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You can turn in your Bibles to 
the book of First Peter. First Peter in chapter 2. For our meditation this morning, 
we're going to be focusing on verses 21 to 24. But we will read the entirety 
of First Peter chapter 2. This is First Peter chapter 2. beginning in verse one, just 
sort of continuing the end thought of the first chapter. Therefore, 
laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy and all 
evil speaking as newborn babes desire the pure milk of the word 
that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the 
Lord is gracious coming to him as to a living stone rejected 
indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious. You also, as 
living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy 
priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God 
through Jesus Christ. Therefore, it is also contained 
in the scripture. Behold, I lay in Zion a chief 
cornerstone, elect, precious, and he who believes on him will 
by no means be put to shame. Therefore, to you who believe 
he is precious, but to those who are disobedient, the stone 
which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone 
and a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. They stumble 
being disobedient to the word to which they also were appointed. 
But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. his own special people, that 
you may proclaim the praises of him who called you out of 
darkness into his marvelous light, who once were not a people, but 
are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy, but now 
have obtained mercy. Beloved, I beg you as sojourners 
and pilgrims abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the 
soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles. that when 
they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works 
which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation. Therefore, 
submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether 
to the king as supreme or to governors, as to those who are 
sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise 
of those who do good. For this is the will of God, 
that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish 
men, as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants 
of God. Honor all people, love the brotherhood, 
fear God, honor the king. Servants, be submissive to your 
masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also 
to the harsh. For this is commendable if, because 
of conscience toward God, one endures grief, suffering wrongfully. For what credit is it if, when 
you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when 
you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable 
before God. For to this you were called, 
because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example 
that you should follow his steps. Who committed no sin, nor was 
deceit found in his mouth. who, when he was reviled, did 
not revile in return. When he suffered, he did not 
threaten, but committed himself to him who judges righteously, 
who himself bore our sins in his own body on the tree, that 
we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness by whose 
stripes you were healed. For you were like sheep going 
astray, but have now returned to the shepherd and overseer 
of your souls. Amen. Well, let's go to our God 
again in prayer. Let's pray. Father, we thank 
you for the fact that we can consider now scripture. We would 
pray during this act of worship, the preaching of the word, Lord 
God, that you certainly would be active in strengthening the 
preacher and blessing the hearer, both saint and sinner, Lord God, 
that this would be unto the edification of your people and unto the salvation 
of those who currently do not know you. And we just pray, Lord 
God, that this exercise would be done rightly, would be done 
biblically, And that we would not just be going through the 
motions of bare academics and learning scripture, but that 
we would with great hearts rejoice in these doctrines and rejoice 
in the fact that we can now consider the word given to us from an 
eternally merciful God. And we just pray now that you 
bless this time and that it would be to the praise of your glory. 
We pray in Christ's name. Amen. Well, as I said, we're 
going to consider first Peter to twenty one to twenty four. 
And it's it's the preacher's desire, probably in the hearer's 
desire to immediately go to verse twenty four. Speaking of Christ, 
who himself bore our sins in his own body on the tree, that 
is the jewel of the gospel, that wonderful doctrine that we will 
consider as we move along in the sermon. But before we do 
that, just very briefly, what's going on in the book of first 
Peter? Peter, the disciple of our Lord, the apostle of our 
Lord, is exhorting Christians to, in the midst of suffering, 
endure to the praise of the grace of God. They were undergoing 
not the persecution that they would after about A.D. 65, 66, when persecution would 
increase under Nero and there would be quite an increase, quite 
a severity to the persecution that they would endure. But nevertheless, 
they were suffering. And we see that in 1 Peter, for 
example, 1 Peter chapter 7. In this you greatly rejoice, 
though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved 
by various trials. They were undergoing blasphemies, 
reviling, obviously, because we see here in the passage that 
we read, speaking of Christ as an example, when he was reviled, 
did not revile in return. Be submissive to masters. Submit 
yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake. Christians 
were being persecuted, ridiculed, reviled, hated and blasphemed. Their God blasphemed. because 
of their profession of faith in Jesus Christ. So Peter is 
exhorting Christians that in the midst of suffering, they 
would nevertheless glorify God in their conduct. And he uses 
as a foundation, as a joyful, joyous foundation for their proper 
conduct, the perfect salvation of Jesus Christ, their redeeming 
king. In 1 Peter 1, he blesses God 
the Father with that doxology. Blessed be the God and Father 
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, according to his abundant mercy, 
has begotten us again to a living hope. And he expands on that 
wonderful salvation that Jesus Christ has brought perfectly 
to his people. And he speaks concerning their 
citizenship as we move forward into chapter two. You are a chosen 
generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, his own special 
people. wonderful identification of the 
people of God, who they are in relationship to God as father, 
that they may proclaim that you may proclaim the praises of him 
who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. And 
as we move along here, we see. Peter now in verses 13 and following 
exhorting, first off, people generally under this pagan government, 
people generally to submit themselves to the government for the Lord's 
sake. And then secondly, servants specifically 
to be submissive to their masters with all fear for a godly reason. And as we move down to verse 
21 now for the focus of our meditation this morning, We're going to 
notice three things, the calling, the exemplar and the substitution. And we'll define those and speak 
about those as we move along. But first off, notice the calling. Verse 21, for to this you were 
called because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example 
that you should follow his steps. This Peter writes, after having 
given the exhortation, servants be submissive to your masters. 
