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1 Peter. Peter's first epistle. Chapter 1. 1 Peter 1. On a Lord's Day in which 
we will observe the Lord's Supper, I thought it prudent to spend 
a day, morning and evening, in the redeeming death of Christ, 
1 Peter 1. 18 to 20 here in the morning 
and 1 Corinthians 15, 3 and 4 in the evening. Again, we celebrate 
the Lord's death as we gather for the Lord's Supper this evening, 
but no doubt by virtue of gathering together on the Lord's Day Sabbath, 
by virtue of being Christians, we are those who contemplate, 
who dwell upon, who rejoice in the death of our Savior Jesus 
Christ. And sometimes when you hear that 
language or when you read that language, the death of Christ, 
we ought not then to exclude his perfect life, his burial, 
and his resurrection, though no doubt the death speaks to 
specific things. But as we discuss the blood of 
Christ or the death of Christ, even when the apostles discuss 
the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are to contemplate 
the entirety and the perfection of his work, his glorious life, 
his blessed death, his powerful and victorious resurrection, 
the burial that was between the death and resurrection, and then 
of course his glorious ascension. But we're going to focus this 
morning on the language of verses 18 to 20 of 1 Peter, 1. So I'm 
going to read 1 Peter 1 beginning in verse 1 to set the stage and 
then we'll hone in on our verses of focus. This is the Word of 
God, 1 Peter 1.1. Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, 
to the pilgrims of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, 
Asia, and Bithynia, elect according to the foreknowledge of God, 
the father in sanctification of the spirit for obedience and 
sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. Grace to you and peace 
be multiplied. 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, through the resurrection 
of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible 
and undefiled, and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven 
for you, who are kept by the power of God, through faith, 
for salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you 
greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you 
have been grieved by various trials. that the genuineness 
of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, 
though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, 
and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not 
seen, you love. Though now you do not see him, 
yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of 
glory, receiving the end of your faith, the salvation of your 
souls. Of this salvation the prophets 
have inquired and searched carefully who prophesied of the grace that 
would come to you. Searching what or what manner 
of time the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating 
when he testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and 
the glories that would follow. To them it was revealed that 
not to themselves but to us they were ministering the things which 
now have been reported to you through those who have preached 
the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. things 
which angels desire to look into. Therefore, gird up the loins 
of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace 
that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 
As obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts 
as in your ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you 
also be holy in all your conduct. Because it is written, be holy 
for I am holy. And if you call on the Father, 
who without partiality judges according to each one's work, 
conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in 
fear, knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things 
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. He indeed was foreordained 
before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these 
last times for you, who through Him believe in God, who raised 
Him from the dead, and gave Him glory, so that your faith and 
hope are in God. Since you have purified your 
souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit, in sincere love of 
the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart. 
having been born again, not of corruptible seed, but incorruptible, 
through the word of God, which lives and abides forever. Because 
all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower 
of the grass. The grass withers, and its flower 
falls away, but the word of the Lord endures forever. Now this 
is the word which by the gospel was preached to you. Amen. Well, 
let's go to our God again in prayer. Heavenly Father, we pray 
now for the ministry of your Word, for the preaching of your 
Word, this central act of worship, that you would help us in it, 
that you would be with preacher, that you would be with hearer, 
that we would be attentive and focused in this act of worship, 
that we would hear what the Spirit has for the church today. that 
we would take in these blessed things concerning Jesus Christ 
our Savior, that we would be equipped to live in light of 
so glorious a gospel. And we pray in Christ Jesus the 
name, in the name of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, amen. 
Well, What we have going on here in 1 Peter are a number of things, 
at least in this first section. We have, first, the fact that 
he identifies his audience as the recipients of the saving 
perfection of the triune God. Hopefully you love, as Christians, 
the language that the apostles often use here at the outset 
of their letters. We see Notice in verse 1, to 
the pilgrims of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, 
Asia, and Bithynia, elect according to the foreknowledge of God the 
Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and 
sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. He identifies His audience 
as the undeserved, blessed beneficiaries of the saving perfection of the 
Triune God. Father, Son, and Spirit are here 
referred to by the Apostle, and He highlights not their glories, 
that is, not the glories of His audience, not their riches, not 
their excellencies, and not their perfections, but that of the 
Triune God. And then he moves on to praise 
God for the perfection of that salvation. You see that blessed 
be in verse three begins a doxology, begins words of praise to this 
God for the perfection of that salvation. He draws his audience 
to attention, identifying them them as the blessed beneficiaries 
of divine and saving grace, and then he brings his mouth in praise 
or his pen to praise to that triune God for that glorious 
salvation. He follows that up with encouragements 
and reminders for their joy in Christ. You see the section that 
follows, in this you greatly rejoice, verse 6, and this in 
the midst of trials. It isn't in prosperity you rejoice 
because of prosperity, but in the midst of sufferings, in the 
midst of trials being brought upon you from an outside and 
a hating world. Nevertheless, in the midst of 
those trials, in the midst of those afflictions, you greatly 
rejoice. Why? Because of that saving perfection 
of the triune God, because of that one who is blessed by the 
apostle for the riches of an unmitigated and unrivaled grace 
extended. to needing sinners. And then we see holiness and 
godly fear is exhorted unto in the midst of those trials in 
the following section. And smacked in the middle of 
that section are these verses, verses 18 to 20 that speak with 
respect to the saving perfection of Jesus Christ. You see, what 
is the best motivation? There are motivations, obedience, 
joyful obedience to the law of God. But what is perhaps the 
greatest motivation for hearing this exhortation to be holy, 
in a crooked and perverse generation to, in the midst of trials, cast 
off former lusts, those lusts as in your ignorance, and put 
on those things that are conducive with Christianity? What is the 
greatest motivation? Verse 18, knowing that you were 
not redeemed with corruptible things like silver or gold from 
your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, 
but with the precious blood of Christ. We march in joyful obedience 
to the drumbeat of holy writ and the commands of Jesus Christ, 
the commands of the triune God, not in order to merit salvation, 
but having received so graciously our salvation of free and sovereign 
grace from the hands of a triune God, we come to passages like 
this. And here we see our motivation. 
