September 8, 2024 | Brought Near to God

Transcription:

As we come to this section of First Peter, we come to some really perplexing statements. In fact, Martin Luther said of this text of Scripture, A wonderful text is this and a more obscure passage perhaps, than any other in the New Testament, so that I do not know for certainty what Peter means. So you have that to look forward to this morning.

And really, we have two main challenges in this text and in any difficult text. The gospel is simple. We can understand what God has communicated, but that doesn't mean there's not hard texts in Scripture. Any time we come to a hard text, we have two challenges. One, we need to know the flow of the text so that we know why is this even here?

Because God didn't give you perplexing statements just so you could answer Bible trivia questions. He wants you to know something. On the other hand, we don't want to just say, here's what I know. Overall, and I'm not sure what all these sentences mean, but I'm just going to ignore them because then we miss something of what God has for us in the text.

So our challenge this morning, we want to know what does he mean as much as we can. But we want to know what's the overall flow and how does that fit into what he's saying. So that we're not just satisfying intellectual curiosity. And we're not just giving superficial, shallow answers that we could have probably said without this text at all.

And instead we really allow this text to shape us. So we come to this text in dependance on God. He has to reveal he's the one who spoke this text in the first place. So we need his help to follow what he's saying. I'm going to read First Peter chapter three, beginning in verse 18.

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, in which he went, and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, 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, 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, who has gone into heaven and is at the right

hand of God with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him. This is God's word. Do you ever feel like believers are all alone in a hostile world? Maybe not alone, but at least a very small minority with pressures all around us. And maybe that makes you question, though you might not say it out loud. Or maybe you do.

Is Christianity really worth it? If I'm going to suffer anyway. What's the point of doing good? If people are going to treat me badly? Maybe I should get my shots in back at them.

Into those questions, Peter speaks. Verse 17, which we didn't read from the last section, said, it is better to suffer for doing good if that should be God's will, than for doing evil. That's a huge statement and one that we don't naturally say yes, better to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. So if Peter's going to make that statement, he needs to give us a compelling reason.

He needs to give us a foundation for why it's actually better to suffer for doing good than to suffer for doing evil. So far, Peter's been building a case. He said no one can ultimately harm God's people because even his physical suffering comes. It doesn't change the fact that God's people, because they know him, are now and will forever be blessed.

So he said in verse 14, don't be afraid. Don't be agitated. Don't have this turmoil in your soul. Instead, sanctify Christ as holy or treasured, Jesus as the ultimate treasure in your life. And as people see that and see the hope that you display, they're going to come and say, what is with you? This is just paraphrasing the few verses right before.

And he says, be ready to share that hope with others. Live out your hope with the right attitude of gentleness, so that those who try to accuse you will be put to shame. That's his case so far. And the last part of that is to say, do that because it's better to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.

So we get to our passage today, and he starts with the word for he's going to give you. Here's a reason for this is true because this is true. As you face the possibility of doing good and suffering for it.

Not only that, but as you face the possibility of being God's child and doing good and suffering for it, not just of doing good, but of truly belonging to him. As you face that possibility. What do you need to know? What do you need to remember in your soul? To endure suffering and to have encouragement during suffering? From this text, we're going to talk about five things that you need to remember.

And we'll say, here's the one thing. We'll talk about how it shows it in the text. And after each one we're going to ask the question, how does this truth help me to endure suffering? First, remember that Jesus suffered. Now that verse continues. But let's pause with just that thought for a minute. The best, most perfect human to ever walk the face of the earth.

Suffered horrifically. Not because he was bad. He had no sin. Sometimes he suffered just because it's a fallen world.

Sometimes he suffered because others were evil and they persecuted him. And we know the end of his life. The final statement of his suffering was the crucifixion.

Not for any sin he'd done.

But in fact, because he was perfect. That's why they hated him. When you walk alongside Jesus in the gospel, just take a moment and think of the stories you know of Jesus, and maybe you don't. Maybe you're here and you don't know the stories of Jesus from the Gospels. But if you do think about these, think of when he's gentle to children and the disciples say he's got more important things to do, and he says, no, let him come.

