Sermon series: AN EXPOSITION OF FIRST PETER
Subject: Redemption Through The Blood Of Christ

1 Peter 1:18-25
"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."

Lesson

"But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father." (Ephesians 2:13-18)
"But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation.
Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.
For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ,

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who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance." (Hebrews 9:11-15)
Redemption...Calvary’s Cross, the shedding of blood, cleansing through the blood of our Savior, Jesus Christ...These are the glorious subjects of our Christian faith!
History is nailed together! Literally it is! The story of man from its beginning to the present is so varied and disconnected that it had to be nailed together to give it continuity. Since the nail was driven, human history reads more smoothly.
We do not know the name of the man who used the hammer, but about the nail we are more sure. A state employee, ignorant of his own vital role in history, drove the nail through the hand of a man and into the cross behind it. In innocence he drove the nail of history! The sporadic graph of history reached its zenith in the year zero-twenty-seven, the year of the Cross. This was the year that our nameless benefactor took his hammer and fastened together man's meaningless, disconnected story.
Perhaps you do not see the cross as the center of history. Other pieces of human events may seem to you to have deeper meaning for man's existence. You might name the Code of Hammurabi, or the Decalogue, or the Magna Carta as of equal importance. The year 27 might not be as significant to you as 44 B.C., or 1066, or 1588, or 1941. Yet none of these events have been so fundamental to answering human need as that of the cross.
For two thousand decades now, men have crawled out of every little corner of time to throw rocks at the cross. The philosophers have pelted it with laughter, asking its purpose, but the cross has answered them in the words of one of its greatest defenders:
"...the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God." (1 Corinthians 1:18)
The logicians have cried that it is too unbelievable to the educated or the wise, and the cross has answered again: "Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? (1 Corinthians 1:20)
Just as history's finest hour was the hour of the Cross, so your greatest moment will be that small quantum of time when you say:

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"I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless, I live!"
The crucifixion invites you to complete the cycle of human failure. You see, every person is created by God. Then without exception, every person moves away from the righteousness in which he was created. "All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has made to light upon Him the guilt and iniquity of us all." (Isaiah 53:6) Then comes the invitation, issued by the cross of Christ, to return by way of God's righteousness to fellowship with God and everlasting life.
No one who believes in Christ can get along without the cross, for it is the strategic reason anyone believes in Him in the first place. For here it is that the Founder of the Christian faith and a defender of the Christian faith become introduced. Not only that, but every virtue of Christianity is present in the cross. Forgiveness, reconciliation, peace with God, and freedom from sin's bondage...the cross is the source from which these blessings flow! "The Father has delivered and drawn us to Himself out of the control and the dominion of darkness and has transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in Whom we have our redemption through His blood, [which means the forgiveness of sins." (Colossians 1:13-14)
In an old book, there is the following story: When midnight's moonlit veil hung low on the sea's heaving bosom, July 31, 1838, William Knibb gathered together ten thousand slaves on the island of Jamaica, for a praise meeting—and for the putting into effect of the Emancipation Act. An immense coffin was prepared. They filled that huge coffin with whips, branding irons, handcuffs, fetters, slave garments and all other memorials belonging to the horrid enslavement system when human beings were properties in human flesh—having no will but the will of their masters.
At the first stroke of the midnight bell, Knibb shouted: "The monster is dying!" At the twelfth stroke, he shouted: "The monster is dead!" Let us bury him!"
Then they screwed the coffin lid down, lowered it into a twelve-foot grave, and covered it up—thus burying things which had made human lives a hard and bitterly painful bondage. That night when the beating of every pulse was quickened, every throat of those ten thousand liberated slaves shouted itself hoarse with the joy of freedom!
Now humanity's great Emancipator, the Lord Jesus Christ, by the price of His blood has obtained for all believers their freedom, and

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has buried their enthralling and galling and enslaving sins in His own grave. Man's part is to believe the gospel proclamation, claim His blood-bought liberty, and walk triumphantly through life—one of the Lord’s freed men. This is the act which changes darkness into light, death into life, condemnation into justification.
Peter introduces our subject with these words:
"You must know (recognize) that you were redeemed (ransomed) from the useless (fruitless) way of living inherited by tradition from [your] forefathers, not with corruptible things [such as] silver and gold, but you were purchased with the precious blood of Christ (the Messiah), like that of a [sacrificial] lamb without blemish or spot."
Redeemed! Redemption!
In speaking of redemption, the biblical writers bear witness to our deliverance from our bondage to sin and to Satan. This release is akin to being freed from prison. Moreover, it involves the payment of a ransom. In short, Christ's blood is the payment required to set us free from bondage and to make us God’s own possession. Consequently, we belong to Him and are under obligation to live for Him in all that we do.
To understand the concept of redemption in the context of our Christian faith, we must go back to the beginning of God’s dealing with the human race. Adam's sin plunged the entire human race into sin and condemnation.
So humanity outside Christ is described as dead in sin, without God and without hope. "And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience. Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands— that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ." (Ephesians 2:1-2,11-13)
As sinners, we were destined for the judgment of God and eternal condemnation. "And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of man. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation." (Hebrews 9:27-28)