Here we see our encouragement. Here we see these blessed things, 
the knowledge of Jesus Christ, the glory of His blood, as those 
things which drive us to good things for God and King. That's 
what we have before us, is the glorious things of Jesus Christ 
as the motivation for godly conduct. We want to focus on the value 
of the death of Christ, or on the death of Christ largely, 
here referred to as the blood of Christ, or the precious blood 
of Christ, and we want to do so under three headings. Those 
are these, just so you know where we're going. The first is the 
surpassing value of the redeeming death of Christ. The second is the divine purpose 
in the redeeming death of Christ. And then the third, the singular 
uniqueness and certain truth of the redeeming death of Christ. Notice first then the surpassing 
value of the redeeming death of Christ. Now just pause for 
a moment and consider that word redeem or that word redemption. 
That ought to be a word that warms our Christian hearts, that 
stirs our Christian souls to high and joyful thoughts of our 
God. We have been redeemed. If you're a child of God, if 
you're a Christian, if you're a believer, you have been redeemed 
by Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. You have been brought out of 
that slave market of sin. You have been bought with the 
price, that price, the precious blood of Jesus Christ and the 
perfections of His life, His doing, His dying, and His glorious 
rising again. Whenever you hear redeem and 
whenever you hear redemption, Don't roll your eyes and here 
we go, you know more more Christian language, you know, we've heard 
it before Let's move on to the seven trumpets of revelation 
and glory and eschatological minutiae No, we pause on these 
glorious words redemption. We pause on words like reconciliation 
like propitiation like salvation like justification like sanctification 
and were to be brought whether literally or figuratively or 
upon our faces before such a great God, who would pull us dirty 
sinners from out of the mire, the pit of sin, to rejoice in 
Jesus Christ and to have salvation by so glorious a Jesus. So again, the surpassing value 
of the redeeming death of Christ. Notice in verse 18, first, that 
it was not according to the value of earthly things, This surpassing 
value of the redeeming death of Christ was not or is not according 
to the value of earthly things, knowing that you were not redeemed 
with corruptible things like silver or gold from your aimless 
conduct received by tradition from your fathers. You see, we 
put a lot of stock in earthly and corruptible things, don't 
we? I mean, each and every one of us, at some point in our lives, 
and we ought to know ourselves enough to be honest with ourselves, 
we put a lot of stock in earthly and corruptible things. Silver 
and gold, material possession, material things, earthly things. And we put a lot of stock in 
perhaps somebody maybe redeeming us, in a lower sense of the word, 
out of a particular financial situation. perhaps receiving 
material goods as gifts, or being paid well so that we can buy 
material things and corruptible things. We put a lot of stock 
in our stuff. We like to get stuff. You see, 
the stuff that is worthy of being latched onto, the stuff that 
is worthy of being gripped, the stuff that is worthy of a white-knuckle 
grip, never to be let go of, is the precious blood of Jesus 
Christ that we'll consider in a moment. Eternal things those 
blessed things that come from God make no mistake We are to 
give God great praise for lawful and material things that we enjoy 
a good scrambled egg a good peanut butter and toast a good well-cooked 
steak even a burnt steak Thank you Lord for my Cajun style, 
you know filet mignon We enjoy blessed drink and so many benefits 
and so many freedoms and so many wonderful material things. But 
brethren, we thank God for those things, but if those things ever 
steal our heart, if those things ever steal our attention, if 
those things steal us away from a thrice holy God and the glory 
of a redeeming Christ, shame on us and God forgive us and 
steer us back to the right way where God is everything, where 
his Christ is everything. Notice verse 18, knowing that 
you were not redeemed with corruptible things like silver or gold. We're not redeemed by those things. 
We're not to seek after those things. Those things are not 
our glory. Christ, our glory. Father, Son, 
and Spirit, our glory. Our joy is seen in that triune 
God whose praises are sung at the outset of this epistle. Blessed 
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. The abundant 
mercies of our God. The abundant graces of our God. 
These are the things that we grip, not the silver and gold. that are corruptible, that will 
fade away. Make no mistake again, we are 
to enjoy lawfully those things which God has given us to enjoy. In this lower world, think about 
some of the things that God has given us to enjoy, things that 
are corruptible. The author refers to some of 
them here. Flesh is as grass. Grass withers, flower falls away. Have you ever considered just 
simply the beauty of a flower? Hopefully we're not numb to the 
fact that there are flowers in our universe, that we just look 
at one and just, yeah, it's a flower. You might not be all about flowers. 
You might not be a gardener. You might not be a florist. But 
isn't the flower a beautiful thing? You look at green grass, 
sometimes with the watering bylaws, green grass turns brown and it 
looks patchy and faded. But if you ever cast your eyes 
upon a nice green field, you cast your eyes upon a meadow, 
upon a tree-packed mountain, we see the beauty of God's creation. 
