Sermon May 21, 2023 - Cody Harlow

Today we're talking about Gospel truths and Gospel Mysteries Gospel truths and Gospel Mysteries if you read ahead in our passage today you know exactly what I'm talking about and yeah that's what we're going to be going over we're going to be in versus First Peter chapter 3 verses 18 through 20. It's a good day to celebrate baptism as well where where did where's Justin where's he at where is he at there he is and there's Jason right

There what a wonderful glorious picture of the Gospel remember that baptism does not save you okay doesn't but it is that first step of obedience and we're just thrilled to see you take that first step and we celebrate with that with you as a as a church family now so woohoo praise the Lord [Music] and maybe you don't have your baptism on the right side of your salvation maybe you're baptized as a baby get that right just follow the Lord and obedience that's just what we see in Scripture repent be baptized repent and be baptized so repent and why don't you stand with me in honor of God's word as we read First Peter chapter three we're going to be in verses 18 through 20 as we dive into this passage it says this 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 let's pray and so God thank you for your word help us to understand what you mean by this passage Lord don't let these be just simply the views of a man but rightly dividing truth from error Lord we pray that you would do that in our hearts and in our minds today that we would walk in righteousness that we would not be so consumed with the mysteries of the passage but the truths that are contained therein Lord help us to seek out not just the mysteries of this passage but the mystery of the cross in the glory of Jesus Christ and I pray

For the many Souls that are here if there's anyone here that does not know you as their Lord and Savior May today o God today be that day of salvation we love you we thank you in Jesus name amen well to reset where we're at we've been talking a lot about suffering over the past several weeks months and the Apostle Peter he knew quite a bit about suffering he was beaten with rods we know that based on the testimony of Scripture in the book of Acts he was imprisoned we know that he was maligned by Jewish leaders that he was cursed by the Romans Clement of Rome who was an early church father he lived during that same time of Peter and in the early 90s A.D he wrote this about Peter he said but to leave the ancient examples let us come to the heroes nearest ourselves let us consider the noble examples of our own generation through jealousy and envy the greatest and holiest pillars were persecuted and they endured to the death let us put before our eyes the good Apostles Peter being of unrighteous jealousy because of unrighteous jealousy underwent not one or two but many sufferings and having thus born testimony he went to his well-deserved place of glory and according to church tradition Peter he was actually crucified upside down in Rome now this man he knew quite a bit about suffering he knew what it was to do it well and yet he did not offer himself as the best example did he what does he point to who does he point to he points to Jesus and so the First Gospel truth that we're going to talk about today is that there is only one Christ one Christ Jesus is the only promised

One that came and saved us we don't have to look anywhere else for salvation we don't trust in a church we don't trust in a humanly person we don't trust in the location we don't even trust in one of our own works for salvation it is only because of Jesus Christ that we can have any hope at all and yet there will be many false christs that arise look at the testimony of Scripture here it says for Christ one and Jesus himself testified in Matthew chapter 24 verses four through five see that no one leads you astray for many will come in my name saying I am the Christ and they will lead many astray this happens in so-called churches across the country people are being misled to believe in a false Christ or maybe they constrain people to obey the Old Testament laws or the papacy or objectively just false teaching Peter he writes this in The Second Epistle because this was an ongoing issue that would reoccur and reoccur and reoccur not just in the early church but throughout church history here's what he says in Chapter 2 verses one through three but false prophets also arose among the people just as there will be false teachers among you who will be secretly bring in destructive heresies even denying the master who bought them bringing upon themselves with destruction and many will follow their sensuality and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed and in their greed they will exploit you with false Words Their condemnation from long ago is not idle and their destruction is not asleep you see false Christ they will come and go and the ones that follow them they are deceived because they cling to the words of those false christs rather than to the words of Scripture

