Sermons – Grace Evangelical Free Church // Wyoming, MN

Psalms 121 –
1 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?
2 My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber.
4 Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade on your right hand.
6 The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.
7 The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life.
8 The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.

Before we start I want to first thank the elders, Matt, Kyle and Dave for giving me the chance to preach this morning. I have been able to preach and speak as a guest before, but never at my home church. It is so sweet to do it here at Grace, it means a lot, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to preach this morning. If we are to understand this text, it will require the help of the Holy Spirit. I am a very imperfect vessel, so let’s pray.

[Prayer] Heavenly Father, you are living and actively involved in your creation. Your word speaks to us through your Spirit. Please help us to hear and understand it. May we see the glory in this text and meet Jesus Christ in it. Please help me say what you want said and get out of the way. Help us to apply your word to our hearts that the Holy Spirit would change us. Amen

Intro

Kids, How many of you went to the State Fair this year? Can you remember the excitement you had the morning before you left? You knew everyone in the State would be coming and gathering at the same place as you. You were going to the most important event of the year. In a way it feels like the center of the world is at the state fair for those two weeks. In any case you were probably looking ahead and imagining what it would be like this year.

Now I want you to imagine, instead of driving 40 minutes or so, how you would feel if you had to hike about 14 hours to the State Fair. Except there are no paved paths. There are forests filled with bears and wild dogs, even lions. And there are robbers and dangerous enemies along the way. Oh yeah, the State Fairgrounds are also at the top of a rocky, dusty, steep mountain. Are you still excited? Would you be willing to even try to go?

In the text we are going to look at, the people of Israel faced this very situation. Several times a year they would head to center of their world: Jerusalem. Despite all kinds of dangers they headed to the city that was the center of their world for something much greater than a deep-fried stomach ache on a stick: They gathered with God’s people to meet with God at the temple.

Every member of Israel would gather in Jerusalem, a city seated on a mountain top. As people converged near the city, they would ascend to Jerusalem. It was a treacherous journey filled with thieves,warring enemies, dangerous animals and rough terrain. The people of Israel would make this journey to celebrate the different feasts: passover, the feast of tabernacles and the day of atonement.

That is what the Songs of Ascent are all about. Psalms 120-134 are a collection of songs that describe this journey. They would sing these on the way, to remind themselves of the Lord and why they were going. And when they arrived they would praise the Lord and receive blessing.

While we may not actually travel like the Israelites did, we are on a journey, and there is an end to this journey. We are heading to our true home where we will someday dwell forever in the Lord’s presence in the New Jerusalem.

This world is filled with trouble because sin has broken everything. There are plenty of times when our sin directly brings trouble upon us. But other times it is simply the reality of living in a fallen world. Sin has tainted everything we experience this side of heaven The dangers an Israelite faced on the way to Jerusa...

1 Peter 4:1-6 Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2 so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God. 3 The time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. 4 With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you; 5 but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6 For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does.

INTRODUCTION

This sermon is the second of two on this passage. In these few verses, Peter’s main thrust was to call his readers to take up arms for the spiritual war to which they’d been called. “Arm yourselves” is his battle cry.

Last week we considered the reality and nature of, and world’s response to, this war. The reality is that in this life, a part of the very essence of being a Christian is being at war. The nature of the war is that it is one against the desires of our flesh; against anything that competes for our joy in and allegiance to God as King. And while the war is against our flesh and the spiritual forces that seek to use it to destroy us (not against the unbelievers around us), the unbelievers around us, Peter wrote, are likely to make our struggle more difficult.

This week, then, we are going to consider Peter’s teaching and commands on two more aspects of this war: (1) one of the weapons God has given us for it and (2) the possible outcomes of it.

All of this means that we must ask ourselves a very important question: Do I believe the gospel is true and good enough to fully engage in the war to which it calls me? Or, do I truly believe that there is a God who is infinitely glorious and has called me to fight to be like his Son? Or, do I truly believe that there is no hardship that may come my way in this war that can compare to the inheritance that awaits me as I fight in faith? If your answer to these questions is “yes,” then I think you’ll find this text exceedingly helpful for the war before you.

Let’s pray, then, thanking God for graciously revealing all of this to us and for securing our victory in it through the Lord Jesus Christ.