Verse 19, for this is commendable if because of conscience toward 
God, one endures grief, suffering wrongfully. They were to endure 
the suffering that ungodly masters were to bring upon them. They 
were not to react harshly. They were not to react wrongfully. 
But rather, they were to be submissive to them. Not only were they not 
to react harshly if they were punished wrongfully, but certainly 
they were not to conduct themselves in a manner that that would have 
brought on wholesome severity. Verse 20. For what credit is 
it if when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? 
It's not commendable for them to patiently take the discipline 
that they deserve. That's not commendable. But it 
is commendable if they patiently endure suffering wrongfully for 
the Lord's sake. But this is what we need to focus 
in on first, the calling. For to this you were called. 
What is Peter talking about here? Peter talking about that they 
were called unto submissiveness to their masters. Well, certainly 
they were called unto that. That was something that was decreed 
and providentially borne out. They found themselves as servants 
to masters where they were living and carrying out their lives. 
But that's not, I believe, what Peter has in view here. Is it 
that they were called unto patience? Well, certainly they were to 
be patient because the text says as much. But the calling that 
Peter is talking about here is that Christians are called to 
suffer. That is what they're called unto 
here. For to this you were called. And we know this because of what 
follows after that, because Christ also suffered for us. So it is 
a reality that these Christians were to know that they were called 
unto the suffering that they were currently going under. And 
that's something that a lot of people certainly just can't traffic 
in. Well, I don't know if I want to be a Christian. If it is the 
case, that suffering is to be a reality in my life. It's to 
varying degrees. We here in Canada suffer not 
even close to as much as what some of our brothers and sisters 
suffer in some other nations. Nevertheless, we have our own 
flavor. our own measure of suffering. 
But this is it is not the case that these servants are only 
those who are called to suffering, but rather the fact that they 
were undergoing suffering by the hand of their masters is 
indicative of the greater reality that all Christians are called 
to suffer. In fact, it's not only that, 
but we are to joyfully embrace the suffering that we go through. 
It's not enough for the Christian to just believe in the inevitability 
of suffering, to believe in the inevitability that, OK, in this 
life, yeah, I'm going to undergo trials. I remember when I used 
to play, I used to play, but I used to play a lot more sports, 
not so much anymore. But when I used to play sports, 
a particular soccer team I was on as a young boy, there was 
a team from Vancouver that we always played. And they would 
always destroy us 8-0 or something like that. And we would go into 
each game with the inevitability that we were just going to lose 
and we'd run around, we'd kick the ball. But really, it's just 
it's just an inevitability. We're going to lose, but let's 
just do it anyway. That's not the Christian ethic. Yes, it 
is an inevitability that the Christian will suffer, that we 
were called unto suffering, but we are to embrace it with joy. That's Paul's exhortation in 
Philippians chapter one. In Philippians chapter 1, Paul 
gives this exhortation. Only let your conduct be worthy 
of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or 
am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast 
in one spirit, with one mind, striving together for the faith 
of the gospel. Verse 28. And not in any way 
terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, 
but to you of salvation, and that from God. Now notice verse 
29. For to you, it has been granted 
that could be translated or understood as for you. It has been graciously 
given for to you. It has been granted on behalf 
of Christ, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for 
his sake. It has been graciously granted 
unto us to suffer for the sake of Christ. Now, we might be saying 
or someone may say, well, that's easy for you to say because you're 
not in Eritrea. You're not in India. You're not 
in Pakistan. And that's very true. We certainly 
don't belittle our brothers and sisters and what they're going 
through in these nations. We don't call them up on the 
phone and say, suck it up. It's been graciously granted 
to you to suffer for the sake of Christ. But it is most certainly 
a reality. And here we rejoice in freedoms. We rejoice in liberties. But 
we also endure whatever trials come upon us. But notice the 
conduct of the early church in the face of suffering for the 
sake of Jesus. Turn with me, if you can, to 
Acts chapter five, Acts chapter five. We won't read all of it 
because we're time bound, but we'll pick up reading in verse 
40, because this is a wonderful ethic that they are following, 
certainly following their Lord Jesus Christ in this. And they 
are. This is an example of imbibing 
that ethic that they were called unto suffering. Acts chapter 
five, and they agreed with him. And when they had called for 
the apostles and beaten them, notice when they had called for 
the apostles and beaten them, they commanded that they should 
not speak in the name of Jesus and let them go. So they departed 
from the presence of the council council, rejoicing that they 
were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. Not only 
that, they rejoiced that they suffered shame for his name, 
but notice their continuing conduct. They didn't hide in the rocks. 
