1 Peter 3. If you don't have a Bible, we've got a couple up here for you guys. If you don't have a Bible and you need one, once again, as your Turning back to 1 Peter 3, we do have a unique and a really powerful passage to address this week. This passage builds very specifically off of our previous text that we looked at last week. And remember last week, Peter encouraged the believers to live their lives as a faithful example of the work that Christ has started in them. We looked at verses 8 through 15. And so Peter encouraged the believers to essentially walk the talk. As they're doing that, Peter says the believers must be defined by unity, sympathy, brotherly love, tenderheartedness towards one another. He says this in verse 8. And Peter's referring to the characteristics that should define the body of Christ. We should be unified. We should have genuine love for one another. We should be tenderhearted towards one another. And these characteristics in the body, they should draw outsiders in. Remember, this is the responsibility for all believers to be growing individually in these characteristics. And of course, as we do that and we grow individually, we will be able to strengthen the body in this way. And so as you engage with these characteristics, once again, it's important to keep in mind, you can either build up the body by your own personal sanctification, or you can help to tear down the body to make it worse. And while Peter was on the topic of impacting the lost for Christ, reaching out to the lost, drawing them in through our testimony in verse 8. He moves into verse 9 and speaks again on the importance of suffering for righteousness sake. He writes this, do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, do what? Bless. And this truly is an incredible admonishment. Very rarely today do we see examples of this kind of behavior in our culture. Yet Peter, once again, he commands the believers to put on characteristics that were not admired, they were not desired by the Greco-Roman culture that these believers lived in. These individuals, these pagans, did not value humility, meekness, or gentleness. Instead, they valued characteristics like pride, arrogance, confidence. And so Peter wants the believers to stand out. He wants the exiles to be markedly different in the way that they live. And in order to be different in this sinful culture, they were required to put on characteristics that the outside world, the unsaved world, would not espouse. And ultimately, it's because also they are not seeking the approval of the lost, right? Unsaved individuals, this is all they have. They're constantly seeking each other's approval. As believers, we don't need to live this way. We can put on the characteristics that God requires of us. We can suffer even for righteousness sake, even when we're being harmed or mistreated. We can suffer and not answer back, not retaliate the way that the lost world does. We can do all this because we trust God. We trust that we serve the Good Shepherd and the God of perfect justice to care for our needs. And so this separates us. And as you look back at our passage, verses 8 through 15 from last week, specifically in verses 13 to 15, Peter commands the believers to also be prepared to evangelize. And so throughout 1 Peter, we've been looking at the example, the real impact that your testimony can have to the lost world. And then in verses 13 to 15, Peter, almost as if to come back and say, you're not excused from verbal witness either, though, right? It's not all of our testimony. We also have to be prepared to give an answer for the hope that is in you. This is a convicting command, and it's convicting for a couple reasons. First of all, because Peter essentially implies in verse 15 that the believers' lives must be so unique that the unsaved culture would just naturally be compelled to ask them what is different. You grasp that if you look at verse 15 and you read this, Peter says, This hope in you is so evident and so clear, overflowing out of your life that unbelievers are compelled to ask why you have such unique hope. Secondly, as believers, we must know what we believe and why. That's the second command that we draw from this verse. We must know what we believe and why. We talked very specifically last week, Peter doesn't command us to know of every pagan religion in the world. He doesn't command us to have an answer for every pagan religion that we may come across or every objection that someone may make. But instead, Peter commands the believers to have such a faithful knowledge of their own beliefs that they could explain them to someone else. This is all Peter requires. And so in our passage this week, we're going to look at verses 16 through 22, and we're going to close out chapter 3. And Peter beautifully interweaves all of these same themes that we've seen from verses 8 through 15 and he kind of interweaves them into verses 16 to 22. As you consider this, verses 8 through 15, we're commanded to share our faith. Verses 16 to 22, Peter explains why we must share our faith. In verses 8 to 15, Peter commands us to bless those who curse us because we can trust in God's justice. And then in verses 16 to 22, Peter will demonstrate again God's just wrath against unbelievers. So again, verses 18 to 15, trust God, trust His justice. You don't need to execute God's justice. And then in verses 16 to 22, we will see God execute His justice. Once again, thirdly, in our passage last week, Peter commands us to live pure lives of obedience. And in our text this week, Peter explains that our obedience is motivated by Christ's sacrificial death. And so, as you consider this, really some excellent overlap and some real interweaving between these themes. And so, again, we just need to totally, totally take in the context of verses 8 through 15 as we look at verses 16 to 22. So with that being said, Let's begin reading. We'll include verse 15 in our reading so that we just get all of that context looking at verses 16 and following. God's Word says this, Yet, do it with gentleness and respect. having a good conscience, so that when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil. 