Grosey's Messages

LORD'S DAY 19

52. Q. What comfort is it to you that Christ will come to judge the living and the dead?

A. In all my sorrow and persecution I lift up my head and eagerly await as judge from heaven the very same person who before has submitted himself to the judgment of God for my sake, and has removed all the curse from me. He will cast all his and my enemies into everlasting condemnation, but he will take me and all his chosen ones to himself into heavenly joy and glory.

The Apostles Creed

On the third day he arose from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father almighty; from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

Hell disappeared. And no one noticed. Church historian Martin Marty summarized our attitude toward a vanishing doctrine that received careful attention in previous generations. If you are a churchgoer, ask yourself when you last heard an entire sermon or Sunday school lesson on the topic.

Admittedly, the Judgment is an unpleasant topic. Unbelievers disbelieve in it; most Christians ignore it. Even the staunchly biblical diehards are often silent out of embarrassment. The Judgment, more than any other biblical doctrine, seems to be out of step with our times.

And yet we read that in the final judgment the unbelieving dead of all the ages stand before God to be judged, "Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire" (Revelation 20:14-15). What shall we do with this teaching?

This doctrine is often neglected because it is difficult to reconcile hell and the judgment with the love of God. That millions of people will be in conscious torment forever is repugnant to the human mind.  One man said that he would not want to be in heaven with a God who sends people to hell. His preference was to be in hell so that he could live in defiance of such a God. "If such a God exists," he complained, "he is the devil."

To put it simply, to us the punishment of hell does not fit the crime. Yes, all men do some evil and a few do great evils, but nothing that anyone has ever done can justify eternal torment. And to think that millions of good people will be in hell simply because they have not heard of Christ (as Christianity affirms) seems wrong!  It's like capital punishment for a speeding ticket.

There are two alternative theories that vie for acceptance. One takes the hell out of forever; the other takes the forever out of hell.

Universalism This one takes the hell out of forever.

Universalism is the name given to the belief that eventually all men will arrive safely to heaven. Since Christ died for all people without exception, it follows, they say, that all will eventually be saved.

Paul taught that in the fullness of time, there would be the "summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth"(Ephesians 1:10). And it is God's intention to "reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven" (Colossians 1:20). The implication, we are told, is that everyone will eventually be brought into the family of God.

Unfortunately, sadly, this attractive interpretation has serious weaknesses.

The Scriptures explicitly teach that Satan along with the beast and the false prophet shall be "tormented day and night forever and ever" (Revelation 20:10). Here we have a clear statement that Satan shall never be redeemed but will exist in conscious eternal torment.

Yes, everything will be summed up in Christ. That means that all things will be brought under Christ's direct authority. Christ has completed everything necessary to fulfill God's plan of salvation. The order of nature shall be restored, and justice will prevail throughout the whole universe.

Matthew 12:32 the Lord Jesus Christ speaks of the unpardonable sin: "It shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come." In Mark 3:29 it is called an "eternal sin," indicating that it begins in this age and is carried on for all eternity without hope of reversal.

Universalism has never been widely accepted by those who take the Scriptures seriously. Obviously if this teaching were true, there would be no pressing reason to fulfill the Great Commission or to urge unbelievers to accept Christ in this life.

The bottom line is that the bible does talk about eternal punishment.

Conditional Immortality; this one takes the forever out of hell.

Conditional immortality contends that all will not be saved, but neither will any be in conscious torment forever. God resurrects the wicked to judge them; then they are thrown into the fire and consumed. The righteous are granted eternal life, whereas the unbelievers are granted eternal death. Hell is annihilation.

My principal at theological college taught this view, hoping that the word "eternal"didn't mean "forever." However it does!

It is difficult enough to defend Christianity in light of the problem of evil and suffering without having to explain hell too. Their idea is that the fire of God consumes the lost. Thus God does not raise the wicked to torture them but rather to declare judgment on them and condemn them to extinction, which is the second death. Everlasting punishment, according to Principal Rogers, means that God sentences the lost to final, definitive death.

"Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matthew 10:28). He assumes that if a soul is destroyed in hell it is annihilated.

The word "destroyed"however,  does not mean "to annihilate." The Greek word apollumi is used in passages such as Matthew 9:17, Luke 15:4, and John 6:12, 27. In none of those instances does it mean "to pass out of existence."Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon defines destruction as "to be delivered up to eternal misery."

The Lord Jesus Christ says that the lost will go into "eternal fire,"  which has been prepared for the devil and his angels. And then He adds, "These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life"(Matthew 25:46). Since the same word eternal describes both the destiny of the righteous and the wicked, it seems clear that Christ taught that both groups will exist forever, although in different places. The same eternal fire that Satan and his hosts experience will be the lot of unbelievers.

Daniel wrote, "Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt" (Daniel 12:2). The wicked will experience shame and contempt for as long as the righteous experience bliss.

The occupants of hell are clearly said to experience eternal misery. Those who worship the beast and have received his mark "will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger" (Revelation 14:10). Such will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name. (verses 10-11)

The Lord Jesus made it clear too. Mark 9:42"Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.43 And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire.44  And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. 47 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell,48 'where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.'

They will never slip into peaceful nonexistence.

In Revelation 20 we have a similar scene. The beast and the false prophet have been thrown into the lake of fire. Satan is bound, but after a thousand years he is released to deceive the nations once more. At the end of that period, Satan is cast into the lake of fire. Notice carefully that the beast and the false prophet have not been annihilated during those one thousand years in hell. The fire has not consumed them: "And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever" (verse 10).