They didn't hide under the trees and daily in the temple and in 
every house. They did not cease teaching and 
preaching Jesus as the Christ. Wonderful early church example 
of this ethic of the Christian called on to suffering, but not 
just to with shoulders down, embrace the inevitability of 
it, but with shoulders up and head up high, rejoicing in the 
fact that for Christ's sake, we've been called to whatever 
he would set before us as we walk in the way everlasting. And again, not only have we been 
called on to suffering, but it is after a particular pattern. It's after a particular pattern. Back in 1 Peter 2, 21. For to 
this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, 
leaving us an example that you should follow his steps. You 
see, our suffering is not just for suffering's sake. We don't 
have a capricious God in high heaven dealing out suffering 
in trial. We have a perfectly holy, perfectly 
righteous, perfectly good God in high heaven working out this 
calling us to suffering after a particular pattern that we 
should follow his steps. Remember the words of the Apostle 
Paul in Romans 8 verse 29 for whom he foreknew these. He also 
predestined to be conformed to the image of his son. We are 
being conformed. We are to be conformed to the 
image of Jesus Christ. And one of those ways is the 
patient enduring of suffering. And we'll see that when we get 
to when we get to Christ as the exemplar. But suffice it to say, 
we are called to Christ like suffering. And and we're going 
to see what this means now. The exemplar moving on, secondly, 
to the exemplar, what this means. And I'll tell you why I said 
the exemplar as the second point instead of the example. Because 
there are things that Christ exemplifies or rather that Christ 
did that we cannot follow after. There are attributes that we're 
going to get to here in a moment that we just aren't supposed 
to follow after Christ, that we aren't supposed to engage 
in because they are peculiar to Christ alone. But notice again, 
the language beginning at verse 21, the exemplar, Jesus Christ, 
for to this you were called because Christ also suffered for us, 
leaving us an example that you should follow his steps, who 
committed no sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth, who, when 
he was reviled, did not revile in return. When he suffered, 
he did not threaten, but committed himself to him who judges righteously. Now, we could spend hour upon 
hour upon how glorious that statement is given who Jesus Christ is, 
his nature, his perfections, his glorious attributes and what 
happened to him, what he undertook as far as his mission in the 
lower world. But just a few things. First off, his sinlessness. His sinlessness. This is one 
of those things that we cannot follow in Christ's steps. Now, 
we are certainly to seek daily to put sin to death and live 
unto righteousness. The text here says as much that 
we, verse 24 in the middle, having died to sins, might live for 
righteousness. But we are never going to be 
sinless. We never were. And we are not certainly now. And so we are not to seek after 
to be like Christ in this regard, because we all have failed and 
would fail. But it's interesting maybe to depart very briefly 
at this point and make a note that we are not to follow Christ 
in everything. We're reformed Christians in 
this place, we believe in the cessation of the spiritual gifts. 
It's in our confession of faith because we believe the Bible 
speaks concerning it. We're not to follow Christ, as 
Calvin and some others have said, in trying to walk on water. We're 
not to follow his steps in trying to raise the dead. We're not 
to follow Christ's steps in trying to cast out demons and various 
things like this. In fact, we are to follow Christ 
in what some might call simple things. We are not to revile 
and return when we are reviled. We are not to threaten when we 
suffer. We're not to take it upon ourselves 
to commit to ourselves the task of avenging, but rather we are 
to commit ourselves to him who judges righteously. So there 
are some things certainly that we're not to follow Christ in. 
And sinless perfection is one of them, though we are to seek 
to put sin to death and live to righteousness. But with regards 
to Christ, our blessed exemplar, our example, He was sinless. And this is something, brethren, 
that we ought to always glory in. Peter has talked about this 
already in 1 Peter chapter 1. speaking concerning redemption 
and what we ought to hold as the true silver and gold, and 
actually not even that, but better than silver and gold, knowing 
that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, verse 18, 
like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition 
from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ as of 
a lamb without blemish and without spot. You see, Peter brings that 
out because that is one of the reasons for Christ's sinlessness. It was for a redemptive purpose. 
We needed a perfect and a spotless Lamb of God sacrificed upon Calvary's 
tree in order to gain acceptance with God, in order to garner 
forgiveness before a righteous and a holy God. In the Old Testament, 
typifying Jesus Christ as the perfect Lamb of God, it was sanctioned 
or it was purposed that the sacrifices would be unblemished, would be 
spotless, would not be the lame, would not be the blind, but would 
be the perfect of the flock, would be the perfect. of the 
livestock. And here now perfected and consummated 
in Jesus Christ is that spotless lamb of God. Jesus Christ was 
sinless. And notice the language here 
of verse 22. This is taken right out of Isaiah 
53, who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth. In fact, Peter, in this entire 
section, 21 to 25, is stealing, for lack of a better term, but 
wholesomely so, the language of Isaiah 53, and applying it 
to the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ was sinless. And 
this is, again, the second aspect of verse 22, nor was deceit found 
in his mouth. It's not as if Jesus just carried 
out his earthly ministry, never being tempted, never being stirred 
up, never being provoked and prodded to entertain guile of 
tongue, to entertain deceit of mouth. The scribes and the Pharisees 
on many occasion provoked him and prodded him, trying to trip 
him up, trying to cause him to blaspheme, to to revile, to threaten 
when he was suffered. But no deceit was found in his 
mouth. Our precious, spotless lamb of 
God. Secondly, notice here his perfect 
bearing of wrongs, his perfect bearing of wrongs and his non 
retaliatory resolve. who, when he was reviled, verse 
23, did not revile in return when he suffered, he did not 
threaten. What do you think is in view 
here? What's in view here is his trial and crucifixion. And 
I want you to turn with me to Matthew 26 for a moment, because 
this is striking. When we consider that Jesus Christ 
did not revile in return when he was reviled, he did not threaten, 
when he was when he suffered. Matthew 26, 67 and 68. 67 and 68, then they spat in his 
face and beat him and others struck him with the palms of 
their hands, saying, prophesy to us, Christ, who is the one 
who struck you? Matthew 27, 12 to 14. And while he was being accused 
by the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing. Then Pilate 
said to him, Do you not hear how many things they testify 
against you? But he answered him not one word 
so that the governor marveled greatly. Twenty-eight to thirty-one. We're doing this for a reason. 