Not the kind of person you think they need to suffer.

Think about the way that he loved the sick people who would have been outcast in their society.

Not the kind of person you would think they deserved to suffer. Or those who are desperate.

He loved them. He helped them. He walked alongside them. Think of his compassion. Of all the emotional terms used to describe Jesus. Throughout the Gospels, the one that's used the most often is translated compassion. Is this deep feeling of love within the pit of his stomach, from his very core, to look at the crowds and have compassion on them and the lepers, and have compassion on them, and the lame and the blind, and the outcast and the rejected, and the children.

And to say, I love them. Think of his wisdom when you hear him discussing with the Pharisees the law and God's truth. When you hear him teaching his disciples, when you hear him wisely asking the right questions, and all of these things that he does. And that's the Jesus who suffered.

And we suffer in some of these same ways sometimes because we've done the right thing. But we live in a fallen world sometimes because people are evil around us. We suffer for doing right like Jesus did.

So you might say, well, how does that really help me to endure suffering? I mean, I get it. Jesus suffered, but I'm not Jesus. Well, he's more than an example. We'll get to that in just a minute. He didn't just suffer as an example so that you could say, well, I guess I can endure it. He suffered to accomplish something that we'll talk about in just a minute.

But before that, how does remembering just the fact that Jesus suffered help me to endure suffering? Well, sometimes we get this overly introspective or negative view of ourselves and we say, I'm suffering, so I must have deserved it. I must have done something really bad. I don't know what it is. If I could just find it, I'd fix it.

Well, that's not always true. We suffer sometimes when it's totally undeserved. How do you know that? Because Jesus did. So when we remember that Jesus suffered. It helps us to not add more self-inflicted suffering. Oh, I must have done something terrible to deserve this suffering.

It also reminds us that we are not alone. Maybe nobody else understands your suffering. Maybe in this room, there's no one else who really knows what you're going through. But Jesus does. And he's not untouched by your suffering. Jesus walked on this earth and suffered.

So remember that Jesus suffered. Secondly, remember that Jesus brought us to God. Do you notice in this first verse he says, Christ also suffered, and he gives you some phrases that we'll talk about in just a minute. Once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous. But he tells you why, that he might bring us to God. Jesus didn't just suffer as an example.

That's not enough for me. If I see someone who suffers and I go, wow, they suffered, I don't think, well, good, that means I can do it, I think, I hope I never have to. You might see somebody we just had Olympics go through and you see some of these marathon runners and you read their training. That does not make me think I could do it.

It makes me think they're crazy. I don't want to do it. And in the same way, when I look at Jesus, if it's only Jesus is an example who suffered? So therefore you go do it. I don't really think that's a good plan for me. But Jesus is not just giving an example. Jesus is accomplishing something. So we're going to take this phrase and just add pieces to it.

He suffered, but Jesus suffered for sins. Our sins, the wrong we had done where we worshiped other things other than God, where we broke his commands, they separated us from God. This was true of Adam. We know from the story of Adam and Eve in the garden. They were separated from God because God had said, if you don't follow this command, here's what will happen.

You will die. And so they were separated from God. In order to come back to God. There had to be a punishment that was paid. And Adam couldn't just come back and say, you know, God, you were right. Because if he came back, he'd have to come back and say, God, you were right. I deserve to be dead.

At which point to really say God was right. He'd have to die. So after Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, there was no way back to God without a death that provided the way to return. Adam couldn't provide his own way to return to God because he couldn't die and then still come to him.

Jesus suffered for sins in order to pay the punishment. When we had sinned. There was a and a debt of honor that was owed to God. God created everything he deserves all praise. And Adam first did not praise him like he should. And we all fall short of giving God the glory he deserves. That's Romans. We fall short of the glory of God.

There's a debt that needed to be paid. That debt is not a debt of pain. It's a debt of honor. There was a punishment, and then there's a debt of honor. Our sin, because we did not honor God like he deserved. And we had the punishment we did deserve. Kept us from God.

