Washed and Ready

Our scripture reading this morning comes from First Peter, Chapter three, starting in verse 18. Here are these words for Christ also suffered four sins once for all the righteous, for the unrighteous in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the Spirit in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison, who in former times did not obey when God waited patiently in the days of Noah during the building of the Ark, in which a few that is eight persons were saved through the waters, and baptism, which this prefigured 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 as at the right hand of God with the angels, authorities and powers made subject to him. This is the word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God.

They gave you the Mark Passage. That’s all right. I fixed it. No. Okay. That’s what you get for changing the scripture reading.

So, welcome to Lent. Right? Who knows what Lent is? Good. Good. Glad to see all those hands up. Lent is a 40-day journey. We examine the live, examine our lives, focus on repentance, forgiveness of sins, the joy of salvation that Easter will bring. It’s a journey that allows us the opportunity to be honest about where we need to reconcile with one another. Reconcile with God. And one of the ways we can do that is by thinking about the covenants that God makes with humanity. God’s response to the human condition. So you see, we take our sinful natures for granted, and God’s response to that is one of initiative and covenant making and providing stability of life for his people. And before we dive into the text this morning, and I’ll walk you through that passage of 1 Peter, I want to back up just one verse, and I want to address a bad theological reading of 1 Peter, which is sometimes used to encourage Christians to stay in abusive relationships. This is not what Peter is addressing and it’s not what Peter is talking about. So if you are being abused in a relationship, you need to do everything you can to get out of that relationship and the church needs to do everything they can to help you in any ways that we are able to do so. And so, yes, Peter is encouraging these believers in their suffering. Yes, Peter is encouraging them to persevere and saying that their suffering is like Christ who suffered. But there’s a difference between Christians in suffering and Christians suffering for the faith. Christians will suffer things in this life, but God is not asking us to endure suffering just solely for the sake of suffering.

And so, again, as we back up to verse 17, it says for it is better if it is God’s will to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. It’s not saying that it is God’s will that we suffer. It says that it is God’s will for us to do what is good and right and that, yeah, we are probably may experiencing some suffering because of that. But our suffering should not be a deterrent for what is right according to God’s will. That’s what he’s saying. And we serve a God who knows what it is to suffer and who can identify with us in our suffering. He was ridiculed, mocked, beaten and killed at the hands of the very people he came to save. And this new community of believers that Peter is writing to, they are suffering because they have converted to Christianity. They’ve stopped worshiping the gods and the desires of the culture around them. As a result, they’re losing status and reputation. They’re losing identity among the people. They’re losing comfort. They are being ridiculed, mocked and attacked. And so, Peter’s writing them. He’s encouraging them to stay strong, not just for the sake of withstanding abuse, but for the sake of standing on the promises, the protection and the preeminence of Christ. We identify with Christ in our suffering because in the suffering of Christ, we have resurrection, rebirth and new life. When we say that Christ death was an atonement of our sins, we’re saying that on the cross Christ made an exchange. A righteous, sinless man exchanged his life for ours. Unrighteous, sin filled creatures. Why, in order that, verse 18, in order that it might bring us back to God. So one of the things that Peter points out for us here is the power of Christ’s saving work on the cross stretches back into the primeval times of history, right? It stretches to our time and it’s going to go even beyond our time so that anyone who knows Jesus may not perish, but have everlasting life.

And some people get hung up here right where they say, well, how can one man die for all the sins of all mankind from the beginning of human existence to the end of human existence? And the answer really is quite simple. One man cannot but a man who is God made flesh, a man who is the embodiment of the God who was there before the world began. That man, because he is eternal, infinite, and holy can deliver any one through anything during any time. You with me? No? Okay, we’ll get there, and we’ll start preaching here in a minute. He’s able to do that. This man is able to do that because he is everything we are not. It’s the same reason that Peter says that after Jesus was put to death in the flesh, he was made alive in the spirit, and that he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison who did in the former days, not obey God. We read that today. We’re automatically confused. Well, that seems unfair. How many of you think that’s unfair? Okay. Well, the qualifications. Right. The judgment of salvation doesn’t belong to you and me. We don’t get to decide the basis by which someone is saved or beyond redemption. There is no one who is beyond the redemption of Jesus Christ.

