1992 Issue 7 - Sermon on I Peter 3:17-22 - The Experience of Suffering in the Life of Jesus Christ - Counsel of Chalcedon

8/12/2019 1992 Issue 7 - Sermon on I Peter 3:17-22 - The Experience of Suffering in the Life of Jesus Christ - Counsel of Cha

1/5

For t s better, i God should will it so

thatyousufferJordoingwhatis right rather

thanJordoingwhatis

wrong. For Christalso

died Jor sins once Jor

all,

the

just

Jor the

unjust,

in

order

that

He might

bring

us to

God, havingbeenputtodeath in thejlesh, but

m o d e a l i v e i n t h e s p i r i ~ i n w h k h a l s o H e w e n t

and madeproclamation to

the spirits

now in

prison, who

once

were

disobedient,

when

the

patience oj God kept waiting in

the

days oj

Noah,

during the construction oj

the

ark, in

which Jew, that is, eight persons, were

brought saJely through thewater.

And corresponding to that,

baptism

now

saves

y u not the

removal

oj dirt

Jrom the lesh,

but an appeal to

od

Jor good

conscience-

through the resurrectiOn oj

jesus Christ, Who is at the right

hand

oj

God,

having

gone

into

heaven, aJter angels

and

authorities and powers

had

been subjected to Him.

I Peter 3:

17:22

Sometimes a Christian

will

be called upon

to suffer

undeservedly

for

thinking

and behaving as a Christian.

WhenhedoesitisGod'swill,

vs.

17.

When

we

go

through

these

difficult timesfaithfully,

weare nevermore

like Christ,

and never closer

to

Him.

We are

experiencing "the fellowship of His

sufferings."

Furthermore, our suffering

for

righteousness' sake brings

great benefit,

not

only

to us, but also to other

people.

The PROOF that this is true, and the

MOTIVE forrejoicingwhen we suffer for

Christ

is

none other than the experience

ofundeserved suffering in the ife

of]esus

Christ Himself, the prince of sufferers.

Believingmeditarion on the sufferings of

Christ their nature, purpose and

consequences will reconcile the

Christiantoundeserved persecution and

slander, and will

give

him support and

direction

while

being persecuted.

I Peter 3:17-22

has two

main focal

points: (1).

THE

INCOMPARABLE

SUFFERER,

and (2). HIS INCOM

PARABLE

SUFFERlNG.

The Incomparable Sufferer

Jesus Christ is the incomparable

sufferer.

Understanding Who He is is

essential

to

understanding the nature of

His suffering and the meaning of is

death. In our

text

He is

given

a

two-fold

identification. (1). He is "the

Christ"

and

(2).

"the

just One" or "the righteous

One.

"Christ"

is the

Greek

word

for the

Hebrew word, "Messiah," meaning

"the

Anointed One." The Old Testament

prophesies that the promised, great,

messianic Deliverer would be anointed,

i.e., consecrated and equipped, by

Jehovah Himself.

He

would be

God's

anointed Prophet sent to earth to dispel

man's ignorance and pelverted thinking

caused by sin by bringing

to

him the light

of written revelation and Spiritual

enlightenment. He would be God's

anointed Priest sent to earth to become

the

sacrificial victim

for sin, taldngupon

Himself the guilt and punishment of sin

belonging to those for whom He died,

forgiving

them and setting them

free. He

would be

God's

anointed King sent to

earthtogovemtheunruly,sinful passions

of the human heart and restoring God's

orderfor Hiscreation, disrupted byman's

rebellion. And He does all this as "THE"

Christ,

"THE"

Anointed One from God.

He stands in a class by

Himself.

No one

else can accomplish what He can

accomplish. Without Him we can do

nothing.

This suffering Christ is also "the just

righteous One." This isa personal and an

official description ofChrist.