Hence, the teachings of universalism and annihilationism come to their deceptive end. Eternal, conscious torment is clearly taught, there is no other honest interpretation of these passages.

At the root of the debate is the question of whether hell is fair and just. Sensitive Christians some say cannot believe in eternal, conscious punishment. To us as humans, everlasting punishment is disproportionate to the offense committed. God appears cruel, unjust, sadistic, and vindictive. The purpose of punishment, we are told, is always redemptive. Rehabilitation is the goal of all prison sentences. The concept of a place where there will be endless punishment without any possibility of parole or reform seems unjust.

How can hell be just?

It is actually here at the Judgment Seat of Revelation 20 that we can see how eternal punishment is Just. Jonathon Edwards wrote; "Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained."—Acts 17:31 Christ Jesus will descend in a most magnificent manner from heaven with all the holy angels. The man Christ Jesus is now in the heaven of heavens, or as the Apostle expresses it, "far above all heavens" (Eph 4:10). There He hath been ever since His ascension, being there enthroned in glory in the midst of millions of angels and blessed spirits. But when the time appointed for the Day of Judgment shall have come, notice of it will be given in those happy regions. Christ will descend to the earth, attended with all those heavenly hosts, in a most solemn, awful, and glorious manner. Christ will come with divine majesty: He will come in the glory of the Father, "For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father, with his angels" (Mat 16:27). We can now conceive but little of the holy and awful magnificence in which Christ will appear, as He shall come in the clouds of heaven, or of the glory of His retinue.

1.       There will be NO EXCEPTION  From The SOLEMN SUMMONS (Revelation 20:12-13)

Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them.

And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds.

¹² And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne

The People Who Are Called

Notice the people who are brought before the great white throne of judgment—the dead, the small, and the great. Revelation 20:12 says, "I also saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged according to their works by what was written in the books."

All Sinners Will Be There      Jonathon Edwards "When the bodies are prepared, the departed souls shall again enter into their bodies and be reunited to them, never more to be separated. The souls of the wicked shall be brought up out of hell, though not out of misery, and shall very unwillingly enter into their bodies, which will be but eternal prisons to them."

All Self-righteous Will Be There           All Self Satisfied Will Be There       All Slow-deciders Will Be There

They intend to be saved one day.  They know they are sinners and are not antagonistic to the Gospel, but they just do not intend to give their hearts to Jesus today.

All Sunday Christians Will Be There      Edwards  "THEY SHALL ALL BE BROUGHT TO APPEAR BEFORE CHRIST—the godly being placed on the right hand, the wicked on the left (Mat 25:31-33). The wicked, however unwilling, however full of fear and horror, shall be brought or driven before the Judgment Seat. However they may try to hide themselves—and for this purpose creep into dens and caves of the mountains and cry to the mountains to fall on them and hide them from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb—yet there shall not one escape. To the Judge they must come and stand on the left hand with devils."

The Places from Which They Are Called.

Revelation 20:13 says, "Then the sea gave up its dead, and Death and Hades gave up their dead." Death and hades will deliver up the dead people who are in them. Earth will open its graves to give up the dead. Out of tombs the dead will rise. The depths of the sea will heave its bosom and swell to give up the dead. From the Arctic waste they will come; from the desert sands they will come; from the tropical jungles they will come. Wherever people have died, they will be raised. We need to understand at this point that death has the body, but hades has the soul. When a child of God dies, he or she goes immediately to paradise. "Therefore, though we are always confident and know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord" (2 Corinthians 5:6). Jesus said to the thief on the cross who repented and believed, "I assure you: Today you will be with Me in paradise" (Luke 23:43).

When a person dies without Jesus Christ as his Saviour, his soul goes immediately to hades. He will not be judged at that moment. In Luke 16, Christ gives us a picture of this when He describes what happened to the rich man and the beggar man named Lazarus who both died. The rich man went to hades; Lazarus went to paradise.  "And being in torment in hades, [the rich man] he looked up and saw Abraham a long way off, with Lazarus at his side. 'Father Abraham!' he called out, 'Have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this flame!" (Luke 16:23-24).

Sometimes when a judge issues a summons, the criminal refuses to come. He may disguise himself, flee to another country seeking asylum, or he may even commit suicide to keep from coming to judgment. But on this judgment day, there will be no refusal and no escape. The resurrection of Jesus Christ guarantees the judgment of the unsaved dead. Acts 17:31 says, "Because He has set a day on which He is going to judge the world in righteousness by the Man He has appointed. He has provided proof of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead." This man whom God has ordained is Jesus Christ. And He has been raised from the dead.

2.       There will be NO EXCUSE Because of THE SECRETS DISPLAYED (Revelation 20:12)

¹² And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.

Did you know that God has your life recorded in His book? Not a thing about your life has escaped His knowledge. And one of these days you will face His accounting of your life. Ecclesiastes 12:14 says, "For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil" (KJV). Romans 2:16 says, "On the day when God judges what people have kept secret, according to my gospel through Christ Jesus."

Our lives are recorded in God's book.  Nothing has escaped His knowledge.

Secrets that have been repressed:   Secrets that have been recorded:

Matthew 12:36 We will give an account for every idle word, every time we have taken the Lord's name in vain.  Exodus 20:7  Secrets that will be revealed: 

There is coming a judgment day when we will face the record.

And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds" (Revelation 20:12).

No one is saved by works, to be sure. As we shall stress in the final chapter of this book, salvation is a gift of God, not of works. But for the unsaved the works are the basis of judgment. In other words, they will be rightly judged on the basis of what they did with what they knew.