But Jesus suffered for our sins. So what does that mean? Peter? Help me. Help me. What does that mean, exactly? He goes on. He suffered for sins once for all. That means I'm not looking back to any other sacrifice like Jesus had to build on these sacrifices. I'm not looking forward to any sacrifice when we celebrate communion like we did.

That is a reminder of the sacrifice that was made, not another sacrifice that is needed because Jesus suffered for sins once for all.

That means I'm not looking to myself to provide another sacrifice that would help out. I don't have to suffer for sins so that I can come to God. Jesus suffered for sins once to bring us to God. Add the next phrase he suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, or the just for the unjust.

It was a substitution. I was unjust and deserved that punishment. I had not honored God like he deserved. Jesus, who was perfect, took my place the just for the unjust. Now this brings up one of the problems we often have in our sinful human hearts. We don't like God's answer because many reasons. One reason is I really want to not put myself in the unjust category.

I want to say, well, I'm unrighteous in some things, but not really. I'm kind of over here. I'm in the middle. I might not say I'm really righteous like Jesus, but I'm not really unrighteous. He gives you two categories. The righteous in place of the unrighteous, not the righteous in place of the mostly righteous. God's answer is, you have to look at yourself and say, here's where I fit.

It's either righteous or unrighteous, and I'm not perfect, so I'm unrighteous. That's good news, because that means the just one Jesus died in your place and took the punishment you deserve. The just one. Jesus honored God, honored the father. Like it was required, like he deserved. So that now that's why Peter says Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God at the heart of everything about Christianity.

The goal is to know and love God, and Jesus made it possible by suffering for doing good.

There are tons of benefits of the good news. We talk about them a lot. Forgiveness. It's a great benefit. Escape from hell. That's a great benefit. Removal of guilt. Removal of shame. A righteous standing before God. Eternal life. They're all good benefits. They all mean nothing if they don't get you to God.

If I'm forgiven. Forgiven for what? To know God. Eternal life without knowing God is worthless. Do you really want to live the way you are right now? Forever? I doubt it. I know some of you definitely don't. The ultimate benefit of what Jesus did is we didn't have a way to return to God, to be brought near to him in ourselves.

So Jesus took the path of righteous suffering, suffering for doing good in our place so that he could bring us to God to have the best joys you could ever have.

And how does he do that? Well, he brings us to God through his resurrection. He died. And then when he was raised, he was God's statement that the punishment has been perfectly paid, and the honor that God deserved had been perfectly forgiven. So death could not hold him because he didn't deserve to be dead. He's raised. He brings us to God by substituting his death and his life in our place.

So this text continues. The end of verse 18. He might bring us to God being put to death. That's Jesus being put to death in the flesh, physically dying, but made alive in the spirit. So the contrast is he physically died in his natural human body. And like Paul says, when Jesus is raised and when he's talking about the resurrection, he says, there's a spiritual body.

There's the resurrection body. He says he was really dead. And now he's raised with a different kind of body, with a new kind of life. He's put to death in the flesh, but he's made alive in the spirit. How does this help you endure suffering? Over and over. We're coming back to this question. You say, I remember Jesus suffered.

Well, I remember Jesus suffered to bring me to God. How does that help me when I suffer? Here's the first way. It helps you because you will never suffer like Jesus did. I don't mean you'll never suffer as much as Jesus did. Although that's true. I mean, Jesus was accomplishing something in his suffering to bring you to God.

You will never have to suffer in order to be brought to God, because Jesus did that. That means when you suffer as a believer in Jesus, God has not forsaken you. Full stop.

No matter how bad it feels. God has not forsaken you. How do you know that? Because Jesus accomplished that for you. Because he died and he was raised. That means teens we were talking about this morning in Sunday school. When you suffer for doing good, God is not angry with you.

Because Jesus suffered to bring you to God.

And when you wonder, is that really true? You point to but Jesus really died and he was really raised. And that means God is for his people.

So what else do we remember? Remember the days of Noah? Here we could really get into the weeds.