THE WEAPON OF WAR

Again, the constant war that Christians face, Peter wrote, is the internal war between remaining faithful to our true King and kingdom and defecting back to our old king and kingdom. Having been convinced that the Christian life is a life of constant warring, and having come to understand a bit of the nature of the war, Peter’s readers must have been wondering what weapons God had fashioned for them. They were to fight, but with what? Peter wrote that they were to arm themselves, but what were they to arm themselves with?

In this passage Peter mentions one weapon in particular. The specific piece of armament he calls God’s people to take up, is a proper perspective; which is to say, the perspective of Jesus. Peter commanded his readers to arm themselves “with the same way of thinking” as that of Christ (v.1). If we are to be victorious in our war against our flesh, we must learn to think like Jesus. We simply cannot wage a successful campaign against our flesh if our minds have not been renewed.

Throughout this letter Peter listed numerous truths that make up the mind of Jesus. In this passage in particular he lists two more. Before we get to those, however, I want to address two concerns you might have: (1) this sounds like an awfully weak weapon,

1 Peter 4:1-6 Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2 so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God. 3 The time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. 4 With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you; 5 but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6 For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does.

INTRODUCTION

This morning’s text is a call to arms. Let’s pray, then, that God would put it on all our hearts to arm ourselves for battle against anything and everything that would compete for our allegiance to God and his kingdom.

THE REALITY OF WAR

By the end of the previous chapter Peter had clearly established the fact that Jesus had gone through everything (and more) that his readers were presently enduring. It was important to Peter that his readers understood that there was no suffering they would encounter that Jesus himself did not also encounter.

Both for Peter’s first readers and all his readers since, there is hope and comfort here. Jesus does not ask his people to go anywhere he wasn’t willing and able to victoriously go first.

Ultimately, Peter’s message to this point is that Christians ought to suffer like Jesus, therein pointing to the salvation won by Jesus through his suffering.

All of that brings us to the first few words of chapter 4, “Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh…”. That is, in light of all I’ve written concerning Jesus’ suffering and what it means and accomplished for you… What? As a result of all of that, what ought Peter’s readers do? His answer is that they must arm themselves. They must prepare themselves for war.

Grace, let’s pause here for a moment and acknowledge once again that this is not the way Christianity is presented to or understood by most people in our culture. The idea that trusting in Jesus means not only going to heaven when you die, but also making war while you live is, frankly, not what most of the professing Christians I’ve met signed up for. In fact, this kind of talk would probably creep most church-goers out.

And that is one of the most frightening aspects of the American version of Christianity (for me). Not only are most people who think of themselves as Christians not engaged in anything that might be considered warfare, most would be put-off by anyone who suggested that they should. That’s over the top, a bit much, too radical, or even offensive they’d say.

All-too-often, entire churches (from the mission, to the architecture, to the decorating, to the programs, to the clothing of the leaders, to the music, to the lighting, to the things they fill the building with, to the nature of the relationships, to the preaching and teaching, all) suggest (even if only implicitly, though often explicitly) that the mission of the church is to make you and your kids happy, comfortable, entertained, and personally uplifted.

With the risk of falling into the ditch on the other side (unChristian aestheticism, isolationism, etc.), I want to sound the coffee shop Christianity alarm. If Starbucks becomes the Church’s model for architecture (trendy, cool), atmosphere (comfortable, talk [rather than action] oriented), and mission (“to inspire and nurture the human spirit”), how will we then be able to make sense of passages like…

1 Peter 3:18-22 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, 19 in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, 20 because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. 21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.

INTRODUCTION

This is our third (and final) week in this portion of Peter’s letter. The bookends (vs.18 and 22) are as clear and glorious as any passages in the letter. The first half of v.18 is a remarkable summary of the good news of Christianity. Jesus Christ “suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit.” It really doesn’t get much clearer than that. We would all do well to share that with someone today. With equal clarity, v.22 states that Jesus’ story doesn’t end with his sacrificial death. Instead, we find, it continues with his resurrection, ascension into heaven, and all authority over all “angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.” If you needed it, there is the source of courage you might need to share v.18.

And yet, as accessible as vs.18 and 22 are, the middle verses are far less so. Last week we considered vs.19-20 and the fact that in them Peter described the total victory of Christ as a means of strengthening his readers for faithfulness in their persecution. This week, then, we’ll consider v.21. Specifically, I want to answer two primary questions. First, why did Peter write about baptism here? And second, what do we learn about the meaning and practice of baptism? In order to answer those questions, we’re going to zoom way, way out before coming back down.