Make no mistake, we're to look at those things and say, thank 
you, God, that you've given me eyes of sight to cast upon the 
beauty of your creation and to rejoice in the God who made all 
things in the space of six days and all very good by the word 
of his glorious power. But brethren, the grass withers, 
the flower falls away. The word of the Lord endures 
forever. And this word discloses to us the glories of one who 
has redeemed us. And that redemption does not 
come by virtue of earthly things, corruptible things, silver and 
gold, which we so often put our time and energy and our stock 
into, not all the time unlawfully. This redemption comes to us by 
one who has shed his precious blood. The second of the blessed 
triune, eternal God. Of one substance with him who 
begat him glorious the brightness of his father's glory the express 
image of his person The one who himself called all things into 
existence the one between whose palms spin galaxies upon galaxies 
took upon himself our humanity to shed his blood that we might 
have the forgiveness of sins and everlasting life beautiful 
flowers, beautiful trees, beautiful seas, beautiful scenes, glorious 
geography, scapes, stars of heaven, the sun, the moon, beautiful 
things. But each and every single one 
of those things fades and falls away, and what is to remain is 
the glory of our Christ. the majesty of our triune God, 
and the humbling reality that by His grace and that by His 
mercy, He has redeemed us and pulled us from out of the sick, 
miry pit of sin and death, and brought us, washed us, robed 
us, and called us His own. It was not according to the value 
of earthly things. Let's just consider for a moment, 
his death, in a sense, is an earthly thing, isn't it? Just 
bear with me for a moment. When we consider the death of 
Christ, we ought to have our jaws drop in awe and in terror 
and in absolute humility when we consider the physical pains 
that Christ went through upon Calvary's cross and the time 
leading up to that. Taking those lashes, taking that 
crown of thorns, remember that crown not rested gently upon 
his head by those who were persecuting him, but no doubt pressed into 
his skull so that he bled and that he knew great pain and great 
travail physically by the bruising and the beatings that his godless 
perpetrators brought upon him. horror upon horrors. He endured 
grievous pains physically upon Calvary's cross. But remember, 
our redemption is the stuff of spiritual and eternal things. 
It was, yes, the fact that our Savior in his own body bore our 
sins, the sins of his people, upon that tree. But remember, 
he endured grievous travail of soul, of soul, spirit, the Father, 
Visiting upon him the punishment due for the sins of his people 
make no mistake when you come in here to pews We are not simply 
to go through the exercise of just taking in our ears words 
and words and ideas having them tossed Checking the box of church 
attendance and departing, you know back to our quartered sandwiches 
and in our much too liquidy soup You might make thick soup and 
creamy soup. I'm sorry But you see, we're not just to go through 
a rote exercise here in church when we're confronted with things 
like the death of Christ, when we're called to consider that 
the second of the blessed triune took upon himself our nature 
to redeem and recover guilty sinners, that he went to Calvary's 
cross not as some sort of example, not as anything other than the 
substitutionary sacrificial glorious death that it was to secure the 
salvation of a multitude which no man can number. we are to 
have ears attentive, souls aligned to the proclamation of the word 
that sets forth the reality that this surpassing value of the 
redeeming death of Christ was not according to earthly and 
corruptible things, but second, it was according to the incomparable 
value of a perfect sacrifice. Wherein lies the surpassing value 
of the redeeming death of Christ, it is again that it was according 
to the incomparable value of a perfect sacrifice. Remember 
that that's what we have in Jesus Christ our Lord, a perfect sacrifice. We think that we ourselves are 
polished enough and well presentable enough that we can somehow present 
ourselves to God as right in his sight. We're looking in the 
wrong mirror, and our dispositions, if you do that, and if we do 
that, are not aligned to the Word of God and to the reality 
of the case. that we are messy, we are dirty, 
we are sinners, and it is only one, there is only one perfection, 
there is only one incomparable value, there is only one perfect 
sacrifice, and that was the sacrifice of Jesus Christ himself for the 
sins of a multitude. which no man can number. So let's 
consider this then, the value of the surpassing value of the 
redeeming death of Christ is according to the incomparable 
value of a perfect sacrifice. Notice first here, the precious 
blood, knowing that you were not redeemed, verse 18, with 
corruptible things like silver or gold from your aimless conduct 
received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious 
blood of Christ. Don't you love that language 
that qualifies the blood? Now, hopefully as Christians, 
you would understand that the author just said you've been 
redeemed by the blood of Christ, that there is no weight and no 
glory and no joy and no surpassing peace stolen away by the absence 
of an adjective. But you see what qualifies blood 
here, it's the word precious. Now, it ought not to come as 
news to you that Christian Christ is to be precious to you. Christ 
is to be surpassingly precious to you. And this word is used 
here by Peter, here, and it's also used, notice, in verse seven 
of chapter two. Therefore, to you who believe, 
he is precious. That's another verse that ought 
to launch a thousand sermons. therefore to you who believe 
he is precious. Now let's just pause for a moment 
on this word. We're going to get to the incomparable 
value of a perfect sacrifice as it pertains to this precious 
blood, but this word precious for a moment, think about it 
for Peter. We've rehearsed this before. This language coming 
out of Peter's mouth and coming out of Peter's heart, precious 
blood of Christ, and therefore to you who believe he is precious. 
