Learning from the Analogy of Noah

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Today's message from the Word of God on this Lord's Day is titled it,
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Learning from the Analogy of Noah. Learning from the Analogy of Noah. So please turn with me as we continue our study to the wonderful Word of God in this epistle of 1
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Peter. The epistle of 1 Peter chapter 3. Chapter 3 and our text is verse 18 through 22.
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Verse 18 through 22. Hear the word of the living
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God. I'm reading from the NASB translation. For Christ also died for sins once for all.
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The just for the unjust. So that he might bring us to God.
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Having been put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit.
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In which also he went and made proclamation. Preached to the spirits now in prison.
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Who once were disobedient. When the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah.
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During the construction of the ark. In which a few that is eight persons were brought safely through the water.
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Or the great flood. Corresponding to that an anti -type.
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Baptism now saves you. Not the removal of dirt from the flesh. But an appeal to God.
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For a good conscience. Through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Who is at the right hand of God.
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Having gone into heaven. After angels and authorities and powers.
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Had been subjected to him. Praise God. May God bless the reading of his words.
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From our ears to our hearts. And may the spirit. Give us ears to hear.
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What he is saying to the church. Let's pray. Our Father and our
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God. I'd like to consolidate this prayer. From my heart unto you this morning.
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Very simple. Lord. To each and every one of us.
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Speak. For thy servant hears. In Jesus name. Amen.
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As I was studying these verses. That was before us. It could be quite a challenge.
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For the disciple of Jesus Christ. To any Berean. No matter how long you've studied the scriptures.
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And we are called to be disciples. By the grace of God. Christ chose us. He did not.
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We did not choose him. He chose us. And the word disciple actually means a learner of him.
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This is our calling. We are to be learners of Jesus. Lifetime learners.
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And I take that as not just learning about Jesus. I take that learning of Jesus.
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Learning from Jesus. Almost like Mary at the feet of Jesus. Learning from him.
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Taking the best from him. And worshipping him at his feet. And learning. Jesus said.
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Come unto me all you labor and heavy laden. For I am meek and lowly in heart. And he said learn of me.
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For I am meek. He said learn from me. So we want to learn of him. Learn who he is.
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So we are learners of Christ. And as a Berean.
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Which means a searcher of the scriptures. We are to search the scriptures daily. Whether those things are so.
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So I. Definitely. Would. Place this in your hands today.
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As disciples and Bereans. And learners of Christ. To search the scriptures daily.
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And to make sure you check me. Here today. As we look at this very obscure passage of scripture.
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And I want to also say this. I definitely need the help of the Holy Spirit. On my part.
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And on your part as well. So may the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of truth. Help us.
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Anoint us. Give us unction from the Holy One. That we may be learners.
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That we may learn of Christ. Now. I say that.
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To say this. That we can easily get. Snared up here.
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We can easily get tripped up. Or fall into a ditch or quicksand. And not.
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And miss the lesson. That God has for us. And so many times.
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This could be an easy trap. For the flesh. For anyone to fall into. Even the best of Christians.
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To get so bogged down. With an obscure passage of scripture.
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That we miss. The lesson that God has for us. This is very critical.
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So it. It is a great rule of faith. And practice. As you well know.
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That is found in scripture. The word of God. We are going to let scripture. Interpret scripture alone.
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In Matthew Henry. The Puritan said this. The best interpreter for scripture. Is scripture itself.
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Scripture itself. Is absolutely critical. And to understand. The principles of hermeneutics.
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Basically hermeneutics. That is a theological word. That means how to study the scriptures. How to study the Bible. Even as a simple student.
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Of the word of God. Theologians teach this. Teachers.
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Professors teach this. A teacher of the Bible teaches this. I am just a simple student.
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A pastor. That God has called me. I look at this. I need to put this in words.
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Where I can understand this. Where it is not over our heads. I am preaching to myself.
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As I am speaking to this to you. Because it is a very obscure passage. It was challenging.
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As I have been going through these verses. I was going through one commentator. After another commentator. Each had their own comments.
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There are two major interpretations. Of this passage. Especially verse 19.
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We need not to forget. 2 Timothy 2 .15 2 Timothy 2 .15
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is one of my favorite verses. Of scripture. All of my favorite. This is one that really shines out to me.
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Personally. The apostle Paul speaks this to Timothy. As you well know.
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First and second Timothy. Is pastoral epistles. Second Timothy. Is really
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Paul's last will and testament. He is mentoring
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Timothy. This is what he says to him. Study. Show thyself approved unto
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God. A workman that needeth not to be ashamed. And what does he say?
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Rightly dividing. The word of truth. So we must rightly divide the word of truth.
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And that is the words of the apostle Paul. Given by the Holy Spirit. The apostle Paul was no doubt.
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One of the greatest missionaries. And greatest theologians that lived. You see that.
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So when we come to an obscure passage. As we have before us. Found in the text today.
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In 1 Peter 3 .18. We must diligently apply this. And study.
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The scriptures ourselves. To make sure that the principles. Of basic hermeneutics.
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Line up to what we are doing. We are doing it right. We do not need to miss this.
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There are four basic principles of hermeneutics. Let me just give this very quickly. Because I believe this would help us all.
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And a refresher. For us to as we study the scriptures. Because that is what we are called to do folks.
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No matter who speaks. Whether it is myself. Or a visiting missionaries. We are going to have brother
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Dan Beale. Come and speak. Or anyone else. Believe me. They are going to be sifted carefully.
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Before they come here to speak to you. Because I am not going to just let anyone. Come up here and speak.
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And give false doctrine. We know this. We know better than this. So the four principles of hermeneutics is this.
