Sermon Cloud

© Eric M Schumacher – Preached February 18, 2007 at Northbrook Baptist Church, Cedar Rapids, Iowa

In 1 Peter 1:1, Peter describes the Christians that he is writing to as “elect exiles.” It is a term that hearkens back to the Old Testament, in which Israel, as God’s chosen nation, lived in foreign lands outside of the Promised Land.

Peter adopts this term for Christians. Christians are elect exiles. In verses 3-5, Peter describes them as God’s chosen people, sojourning in a foreign land and waiting for an inheritance to be revealed at the appearance of the King.

Christians are not simply “elect exiles,” they are persecuted and afflicted. Peter says in verse 6 that while waiting, Christians go through various trials, which test the genuineness of their faith. Faith that perseveres in trust God and walking in righteousness, even in the face of suffering, is the faith that obtains salvation.

Suffering for Righteousness SakePeter is well aware that those who trust in the Lord and walk in holiness will be persecuted. As the letter unfolds, Peter’s emphasis on how Christians are to respond to suffering grows stronger.

We should pause here to note an important point, something we cannot afford to overlook even on a day when we celebrate baptisms—Christians should expect to suffer for righteousness sake.

Jesus taught his disciples this:

Matthew 10:21-22 Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

Jesus taught that his followers could expect their own family members to persecute them for their faith. And, he said that is only the one who endures to the end (who does not abandon his faith in the face of persecution) who will be saved.

In Acts 14:22, Paul and Barnabas were, “strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.” The only way to enter the kingdom of God is through many tribulations. Therefore, when the believers were facing tribulation, they should be encouraged that they are on the right path!

This is what Paul told Timothy to expect in 2 Timothy 3:12: “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted...”

Suffering, for the Christian, is to be expected. Travis and Matt, as you are baptized today, you should not profess your faith expecting that a life committed to Jesus Christ will be smooth and easy. As you trust in Jesus and live a holy life, you should expect to be persecuted for it—by the world, by your co-workers, by your friends and even by your family.

The question you must ask is not “Will I suffer?” but “How should I respond when I do suffer?”

Responding to Suffering
In 3:13-17, Peter addresses how believers are to respond to suffering. He begins by asking a rhetorical question to emphasize that ultimately (at the final judgment) there is no one who can harm you if you are zealous for what is good.

Even so, if we should suffer for righteousness’ sake, Peter promised that we will be blessed. Therefore, we should not be troubled by suffering. We should not be afraid of those persecute us. Rather, we should regard Christ the Lord as holy. We should be prepared to gently and respectfully give an answer for why we have hope.

Peter assures us that “it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.”

Christian suffering is to be received with the hope-filled expectation of blessing.

How Can We Be Assured of This?
That is easy to say. It is hard to receive. How can Peter be so certain? How can he say with confidence that those who suffer for righteousness’ sake will be blessed? And, where can we, as Christians, find the strength to suffer with such hope? If we are to respond to suffering with the expectation of blessing, we need a firm foundation for that promise.

In our passage this morning, 1 Peter 3:18-22, Peter offers answers to these questions and a reason for us to find hope in the face of suffering. Baptism, as we shall see, is a comfort and assurance to the Christian in the day of suffering.
Peter’s basic argument in this paragraph is that Christians may be confident that they will be blessed when they suffer because they have been united with Jesus Christ in his suffering, resurrection and reign, which baptism represents.

Jesus, Suffering and Glory
Peter calls to our attention that:
1) Jesus suffered and died.
Jesus, like believers, once suffered and was “put to death in the flesh.”

2) Jesus was raised from the dead through the power of the Holy Spirit, in which he proclaimed his victory over evil spirits.
The Spirit made Jesus alive. And, through the Spirit, Jesus proclaimed his victory over the spirits in prison. This, I believe, refers to the angels in Genesis 6 that left their appointed realm to take human women as wives. Somehow, somewhere, Jesus proclaimed his resurrection victory to these spirits through the Spirit.

3) Jesus is now exalted to the right hand of God and rules over the forces of evil.
Peter says in verse 22 that Jesus has gone into heaven and is now at the right hand of God. He pictures Jesus as already ruling as King, since he says that the angels, authorities and powers have been subjected to him.

So, to summarize, Peter tells us that: Jesus died. Jesus rose. Jesus reigns. Despite his sufferings, Jesus was vindicated and is victorious.

Peter stands sees believers as united with Christ in such a way that what is true of Jesus Christ is also true of the believer. If he has victory and reigns, then we shall too.

What Does This Have to Do With Baptism?
So, what does that have to do with Baptism? (That is, after all, why we are looking at this passage!) As Peter thinks about the victory Christ has achieved over evil, disobedient spirits, and the suffering that Christians endure now, his mind is drawn back to Noah.

In Noah’s day, God endured disobedience with patience while the ark was being prepared. Then, once salvation was prepared, a few people (only eight) entered into the ark.

After they entered the ark, the waters began to fall. Water in the Old Testament was often depicted as a force of destruction and death.

