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Proverbs 7:11-20
11 She was
loud and rebellious, Her feet would not stay at home.
12 At times she was outside, at times in the open square, Lurking at every
corner.
13 So she caught him and kissed him; With an
impudent face she said to him:
14 "I
have peace offerings with me; Today I have paid my vows.
15 So I came out to meet you, Diligently to seek
your face, And I have found you.
16 I have spread my bed with tapestry, Colored
coverings of Egyptian linen.
17 I have perfumed my bed With myrrh, aloes, and
cinnamon.
18 Come, let us take our fill of love until
morning; Let us delight ourselves with love.
19 For my husband is not at home; He has gone on a long journey;
20 He has taken a bag of money with him, And will come home on the appointed
day."
Father God, send you Spirit to the unsaved to convict
them of their sinfulness to drive them to repent. In Jesus name we pray, Amen!
Book of I Peter 3:14-22
NKJV
Last week we left off with verse 13, “And
who is he who will harm you if
you become followers of what is good?” With verse 13 Peter started with
persecution of people that are followers of Jesus. Anyone that is a follower of
Jesus and promotes the Gospel will be persecuted in some fashion.
This week we will continue with
persecution and then touch on the will of God, Spirits, water baptism, and
Christ exaltation. These two books of Peter aren’t very long, but Peter sure
has a lot to say in them.
14 But even
if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you are blessed. "AND DO NOT BE AFRAID OF THEIR THREATS,
NOR BE TROUBLED."
But even if you should suffer for
righteousness' sake, you are
blessed; This phrase
is saying; even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for
it. God is greatly pleased with us if we do what is right. He will remember the
righteous things we do when we stand before Him one day.
AND DO NOT BE AFRAID OF THEIR THREATS,
NOR BE TROUBLED; As
true believers we should not be troubled by what people say or do to us,
because we are not of this world. We belong to Jesus Christ and He will provide
us what we need. Our goal is to please God and do His work while we are here on
earth. If we fear persecution, worry about what people think about our
religious beliefs, worry about what people think of us, then are we living to
please man or God? Are we actually saved if we hold back telling people what
sin is or that the lifestyle they are living is sinful?
This
phrase is taken from Isaiah which shows there was persecution in his time era
for being faithful to God and doing God’s will. Isaiah 8:12 "Do
not say, 'A conspiracy,' Concerning all that this people call a conspiracy, Nor
be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.
There
will be persecution till the day Jesus returns and then rids this earth of
corruption. This persecution is another fine example of what the fall of Adam
caused. The sin nature is the cause of persecution of God’s children, because
these people that do the persecuting do not have the love of Jesus within their
heart; they haven’t repented of their lifestyle and accepted Jesus as their
Saviour (Born Again); they are living a life based off of their human rationale
and not of God’s word, the Bible. Unless one is Born Again they cannot see the
Kingdom of God the Father, John 3:3.
15 But
sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give
a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with
meekness and fear;
But sanctify the Lord God in your
hearts; We need to
hold God’s Word the Bible in our hearts at all times and live by what is says.
If we strive to live according to what the Bible states and not pick and choose
what we want to live by, then we will sanctify God. This type of lifestyle will
result in fearing God and not man. Isaiah
8:13 The LORD of hosts, Him you
shall hallow; Let Him be your fear, And let Him be your dread.
A change in one’s lifestyle in this manner would be one sign of being saved
And always be ready to give
a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you; Some Christians believe that faith is
a personal matter that should be kept to oneself, but that isn’t what Jesus
commanded us to do. He sent out His apostles to proclaim the Gospel and as a
saved individual we are commissioned also to go out and spread the Good News. A
Born Again individual should always be ready and willing to share what Jesus
Christ has done in their life and how their life has been changed because of
their faith in the Cross.
With meekness and fear; We should always be ready to give an
answer, gently and respectfully, when asked about our faith, our lifestyle, or
our Christian perspective. We shouldn't be boisterous or obnoxious in sharing
our faith, but courteous and willing.
16 having a
good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your
good conduct in Christ may be ashamed.
Having
a good conscience; Peter
is telling us to live a good lifestyle; one that is for our Lord; doing what
Jesus would do, etc. As a Christian, a person may not be able to stop people
from speaking evil against them, but they can at least stop supplying them with
ammunition by living righteously. As long as you do what is right, their
accusations will be empty and only embarrass them. Keep your conduct above
criticism!