He

was and

is free from sin, in heart and life,

completely conformed

to

all the

reqUirements

of the holy, just and good

Law of God. Hischaracteris

not merely free of

faults,

it is

distinguished

by every

possible moral perfection n

his mind and conduct. He

did

fullyall

thatGod required

of Him as our MeSSiah,

cheerfully and perfectly. He

suffered all that

God

appointed

for

Him. He

faithfully accomplished all

that Godsent Him to earth

to

accomplish glorify

Godin

the eternal salvation ofGod's

chosen people. And He did

all thisas "THE" just One. Of

all

the sons ofAdam,He, and

He alone, is just

and

righteous. The rest of the

human

race

is unjust.

He

is Jehovah our

Righteousnessinourhumanity, in Whom

alone any unrighteous sinner can find

righteousness by believing in Him.

If]esusis the Christ, anointed by God

tobetherevealerofthewillofGodforus,

HearHim . His word is the word ofGod.

Don't play around with it. Submit to it.

If] esusis the Christ, anointed by God

to

be the One who atones

for

human

guilt, Rest in Him Rest in His great

sacrifice

of Himself

for

your salvation.

If] esusis the Christ, anointed by God

to

be

King

in the world and church,

Bow

to

Him

Leam His laws and walk

according to them, depending upon the

power of His Spirit to obey them.

July/August, 1992 4 TIlE COUNSEL

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If

esus is

The Righteous

One, stop

o:yingtoestablishyouroWnrighteousness

with God Stop uying to impress

God

with how good you

are.

You

can do

notbing to impressHim drrist'sperfect

life impresses God. Rest in

His perfect

life and His atoning death

as

the

only

basis for right standing with

God.

If Christ, TheRighteousOne,suffered

so

intensely forus, how

terrible

sin must

be. Howweshouldhatesinandlovethe

Savior Nothing strengthens Christian

faitl .Jillllessmore

trum hCkt-red

for s nand

love for the Savior.

His Incomparable SufIenng

Astateofsufferingwasnottheoriginal

condition of the Son ofGod. From

all

eternity He ived in the

blessedness

of he

Holy

Trinity. But when He took upon

Himself our humanityin orderto obtain

our eternal redemption,

He

by

necessity

became a

sufferer.

By divine appointment His

suffering

wentfarbeyondthesufferingexperienced

by any other man. It

was

inllicted upon

imbyHis humanenemies,

His friends,

and by Satan and his

demons.

But,

His

mostseveresufferingwasinllictedbythe

hand of God as the manifestation of

His

holy anger at the

sins

of those in whose

place

He

stood. "These

sufferings

of

His

soul were the soul of

His

sufferings."-

John Brown. It is written in Isaiah

53:4,6,lO:

Surely ourgriifs He Himselfbore,

andoursorrowsHecamed;yetweourselves

esteemedHim

stricken, smittenofGod,

and

ciffticted. - All ofus

like

sheep have

gone

astray,

eachofus

has

turned to hisow way;

but

th Lordhas caused

theiniquily

ofusall

to

fall

o

Him.

-

But

the

Lord was pleased

to

crush Him,

putting

Him

to griif; i

He

would render

Himself

as a

gpilt

offering ...

What His sufferings were, no

oneknew, noonecaneverknow, but

He

who endured

them

and He

who

ilif/icted

them. Never was there

a

sufferer like Christ,

TheJust

One.

PART I:

TIlE

NATURE OF diedfortheungodly. Foronewillhardly

CHRIST'S SUFFERING

die for a

righteous

man; though perhaps

for the good man someone would dare

Two

phrases

in verse 18

describe the

even to die. But God demonstrates

His

nature of

Christ's

suffering:

"Christ also own love

toward us, in that while

we

died for

sins,"

and

"the

just (died)for

the

were

sinners,

Christ

died

for us," Rom.

unjust." hese twO expressions teach us 5:8-10. "The Son ofMan came not to

be

that Christ's suffering

was

penal, served,but to serve; and

to

give

His life a

vicarious and propitiatory. ransom

for

many," Mk

10:45.

But

He

First, Christ's

suffering

was penal, was pierced through for our

i.e.,justpunishmentforsin. Theprimary. transgressions,

He was

crushed for our

objective of Christ's suffering was

to iniquities; the chastening

for our well-

manifestthehatredofGodforsin.

Christ beingfe1luponHim,andbyHisscourgmg

was treated

by

God

as the

most

wicked we

are

healed.