Noah and his family went through the waters of death, but they emerged safely. That is because the ark brought them safely through. When they came out the ark, they found that the waters that judged the world are the waters that saved them.

Noah and his family were saved by being protected by the ark as the water’s of God’s wrath fell on the earth and cleansed it. When the waters receded and Noah and his family came out, they entered into a whole new world—the old had gone and the new had come. The old earth had died and a new earth had been resurrected.

The Flood and Baptism
Peter sees the salvation that God brought to Noah as a foreshadowing of the salvation that is represented in baptism.

Peter makes the startlingly claim, “Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you.” How is it that Peter can say, “Baptism now saves you”? It is obvious that Peter is speaking of water baptism—it was water that came in the flood.

Peter is quick to dismiss the idea that the ceremony saves us. Peter quickly says that it is not the application of water to the body that brings us salvation.

Rather, baptism is an “appeal to God for a good conscience.” Baptism, says Peter, is the “sinner’s prayer.” Baptism is a way of saying, with the whole body, “God, I am a sinner. I need to be cleansed. I ask you to give me a good conscience—to forgive my sins.”

Through the Resurrection of Jesus Christ
Peter says the salvation comes “through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” This goes back to Peter’s understanding of what Jesus was doing when he died and rose from the dead.

Peter points out that what Jesus Christ did, he did for our salvation.

Jesus suffered for our sins. In 1 Peter 2:24, we read, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.”

The Bible teaches that “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 3:23). The person who sins against God deserves to die. Yet, Peter depicts Christ as dying as a substitute who satisfies the penalty. “Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous.”

The New Testament teaches that the one who has faith in Jesus Christ is united with him in his death and resurrection. If we have faith in Jesus Christ, then we have been united with Jesus Christ. If he died for sins, then we have died for sins. If he rose from the dead, then we are raised with him.

Baptism is a symbolic of our union with Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul writes:
Romans 6:3-8 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.

When we go under the waters of baptism, it is symbolic of us being buried with Jesus in his death. When we come out of the waters, it is symbolic of us being raised with Jesus from the dead.

Baptism is a whole-body expression of faith in Jesus Christ. Baptism is way of saying with our whole body, for the world to see, “I believe that I am a sinner. I believe that I have died with Jesus Christ on the cross for my sins. I believe that Jesus Christ rose from the dead to give me life. God, on the basis of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection, I ask you to cleanse me from my sins, to forgive me and to give me new life in Jesus.”

Implications
Simply going through the ritual of baptism is not enough to save you. Being immersed in water and brought back out is worth nothing, if it is not does not represent an appeal of faith.

Doing certain works—like being baptized, or attending church, or having a church wedding or funeral—earn you absolutely no favor with God. The only way to be saved is to die with Jesus Christ for your sins and to be raised with Jesus Christ into new life. This salvation only comes by trusting in Jesus Christ.

This is why we do not “baptize” infants. Since baptism is an appeal to God for a good conscience or it is worthless. We cannot administer baptism to anyone unless we can say with a good degree of certainty that they recognize they are a sinner and that they are appealing to God for salvation through Jesus’ death and resurrection. So the person that we baptize must be able to offer a credible statement of their repentance from sins and faith in Jesus Christ. If they cannot do that, then we cannot be certain they believe in Jesus. If we cannot be certain that they are appealing to God for salvation through Christ alone, then we must withhold the sign of that appeal.

How Does This Apply to Suffering and the Christian Life?
The Christian’s baptism then is a source of great comfort. It is not a comfort because it is seen as some saving ritual. Baptism is a comfort because it reminds us that we are united with Jesus in his death, his resurrection and his reign in glory.
We can be certain that we will be blessed when we suffer for righteousness’ sake, because as believers our destiny is united with Jesus Christ. If Jesus has the victory over evil spirits, then he certainly will have the victory over those who persecute us now.

Peter’s argument is that if Jesus died for our sins to bring us to God, was raised from the dead and is now at the right hand of God, then our victory is certain. Even if we must suffer for a little while, we can be confident that the victory is already won through our Savior who has died, risen and is now reigning.

We may be like Noah and his family now—a small fledging group of believers in the face of an over-whelming majority of disobedient oppressors in the world. Yet, when the floodwaters of God’s wrath fall on this world one day, we need not be afraid. God’s wrath for our sins has already fallen on Jesus. He is our ark. We have already been carried safely through the waters of death and are and shall be saved.

If you are an unbeliever this morning, I encourage you to appeal to God for a good conscience. See yourself as a sinner. See yourself as deserving the flood of God’s wrath to be poured out upon you. See Jesus Christ as an ark into which you can run for shelter—the sacrifice offered in the place of sinners, the risen and reigning victorious King.

If you are a believer this morning – let your baptism in Jesus Christ shape your entire life. Let it give you confidence, strength, comfort and assurance as you face suffering—whether that be the suffering of persecutors or of disease and death. Remember that you are united with one who suffered and conquered. You too will conquer with him.

If you have appealed to God for a good conscience through Jesus’ death and resurrection, then God has washed you clean. If you have died with him, surely you shall be raised with him.