Think about this man for a moment. A handful of decades back, he 
cowered before the patio interrogations of a servant girl and denied 
this Jesus. denied this Christ, of whom he 
now calls precious more than once and more than twice. It's 
the weight of that that would have been upon Peter at that 
time, as not just once did he deny the Lord, not just twice 
did he deny the Lord, but he thrice denied the King of Kings 
and Lord of Lords. And remember, that in the account 
of one of the Gospels, the gaze of Peter catches the eyes of 
the betrayed Christ, and he's cast in, Peter is, to a pool 
of weeping. You see, Christ, as we rehearsed 
the mercy and the grace of Jesus this morning, just from the gospel 
reading, Christ doesn't come and has resurrected glory to 
Peter and beat him up and rebuke him and smack him around as some, 
you know, untamable lord, a mad lord to a servant, but comes 
and eats broiled fish and honeycomb with Peter and says to him, feed 
my sheep, feed my lambs, feed my sheep. Restores Peter and 
Peter on that day of Pentecost doesn't cower before a multitude 
but stands with with firmness and with strength and proclaims 
this man from Nazareth who saved a multitude which no man can 
number and you see Peter can say here Precious because his 
Lord was precious to him. No doubt. He would have recalled 
the fact that Jesus Announced that he would betray him but 
said Peter I'm going to pray for you. Satan has sought to 
sift you like wheat, but Peter, I've prayed for you that your 
faith will not fail. When you have returned, strengthen 
the brethren." And here we have Peter writing this epistle, strengthening 
his brethren in the knowledge of Jesus Christ and preaching 
a glorious Jesus. precious means a lot to Peter 
and Precious ought to mean ought to mean a lot to us this word 
precious Christ is to be precious to you if Christ isn't precious 
to you Why not? No doubt it's because you're 
in an unbelief No doubt it's because you're dead in your trespasses 
and sins, but let's just contemplate this for a minute moment What's 
so ugly about Jesus? What isn't precious about this 
Jesus? Oh? are the corruptible things 
of silver and gold, and those things that you know go along 
with that, every material thing, your own self, are these things 
all so precious to you, but this one who came from on high to 
die upon Calvary's cross, this one isn't precious? You haven't 
read or write, you haven't heard or write, because there is no 
one, there is nothing more precious than this Jesus, than this bloodshed, 
than this glorious Savior who gave himself for guilty sinners. I want you to turn to a few passages 
with me just to see the preciousness of the blood and to see that 
it does come with the weight of incomparable value because 
it's a perfect sacrifice. Turn with me to Matthew 26. Matthew 
chapter 26. Get our fingers busy. There's 
been a lot of preaching with no motion of the fingers. We 
want to keep you awake and keep you attentive. Matthew 26. No 
doubt you know this account because it is the institution of the 
Lord's Supper and we see from the lips of the Savior himself. 
the glory and the weight of the blood, His own blood. Notice 
in verse 27 of Matthew 26, Now think about this for a moment. 
The blood of the new covenant. What are those glorious new covenant 
realities? Remember there was an announcement given to apostate Israel in the book 
of Jeremiah, in Jeremiah 31, 31 to 34. Yahweh would make a new covenant 
with the house of Israel and with with the house of Jacob 
Not like that covenant that he made with them previously which 
they broke even though he was a husband to them But this new 
covenant would be unbreakable and those benefits of the new 
covenant is that the law of God would be written upon the heart 
of every new covenant member that every new covenant member 
would know the Lord, that He would be their God and they would 
be His people, and that blessing of the forgiveness of sins. That 
glorious announcement made so many hundred years prior to Christ 
and the institution of the Lord's Supper, here now the Lord Jesus 
Christ says that that covenant announced is ratified, is to 
be perfected, is in my blood, for this is my blood of the new 
covenant which is shed for many for the remission of sins. You 
see, when we talk about the death of Christ, we're not just talking 
about a historical event. We are talking about a historical 
event that most certainly did take place. But you see, there 
is blessed theological commentary upon that death. It is from the 
lips of the Savior Himself for the remission of sins. Isn't 
that a boon to your heart? Knowing yourselves, knowing that 
even in the state of grace, now, believing in Christ, you stumble, 
you sin. There is that remaining corruption 
where we do not do as we ought, we do not do those things that 
we are to do in joyful obedience to the law of God, and we do 
those things that we are not supposed to do before a thrice 
holy God, and yet we have this Christ and this remission of 
sins. Rejoice Christian in this blessed 
truth in that precious blood turn with me to the book of Acts 
for a moment The book of Acts and chapter 20 Hopefully, you 
know this passage because it speaks to the incomparable value 
of this perfect sacrifice in Acts chapter 20 we have the Apostle 
Paul preaching to the Ephesian elders and there's a particular 
statement that That is absolutely amazing. Notice beginning in 
or at verse 28, Acts 20 and verse 28. Therefore, take heed to yourselves 
and to all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has made you 
overseers to shepherd the church of God, which he purchased with 
his own blood. Do you see here that this is 
infinitely higher and exalted far above anything that is corruptible, 
that is earthly? It's far above silver and gold. 
We'll look at shiny things like silver and gold and our allure 
is stolen away by the glory of jewels and the glory of shining 
metals. And all the while we'll suffer 
the one who is to be gloried in to be forgotten. We put so 
much stock in things that we can cast our eyes of sight onto, 
while all the while not casting our eyes of faith upon one who 
is so glorious. Do you see the language and does 
it not blow your mind? Again, the church of God, which 
he purchased with his own blood. incomparable value. It's called 
the blood of God here. Of course, our living and true 
God is a most pure spirit without body, parts, and passions. But 
by virtue of the fact that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, being 
God most high, by virtue of the fact that he assumed to himself 
man's nature, it can rightly be said here that God shed his 
own blood for his church. Do you see the incomparable value 
that we have in the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ? Well, we could 
go to many other passages. If you're taking notes, Ephesians 
1-7. which has the same language of Colossians 1.14, Colossians 
1.20, Hebrews 9.12-13, 1 John 1.7, and that's just a small 
sampling, a small parcel, page after page, chapter after chapter, 
speaks of the precious blood of Jesus Christ, shed for the 
forgiveness of sins. We want to notice as well that 
it is a faultless offering. If you find your way back with 
me to 1 Peter, notice that this was according to the incomparable 
value of a perfect sacrifice. First, his precious blood, but 
second, a faultless offering. Notice the language in verse 
19, but with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without 
blemish and without spot. See, that's our Christ. He's 
not a sacrifice that has blemish, that has spot. The language of 
the text is clear, speaking to the perfection and the faultlessness 
of the offering of Christ, offered by himself, according to the 
will of the Father, as of a lamb, without blemish and without spot. Now, hopefully you understand 
the Old Testament import here. If you know your Old Testaments, 
you know that the sacrifices demanded by God in the sacrificial 
system were not to be those that were the weak, were not to be 
those that were the blind, were not to be those that were the 
feeble and that were the stolen, but the ones that were the best 
of the flock, the ones without blemish and without spot. In 
fact, you can turn with me back to the book of Exodus for a moment. 