Let’s pray now that God would help us grasp the startling, mysterious, amazing, and persevering reality that you and I can be united with Jesus in his death, resurrection, and righteousness. Let’s also pray that God would remind us of this as we remember our own baptisms and as new Christians are baptized among us.

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE LARGER STORY

It’s always the case that to truly understand anything we encounter in life, we need to understand the larger story into which the encounter fits. Let me give you an example from my life. I’ll start with a narrow snippet and gradually get wider. As I do, I think it’ll be easy for you to see how the widened perspective is absolutely crucial to really understanding the opening scene.

At some young age I was, playing a game with a group of friends. At one point I yelled out, “Jesus!” and the closest adult quickly and sharply scolded me for using Jesus’ name in such a disrespectful manner.

With only that you are likely to conclude that I was duly chided. By zooming out just a bit, it only gets worse for me. I was in fact a rather obnoxious kid. It would not have been out of character for me to speak disrespectfully like that. Indeed, I had a reputation for being somewhat of a restless troublemaker.

To broaden the context a bit more though, my friends and I were playing a game in a Sunday school class because, as I remember it, our teacher (who was the adult who scolded me) was waiting on some copies she needed to begin the class. It still doesn’t look very good for me.

To zoom out one more time, the game we were playing was “hangman” and I was excited to be the one who solved it.

1 Peter 3:18-22 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, 19 in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, 20 because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. 21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.

INTRODUCTION

While we were on vacation we were able to worship at a couple of different churches. They were good churches, but I left each with a greater love for Grace. I’m glad to be back here with you all.

Also while on vacation I was able to listen to Matt and Kyle’s sermons. They did a great job handling the Word of God. Matt has a great ability to take important sections of scripture and explain them in ways that are easy to grasp. And Kyle has a way of connecting doctrine with feelings and actions that I greatly appreciate. We are all blessed to have such qualified and gifted men to lead us and watch over our souls. On a personal note, I’m exceedingly thankful for their service to my family and me; enabling us to go on a longer vacation in the knowledge that things were in good hands.

With all of that, welcome back to 1 Peter. In spite of the fact that we’ve not been here in a month, we’re not going to mess around in the kiddy pool. We’re diving straight into the deep end with “spirits in prison” (3:19). This passage is, of course, one of the blessings and challenges of expositional preaching. Who would choose to preach on it if not for a commitment to teaching the whole counsel of God? Indeed, I have to imagine that in all the churches in the world this morning the ratio of 1 Peter 3:19-20 sermons to John 3:16 sermons is astoundingly low. And yet, 1 Peter 3:19-20 is just as inspired as John 3:16 and, therefore, God means us to understand and love and apply it.

At the end of the sermon here’s what I hope you leave with (because I think it’s the essence of Peter’s meaning): Jesus’ total victory means that our acts of faith-filled obedience will never be in vain. And as a result, I hope you are all challenged and encouraged to suffer in ways that flow from and point to the gospel.

Let’s pray, then, for God to bring clarity, love, and action.

THE POWER OF THE GOSPEL IS UNMISTAKABLE AND UNPARALLELED

Next week we’ll close chapter 3 by looking at mainly at v.21 and a NT understanding of baptism. This sermon will focus on vs.19-20 (and 22).

[Jesus was] made alive in the spirit, 19 in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, 20 because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water.

There are a handful of NT passages that seem hard to understand upon first reading. I remember coming across Jesus’ discussion with a Canaanite woman (in Matthew 15) about dogs and food scraps for the first time and being utterly confused.

Matthew 15:25-28 [A Canaanite woman] came and knelt before [Jesus], saying, “Lord, help me.” 26 And he answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” 27 She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 28 Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.

Psalm 42:5-6a – Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.

Grace Church we are back in the Psalms again this morning. The only difference is, we will be looking mainly at one single verse from a Psalm instead looking at the entire chapter. While we will not have time to build the full context in which this verse sits, we will drill down deeper into the glorious truths of verse five. The depth of God’s wisdom is bottomless, therefore, we can look at passages for a long time and continue to mine it for gold. We can see things we had not seen before.

The book of Psalms is a tremendous gift from God to us as a church. The uniqueness of these 150 chapters is that it talks about a range of emotions that we experience as humans. The psalmists write about joy and sorrow, peace and turmoil, life and death, loneliness and friendship, anger and love, guilt and forgiveness, hope and being downcast, and on and on. To be human is to have emotions. While some experience more intense emotions than others, we all experience them on some level and to some degree. Emotions can be really good or really destructive.