 And another question a verse like this brings up for many of us is, you know, is that one of those verses that people like to talk about when they like to say, did Jesus descend into hell? Have you ever heard that? There’s big debate going on. Church history. Well, how many of you read in that Easter earthquake book that I was talking about earlier? Have you started reading that yet? Okay. Get the book. Read the book. It’s a doozy. Right. And on This week, Harnish is going to talk about he’s going to bring that up, right. This whole did he descend into hell thing. The first thing we want to notice about that question; well one, what does Peter say? He says it’s the spirits who were in prison. That’s not exactly the same thing as that eternal place that we like to call hell. you tracking with me? Okay. Not exactly a parallel here. And so instead of us debating this phrase that has literally gone on in church history for like, forever, Harnish is going to tell us this story of a young clergy person, how they took this idea. Jesus in hell. And he uses that phrase to tell his story in his ordination paper. Here it is. Harnish says that his friend he says he told his story of how Christ ascended into the hell of his own life. Everything had fallen apart around him, like poorly constructed buildings collapsing during an earthquake. His addiction to alcohol and drugs had landed him in prison, but the risen Christ descended into the hell of this man and the life that he had made for himself brought new light into the darkness and new hope into his despair. He stands as a living witness to the life-giving power of the risen Christ who suffered for our sins, was put to death in the flesh and made alive in the spirit, and who came down to proclaim good news to the spirits in prison.

And so while it’s not wrong to have a particular theological debate, and I’m one who loves the particular theological debate, we cannot spend so much of our time and our energy arguing about the eternal destination of someone’s soul that we fail to be A people who are about concerned about the state of people’s soul here and now. When you say it again, we can argue about the eternal destination. We can. We should to a certain extent, but we can’t be a people who are so consumed with that that we fail to be about concerned about what’s going on in people’s souls. Now, just like we talk about experiencing the blessings and the joys of God now, some people are experiencing the torment of hell now. And if the throne room of heaven is all salvation was meant to be, then why didn’t God just suck us up like the great Hoover vacuum as soon as we believed in Christ Jesus? Right. I mean, if that’s all that was meant to be, then we believe in Jesus. We’ve come to an end. poof done. Why were we left here? Why is salvation among us now? And those are Christ’s words, not my words. Because we were left here. Because the kingdom is going to come. What on earth as it is in heaven? Okay. This is why we continue to step carefully, yet boldly, into areas where our Christian witness might not be so welcome. Okay. And that can be in this country just as much as it is in any of the others. This is why we dare to suffer in the flesh for the sake of the gospel. If we really are concerned about what happens there, and I usually say they are and then there and then we should be deeply concerned about what is not happening here and now, especially among those who claim to know the risen Christ and have the power of the Holy Spirit in their midst.

You say, okay, that’s all well and good, pastor, and I’m with you and I’m excited, you know, until we get out there and we get spit on or laughed at called fools, bigots, arrogant jerks for the faith. Just me. Okay, maybe I’m doing it wrong. Right. It’s easy to talk about the connection we have with Jesus and our willingness to suffer for the Gospel until we actually have to put that belief into practice and decide if it’s really true or if it’s just something that sounds nice. We in the Believers that Peter is writing to have found themselves in a place where they have to decide if what they believe about Jesus is true. Is it worth all the ridicule, the isolation and the inconvenience? Is it worth giving up The only way I know how to have security and safety in my life. And it’s not really a question of how much faith they have. We like to talk about that in the church. Right? Somebody in the church starts to struggle with life and we. What do we say? We say, well, they just didn’t have enough faith. Well, shouldn’t have enough faith. It’s very tempting, especially when we’re suffering. And inconvenience is a present reality and we’re given the opportunity to avoid it. We’re given the option to avoid it. It’s very tempting for us to lay down our convictions and beliefs that we have because we aren’t sure if we have enough faith to make it through the wilderness. And we may not say that that’s what we believe, but that sure is how we act. But I’m not sure that’s what the Bible teaches us, because in Matthew 17, Jesus tells us that the faith of a mustard seed is enough to move mountains.