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"For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through whom we have now received reconciliation. Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man's offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification. For if by the one man's offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. Therefore, as through one man's offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man's righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life.
For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous. Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 5:10-21)
Underlying the grim fact of sin's reality is the basic truth that God’s justice requires the punishment of sin and the sinner. Adam was warned that disobedience would be met by death. "And the Lord God commanded the man saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." (Genesis 2:16-17) Paul restates the theme: "The wages of sin is death."
In divine justice, the link between sin and punishment is vital. Could not God simply forgive us without sending His Son? Does He really need to punish the sinner? Does this teaching make Him less gracious than a for-

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giving person? Is not God primarily love and is it not the nature of love to pardon and forgive rather than to punish? So the question is...How necessary was the atonement? The obvious factor that underwrites the necessity of the atonement is the very nature of sin. Sin is an assault on God. It is enmity against God, and disobedience to His law. It is a human attempt to put ourselves in charge, to dispute the Lordship of our Creator; it is a contradiction of God’s holiness.
God must punish sin, not out of any external constraint but because of who He is and what sin is. If sin were to go unpunished it would be at the expense of God’s own holiness. Moreover, the justice of our salvation would be undermined, for our forgiveness would then flow from the mere overlooking of sin rather than from a definitive and final settlement of it.
At the heart of the biblical doctrine of the atonement (Christ's death) is the idea of penal substitution. When we say penal, we mean that Christ endured punishment. God’s law has been broken and sin has been committed against Him. God is the one who prescribes the penalty. The penalty God laid down for sin is death, exclusion from fellowship with Him for ever. For human beings, this means eternal punishment. Christ Himself willingly submitted to the just penalty which we deserved, receiving it on our behalf and in our place so that we will not have to bear it ourselves. He became our Substitute. The death due to us from our transgressions of God’s law is an eternal death that involves everlasting exclusion from the presence of God. Christ died our death for us so that we might have the gift of eternal life. To fathom the depths of what Christ endured we would need to spend eternity in hell! He was rejected by mankind, abandoned by God, subject to the full curse of the law and more besides. All this was underserved for He had been uniquely obedient to the Father. He was sinless. He was righteous. He was pure love and wholesome goodness. He was equal with God and the Creator of all things. "God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:21)
"But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed." (Isaiah 53:5)
"But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because He suffered death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone." (Hebrews 2:9)

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"For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit." (1 Peter 3:18)
Our text says: "We have been redeemed...by the precious blood of Christ."
Peter expresses his own experience when he says that Christianity is a redemption, a deliverance, a freedom, which is personal and centers in the person of Jesus Christ. It centers not in a ritual, a table of laws, a system of philosophy, but in a God who "so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son." (John 3:16): and also in a Son who so loved erring men and so obeyed His Holy Father that He did what needed to be done to bring them together.
By His suffering and through His broken body and poured-out life He satisfied all parties and conditions, so that in His lifetime the "transcendent origin" became an event in history.
The great work of redemption which was ordained by God before the foundation of the world was manifested once and for all. In Peter's sermon at Pentecost, he stated the following: "Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know—Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it." (Acts 2:22-24)
Calvary has something mysteriously final and finished about; it marked "the end of times" of preparation, indeed the end of preredemptive history, from then on men have lived in a new era: a.r.-After Redemption. We live in the time between redemption and consummation. What God had in mind from all eternity came to birth in Bethlehem, to fulfillment on Calvary, to victory at the Resurrection, to exaltation on the Mount of Ascension, and is even now coming to consummation.
This grand sweep of God’s glorious gospel staggers the mind, humbles the heart, and subdues the whole being in silent adoration. And yet, writes Peter, this whole drama of redemption which begins in all eternity is brought to bear upon individuals. It was all made manifest for your sake, as though the Eternal One serves the one individual with all that is at His disposal. This is the way—even Jesus Christ. By Him we have come to believe in God as Father and to

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trust Him. Even so, let no one who has experienced so great a redemption, centering in the Christ who was raised and glorified by God, forget that his faith and his hope are in God—not in himself. Had not God raised and glorified Christ Jesus, how could we have any confidence and hope?
The writer to the Hebrews makes this observation concerning the wonderful salvation made possible through the death and resurrection of Christ. "Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?" (Hebrews 2:1-4)
Such a peerless salvation is well-named "great" for there is nothing greater in all the universe than this inclusive word "gathering into itself all the redemptive acts and processes—as justification, redemption, grace, propitiation, imputation, forgiveness, sanctification and glorification. "Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised." (Psalm 48:1) Everything from His heart and hand bears the imprint of His greatness. All of His creative works pale into insignificance alongside His saving grace and power.
Our salvation is great because of the price paid to procure it. Negligence or rejection of this matchless salvation is made more terrible because of all Jesus endured to provide it. Creation was a great work of God, but it only cost Him His breath. "He spake, and it was done." But when it came to our salvation, He had to give more than His breath, He had to give His blood!
Salvation is great because it came to us personified. We are prone to forget that salvation is not something, but SOMEONE. "The Lord Jehovah...is become our salvation." (Isaiah 12:2). If salvation is treated as an intangible something we must struggle in order to keep, then there will be a constant fear that we may lose it. But our salvation is not a mere it, but HIM, even the Savior Himself. "Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ." (Philippians 1:6)  © Copyright 2005 Church of the Highlands