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The first one is. Scripture interprets scripture. I already mentioned that. That is critical isn't it? Let scripture speak.
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Scripture is interpreting scripture. Often scripture interprets itself. It is its own interpreter.
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God is his own interpreter. He does not need little man to interpret for him.
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So in some instances. Another biblical writer. Another biblical writer in scripture.
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Inspired by the Holy Spirit of God. Interprets another biblical writer. Or another biblical passage.
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So we see that. Scripture interprets scripture. The second rule is.
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Context interprets. Context interprets. Context interprets. Context interprets. There is a saying. When I was studying.
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And all good bible seminaries will teach you this. Sometimes they brainwash you with some wrong things. Believe me.
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You have to relearn things. I have had to relearn things in the desert. Where God had to knock a lot out of me.
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And things I believed for years and years. I had to unlearn and relearn.
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But the second one is. Context is king. A good teacher will tell you this.
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Context is king. The surrounding verses. The chapters. The book of the bible provides immediate context.
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To any bible verse. As does the historical. The cultural. The context of the verse.
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The third rule. Of faith and practice. Here is the intent. Interprets scripture.
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Not only context is king. But the intent interprets scripture. What do I mean by that? Basically it means.
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All scripture has an intended meaning. It is important that we get the meaning.
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Out of the scriptures. Not what someone else. Opinionally interprets it.
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Their personal opinion. That doesn't mean nothing. What does thus sayeth the Lord say?
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What is God saying? That is what we want to hear. I thirst to hear that.
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Lord what are you saying? What does the Lord say? That is really what matters. What is God saying?
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He is the creator of the ends of the earth. He is the author of this book. We need to hear what the meaning.
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What does it mean? What sayeth the scripture? What sayeth the Lord? It is therefore true.
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That scripture has one correct interpretation. While it may have thousands and thousands.
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Of correct applications. Isn't that the truth? But it really has one. Interpretation.
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Well the fourth one. And the last one is. The clear. Interprets the obscure.
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This is important. This is where we are today folks. The clear interprets the obscure.
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There is something crystal clear here. We don't need to miss. Now we may not know where scripture is silent.
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Let it be silent. Now if we don't know the interpretation. We need to diligently seek the scriptures.
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And seek God. And seek God in prayer. And help us to see the meaning.
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And the interpretation of the verse. If there is no interpretation. If it is completely silent.
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Just leave it alone. It is good. We should be content with that. So no verse of scripture.
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Should be interpreted. To contradict the overall message. Of the scripture. So when we are faced with an obscure verse.
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Like we are today. We find a clear verse. To help interpret it.
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We are going to see this. So all this beloved. Requires diligence.
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And careful study in the word of God. And before God in prayer. And ask the Holy Spirit to be our teacher.
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Not man. And that is why I say. Please check me today. I want to be accountable to you.
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My desire is to be accountable to you. But ultimately to God. Because I am going to answer to God. What I speak to you today.
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And what I give before you. Is God's word. And it makes me tremble.
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Because if I give a wrong interpretation. Way off on left field. I am going to stand before the judge of judges.
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And the judge of all the earth. And he is going to look me in the eye one day. And say why did you do that? Why did you say that when
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I never said that? Now there is going to be different interpretations. We are going to look at this.
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And I am going to give this to you. So as we study the word of God. In the Bible. Our attitude is one of great reverence and fear and trembling.
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Always. We need that. I pray this every day. Lord give me a trembling. Give me fear for your word.
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Hammer this to me. So we tremble. But we rejoice that we have
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God's word. But we tremble at the same time. Before God.
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Before this holy book. That is always our attitude. Right? And we need this attitude as a disciple of Jesus Christ.
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So we must apply these principles of hermeneutics. Carefully. As a student of the word of God.
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And these principles have been a great help to me personally. Which I have shared with you today. And I know you know a lot of that.
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But it is just a refresher. To help us as we worship our
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Lord. And study these scriptures. As we come to this most challenging verse. Now. There is another important lesson.
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I have already briefly mentioned this. We must learn here as a student of the word of God. That we must be extremely careful.
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Of avoiding the ditches. The pitfalls and the quicksands. We can easily sink.
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And we can miss. There is an old saying. We can miss the forest for seeing the trees. We can get so caught up in analyzing.
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And trying to play the expert. That we miss what God is speaking to us. So. May God the
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Holy Spirit help us in this time. As we worship. And as we see these scriptures. And what God has to say to us.
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Let us be careful not to fall into these snares. And these traps. Because the flesh.
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The arm of flesh would love to just go to this. And you see this so often. People depend on their brains.
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Rather than the spirit of God. To let God speak. I have seen this so often.
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Haven't you? And God save us. So I am not going to try to put myself up on a pedestal.
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And saying I am exempt. I am not exempt. My flesh is weak. So I am praying.
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As we are going to approach these verses today. That the spirit of God. Would speak to you.
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Speak to me. The meaning is critical. But the lesson.
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Is to be applied. That is important. So let us look at these wonderful verses.
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As a student of the word of God. And a disciple of Jesus. But also. Lest we forget.
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Lest we forget. We are a worshipper of God. As brother Keith has reminded us.
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From the beginning of this. We are here worshipping Jesus Christ. We are here worshipping
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God the Father. And we are here. All by the help of the spirit of God. To help us.
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To help us worship Him. For He is worthy. So we learn at the feet of Jesus as Mary did. Last Lord's Day.
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We looked at this wonderful verse 18. Notice verse 18. For Christ also died for sins once for all.
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And the just for the unjust. So that He might bring us to God. Having been put to death in the flesh.
