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.
! He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.
When he was reviled, he did not revile in return.
When he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.
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, for you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the shepherd and overseer of your souls.
Amen.
We know that any form of Christianity that does not have the atoning work of Jesus Christ at the very center of its faith and of its practice is no Christianity at all.
But let's personalize that in a more direct way.
We would have to also acknowledge, if that's true, that any professing Christian who does not hold the atoning work of Jesus Christ and all its implications as the sole foundation for salvation is no Christian at all.
The good news that Jesus Christ has satisfied the wrath of God against sinners, reconciling them to God through the forgiveness of their sins, that is the essence of the one true gospel.
And Christians are gospel people.
We are gospel people.
We believe that that gospel is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes.
So the gospel of Jesus centers our fellowship.
It fills our songs as we have sung this morning.
It marks our preaching.
We are a gospel people.
And this gospel permeation that we know and that we experience and should be faithful to is evident throughout Peter's letter.
And we've seen it again and again and again and again.
From the very beginning of chapter 1, verse 1, we have seen this gospel continually coming to the surface.
Jesus and his atoning work are at the very heart of all that Peter has to say to these Christians in Asia Minor.
In fact, it's on account of their faith in Christ that he is able to call their experience an exile and describe it as an exile.
Through the gospel, God called them, as we read earlier in chapter 2, out of darkness and into his marvelous light,
making them a chosen people, representing God in this fallen world.
But exile isn't easy, is it?
And many of them are struggling.
Many of them are suffering on account of their faith.
So what did Peter do to address their suffering?
He wrote again here of the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ who suffered for us.
Why?
What good is that?
What help is it to the Christian slaves to whom Peter is addressing directly at this point in the letter?
What help is the suffering of Christ to their suffering?
Because we're gospel people and because the work of Jesus Christ anchors our faith,
it comforts our souls,
it offers us true and lasting hope,
and it instructs us on how to endure to the end.
That's why Peter returns to it once again here.
He said,
it would have been just more helpful if he would have just maybe commiserated with them for a little while,
showed maybe a little more empathy than what he seems to show here.
No, the best thing for them,
the best thing for us in the midst of suffering,
is not to dwell on our sorrows,
it is to look at our Savior.
It is only in our Savior
that we find hope and comfort
and endurance.
But we need to keep the immediate context in mind, don't we?
Remember in this section of the letter,
Peter is instructing us on
how to submit to authorities,
human authorities that are over us,
but to do so in the fear of God.
In other words,
human authority is not absolute.
And whenever earthly authorities contradict God's commands,
our duty as his people
is to joyfully submit to God,
even over and above,
as we've seen in one passage,
civil government,
and then in the most direct passage that we're at now,
to those,
in Peter's case,
who were slaves,
serving unjust masters.
That means that Christians
are going to inevitably face suffering
for their obedience to the Lord.
And using the circumstances of Christian slaves
suffering under unjust masters,
Peter instructs all believers,
this isn't just an application for them,
he's using them as a springboard
to address all Christians.
He instructs all believers
on how to faithfully endure suffering
for the glory of God.
And what does he do?
He points us to the perfect model
of faithful endurance
when suffering for good.
Our Lord and Savior,
Jesus Christ.
And here again,
even in his address to these slaves,
what is it that comes to the surface?
What is it that takes center stage?
It's the gospel.
So then the larger point of the text,
we have to keep that in mind,
we don't want to escape it too quickly,
but the larger point of the text
is that believers are to follow Christ
in his suffering.
And last week,
we considered Jesus' example
of suffering as a model
for how to suffer well
and how to suffer faithfully.
But Peter also acknowledges
in the text that we're now settling into,
he acknowledges that our suffering
is not fully comparable
to Christ's suffering.
It's not exactly the same.
We follow him in it,
certainly.
We endure as he endured
with the spirit that he endured,
but we ought not to think
that his and ours
is exactly the same.