The uniqueness of the Psalms though is that it deals with the volatility and power of human emotions within the constancy of God’s sovereignty and his truth. The psalmists never treat human emotions as the ultimate truth that allows them to do whatever they want to. The Psalmists describe how they feel and then remind the reader of the truth of who God is and what he will do for his people. How we need this.

The Bible has much to say about our emotions which are the motivations for our actions. Emotions are a factor into why we make certain decisions (good or bad). When I respond to a 911 call it is always because someone is making a bad decision based on emotions that are running like electricity through their body. They aren’t making logical, well thought out decisions on how they are going to break the law. Their emotions are almost completely driving the situation.

Emotions can be used for great good or great evil. Proper, God-exalting feelings find their roots in powerful, God-revealed truths. When those are synced together, it becomes a powerful motivation for obedience. Sustained, intense, ever-increasing obedience doesn’t come from a sense of doing what you ought to do (duty). Sustained, intense, ever-increasing obedience comes from the emotions of love, joy and hope in God.

That is why the Psalms are so needed for your life. They are meant to not only help you see truths. They are meant to help you conform your emotions towards seeing the truth, loving the truth, and then walking in the truth. David is experiencing the emotions of being cast down and being in turmoil and he’s wanting these emotions to conform into hoping in who God is.

“Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.” The context of this verse, and what we see in the chapter as a whole, is that David desires to be back in the presence of God by being back in the Jerusalem temple. “When shall I come and appear before God?…how I would go with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God with glad shouts and songs of praise, a multitude keeping festival” (vs. 3,4). Yet his present circumstances have prevented that from happening to him. He’s longing to be back in the place where he can experience the closest presence to God he can have and to be with the people of God in joyous singing, worshiping, and feasting.

In addition to this, the people that he is surrounded by are his enemies. He’s not with the people of God anymore. He’s cut off from them and he’s surrounded by people that hate God.

Main Point – It is a great necessity and joy to remember the sacrifice that was made for our freedom.

1. Review of chapter 12 and July 16th sermon

Last week we looked at Exodus Chapter twelve’s accounting of the Passover and the Exodus of God’s people from Egypt.

We determined that God was creating a living breathing illustration of the Gospel for His people and that He was showing them that man is in bondage to sin and that to be brought out from it requires great sacrifice.

We learned of the death of the firstborn that came upon the whole land of Egypt except the homes where a lamb was slaughtered and its blood placed upon the doorposts of the home.

And we agreed that the Jesus of the New Testament was the fulfillment of this Passover sacrifice and that the sacrifice of the Son of God was much costlier than 250,000 lambs per year could ever be.

2. The necessity and joy of remembering

The main question we’ll be asking and answering today is: What is the significance of the consecration of the firstborn in Exodus Chapter 13?

Have you ever gotten goosebumps from the national anthem being sung with pictures of fallen war heroes on the screen?

Have you ever teared up or welled up with emotion when you’ve seen a fallen military member’s spouse or child presented with the flag that covered their loved one’s casket?

What is that? What deep heart strings do these situations pluck?

If you’ve ever been to the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington DC you know what I’m talking about. To stand in silence in front of a wall of over 58,000 names of soldiers who gave their life to protect your freedom is a humbling and sobering thing.

Remembering sacrifice that brought you freedom is a very special thing. The reason I think it’s so special is because God thought of it first. He planned to have a special kind of remembering be a part of an eternal worship service for His Son Jesus.

I believe that emotional responses that we have towards human sacrifice for freedom, now, are rooted in a deeper spiritual hardwiring that was put in us with the purpose of praising the great Lamb of God’s sacrifice, forever.

Let’s take a look at where the remembering of sacrifice all started in earnest for God’s people in Exodus Chapter 13. We’ll look at how it progressed later in the Old Testament and then finally where it all ended up in the New Testament in the person of Jesus both on earth and in heaven and what that means for us today.

As you listen to this section being read again, listen for the phrases or themes that are repeated.