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But made alive in the spirit. The first thing I would like to point out here.
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Just to refresh us. From what we heard last Lord's Day. Is the conjunctions also.
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And the word for. Point to Peter's readers. Back to the previous passage.
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Now what's the previous passage? This is the previous passage. Look at verse 13.
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Who is there to harm you. If you prove zealous for what is good. It's important to get this.
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But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness. You are blessed. And do not fear their intimidation.
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And do not be troubled. But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts. Also being ready to make a defense.
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To everyone who asks you. To give an account for the hope that is in you. Yet with gentleness.
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And reverence. And keep a good conscience. So that in the thing in which you are slandered.
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Those who revile your good behavior. In Christ will be put to shame. For it is better.
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If God should will it so. That you suffer for doing. What is right. Rather than for doing what is wrong.
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Now that's the previous verse. To help us get the context. That reminds the readers.
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The persecuted Christians in Asia Minor. To remind them. That they ought not to be surprised.
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Or discouraged. By the sufferings in which they are undergoing. That's what he's telling them.
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So. Don't be surprised. Don't be discouraged. And then he points them to Jesus.
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Jesus Christ. Triumphed over sufferings. That's what we need to get. That is the heart of what
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Peter is saying. To the persecuted Christians. Do not. Be surprised or discouraged.
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Jesus Christ. The just one. Suffered. He died an excruciating death.
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And the most horrific death. The one of crucifixion. On a cross. So in contrast the author.
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Of the letter to the Hebrews. Is another verse that reminds his readers. Who suffered. That they.
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According to Hebrews 12 verse 4. Says not yet resisted to point. To the point of shedding of blood.
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Most believers. Will not die as a martyr's death. But even when they do die.
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Of a martyr's death. That death is the wages of sin. That's why death comes.
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Even at the hands of sinners. If God would will. Wages of sin's death.
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But the gift of God's eternal life. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. So all people die. Why? Because of sin.
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And this is important. This is basic but it's important. Because we are sinful. Which makes even death.
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A death of righteousness. For righteousness sake. A just death. Right? In a sense.
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Man deserves to die. We deserve to die. But Jesus didn't. Jesus is the just one.
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He's the righteous one. For Christ also died for sins. Once for all. The just for the unjust.
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He was the only one. That did not deserve to die. Every one of us.
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Every one of us deserves to die. Peter's principle. Was that suffering for doing good was better.
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And suffering for doing was bad. Verse 19 and 20.
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Here we go. We're diving in folks. And we're going to scratch the surface. But I'm going to just give this to you.
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Today. And I pray it's a big help. This is the most puzzling and intriguing text.
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In the New Testament. I'm telling you. And by the way. It's the most controversial. Verses.
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Simply because they're different. Difficult to translate. And we're going to see why.
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These verses have been made the pretext. For such biblical doctrines. Such as purgatory.
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And on one hand universal salvation. On the other. Comes out of these verses.
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So we've got to be very very careful. There's been such misinterpretation. That these beliefs. Has come out from this.
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Even baptism. Is mistranslated here. We'll be looking at that. So. Look at verse 19 and 20.
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In which also he went. Speaking of Jesus. And made proclamation to the spirits.
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Now in prison. Who once were disobedient. When the patience of God kept waiting.
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In the days of Noah. During the construction of the ark. In which a few. A few.
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That is eight persons. Were brought safely through the water. The great flood. There are five main interpretations.
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I'm going to give them to you. The five main interpretations of verse 19 and 20. That may be mentioned.
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My credits of this. Comes from the study bible. Of the reformation study bible.
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Which was the general editor. Was R .C. Sproul and James Montgomery Boyce. And I consider them honestly.
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Two of the finest. Theologians that ever lived. In our generation. In our generation.
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These men were men of the word. Men of integrity. God fearing men. And sound.
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And doctrine. In the study bible. In which I give credit to. This is what they said.
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Number one. The first interpretation. The spirits in prison. Are people to whom
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Christ preached. During his earthly ministry. For his work involved. Proclaiming liberty to the captives.
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That's the first interpretation. Luke 4 .16 -21.
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The second interpretation. Is Christ by the holy spirit. Preached through Noah. The second
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Peter 2 .5. To the people before the flood. In Genesis.
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Chapter 6. To chapter 8. And Noah called them to repentance.
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But they disobeyed. And are now imprisoned. The point of Peter's argument would then be.
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That as God vindicated Noah. Then by sending the judgment. Noah proclaimed. He will vindicate
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Christians. When he judges the world according. To the Christian proclamation. We'll look later on.
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Personally that's the view I've come to the conclusion. Of having here. Myself.
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But there's other views here. The third interpretation is. Christ preached in short intervals.
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Between his death. And resurrection during a descent. Into hell. It is said that Christ.
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Announced his victory to the spirits. Of Noah's wicked contemporaries. Confided in the realm of the dead.
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Now that's where heresies come in. Is that interpretation. I see that interpretation.
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Completely wrong. Because I just can't see that. According to what the bible teaches.
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From scripture to scripture to scripture. And let the scripture interpret scripture. The fourth interpretation.
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Is a similar idea. Is that during the same interval. Christ proclaimed his victory to fallen angels.
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This is another very prominent view. Often identified. With the sons of God. In Genesis chapter 6.
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Verse 2. And verse 4. In Job chapter 1 verse 6.
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And Job chapter 2 verse 1. That's a very prominent view. And as he preached.
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To the place of confinement. And the fifth interpretation is.
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Christ proclaimed his victory. To fallen angels after the resurrection. At the time of his ascension.
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Into heaven. So the point of the last three interpretations. Is that just as Jesus was vindicated.