Those who live without specific knowledge about Christ will be judged by the light of nature and their own conscience (Romans 1:20; 2:14-16). That does not mean that those who respond to general revelation will be automatically saved, for no one lives up to all that he knows. That is why a personal knowledge of Christ is needed for salvation. "And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).

But the light of God in nature and in the human conscience is still a sufficient basis for judgment. Whatever the degree of punishment, it will fit the offense exactly, for God is meticulously just. Those who believe in Christ experience mercy; those who do not (either because they have never heard of Him or because they reject what they know of Him) will receive justice. Either way, God is glorified.

Think of how accurately God will judge every unbeliever! Each day of every life will be analyzed in minute detail. The hidden thoughts and motives of each hour will be replayed, along with all the actions and attitudes. The words spoken in secret will be made public, the intentions of the heart displayed for all to see. They will have no attorney to whom they may appeal, no loopholes by which they can escape. Nothing but bare, indisputable facts.

Have you ever taken God's name in vain? Maybe you've forgotten it, but God hasn't forgotten. You say, "I didn't mean anything by it." Then you are twice condemned that you could take His name in vain and not mean anything by it. God says, "Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain" (Exodus 20:7 KJV).

 Luke 12:2 says, "There is nothing covered that won't be uncovered; nothing hidden that won't be made known." On judgment day, skeletons will come out of closets. And things that your mother didn't know, your father didn't know, your wife didn't know, your husband didn't know, your child didn't know will be shouted from the rooftop. Think about it.

I believe that the balance of justice will be so accurate that the pornographer will wish he had never published such material, the thief will wish he had earned an honest living, and the adulterer will regret that he lived an immoral life. Faithfulness to his marriage vows would not have earned him a place in heaven, to be sure, but it would have made his existence in hell slightly more bearable.

Before God, no motives will be misinterpreted, no extenuating circumstances thrown out of court. The woman who seduced the man will receive her fair share of punishment, and the man who allowed himself to be seduced will receive his. The parents who abused their child who turned to drugs to escape from the pain of rejection all blame will be accurately proportioned.

3.       There will be No Escape From THE SOBER VERDICT

The Severity of the final sentence:

Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.¹⁵ And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

An Awful Place            An Agonising Place         An Always Place

And it is an Acceptable Place.

The Sadness of the final sentence:

The Sureness of the final sentence:

Settle out of Court. Better go to the Appeals Court than  "The Court Of No Appeal"

There you will only see The Fearful Face Of The Judge

John 5:22 – 22 The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son,23 that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. 25 "Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.27 And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man.28 Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice29 and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.

Acts 17:30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent,31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead."

The Fearful Fate

There are three parts to every trial. First, the evidence is presented. The books are opened. Everything will be known—every idle word, thought, and deed. Every dishonest thing you did, every nickel you stole from your mother's dresser, every gray hair you gave your father, every wrinkle you pinched into the brow of your wife—all this evidence will be known. And not only will this evidence be things that you have said, done, or thought, but these will be things that you have left unsaid, unthought, and undone. James 4:17 says, "So, for the person who knows to do good and doesn't do it, it is a sin."

 Next, you have a chance to make your defense. What will you say? I can hear people saying, "Wait a minute, Lord, don't judge my sin. I didn't know which church to join. There was a Baptist Church, Methodist Church, Presbyterian Church, Church of God, Church of Christ, Church of God in Christ, Episcopalian Church, Catholic Church, and Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints." God will respond, "I didn't say believe on the church. I said believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved."

 And they might say, "Wait a minute, God. I didn't respond to your call to be saved, because I didn't want to be like those hypocrites in the church. And I wasn't going to call myself a Christian in front of other people and not be able to live like one." God will respond, "I didn't say believe on yourself. I said believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved."

 What defense will you give if you are not saved? What can you possibly say in defense of your trampling beneath your feet the precious blood of the Lord Jesus and despising His spirit of grace? What can you say on that judgment day when you know that you rejected His outstretched nail-pierced hands and His voice that invited you: "Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light" (Matthew 11:28-30)?

 Finally, the verdict of the court is handed down. The brokenhearted Judge will say, "But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father in heaven" (Matthew 10:33). Jesus also said: "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord!' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father in heaven. On that day many will say to Me, 'Lord, Lord, didn't we prophesy in Your name, drive out demons in Your name, and do many miracles in Your name?' Then I will announce to them, 'I never knew you! Depart from Me, you lawbreakers!'" (Matthew 7:21-23).

 If you are not saved, your soul will drop down into hell at that moment. "And anyone not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire" (Revelation 20:15). You may say, "I don't believe in hell fire." Five minutes after you get there, you will believe in it. Either the Bible is true, or it is not true. There is a lake of liquid fire, and the sadness of it is this: You don't have to go.

 C. S. Lewis said that everybody in the world is in two categories. One group is like Satan. They say to God the Father, "Not Your will, but mine be done." The second group is like God the Son. They say to God the Father, "Not my will, but Thine be done." Those in the first category will have lived a self-concerned, self-controlled life, and they will drop into hell as a brokenhearted God will say, "Not My will, but thine be done." God doesn't want you to go to hell.

 Someone asked a preacher, "Do you really believe in hell? If so, tell me where it is." The wise pastor said, "Hell is at the end of a Christless life." If you die outside the Lord, you will come to a judgment, and then you will know that the Bible is indeed true.