Notice in the book of Exodus this language has to be in view 
the Apostle Peter Speaking to those who would have known something 
of the Old Testament scriptures Perhaps you noticed perhaps you 
didn't but there's a connection to pastor Butler's preaching 
there at the outset of first Peter and later on in chapter 
1 And maybe we'll point that out in a moment, but Peter is 
writing to many who perhaps either A, would have gathered on the 
day of Pentecost coming from all of those nations under heaven 
to Jerusalem, or no doubt those who would have been the recipients 
of the sharing, the proclamation, the declaration of the gospel 
by those who were there and who had returned to their various 
places. And they would have known the 
scriptures that speak to a faultless sacrifice. And notice in Exodus 
12, I'm sorry, I don't think I, gave you the chapter, but 
notice in Exodus chapter 12, and beginning at verse 5, speaking 
about the institution of the Passover, notice in verse 5, 
Your lambs shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You 
may take it from the sheep or from the goats. Now you shall 
keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the 
whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight, 
and they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts 
and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it. Then they 
shall eat the flesh on that night, roasted in fire with unleavened 
bread, and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. Do not eat 
it raw nor boiled at all with water, but roast it in fire, 
its head with its legs and its entrails. You shall let none 
of it remain until morning, and what remains of it until morning 
you shall burn with fire, and thus you shall eat it. With a 
belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff 
in your hand, so shall you eat it in haste. It is the Lord's 
Passover." You see the language there right at the outset. I 
wanted to read the extended because as we gather together tonight 
for the Lord's Supper, this would have been a particular ordinance 
given to the church in the Old Testament that pointed forward 
to that even greater ordinance, the Lord's Supper, where what 
is remembered is the death of the Lamb of God who takes away 
the sins of the world. But notice verse 5 again, your 
lamb shall be without blemish. As we turn back then to 1 Peter 
1 and verse 19, the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb 
without blemish and without spot. that typical sacrifice in the 
old covenant, which was to be a lamb without blemish, pointed 
forward to that greater anti-type, Jesus Christ the Lord, who, as 
of a lamb without blemish and without spot, gave himself for 
guilty sinners. Hopefully the rehearsal of Old 
Testament and New Testament connections isn't just another thing that 
fills the remaining 19 minutes of preaching. and that you're 
struggling through it here. You see, our Bible bears the 
consent of parts, the scope of the whole, which is to give all 
glory to God. That lamb in the Old Testament 
killed pointed forward to the Lamb of God killed upon Calvary's 
cross. And he was a lamb without blemish 
and without spot. We, bearing a multitude of blemishes 
and a multitude of spots. Hopefully you know I'm not talking 
about cosmetic, but sin, depravity, wickedness, iniquity, the breaking 
of God's holy and divine law, minute after minute, hour after 
hour, day upon day. Those blemishes in those spots 
are taken away by that one who was without blemish and who was 
without spot and who came to this lower world to put on humanity, 
to die upon Calvary's cross as a substitute and a sacrifice 
for those filled with blemishes, filled with spots, yea, even 
dead in trespasses and sins. You appreciate this language 
of the Lamb without blemish in the Old Testament, pointing forward 
to that blessed Lamb of God, Jesus Christ the Lord, without 
blemish and without spot. I want you to see something as 
well. I want us to pause to consider something that will hopefully 
heighten the travesty that it was in the old covenant to take 
blind sacrifices and feeble sacrifices and offer them up to God. Turn 
with me to the book of Malachi. Just to see something. You see, 
because certainly it is a high crime against the thrice holy 
magistrate of heaven and earth. to act out of heartlessness and 
in an external obedience. In fact, not really an external 
obedience at all because they brought the blind and the lame. 
But notice in Malachi 1, beginning in verse 7. You offer defiled 
food on my altar, but say, in what way have we defiled you? 
By saying, the table of the Lord is contemptible. And when you 
offer the blind as a sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you 
offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? Offer it then to your 
governor. Would he be pleased with you? 
Would he accept you favorably, says the Lord of hosts. And notice 
verse 13 as well. You also say, oh, what a weariness, 
and you sneer at it. says the Lord of hosts, and you 
bring the stolen, the lame, and the sick. Thus you bring an offering. Should I accept this from your 
hands, says the Lord? You see what's going on here. 