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So will Christians be vindicated. End quote. That's pretty much.
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What the reformation study bible gives. Of those five interpretations. Two are very popular.
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Now. The question arises. Which of these interpretations.
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Is the right interpretation. Baffling question. Isn't it? Who are the spirits in prison?
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Where is the prison? When did Christ preach to them? When? That's a key one.
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Right there. That's one that really throws us all off. So what was his message to them?
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What was the message that Jesus preached? Well let's try. By God's help. Let me narrow it down.
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Among two evangelical. As evangelical Christians. The two commonly.
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Accepted interpretations. The first one. Is being that Christ went into Hades.
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And spirit. Between death and resurrection. And proclaimed the triumph. Of his mighty work on the cross.
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And there is a disagreement. By the way among the proponents. As whether the spirits are in prison.
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Were believers? Were they believers or unbelievers or both? But there is.
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Fairly a general agreement. That the Lord Jesus did not preach. The gospel to them. Why?
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Well. Because. That would involve.
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The doctrine of a second chance. Again like I mentioned before. There is nowhere that is not taught in scripture.
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Of a doctrine of a second chance. Purgatory. Those who would hold this view.
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Often link the passage with Ephesians 4 .9. Where the Lord is described. As descending into the lower parts.
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Of the earth. So. They cite this as added proof.
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That he went to Hades to hell. In that compartment. That prison. In the disembodied state.
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And herald the victory at Calvary. There is a lot of people. That preach this. They also cite the words of the
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Apostles Creed. Descended into hell. Descended into hell.
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The Apostles Creed said that. But let me say this. As much as I love the Apostles Creed. The Apostles Creed is not inspired of God.
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It is safe to stay with the scriptures. It is safe to stay with the scriptures. And secondly.
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The Apostles Creed. Originally did not say that. The original version.
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That was added. Later on. That's interesting isn't it? I didn't know that until I studied it here.
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And I thought wow. Only the Bible is authoritative. We got to stay to the scriptures.
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The second interpretation. And this is the one that. I personally hold to. As I was studying this.
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At one time I did hold to the other view. I was taught this.
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It's actually more pre -millennials. Hold to this view. And more all -millennials hold to the view.
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Of what happened in the days of Noah. As would the spirit of Christ.
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Who preached through Noah. To the unbelievers. Before the flood. Now this is found in scripture beloved.
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Even though the other view. Does also have their scriptures. As is the.
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The daughters of men. And the sons of God. Which could be interpreted different ways too.
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That's always been a very controversial scripture. But again. We don't want to get bogged down there do we?
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God has a lesson for us. It was the spirit of Christ. Who preached through Noah. Personally I do see this.
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But with the word of God. I want to let you check me with scriptures. We're going to look at this. They were not disembodied spirits at that time.
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But living men and women. Who rejected the warnings from Noah. And that generation.
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Was destroyed by the great flood. This was God's judgment. Upon a wicked generation.
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So now. They are the. They are the spirits in prison. In Hades. They're in hell.
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Hades. In a compartment. A prison. Being held until the final judgment.
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What is that final judgment? That final judgment is the great white throne judgment. Now as I studied this.
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The two popular views. Of interpretation. Matthew Henry holds to this one as well. I thank
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God for that. Because we're in good company. With Matthew Henry. He was a man of the word.
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I personally believe this. Like I said. In good company. Martin Luther the great theologian.
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The reformer said this. Of this text. A wonderful text is this.
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In a more obscure passage. Perhaps than any other in the New Testament. So that I do not know.
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For certainly. What Peter means. He basically just left it alone. He said I don't know what it means.
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That's wise. But the main point is clarified. By the culmination of verse 22.
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What's the culmination? Look at verse 22. Who is at the right hand of God. Having gone into heaven.
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After angels and authorities and powers. Had been subjected to him. So while the precise details.
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May be baffling and puzzling to us. And not quite clear. We do know this.
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That what is clearly stated. That Jesus our Lord and Savior. The one who suffered.
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The just for the unjust. The all sufficient Lord and Savior. Is now resurrected. And exalted at the right hand of God.
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We know this. Scripture is loaded with this. Philippians 2 .9
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-11 Paul says for this reason also. God highly exalted him. Bestowed on him the name.
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Which is above every name. So that at the name of Jesus. Every knee will bow. By the way he is quoting
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Isaiah 45 .23. The apostle quotes the prophet. Scripture interprets scripture.
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The spirit of God breathing upon the apostle Paul. And backs it up with the word of God. The prophets.
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That had the spirit of God breathing upon them. So of those who are in heaven. And on earth and under the earth.
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And that every tongue will confess. That is not past. That is present. Will confess that Jesus Christ is
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Lord. To the glory of God the Father. That is going to happen. That will happen.
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Not past. It is present. I am sorry it will be in the future. But for those who trust in Jesus Christ.
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Have no need to fear that suffering. Will have the last word. We are like Noah. We are like Noah.
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We are a small minority. In a hostile world. That we could be bold as a lion.
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As Noah was. A preacher of righteousness. And our witness and confidence. That our future is secure in Jesus Christ.
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The second view. First Peter. As we are talking here. In 3 .19.
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Personally fits the context. And I like to present this to you.
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And has the least difficulties. Connected within it. Let's look at it.
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Verse 19. Let's back up a little bit. In which also he went and made proclamation. To the spirits now in prison.
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The relative pronoun is important. Also in whom. Obviously refers back.
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To the word spirit. Now I don't know. What translation you have.
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But the spirit. Some has a capital S. Signifying the Holy Spirit.
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Some has a small S. Which signifies his own spirit. So people would interpret.