 I am not going to stand before the great white throne, and I will tell you why. I settled out of court. Jesus became my Savior when He died on the cross in agony and blood, and with His blood He paid the debt of my sin. Romans 8:33-34 says, "Who can bring an accusation against God's elect? God is the One who justifies. Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is the One who died, but even more, has been raised; He also is at the right hand of God and intercedes for us." Isn't that wonderful? Your sin can be buried in the grave of God's forgetfulness, never to be brought up against you again.

1 Peter 3: 13 Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good?14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled,15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,16 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil. 18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,19 in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison,20 because they formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water.21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of  God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.

The news that hit Christians this week in Sydney was the public failure of Brian Houston. Anxiety tablets + booze + sex = public failure

Rather than gloat and say "there I told you so" we each ought to carefully examine ourselves and see that the same causes of failure can also attack and undermine us.

So what is the takeaway here? It is what Peter is talking about in 1 Peter.

Trials cause anxiety.  1Peter 1:⁶ In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,⁷ so that the tested genuineness of your faith---more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire---may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 2 trial of persecution at work.  Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme,¹⁴ or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good.¹⁵ For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.¹⁶ Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.¹⁷ Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor. ¹⁸ Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust.¹⁹ For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly.²⁰ For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God.²¹ For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.²² He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.²³ When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.

1 Peter 3 trial and persecution in the home.  Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening.

13Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? 14But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. "Do not fear their threatsb; do not be frightened."c 15But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. 17For it is better, if it is God's will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil

All produce care and stress.  1 Peter 5 cast your cares upon Him because He cares for you.

So we learn from the current events that there are some poor ways to face stress.

You could blame the anxiety pills.  You could blame the drink culture of our society.  You could blame mid life crises and blame anxiety as a source of uncontrollable desires. But understating and underreporting is not helpful.

So, how do we deal biblically with these pressures?

Peter tells us that we should focus on those aspects of the gospel that lift our souls beyond the anxieties of our current circumstances.

1. The Triumph of His CRUCIFIXION  (18)

2. The Triumph of His PROCLAMATION  (19,20)

3. The Triumph of His RESURRECTION  (21)

Peter makes an analogy between the cleansing water of the days of Noah and the water used in baptism in Peter's own day. The same waters that buried the earth in judgment and death also lifted eight humans (and the animals) to safety.

The burial under water of all those rebelling (and persecuting Noah), and the raising  up in the ark of those who trusted in the Lord, was a fitting picture of what it meant to be united to Christ in His death and resurrection. And on top of that analogy, Peter draws in the picture of baptism as a dying to sin (1Peter 2:24) and a resurrection to new birth and a living hope, as a picture of what the resurrection of the Lord Jesus does in a believers' life. They have died to sin and been raised from spiritual death to being born again to a living hope through the resurrection of the Lord Jesus from the dead (1Peter 1:3)

Membership in the ark and association with Noah could be a picture a type of the union with the dying and rising victorious Christ. To complete the analogy, Peter points his readers to their own act of association with Christ: water baptism.

Baptism is a Pattern, the ark is a type. The resurrection of the Lord Jesus is the antitype. Baptism is the portrayal of that antitype in the life of a believer.

Swindoll writes "After Christ came and revealed God's plan hidden to past ages (Eph. 3:9), the apostles began to see foreshadowing patterns in the Old Testament that vividly illustrated New Testament truths. The Old Testament image is called the "type," and the New Testament correspondence is called the "antitype." For example, Paul said that the things in the Old Testament "happened as examples (typos) for us" (1 Cor. 10:6), and specifically that Adam serves as a typos of Christ." So how does "the water" of Noah's day correspond to the way baptism "saves" believers in the New Testament? The waters of the flood were actually the means of judging the sinful human race, allowing Noah and his family to escape from that wicked world to begin a new life after the floodwaters receded. In the same way, the water of baptism represents a break from the old, sinful lifestyle and a new beginning as a believer in Christ. In the Bible, water baptism provides a vivid picture of our response to the gospel and the salvation it brings. The water of baptism, like the flood waters, portrays death, the penalty for sin. It is a magnificent object lesson, a sermon without words. The believer's descent into the water represents death and burial with Christ. The believer's ascent from the water illustrates the resurrection into a new kind of life."

Baptism is a Picture, of death burial and resurrection.

Romans 6:3-4—"Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life."

Calvin's Institutes say "For inasmuch as it is appointed to elevate, nourish, and confirm our faith, we are to receive it as from the hand of its author, being firmly persuaded that it is himself who speaks to us by means of the sign; that it is himself who washes and purifies us, and effaces the remembrance of our faults; that it is himself who makes us the partakers of his death, destroys the kingdom of Satan, subdues the power of concupiscence, nay, makes us one with himself, that being clothed with him we may be accounted the children of God. These things I say, we ought to feel as truly and certainly in our mind as we see our body washed, immersed, and surrounded with water. (John Calvin Institutes).. Whether the person baptised is to be wholly immersed, and that whether once or thrice, or whether he is only to be sprinkled with water, is not of the least consequence: churches should be at liberty to adopt either according to the diversity of climates, although it is evident that the term baptise means to immerse, and that this was the form used by the primitive Church.