That
when they defame you as evildoers; As
a follower of Jesus, a Christian can expect people to speak false acquisitions of
them, through ignorance of God’s Word. Jesus tells us we will be persecuted in Matthew 5:11 "Blessed are you
when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you
falsely for My sake. Jesus
knew they hated Him and that anyone that has their faith in Jesus will also be
hated by worldly people, therefore He gives us reassurance that we are doing
His will when we reap persecution for His Glory. We should be proud to be
persecuted just like the apostles were. Acts 4:23-24 And being
let go, they went to their own companions
and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. 24 So when
they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said:
"Lord, You are God, who
made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them. Have you been persecuted for speaking
out for Jesus?
Those
who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed; Peter reaffirms here that people of
the world may accuse Christians if insincerity, hypocrisy, dishonesty; judging;
of being enemies of the state, or of crimes; but the time will come when they
will see their error.
Within the past year or
two there are many examples of persecution happening right here in the U.S. The
most recent is Kim Davis and you also have the bakers refusing to make a
wedding cake for homosexuals. If we could see all the hate correspondence these
people have received it would be incomprehensible how cruel people can be.
These people might even call themselves christians, but in reality they are
living to please themselves. The Righteousness of Christ will ultimately
prevail. In other words, those who falsely accuse will ultimately be proven
wrong. Psalms 37:5-6 Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him,
And He shall bring it to
pass. 6
He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your justice as the
noonday.
17 For it is better, if it is the will of
God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.
With this verse Peter is
addressing the will of God pertaining to our life. What he is saying is that
there is honor in suffering; for standing up and defending the Word of God and
not doing wrong. If we have to endure suffering for Jesus, this is far better than
doing wrong and going through chastisement from our Lord.
18 For
Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might
bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit,
For
Christ also suffered once for sins; Jesus
suffered and died for us; for the sin that resides in us due to the fall of
mankind through Adam. Jesus suffering, death, and resurrection is what gives us
hope for eternal life by faith in what He did for us on the Cross. This
sacrifice is one that never has to be repeated like the sacrifices of the OT.
The
just for the unjust; Jesus
was holy, pure, and spotless. He kept the Law perfectly and there was no sin in
Him. He is the just and He died for us the unjust. No matter how good we think
we are, there is no comparison to perfection/Jesus. We fall short each and
every day. Romans 3:23 for all
have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans
6:23 For the wages of sin is
death, but the gift of God is
eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
That
He might bring us to God; This
phrase is referring to Jesus death and resurrection and that through this act
of unselfish love for mankind, He has opened the door of eternal life in the
presence of God, if we will repent of our lifestyle and ask Jesus to rule the
remainder of our life here on earth by placing our faith in Him.
Being
put to death in the flesh; This
means that Jesus died physically for mankind. He sacrificed His spotless flesh
as the ultimate sacrifice, never to be repeated in any fashion, form, or
ritual. Oh and just so all understand, Jesus Spirit did not died, it was just
His flesh; outer covering; the tent that He was housed in. Some say His Spirit
died which is untrue. It isn’t any different than what happens to us when we
die, our flesh dies, but our spirit lives on for eternity.
But
made alive by the Spirit; It
was by the power of the Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead. The same
happens to us, the Holy Spirit lifts our spirit up before God. Romans 8:10-13 And if Christ is in you, the body is
dead because of sin, but the Spirit is
life because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the
dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to
your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. 12 Therefore,
brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you
live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death
the deeds of the body, you will live.
19 by whom
also He went and preached to the spirits in prison,
By whom also He went and preached to; Between
Jesus death and resurrection He went and preached to the spirits that God put
in prison.
The spirits in prison; This verse is one that has
entertained many discussions. In studying it out the key words are spirits in
prison. Here are two verses that speak of spirits and prison or being locked
up; 2 Peter 2:4 For if
God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; Jude 1:6 And
the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He
has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great
day;
This does not refer to
humans with the word spirit being used, but rather to fallen Angels; humans in
the Bible are never referred to in this particular manner; these were probably
the fallen Angels who tried to corrupt the human race by co-habiting with women;
these fallen Angels are still locked up in this underworld prison. These
spirits were cohabitating with women prior to the flood.