These aren't bringing lambs or the animals of sacrifice that 
are without blemish and spot to the sacrifice, but they're 
bringing the blind, the lame, the weak, the stolen, to offer 
them up to God in so-called obedience. You see, I would offer up that 
there is another level of travesty and crime here against God. If 
these Old Testament sacrifices are offered as a foreshadowing 
of Jesus Christ, the greater sacrifice? If you see these weren't 
really the true sacrifice that avails with God, but rather types 
and ceremonies that only pointed forward to the one sacrifice 
that avails once and forever, Jesus Christ the Lord, how much 
of a crime is it then? to turn into an absolute madness 
of a crime these sacrifices that pointed forward to Jesus. You 
see, this is doing violence to the Lamb of God who takes away 
the sins of the world. To sully, to dirty, to throw 
mud, to turn into a circus, these sacrifices which pointed forward 
to Christ upon the cross, Crime upon crimes. Christ comes and 
he comes offering up a perfect sacrifice of incomparable value. I want you to consider this language 
here for a moment. In verse 13 of Malachi 1, you 
also say, oh, what a weariness, and you sneer at it. Hopefully 
in our hearts this morning, there's nothing of this. It's a weariness 
to be in the church of God. It might not be air-conditioned 
perfectly. Perhaps it doesn't jive with 
your precious schedule perfectly. I don't know what it might be. 
But hopefully there's no weariness in your heart to gather together 
in the church of the living God and to hear some fallible, semi-handsome, 
bald preacher preach the word of God to you. Because we're 
talking about faultless sacrifices. Jesus Christ, a lamb without 
blemish and without spot, all of this Exodus stuff, all of 
this Malachi stuff, all of this repeated language, oh, what a 
weariness, hopefully not, brethren. We're talking about the stuff 
of the forgiveness of sins, the salvation of sinners, that our 
Jesus Is a jesus who is a perfect sacrifice one that avails for 
the greatest of sinners if you're here this morning And this is 
a weariness to you repent and and look look past You know this 
earthly vessel here and look with eyes of faith to the lamb 
of god who takes away the sins of the world there find the one 
to whom all eyes are to be cast in that gaze of faith reflecting 
upon so glorious and unblemished and a spotless sacrifice Jesus 
Christ the King of Kings and Lord of Lords giving himself 
for guilty sinners well let's move on then to the divine purpose 
in the death of Christ as we seek to Continue considering 
this particular passage notice in verse 19 of first Peter you 
can find your way back there But with the precious blood of 
Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot and notice in 
verse 20 He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the 
world but was manifest in these last times for you the divine 
purpose in the redeeming death of Christ First, it's according 
to the determined plan of God. Notice, He indeed was foreordained 
before the foundation of the world. Isn't purposelessness 
terrifying? Have you ever thought about that? If this universe was purposeless, 
there was no purpose to it. Let's say, you know, the God-hating 
atheists are right. They're not. They're perpetuating an adult 
fairy tale and rejecting the God of heaven and earth and suppressing 
the glorious truth of God in unrighteousness when they deny 
that there is one in high heaven who hangs out his starry flags 
to show that the atheists' denunciations are repugnant. to paraphrase 
Spurgeon. Let's just say they're right 
for a moment, entertaining their madness and their fairy tale. 
That all of this just happened out of chaos and out of a purposeless 
energy and whatever it is. That against the solid reason 
of even a babe, that nothing cannot generate something, that 
everything happened out of chaos. Everything is purposeless that 
we need to somehow make purpose for ourselves in a purposeless 
universe How terrible is that? How horrible is that when someone 
you love dies? Someone you love when travesty 
comes upon you that it's just it's just purposeless. There's 
there's no divine order and divine meaning to the things that befall 
this lower world, what a terrible place to navigate in when death 
comes upon. Let's just consider that for 
a moment. Death is purposeless. This one that is loved is now 
gone and there's just no reason. It just happens. It's just chaos. 
It's just a purposeless thing that we Have to deal with in 
this lower world now We have as Christians the true way the 
true reality the true knowledge of God in his universe We have 
that knowledge of what Samuel Rutherford said he is not lost 
to you who is found in Christ the one who dies He or she is 
not lost to you who is found in Christ. He has not gone away, 
but gone before and like unto a star which passing out of view 
does not fade away but shines in another hemisphere. That's 
death in our certain and Christian world. God has decreed all things 
for the glory of His name, for the good of His people. Those 
in Christ pass from death to life and are in the presence 
of Him who made all things and in the presence of Jesus Christ. 
Sure, in a purposeful universe, for those who die outside of 
Christ, that is to be terrible. But the terror doesn't come from 
purposelessness. purposelessness Search that for 
a moment The terror doesn't come from that but from the knowledge 
that there was purpose to bring to reality To bear the truth 
of the promise out that those who die outside Outside of Christ 
are cast into eternal punishment and torment righteously and according 
to holiness by a just God All of that to come back to this. 
The death of Christ, the precious blood of Christ, is according 
to a divine purpose in redemption. And first, it's according to 
the determined plan of God. Again, the language of the text. 
He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world. 
As Henry notes, this implies more than bare prospect or speculation. It imports an act of the will 
that the thing shall be. Don't you love that about the 
hope of the Bible, the Word of God? You see, these aren't things 
that are speculation or bare prospect that, you know, maybe 
happened or from the vantage point of the prophets promising 
and prophesying, hey, these things could happen. These come with 
the authority, the superattending power of an inspiring God. The God who took these authors, 
as Peter writes elsewhere, the Holy Spirit carried along these 
holy men of old, and they wrote, and they gave us the revelation 
from on high. But you see, this divine purpose, 
this determined plan, these things are not bare prospect, but these 
things most certainly have come to pass, and all those things 
remaining that God has promised will come to pass. Your Christian 
hope, brethren, Your Christian hope does not depend upon a fallible 
hope, upon a hope of prospect or maybe perhaps speculation. You know what Christian hope 
is? I've used this illustration a million times. That's a hyperbole. I've used it a lot of times. 
But you might have hope that your favorite sports team will 
win a particular trophy. I've been holding out hope for 
Man, close to 40 years that the Canucks would win a Stanley Cup. 