Take the flow of this text as we've been talking for just a minute. Kind of put it on the shelf for just a second, and we'll get it back in a minute. And let's say. All right, this next phrase in verse 19, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison because they formerly did not obey.

When God's patience waited in the days of Noah while the ark was being prepared. We're going to say, what on earth is that talking about? This is the section, one of the sections Martin Luther was talking about when he said it's obscure, and he didn't know for sure what Peter meant. The main questions you got to ask are it says, Jesus proclaimed, what did he proclaim?

And different answers will give you different options there. Verse 19, it says, the spirits who are in prison, what are those? Who are those? And then when did this happen? Whatever he's talking about, if you get the answer to those three, you get at least an option. What I'm going to do is I'm going to give you three options, all of which have been talked about through church history.

I won't go into all the details, but I'll give you the big pattern. I'll tell you which what I lean towards. And then I will also say some really good people disagree with me and that's okay. And whichever one you choose, they're really good people who disagree with you too. So option one is that Jesus proclaimed the good news of the gospel to Old Testament believers who had followed God, who had died and waded in in Hades, which is a kind of in-between.

They're not really in heaven, they're not in hell, and they're kept there until Jesus comes and proclaims the good news. And that leads them to heaven into God's presence, because he's now accomplished redemption. If you take that position, then you'd say, this likely happened when he was dead before he was raised. So in the three days between his death and his resurrection.

And in that case, here's what Peter, and here's where we're going to we're going to look on the shelf at the flow of the argument and then leave it there for a minute. In those in those days, the case would be that Peter is telling you that Jesus led even those who had died into God's presence. So if Jesus took those who had died and brought them to God, he can lead you through your suffering to God.

That's how it would fit. There's advantages and disadvantages to all of these views. The challenge, the biggest challenge is why does it say, why does it go to the days of Noah? Specifically, it says because they, the spirits that are in prison formerly did not obey. But why does he talk about the days of Noah specifically if he's saying all Old Testament believers?

It also seems like if you're going to describe faithful Old Testament believers, it seems a little bit strange to me to describe them as the ones who formerly did not obey. I think you'd say something slightly differently, but this is a very it's an ancient view. It's been around for a long time. A lot of good people would say that's what it is.

Option two Jesus is not proclaiming the gospel. Jesus is proclaiming his victory over demonic spirits. Church history has pointed to this possibility again as being well, from his death to his resurrection. What happened with the person of Jesus in that stretch? There's other texts that bring up questions there too. In this case, the flow of the argument goes to verse 22, where it says, Jesus has triumphed over angels, authorities and powers.

They've been subjected to him. So if that is the right interpretation, then what Peter is doing is saying, not only can Jesus help you in your suffering and bring you to God, but even demons can't stop him because he has proclaimed his utter victory over them.

Again you say, but why? Why the spirits that were specifically in the days of Noah. There's answers for that. That's a longer answer than we have time for. But that's a question. Option three is that Jesus proclaimed the hope of deliverance, or the good news to people in Noah's day through Noah's preaching. That may sound a little stranger than the other two.

One thing that helps us with that this is the one I lean towards slightly. Augustine back in 300 A.D. is probably one of the earliest that we have recorded as taking this view. I lean towards this one because the beginning of first Peter he describes the prophets this way. He says concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time catch this phrase.

The Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent subsequent glories. So at the beginning of first Peter he said, the Old Testament prophets, the Spirit of Christ proclaimed good news of suffering and glory through them. If you go back over to chapter three. It seems like he could be doing the same thing here and saying.

Jesus was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit. Verse 19, in which Jesus went and proclaimed to the spirits which there's no time marker around spirits in prison. So it could be the spirits in prison at that time, or it could be he preached to humans. And now all of those people who were judged, they are now imprisoned.

They're dead because it was millennia ago. At that point. In which case, what Jesus, what Peter is doing here is saying, think back on Noah's day and remember that when there was seemed like everyone was against God and against anyone who trusted in God, God still faithfully and carefully preserved his people, even though it was only eight of them.