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That the Holy Spirit. Raised Jesus from the dead. Or he raised himself from the dead. But as scripture says.
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The father raised him from the dead. He raised himself from the dead. And the Holy Spirit raised him from the dead. But it is important.
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Do you have a large S. Or a small S. Because it mounts huge. On the rest of the interpretation.
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In these next verses. Seeking to know what person or time.
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The spirit of Christ. Within them was indicating. As he predicted the sufferings of Christ.
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And the glorious to follow. Notice with me chapter 1 verse 11. I just read that. But notice what it says there.
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We don't need to miss this. Because this goes right in sync. Of what Peter is saying.
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Notice again. Let me read verse 10. As to this salvation.
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The prophets who prophesied of the grace. That would come to you. Made careful searches and inquiries.
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Verse 11. Seeking to know. What person or time. The spirit of Christ.
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Within them. Was indicating. As he predicted the sufferings of Christ.
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And the glorious to follow. One of those would be Noah. One of those would be
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Noah. And Peter's writing of this letter. The spirit of Christ. Is that the
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Holy Spirit is described. As speaking through the prophets of the Old Testament. Specifically the
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Old Testament prophets. Now. Now. Genesis 6 -3.
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We'll look at more in Genesis. But basically God speaks of his spirit. That would not always strive for men.
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The Holy Spirit is nearing the limits. And his patience. Is about to come to an end.
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Of the wicked generation. In Noah's time. The text tells us.
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He went and preached. We don't know exactly. Everything that entails.
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And I'm not going to fill in the gaps. Because we don't know. But as already mentioned. It was
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Christ who preached. But he preached through Noah. He preached through Noah.
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I see this in the text. Notice with me to 2 Peter. Go with me to 2 Peter 2, 4 and 5.
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2 Peter 2, 4 and 5. Jump over to the next book. Let's let Scripture interpret Scripture.
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The Word of God says this. And this is Peter once again. And for if God did not spare angels.
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When they sinned. He's talking about those in heaven. That fell. That was cast out of heaven.
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But cast them into hell. There was some according to Jude. Is reserved in chains.
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Unto judgment. And committed them to the pits of darkness. Reserved for judgment.
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They were reserved for judgment. Let me pause right here and say something. Some people ask.
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Why did God do that? Why did He put some. And chained them up.
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And reserved for judgment. And then the rest of them are loose on this earth. Because God is sovereign.
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Don't you see that? He has a plan. And He's using these fallen angels.
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They're on a leash. The head archangel that fell. He's the head fallen angel.
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He's the head deceiver. He's the father of all lies. And He's the one that's loose. He's not in hell. The world thinks
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He's in hell with a pitchfork. And pointed ears and all this. He's loose. And He comes as an angel of light.
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Running to and fro throughout the whole earth. That's what the scripture says. But notice there are some that are in.
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In pits of darkness. Reserved for judgment. And then
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He says this. And did not spare the ancient world. But preserved
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Noah. A preacher of righteousness. With seven others. He brought a flood.
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Upon the world. Of the ungodly. A whole generation was destroyed.
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For a reason. Noah is described as a preacher of righteousness. It is the same word used of Christ's preaching.
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To the spirits in prison. As best as we can see. That these people. The people whom
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Noah preached. Living men and women. Heard the warnings of an impending judgment. And the flood to come.
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And the promise of salvation. Because Noah was a preacher of righteousness. As if the spirit of Christ.
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Was preaching through him. That whole generation was drowned.
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Except for eight persons. Noah and his family. As a minority.
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Not the majority. The majority died. They perished. Nothing's changed.
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Nothing's changed. These spirits are now disembodied spirits. In prison awaiting for final judgment.
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I've already mentioned this. But I think it's very important to get this. That final judgment. Is the great white throne judgment.
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We read of in Revelation 20. Verse 11 through 15. The Bible says. Hades gives up the sea of the dead.
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What is that? All those that are lost. Will now be judged.
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Before the judge of judges. That's at the great white throne judgment. By the way when I read that before conversion.
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That jolted me. The spirit of God just shook me. And says I do not. It's almost as I knew
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I was going to go. Before that great white throne judgment. I said oh God have mercy upon me. And I found myself going into the prayer closet.
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Literally fell on my face before God. And pleading God to have mercy upon me.
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When I read that. That's part of my testimony. But this is the great white throne judgment.
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And Jesus speaks of this. As the judgment of all the nations. The gentile nations. The sheep is on the right.
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The goats on the left. You find that in Matthew 25. 31 through 46.
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Very important. Critical to study that. So the verse may be amplified.
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As follows as this. In Peter. By whom the
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Holy Spirit. He Christ. Went and preached. Through Noah.
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To the spirits now in prison. In Hades. Verse 20.
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Here the spirits in prison. Are unmistakably identified. In verse 20.
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Now this is very important. Notice this. They are identified.
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Who are they? Who were they? Those who.
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Once were disobedient. Once were disobedient. Now some people apply that to fallen angels.
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But could that possibly be. Those wicked people. In Noah's day.
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I think it is. Why? Because Peter says this. When the patience or the divine long suffering waited.
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In the days of Noah. While the ark was being prepared. What was the final outcome?
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In which a few that is. Eight persons were brought safely. Through the water. The great flood.
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It would do us well to pause here. And remind ourselves of the general flow of thought. Notice very carefully.
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In this letter which was written against. The general background of persecution. As Peter writes.
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To the persecuted Christians. The Christians to whom Peter wrote. Were suffering. They were suffering tremendously.
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Because of their godly life. And their testimony. Perhaps they wondered why.