All of us

like sheep

have

siimerwho

ever

lived, orwhowouldever gone astray,

each

ofus has mmed

to

his

live. From

His

conception through

His

own way; but the

Lord

has caused

the

burial, God punished]esus

with all

the iniquityofusalltofaU

onHirn,"

Isa. 53:5-

penalties

of

violating God's holy Law. It 6.As

a result

of the anguish

QfHis

soul,

was

all the result ofGod's decree:

"God

He will see it and be satisfied; by His

sent fonh

His Son,

made of a

woman,

knowledge

The Righteous

One,

My

made under

the

Law,"

Gal. 4:4.The

Servant,

wiUjustiJYthemany, as He will

Lord laid onHim the iniquity ofus

all,"

bear their iniquities. - ..He HimseIf

Isaiah53:6., "He(God)madeHim(Jesus) bore

the

sin ofmany, and interceded for

who knew no sin

to

be sin our our

the " sa 53 11 12

ransgressors. . : - .

behalf .. ," II Cor. 5:21.

Third,

Christ's suffering was

Pontius

Pilate

had an inscription

propitiatory.

A propitiation, or

placed

Over Jesus'

head on

the

cross, propitiatory sacrifice is an offering that

which

read, "Jesus the

Nazarene,

the

turns away the wrath of

God.

The

King

of

the Jews," In

19:19.

Another

consistent Bible view

is

that the sin of

inscription could also be

placed

there; manhasincurredthewrathofGod. That

"The

Victim

of

Guilt

TheWagesofSin " wrathisavertedonlybyChrist'satoning

Second, Christ's suffering was offering.Fromthisstandpointhissaving

vicarious.

How

could one so

righteous

work is properly called propitiation."

andso pure, sufferat the hands of

Godso

l.eonMorris,Baher sDictionaryojTheology

painfully?

He deserved no suffering or Jesus suffered vicariously the

punishment whatsoever. Did God punishmemwedeserve,inorderthatHe

fiendishly

and

sadistically brutalize His might mm

away God's holy anger from

Son, so unjustly and inexplicably? No us, satisJY God's perfect justice for us,

An infinity of No's Christ suffered honor God's law in our

place,

restore

vicariously as a

Substimte

for

sinners.

God'smoralorder,whichwehadviolated,

The RighteousOne

suffered

and

died

in

so

that sinners might

be

forgiven and

the

place

of the unrighteous

ones.

We reconciled with

God.

deserved

to die accursed anddamned for

our

sin

Jesus, standing in our place, God exhausted fully all the demands

sufferednotwhatHepersonallydeserved,

of

God's

justice on

Jesus,

who

offered

but what

we

deserved. ..He Himself

Himselfasaperfectandcompletesacrifice

bore

our sins

in

His

body on

the cross, for

human sin. He made

Himself,

that

we

might

die to

sin and

live to

throughout His life, liable to the

righteousness; for

by His

wounds you vengeance of

God's justice;

until

He

were healed,"

IPet. 2:24. "For

while we completely

paid the debt with which

He

werestillhelpless,at the right timeChrist was

charged

and

which

we owed. He,as

1 I

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COUNSEL

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July/Angust, 1992


3/5

our propitiation, IJn.

2:

If, turned God's

anger away

from

us by means of His

obedient

life

and violent death in our

place. God displayed Christ publicly

as

our

propitiation,

ourpropitiatorysaaifice

in His blood through

faith,

Rom.3:25.

..now once

at

the consummation He

0esus)

has

been

manifested

to put away

sin by the

sacrifice

of

Himself.

-

...so

Christ also, having been offered once to

bear the sins of many, shall

appear

a

second time, not o bearsin, to

those

who

eagerly await Him, for

salvation,"

Heb.

9:26-28.

Daniel tells us that the

Messiah would "finish the

transgression,

make an end

ofsin, make atonement

for

iniquity, (and) bring in

everlasting

righteousness,"

9:24.