Peter also says that "baptism also does now save us," (1 Peter 3: 21.)  For he did not mean to intimate that our ablution and salvation are perfected by water, or that water possesses in itself the virtue of purifying, regenerating, and renewing; nor does he mean that it is the cause of salvation, but only that the knowledge and certainty of such gifts are perceived in this sacrament. This the words themselves evidently show. For Paul connects together the word of life and baptism of water, as if he had said, by the gospel the message of our ablution and sanctification is announced; by baptism this message is sealed. And Peter immediately subjoins, that that baptism is " not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God, which is of faith." …So that we cannot have a better argument to refute the hallucination of those who ascribe the whole to the virtue of water than we derive from the very meaning of baptism, which leads us away as well from the visible element which is presented to our eye, as from all other means, that it may fix our minds on Christ alone. … And as the twig derives substance and nourishment from the root to which it is attached, so those who receive baptism with true faith truly feel the efficacy of Christ's death in the mortification of their flesh, and the efficacy of his resurrection in the quickening of the Spirit (Rom. 6:8)."

Baptism is a Public Confession.  Swindoll writes "Peter's explanation of how water baptism really functions is a little more difficult to translate. Just look at a few examples of the diversity of interpretations:  "an appeal to God for a good conscience" (NASB)  "the answer of a good conscience toward God" (NKJV)

 "a response to God from a clean conscience" (NLT)  "the pledge of a good conscience to God" (NET)

The understanding of this second half of the phrase that makes most sense in light of the Bible's whole teaching about the function of baptism seems to be "the pledge to God from a good conscience." That is, Peter views baptism as an outward ceremony—much like a wedding ceremony—that includes a public confession and commitment to live the new life redeemed from sin. The water of baptism does not cause a person to have new life or a good conscience, but it is the response to God based on a conscience that has already been purified by the Holy Spirit through faith. This "good conscience" comes with new life because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1 Pet. 3:21)."

Or rather Baptism is like a wedding ring. The ring doesn't make you married, the wedding vows make you married. The rings are the reminder of those wedding vows. They are the outward testimony, the appeal of a good conscience, that says: I trust in and rely upon the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ to be for my salvation.  A vow is a testimony, an appeal, a confession of our faith in Christ. So, just as Jesus Christ proclaimed His triumph over sin and death through His own suffering and death on the cross, believers proclaim their triumph over sin and death through water baptism. The water of baptism itself does not save a person or cleanse the conscience. These are the works of the Holy Spirit.

Calvin writes:  "Baptism serves as our confession before men, in as much as it is a mark by which we openly declare that we wish to be ranked among the people of God, by which we testify that we concur with all Christians in the worship of one God, and in one religion; by which, in short, we publicly assert our faith, … by the very circumstance of having been baptised in his name, they had devoted themselves to him, had sworn and bound themselves in allegiance to him before men, so that they could no longer confess any other than Christ alone. (John Calvin Institutes)

So Christ's victory over sin provided for us victory over sin.

When facing trials Be Convictional

You signed on for this when you confessed and professed your faith when you became a member of the church. You signed on for the church's trials.

When facing trials Be Courageous.

4. The Triumph of His ASCENSION  (22)

Luke 22:69—"But from now on the Son of Man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God."

Acts 1:9—"And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight."

Rev. 1:17 "Fear not, I am the first and the last,18 and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades."              Christ's Victory over all powers...look at verse 22.  who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him.

 Christ victory was so complete that he ascended to heaven to the highest place of honor. He bled and died on a cross in humiliation, and was exalted to the right hand of God. In keeping with that most exalted position, all angels and authorities and powers were subjected to him. The entire spiritual world is under Christ's rule. There is nothing that happens apart from Christ's purpose or permission.

That is the ultimate and complete victory we have in Christ Jesus, who is not only our great example, but also our hope and our salvation. With Jesus set apart as Lord of our lives, no matter what we face here on earth, we know we have victory through Him.

 Peter promises Christians not only perseverance in times of struggle and persecution and sufferings, but more than that--victory.

Psalm 68: 18 You ascended on high, leading a host of captives in your train and receiving gifts among men, even among the rebellious, that the LORD God may dwell there.

31 Nobles shall come from Egypt; Cush shall hasten to stretch out her hands to God. 32 O kingdoms of the earth, sing to God; sing praises to the Lord, Selah

33 to him who rides in the heavens, the ancient heavens; behold, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice. 3 Ascribe power to God, whose majesty is over Israel, and whose power is in the skies. 35 Awesome is God from his sanctuary; the God of Israel---he is the one who gives power and strength to his people. Blessed be God!

Because The Lord Jesus Is Ascended on high.. go to the nations.

Our commission is to preach the gospel of salvation by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ throughout the whole world and leave the conquest of the world to Jesus. This is because he alone is King. Indeed he is the King of kings and Lord of lords (Rev. 19:16). He is in complete control of all things. He will reign in power. All nations will come to him, and before him every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Phil. 2:10-11).

Because The Lord Jesus Is Ascended on high be assured of the gifts and ministries to do the job. Ephesians 4:7,8 "It is the power of God alone that will draw the people: "Summon your power, O God; show us your strength, O God, as you have done before" (v. 28). This is sound Bible theology. "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him," said Jesus (John 6:44). And "You did not choose me, but I chose you" (John 15:16). Do you believe that? Do you believe that salvation is by the power and grace of God alone? If we really did believe it, we would pray for God's power to be seen in our evangelism much more than we do. In fact, we would pray exactly as the psalmist does here, saying something like, "Summon your power, O God; show us your strength, O God, as you have done before." God has worked powerfully before—in the very early church, at the time of the Reformation, and in some phases of the modern missionary movement. Why not again? Why not now?" James M Boice Psalm 68

Because The Lord Jesus Is Ascended on high do not be fearful of anything or anyone!  God's choice of small things. There is an important biblical principle here, which is that God is not impressed by greatness, as we think of it, but rather chooses the weak and lowly things of this world as vehicles for his great acts in order that the glory for what is accomplished might go to himself. Magnificat, which speaks of God lifting up the humble and filling the hungry with good things.