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Why is my faith being so severely. Why am I suffering for this? Why? Why should
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I be suffering for this? And I should be reigning. Well if Christianity.
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Was a true faith. Why are there so few? Some people have honestly.
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Thought that. I've thought that at times. To answer the first question. Peter points to the
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Lord Jesus. Jesus suffered for righteousness sake. And after all Jesus is the only righteous one. He is the just one.
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But God raised him from the dead. And glorified him in the heaven. In verse 22 of course.
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So the pathway to glory. Leads to the valley of great suffering. Greater the suffering.
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The greater the glory. That's what basically. The scriptures you know.
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You really think. I heard Ravenhill say this. You think the apostle Paul. Compare his crown.
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With the thief on the cross. They both entered in. But I don't think the thief is going to.
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Have a comparison of a crown. To the apostle Paul. And why? Because Paul was chosen to suffer.
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Both entered into heaven. By the grace of God. And by Jesus alone right? But that's wonderful.
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But the rewards are going to be different. There's going to be authorities in heaven.
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God's got it set up that way. It's a kingdom right? It's a kingdom. Jesus is the king of kings.
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And Lord of lords. And you see the great sufferers. Is going to be nearer to the throne.
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And more crowns. And the martyrs. Definitely going to have more crowns. And then you got the prophets. And then you got the apostles.
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And all that is based upon. What the spirit of God chose them.
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The holy men of God. Moved by the Holy Ghost. When next Peter refers to Noah.
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120 years. Think of this. This faithful preacher of righteousness. Warned that God was going to destroy the world.
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With water. 120 years. He prepared. He preached. He prepared the ark.
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He preached. He preached and preached. Warning them. God was going to cleanse his world from all corruption.
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Go with me to Genesis chapter 6. And let's look at this very quickly. We do get an idea.
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Of exactly the way it happened. Notice in verse 1.
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Now it came about. When men began to multiply. On the face of the land.
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And daughters were born to them. This is one of those obscure passages. And this goes in.
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To sync to what Peter is saying. That the sons of God. Saw the daughters of men were beautiful. And took wives for themselves.
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Whomever they chose. Now. The interpretation of that. Sons of God identify elsewhere.
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Exclusively as angels. According to Job 1 .6. Job 2 .1. Which many interpreters.
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Believe those angels. Saw and took wives of the human race. Of the human race.
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Produced an unnatural union. Which violated the
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God ordained order. Of the human marriage. And procreation. MacArthur says this.
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Some have argued that the sons of God. Were the sons of Seth. Who cohabitated.
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With the daughters of Cain. Others suggest. That they were perhaps human kings.
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Wanting to build harems. But the passage. Puts strong emphasis on the angelic.
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Versus the human contrast. And I'll stop right there. He basically holds to that view. And that's okay.
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Because this is a very obscure passage. But let's continue. Let's don't miss what was really pointed out here.
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Notice verse 3. Then the Lord said. This is important. My spirit.
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Shall not strive with man forever. Because he also is flesh. Nevertheless his days.
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Shall be 120 years. That's interesting isn't it. That's a full length of time.
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That's about the same amount of time. That took to build the ark. The Nephilim were on the earth in those days.
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These were basically giants. This is a very wicked breed. Of race of people.
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And also afterwards the sons of God came. And to the daughters of men. And they bore children to them. And they were mighty men of renown.
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Or were of old men of renown. And verse 5. Then the Lord saw. Notice the change up here.
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Then the Lord saw from this wicked race. That was multiplying upon the face of the earth.
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That the wickedness of man was great on the earth. And that every intent. Of the thoughts of his heart.
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Was only evil continually. Folks were there too. Today. The Lord was sorry.
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He was sorry that he even made man on the earth. And he was grieved in his heart.
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And the Lord said. I will blot out man. I have created from the face of the land.
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From man to animals to creeping things. And to the birds of the sky. For I am sorry that I even made them.
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But. Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. So there we have an account.
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It's about warning. Noah warned the wicked of his generation. For 120 years. Folks that was 120 years of God's mercy.
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His patience. Noah was scorned. His message was rejected.
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Nothing's changed. Right? Nothing's changed. The gospel message is rejected.
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The gospel message is scorned. But God always has arraignment.
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God always has arraignment. Aren't you glad? God vindicated Noah by the way.
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By saving him and his family. Through the flood. And I got something to say.
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Very important here. The ark was how God saved him. God told
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Noah. Exactly. How to build that ark. And the construction of it. It's as if.
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Here's brother Keith. He's a construction worker and carpenter. And it's like God basically gives the notes.
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And said this is exactly the way. I want you to build this ark. And then.
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If you read the scriptures. It's given precisely in detail. And God says build it.
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Exactly the way I tell you to. The way you pitch it. The length of it. The height of it.
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God's word is very specific. But that ark is a type of Jesus Christ. He is the only place safe.
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From the flood and judgment. That's about to come on this wicked world. In that time period. That ark was everything.
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That's the only way they can survive this flood. Powerful destruction.
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Was about to come on this earth. And as you will see. In scriptures.
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The floods came from the skies. But also bursted from the ground. And the ocean. And actually split the earth.
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And separated the lands. It was powerful. And even today. If you look at the Grand Canyon.
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You see those water layers. You even see the speaks. Out there in the desert. Out in the middle of the desert.
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Nowhere there's water layers on it. Where did that come from? The great flood. Dinosaurs.
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All were pressurized. And scooped into certain parts of the world. All together.
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They find their remains. Which blows away really the evolutionist theories. But there was a great flood.
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And pressure of water. That just took those dinosaurs. And took them all. So we know. But what about the wicked people?