See ultimately anyone that adds to the work of Christ take anyone that adds to justification you have to do this and fill in the blank they add to justification which ultimately takes away from the work that Christ did on the cross secondly write this down one payment there's one Christ one payment the passage says for Christ also suffered once for sins Peter's not bringing up a new Point here in chapter 2 verse 21 it says for to this you have been called because Christ also suffered for you leaving you an example so that you might follow in his steps see our suffering that we go through is not to atone for our sins I've met many people who they suffer through the consequences of their sins and they think that somehow that through their suffering they're making atonement for sin and yet we don't see that in Scripture we don't see that you're suffering cannot atone for your sin when David great wonderful apple of God's eye David sin grievously against the Lord the Judgment was the loss of his son and yet that loss of his son did not atone for his sin that was judgment not atonement and sometimes suffering is simply for our sanctification but suffering is never for our justification Jesus didn't suffer because of sins that he had committed because he was perfect he didn't have to sin to he didn't have sin to personally tone for atone for he suffered on the cross for your sin and my sin that's what put him there this is what we call theologically atonement through Jesus's death on the cross he reconciled mankind to the father and without atonement we would always and forever remain remain under the Gaze of the Most Holy Father with a penetrating gaze because we would

Be unclean and Unholy but remember the character of God remind yourself of the goodness of God I remember remember I remember as a kid hearing other children pray I was never really taught how to pray but I would hear other kids pray God is great God is good let us thank him for let us thank him for this food yeah and there's a word for that combines God's God's greatness and God's goodness and that word is holiness you see God he is infinitely holy and because God is so good and because God is so great listen we are neither great nor are we good in and of ourselves and so someone greater than us someone better than us had to come and bridge that gap for us to gain access to the father and that man that word that became flesh is Jesus Christ who came and he died and he offered payment as an atonement for our sin Christ Jesus he is that perfect payment and since his atonement there are no more sacrifices that are necessary for our salvation and so when Christians see others trying to reinstitute Old Testament laws and things like that and bring back Old Testament sacrificial systems it should actually grieve our hearts because they're rejecting the perfect offering that God offered on their behalf Jesus he is the greater Temple Jesus is the greater sacrifice in Hebrews chapter 9 verses 11 through 14 it says but when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come then through the greater and more perfect tent he entered once for all into the holy places not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood thus securing an eternal

Redemption for if the blood of goats and Bulls in the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer sanctify for the purification of the flesh how much more will the blood of Christ who through the eternal spirit offered himself without blemish to God purify our conscience from dead Works to serve the Living God Christ he has replaced that sacrificial system through one payment that's all that it took for Jesus the son of God to atone for the sins of anyone that would come to him continuing on in Hebrews chapter 9 starting in verses 24 through 28 that should be a dash there for Christ has entered not into holy places made with hands which are copies of the true things but into heaven itself now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf nor was it to offer himself repeatedly as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own for then he would have had to have suffered repeatedly since the foundation of the world but as it is he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself and just as it is appointed for man to die once and after that comes judgment so Christ having been offered once to Bear the sins of many will appear a second time not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him you see in Christ's first Advent he came to reconcile mankind to God and now we know that Christ's atonement was a one-time event Christ is not re-crucified every time that you come to him for salvation or even I shouldn't say salvation but to be forgiven of sin his payment was sufficient I remember in 2008 was a hard year for me personally I was a starving broke college student in Lynchburg Virginia I was working a minimum wage job at a J crew call center right and I

Go to the grocery store and I don't have like two pennies to rub together seriously and so I've got like a package of like the cheapest chicken I could find the smallest little thing had a couple of cans of vegetables I had some bread and some milk and so I go I go to check out swipe my card insufficient funds okay put aside a couple of cans put aside the milk swipe the card insufficient funds those are hard times aren't they and that's just like our works they are insufficient for salvation that's why we can't ever earn our salvation but by faith in the death burial and resurrection of Christ your account will no longer be insufficient but completely covered by the credit of Christ's righteousness Tim Keller he passed this week he was absolute giant of Christianity in the Modern Age May disagree with some of those things that he said but he did say this which was really good it says the Gospel says that you are simultaneously more sinful and flawed than you ever dared believed yet more loved and accepted than you ever dared hoped the third Gospel truth is that there is one substitute one substitute the Scripture says the righteous for the unrighteous doesn't sound like a fair trade does it on January 5th 1920 the worst trade in all of sports history occurred you know what I'm talking about don't you yeah Babe Ruth is traded from the Red Sox right in six seasons he led them to three World Series titles okay that's pretty good that's pretty good and he's traded for a hundred and twenty five thousand dollars the owner of the Red Sox wanted to fund a musical called No Nanette and so you know the Yankees get literally the epitome of legendary baseball people for 125 thousand

