1 Peter 3:18 - 1 Peter 4:4

1 Peter 3:18 "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the Spirit,"

This verse is the essence of the gospel.  Christ suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God.  This verse also illustrates a main point that I have stressed, that Jesus suffered once for sins.  Jesus paid the penalty for the sins of our entire lifetime, past, present and even future sins.  He only died once.  He is not dying over and over again each time we sin.  Hebrews 1:3 says "when He had by Himself purged (past tense) our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on High."  Hebrews 10:12 "But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God."  Ephesians 1:7 "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace."  The Bible says that we have the forgiveness of our sins.  Many or most ministers want to qualify that and say that just means our past sins.  But then we will deal with present and future sins through confession of them.  So our past sins are forgiven by the shedding of His blood, but our present and future sins are forgiven by our confession of them?  Some variation of that idea is taught in almost every church.  It doesn't even make sense, but that is why Christians have spent so much time in frustration and confusion.  Lasting peace before God comes from knowing that the sins of our entire lifetime, even future sins, are paid for and put away.

1 Peter 3:19-22  "by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.  There is an antitype which now saves us--baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him."  These are difficult verses to interpret, but I believe the best way is to look at comparable verses and let scripture interpret scripture.  2 Peter 2:4-5 "For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly;"  Also look at Jude 6. "And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day;".  Genesis 6 says that the "sons of God" or angels took wives of the sons of men.  The children that were born of these relationships were the mighty men of old, men of renown.  These men could very well refer to Greek mythology where the gods came down and had sex with women and the children were the heroes of Greek mythology.  Either way, God said that all flesh had been corrupted and destroyed the ancient world in a flood, but kept Noah alive in the ark.  Apparently, because these angels would not cease, God has locked them up in everlasting chains of darkness until the final judgment.  Christ apparently preached or proclaimed His victory over them.  There is no mention that these spirits could be redeemed or receive everlasting life.  Obviously not all demons or fallen angels are locked up in everlasting chains.  These verses are difficult to interpret. 

The context of these verses is that we can be delivered from the evil around us.  Noah and his family were delivered from the evil of that generation through the preservation of the ark, as the water washed away the corruption and evil.  Baptism is in contrast to this Old Testament example for us as Christians.  Baptism is not the washing away of the filth of the flesh by water, but is a symbol of a good conscience toward God through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  We are saved by what Christ accomplished for us.

1 Peter 4:1-4  "Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles--when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelings, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries.  In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you."  This is the fiery trial or trial by fire that Peter described in 1 Peter 1:5-7.  Christ suffered for us in the flesh, paying the penalty for our sins so that He might bring us to God.  Peter says that we should adopt the same mindset of suffering.  Our suffering is not paying for our sins or the sins of anyone else.  Only Jesus could do that for us.  But, for Jesus to be revealed in and through us, we must cease from sin and live our lives for the will of God.  We should stop living our lives for the lusts of our flesh.  This is what Peter described in 1 Peter 2:11 where he says to abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul.  Again, our body is not yet redeemed.  That is why we still have fleshly lusts.  These fleshly lusts war against the image of Christ in us.  We think within ourselves, how can Christ live in me when I have these fleshly desires?  We must abstain from these fleshly lusts so that Christ can be revealed in and through us.

Christians are supposed to be walking in holiness and in love, in contrast to the unbelievers around them who are fulfilling the lusts of the flesh.  This would cause non-Christians to sit up and take notice of us.  They would speak evil of us because we would be different.  Anyone who stands out from the crowd will be talked about, usually not in a good manner.  Unfortunately, many Christians are using grace as a cloak or covering for sin, saying that sin doesn't matter since all sins are forgiven.  Their lives are oftentimes no different than unbelievers.  They are continuing to commit sexual sin and have drinking parties or going to the bars and getting drunk.  This is exactly what Peter is saying in modern day terms.  Remember, I did not write these words.  Peter says that because of those Christians who follow these deceptions, the way of truth, which is grace, will be blashphemed or evil spoken of.  2 Peter 2:2   He is not saying that these believers are going to hell.  Our sins are forgiven.  But the teaching of grace will be blasphemed if we use it as an excuse to sin.   

Many of the epistles are dealing with these same subjects that Peter is talking about.  Our sins are forgiven.  Christ has come to live in us.  But there is a ditch on either side of the Christian walk.  The epistles warn us not to go back to the Law, trying to add to what Jesus has already accomplished for us in His death and resurrection.  That is one ditch.  The other ditch is to persist in sin after our sins are forgiven.  This will cause us pain and choke out the fruit of the Spirit, or the love, joy and peace, that God has for us.  When we persist in sinning, then the teaching of grace is also spoken of in an evil manner. 

The same grace that forgives the sins of our entire lifetime is the same grace that teaches us to cease from sin.   Let us give attention and reverence to all of the Word of God, not just the portions we want to hear that tell us our sins are forgiven.  It is all the grace of God for us.  We won't enjoy the peaceable fruits of righteousness or holy living if we continue in sin.  Let us all grow in the Lord and learn to walk in obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit.  

Keith Oliver