If it is true that Christ's

sufferings were penal,

vicarious and propitiatory,

then, how terrifying and

horrible and certain

will

be

the eternal destruction of

everybodywho does notbelieve and rest

in the penal, vicarious, propitiatory

sufferings ofjesusChrist for

hissalvation,

Acts

16:31. Nowhereisthislessonmore

clearly

and

graphically given

that at the

crossofChrist- Itls

afearful thingtofall

into thehandsoftheLivingGodl IfGoddid

not spare His Son, standing in the place

of sinners, it

is

absolutely certain

that

He

will

not spare the person

who

refuses

to

seek refuge in Christ. No

forgiveness

withoutsatisfaaion ofdivine

justice

No

satisfactionexcept inJesus

Christ raise

God forJohn 3:16- ForGodso

loved the

world that He gave His only begotten Son,

that whosoever believes in

Him

should

not

perish, but have

everlasting

life.

THE GOAL

OF CHRIST'S SUFFERING:

TO

BRING US

TO

GOD"

To be brought to

God

implies

four

things:

(1). To

be brought into a true

knowledge of God;

(2).

To be brought

into

God's

favor;

(3). To

be brought into

a renewed resemblance

to God;

and

(4).

To

be brought into intimate communion

with

God.

First, by His death, Christ brings us

into a true knowledge of God. We

cannot

fellowship

withGod until

we first

know Him, correctly, savingly and

personally. To

be brought near Godis

to

know God.

However, two

things

are

required

to

knowGod,just

as

two things

are

needed to

see

a

tree:

Light and

eyes.

Ifwe have

good

eyes

andclearvision,but

the

tree

stands in total darkness,

we

cannot

see it. If

the tree stands in broad

daylight,

but

we

are

blind,we cannot

see

it. So it is with

knowing

God. We need:

1). the light

of

an objective, written and

inerrant revelation

of

the character and

will of

God,

i.e.,

the

Bible; and (2).

the

restoration

of sight to

the eyes

of

the

human spirit subjectively, and the

enlightenment of our inner

life,

by

the

Holy

Spirit, counteracting the

effects of

sinonourheanandmind,and

powerfully

convindng us of the authority and

meaning of that

revelation

from

God.

How does the suffering and death of

Christ do this? Without Christ'satoning

death there would have been no biblical

revelation or enlightenment of

he

Spirit.

Why?

Because God

gives

all His

gifts

through the mediation of

His

Son. "He

who

didnotspare His ownSon,but delivered

Him

up

for

us all, how will He not also

with

Him

freely give us all

things?"- Rom. 8:32.

Christ purchased the Bible and the Spirit

for us by

His

death. There would be no

Bible

and no Spirit without

Calvary

John

16:

1-15and 14:26linktogether:

(1). the death of Christ, making possible

(2).

the sending of the Holy Spirit, to

enlightenusconceming(3). therevelation

of Christ n the

Bible,

by which believers

will

(4).

know God. Jesus said: "These

things

I have

spoken

to

you, thatyou m y be

keptfrom

stumbling.

They will nwke you

outcasts

from

the synagogue;

but an

hour

is coming for

everyone

who killsyou to think

that he Is offering

service to

God. And these things they

will do, because they have not

known

the Father, or Me.

-

But

now

I

am going

to

Him

who sent

Me....

-

But

I

tell

you the truth, it

Is

to your

advantage

that I go away;

for

if

do notgo

awCo/

the

Helper

shall not

wme

to

YOU;

but

if

go, I

will send Him to

you.

-

But when

He,

the

Spirit of

Truth,

wmes,

He will

guide

you into all the Truth;Jor He

will

not

speak

onHis owninitiative,

butwhateverHe

hears,

He will speak; and He will disclose

to

you

whatls

to

wme.

He

shall

glorify Me;Jor

He

shall takeofMine, and

shall

dlscloseit toyou.

All

things

that the Father has are Mine;

therifore

I

said,

that He takes ofMine, and

will disclose it to

you.

But the Helper, the

HolySpirit,

whom

theFatherwill sendinMy

Name, He

will

teachyouall things, andbring

toyour remembrance all that

I said

toyou.