Christ's suffering was unique.
His suffering was atoning.
His suffering provides the basis
for salvation.
So it's good for us to linger
just a bit longer on these verses.
Meditate on the unique nature
of Christ's sufferings
as an atonement for our sins
and how the benefits
of that atonement are applied.
In other words,
if this is what Christ's suffering accomplished,
how can I ensure
that it was accomplished for me?
If on the cross,
Jesus provides salvation,
how can I receive the salvation
that he has provided?
And I think what we find here
in these verses
is what we might call
the gospel according to Peter.
The gospel according to Peter.
Three main points of emphasis
that I want to point out to you
that Peter gives us here.
First is this.
I want you to see Christ's perfections.
Christ's perfections.
We get this in verses 22 and 23.
Now last week we examined Christ's example.
We're picking back up on that here.
We're returning to it
so that we might see
that there is a deeper truth at play
in what Peter is saying here
than merely to say
that Christ's suffering
was only to give us an example.
Certainly it is that.
It is not merely that.
There's more that Peter
is affirming here.
Jesus isn't just a model
for how to suffer.
He is the model.
And undergirding his application
to suffering for good,
particularly for the slaves,
is the truth of Christ's perfections.
That's undergirding
everything that Peter is saying
in 22 and 23.
Jesus' faithfulness in suffering
owes to his divine, sinless nature.
And it is his divine person
that Jesus is God himself in flesh
that makes everything we believe
about the atonement,
that makes everything that Peter says
about the atonement possible.
And that's what Peter's emphasizing here.
And there's two key areas
of Christ's perfections
that Peter brings into view.
His fulfillment of both these areas
of perfections are what qualify him
to actually be our Savior.
If either one of these fail,
he is not a Savior for anyone.
But if they both stand,
he is indeed the Savior
for all who will believe.
The first category is this,
perfect obedience.
Perfect obedience.
Look back at verse 22.
He committed no sin,
neither was deceit found in his mouth.
He committed no sin,
neither was deceit found in his mouth.
Now in all four of these verses here,
Peter is leaning heavily on Isaiah 53.
And if you know Isaiah 53 well,
you know that it foretells
that the servant of the Lord,
that coming Messiah,
will be a suffering servant.
And that in regard to his suffering,
he will provide salvation.
That through that suffering,
he will provide salvation
for God's chosen people.
The New Testament repeatedly affirms,
even Jesus himself,
multiple times acknowledging
that he is the fulfillment
of that suffering servant
in Isaiah 53.
And here, Peter directly quotes
Isaiah 53 in verse 9,
which reads,
and they made his grave with the wicked.
So his suffering is not just hardship,
it's death.
They made his grave with the wicked,
with the rich man in his death,
although he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.
Direct quote from Peter here
of Isaiah 53, 9.
Now why does he do that?
Now his point in quoting this verse
is to emphasize that not only
was Jesus sinless in his suffering,
that he did not sin as he suffered.
Of course that's true,
that's an application that we make,
but that's not all that Peter is saying.
He's quoting Isaiah 53
in order that he might say
that Jesus was sinless altogether.
Sinless.
Whereas Adam and all of Adam's descendants
fail to love and obey God,
Jesus perfectly obeyed in every way.
And think about how the scriptures
begin to piece this together for us.
John 1 says that Jesus exists
in eternity as God,
but in history he took on humanity
in order that he might bring us salvation.
We call this the incarnation.
God has taken on flesh.
He doesn't become less God.
He maintains his deity fully,
but he adds to that humanity,
true humanity,
as the scriptures teach us.
Given that this incarnation
comes through the supernatural conception
and birth of a virgin,
Jesus did not inherit Adam's corruption
as you and I have inherited Adam's corruption.
Yet, he's truly human.
As we read earlier in Philippians 2,
he was in the form of God.
That is his very essence
and his nature is divine.
And then he emptied himself,
not of his divinity,
but of his divine rights and prerogatives
in order that he might take on flesh.