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 the water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God, for a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God with angels, authorities, and powers, having been subjected to him. Let's go ahead and pray, open our time together, ask for God's grace as we look at his word. Let's pray. Dear Lord, we're thankful for your word and we're thankful for really just a beautiful summary of what Jesus has done for us on the cross of his redemption and truly a pardon that we receive through the righteousness of Christ that is granted to us. We've done nothing to deserve it, but God, We ask for your grace this evening as we look to your word. We ask to be convicted. We ask for humility as we examine our hearts and lives. And Lord, would you give us eyes to see areas of our hearts that we need to grow and that we need to shape ourselves more after the image of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Would you give us the grace to do this, Lord? We're thankful for your love and we love you because you first loved us in Jesus name. Amen. In 1829, two men, George Wilson and James Porter, robbed a United States mail carrier. Both were subsequently captured. They were tried in a court of law. And in May of 1830, both men were found guilty of six charges, including robbery of the mail and putting the life of the driver in jeopardy. Both Wilson and Porter received their sentences. They were to be executed by hanging. They were to be carried out in July 2nd, that is just a couple months later. Porter was executed on schedule, but Wilson was not. Influential friends had pleaded for mercy to the president, who at the time was Andrew Jackson, and they begged for a pardon on his behalf. President Jackson issued a formal pardon, dropping all charges. Wilson would have to serve only a prison term of 20 years for the other crimes, but incredibly, George Wilson refused the pardon. An official report stated that Wilson chose to waive and decline any advantage or protection which might be supposed to arise from the pardon. Wilson stated he had nothing to say and did not wish in any manner to avail himself in order to avoid sentence. And this was truly a strange situation. This is a complete anomaly within the US justice system. People really didn't know how to respond. A man had been granted a full presidential pardon, pardoning him from the death penalty, execution by hanging, and he refused it. The reality is this happens all the time. While we don't see it on a government or a physical level very often, we certainly see it take place on a spiritual level. Through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we have all been offered a pardon. Humanity has been offered a pardon. All they must do is accept it. Yet many refuse the offer of Jesus Christ. They instead continue to live in their sin. They pursue selfish desires. And so Peter instructs the believers in verse 15 on the importance of personal evangelism. Again, that is what verse 15 is all about. You need to be prepared to explain your faith to the lost. You must share the hope of your salvation with the lost. And Peter explains this in verse 15. And this thought is continued then in verse 16. So let's continue reading there. Peter says, having a good conscience so that when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. Now, Peter clearly did not want the believers engaging in debates or arguments regarding their character. He didn't want them jumping to their personal defense. Instead, he commanded the believers to live such morally pure lives that their character spoke for itself. They had no need to defend themselves. that there was no accusation to levy against the believers. The believers' character, again, not their words, did all the arguing necessary. This is the instruction that Peter's given on numerous occasions. You look back to 1 Peter 2, verse 12, again, just one chapter prior, Peter said this, keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. And so there's silence when confronted by evil accusations. It was not driven by fear. The believers are not afraid to speak up and defend themselves. Instead, Peter saw this as a gospel opportunity. You have to remember the circumstances under which this epistle is being written to the believers. These believers are being intensely persecuted. They're being falsely accused on a regular basis. The city of Rome was burned down by a corrupt ruler, and he blamed it on the Jews, and they were being persecuted in this way. And so, Peter says, your quiet, righteous testimony can point an unbeliever to their own need for salvation. Don't defend yourself. Instead, let your character speak for itself. It should be able to speak for itself. That's a critical distinction. Peter also gave the same admonition to wives with unbelieving husbands. They're commanded to act in the very