Twenty-eight to thirty-one. And they stripped him and put 
a scarlet robe on him. When they had twisted a crown 
of thorns, they put it on his head. and a reed in his right 
hand. And they bowed the knee before 
him and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews. Then they spat 
on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. And when 
they had mocked him, they took the robe off him, put his own 
clothes on him and led him away to be crucified." This is the Jesus, once again, 
for the However, many at the time, this is the Jesus Christ 
who in the year that King Uzziah died, the angels had to hide 
their faces from his glory. We really have to gain an appreciation 
for this because we can we can rejoice over a new bag of ketchup 
chips. We can rejoice over getting a 
really cool cover for our iPod. But when it comes to Jesus Christ, 
is He precious to you? Is He precious to you? This Jesus 
who was once the praise of the seraphim, who couldn't cast their 
eyes on Him, who when Isaiah was allowed to look at Him, caused 
Isaiah to pronounce an oratory curse upon himself. Woe is me, 
for I am undone, for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord 
of hosts. This Jesus, who was before his incarnation the praise 
of angels, who had the command of legions upon legions of angels, 
comes into this lower world of ignominy, and he's spat on and 
beaten. And you're going to sit here 
this morning and reject him? You're going to sit here this 
morning and reject him? Or you're a Christian, and with langer 
and coldness, you're going to go into this week and entertain 
all manner of joys. all manner of proclivities and 
come back on Sunday and hear another message. Or during this 
week, are you going to wake your head every day and rejoice in 
this Jesus who descended from on high to be spat on and beaten 
in our stead? And we'll see that in a minute. 
His substitution. He didn't just do this because 
it just happened to him that this was his inevitable suffering. 
No, he did this for guilty sinners. But this is a marvel. that Jesus 
Christ was reviled, but he did not revile in return. This one 
who had the command of legions of angels, in fact, just prior 
to Matthew 26, 27, all that we read. Notice in Matthew 
26 at verse 53, or do you think that I cannot now pray to my 
father and he will provide me with more than 12 legions of 
angels? How then could the scriptures 
be fulfilled that it must happen thus? You see, Jesus Christ did 
not revile in return when he had at his disposal the command 
of legions of angels, an army of angels to come and punctuate 
this horror, this injustice and just destroy everyone. Jesus 
Christ has and had and has divine prerogatives. to do whatever 
he will with his creation and with his creatures. How then, 
though, could the scriptures be fulfilled that it must happen 
thus? Jesus Christ, when he was reviled, 
did not revile in return. And brethren, at the first spitting, 
at the first beating, we would have been all over reviling in 
return. That is the nature. That is that's our nature. At 
the first at the first crooked look by the scribes and the Pharisees, 
we would have we would have been all over them. We would have 
been spewing profanities. We would have been in their face. 
Jesus Christ, when he was spat on and beaten, the one with divine 
prerogatives did nothing, did not revile in return. And this 
is, brethren, it ought to be very precious and close to our 
hearts, and we ought to rejoice in that aspect. of our Savior's 
work, but how much more precious would this aspect of Jesus have 
been to Peter, the author of this epistle? Yes, certainly 
Peter gloried in the account of the crucifixion. To be sure, 
that was primary. They preached Christ crucified. But he saw Jesus daily. Peter would have seen Jesus daily. In fact, Peter writes in his 
second epistle, we did not pass on to you or we did not entertain 
cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power 
and the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses 
of his majesty. Peter daily would have seen the 
scribes and the Pharisees provoking and prodding. Let's trip up this 
Christ. but watching every time as Jesus 
answering with perfect precision, shutting the mouths of scribes 
and Pharisees and putting them in their place. But not only 
that, not only would Peter have witnessed daily, witnessed daily 
Christ's perfect non-reviling, Christ's perfect non-retaliatory 
stance and grace, but Peter reviled Christ. Don't forget this. And don't think that Peter was 
just mechanically writing this stroking, you know, stroking 
a gray beard and doing whatever without without, if we can suppose, 
shedding a tear as he writes, who, when he was reviled, did 
not revile in return. Remember, he thrice denied this 
Christ. No, I do not know this man. No, 
I do not know this man. No, I do not know this man. And 
when it came to G and this is after brethren, this is after 
Jesus says to him, Peter, I have prayed for you that your faith 
would not fail. Satan is sought to sift you like 
wheat, but I've prayed for you, Peter. And when you've returned 
to me, strengthen your brethren. That is what Peter's doing now. 
He's listening to Christ. Strengthen your brethren. He's 
writing to them. But Peter denies this savior 
three times. He reviles him in a very strong 
way. He rejects him, says, I do not 
know this one. I do not know this Christ. And 
yet Jesus comes to him. He doesn't beat him up. He doesn't 
revile in return. He doesn't threaten Peter and 
kick him out of the gang. No, he says, Peter, do you love 
me? Yes. Feed my sheep. Peter, do 
you love me? Yes. Feed my sheep. Peter, do 
you love me? Yes. Feed my sheep. And he blessed 
him and he strengthened him. And brethren, we need to see 
in this an example, yes, that we cannot follow because we're 
never going to be marched to a cross to die for the sins of 
anyone. But we ought to see in this an 
example to follow. If Jesus Christ can depart the 
highest glory to this lowest ignominy, be spat upon, beaten, 
have thorns driven into his skull, be crucified with Roman nails 
upon Calvary's tree and never respond with hatred, never respond 
with reviling. Maybe we can be nice to people. 