Whereas as the divine,
he is worthy of all worship,
he humbles himself
and becomes the man of sorrows.
Whereas in his divinity,
he is worthy of worship and exaltation,
he condescends in his humanity
in order that he might die,
becoming obedient to death.
Consider also the multifaceted temptations
Jesus endured.
You can read about these in Matthew 4.
Just after Jesus' baptism,
we read that the Spirit of God
leads him into the wilderness
for the purpose of being tempted.
For 40 days,
he fasts in the wilderness.
For 40 days,
he endures temptation from Satan.
That temptation, I believe,
continuing throughout his life
until the day of his death
and resurrection.
And what is that all about?
It was necessary
that he be tempted
in every way,
yet to prove victorious
over that temptation
to have never sinned.
And that's exactly what Jesus did.
He succeeded
where you and I have failed.
Thus the writer of Hebrews says,
Since then,
we have a great high priest
who has passed through the heavens.
That was,
he was divine,
and he passed through the heavens
in order to become a man.
Jesus, the Son of God,
let us hold fast our confession.
For we do not have a high priest
who is unable to sympathize
with our weaknesses,
but one who in every respect
has been tempted as we are,
yet without sin.
And it is only because of that
that the writer of Hebrews then says,
Now let us with confidence
draw near to his throne of grace
that we may receive mercy
and find grace
to help in our time of need.
That's Peter's emphasis here.
It's not just that Jesus didn't sin
as he suffered on the cross.
It's that he was sinless altogether.
Yes, he's lifting up Jesus
as our example,
but he also means for us to see
that Jesus' example
owes to his sinless perfection.
We are to follow him in suffering,
but we need to acknowledge
that his obedience is unique
and distinct from ours
because he is indeed
the sinless Son of God.
So we find here in verse 22
Christ's perfect obedience,
but it's not just perfect obedience
that Peter emphasizes for us here.
We get to verse 23
and we find perfect faith.
Perfect faith.
Verse 23.
When he was reviled,
he did not revile in return.
When he suffered,
he did not threaten,
and here's his faith.
He did not follow him,
but continued entrusting himself
to him who judges justly.
Now, to obey God's moral law is important.
It's not the only thing.
There is a positive side
to Jesus' perfections
that is just as important
as his restraint.
The negative emphasis
is that he restrains himself
from temptation and from sin.
The positive emphasis
is that he not only demonstrated
perfect obedience,
but perfect faith.
Both essential
if he is to qualify
to be our Savior.
Now, again,
here in 23,
Peter is alluding
to Isaiah 53
and verse 7,
writing about Jesus' silence
in his suffering.
As he suffered
at the hands
of the unjust,
he neither reviled
in return,
neither did he threaten
to retaliate.
Instead,
we're told
that Jesus
continued entrusting himself
to him
who judges justly.
What is that?
What is that about?
Jesus demonstrates
perfect faith
as he endures the cross,
trusting that the Father
will vindicate his righteousness
and will judge his enemies.
And how does that vindication come?
It comes through resurrection.
In the resurrection
of Jesus Christ from the dead,
his true righteousness
is vindicated.
He is risen
because he's sinless.
And when will God judge his enemies?
At the final judgment.
All wrongs will be made right.
All righteousness will be vindicated.
All wickedness
will then be judged.
And Jesus,
the perfect son of God,
fully,
in every way,
and at every moment,
demonstrates perfect faith.
not only in his suffering,
but his suffering
demonstrates
a faith
that permeated
all of his life.
In every way,
Jesus perfectly loved
and trusted
the Father.
Now,
why are these
perfections important?
Why would Peter
bother to emphasize these?
Why would he bring in
Isaiah 53
in order
to provide
the support
for what he's trying
to get across?
And it's this.
If Jesus is not
the sinless son of God,
then we are all
hopelessly
lost
in our sin.