Okay, that's probably a hopeless endeavor. It's probably never 
gonna happen. Okay, but our Christian hope 
is not that fallible hope. Our Christian hope is this, it 
is the certain expectation that the promises of the triune God 
will be brought to fruition without error and most surely. And so 
when we read that God had foreordained Christ from before the foundation 
of the world, we rest upon not purposelessness, but purpose, 
a purposive God who decrees all things, who brings all things 
to pass. When he said in the old covenant 
that the Christ would come to redeem his people with his precious 
blood, he came and he did exactly that. It rests upon, our redemption 
rests upon divine purpose in the death of Christ, that redeeming 
death. We have the perfection of the 
divine purpose. We don't need to turn there, 
but we can think upon these texts and dwell upon them. Remember 
when Pastor Butler was preaching from Acts chapter two, the plan 
and the purpose and the divine foreordaining of God in the death 
of Jesus Christ. He was delivered up by the determined 
purpose and for knowledge of God. That ought to bring comfort 
to our souls. And brethren, this foreordaining, 
this predestination isn't some sort of cold, you know, machination. It's not some sort of empty determinism. Listen to John Calvin. on foreordaining 
and predestination, specifically as it applies to Christ as Redeemer. Hence he ordained According to 
his wonderful wisdom and goodness that Christ should be the Redeemer 
to deliver the lost race of man from ruin for herein shines forth 
more fully the unspeakable goodness of God that he anticipated our 
disease by the remedy of his grace and provided a restoration 
to life before the first man had fallen into death and You 
see, what is declared to us in this foreordaining reality in 
divine purpose, it's the love. It's the goodness of God. It's 
the unchanging love of God, His purposes for Christ and for His 
people. I love what Calvin adds at the 
end there. If the reader wishes for more 
on this subject, he may find it in my institutes. Even back 
in the 16th century, they were plugging their own books. In 
Calvin's commentary, he's directing them to his institutes. But back 
to more sacred and holy things, the foreordaining of God is according 
to the unchanging love and the unchanging goodness of our great 
God. And second notice, this is under 
the divine purpose. First, it is according to the 
determined plan of God, Second it was from eternity notice the 
language of the text he indeed was foreordained before the foundation 
of the world Now when we say from eternity from eternity, 
you know or we say before he or you know in eternity past 
and that sort of language it's just helpful language for us 
because I don't think there's any one of us who Can I know 
there's no one of us who can adequately comprehend eternity? 
Before the foundation of the world is there there's there's 
no time the time is by virtue of God's creating act But in 
eternity past if you'll allow the language We have this reality 
that there was divine purpose in the redeeming death of Christ. 
There was no passage of time There was no duration of time 
where God had not purposed to save a multitude which no man 
can number by Jesus Christ the Lord. Reject any notion, and 
no doubt, I don't know everyone in this room, but I don't think 
any of you entertain this idea, but cast off and reject any notion 
that would say that God had to inaugurate the saving perfections 
of Christ because previous purposes and plans failed. that there 
was some other plan, there was a duration of time where salvation 
was through some other means, and because of the failure of 
those things, he inaugurated this purpose concerning Christ. No, from before the foundation 
of the world, this Christ was foreordained to, in the fullness 
of the times, come forth, born of a woman, born under the law, 
to redeem those who are under the law. Blessed divine plan, 
blessed divine plan from eternity. And this comes with it, or this 
brings with it the greatest comfort. Notice what Calvin says on this. 
What would be the stability of our faith if we believed that 
a remedy for mankind had suddenly occurred at length to God after 
some thousands of years? What would be the stability of 
our faith? Faith resting in a mutable God, a changing God, a God who 
doesn't know what he's doing? There is no such God over us. The God over us, the only God, 
the living and true God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is unchanging. Unchanging in whatever it is, 
His being, His infinite wisdom, His goodness, His love, His plan 
to affect and bring about the salvation of a multitude which 
no man can number. We have an unchanging God, an 
immutable God. He goes on to say, in short, 
we cannot confidently rest on Christ, except we are convinced 
that eternal salvation is in Him and always has been in Him. Salvation has always been in 
Christ. From the outset, the first breath 
drawn by humanity, Salvation was by Christ alone. The first 
flower that flowered, the first tree that treed, the first cheetah 
that cheetahed. From the first point of creation, 
salvation was from a triune God through Jesus Christ alone, and 
those found safely in the number brought forth from death to life 
by virtue of the perfection of God's amazing grace and Christ's 
sacrifice. Well, lastly, as we move to a 
close, notice, thirdly, if you find your way back to 1 Peter, 
Thirdly and lastly, the singular uniqueness and certain truth 
of the redeeming death of Christ. First, there is a point being 
made respecting the historical coming of the son of God to die 
for his people. Notice in verse 20, he indeed 
was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest 
in these last times for you. Wouldn't that have been a blessed 
time to live if you were among those who were eagerly anticipating 
the coming of the Son of God? Remember that time when Jesus 
was a babe and that man, Simeon, comes and holds the baby in his 
arms and rejoices that the consolation of Israel had now arised and 
that his servant could go in peace. What a beautiful thing. But was manifest in these last 
times for you. Imagine you're waiting, you're 
singing along with those incarnational hymns, O come, O come, Emmanuel. 