It's amazing in the life of a church, if you're here long enough and 
you're new, you'll see horrors. You will see reviling. You will 
see reviling by people who should never even come close to the 
thing. Because Jesus Christ, when he was reviled, did not 
revile in return. We should follow his steps. But 
over the simplest thing, over our little peculiarities and 
our delicacies being pushed a little bit, will spew venom at a brother 
or a sister. Let it never be again in these 
four walls. Disturbing. That we would, when 
we are reviled in the smallest way, revile in return because 
we think it's our right to get revenge. Self-indication. That is so often the first response. And sometimes it's preemptive 
self-indication. Sometimes we're so paranoid, 
someone's going to say something like, oh, I did something wrong. 
And before someone tells someone else, I'm going to say how bad 
that other person is that was about to say something wrong 
about me. That's how wicked and sinful we are. When someone says 
something about us, even if it's right, we'll take them and we'll 
just run them under the bus. We'll drag them through the mud. 
We'll make sure that we get ours and they get theirs. Jesus Christ 
was the recipient of the praises of angels. He came down, took 
on the form of a bond servant, was spat upon, beaten, ultimately 
crucified. And we, his people, are going 
to revile when this one didn't revile in return. Shame on us. Shame on us. Notice the text 
continues, but committed himself to him who judges righteously, 
committed himself to him who judges righteously. This is the 
ethic that we need to have also. See, very often we like to we 
like to take it upon ourselves to to do whatever needs to be 
done when we're reviled and when we're threatened, isn't it? We 
want to either either engage in therapeutic anger, something 
Dr. Phil might recommend. We just 
need to get it all out on them so that, oh, we can feel a whole 
lot better. Or we need to bottle that anger in. We need to keep 
it in so that we're just, oh, it's such a holy bottling in 
of anger. No, we need to, like Christ, commit ourselves to him 
who judges righteously. If somebody cuts us off on the 
highway, And we steer off a little bit, 
go on the shoulder and come back. We don't gun it and go behind 
him and start honking at him and just going crazy on him. 
We drive 101 and we pray that God would allow us to commit 
these things unto him because he is the one who judges righteously. And isn't that the ethic of Paul 
in the book of Romans? You can turn there for a moment 
just to try and keep us awake by turning our Bibles to various 
places. Romans chapter 12. Romans chapter 
12, the ethic that we are to have, and this is important to 
understand, too, is that we aren't just forgetting something and 
letting something go. That's not what we're doing. 
We're not just saying, oh, well, this is what we're doing. Romans 
chapter 12. And once you get there, you can 
go to verse 17, verse 14. Bless those who persecute you. 
Bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice 
and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one 
another. Do not set your mind on high 
things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your 
own opinion. Now notice, repay no one evil 
for evil. Have regard for good things in 
the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as 
depends on you, live peaceable with all men. Beloved, do not 
avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath. For it is 
written, vengeance is mine. I will repay, says the Lord. So important to understand. It's 
not the case, as so often we can think, that justice delayed 
means justice denied. That person who cuts you off 
on the highway will get his. No, that's not what I'm saying. 
But justice delayed is not justice denied. When you are reviled, 
when you suffer, the person who has reviled and who has brought 
the suffering upon you will get theirs or Christ has already 
got his. And what I mean by that. is that 
well, actually, I've got a quote here from Grudem, who speaks 
well concerning the text that is in First Peter, who committed 
himself to him who judges righteously. This is Grudem in his commentary 
on First Peter. The word means handed over, speaking 
of committed, handed over, delivered, committed, an idea better conveyed 
by the English word entrusted. The Greek text does not specify 
what Jesus entrusted to God, but since the options of threatening 
and reviling in return both have effects on the wrongdoers as 
well as the one suffering, we are incorrect to limit the thought 
just to entrusting himself to God. He entrusted not only himself, 
but also the wrongdoers and his followers and indeed the entire 
situation to the one who judges justly. The imperfect tense here 
implies repeated action in the past, well rendered by the NASB, 
kept entrusting. Once again, faith is seen as 
the attitude necessary in righteous suffering. Now, listen to this. 
Rather than depending on his own abilities, to retaliate, 
which were far greater than the powers of his opponents. When 
Jesus was suffering, he kept entrusting the situation to God 
the Father, knowing that God would be just and fair, for he 
is the only one who judges justly. You see, we can think in our 
own minds that we've got the right retaliatory response. We're 
acting justly. My vindication is sound and wholesome. The severity that I bring to 
this situation will be God honored. No, we need to commit these things 
to God who judges and God will either judge has already judged 
the sins of transgressors in Christ or on that great day, 
there will be that eschatological judgment where they will get 
their comeuppance may have been delayed in time and in history. But on that great day of judgment, 
the justice will be rendered and we are well then to certainly 
entertain the ethic of committing ourselves to him who judges justly. Now, moving on then finally to 
the substitution, the substitution. If you're back in your text in 
first Peter, notice how the language continues in verses while continuing 
here from verse twenty three. Speaking of Jesus Christ, who 
himself bore our sins in his own body on the tree. Now, brethren, it may be the 
case that you have a lot of verses that are on your doorposts and 
are on your gateways. But I would suggest that you 
erase all of them and you put this one here. Jesus Christ, 
who himself bore our sins in his own body on the tree. You know, there may be some unstable 
and unbalanced Christians who don't have any text, but the 
ones concerning concerning modest dress on their doorposts and 
on their gateways. Stop it and put this one on there. 