If Jesus is not
the sinless son of God,
if he did not have
perfect obedience,
if he did not
have perfect faith,
then his death
was no atonement
at all.
And that leaves
the wrath of God
to be poured out
on us.
The only way
for his wrath
to be satisfied
then
is for us
to spend
an eternity
in hell.
The stakes
are high.
But because
of Christ's
divine perfection,
as our new
confession of faith
reads,
he is
every way
qualified
to be a
suitable,
compassionate,
and all-sufficient
Savior.
That's who he is.
He's not just
a man.
He is truly
the God-man
who did what
Adam was meant
to do,
love and obey God.
And these
perfections
qualify Jesus
and Jesus
alone
to bring us
salvation.
But how
exactly
does he bring
that salvation?
That's where
Peter moves to
next.
So we not only
see Christ's
perfections,
we now look
to Christ's
atonement.
Christ's atonement,
verse 24.
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.
Now let's
define
atonement.
We use that
word a lot.
Let's make sure
we understand
what it means.
It's a simple
definition really.
Atonement,
it just simply
means a payment
for sin.
A payment
for sin.
Peter here
focuses on
the payment
that Christ
made
for the sins
of those
who follow
him.
Through the
centuries,
for 2,000
years,
many theories
or models
explaining
the nature
or at least
attempting to
explain the
nature of
Christ's
atonement
have been
suggested.
Some of
them are
helpful.
Some of
them are
not helpful
at all.
What Peter
writes about
here is not
a theory
of the
atonement.
It's not
a model
of the
atonement.
It is
the true
essence
of Christ's
atonement.
It's the
heart of
it.
Every other
model,
every other
explanation
you might
add to
this
cannot
possibly
stand
unless
what Peter
is emphasizing
here is
at the
heart of
it.
It's not
a theory.
It's what
it is.
And what
does Peter
do?
Well,
again,
he leans
on Isaiah
53.
He writes
that,
quoting
Isaiah
53,
Jesus
bore
our sins
in his
body on
the tree.
By his
wounds
you have
been
healed.
Let me
give you
just a
couple of
important
theological
words and
we're going
to move
on from
that.
But these
will be
good for
you to
know.
I would
encourage
you to
write them
down if
you don't
know them
already.
Jesus'
death
on the
cross
was,
number
one,
substitutionary.
It was
a
substitution.
He took
our
place.
He didn't
suffer merely
as an
example.
He suffered
in the
place of
those who
were worthy
of that
judgment.
Isn't that
what Peter
says?
He bore
our sins
in his
body on
the tree.
It was a
substitution.
Second,
it's a
propitiation.
It's a
biblical term.
We read it in
Romans and a
couple of
other places.
It just
simply means
that on
the cross,
Jesus fully
satisfied the
wrath of
God.
Full
satisfaction.
God's wrath
against sinners.
Jesus stands
in between the
father and those
sinners,
interposes his
precious blood as
we sing in
another song.
And what does
that accomplish?
It fully
assuages the
wrath of God.
It turns it
away.
It satisfies
it.
It is a
true
propitiation.
Third,
it was an
imputation.
An imputation
or an
expiation.
It removes
our guilt.
But how
does it do
that?
The removal
of the guilt
is the term
we would say
is expiation.
But how does
it actually do
that?
It does that
through imputation.
In other
words, our
sin is
credited to
Jesus on
the cross.
And his
righteousness is
in return
credited to
us.
We just
sang before
the throne
of God
above.
What is the
whole point of
that?
It's a
courtroom,
isn't it?
The whole
point of the
song is that
we stand
before God,
the righteous
judge, and
we stand
righteously
before him.
But it is
not a true
righteousness.
It is an
alien righteousness
that is credited
to our
account.
On the
cross, Jesus
took on
our sin.
He has
made him
to be sin
who knew
no sin
so that
in him
we might
become the
righteousness
of God.
A great
exchange
takes place
there.
Imputation.
That's the
essence.
