secured our sanctification. All because he bore our sin in
his body once. The only way that we could have
peace with God is if he endured the punishment demanded by the
law. Through the very stripes that he had, not just in his
flesh, no, the Lord said, when thou shalt make his soul an offering
for sin, thou shalt be satisfied. Shall see the travail of his
soul. What did the Lord accomplish on the cross of Calvary? He suffered
once for sins that he might redeem us back to God. That word might
is not a possibility. It means that word might means
this was the only way that it could happen is if he suffered
for sin. And he did. He did. God alone pleased God.
Everything he did pleased his father. We have the confirmation
of scripture that tells us he doeth all things well. He doeth
all things well. The Lord Jesus Christ was offered
to his father one time. One time, the just for the unjust. The righteous for the ungodly.
The sinless for the sinner. That we might be made the righteousness
of God in him. that we might be robed in his
glorious spotless garments, his blood outpoured so that it may
wash us whiter than snow. That's the purpose of the blood.
It offered salvation, not unto you and I, but unto the Father.
And the Father was well pleased with that offering and redeemed
every single person that those precious drops flowed for on
the cross of Calvary. Let's read this one more time
in closing. 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. He suffered once,
and in that suffering, he successfully brought perfect union between
the sinner and the Father by his offering. Now we're no longer
declared the sinner, but we're declared perfectly righteous
by the Lord's standard. And the way the Lord sees it
is how it really is. We have perfect union with the Father.
In his death, we've died to sin and to self and the law. And
in his resurrection, we've been quickened by the spirit. In time,
he quickens his people by his spirit. Same spirit that resurrected
Jesus from the dead. By his death, we have life. By
his offering, we have acceptance with God. We say these things
and I think we become accustomed to saying them and when you say
something so long you kind of grow desensitized to it if I
can say it that way, but we have acceptance with God. I have acceptance with God if
I'm in Christ. You have real acceptance with
God if you're in the Lord Jesus Christ. What more could we ask
for? What more could we need? Nothing.
Oh, if I have accepted, if God has accepted me, because Christ
Jesus stood in my stead, if I have been made the righteousness of
God in him, why should I ever be discouraged? Why should I
ever fear anything? Why should I doubt? We know the
reason, because we're in the flesh, but it's true, isn't it?
Why should we? We shouldn't. One of these days, when our faith
ends in sight, we'll never doubt again. When our faith ends in
sight, we'll never have a single fear again. When our faith ends
in sight, that righteousness that we've been made, that glory
that he has given unto his people will be revealed in us. That
while we were living here right now, we are the very righteousness
of God because of what Christ did. That's what he accomplished
on the cross of Calvary for his people. By his blood we have
forgiveness of sins, by his grace we have everlasting life. Our
life is hid with Christ in God all because he once suffered
for the sins of his people. His suffering merited something,
it accomplished something. You and I suffering wouldn't
accomplish anything would we? Men talk about penance and trying
to make atonement for sin. We can't put away one sin. All
the blood that was shed in the Old Testament never put away
a single sin. Not one. But when this man suffered
once, when he had purged our sins by his own blood, he sat
down. They're gone. Cast as far as the east is from
the west, never to be remembered again. His sufferings merited the perfect
righteousness of God and his people. Now the call goes forth
from the Spirit and the Bride and they say, come. Come, whosoever
will, let him come. Taste of the water of life freely.
If you want it, it's here, the Lord Jesus Christ. Come, if you
can, you will. If you can, you must. If you
can, you must, you have to. It's irresistible, isn't it?
We have to have it. Spirit and the Bride say, come,
whosoever will. Without money, without price, it was paid in
full by the precious blood of the Lamb on the cross of Calvary.
come to the Lord Jesus Christ and live. The only way that that
calling could go forth is if the Lord suffered once, and he
did for the sin of his people, putting them away, satisfying
the demands of the law, satisfying his father. We know what the
Lord, and if he says he's satisfied, we should be satisfied with the
same thing, and we are. We're satisfied with the Lord
Jesus Christ. Aren't you thankful the Lord redeemed his people?
Let's pray. Father, cause us to come to Christ
right now, and right now, and right now, until we see you face
to face. It's in his name we pray, amen.
Let's take a break.