same way. Don't preach at your husbands. Don't leave your husbands. Instead, what should you do? Let your character speak for itself. Gently submit to your husband as a testimony to God's work in your life. As you do that, you will win your unbelieving husband. And so hopefully we recognize after several chapters, we recognize the why behind these commands, but how can we practice having a clear conscience before God in this way that Peter commands? He begins verse 16 again saying, having a clear conscience, having a good conscience. And so how can we practice this idea? We know why we're to practice it so that we point unbelievers to God, but there are two primary ways that we can practice this. First, we avoid sin. Very simply, we avoid sin. And you may think, well, that's obvious, certainly easier said than done, but we must be particularly careful to avoid any conscious or willful rebellion against God's commands or against our human authorities to say, I understand this is what God requires of me, but I'm simply not going to do it. This is what Peter encourages us to avoid. Secondly, when we do recognize areas of sin in our lives, we should be very, very quick to repent and confess those areas and to seek forgiveness from God and to be restored in our relationship with God. These are the two primary ways that we can practice having a clean conscience, is by avoiding sin and walking with God faithfully through prayer and the regular reading of God's word, but then secondly, regularly confessing sin. Again, understand clearly, assurance of your salvation is a gift that is given to obedient believers. Assurance of salvation is a gift that is given to obedient believers, and I really can't express to you how many young people in particular I've talked to about assurance of salvation, and as we begin to talk and we work through their life and their scenario, you come to find out they're really not obeying God at all. They're really not even doing the basic things that they can do to demonstrate their love for God and to grow in their own personal sanctification in the likeness of Jesus Christ. They're not reading their Bible. They're not praying regularly. They're not regularly confessing sin through prayer. And so when you do these things, this is one way that we can have a good conscience before God, a clear conscience in this way. So if you're clinging to sin patterns in your life, this could certainly have a negative effect on your spiritual walk with God, but particularly, again, it could have a very negative effect on your witness to the lost. And these are the two reasons that Peter commands us to live this way is, number one, because we do want a good conscience before God. We do want a clear conscience before God, but also because this is a testimony to the lost that has been repeatedly Peter's core foundational reason for why we must live this way, for why we must put on these characteristics, is because it points the lost to Christ. And so if you're not living with a clear conscience or a good conscience, you very well may be damaging your testimony. I remember several years ago, I worked at a lumberyard in northern Indiana, and we worked with contractors at this lumberyard, and I worked with several other young men, and The language was just uniquely foul at this job. I frequently had men from the job site ask me how I had even survived working at the job as a Christian, because ultimately even they recognized how unbelievably filthy their language was. And I formed a friendship with another young guy who was about my age at the job, and he actually attended a Christian college. I didn't realize that. I didn't even know that he was a believer. But as I talked to him, he had a very strong salvation testimony. But I never realized that he was saved because of the way he spoke. Once again, I never even realized that this young man was a believer because of the way he spoke. I was shocked to find out that he was a believer because he used all of the same language that all the other men used at that workplace. So one day we had been assigned to work on a specific task together. I think that I'd mentioned to him that I didn't even realize that he was He was a Christian because of his language. And he had confessed to me. He had been very convicted about his speech. He realized that the words he was using, the subject matter that he spoke about, was most likely damaging his testimony with what was otherwise a totally unbelieving staff. It was him and I in that lumberyard. We were the only believers. And he was regularly using this language that wouldn't demonstrate to anyone that he was a Christ follower. And so this language, it definitely was damaging his testimony, but I say all that to say this, this is exactly what Peter's talking about. This is the same point Peter is trying to communicate. You need to avoid open sin against God. You need to keep your heart clean in the same way that Peter describes in verse 16, have a good conscience because this ultimately benefits your testimony. It points others back to Christ. As you consider even the immediate context of verse 15, could you say that your conscience is blameless in terms of your witness? Maybe tonight you would say, I really am not struggling with any immediate sin areas in my life. I don't know of anything that I'm actively rebelling against God, but could you say that in terms of your personal witness, that your conscience is clean? Are there individuals that you've had a poor testimony with, maybe? Perhaps you've