Wayfaring Strangers Part 15-" Jesus' Blood Is Enough" Series

Wayfaring Strangers

A study of 1 Peter

Part 15

“Jesus’ blood is enough”

Have you ever had something in your life that no matter how hard you tried?

You just could not figure it out

A Rubik’s cube is one for me

I finally solved mine by peeling off all the colored stickers and had a perfect all white cube

It just never made sense to me

It may be instructions on putting something together

Or the writings of some great author

Maybe it is things in your life that happened

And as hard as you try

You simply can’t figure them out

As we continue with our study of 1 Peter this morning

We come to one of the most difficult passages of scripture in all of God’s word

False teachings

False doctrines

And even outright cults have been built around these words from the Apostle Peter

Let me tell you straight out

I don’t understand much of this passage

I do not know what much of this passage means

And I believe in all my heart I can say no one else does either

There are things in scripture that are a mystery

God’s ways are not our ways

His thoughts are not our thoughts

And short of being able to interview Peter

And ask him

What does this mean

We are left to try and interpret his words on our own

If we are not careful

We can easily forget the purpose of Peter’s writing

And fail to see the forest for the trees

This is not good and when we do this we completely miss what the writer was trying to convey

I do know that all things will be revealed in eternity

So, I know at some point I will get clarity on this passage

But I also know that at that point

I will be in the presence of Jesus Christ

And I have no doubt

That I will no longer care what this means

Let me read 1 Peter chapter 3 verses 18-22 for you in its entirety

Then we can come back and break down the parts that are clear

Mull over the parts that are not

And focus on the importance of this passage for our lives

1 Peter 3:18-22

18 Christ suffered[a] for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit.[b]

19 So he went and preached to the spirits in prison— 20 those who disobeyed God long ago when God waited patiently while Noah was building his boat. Only eight people were saved from drowning in that terrible flood.[c] 21 And that water is a picture of baptism, which now saves you, not by removing dirt from your body, but as a response to God from[d] a clean conscience. It is effective because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

22 Now Christ has gone to heaven. He is seated in the place of honor next to God, and all the angels and authorities and powers accept his authority.

Let’s start with the easy stuff

It is important when we read scripture that we read in context

I am a stickler for this as you know if you have spent any time here at all

Peter in this passage of scripture was instructing the readers on the idea of suffering unjustly

We covered that in detail last week

Remember the responses to unjust suffering by a maturing believer

Realize you are blessed and lived as blessed people

Don’t freak out when trouble comes

Trust in God to handle it

Make Jesus Christ Lord of all in your life

The good and the bad- he is the God of the mountain and the God of the valley

Always be ready to tell others the reason for your hope

And keep your integrity in all you do.

Good principals to live by from the Apostle Peter

So, in context Peter is still talking about suffering, he has not changed subjects

But, we must remember his letter is a letter of encouragement

He wrote to the believers who had become wayfaring strangers

To help them deal with the hardships that often come with belief in Christ

So, in a further attempt to encourage

Peter writes these words

Verse 18

18 Christ suffered[a] for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit.[b]

We will suffer

But Christ also suffered

And he did this once

I need you to key on this

Jesus death was a onetime deal

His work on the cross completed the demand for a sacrifice