(Read Exodus 13:1-16 again)

Notice there are three phrases or themes repeated in this section:

* The theme of the consecration of the firstborn to the Lord in vs 1 & 12

* The phrase, “This will be a sign for you, like a sign on your hand and a reminder on your forehead,” in vs 9 & 16

* The phrase, “The Lord brought you out with a mighty hand,” in vs 3, 9 & 16

In Hebrew writings it’s important to pay attention to the things that are repeated. They will often show you the main points of emphasis that were intended to land upon the listener of what was being read, much like the chorus of a song that keeps coming around again after each verse.

So in Chapter 12 God instructed the Israelites to perform the Passover celebration every year, so they would always remember the sacrifice that was made to free them from their bondage in Egypt. It created a yearly date or structure for this remembering. Along with that He also instituted the week long feast of unleavened bread to coincide with Passover and added another layer of remembering structure.

Now in Chapter 13 God is adding yet another instruction and another layer of structure to help the people remember.

Main Point – Man is in bondage to sin and to be brought out of it requires a costly sacrifice.

1. History and Overview

The book of Exodus, written by Moses, is written in mainly a narrative format. Because we’ll be picking up the story in Chapter twelve this morning, I’d like to read the whole section aloud to give us a better feel for the context. It’s not often that we read this long of a section of text together, so let’s take this opportunity to put ourselves in the original audience’s position and listen as if it’s the first time we’re hearing it.

Listen as if you:

* Are a first generation Israelite after the Exodus from Egypt, somewhere around 1400 B.C.

* Have been wandering in the desert following a strange pillar of fire by night and cloud by day.

* Have witnessed water miraculously come out of a rock to quench a thirsty nation.

* Have at times been disgruntled and complained against Moses because you were sure he brought you out to the desert to die.

* Are hoping and praying that your God is real and powerful enough to deliver on the promises made to your ancestors.

* Are desperate to be reminded about what is true when everything around you is different and doesn’t make sense.

(All of Chapter 12 was read here during the service, but we won’t include the whole thing in this text. Please do actually find it and read it, or listen to it read in the recording that accompanies this post.)

2. The Passover

On the eve of one of the grandest rescues in recorded human history, God tells Moses, to tell the elders, to tell the families, to slaughter a lamb and spread its blood on the doorposts of their homes, then eat it.

There were no tunnels being dug, no weapons being stashed and no secret meetings to draw up plans for this great escape.

Approximately three million people were going to be liberated from over 400 years of indentured servitude the next day and there was nothing for any of them to do but hunker down, kill a lamb and eat it?

Sounds strange doesn’t it?

Why not a military uprising to show to the mighty power of God’s people with this final step of the rescue?

Why the death of the firstborn of all the land except for those firstborn that were atoned for within the households by the blood of the lamb smeared on the doorposts?

What was God up to with the institution of the Passover that led to the Exodus?

God was graciously illustrating, in terms His people could understand, what the effects of sin were and what it would cost to free them from it. God was making His power through the Gospel known to His people. The Gospel that in ages past had been hinted at and foreshadowed.

From the Genesis account where God promised that the seed of the serpent would bruise the heel of the seed of the woman, but the seed of the woman would crush his head, to the costly cleansing of the sinful earth with a flood, with a faithful few rescued, to Abraham being asked to sacrifice his son to God on a mountain alter only to have God provide a ram to take his son’s place, Biblical history up to the time of the Exodus was dripping with examples pointing to a God who had a rescue plan.

But with the institution of Passover, God was bringing his ultimate rescue plan into focus and beginning to train His people, who now numbered in the millions, on how to see and understand it.

Main Point – Man is in bondage to sin and to be brought out of it requires a costly sacrifice.

So let’s take a look at some of the elements of this first Passover that led to the Exodus, and since we today have the amazing blessing of living after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we get to look at it through the lense of Christ’s fulfillment of it. We get to benefit from looking into this early foreshadowing of t...

1 Peter 3:18-22 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, 19 in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, 20 because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. 21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.

INTRODUCTION

There are a handful of New Testament verses that cut straight to the heart of the Christian faith. 1 Peter 3:18 is one of them. We’re going to look under the hood of it a bit this morning, but I want to make sure that doesn’t cause us to miss the simple, glorious reality it communicates: As followers of Jesus we are to suffer in a manner that is pleasing to God and a blessing to others because that’s what Jesus did; even to the point of dying on the cross to save us from our sins.