not engaged some individuals with the gospel at all. Peter's calling the believers to holy character that draws unsaved people to Christ. Does your character draw the lost to Christ? Peter's going to continue developing this theme in verse 17. Notice what he says, And so Peter continues to hammer away at the importance of a blameless character by stating the blessing of suffering for doing good. Again, there is no blessing when you are justly punished. It's of no value for believers to suffer justly when they act wickedly. The real blessing is when believers are unjustly persecuted. And Peter's made this point, again, this is another point that Peter has made repeatedly. He says in chapter 2, verse 20, for what credit is it if when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it, you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. And you may be wondering at this point, we're three chapters into Peter's epistle. What is the big deal with suffering for righteousness sake? Why does he keep bringing up this point? Why is it so critical that the believers are willing to suffer for righteousness sake? And I think our answer to that question is really tied to the unique parallel that Peter draws each time he talks about suffering for righteousness sake. Every time Peter discusses, you should be willing to suffer for righteousness sake, he brings up a very unique illustration. He spoke at length about this in chapter two, verse 20. So just turn over there quickly one page back and look at verse 20 of chapter two. Verse 20, Peter says, for what credit is it if when you sin you are beaten for it and you endure, but when you do good and you suffer for it, you endure? This is a gracious thing in the sight of God. 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 what? 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." And so, Peter, each time he talks about suffering for righteousness sake, suffering unjust punishment, he points to the picture of Jesus. Jesus is the purest illustration of one who couldn't be found guilty on any possible charge, and yet was put to death in one of the most brutal ways imaginable. We even talked about this past Sunday, the Pharisees, the scribes and Pharisees, they have to pay two witnesses to kind of combine their stories, to line up their stories and present this false witness against Jesus because there was no way they were indicting him otherwise. And so back in chapter three, Peter references suffering for righteousness sake, and he follows his pattern. He immediately moves to the example of Jesus in verse 18. Several times Peter makes this connection and he commands the believers to follow the example of Jesus. Why? Because it points the lost to Jesus. Are you sensing a theme so far in Peter's epistle? Your number one mission as a believer is point the lost to Christ. Glorify God by the way that you live. Point others to Jesus. That is your base function as a Christ follower. ultimately in the same way that Jesus Christ's unjust suffering provided salvation for the world, Christ comes, he lives a perfect life, he dies, he's sacrificed for our sins, and we'll look at that later in verse 18, you and I can have a unique testimony, a testimony that can even draw people to faith in Christ by suffering unjustly when we're persecuted. One commentator says this, why is it better to suffer for doing right than for doing wrong? In this context, it is because such wrongful suffering patiently endured is so remarkable that it becomes a powerful form of witness leading unbelievers to salvation. Just as Christ endured unjust suffering for our salvation, Peter reasons so we are blessed by God if we endure unjust suffering for the salvation of others. So do you catch that? In the same way that Jesus Christ suffers unjustly and brings us salvation through his suffering, Peter's purpose is this, your unique testimony by suffering for righteousness sake can draw someone to faith in Christ. What a powerful, powerful testimony. Once again, it's certainly not easy for us to do, but notice verse 18 as Peter moves ahead to give us that example of Jesus Christ. His example, once again, it motivates our testimony. Look at verse 18. that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the Spirit." And this verse truly is a beautiful summary of the salvation that we experience in Christ. In one verse, Peter beautifully summarizes everything that we experience as unbelievers brought to faith in Christ, the sacrifice of Christ, His atonement for us as a righteous individual for unrighteous people. The phrase, for Christ also suffered once for sins, it makes Peter's connection unmistakable. The testimony of a believer can have an eternal impact on a lost soul. Again, what a powerful truth that Peter's communicating. He encourages the believers in verses 16 through 17 to suffer for righteousness sake, and then he says, for Christ also suffered. Once for sins. Again, he's drawing that comparison. Look at the way Jesus Christ suffered. You can suffer in the same way and point people to him by your testimony. And again, this verse is very, very theologically loaded. It's very, very doctrinally loaded. And so as we begin to break this down, you notice that word suffered even more powerful is the tense of the Greek verb that's used here. Peter uses the aorist tense. In the Greek, the aorist tense is speaking to a past action that is definitively done. You might think of it as saying, Micah closed the door. It's done. The door is closed. And so it's a once-for-all