So, Jesus, if you don’t know, Jesus is taking the smallest known physical object of his time of his day and he is saying that this is all the faith you need to change the world, right? What is the smallest? Who do we have in here? What’s the smallest known physical object today? Any scientists among us? Physiologist. Cosmetologist. What is this? No. All right. Nothing. What? Okay. I think a dust mote is the smallest known particle today. So my challenge, my encouragement is not to just say that we believe this teaching. It’s to have it come to bear in our lives. Because the question doesn’t really seem to be about the amount of faith that we have. I got Mark going crazy over there. Question doesn’t seem to be about the amount of faith that we have. It’s not the amount of faith that is the problem. The problem lies in where our faith is found. We all know how Satan attacks Jesus during the temptation in the wilderness. Right? What does he say? If you are the son of God, do this work. Take this risk. It’s okay, right? God got you. Right. And there’s a basic, basic truth to each temptation that Jesus faces. But the temptation the test wasn’t about if Jesus was supposed to do certain works or take certain risks in his ministry. He most certainly did both of those all throughout his ministry. The test, which came at a time when he was most vulnerable, was where was Jesus going to place his faith? Did Jesus trust the Father or was he like Adam, going to find a different way to live in the world that God had placed him? It was about where Jesus was going to find the power to live out God’s Word. Did Jesus have faith not only in the promises of God that He had made to his son, but did he have the faith in how God wanted him to live that out? He was in the wilderness, and he’s got to be like, okay, God, this isn’t how I expected it to go down. But your word is clear in my heart and my mind.

And so I will continue to live out your ways above my own. You say, Well, sure, but that’s Jesus. What, Pastor? You want me to live like Jesus? I’m sorry I misunderstood you. Is that not what we’re supposed to be doing? And so the answer, the power and the assurance to that question it has given to us through the covenant that God makes with us through our baptism. This is why Peter makes the move from suffering for the sake of the Gospel, and he makes a connection between our baptism and the flood in the days of Noah. The flood was that moment where humanity was cleansed and ultimately saved as they passed through the waters. Peter says that baptism saves you. Yes, but it does so only by and because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is what is represented in our baptism as we identify with Christ in His death and resurrection and our washed clean by His blood. Baptism in and of itself is not a salvific act without the promises of God through the power of the Holy Spirit. If we don’t have the power of God, the promise of the Holy Spirit, the power of the Holy Spirit, it’s just water. But that’s what makes that water something different. That’s what makes this a sacrament. That’s what makes it a salvific act, to use Peter’s words. It’s the power and presence and promises of God. Baptism is a means of grace that remains us of but not just reminds us. It also invites us into the saving work of Christ. It’s the same salvation that reaches back to the floods, destruction and saves even those who did not know Christ then because their spirits remained imprisoned in the flesh. But the Scriptures are saying that because Christ came and was put to death in the flesh and made alive in the Spirit. So he lives so that we might live also. So in the baptismal event, there is an appeal to God for a good conscience. Some translations say a clear conscience, and that’s not a bad translation.

But this is this is not simply about having a clear conscience. There are plenty evil people in the world who have no problem with the way they are living. Right. But this is about a conscience, a mind that is turned towards God and his ways and adjusting our lives. When the two don’t line up again, I know Jesus doesn’t want to go to the cross and let this past from me. Pretty sure he doesn’t want to be in the wilderness for 40 days. Right. But adjusting when they don’t line up and following God’s will. Second Corinthians ten five. Paul says, we demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God. And we take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ. And so I like to have a little fun with that verse as a memory verse, as a life verse, a thought comes into my mind and I’ve got this big hand or dump truck scooper, and it’s just it grabs it and throws it out to Jesus and grabs you. Have fun with it. Don’t have fun with it. The point is, is that the Holy Spirit within you gives you the power to be in control of what you fix your mind on for what we fix our minds on is what we drive our lives toward. I need to say it again. The Holy Spirit within you gives you the power to control what you put your mind on, what you fix your mind on, for what we fix our minds on is what we drive our lives toward. In all four gospels, the temptation of Jesus always happens after he is baptized. And beyond this being the actual order of events, it’s not exactly unimaginable to see why the story one unfolds in this order. If you’re going to be ready to fight through the trials of life that enticed you away from living in tune with God’s desires, you will need to be washed and cleaned of your sins and filled with the Holy Spirit. It’s the only way. And if this wasn’t a necessary step in our ability to live out the Christian life, then Jesus wouldn’t have taken it. And we know that Jesus was already full of the Holy Spirit from the moment of His conception that He lived a sinless life and that he didn’t need baptism for the forgiveness of sins and that the devil was never going to be a match for the Son of God. We know that Jesus is teaching us. Jesus is showing us what is possible in His name and through the power of the Holy Spirit.