Dollars absolute terrible trade and yet we think about what happened at the cross that's an infinitely worse trade Christ suffered on the cross the righteous the only good the only perfect the most holy ever to walk on earth and he died to save Sinners Like Us it does not seem like a fair deal until you know about God's love and God's kindness and God's goodness and his desire not just to save Humanity but to reconcile us who were unrighteous to be made righteous Paul he writes this in Romans chapter 5 verses five through eight for while we were still weak at the right time Christ died for the ungodly for one will scarcely die for a righteous person though perhaps for a good person when would he one would dare even to die but God shows his love for us and that while we were still sinners Christ died for us I want you to think about the sheer love of God that he would die for sinners he would die for those who hate he would die for those who were adulterers and murderers the Liars the disobedient the idolaters he died to save them that they would be turned from sin and reconciled to the father in second Corinthians chapter 5 verse 21 says four hours sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin so that in him we might become the righteousness of God the fourth Gospel truth that we see in this passage is that there is one way one way that he might bring us to God being put to Death In the Flesh we can't get to the father by any other means other than through the person and work of Jesus Christ you have to go to Jesus you can't get there by being a good husband by being a good father by being a great wife or a good worker or being kind and baking cupcakes and taking them to your neighbors

You cannot get to heaven through your own effort in the Pilgrim's Progress we read that fairly consistently is as a family there's my favorite version it's called the dangerous Journey it's an it's a really nice version I enjoy it and I was looking at that the other night and then said Christian he's leaving the city of Destruction in order to get to the celestial City he comes across a Bible and he's reading in the Bible about the state of his soul and he's so heartbroken and he's got this massive dark weight on his black back and he's just weeping and he's crying because he's he's talked to his wife and his children about how he wants to leave the city of Destruction to get to the celestial City and no one will follow him he goes to his friends and he tells them about how they can escape the wrath to come but he's not quite sure how to get there and they all mock him and ostracize him and as he as he's leaving the city of Destruction and he's standing there and he looks out upon this field and he starts realizing I don't know how to get there and he comes across this guy named evangelist evangelist and he says why are you weeping and he says this sir the book in my hand tells me to flee from the Wrath to come and I fear that this burden on my back will sink me low into the grave and I need to get rid of it and the Evangelist says well if that's true then why are you still just standing here in Christian wept he said because I don't know where to go and the Evangelist he smiled and he said pointing far across the plains across the countryside he said do you see that Wicked gate and he says no I don't he says do you see a distant light he says yeah I think I do he says you go

There don't turn from that path and when you get to that door you stand at that door and you knock and it will be open to you and it will be told to you exactly what you have to do every single believer has to enter through the narrow gate there's only one way to be saved this narrow gate it's taught about by Jesus Christ himself in Matthew chapter 7 verses 13 through 14. It says enter by the narrow gate for the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction and those who enter by it are many for the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life and those who find it are few I mean how devastating and terrifying is it that not only is the narrow way hard it's also hard to find the exclusivity of Christ is a is a stumbling block that many people cannot get past but the one Christ made one payment as the one substitute to provide one way in order that he might bring us to God and that's what salvation is it's not simply agreeing with what the Bible says or just mental Ascent it's where you are brought close to God and you have a relationship with God himself and you know God and you should know the father Peter continues that Christ Was Made Alive in the spirit and this being alive in the spirit is contrasted with his body and this is not in reference to the resurrection but Peter is pointing to the fact that even though Jesus's body was dead in the grave his Spirit was alive and there was something that was taking place there which takes us to this next big point which is Gospel Mysteries Gospel Mysteries I love a good mystery and I love a good riddle I love learning how things work and life is full of all sorts of different Mysteries and wonders