20 who
formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the
days of Noah, while the ark was
being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.
Who
formerly were disobedient; Who,
in this phrase is referring to the spirit or angels that were disobedient.
These disobedient angels are the ones mentioned in Genesis
6:1-4. There were
these angels that saw the daughters of man that were beautiful and they took
them as wives resulting in offspring of half human and half angel. This was not
part of God’s plan and therefore the reason for the flood to cleanse the earth
and new life. These angels were then put in prison to prevent this from ever
happening again.
When
once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared; This is referring to the days of Noah
and the time it took for the Ark to be built. We don’t know exactly how long of
time period was involved, but it is referred to as Divine longsuffering. During
this time frame angels were cohabitating with women. God was deeply grieved
that this was happening.
In
which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water; Noah, his wife, and his three sons and
their wives were saved from the flood. Not saved spiritually but from perishing
in the flood waters. This tells us all of mankind was corrupt and not living a
Godly life.
21 There is
also an antitype which now saves us—baptism (not the removal of the filth of
the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the
resurrection of Jesus Christ,
There
is also an antitype which now saves us—baptism; Peter is making a correlation between
Noah and his family being saved in the Ark floating on the flood water and
baptism. We are saved by faith through repentance of our sinful lifestyle and
then as a symbol of our repentance, or vow to live for Jesus we are baptized.
Noah survived the flood due to his faith in God. They were in the Ark of God;
floating on the water because of their faith; under God’s covenant. The earth
was baptized and renewed with new life, just as baptism is a symbol of our new
life when we repent.
(not
the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience
toward God); With this
phrase here Peter is telling us that baptism doesn’t save a person it is
through a good conscience of realizing we are born sinners and by repentance or
changing our lifestyle is what saves a person.
Albert
Barnes: Baptism - Not the mere application of water, for that idea the apostle
expressly disclaims, when he says that it involves not “putting away the filth
of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God.” The meaning is,
that baptism, including all that is properly meant by baptism as a religious
rite - that is, baptism administered in connection with true repentance, and
true faith in the Lord Jesus, and when it is properly a symbol of the putting
away of sin, and of the renewing influences of the Holy Spirit, and an act of
unreserved dedication to God - now saves us.
About
a month after I was saved I had a desire to be baptized; I was saved by faith
through repentance not by being baptized, but baptism does go hand in hand with
repentance.
Through
the resurrection of Jesus Christ; This
refers to the Cross of Christ, and the Believing sinner being raised with
Christ in “newness of life” (Baptism). Romans 6:4–5
22 who has
gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and
powers having been made subject to Him.
This verse is of course
referring to Jesus who ascended to Heaven; His mission complete. He is seated
at the right hand of God signifying that His sacrifice was acceptable to God
and all are subject to Him, holy and unholy.
Colossians 1:16 For by Him all things were created
that are in heaven and that are on earth,
visible
and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.
All things were created through Him
and for Him.
Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of
the glory of God,
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our
Lord.
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, Most assuredly, I say to you,
unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
The Lighthouse Full Gospel Church
Sinners
Prayer; Pray this, and if you believe it with your heart, Jesus will save you!
“Lord Jesus I know I am a
sinner. I confess my sins to you; I am
sorry for my sins; I repent (Meaning, desiring to turn from a sinful
lifestyle.) of all my sins, and I am asking for your forgiveness. I believe that only you can forgive sin. I commit my life to you and ask you to come
into my heart, direct, and take charge of my life. I believe that you died to set me free from
my sinful lifestyle and you rose from the dead to give me eternal life, and
right now you are seated at the Right Hand of God Almighty. I believe you are
the Son of God; the only Way, the only Truth, the only Life, and my
Savior.” I believe this and have faith
you will make a new person out of me, by sending the Holy Spirit to dwell in my
heart and lead me in a new life. In Jesus name I pray Amen.”
(John 3:16,17; Romans
3:23; 6:23; 5:8; 10:9-13; Ephesians
2:8-10; 1 John 5:11-14; 1:6-10)
(Sin: Rom. 1:22-32; Gal. 5:19-21; Eph.
5:3-7)
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