action. The action is done. Christ suffered once for sins. This phraseology, it's incredibly powerful. As the Jews were all well acquainted with the Old Testament sacrificial system, they were used to sacrificing animals for their sins on a regular basis. During the Passover celebration, streets in Jerusalem would run with blood from the sheer number of lambs that were being sacrificed in the temple. And so the statement demonstrates the sufficiency of Jesus Christ's sacrifice on our behalf. Christ suffered once for sins. He didn't need to do it over and over again. This is very powerful because once again, the Jews have been living with an imperfect system over and over and over again. They're taking a lamb, taking it to the temple, slaughtering it. They do this repeatedly. And again, this is demonstrating Christ's sufficiency for us. We don't need to sacrifice bulls, lambs for the atonement of sins because Jesus Christ, the perfect son of God, has taken our sin upon himself so that we might have life. Peter illustrates this exchange in verse 18, saying, the righteous for the unrighteous. He suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous. The phrase could be more literally translated, the righteous one, singular, for unrighteous people, plural. This is, again, this is a weighty doctrinal statement. If not for the righteousness of Jesus Christ, we could not be made righteous before God. So once again, why did Jesus have to die? Why did Jesus have to live a perfect life? Did Jesus live a perfect life? These are critical questions that we need to be versed to answer. And Peter's giving us the explanation here in verse 18. Jesus absolutely had to be perfect or else we would not be made righteous by his sacrifice. His sacrifice is perfect, it is sufficient, it is final, because Jesus was the righteous one, the only righteous one. And again, what's fascinating about this text is just a few verses earlier, in verse 18, Peter says, in your hearts honor Christ, the Lord is holy, and always be prepared to make an answer. And then what does he do? He immediately, three verses later, he lays out a perfect example for the salvation that we receive in Christ. It's almost like he's equipping the believers to fulfill the mission he's given them from the previous passage. Peter in verse 18, he is equipping you and me. These are the fundamentals. These are the core elements of salvation that as you are prepared to give an answer, you know these things. You have a firm grasp on these doctrines. Peter says, the righteous one died for unrighteous sinners. Why? So that he might bring us to God. In this statement, we see the sole purpose for the sacrificial death of Jesus. The sole purpose is the reconciliation of sinful man. Paul describes this work of reconciliation in Romans 5 too, and he says this, You notice that theme, in hope of the glory of God. The apostles loved the idea of hope in the salvation that we have from Jesus Christ. Again, in Colossians 1, 21 through 23, Paul writes this, and you, who were once alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, Paul's making very clear, you were formerly the enemy of God. And people like to kind of go through life with this idea that God is this benevolent guy and we read Psalms like Psalm 23 and say, the Lord is my shepherd, I take comfort in that Psalm. No, no, no, this is referring Here in 1 Peter 3.18, in Romans 5.2, in Colossians 1.21, you were hostile towards God. You were unrighteous prior to the righteous one sacrificing himself for you. There is no friendship here. There's not a decent relationship, we just disagree on how things are going to go in the end. We'll all get to heaven our own way. No, no, the Bible's very clear. The Bible's very dogmatic when it comes to salvation. And these critical doctrines, you were hostile, you were God's enemy. So is everyone who has not repented and placed their faith in Jesus Christ. And so Paul continues, you're hostile in mind, you're doing evil deeds. and he is now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him. And so you recognize this transition that takes place. This is a dramatic transition that's taking place. You were once alienated, you're hostile in mind, you're doing evil deeds, but now what happens? God's presenting you holy, blameless, above reproach before him, And this is through the sacrifice of who? Jesus Christ. This is incredible. Paul says in verse 23, Once again, it is ultimately this glorious hope of salvation. You notice even in that passage in Colossians, Paul references the hope of the gospel. This hope should be overflowing out of our lives. It should be impacting the unsaved. And this is ultimately the same characteristic that Peter says should draw unbelievers to you, your hope. You have a unique hope. I was actually listening to a podcast just today, and one of the guests on the podcast got on the show they kind of started, and he immediately started talking about just how unsatisfied he was in life. how nothing is ever enough. He's very wealthy, he went to a car dealership, bought a specific car, he liked the car, drove it for seven months, went to get it serviced, saw a different car that he liked, he bought that car, and it's just never enough. And for probably 10 minutes, he just talked about this, how his life is never enough. This is what Peter is referring to. This is what the apostles are referring to. In the circumstances that these believers were in, unbearable persecution, many of them giving their lives for the gospel, and they say, your life