Isn't it I heard now I grew up in the mountains of Virginia okay and we like to make fun of West Virginians and which really they're the same people but I heard this story growing up and I'll try to get this right for y'all but it was about this family back in the 70s 80s this guy he never seen a big city not at all he hadn't seen a neon light he had no clue about the wonders of the world and he just kind of lived in this little little holler down in the sticks in West Virginia and he met this girl and they got married and they had a child and for literally decades they're just they're just having their own little family time and enjoying life and all of a sudden their son is 16 years old and they're starting to realize you know one of these days he's going to leave our home and he's going to be a man and we haven't really done much to prepare him for life and so they start saving up and when the boys about 19 years old they decide that they're going to go to the big city and so they make a big deal of this and they get a Swanky hotel room and they get into the City and they're seeing all this traffic and all of these lights and they're just totally distracted by everything that's going on they get to this really nice hotel and they walk in and they're just amazed at everything that's happening they're looking around I mean it's it's a beautiful place they told Mom Ma you need to stay in the car while we go in and get us all checked in you lock that door and you stay in there we'll come and get you well over as they're taking in all the sites they see this beautiful Mall down the hallway and as they get up to this Edge they notice that there's an indoor skating rink chandelier is hanging from a three-story tall ceiling and

They're just looking around the father and the son they're looking around and they're just overwhelmed with how beautiful everything is and then all of a sudden they hear this little thing they look and there's this little box that opens up and all these people get in and they're watching it d all of a sudden that box is empty and they're just looking at this going wow this is this is absolutely incredible this little frail old lady she walks past him and she gets in pushes the button ding and they're just watching and all of a sudden that door comes down and out walks out this absolutely beautiful blonde woman I mean she's just an absolute knockout and so the dad says son go get your ma you know we believe that there are Mysteries and there are some things that are just mysterious in the Bible yet the Bible it's not completely silent on this issue because Peter says this and listen closely follow along look at your Pat look at your Bible and look at what it says in which he talking about Jesus went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison because they formally 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 being brought safely through water so it is that the spirit of Christ he proclaimed to the spirits in prison a couple of things that we can be certain about okay first thing is that at some point in time during those three days that Christ was dead Jesus's Spirit went to Spirits in prison secondly we can't be certain that he preached that's what proclaimed means it's the Greek word carisso which is what John the Baptist describes as he's described as doing in Mark chapter one and what

Jesus did in Mark chapter one as well it's also translated as Herald the big confusion comes when who are the spirits that are in prison and so this is a mystery with all sorts of views and I was really wrestling this week on how to preach this and so I found that there were just three main views and I thought I'll just present the three main views to you guys and let you all sort it out the first one was proposed by origin this is the earliest Christian view he's an early church father he lived around the 200 A.D his view is that Jesus descended to hell and preached to the spirits of those that perished in the flood during the time of Noah in other words The View here is that when the rain came it was too late for people to be saved from the water but they did repent and believe while the waters were even rising in this view those who turned from their sins during that time and trusting in God were awaiting the Savior that's that view the second view was proposed by Augustine he proposed that and he believed that like the prophets that God spoke through Christ preached a message of repentance to Noah's generation and the prison that Peter references here is not a literal prison but a spiritual prison so that's another view and then I don't know who came up with this one but Christ he was proclaiming victory over sin death and hell to the Fallen Angels of Genesis 6. This is probably the most common view I read about four commentaries on the book of First Peter as I'm doing my sermon prep this was the unanimous view I happen to think that they're wrong in that I just I do but this is one of those areas that as a church we can have disagreement on right

Because and so I look forward to hearing about the discussions that you guys have in your community groups about this but I think that's important to note this because Peter makes note of this that God was extremely patient during the days of Noah in Genesis chapter 6 verses 5 through 7 it says this that the Lord saw the wickedness of man and was great in the earth that was great in the earth and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually and the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth and it grieved him to his heart so the Lord said I will brought out man whom I have created from the face of the land man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens for I am sorry that I have made them and God he had decreed earlier in verse 3 that my spirit will not abide in man forever for he is flesh and his day shall be 120 years and so the Lord had decreed already that man's days were numbered it was an evil time and God was patient because Noah found favor with God and he was raising him up to build an ark to deliver Humanity from the coming judgment and took Noah about 70 to 100 years to build that Ark and his sons they worked on that boat and we know that people did not believe because there were only eight people in all of humanity who believed the message of the coming judgment and we know that the ark is a type it is a type because it points us to Jesus it points to the Messiah that only those who entered the Ark were preserved from the wrath of God and that's really the point of the passage it's not about the Gospel Ministry mystery it's about the Gospel truth that there is only one Christ that there is only one payment that there is only one substitute there is only one way to be