Think what it cost Christ in order for

us to

have

the

Bible

and the Holy Spirit

The Bible is

a blood-bought

Book

How

much

we

shouldvalue it and studyit.

Be

lessconcerned withself-esteemandmore

concerned with developing a higher

esteem for the

Bible.

Cherish the

Biblel

Don't grieve or quench the

Holy

Spirit

Christ

suffered

incomparably and shed

His

predous blood, becauseHe thought

it was that important

for

you

to

have the

Bible and the Holy Spirit.

July/August, 1992

TH

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4/5

Second,

byHis death, Christ brings

us into favor with God. He

brings

us

from

a state of hostility to a

state of

reconciliation with God. Forljwhllewe

were

enemies,

we were reconciled to God

through

the death

ofHis

Son, much

more,

having

been recOnciled,

we shall

be 5avedby

His

life,

Rom.

5:

10.

n

the

beginning God and man were

friends;

Man

was devoted to

God,

loved

Him, obeyed, worshipedandservedHim.

Sin

revolutionized

everything God and

man.

became

enemies.

God did

not

change,

man

did Now, because man's

heart

was

filled with hatred

for

God,

God's

hean

was

filled

with holy anger

toward sinful

man,

Rom.

1:18. Now

fatlen man is far from God

because

ofhis

rebellion.

Is

reconciliation

possible?

Are the

things that separate God and man

insurmountable? With man it is

imposSible,

but not with God. How

c n

Goddoit? NotbydisregardingHisword

orHisjuslice, but byprovidingthepeual,

vicarious,

propitiatory sacrifice

of the

incarnate Son of God in

the

place of

sinners.

Whathadto bedone

forreconciliation

to t ke place between God

and

men,

before

men could

be

brought

into God's

favor and

acceptance?

Man's hostility

toward God had to be removed. God's

anger had to be appeased. God justice

had

to

be

sarisfied. God's law

had

to be

honored. God's moral

order

had

to be

restored and maintained.

And the Lord

Jesus

Christdidallthis

by

hispropitiatory

sacrifice

in behalf of

sinners, taking the

punishmenttheirsins

deserved.

"Godw(lS

in

Christ reconciling the

world to

Himself,

not

counting their

trespasses

against

them,

and He

has

committed

to

us

the

word of

reconciliation.-He GoeD madeHim (Jesus)

who knew

no

sin to

be

sin on

our

behalf, that

wemightbe(ome the righteousness ofGodin

Him."

Rom. 5:19-2l.

Christ,

our

Passover

Lunb, has

been

sacrificed

for

us, therefore, let us "keep

thefeast; by believinginHim,

by resting

in

Him alone for salvation, by showing

OUT gratitude

to

Him

indaily obedience,

and

by

our regular participation

in

the

Lord's

Supper.

Third,

by

His death, Christ brings us

into a new Resemblance

to God,

renewing the likeness to

God

and

restoring

the image

qf

God

in

us. The

goal

of Christ's sufferings was to bringus

out ofastate ofmoral dissimilarity

into

a

state ofmoral resemblance to

God. God

created

man

in His image, as "God in

miPiatllte

n

~ ~

is

not God, but J: 1..e I}. aS

created to resemble Him

morally. Sin

perverted

that

image so that jt is

hatdly

recognizable. Nowman"bates the light"

and "loves

the darkness." l3ut

God

sent

Christ to restore that divine ilnage in us,

.

to revetse the

effects

of

sin in

us, and to

enable

us,

who

believe inHim, to

live

in

such a way as

to

remind

people

of God,

Rom. 8:29; IPet.

1:16, "loving the

light"

and

"hating the

darkness;

being

holy,

for God

is

holy.

Christ's death

has 'secured for us

sanctification, as well as salvation

from

the punishment

of

sin.

"Sanctification

is

the work of God's

free

grace, wherebywe

are renewed in the

whole

man after

the

image of God,

and

are enabled more and

more

to

die

unto

sin,

and

live

unto

righteousness." -

Westminster

Shorter

Catechism

The New Testamenthasmuch to say

about the relation of Christ's atonement

and

our

sanctification. "He Himselfbore

our sins in His

body

on

the

cross, thilt we

might die

to

sin and live

to

righteousness .. ,

I

Pet.