should be defined by what? Hope. Of any characteristic. They say, hope. Why? Because you have Jesus Christ. Because you have an imperishable inheritance, Peter says, waiting for you in heaven. It's kept for you. And so this is Peter's point. This is Paul's point in both of these passages as well. We have hope in the gospel. And so Peter continues in verse 18, being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit. This phrase, Peter wants his readers to understand that for all intents and purposes, those who belong to Christ, they have died physically, being put to death in the flesh. They should no longer be consumed with physical realities. Paul writes similarly in Colossians 3, 1 through 4, excuse me. If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above. Where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God, set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on the earth. Why? For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. Again, it's very clear based on this passage, based on Peter's passage, being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the Spirit. It's very clear. One of the marks of being a regenerative, a regenerated, believing Christ follower is that they desire the things that are above. You're not fixated on the temporal. Like the example from the podcast I just referenced. Again, these believers, they model their lifestyle around Christ and their relationship with Him. This is the center. Everything in my life gets built around this. Everything in my life gets prioritized around Jesus Christ and my relationship with Him. And this parallels closely even with our study through John. We walked through John 7 and 8 recently and Jesus indicts the religious leaders on the grounds that they were from below, he says. Now what he means by this is that their lives are dominated by earthly, fleshly desires. And so what about us this evening? What about you? What are you passionate about? What do you desire? What do you chase after? Jesus tells us in Luke 6, 45, out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. Typically, you talk about what you love. What you love, you will talk about. Do you talk about Jesus? You notice how this ties us right back into 1 Peter 3, 15. Be prepared to give an answer. Do you talk about Jesus? Do you love him? Are you passionate about him? Peter commands us to be as believers, and now Peter's gonna transition in verse 19. He transitions, you may even be struggling somewhat to track what Peter's saying in these final verses, but honestly, as we look at verses 19 to 22, what we really have here is a very cool passage, a fascinating text, what Peter does with his imagery. He presents some really elaborate imagery tying in the Old Testament and Old Testament stories. And so, it's really not too difficult to understand as we really get into it and break it down. And so, we'll just do that. We'll break it down section by section. Let's read through verses 19 and 20 together to get a feel for this text. Peter says, He says, being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, in which he went, that's referring to Christ, 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 the water. So again, really a fascinating text. Peter is tying in Old Testament imagery. We see anti-types in this passage, and so it's a great text. Verse 19 begins, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison. And so we have some major questions to deal with between verses 19 and 20. And let me lay those out for you. If you're taking notes, you'll want to write these down because we'll go through the answers specifically as we work through the passage. Number one, we want to answer this. Who are the spirits in prison? What is Peter talking about when he says Jesus went and ministered to spirits in prison? Who are they? Who are those individuals? Number two, what did Christ preach? He went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison. This word proclaimed literally means to preach to them. So what is he preaching? And finally, when did Christ preach? Is he preaching in the days of Noah? I mean, this is kind of a story about Noah. He's tying in Old Testament imagery. Is this in the days of Noah? Is this between Christ's death and resurrection? Is it after his resurrection? I mean, where is this kind of landing? And so, the first question we see in verse 19, we see Jesus went and proclaimed to spirits in prison. So, we can answer the first question right off the bat in verse 19, who are the spirits in prison? Who is Jesus preaching to? And as you look at verse 20, Peter answers our question a little bit. Notice verse 20. He says, because they, that's clearly referring back 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. And so it appears that the entire context of verse 19, and even the first part of verse 20, it's grounded in the illustration of Noah and the ark. And so you remember the account of Noah and the ark, right? And if you don't, we're gonna take you back to your days as tiny little toddlers in Sunday school, okay? And so Noah's first son, Japheth, he is born when Noah is roughly seven, or excuse me, when Noah is roughly 500 years old. The flood comes sometime in between when Noah is 500 years old. The flood comes when Noah is 600 years old. So somewhere in that time, The flood begins when Noah is 600 years old. Again, somewhere in between 500 and 600 years old, God comes to Noah. He says, you're gonna build an ark. People have gotten very, very wicked. We're gonna destroy humanity. We're