Despite the opposition preaching the good news so that people around them could see it and they refused to follow, which would fit the same basic flow that he said so far. Right now, you as people hearing Peter, are the minority with an oppressive world around you. Who disagrees? What are you supposed to do? Do good. Trust God to preserve you through suffering and proclaim the hope to those around you so that they can hear that good news and have the opportunity to believe again.

Would I stake my life on that interpretation? Probably not. And that's okay.

Not every idea from Scripture you can find has to be held with the same confidence as some of the truths that are there. You can trace any of those three and say, here's how it could flow with Peter's argument. And you get a big overall idea that God keeps his people even when they suffer.

So how does remembering Noah's day help you when you suffer? Well, it helps you remember if that interpretation is right, that Jesus has been working by his Spirit to proclaim the good news from Noah's day, and he continues that when high schoolers believe in Christ at a high school retreat, that's because Christ by His Spirit is revealing and proclaiming the gospel through human mouths.

He's still doing that, and that's a hope that we have helps you remember that. Appearances can deceive when the majority seems to be against God's people. God can still save his people when the majority mocks his people and they suffer. God still keeps his people.

So remember Jesus suffered. Remember, Jesus suffered for sins to bring us to God. Remember Noah's day. Remember baptism here in verse 21. He says, baptism, which corresponds to this. That translation is the word that we get ante type or a pattern or a picture baptism, which is a picture. It corresponds to this, the same word, by the way, that's used in Hebrews chapter nine, where it says Jesus has entered not into the holy place or into holy places made with hands, which are copies, which are pictures, which are physical representations of a spiritual reality.

Jesus has entered into those. Now he's gone into heaven to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. So the picture there, the way this word is used, there is the physical places of sacrifices which are important and holy are pictures of a deeper reality that actually accomplishes atonement. Here he says, baptism is that same kind of thing.

It's an anti type, a picture of something that actually accomplishes atonement. In other words, Peter is saying if you follow his picture here, it's beautiful idea. Peter is saying. That people in Noah's day faced waters of judgment, and Noah and his family were brought through that judgment safely in the ark in a similar way. People in Peter's day and our day face judgment, and God's people are safely brought through the waters.

How? What's our ark? Jesus, through the resurrection, the death and resurrection of Jesus. Baptism pictures it as waters which in the flood were waters of judgment. The ark kept you safe. And when we baptize someone, they stand in the water which presents represents judgment or death. And we say, you say your trust is in Jesus. That means when you go into judgment or into death, you are protected as an ark that carries you through it all the way to new life.

So how can Peter say baptism saves you? That's kind of an interesting phrase. There. Two answers to that. First, he doesn't say that baptism regenerates you or gives you new life. He doesn't say that baptism justifies you or brings about the moment when God is 100% for you because you're counted as righteous. Now he uses the word saves, and sometimes we take the word saves and condense it to like one little thing.

But scripturally, that's not true. It's Scripture talks about salvation as something that has happened. You have been saved. It also says you are being saved. It also says you will be saved because salvation is more than just the moment it starts. Salvation is the whole process of God giving you new life that results in you having life with him forever.

So he doesn't say even when he says saves. Here, if we look at how Peter uses it, I won't read him for sake of time. But chapter one, verse five, he talks about salvation. He says it's a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. It's future. Chapter one verse nine, he talks about you will obtain the salvation of your souls, its future.

Chapter four, verse 18 he says, looking forward to judgment says to being saved. That's avoiding the fullness of judgment every time. There's a question here. But every other time in first Peter when he talks about and uses the word salvation, he's talking about future salvation. He's not talking about the moment when you become a believer in Jesus Christ and you have new life.

So when he says baptism, which now saves you, first of all, the way Peter uses saves, he's using it not in the context of regeneration in new life, but in the context of the overall sense of your salvation. The second thing is notice what he says. We might ask, well, does it mean that baptism saves you? Does that mean it?

Different people have taught this. Does that mean it washes away your sin? The physical act of water washes away your sin, or the physical act of water seals a person with the Holy Spirit. Well, notice what Peter says. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you. And it's like he knows the questions we're going to ask, not as a removal of dirt from the body, which he could have easily said, but as a removal of sin from the soul, if that's what he meant.