That's the
nature of
Christ's
atonement.
That's what's
happening.
All three
of these
truths of
Christ's
atonement,
they're
implicitly
at least
expressed
here in
what Peter
is saying.
But I
want you
to notice
three benefits
of this
atonement.
Three benefits
of this
substitution
and propitiation
and imputation.
Number one,
Christ's
atonement is
a substitution
that reconciles
sinners to
God.
It reconciles
sinners to
God.
Now you know
what reconciliation
is.
You are
enemies and
now enemies
are reconciled.
They're made
to be
friends.
If you
made your
wife mad
this week,
you didn't
do what
you were
supposed to
do,
perhaps for
a season,
you were
enemies and
at some
point you
humbly and
contritely come
in and say,
sweetheart,
I'm sorry.
I was wrong.
Will you
forgive me?
And a
reconciliation
is made,
right?
What are
we?
We're
enemies of
God by
nature because
of our sin.
What does
Christ's
substitution on
the cross do?
It reconciles
enemies.
It makes them
friends.
It brings
together sinful
men and a
holy God and
reconciles them in
peace with one
another.
Now it's
implicit here.
It's
explicit in
the next
chapter over
and I want
you to see
it in
chapter 3
and verse
18.
Notice what
Peter says
there.
Christ also
suffered once
for sins,
the righteous
for the
unrighteous,
that's the
substitution.
Why?
That he
might bring
us to
God
being put
to death
in the
flesh.
What is
the great
benefit of
the atonement?
That on
the cross
Christ brings
sinners to
God and
he reconciles
us to
God in
peace.
Second,
it's a
substitution
that frees
sinners
from the
bondage of
sin.
It is a
substitution
that frees
sinners from
the bondage
of sin.
Back in
chapter 2
and verse
24,
he himself
bore our
sins in
his body
on the
tree.
Why?
Peter says
it,
so that
we might
die to
sin.
Sin might
be put
to death
in us
so that
we might
then live
in righteousness.
What is
this?
The effect
of Christ's
sin bearing
atonement is
that it breaks
the power of
sin in the
lives of his
people.
Well,
fully
through his
sacrifice,
Jesus put
your sin
to death
so that
if you are
in him,
you are
now truly
free
to live
in righteousness.
Prior to
coming to
Christ,
we only think
ourselves free,
but we are
not free.
We are in
bondage to
our sin,
to our
nature.
But when
Christ's
atonement is
applied,
he sets us
free,
having put
to death
our sin
on the
cross,
so that
now we
can truly
be righteous
and live
righteously,
and we must
pursue
that
righteousness.
In fact,
persistent
repentance
from sin
and pursuit
of righteousness
are the
fruits
of Christ's
atonement
having been
applied to
you
at salvation
in the
new birth.
Christ
works
his
righteousness
into those
who have
been truly
born again
of God
through faith
in him.
I just want
you to let
that settle
on your
mind for
just a
second.
He
accomplished
that,
finished,
on the
cross.
You are
free.
We sang it
last week,
it was the
last song we
sang last
Sunday,
not I,
but through
Christ in
me.
I can
sing.
I am
free,
not because
of me,
but because
Christ has
set me
free.
How did
he set
you free?
By putting
your sins
to death
on the
cross.
He wasn't
putting his
sins to
death on
the cross.
He had
no sin.
Whose
sins was
he putting
to death?
Your sin,
my sin.
Now,
you are
free to
live,
truly.
Third,
it's a
substitution
that brings
healing to
the soul.
It's a
substitution
that brings
healing to
the soul.
Again,
this is a
direct quote
from Isaiah
53 and
verse 5.
Jesus'
wounds,
his
substitutionary
death on
the cross
bring us
healing.
Now,
I want you
to think
about the
illustrative
material Peter
is using
here.
Who is he
addressing
directly at
this point
in the
letter?
Slaves.
Slaves
serving unjust
masters
who are
being beaten
for doing
good.