Or maybe you're you're an ungodly husband who has transgressed 
first and then man. And that's on your doorpost or 
your gateway. Well, you better erase that and 
you better put this one here, who himself bore our sins in 
his own body on the tree. You see, Peter is this is like 
a crescendo that's building up. This is another, by the way, 
another one that we can't follow, to be sure. We're never going 
to be substitutes. But this is Peter building up 
to a crescendo, a crescendo. I'm not a music expert, but I 
know this much, that a crescendo is music that builds up to a 
particular point. It builds up to a design point 
where we're supposed to marvel at the point that is built up 
to. That's what Peter is doing here. Committed no sin, nor was 
deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, did not 
revile in return. When he suffered, did not threaten. 
Committed himself to him who judges righteously, and then 
boom, who himself bore our sins in his own body on the tree. 
That is another one of those places where we set down our 
tea, we uncross our legs and we fall on our faces before a 
righteous and a holy God. Jesus Christ bore our sins in 
his own body on the tree. Now, this is a text that very 
clearly and without without the need of volumes of books sets 
forth the doctrine called penal substitution. You remember those 
two words, or in the very least, remember the doctrine that it 
describes, the doctrine that's behind it. Penal substitution. 
Kids, if you're listening still, penal means of or pertaining 
to. My kids love it when I say that. 
Whenever they ask me what a word means, I always say of or pertaining 
to. If you do that, Jordan always tells me, if you do that first, 
you sound smarter already. But penal means of or pertaining 
to punishment, legal punishment. We have a penal system, and the 
penal system is set up to punish wrongdoers. So penal means punishment 
for transgressing the law. Substitute, or what does substitution 
mean? Substitution means someone or 
something that is in the place of someone else or some other 
thing. You see this in sports, the ref 
coach calls a substitute. One player is on, the ref blows 
the whistle, substitute, another player goes in in his stead, 
in his place, and he comes off. Jesus Christ is our penal substitute. This is the definition from a 
book called Pierced for Our Transgressions. Wonderful book, A Defense of 
the Penal Substitutionary Work of Christ. The doctrine of penal 
substitution states that God gave himself in the person of 
his son to suffer instead of us the death, punishment and 
curse due to fallen humanity as the penalty for sin. One more 
time. Penal substitution states that 
God gave himself in the person of his son to suffer instead 
of us the death, punishment and curse due to fallen humanity 
as the penalty for sin. This is a doctrine that unfortunately 
is rejected, even by some who would call themselves Christian 
books written against penal substitution. Shocking that any Christian would 
ever seek to argue against this blessed doctrine, who himself 
bore our sins in his own body on the tree. In fact, in the 
book, Pierce for our transgressions, the authors note C.H. Spurgeon, 
C.H. Spurgeon, about 100 years prior 
to this doctrine being targeted in a larger way, almost prophetically 
pronounced these words regarding substitution. If ever there should 
come a wretched day when all our pulpits shall be full of 
modern thought and the old doctrine of a substitutionary sacrifice 
shall be exploded, then will there remain no word of comfort 
for the guilty or hope for the despairing. Hushed will be forever 
those silver notes which now console the living and cheer 
the dying. A dumb spirit will possess the 
sullen world, and no voice of joy will break the blank silence 
of despair. The gospel speaks through the 
propitiation for sin, and if that be denied, it speaketh no 
more. Those who preach not the atonement 
exhibit a dumb and dummy gospel. A mouth it hath, but speaketh 
not. They that make it are like unto their idol. Would you have 
me silence the doctrine of the blood of sprinkling? Would any 
one of you attempt so horrible a deed? Shall we be censured 
if we continually proclaim the heaven sent message of the blood 
of Jesus? Shall we speak with bated breath 
because some affected person shudders at the sound of the 
word blood or some cultured individual rebels at the old fashioned thought 
of sacrifice? Nay, verily, we will sooner have 
our tongue cut out than cease to speak of the precious blood 
of Jesus Christ. Wonderful words of Spurgeon. 
And even we may not have arrived at that day, but nevertheless, 
there are those who cast this doctrine of penal substitution 
into the category of fiction when it is blessed truth. And 
as the authors of this book say, it's served as a wellspring of 
hope for generations of Christians. Penal substitution. And kids, 
to describe this further, this is what's going on in penal substitution. OK, God is righteous, perfect 
and holy. He cannot look upon sin approvingly. He cannot look away without dealing 
with sin. And sin is simply this, a lack 
of conformity unto or a transgression of his law, a breaking of God's 
law. God is holy and cannot look upon 
sin and cannot look away from it. It must be punished. All 
we are sinners. All have sinned and have fallen 
short of the glory of God. There is need then for satisfaction 
of divine justice. And this happens in two ways. 