Let’s pray, then, that God would use this simple verse to awaken or reawaken us to absolutely amazing glory of the greatest news of all time. Let’s pray that some would receive this news for the first time this morning and therein be brought to God! And let’s pray that the rest of us would experience all the gratitude, humility, joy, and motivation for action that the gospel demands.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN JESUS’ SUFFERING AND OURS

In many ways, 3:18-22 is the hardest passage in 1 Peter. Before we get to the really hard stuff, however, Peter grounds all of it in the good news of salvation in Jesus. As we work through the trickier portions of this passage in the coming weeks, it’s important—indeed, vital—that we read them in light of v.18, the greatest news of all time. Understanding this passage and the greatness of that news begins with Peter’s understanding the relationship between Jesus’ suffering and the suffering of his followers.

In 1 Peter 3:13-16 (the verses immediately preceding our passage), Peter charged his readers to continue doing good (zealously) even when they were made to suffer for it. In v.17 he gave one of the reasons for his charge: because it’s better than the alternative. In v.18 (our passage for this morning) he gave one of the reasons why it’s better: because (“for”) that’s what Jesus did. It’s better to suffer for doing good than for doing evil “For Christ also suffered…” in that way. Christians must be willing to suffer for righteousness’ sake because it’s better than suffering for unrighteousness’ sake, and we know that because Jesus left us that example.

Remember, Peter is writing to real people in a real season of suffering. The point of his letter is to instruct them on where God is in all of it and on how that ought to effect their response. Their suffering, Peter wrote, is known by God, endured with God, and even willed by God for his good purposes. They ought to respond, therefore, in hope and not despair; in love and not in bitterness; with blessing and not justice; in holiness and not sinfulness; that is, according to the example of Jesus and not the world.

The fact that suffering Christians have in Jesus an example of how to suffer well is good news. And yet, as you probably already know, Jesus did more than merely set an example of suffering for doing what’s good. He did that (perfectly), but he also suffered (death on a cross) to save sinners. “For Christ also suffered once for sins…”. His suffering served as an example and as a substitute sacrifice.

1 Peter 3:13-17 Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15 but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; 16 yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.

INTRODUCTION

How many of you are familiar with 1 Corinthians 10:31 (“whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God”)? How many of you have been challenged and inspired by that passage, declaring your desire for your entire life to be a reflection of that passage? Before we began looking at 1 Peter, how many of you thought to apply that passage to your suffering? That is, how many of you, upon entering into a season of suffering, immediately thought and sought to glorify God in your suffering? For those of you who did think of it and try to do so, how many of you felt confident that you knew what that meant?

I’m so thankful for 1 Peter and the countless ways that God has used it to increasingly cause us to look to glorify God, and to know how to do so, in times of suffering. 1 Peter 3:13-17 is the most concise, comprehensive summary of how Christians are to glorify God in our suffering that I know of in the entire bible. This morning is our final week on this passage.

This morning, primarily from v.17, we’ll consider Peter’s final two essential perspectives on suffering faithfully: God’s will for our suffering and our need to entrust justice to God.

We suffer in ways that are honoring to God, build up the Church, and evangelistically testify to the transforming power of the gospel when we suffer according to Peter’s instructions. With that, let’s thank God for his good and glorious sovereign reign over all things. And let’s ask God to give us an eagerness to live our entire lives in light of these great truths.

FAITHFULNESS IS ALWAYS BETTER

Consider something hard that I might charge you to do as your pastor. What hard (godly) thing comes to your mind? Sell all your possessions and give the proceeds to the poor? Share the gospel with the 10 closest unsaved people in your life today? Confess your most persistent and destructive sin to someone? Move your family to a hostile, remote, gospel-less village to declare the name of Jesus?

Now consider what type of reasoning it would take to get you to joyfully jump at my charge. That is, on what grounds would you immediately obey? Sell all your possessions…for it will be fun? Would that convince you? Share the gospel with your closest unsaved family/friends…for it might rain later? Confess your darkest sins…for they will probably get posted on Facebook? Move your family to the mission field…for soccer is too expensive here?

My guess is that none of the reasons I just suggested are powerful enough to convince you to obey the charges I suggested. You’d need something more.

Leading up to our passage for this morning, Peter had spent a good deal of time calling his readers to do comparably hard things (trust God in times of great persecution, love their enemies, submit to their oppressors and abusers, do good to those who do harm them, etc.). In v.17 Peter gives one of the grounds/reasons for his hard commands.

Believe and do all of these things (particularly the things of 3:13-16, and most especially the good things mentioned in 16), “For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.” That’s a pretty simple answer. Obey my hard commands because,