Peter is writing to disciples who are going through the mill.

The Triumph of Our Saviour         LORD'S DAY 16

He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell.

40. Q. Why was it necessary for Christ to humble himself even unto death?

A. Because of the justice and truth of God satisfaction for our sins could be made in no other way than by the death of the Son of God.

Albert Mohler wrote "Mel Gibson's film The Passion of the Christ hit the box office with a bang in 2004. At that time the movie generated a great deal of controversy. Disagreement also abounded about the propriety of portraying Jesus through the medium of cinematography. All this controversy piqued the interest of prospective viewers, and as a result, the film performed well at the box office. In fact, it went on to become one of the most discussed cultural products of the era."

My dad rang me after watching it. I had determined not to watch it as I was concerned that cinematically, it could never portray the theological implications of the event of the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ. But my dad saw it -a non-Christian.  And he rang me.

He was confronted. Not by the graphic portrayal of the violence, but by the words that appeared on the screen before the movie commenced. The words of Isaiah transfixed my dad.

Isaiah 53:3 He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.

And I will never forget the words of the man Lorelle and I had prayed over for 60 years: "I wept when I saw those words..I saw it for the first time. He didn't die just for the world's sins, He died for my sins!  Is it true?" I replied "Yes it is true." He answered, "Then that is the greatest news of all time!"

Mohler continues "Most people do not understand the gravity of this historical event. Even the people who put Jesus to death failed to grasp the significance of what they did because "if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory" (1 Cor. 2:8). For those whose eyes the Spirit of God has not opened, the death of Jesus amounts to nothing less than a brute fact of history. For those, however, who have placed their faith in Christ and experienced the power of the resurrection, the death of Jesus stands as a paradox—at the same time the most tragic and the most glorious truth imaginable. For a Christian believer, Jesus came as the Servant who suffered and died in our place for our sins. The Apostles' Creed enshrines this truth in its affirmation that Jesus "suffered under Pontius Pilate."" 

As my dad said, "It's true? Then that is the best news ever!"

Over these next two weeks we will rejoice together in 4 things.

We will rejoice in the Triumph of His CRUCIFIXION

We will rejoice in the Triumph of His PROCLAMATION  (19,20)

Then next week

We will rejoice in the Triumph of His RESURRECTION  (19,20)

We will rejoice in the Triumph of His ASCENSION  (19,20)

1. The Triumph of His CRUCIFIXION  (18)

1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,

The Sufferings        For Christ also suffered once for sins

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous,

The creed affirms much more than mere historicity in affirming the suffering of Jesus under Pilate. It tells us that His suffering at the cross was the main reason for His becoming incarnate as a man. God the Son had to become a man so that He would suffer and die.

There Was His Bodily Suffering

We sometimes fail to consider the physical sufferings of Jesus.  Though there are the two natures in the one person of Jesus Christ— His humanity and His divinity it is the God-man who experienced suffering in His body.

Jesus experienced suffering physically in His life:

          Jesus experienced hunger. (Mark 11:12)  Jesus experienced thirst. (John 4:7)

Jesus felt weariness. (John 4:6) Jesus needed to sleep. (Mark 4:38), He experienced grief and frustration.

The sufferings described in Jesus' trial, flogging, and crucifixion are no less real. Jesus, the eternal Son of God, experienced the fullness of pain that would have accompanied his torture and execution. The Roman methods of flogging would dispense maximum pain to the victim while keeping them from death or shock. It was meant to be painful!  Jesus, the Son of God, fully man, experienced every bit of pain through the suffering of his torture and crucifixion.

Mohler writes "That Jesus experienced suffering as fully human only magnifies the glory of his intentionality and obedience to suffer and fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah. The Son of God willingly placed himself into the intense, horrific, and excruciating pain of Roman torture and crucifixion. This he did for his people. His sufferings demonstrate the infinite love of God in Christ for his people in our place. He endured the pain, contempt, reviling, and his very flesh ripped from his body out of divine love for a rebellious, sinful people."

The Substitute        the righteous for the unrighteous,

The second aspect of the Lord's sufferings Peter feels we should rejoice in is that He suffered as a substitute. He was made a curse  and placed under the wrath of God in our place. This He did in order to accomplish redemption, propitiation, and the forgiveness of sin. He endured the wrath of God the righteous for the unrighteous.

Paul wrote, "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree'" (Gal. 3:13). Not only did Christ suffer bodily, he suffered as a curse. All God's people had sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23). Everyone lived under the curse of the law, for none had kept the law. Jesus, however, became the curse. He took on himself the wrath of God against sin.

Mohler: "In becoming the curse Jesus experienced the fullness of God's wrath and judgment for the sin of mankind. God poured on Christ the eternal punishment due for each and every sin committed by his people. Jesus endured it all, suffered it all, took it all upon himself. For the several hours he hung on the cross, Jesus suffered the eternal punishment" being he substitute for each and every one of us sinners, thus satisfying God's wrath for each and every one of us. "Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God" (Rom. 5:9). Paul proclaimed the splendid riches and accomplishment of Christ's sufferings on the cross. By his blood, he satisfied the wrath of God.

The Settlement      once for sins,

The third aspect of the Lord's sufferings Peter feels we should rejoice in is that He suffered as a complete settlement for our sins.

As we gather around the Lord's table, we put no confidence in anything we do here, or any preparations we have done to get ready for the Lord's table. We come as sinners totally relying on the settlement made for our sins by the Saviour.