There needs to be a perfect righteousness before God that will avail on 
that great day. Christ does that in his active 
obedience and fulfilling the law. But there must also be punishment 
Justice rendered for the breaking of God's law. Christ does that 
also in his passive or penal obedience. He takes upon himself 
the punishment that was due for guilty sinners. He takes that 
upon himself. The sanctions for breaking divine 
law. Christ takes upon himself for 
all his people. And if you believe in that Jesus 
who died upon the cross perfectly and who rose again the third 
day for the salvation of sinners, you will have everlasting life. 
This doctrine of penal substitution is a wellspring of hope again 
for generations of Christians who have looked to Christ in 
faith. And and again, this doctrine, 
this doctrine isn't new. to the pages of Holy Scripture. 
It's not like Peter just took pen to paper and came up with 
this doctrine of penal substitution. We see this in the Old Testament. 
And just very quickly, we can rehearse a few of those. Exodus 
chapter 12 and the Passover. What does God say? When I see 
the blood, I will pass over you. A glorious passage of Scripture 
for two reasons. God is merciful. God is just. God is gracious. But we ought 
to when we consider that and we think of it, we ought to consider 
what Paul says concerning Christ, Jesus Christ. Our Passover was 
sacrificed for us. Our Passover lamb was sacrificed 
for us. See, Exodus 12 is penal substitution. The firstborn of Israel, the 
firstborn sons were passed over because their substitute, the 
lamb and the blood rubbed upon the doorposts. et cetera, was 
the cause of their deliverance from divine wrath. We need to 
see that there. That isn't just something that 
God did devoid from or detached from any objective justice and 
recompense. The lamb was a substitute for 
the firstborn of Israel. And God said, when I see the 
blood, I will pass over you. Leviticus 16. Leviticus 16 and 
the scapegoat. That's where we get scapegoat 
from, by the way, in our modern vernacular, the scapegoat. In Leviticus 16, the high priest 
puts his hands upon the goat and he puts all of the sins of 
the nation upon that goat and sends it into the wilderness. 
and obviously to die and to serve as a curse in the wilderness. 
That's penal substitution. He puts the sins of the nation 
on the goat and sends it into the wilderness. And we ought 
not just to see the goat wanders off into the wilderness and eats 
stuff and frolics around. No, the goat dies. That's the 
whole point of that. And that's pointing forward to 
Jesus Christ, this one who would be sacrificed, who would have 
the sins of all his people put upon him. And he would and he 
would bear the curse that, by the way, that language, of course, 
is why Peter uses the language here, who himself bore our sins 
in his own body on the tree. And we think cross when we think 
of that, and we should, because that's you know, that is what's 
in view here. But what's more in view is Deuteronomy 21 and 
the curse. In fact, turn to Galatians for a moment, because in the 
book of Galatians, and we will finish shortly, but in the book 
of Galatians, we have this language of Christ bearing a curse and 
this Deuteronomy language of those who are deserving of death 
being hung upon a tree as a curse for their shame and their transgression. 
This is in the background here. Galatians 3 verse 13. Wonderful 
language again, perfectly in harmony with Peter. Christ has 
redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse 
for us, for it is written cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree. 
That language of for us is you've been told this before and you 
need to appreciate this language. That language of for us isn't 
just like. Someone, you know, God gave us a gift. This gift 
is for you. Certainly, God gave us the gift 
of salvation by Christ. But more in view here and more 
prominent is substitution for us in our stead, in our place. 
Instead of us, Christ became a curse for us. For it is written, a curse, it 
is everyone who hangs on a tree. So we've got Exodus 12. We got 
Leviticus 16. We have Isaiah 53. We read it 
at the outset. If you don't see substitutionary 
atonement in Isaiah 53, you are blind. If you don't see substitutionary 
atonement in Isaiah 53, you are blind. Surely he has borne our 
griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we esteemed him stricken, 
spitten by God and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement for our peace 
was upon him." That's just glorious language, brethren. And again, 
if anything brightens your day, maybe it's someone's smile. Maybe, 
you know, again, you're a big fan of potato chips and your 
store finally has you know, ketchup back in stock. That's great. But that all ought to be cast 
asunder, that all ought to be cast into the mud. And this ought 
to be chief in your affections, the substitutionary atonement 
of Jesus Christ. You see, if you are able to or 
if you ever put this text, you know, say you print it out on 
your computer and you put it up on your wall, you need to 
bold the he's and you need to bold the hours and capitalize 
them. For surely he has borne our griefs 
and carried our sorrows. If we don't have penal substitution, 
brethren, the gospel is lost and we're dead in our trespasses 
and in our sins. The doctrine, of course, as we 
approach a close, is interestingly in not the mind of Caiaphas, 
but in the mind of God. when Caiaphas speaks concerning 
ultimately substitutionary atonement in John 11, 47 to 52. And I can read this. You need 
not turn there if you don't want to. Then the chief priests and 
the Pharisees gathered a council and said, what shall we do? For 
this man works many signs. If we let him alone like this, 
everyone will believe in him and the Romans will come and 
take away both our place and nation. Verse 49 of John 11 and 
one of them, Caiaphas, Being high priest that year said to 
them, you know nothing at all, nor do you consider that it is 
expedient for us that one man should die for the people and 
not that the whole nation should perish. Now, this he did not 
say on his own authority, but being high priest that year, 
he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation and not for 
that nation only, but also that he would gather together in one 
the children of God who were scattered abroad. That's wonderful. Caiaphas thinking politically, 
thinking, you know, thinking with regards to politics and 
social order. He pronounces these words. It 
is expedient for us that one man should die for the people. 