As they
gather on
the Lord's
day for
worship with
fresh wounds
suffering for
good,
Peter says,
by his
wounds you've
been healed,
not the
wounds in
your body,
but as a
healing of
the soul,
far greater
healing.
Given
Peter's
focus on
the atonement
in this
text,
we gather
and understand
that this
healing is
the forgiveness
of sin and
the fruit of
righteousness that
he's just
spoke of,
putting to
death our
sin so that
we might live
to righteousness.
That's the
healing.
Healing for
the soul.
Forgiveness.
Righteousness.
man of
sorrows.
What a
name.
For the
son of
God who
came.
Ruined
sinners to
reclaim.
What's the
next line?
Hallelujah.
What a
savior.
Bearing
shame and
scoffing rude.
In my
place,
condemned he
stood.
Sealed
my pardon
with his
blood.
Hallelujah.
What a
savior.
Guilty,
vile,
helpless
we.
Spotless
lamb of
God was
he.
Full atonement
can it be?
Hallelujah.
What a
savior.
And lifted
up was he
to die.
It is
finished was
his cry.
Now in
heaven he's
exalted
high.
Hallelujah.
What a
savior.
Christ's
perfections
qualify him
to be our
suitable and
sufficient
savior.
His
substitutionary
death on
the cross
is the
means by
which he
paid for
sin and
satisfied God's
wrath against
sinners.
But there's
one more
place that
Peter takes
us.
How is it
that the
benefits of
this atonement
are then
applied to
sinners?
How can I
receive this
salvation provided
in the death
and resurrection
of Jesus
Christ?
Third, we
see Christ
invitation.
Christ
invitation.
We're going to
bring the
first verse of
this section
and the last
verse of
this section
together.
Verse 21
and verse
25.
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.
25.
for you
were straying
like sheep
but have
now returned
to the
shepherd and
overseer of
your souls.
Now we put
these two
verses together
it's forming
somewhat of an
inclusio if you
understand that
language and
into this little
section of the
gospel that Peter
is expressing
here.
We see how
one receives the
salvation provided
in Christ's
atonement in
these two
verses.
First there's
a call to
follow in
his steps.
I said this
last week
calling in the
New Testament
is never
about a
vocation.
It's never
about a
gifting.
The New
Testament never
uses that word
that way.
We use it
that way.
It's not wrong
to use it
that way but
it's not how
the Bible
uses the
term.
Calling in
the New
Testament is
always the
effectual call
of God to
salvation.
And here
Peter uses it
again.
this call
that comes
by the
work of
the Spirit
through the
preaching of
the gospel
message.
So the
gospel goes
out.
That's the
call.
The Spirit
of God
energizes
that call
so that it
takes effect
in the heart
of the
sinner.
And what
is the
nature of
the call?
It's an
invitation.
It's
Jesus'
invitation to
say I
have paid
the debt.
Now turn
and come
to me.
Come to
me.
Trust in
me.
Turn from
the sin.
Turn from
the path
you're on.
Come to
me and
receive what
I have
done on
your behalf.
faith.
It's
trusting in
Christ's
death and
resurrection.
It's an
invitation to
follow him
not only as
Savior but
as a Lord.
It's an
invitation.
And then in
verse 25 we
see the
elements of
genuine
conversion.
Don't we?
One hears
the call of
God in the
gospel and
responds with
repentance and
faith.
And again
wouldn't you
guess it Peter
quotes Isaiah
53.
This time it's
verse 6.
In our
sinful condition
we are like
sheep who
have strayed
away from
their shepherd.
I just want
you to grasp
the illustration
here from
Isaiah and
Peter.
We're like
sheep who
have wandered
away.
We're out of
the fold.
We've left
the shepherd.
We've followed
this world.
We've followed
its sin.
We've followed
its philosophies.
We've followed
everything that it
offers.
We've wandered
away.