2:24.

Christ gave

Himself

for

us,

thatHemightredeem usfrom every lawless

deed andpurify

for

Himselfa

people

or His

own

posseSsion,

zealous orgooddeeds,

"Tit.

2:14. Husbands,

love

your wives, just as

ChristalsolovedthechurchandgaveHimself

up

orher; thatHemightsanctify

her,

having

cleansedherby thewashingofwaterwith

the

word,

that

He

might

present to Himself the

church in all

her

glory, having no

spot

or

Wrinkle or any such thing; but that she

should

be

holy and blameless, Eph. 5:25"

2 TIlE COUNSEL of Chalcedon July/Angust 992

27.

And

for

their sakes sanctify Myself,

that

they

themselves also may

be

sanctified

in

truth,

In.

17:19. Thenjorewe have

been buried with Him

through

baptism Into

death, in order that

as

Christ was raised

from the dead through the glory

of

the

Father, s

we too might walk in newness of

life,

Rom.

6:4.

To

understand the relationship

between

Christ's atonement

and our

santtification

is

the

essence

of

godlirtess.

(1).

By

Christ's atonement, satisfying

God'sjusliceandbeingthebasisofChrist's

exaltation, ll obstacles in

the

way of

being restored to

God's

image-the

condemnationofthelE.WandthetyIllllIly

of

Satan-are removed.

(2).

By Christ's

atonement, asthe

basis

forthe fulfillment

of the covenant promises. of God, the

sanctifying influence

of

the Holy Spirit is

securedforus. (3).ByChrist'satonement,

the

Biblewassecured

forus asapowerful

sanctifying

instrument

in

our

lives. (4).

ByChrist'satonement,

we

haveconrinual

cleansingand

forgiveness

ofsin through

ourconfessionofsin, IJohn

1:9-2:2. (5).

By Christ's atonement,

we'

are 'able to

enjoy walking

in God's

favor

daily, I In.

1:3,7.

Fourth,

by

His

death, Christ brings

usinto

intimate

Commuruon

with

God.

He died.

to bring

us out

of

a

state of

alienation into

a

state of

dose,

personal,

never-endingfiiendshipandcommunion

with

God. By

Christ's

atonement, the

believerenjoysdailyfcllowshipwithGod

in

Christ.

He

walks with

God.

..

if

we

walk In the light as

He

himselfis in

the

light,

we havefellowshipwithoneanother,

andthe

blood

of esus His

Son

cleanses

us from

all

sin, IJn.l:7.

..byHiswoundsyouwere

healed. For

you were

continually strcrying

like

sheep,

butnow

you

have returned

to

the

ShepherdandGuardianofyoursouls,

"IPet.

2:24-25. l do not ask in behalf of these

alone, but for those also who believe in Me

through

theirword; that they

1l14)I

all

beone;

even

as

Thou

Father,

are in Me, and in

Thee, thattheyalso1l14)lbe in Us

...

-

lin

them, and Thou in Me, that

they

1l14)Ibe

peifectedinunily

...

- Father, desire

that


5/5

they

also whom

Thou

hastgiven

Me

be

with

Me where

I

am,

in

order that they l'1Ury

behold My

lory

,

In.

17:20-24.

Fellowship or Communion

denotes

two

ideas:

(1).

a shared

possessionand(2).amutualintercourse.

Both of these ideas describe the

communion

we

have

with

God

because

of the suffering of Christ.

Being

conformed to

the

image

of

God

and

obedient to Hisword, we think about

the

same things, will

the

same things, choose

the

same things,

delight in the

same

things, and enjoy the same things.

We

10vewhatHeloves,

desirewhatHe

desires,

and

hate

whatHe hates. We experience

an

inteochange

of thoughts,words

and

affections. We

share with him our

thoughts and words

as

we worship Him

in

prayer and

praise.

Wesharealiections

with

Him

as

we

worship Him and

serve

Him. He shares His thoughts andwords

with us in

the

Bible.