You want the sin and the death and the curse to definitively 
be dealt with by the promised victor and Messiah. You're living 
at a time and you hear that this babe has been born in the city 
of David, this one who is Christ the Lord. What a time of times 
it would have been. This one promise to be manifested 
was now manifested. There is a point being made respecting 
the historical coming of the son of God to die for his people. Notice in Titus 1.3, if you can 
turn there. We're drawing to a close, but 
just to see the glory of this coming, and this isn't lost on 
you, I know, and this is rehearsal, I know. You see, brethren, we 
don't come to a knowledge of the gospel and the incarnation, 
the death, or burial, resurrection of Jesus Christ at the outset 
of our conversion, at the time of our conversion, and yeah, 
until we're maybe adequately instructed, and then, you know, 
let's move on to other things. Like I said earlier, do we still 
have to dwell on the glories and the riches and the excellencies 
of Christ? Can't we move on to some sort of weird interpretation 
of the seven trumpets and the scrolls of Revelation? Because 
that draws my allure much, much stronger. From our first breath 
as a Christian to our last breath as a Christian, the stuff of 
our vigor and vitality is the stuff of Christ, manifest in 
the world, hung upon a cross, raised the third day, the glories 
of the gospel. Notice in Titus 1 at verse 3, But has well backing up to verse 
2 in hope of eternal life Which God who cannot lie promised before 
time began but has in due time manifested his word through Preaching 
which was committed to me according to the commandment of God our 
Savior you see there the glories of the manifesting of the Son 
of God in time and Glorious reality that he came forth sinners to 
save and notice secondly and lastly that there is an accompanying 
fact that he Really was manifested back in first Peter one notice 
this this language who? He indeed was foreordained before 
the foundation of the world but was manifest in these last times 
For you the reality that he was manifest brethren are our faith 
in our glorious profession does not rest upon a upon uncertain 
things and upon fairy tales and upon things that did not occur, 
but Christ really was manifest. Hopefully it's not just a concept 
to us as Christians or some sort of a notion, some sort of, you 
know, sort of floating ethereal reality out there that just comes 
to a little bit more pointed on the day of preaching when 
the preacher is proclaiming to you, but he really was manifest. 
Christ came as promised. Christ died as promised. And 
Christ then has redeemed us as promised. That blessed language 
of 2 Peter. You see, because our faith ultimately, 
and in the final and ultimate test, rests upon the Scriptures. 
But remember that the Scriptures come to us with the weight and 
with the testimony of eyewitnesses. Before we pray, notice the weight 
and the glory of this language in 2 Peter 1, verse 16. For we did not follow cunningly 
devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of 
our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 
For he received from God the Father honor and glory when such 
a voice came to him from the excellent glory, this is my beloved 
Son in whom I am well pleased. And we heard this voice which 
came from heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain. 
You see the weight and the force of the testimony that we have 
as Christians, not fairy tale, not that stuff of unicorns and 
pixie dust, but the stuff of most certain history that comes 
with the attendant theology that this death of Christ, this precious 
blood of Christ is for the forgiveness of sins. So on a hot July 1st 
in Chilliwack, we're to leave with the reality that our redemption 
is absolutely glorious. doesn't rest upon corruptible 
things, the grass withers, the flower fades away, but the precious 
blood of Christ secures the things of forever and eternal life. 
Those are the things that we are to grip on, to enjoy, unto 
praise to God, physical things that are lawful to enjoy. But 
let never those things draw the eye of your allure. Never let 
those things bring you away from the proper and the daily and 
the Sunday in and Sunday out reflection and grip upon this 
Jesus who shed his precious blood for sinners. And if you're here 
tonight because Christians are to observe the Lord's Supper, 
as you take the Lord's Supper, as you're commanded to do joyfully 
in obedience to your master, You reflect not upon your own 
goodness and upon your own performance, but upon the precious blood of 
Jesus Christ, which cleanses his people from all iniquity. 
Saints rejoice in this Christ and sinners outside of saving 
faith You haven't believed in the Lord Jesus Christ in only 
a small sampling of text and only a short while of preaching 
Hopefully you did not see anything ugly about this Jesus But everything 
glorious in this Christ this lamb of God without blemish and 
without spot make no mistake this precious blood-shedding 
wasn't simply because he was brought to the cross by wicked 
hands, though he was brought to the cross by wicked hands. 
It was for ordained from before the foundation of the world by 
a thrice holy God, but not simply as an example, but to redeem 
sinners. And all have sinned and have 
fallen short of the glory of God. If you're here this morning 
and that's you, you do not believe, you have not confessed faith 
in Jesus Christ. know that his death then won't 
avail for you on that great and final day, because his death 
is for his people, those who believe in his name. You will 
die a death of deaths, and Christ's death will not be for you if 
you do not believe, and you'll be cast into the lake of fire 
reserved for the devil and his angels. Rest upon his precious 
blood now. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, 
avail of the forgiveness of sins. There is everything precious 
about this Christ, nothing precious about your own sin. Repent and 
have faith in this Jesus and know the bliss of the forgiveness 
of sins and everlasting life Well, let us pray God. We rejoice 
in your word. We thank you for what your word 
declares to us Regarding our precious Savior and his precious 
blood. We do pray that you'd go with 
us help us to recollect to dwell upon to to just think upon and 
rejoice in the glories and the excellencies of Jesus Christ, 
that one who came from on high to give himself upon Calvary's 
cross. We rejoice in this truth and 
we just pray that you'd be with us this afternoon, bring us back 
together for your Lord's Supper, that we might rejoice in the 
Savior, that we might joyfully be in obedience to that ordinance, 
Where we take and we eat we take and we drink in remembrance of 
so great of Jesus And go with us now help us to live in a manner 
worthy of our calling by grace And we pray in Christ's precious 
name. Amen Well if you can stand again, it's been a long hour 
and 25 minutes stand with me and let's sing a doxology as 
Peter gave that doxology