And through
the gospel of
the cross the
great shepherd
Jesus Christ
calls out for
us.
His wandering
sheep.
I've taken
care of it.
Come back.
He cries out
from the cross.
It's finished.
He cries.
And those who
hear his call
what do they do
in verse 25?
They return.
What is this
returning?
It's repentance.
repentance.
Literally means
to turn.
And faith.
They hear the
call.
They abandon
sin.
Everything that
it offers.
In order that
they might follow
their shepherd.
The overseer of
their souls.
They turn away
from sin.
They trust in
Christ alone.
They obey him
as Lord.
Because the
shepherd has
laid down his
life for his
sheep.
And he now
calls for them
to submit.
And to
follow him.
Follow him
where?
To heaven.
On the path
of suffering.
So how is it
that Christ
atonement is
applied?
How can you
be saved?
Well having
heard this
gospel.
It's time that
you turn.
And follow.
Not to put
Jesus on the
shelf alongside
of your own
ideas and
alongside of
all the other
things that you
want to try to
hang on to in
this life.
No.
It is a full
turn.
Full faith.
Him and
him alone.
Shepherd and
overseer in this
case.
We think about
this illustration
we often first
imagine the
notions of
tenderness.
That is not
the way that
Peter is using
the illustration
of a shepherd
here.
Think about
the context.
It's not about
tenderness.
It's about
authority.
What does it
mean?
To come to
Christ in
repentance and
faith.
It means to
acknowledge him
as Lord.
And to follow
his authority
as the shepherd
and overseer of
your soul.
Which means that
you can't just
do away with
this.
You can't take
the things that
you like and
take out the
things that you
don't like.
No you submit
to him in all
things.
You submit to
his word in
all things.
That's what it
means to return.
That's what it
means to come.
And here's the
good news of it
all.
He's paid the
debt of your
sin.
Doesn't matter
what you've
done or how
many times
you've done
it.
His sacrifice
is sufficient.
And now he
invites you to
freely receive
this salvation
by coming to
him in faith.
So return.
You want to be
saved.
Come to
Christ.
Turn to him.
There's nothing
left for you to
do.
There's nothing
for you to
pay.
He paid it
all.
There's nothing
for you to
do.
What needs to
be done is
done.
Fully
satisfied.
So believe
him.
Trust him.
And follow
him.
Because if you
confess with
your mouth that
Jesus is Lord
and believe in
your heart that
God raised him
from the dead,
you will be
saved.
For with the
heart one
believes and
is justified.
And with the
mouth one
confesses and
is saved.
For the
scripture says
everyone who
believes in
him will not
be put to
shame.
For there's no
distinction between
Jew and
Greek.
For the same
Lord is Lord
of all,
bestowing his
riches on all
who call on
him.
For everyone
who calls on
him will be
saved.
Christians are
gospel people.
And Christ's
atonement on
the cross and
his subsequent
resurrection from
the dead are the
essence of the
gospel message.
That's what it
is.
It is to center
not only our
conversion,
but every facet of
our lives.
God's
which is why
Peter keeps
bringing it up.
He's now in the
practical part of
the letter where
he's instructing us
on how to live.
And what's at the
center of that
instruction?
The gospel is at
the center.
It gives us hope
in our exile.
It guides us on how
to faithfully live as
Christ's people in
the world.
And that's Peter's
whole point.
In our
suffering, we
take our cues from
Jesus who
suffered for us.
But as we look to
him, we must
remember that his
suffering was unique
and atoning.
It is the basis of
salvation for all who
will believe and
follow him.
Therefore, we
rejoice in our
sufferings, knowing
that as we suffer for
the gospel and for
good, we are
following in the
steps of our
Savior as we
await his return,
at which time we
will receive the
fullness of our
inheritance that Peter
has already said is
imperishable and
undefiled and
unfading, kept in
heaven for you who
by God's grace are
being guarded through
faith for a
salvation that is
ready to be
revealed.