And

he

lavishes

our

days with

His

kisses,

His tokens of

affection

by

His

providence.

n he

begirmingrnanenjoyed

perfect

fellowship with

God,butlostitbyhissin.

Nowhecarmotgetitbackbyhimself. To

re-penthat

fellowship, Chrtst'ssuRetings

were

necessary.

By bringing

us to

Reconciliation with God and

to

a

renewed Resemblance to

God, the way

is open for Restored Communion with

the Father and Free Access

to Him

throughthepersonandworkofClnistin

the

power

of the Holy Spirit, Eph. 2:18.

Before

twO people can walk together

as

friends,

they

have to be agreed,

Amos

3:3; II Cor. 6:

14.

f

wo

people

are

atwar

with each other, they cannot enjoy

fellowship

with each other.

And

if two

people have absolutely nothing in

common with each other

they

cannot

feUowshipwitheachother. Christhadto

reconcile us to God and restore God's

image

in us,

before

we

could

have

communion with Him by

faith.

Now

God takes great delight in

communing with

His

blood-bought

friends;

and

we

cannot but

be

happy in

ourdailywalkingwithHim. Wemaintain

this communion

by

private, family and

congregational worship.

CONCLUSION

TO PART I

l.We have seen the

great

purpose

of

the

penal, vicarious,

propitiatotysuliering

and death

ofJesus Christ,

The

Righteous

One: to

bring

us to

God;

to

bringus

from

ignorance

to lmowledge, from

hostility

to friendship,

from

dissimilarity to

resemblance, and

from

alienation to

fellowship.

We

have

also seen

how

Christ

accomplishes these things.

Now ask yourself these questions:

Have 1

through

faith

in

Christ's

blood,

been brought

to

God?

Am

I

being

reformed

into

His

image?

'Am

I

enjoying

fellowship

with Him?

Has Christ delivered me

&om

sin,

Satan and

this

present

evil world?

Is my mind

being

conformed

to God's

mind, and

my will to His

will?

Is

this conformity

to

God in

me

increasing?

Can I say, Truly,

my

fellowship is with

the Fatherand withHis Son,JesusChrist;

my conversation is in Heaven; my

affections

are

set

on

things

above ?

2.

Western Civilization

was

built on

this

faith

in the atoning death of Jesus

Christ;

and,

therefore,

it became

known

for

its high

morality,

its enjoyment of

liberty, and its superior productivity.

This happened

because faith

in Christ

always

brings:

1).

a desire to obey God

out of gratitude;

(2). freedom

from the

guilt and tyranny ofsin;

(3).

an ability to

work for

God and

for

the future, because

the squelching guilt of sin

has

been

removed; and

(4).

an ability to treat

people with

similar

compassion.

Twentieth Century America has

almost

entirely

repudiated its original

foundationandisnowbuiltonaprindple

ofrevolt

against God

and on faith

inman.

Therefore,

we

are

seeing the collapse of

morality, the disappearance

of

liberty,

the perversion of

compassion and the

emban'a5Sing decline

of productivity.

WHY

Without

faith

in the atoning

death

of

Jesus

Christ,

our culture

is

a

guilt-ridden, guilt- driven and

guik

manipulated sodety, therefore, sado

masochistic and suicidal.

Therefore, the starting point

in

changing

the moral,

political, social and

economic

chaos

in America today

is

to

persuade people ofthe penal, vicarious,

propitiatory

saCrifice

we

have

in Christ,

and

to

press them to put their

faith

in

Christ alone

for

salvation.

3. Donotbesatisfied withanythingin

this

life

shott of conformity to and

fellowship with God in Christ. Thereis

no

possibilityofbeingconformed to God

until

we

are

recondled to

God;

it

is

at the

cross that

the pilgrim

loses his burden;

and there

is

no being recondled to

God

without beingconformedto Him. -John

Brown, the First pistle

o

Peter Q

To

be

continued next issue.

July/August, 1992 TIlE COUNSELof Chalcedon 13

Documents

1992 Issue 7 - Sermon on I Peter 3:17-22 - The Experience of Suffering in the Life of Jesus Christ - Counsel of Chalcedon