That's not what he meant. Instead, he says not as a removal of dirt from the body. It's not the water, it's not the physical washing, but it is an appeal for a good conscience. Now, maybe if you if you have been tracking with us for a few weeks, you say good conscience. I've heard that before. Look back to verse 14.

Sorry, not 14, 16. Having a good conscience so that when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. You say, where did good conscience come from? He said, don't be afraid. Treasure Jesus Christ, proclaim your hope with gentleness. And when you have a hope in Christ that is lived out in your life, that is a good conscience.

That's what gives you a good conscience. So when he says baptism is an appeal, here's what baptism is that fits with what he said earlier. It is.

An appeal for a good conscience, because it is a physical act that symbolizes hope in Christ. As the Ark lived out in your life. It's a picture that says, if you are united to Jesus Christ, which happens. Scripture tells us by faith, if you are united to Jesus Christ, he is your ark that carries you through all judgment and eventually death.

And by symbolizing it physically, you're saying, I want to live this out with my physical life that I am hoping in Jesus Christ only?

So how does that help us endure in suffering? By the way, both of those points I know there are many, many more questions we could ask. If you have some that come to your mind and you'd like to follow up on them. We've been doing a question and answer podcast that follows up on these things. If you let me know or email me questions that may come to your mind on either of those two, be happy to follow up in that context.

Or you can ask me individually, and I'm probably going to say, can I included on the podcast next time? So how does remembering baptism and what it represents help us endure in suffering? Jesus took the path of righteous suffering to bring us to God. How does that work? Baptism reminds us how it works by uniting us to Him in His death, so that I share his death and in his resurrection, so that I share his resurrection life.

It reminds us the real reason your salvation is certain, even in suffering. It's not because water washes over your body in baptism. It's because the art of Christ can protect his people always.

The last thing to remember is that Jesus reigns his King. So that's where Peter goes. So how do I know that ark can actually protect me? Because Jesus is no longer threatened by death, he has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him. The more power and authority somebody has, the more their protection means.

If one of these young kids in this room who's ten years old, comes up and says, hey, I'll protect you good. From what? I don't think that's going to help me. If you come over here during school and you see an armed security guard out there and you go, they'll protect me. Well, they have some authority that's different.

They have some other ways of protecting me that the kids don't have. Okay. That's better.

If you watch when we watch the Olympics, there was this guy who won the gold medal in his weight class of wrestling for the fifth straight Olympics. It's 20 years. He's won the gold medal every time. He's about six foot five, 270 pounds. That man says he's going to protect you in hand-to-hand combat. It's pretty different than some eight year olds in this room.

If the president of the United States said, you're under my protection. Hand-to-hand combat? Not so helpful. Maybe. But authority and resources? Sure. What if the King of the universe, to whom all angels and powers and authorities are subjected, who sits on the throne of heaven, says, I protect my people.

Everybody united to him that ark can handle any storm. When you suffer for doing good, remember Jesus reigns. When you feel like as believers, you're mocked and persecuted and you're the minority. What strengthens you? What encourages you? These five things. Remember Jesus suffered, but he is the Lord of everything. Jesus suffered to bring you to God so you can enjoy him.

And the sufferings of this present age aren't worth comparing to the glory of knowing God. Remember Noah's day? The majority mocked. God's judgment was severe, but God's people were safe.

Remember your baptism. United with Christ by faith, you have a far better ark than the wooden one that Noah trusted in. And remember, Jesus reigns. The Lord of the universe is your protection. Hallelujah! I want to invite you to take a moment and just respond to God in prayer.

Thank him for what he's given. If you have not placed your trust in Jesus Christ. To protect you from God's judgment. To protect you through the sufferings of this life, to protect you through death and to the life to come. I would love to talk with you. There are many here who would love to talk with you and help.

You know how you can have this confidence in Jesus. So I invite all of you just to take a moment of silence, to pray and ask God to work these truths in your life.