John 19:30—"It is finished,' and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit."

He only had to do it once.  For all mankind.  Because He is God the Son, His atoning death was fully sufficient to cover your sins and my sins. No matter how bad you may be, His atoning death is sufficient to cover all your sins, past, present and future. His atoning sacrifice is complete. It is finished. There is nothing more that has to be done, could be done or will be done to secure your salvation. His death is enough for us. He is the complete substitute for your sins and my sins.  Now, don't miss the implications of this in the sufferings of the Lord Jesus for us: The implication is that while He was hanging on that cross in that time, He was bearing ALL your sin, and All the wrath your sin deserved!  He as God the Son, eternal God in a mortal body, eternally holy made sin for us, (2:24 our sins He Himself bore in His body on the (wood), the tree on the cross). He is referring to cursed is he who is hung upon a tree, and then he says "by His stripes we are healed" quoting directly from Isaiah 53!

Only He could settle our sins once for all by dying on the cross!  Only He being perfect God and Man could in the time He spent suffering on the cross, take all the wrath you deserved in one go at make a complete settlement for all your sins!

The Salvation          that he might bring us to God,

The fourth aspect of the Lord's sufferings Peter feels we should rejoice in is that He suffered with the one purpose "that he might bring us to God,"

Through his suffering he accomplished salvation. This is what salvation is. It is the restoring of us who were alienated from God back into a new fellowship with God "that he might bring us to God."

He wants you to rejoice in a new restored relationship. Listen to how Paul describes it in Romans 5. ¹¹ And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. NASB

NLT ¹¹ So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.

Paul called the experience of receiving God's grace through faith and the resulting peace an "introduction." The Greek word is prosagōgē [4318], which is variously rendered "access" or "introduction" Jesus Christ has ushered us into a completely new territory called "grace,"

Swindoll notes "But that's not all. As if peace with God—freedom from His wrath—were not enough, there's more. Much more. The death of God's Son on behalf of humankind is only part of the story. He not only died, He rose again! His death stripped away the condemnation of death; His resurrection gives us abundant, eternal life. Take note of the verb tenses again. "Were reconciled" is in the past tense. The work of reconciliation is complete. The gaping chasm that stood between God and us has been permanently bridged. The death of Christ became the means of our prosagōgē—our access, our introduction (remember 5:2?)—to living in harmony with God. And "having been reconciled" (past perfect tense), we "shall be saved" (future tense). Paul's use of the term "saved" includes far more than preservation from the torments of hell. It means preservation from all things that are opposed to God, including any future sin that threatens to keep us from enjoying our new life in the territory called "grace." And this assurance, Paul declared, allows us access to the third level of joy: "we also exult in God" (5:11).

You have a lot to rejoice  in when we come to the communion table. We rejoice in His sufferings! We rejoice in His settlement of the debt we owed for our sins! We rejoice in His Salvation! We are reconnected forever to God by His Son!  We rejoice as we gather around the Lord's table in our Saviour!

(Communion)

1 Corinthians 11: 23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread,24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, "This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me."25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me."26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

Peter is writing to disciples who are going through the mill. He has four eternal truths that you can rejoice in that will help you endure the worst sufferings.

Peter reminds us that in Jesus Christ we have a triumphant Savior. No matter what our circumstances may involve, we can have confidence in the Lord. Well, these Christians that Peter wrote to had been experiencing persecution for their faith. They knew what it meant to suffer for the gospel's sake. Their pain was very real.

We suffer in ways for which there are no easy answers. Our evangelical Christian friends in the Ukraine are being slaughtered. As I type this we have been made aware that Russian dropped a bomb on a place sheltering a thousand women and children. They deliberately shelled a women's shelter as well.  There is a possibility of China joining in this war and the envelopment of the NATO countries into WW3. There is the tragedy of losses in the floods. There is the tragedy of the Covid pandemic (65 million dead worldwide).  Or  your trials could be closer to home:  a marriage falling apart, abuse in the home. The loss of a baby. Cancer. Natural disasters. Random killings. When life is unfair, and you suffer because of it, how will you respond?

Whenever we suffer, there are at least four possibilities as to why:

• Suffering as the result of poor choices! • Suffering as the result of spiritual attack!

• Suffering as the result of a fallen world! • Suffering as the result of doing good!

The truths of this passage remind us that whatever happens the Lord Jesus Christ still reigns over all.  The knowledge of His victory carries us forward in spite of some of the most difficult trials we can ever face.  It reminds us of the triumph of Christ's Sufferings, the triumph of Christ's Proclamation, the triumph of His resurrection and ascension.

44. Q. Why is there added:  He descended into hell?

A. In my greatest sorrows and temptations I may be assured and comforted that my Lord Jesus Christ, by his unspeakable anguish, pain, terror, and agony, which he endured throughout all his sufferings but especially on the cross, has delivered me from the anguish and torment of hell.

2. The Triumph of His PROCLAMATION  (19,20)

This is a very difficult passage and may possibly be drawn from an early creed or hymn. When Jesus suffered unjustly, God vindicated him, and he will vindicate us, too.