Saved and my prayer is that you are safe in Christ if you are not in Christ then the wrath of God remains on every single one of you that does not come to God through Jesus it's been said that salvation is moving from living death to deathless life and it's coming to God by Faith by being born again to a Living Hope because of the Salvation that we receive and it can be yours when you turn to God by faith and you come to him and the Bible says that today is the day of salvation that you can know the Lord you can turn to him you can trust in him and if you have questions about that you talk to me or you talk to another believer here and we will tell you how you can know God head heart hand had I want you to know that Christ willingly suffered for sins to reconcile us to the father he wasn't dragged to the Cross he was not coerced he went he suffered he died he laid down in his life willingly because of his great love for you heart I want you to believe that your suffering for the Lord can be strengthened by knowing the suffering and the Victory of Jesus Christ you see his example of suffering of righteous suffering as the only innocent one can strengthen us it can encourage us when we suffer to know that as our Savior went before us as an example he shows us how to suffer with patience and with Grace in hand I want you to take time to study about Christ's sufferings this week look at the Gospel accounts look at the gentleness and the humility of the creator that he would be subject to suffering from his creation and he died and he rose again proclaiming Victory and bringing about salvation to every single person that would trust in him what a gracious example Jesus is to us let's pray

Lord we thank you so much for this great day we thank you for this time we thank you that your word is always applicable and I prayed for each and every single person that's here and if there's someone that they need to know that salvation that they would do as Jason's done and trust in you that they would make that known that they would make that public that you would just continually change us and conform us who do know you more and more into the image of Christ we thank you for your glory your Holiness your righteousness and Lord we look forward to that time when you will return to establish justice and peace on the Earth help us to be faithful in the meantime help us to seek ways to minister and to love we thank you for that example of suffering that you gave to us we thank you that our suffering is not in vain we love you in Jesus name amen let's all stand and let's worship together The Mystery of the cross I cannot comprehend of calvary [Music] you the perfect Holy One crushed your son you drank the bitter cup preserved for me your blood has washed away my sin Jesus thank you the father's wrath completely satisfied Jesus thank you once your enemy now seated at your table Jesus there thank you [Music] by your perfect sacrifice I've been brought near your enemy became your friend pouring out the riches of your

Glorious Grace your mercy and your kindness know nowhere your blood has washed away my sin Jesus thank you the father's wrath completely satisfied Jesus thank you once you're in a me now seated at your table Jesus there thank you [Music] thank you your blood your blood has washed away my sin Jesus thank you the father's wrath completely satisfied Jesus thank you once your enemy now seated at your table Jesus there [Music] Jesus thank you [Music] praise the Lord amen two things real quick firstly in two weeks it's June 4th we're gonna have an ordination service for Austin and Sunday morning ordination service for him and also for a few of our deacons that we have seen over the last year and also at this time I'd like to ask Nicholas if he would come up is Katrina still in here or did she slip out gosh she slipped out well we can still pray over you guys and as this is his last week here I think maybe another week or something like that okay they're moving Friday and so they're going back to Illinois and so and why would you go back to Illinois I'm just messing with you and so we just we love this family and we're so thankful for their time that they were here and if you would Steve pray for us as we if anybody wants to come up here and just pray for him why don't you stand down there you're awfully tall I feel like yeah there we go I think I'm not even as tall as you on this step

Let's pray together as we're dismissed dear heavenly father again I thank you for allowing each of us to rise up this morning and to come into your house and to open the Scriptures Lord and have you speak to our hearts Lord thank you for that thank you for loving us continue to have mercy and Grace for us Lord I pray for Nicholas and Katrina as they move on as you've LED them on or just continue to walk with them and then they walk with you day by day continue to strengthen them and guide them in whatever Adventure you have for them to come next and Lord lead us into the community all of us as we go forth and continue to speak of you and to say good things of Christ and to speak of our heavenly father and in Christ's name I pray