gonna wipe out humanity. And so this entire time, we don't know exactly how long it is, but over a span of 100 years, maybe something like 50 years, maybe something like 75 years, we don't know exactly, But Noah is building the ark, and we know that Noah was preaching and calling people to repentance. And so during this entire time, no one, no one responds to the gospel. Shockingly, not one person repents and God floods the earth, destroying all of mankind, except for eight people, Noah and his sons and their wives. And so we have three sons of Noah, their wives, three wives, Noah, and his wife. We have eight people, Peter says. And so he refers to this in verse 20. As you consider this, Peter is drawing parallels to the days of Noah and what believers were experiencing in that present day. Just as God used Noah to preach to wicked humans who inhabited the earth in Genesis 6, it's the believer's responsibility today to faithfully preach the gospel until the second coming of Christ. And just as God judged the earth with a flood in Genesis 6, we know that God will judge the earth again with fire after the second coming of Christ. And so, I know that's a lot of information there for verse 19, but as we go back to our original question, who are the spirits that Jesus is preaching to in prison, Who are they? Those are the individuals, the wicked individuals that are alive during the days of Noah. Noah is preaching to them. They will not respond, and so God destroys them. Now, you may be questioning as you read that text, and Peter's referring to them as spirits. He does so several times, you may wonder. Well, why does Peter call humans in Noah's day, why does he refer to them as spirits? And where are they imprisoned, right? I mean, we know that in Noah's day, they're wandering around on the earth. So why does he call them spirits? Why are they imprisoned? Again, the answer to this question, it really is fairly simple. Peter is writing his epistle at this time that he's writing his epistle. Those individuals who were alive, who were roaming the earth back in Noah's day, they have died. They were killed in the flood and they were judged. As their judge, they're clearly imprisoned in hell, and this is why he refers to them as imprisoned spirits, because he's referencing them in their current state, okay? Does that make sense? Everybody just kind of nod your head, no, maybe yes, okay. So Peter, again, he's referencing people who were alive, they were wandering the planet, but in their current state, as he's writing this, they were spirits. They had been judged. They were condemned to hell because of their unbelief, their refusal to repent. And we even do this in English sometimes. You might say that Pastor Micah was born in 2001. Now, hopefully when you say that, you recognize Pastor Micah being born in 2001. I was not a pastor when I was born in 2001. In the same way, Peter's not saying, back in Genesis 6, these were spirits that were imprisoned. No, he's saying, right now, There are spirits who are in prison. Back then, we recognize they were humans who roamed the earth like everybody else. And so as you consider that, notice verse 20, as Peter continues to build, he says, So Peter, now he gives us the reason that Christ went and preached to these people, because clearly they did not obey. And despite God's patience and the preaching of Noah during the construction of the ark, none of the individuals repented. None of them pursued God. This demonstrates to us, really, this is a testament to God's incredible patience with humanity. These individuals, as you read through Genesis 6, they're incredibly violent, immoral, wicked, wicked people. They're 100% deserving of all of God's wrath, of all of this judgment. They deserve to be annihilated. And it would have been incredibly simple for God to simply wipe out everyone and start fresh, And yet God, through the Spirit of Christ, He preaches to them. He gives them the opportunity to repent. None of them do so. And this, of course, it parallels very closely to what we see in our world today. Again, notice Peter's drawing connections. He's saying, just in the same way that God, through the Spirit of Christ, He preached to these individuals, repent, you can repent. Here's Noah building the ark. God could have annihilated him. He could have wiped him out immediately. We have potentially 75 or more years that Noah's building the ark and there's preaching, repent, repent, repent, you're wicked. Judgment is coming. They won't do it. This parallels very closely to what we see today as we, as believers, we faithfully await the second coming. Peter himself writes in 2 Peter 3, 9, Why? Not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. We can very clearly see Peter's comparison between the faithfulness of Noah as Noah is patiently awaiting the just judgment of God upon sinful humanity. And we as believers today, we are also awaiting the judgment of God upon humanity as well. And so Peter's making this similar connection. Peter says that God is actively still today, just as he did in Noah's day. He is actively delaying his judgment so that people might repent. Again, this is an incredible truth. One small phrase from verse 20 I think might go unnoticed generally is Peter's reference to eight people that God saved from the flood. I think Peter's purpose in mentioning this is to encourage what was a ravaged group of believers. No matter how small the faithful remnant is, God can be trusted to be faithful to his promises. God saved eight people