By "spirits in prison" who were disobedient at the time of the flood, 1 Peter most probably means the "sons of God" from Genesis 6:1-4, the angels who were attracted to the beauty of human women. One can be fairly confident of this—first, because "spirits" normally refers to supernatural beings, not to dead persons (the terms for that in the New Testament are normally nekroi, dead ones, or psychoi, souls); and second, because "imprisoned divine beings" matches up with the fate of the fallen angels from Genesis 6, according to Jewish interpretive traditions found most fully in 1 Enoch 1-36, usually dated in the third to second century BC; and third, because this background explains the otherwise puzzling move by Peter here to the flood narrative. First Enoch recounts the Genesis 6 story of the angels taking women as wives and begetting a race of giants. But 1 Enoch continues: the giants oppress the people of the earth, teaching them all sorts of wicked things, and themselves give rise to the demons who infest the earth (1 En. 15:8-9). (Vinson, 1 Peter, Smyth and Helwys) Jude 14-15 quoted  1 Enoch was and valued by at least some first-century, Jude 6 also names these fallen angels as currently imprisoned by God, awaiting judgment. Second Peter 2:4, tells us the fallen angels, correcting 1 Enoch 18 (which says they were imprisoned in a pit inside one of the mountains at the edge of the earth),  Jubilees 5:6, Jude 6, and 2 Peter 2:4 put the prison in the depths of the earth. First Enoch 21:6–10 says that fallen angels "transgressed the commandment of the Lord" and so were bound to prison.

"Prison" probably does not refer to hell, since the New Testament uses many other terms for the location of dead, unredeemed humans. We notice that no location for Peter's prison is given. It seems wise (if not certain) to take prison as a metaphor for God's control over evil spirits.

So what happened here?

        Paradise  (Luke 16, Luke 23:43) … heaven

Sheol

             Hades      (Luke 16, Isa 14:9) .. …...hell (genenna) Jude 6

            A Victorious Announcement

So, then, Peter states that Jesus "preached" (NIV) or "proclaimed" (ESV, NASB) something. The Greek verb is not euaggelizomai, "to preach the gospel or good news," but kērussō, "to make a proclamation." Like other words, kērussō has a range of meanings, and it can be used for evangelistic proclamations (e.g., Rom. 10:8–15; Gal. 2:2), but it typically means "to make an official announcement or public declaration," not "to evangelize" (e.g., Mark 1:45; Gal. 5:11; Rev. 5:2). So we need not think that Jesus evangelized the spirits in prison.  He proclaimed His victory! Their realm is now under his dominion. Every knee will bow to him. Their doom is sealed, since Jesus' death and resurrection concludes and demonstrates his control over evil in all places and forever. Martin Luther supposedly said that if Jesus descended into hell, he spent three days thumbing his nose at the devil. There may be truth to the gibe. Jesus proclaimed that his death, resurrection, and exaltation sealed their defeat and doom.

So what does that mean for you and I when we experience sufferings? Sometimes the people involved  in our sufferings are so clearly motivated by Satan that it is fairly obvious. Has Satan defeated the church in those times?

When we were in Newcastle I must say I felt the grip of Satan tightening on us in so many ways: there was the opposition from clergy who are now in prison or have been in prison for paedophilia. There was opposition from some from within the church who supported the evil works of those men.  There was consistent opposition and threats from some denominationally who demanded I support these men who are now in prison! Lorelle and the family were fairly sure I would die of the stress I was experiencing! 

Sometimes we think maybe Satan has got the upper hand over the church!  Why you may have been demoralised by some recent revelations about some church leaders in Sydney.

How can this victorious announcement support us now in times of demoralisation?

Remember! Col 2:15. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

Christ has triumphed over them already!  These are the last whimpers of evil men before the Lord Jesus institutes His kingdom that reigns over all!

2 Corinthians 2: 14 But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.

            An Authoritative Announcement

Not only is it a victorious announcement that reminds Jesus shall reign in the future, it reminds us Jesus reigns now in spite of the evil that demonic people instigate.

Matthew 28:18 And Jesus and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,

No matter how active Satan and his demons may seem to be, the proclamation of victory over satan and his demons that Jesus made reminds us that All authority in heaven and earth is His!  No matter what they attempt to do, nothing can stop the gospel!  Paul was in prison in Philippi for delivering a demon possessed girl, and those who profited from that, stuck him in gaol. He shared the gospel there and saw a wonderful work of God in the gaoler's life.  A friend was lamenting how as we get older so many illnesses come upon us. I reminded him we get to meet new people: physio's, oncologists, nurses, surgeons, receptionists all so we can share the gospel with them.  We get to go to new places: Westmead, Hawkesbury and Nepean hospitals!

Rom 14:9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.

The whole of life is now no longer dominated by governments and wars and power mongers! They think they have power, but these only provide the backdrop to the gospel proclamation.

Even death and Hades itself are subject to the Lord of Glory!

Rev. 1:17 "Fear not, I am the first and the last,18 and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades."

Chuck Swindoll writes:  The secret of rejoicing is having the right focus. My focus can no longer be myself or my circumstances. My focus must now be my Savior and His purposes. In every circumstance, I must deliberately ask, "What is God accomplishing in me and through me to carry out His plan for the world?"

Choosing the right focus leads to having the right attitude. Once I have shifted my focus away from myself and my pain to concentrate on God's plan to accomplish something good in me and through me, I no longer wander in doubt or wallow in self-pity.

The fruit of a right attitude is triumphant joy. I find growing within a joy that carries me above my circumstance. This is a joy that comes from sensing the presence of a reconciled God and perceiving His purpose.

Howard Hendricks once asked a pastor, "How you doin'?"

The guy replied, "Oh man, under these circumstances it is terrible."

Hendricks said, "So, what are you doing under there?"

Don't allow yourself live under the circumstances of your life. Learn to rise above them, not through your own power or ability, but by trusting in the goodness of God and His unbounded love for you. You have peace with God. So, rejoice!