Wonderful language. And then, of course, and finally, 
in John, chapter 10, Pastor Butler preached from this last last 
Lord's Day, substitutionary atonement. As the father knows me, even 
so, I know the father. And I lay down my life for the 
sheep. Isn't that marvelous? Isn't that marvelous? And brethren, 
this is, again, a doctrine that we cannot... This isn't the stuff 
of which way did the grain and the wood on Noah's ark go. This 
doctrine is primary. It is the gem of the gospel. 
Penal substitution. Remember those words and kids, 
I think I've defined it. If anyone has any questions, 
come grab me afterwards. Nothing should be unclear. Very 
often the preacher can make them unclear. But Christ died for 
us. He bore in his own body our sins. By his stripes, we are healed. 
And Jesus Christ ought to be. It's very easy. And in fact, 
I'd be surprised if no Christian, if any Christian ever was not 
like this, that we have a languor and a coldness. when it comes 
to remembering Jesus Christ as we ought to. We might go through 
weeks where we're really all, you know, on fire for the things 
of Christ and the vindication of the primacy of his gospel 
and all of these things. But there can be seasons where 
sometimes we have to be reminded or remind ourselves that, oh, 
Jesus Christ really is and ought to be chief in my affections, 
chief in my heart, number one supreme. J.H. Spurgeon preaching on remembering 
Jesus Christ. I think it was a Lord's Day sermon. 
He said he said he indicts his audience for being less than 
water, less than the waters of the Jordan in appreciating Christ. 
He's charging Christians for for not remembering as they ought 
the glories of Christ, specifically his work of penal substitution, 
dying for us, becoming a curse for us. And he said in indicting 
them for their languor and coldness, we have reason to suspect the 
conscious water trembled from the knowledge that it contained 
the deity. Jesus Christ is baptized in the 
Jordan, he comes up from the water, as the text said, fully 
immersed. Fully immersed in the water, he comes up from the water 
and Spurgeon says, we have reason to suspect that the conscious 
water trembled from the knowledge that it contained the deity. 
How much more are we to rejoice and to tremble with that with 
that Christian trembling, a joyful trembling before the majesty 
of such a work, penal substitution. Brethren, that always ought to 
be chief in our hearts. We cast away all of these little 
proclivities and things that we have about scripture that 
we like to prop up, you know, the end times are going to be 
all about the end times. They're going to be all about, you know, whatever. 
You know, I'm going to be all about skirt length has to drop 
just below the big toe. We need to be about the penal 
substitutionary work of Jesus Christ and trumpeting it to the 
loudest mountains and to the smallest ear, because that is 
the only hope. That is the only hope for lost 
sinners. We cannot work our way to heaven. We cannot do enough. 
We cannot perform enough. We cannot love enough. We cannot 
do enough to merit our strong, good standing before a righteous 
and a holy God. Jesus paid it all. All to him 
I owe. That's a wonderful, a wonderful 
text or a wonderful hymn that we sang and one of my favorites. 
Regarding substitution and intercessory, the substitutionary work in the 
intercessory work of Jesus arise. My soul arise. Shake off my guilty 
fears. The bleeding sacrifice on my 
behalf appears. That's glorious. And that's what 
we need to do to ourselves throughout the week today, throughout the 
week. We need to speak to ourselves in that non psychotic way. Arise, 
my soul arise. Because the bleeding sacrifice 
on our behalf appears and if you're here today again, and 
you don't know this Jesus What's ugly about him? What's ugly about 
him? Oh, yeah, I realize Isaiah said 
he was despised and rejected by men a man of sorrows and acquainted 
with grief That's to their shame That's to their shame that they 
rejected him What's ugly about the Savior? What's ugly about 
the glorious creator and upholder of all things? I? Departing glory, 
entering ignominy, being the recipient of spit and beatings, 
a crown of thorns, mockery, reviling, staying steadfast, perfect in 
that, and dying for sinners on a Roman cross. What for guilty? What is ugly about that blessed 
Savior? Believe on him, the Bible says, 
and you shall be saved. Repent. Repent of that reviling, 
of that rejection. of that thinking Christ a low 
thing and loving everything else, save for that blessed redeemer. 
Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you 
for this Jesus Christ. God, we thank you so much that 
we have, where we are and where you've placed us, the ability 
to open up our Bibles and read from 1 Peter 2, that we have, 
in whatever time in our lives, been brought by your amazing 
and victorious grace from the deadness of unbelief from the 
bondage of unbelief and sin to belief in Jesus Christ, knowing, 
Lord God, that it's all of you from first to last. And we just 
pray that we would always own this, that Jesus Christ was our 
blessed substitute, that we would rejoice in that, that though 
we had coming to us all wrath and all condemnation for sin, 
that Jesus Christ for his people, for us, took took upon himself 
all of that sin and was punished for it. And might we always marvel 
at that glorious divine transaction that you made him who knew no 
sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness 
of God in him. We just pray that you'd go with 
us now, Lord, that you'd give us the disposition to always 
remember, to always glory in the perfections, in the attributes, 
in the work, in all those things that Jesus Christ brings to the 
table of redemption, salvation and religion. We just pray now 
that you'd help us to to go from this place conducting ourselves 
in a manner worthy of that Christ and your gospel and that we would 
bring honor to you and all that we say and all that we do. And 
it's in Christ's name that we do pray. Amen.