In our last study in 1Peter 3:13-17, Peter told the believers that if they should suffer for righteousness sake, according to the will of God, they are blessed; blessed now, with God's Spirit resting upon them, blessed in the life after, as they receive a great reward and a crown of glory. They are not to fear the threats of their persecutors, but to honor Christ as Lord and to reverence Him instead, always being ready to give an answer for the hope within them.
In verse 18, Peter gives us a beautiful description of the redemptive work of Christ on our behalf, as a motivation to suffer for righteousness sake; "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God…". Peter is saying that the reason that God would allow them to suffer for doing good is because Christ, the righteous, holy, sinless One, also suffered. The One who went about doing good, and in whose mouth there was no guile, God allowed Him to suffer; and His suffering was for our sins. He willingly took our sins upon himself, that He might reconcile us to God. He took care of our greatest need as human beings.
Many today think that our number one enemy is the Coronavirus; but the fact is, we've all contracted a disease whose consequences are far greater than the virus. That disease is called sin, and its consequence is an eternal banishment from the presence of God in a place called hell; the ONLY way we can be delivered from it is by believing in the One who offered himself as a once-for-all sacrifice for sin, our Lord Jesus Christ! |