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They were destroyed. The ark was the only safe haven. Who survived the flood.
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Noah and his family. Get your family in the ark folks. That ark is a type of Jesus Christ.
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Get them in Christ. Now we know we can't put them in Christ. But warn them and love them. And pray for them.
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Get them into the ark safely. Because the wrath of God is coming.
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The wrath of God is coming. Coming storm of God's judgment. The first time God cleansed the earth.
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The next time He's going to purify it with fire. Well the question is.
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If we are right. Why are there so few of us? Why are there so few?
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Well scripture basically makes it very clear. That there's only a few. There's 8 persons.
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Think of that. Only 8 people out of that whole generation. All the thousands and thousands. We don't know exactly how many.
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But there's a lot. All perished. 8 was saved.
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Now what a lesson. We need to learn this lesson. Characteristically.
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In the world's history. The majority has not been right. I would rather be in the minority.
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Amen. Minority. True believers are usually in the small minority.
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And one's faith should not falter. Because of a small number that is saved. Noah's day only 8.
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Small small number. Let's go back to 1 Peter very quickly.
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I'll go through one passage of scripture. And I'm going to head to my application. Very quickly.
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Verse 21. Corresponding to that. Baptism now saves you.
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Not the removal of the dirt from the flesh. But an appeal to God for a good conscience. Through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
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Now keep in mind. The key is. You may have the translation. Antitype.
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Baptism is just an antitype. Corresponding. The apostle
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Peter is teaching. That the fact that 8 people were in the ark. Went through the whole judgment. Yet were unharmed.
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This is an analogy. To us Christians. That experience salvation. By Jesus Christ.
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The ark is one's salvation. And then he speaks about baptism.
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He's not saying that baptism itself. Itself is salvation. He's saying it's an antitype.
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Peter is not referring to the water baptism here. But rather a figuratively. Immersion into the union of Jesus Christ.
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Now our church of Christ friends. Really love this scripture. Because you almost see.
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That the waters. If you don't look at it and read it carefully. That water baptism saves you.
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But that's not what he's saying. It's being baptized into Christ. Why? Notice what he says.
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Not the removal of dirt. From the flesh. See what he's saying. Not the removal of dirt from the flesh.
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But an appeal to God for a good conscience. Through what? The resurrection. The good conscience.
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The resurrection of Jesus Christ. Saint Peter is not at all. Referring to water baptism.
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The resurrection of Jesus Christ. Demonstrates God's acceptance of. Christ's substitutionary death.
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On the cross. Well that's all I want to say right here. About that. Let's go to the next.
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Who is at the right hand of God. Having gone into heaven after angels and authorities. And powers had been subjected to him.
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Jesus is Lord. Jesus accomplished his work. On the cross.
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Was raised from the dead. Was saved through his atonement. His substitutionary death.
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By his resurrection. He's exalted at the place of prominence. Honor, majesty, authority and power.
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He lives and he reigns forever folks. And nothing is going to remove him. From it.
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And he's coming back one day. Now in comparison. To Noah's day and our day.
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I want you to hear this. Go with me to Hebrews 11 7. Hebrews 11 7.
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This is important. How are we to live? Well.
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Noah is a good example. And this whole chapter. Is a chapter.
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Of faith. Of how men and women live by faith. By faith.
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By faith. Notice verse 7. By faith Noah being warned by God.
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About things not yet seen. In fear. In reverence.
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Prepared an ark for the salvation. Of his household. By which he condemned the world.
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And became an heir of righteousness. Which is according to. Faith. Faith. And very important isn't it?
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The world had not. Seen anything resembling of the great flood. Yet but. Even though it hadn't been come.
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Noah knew by faith. Noah spent 120 years. Preparing the ark.
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Fulfilling God's command. Constructing the ark. Obeying God. God had warned.
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Sternly. Firmly. His message. Condemned the world.
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He preached people to repent basically. But God was long suffering.
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God was patient. God was merciful. Until that day.
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On God's calendar. Folks this is going to happen again. God has a calendar.
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It's not man's calendar. God's calendar. His patience is going to come to an end. And then he's coming back.
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And Jesus Christ is going to strike down nations. By the word of his power. Peter said in.
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First Peter 3 .20. First Peter 3 .20.
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Who once were disobedient. When the patience of God kept waiting. In the days of Noah. During the construction of the ark.
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In which a few. That is eight persons. Were brought safely through the waters. Through the great flood. The greatest tragedy.
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That man's attitude. Was that God. Man's attitude toward God.
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Has not changed folks. That is a tragedy. You think men would learn.
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But they have not. Because men are not wise. They don't fear God. Well what did
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Jesus say? Turn with me to Matthew 24. Our Lord has something to say about it.
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In Matthew 24. Very significant chapter. Notice this whole chapter.
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Chapter 24 and 25. Is an answer to the disciples question. When would the end come?
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Jesus is referring to his own second coming. Look at verse 20.
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Chapter 24. Look at verse 37 -39. 37 -39.
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Let me back up. Verse 36. But of that day and the hour.
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No one knows. Anybody giving a prediction. Is a false teacher. I don't care who they are.
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I don't care how smart they think they are. They are false teachers. If they are given times and dates.
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Because the scripture says it right here. At this time. When Jesus was on earth. He is not even the angels of heaven.
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Nor the son, the father alone. Only knows. And then verse 37.
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For the coming of the son of man will be just like the days of Noah. We are there. We are in this day.
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For in those days before the flood. What were they doing? They were eating and drinking and marrying and giving in marriage.
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Until the day that Noah entered the ark. And Jesus said this. And they did not understand until the flood came.