And so, something I’ve always found interesting about the time that Jesus was in the wilderness. It’s in Luke 413. It says, When the devil finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time. Okay, we normally go to the resurrection with that, and that’s true. But have you ever considered or sorry, the crucifixion with that? Right. That’s the. But have you ever considered, just like everything else Jesus did for our sake, that this verse shows up to teach us something? If it’s true, as Paul says in Galatians, that in Christ Jesus, you are all children of God through faith. For all of you who are baptized into Christ have closed yourself with Christ. Then the reality is, is that every follower of Jesus will find themselves in the wilderness because in each generation, Satan thinks He now has an opportune time to sift us like wheat. But if it’s true that it’s no longer I who live for Christ, who lives in me and the life I live, I now live in the flesh by the Son of God who loved me and gave himself up for me. Then the test we get in the wilderness now is not if you are the Son of God, because Jesus has already defeated that lie. And we are already counted as sons and daughters of God compares with Christ in His kingdom.

But as we move through the trials and temptations of the wilderness now, we are not asked to determine if but what kind of son and daughter we are going to be while we are there. God has promised us that it will all end in redemption. We have promised God to be faithful and persistent in our pursuit of Him. That’s how covenants work. Each of us has a responsibility in the relationship. And again, don’t get me wrong, right? Being among the wild beasts in the wilderness for 40 days, having no food, being tempted by Satan doesn’t sound enjoyable. Let alone easy. And while I’m trying to model my life after the example that Christ set was his, I still will stumble in many ways. But it’s not about the times that we stumble and fall. It’s about running the race with perseverance. It’s why, James says, to let perseverance have its full effect, that you might be perfect and complete lacking in nothing. Our baptism reminds us that we are connected to the very same God who identifies with us in our weakness, withstood the wilderness and who offers us to come under the arc of eternal salvation, passing through the trials of life and standing in the presence of our Heavenly Father. Amen.

And as I think about the connection that Peter is making, the saving work of Christ to the days of Noah. It says that in verse 20, that God waited patiently in the days of Noah during the building of the Ark. Do you think about that? So, here’s Noah, right? He’s given some crazy word by God, and he’s given some insane task to accomplish. I’m going to flood the earth, build an ark. Okay? It’s not even raining. God. Right. And this brings mocking. It brings ridicule on him and his entire family. Yet he trusts God to do what God said, even if he doesn’t quite understand how it’s really all going to go down. And as he moves forward with building the Ark, trusting that if God wants it done, then as He perseveres in his commitment to the work, God will continue to provide the means. But it wasn’t just that Noah chopped down trees and cut them in the planks. If Noah was going to experience the promise of God that he and his family were going to pass through the cleansing waters of the flood as an act of God saving grace, that he would have to take the pieces of the wood and actually construct the ark. In case you missed our Ash Wednesday service. Let me remind you that our efforts in no way help make better or help at all the saving work of Christ on the cross. That’s not what I’m saying is not what the Bible is teaching, but neither does the saving grace of mercy of Jesus Christ. Call us to a life of passive faith where we do nothing but agree with certain teachings and ideas. God is not waiting for Noah to build the Ark as a method of salvation. It’s not about the wood. It’s about how the wood allows us to respond to what God is going to do. It’s about our persistence and our faithfulness. There’s been a desperate longing among us today for God to fan the flames of revival. And I believe that God is still faithful and just to hear the cries of his people. But is it possible that just like the days of Noah, that God is patiently waiting on us to stack the wood, Jesus will bring the cleansing fire of the Holy Spirit. But it is we who must be prepared to host it when it comes.

So if you’re tired of the ways things have been going, if you’re longing to leave the wilderness, see a change in your life and the life of this church, then let this be the year that we do something different. You may have heard it takes about 30 days to develop a habit, right? Well, it turns out research says now it’s more about 60. But how long is Lent? 40 days, people. 40 days. And so for Lent this year, I’ve got a fantastic idea as we’re stacking the wood. Ready to receive the cleansing fire of the Holy Spirit for a revival among us. Instead of giving something up that you know you’re just going to do when Lent is over. Right. Chocolate or whatever you want to do. And instead of taking something on. Right. That’s doable in the short term. But it’s not sustainable for the rest of your lives.

What if we spent these 40 days dedicated to developing a habit that will change the way we experience the promise and presence of God in our everyday lives? Start now. Doesn’t have to be big. But it’s going to change the way you live your life and change the habits you develop. And over time, it’s going to burst into flames. Let this be the year that God moves a mighty wonder in us and through our church that cannot be explained by human efforts, but only by the Holy Spirit in our midst. Let’s pray. Sovereign God, as we once again enter this season of Lent, we look for signs of your covenant. Like the rainbow in the days of Noah. May we see signs of your promise and hear your voice once again, directing us to the places of preparation and transformation in our lives and in our world. Amen.