from the global flood. How much more will he save us as believers? Again, we can trust, we can have confidence in the promises of God. This is an amazing truth that Peter is drawing out, amazing Old Testament connections that he's making. So notice verse 21, Peter continues to build, he says, baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God, for a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Initially, this may appear to be kind of another confusing verse. Is Peter trying to say that baptism is salvific in this way? No, again, he's tying the imagery of baptism into the analogy of the flood. He says, very literally, baptism, which corresponds to this. That demonstrates he's still clearly speaking in allegorical terms, clearly speaking in metaphoric terms, He's not saying baptism is salvific. In fact, notice what he does say. Baptism now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body. He's making very clear, I'm not talking about the physical ceremony of baptism, of being physically immersed into water. I'm not talking about dirt being washed off of your body. Instead, He says, as an appeal to God for a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is clearly referring to the spiritual transformation which baptism represents. You notice we don't baptize for no reason. Baptism represents something important. It represents our death and burial with Christ, our resurrection to new life. One commentator writes this, baptism now saves you. He writes, we could paraphrase it like this, not the outward physical ceremony of baptism, but the inward spiritual reality, which baptism represents. Thus Peter guards against any magical view of baptism, which would attribute saving power to the physical ceremony itself. And Paul actually writes in Romans 6, 4, we were buried therefore with him by baptism into death in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead to the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. Have you heard anybody say that as they baptize someone? They say, raised to walk in newness of life. This is what we're picturing when we baptize. So Paul references it as well in Romans 6, 4. Peter concludes in verse 22 saying this, who has gone into heaven, that's referring to Jesus, is at the right hand of God with angels, authorities, and powers, having been subjected to him. Peter concludes this chapter with a picture of Jesus Christ having finished his work of salvation. He has ascended into heaven triumphantly. He's seated at the right hand of the Father with all authorities and powers subjected to him. This is the Lion of Judah that we read about in Revelation. He is patiently waiting, wishing that none should perish, but that all would reach repentance. As we think about the illustration that I started off with, given the peculiar and unusual nature of the situation, Wilson's case was eventually taken before the Supreme Court. Does a man even have the right to deny a presidential pardon? Renowned Chief Justice John Marshall submitted a commanding determination, which reads as follows. The court cannot give the prisoner the benefit of the pardon unless he claims the benefit of it. It is a grant to him. It is his property, and he may accept it or not as he pleases. A pardon is an act of grace proceeding from the power entrusted with the execution of the laws, which exempts the individual on whom it is bestowed from the punishment the law inflicts for a crime he has committed. A pardon is a deed to the validity of which delivery is essential, and delivery is not complete without acceptance. It may then be rejected by the person to whom it is tendered, and we have no power in a court to force it on him. As we look back over this passage, certainly some incredible theological doctrinal truths for us to unpack. The overriding theme, however, that we must take away is that you and I, through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we have been restored to God. We have missed the judgment. God has safely taken us through the waters just as he took Noah and his family through the waters of judgment. He has granted us a pardon. Today, have you responded to the work of Jesus Christ on your behalf? If you have, and if you're a believer today, are you living like it? Do the characteristics that Peter prescribes line up with your life? And most importantly, are you sharing the glorious hope of your salvation with the lost world around you? Let's go ahead and close with a word of prayer. Dear Lord, we are so thankful for your son, Jesus Christ. We're thankful for forgiveness that we have through him. We're thankful that we have died with Christ. Lord, we ask for grace to dwell on things that are above, that our perspective would not be temporal, that we would not be burdened down with concerns of this life, but that we would look only and always to you, that we would have a spiritual perspective that overrides our physical earthly concerns. God, we cannot do this in our own willpower, and so we ask for your grace this evening. Lord, I pray for any, even in this room, who may not truly have a relationship with you. I pray that you would give them the grace to see you have extended them a pardon. All they must do is respond. If they don't, Delivery of the pardon has not been completed. And so, God, I pray that we would take this seriously. You do patiently wait for those who reject you to respond to the gospel. We love you, and we are so thankful for your patience with us this evening. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.