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They did not understand. They had no understanding. Until the flood came.
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And took them all away. It was too late. So will the coming of the son of man be.
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Jesus said. It is very likely like that. And then there will be two men in the field. One will be taken. And the other one will be left.
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Two women will be grinding at the mill. One will be taken. The other one will be left. People will be doing.
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Just like they did in the days of Noah. Then Jesus will come in power and great glory. With all the holy angels.
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Then the end will come. Well. Let's get back to Noah. Noah. You and I.
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We are going to be like Noah in the sense of mainly to be like Jesus. But Noah is an example.
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And there is a lesson for us to learn. And what is that lesson? We are to proclaim faithfully. Righteousness.
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We are to proclaim faithfully righteousness. And that righteousness is the gospel. Of Jesus Christ. To an evil and a perverse generation.
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And what is the message? Repent or likewise perish. We say it in love.
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We say it in gentleness. We say what the apostle says. The end is near. Be gentle to all men.
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But the end is near. Warn them. Love them. Because the
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Lord is coming. He is coming back. And judgment is coming.
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Get into the ark. Get into the ark. Come to Christ. We continue to live a godly life.
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Let our light so shine before men. Be faithful. Be faithful to God. Before God.
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Before the face of God. And do so even if people don't listen to us. Or even if they are obstinate.
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Even if they don't care to listen. Still warn them. And love them. And pray for them.
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Do it with gentleness. Do it with love. Do it with tears. But warn them.
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And say repent or likewise perish. Jesus preached this. The apostles preached this.
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The prophets preached this. I can assure you of this. We don't hear enough of this, do we? Repent, repent, repent.
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People don't want to hear that word. But it is a word of love from God.
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God commands men everywhere to repent. It's a command. It's not a suggestion.
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God's purposes were accomplished in the human race at that time. Later. Through the ark.
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Through Noah's generation. It was preserved. Jesus gave a warning.
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Go with me to Matthew 7. I'm going to close with this. And this is a strong closing.
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But I want to give this because this still stands out more than anything else.
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And it's this. Matthew 7. Notice what Jesus said in the
01:01:03
Sermon on the Mount. Two verses. Two verses. This is powerful, folks.
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This is an evangelistic text here. Jesus said this. Enter through the narrow gate.
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Notice the first thing He says. Enter through the narrow gate. Enter through it. For the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction.
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There's two gates. Only two. Two. There's no three ways. There's two.
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There are many who enter through it. Through the destruction. There's a way that seems right unto man, but the end thereof is death.
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That way of destruction is what a whole generation, that's the majority, goes.
01:01:54
They go that way. Hell will be full, folks. But Jesus said in verse 14, for the gate is small.
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In other words, it's very tiny. The way is narrow. People gripe about this.
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Why is it there are more ways? Why is He being so narrow here? We should thank
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God there's a way, period. We should be falling on our face and saying,
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God has made a way. Who's the way? Jesus Christ. He says,
01:02:24
I am the way. I am the truth. I am the life. No one comes to the Father but by me.
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For the gate is small. The way is narrow. It leads to life and there are what? Few who find it.
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Few. And those few are those who have received mercy. Those few are the remnant.
01:02:45
Those few are the elect. Those are those whom God has chosen before the foundation of the world.
01:02:52
But right now we don't know who those are. So the gospel is to whosoever will. Because God's not willing that any should perish.
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Those do not contradict each other, do they? We see this. Where the way is narrow.
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Christ continually emphasized the difficult way of following Him. There is a cost.
01:03:16
Salvation is by grace alone. Through faith alone. For the glory of God alone. And by the way, as you well know, it's not easy, is it?
01:03:26
It's difficult. That's why we need the help of the Holy Spirit. By the way, it's impossible to come to Christ and even know
01:03:33
Christ and live the Christian life. It is the impossible life unless the Holy Spirit is doing it within you.
01:03:40
He do it by our power, our flesh. So that's why we need the
01:03:46
Holy Spirit. The wide gate includes all the religions of works and damnation. Self -righteousness leads to hell.
01:03:58
God is not willing that any should perish, but they all should come to repentance. Let's thank
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God today that there is a way. There is a way. And Jesus is that way.
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Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for the text before us, Lord.
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And Father, our lesson is wonderful. It's great.
01:04:25
You're merciful. You give us so many opportunities to come to You.
01:04:33
There's so much mercy. You're so long -suffering. But Lord, we know that one day
01:04:41
Your long -suffering is going to come to an end. Your patience will come to an end. And then, with fury,
01:04:48
Your wrath will come. Lord, we thank You today that You have saved us from the wrath to come.
01:04:54
And it's not by anything we've done. It's not by works of righteousness, but only because of Your mercy, only because of Your compassion that You have saved us to the uttermost.
01:05:07
You've saved us by the blood of Jesus Christ. You have saved us by Christ alone.
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Help us never lose sight of that. As the thief on the cross cried out,
01:05:20
Remember me when You come into Thy kingdom, Lord. He recognized that Jesus was
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Lord. He recognized that He was a sinner. He recognized that. And now
01:05:32
He's worshiping before the throne. Hallelujah. The man on the middle cross said,
01:05:40
I can come. Hallelujah. Lord, thank You for grace.
01:05:47
Thank You for this time that we can worship You because of Your greatness and Your mercy and Your love toward us.
01:05:52
And Lord, may we be an example and be Christ -like and as Noah was, may we continue to be faithful and preach righteousness and preach the gospel and love those that are surrounding us and love them with gentleness and meekness, but tell the truth that unless they repent, they will likewise perish.
01:06:13
Thank You, Father, for Your great love and kindness and Your great salvation. And we give