In the musical “Scrooge,” there’s a scene in which the Ghost of Christmas Future takes old Ebenezer to his office on some future Christmas morning. There’s a crowd gathered there, and Ebenezer doesn’t realize at first that the crowd is there to celebrate his death. A man named Tom Jenkins is leading the crowd, and he takes up a song that he sings to the now-deceased Scrooge:
 
Thank you very much, thank you very much,
That’s the nicest thing that anyone’s ever done for me!
 
            Most of the time, of course, it would be extremely inappropriate to thank someone for dying. But when we consider the Lord Jesus Christ, we can hardly help but say “thank you” as we remember all that his death has done for us. Truly, his death for our sins is the most loving, most gracious thing that anyone’s ever done for us!
            Today, our study of our church’s Statement of Faith brings us to the section entitled, “The Atonement.” You’ll notice that just after that title, in parentheses, is the word “reconciliation” – a word which is probably a bit more familiar to us than the word “atonement.” When you are reconciled to someone, you move from having hostility with them to having peace. And so, as we study this section, we are studying what Jesus has done to bring us back into a relationship of peace with God. Here’s what this section has to say:
 
We believe that Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, was crucified, died, and was buried as planned by God before the foundation of the world. By the shedding of His blood, His sacrificial death upon the cross became and is the only ground of atonement for sin whereby man, by personal faith, is redeemed from the guilt, penalty, and power of sin (Rom 3:24-25; Rom 5:6-11; 1 Cor 15:3-4; Heb 9:14; 1 Peter 1:18-19; 1 John 4:10; Heb 9:22).
 
Let’s take a closer look at a few of the statements from this section.
 
“As planned by God…”
            Our Statement reminds us of the incredible truth that Christ’s death for sinners was not an afterthought in God’s plan, but a central part of it. When Adam and Eve plunged the human race into sin, God was not left scrambling, wondering what he was going to do. No – before he even created the world he knew that mankind would sin, and in his love he created a plan that would allow for us to be forgiven.
            And it wasn’t just any plan – it was a plan that called for tremendous personal sacrifice from God. How can we help but marvel at the fact that God knew what the cost would be to provide forgiveness, yet he still decided that it was good to go ahead and create mankind!
            God’s planning of Christ’s sacrificial death was a theme that the Apostles stressed in their earliest sermons after the Day of Pentecost. If they were going to publicly proclaim to their Jewish countrymen that Jesus was their long-awaited Messiah, they would have to explain why Jesus had been crucified. They did this by appealing to God’s eternal plan for salvation.
            For example, as he spoke on the Day of Pentecost, the Apostle Peter told the crowd, “this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men (Acts 2:23).” Peter didn’t let the people off the hook for their own guilt in Christ’s crucifixion, but he pulled back the curtain for them to reveal that it had all happened “according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God.” It was not an accident or mistake – it was all part of God’s plan for our forgiveness.
            A short time later, as the Apostles were praying to God, they said to Him, “for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place (Acts 4:27-28).”
            It could be easy to think of the Crucifixion as a moment when history itself spun out of God’s control, but in fact, nothing could be further from the truth. The sacrifice that Jesus made was all part of God’s plan, and it came about just as he intended.
 
“By the shedding of His blood…”
            Our Statement then goes on to give a very appropriate emphasis to the shedding of Christ’s blood as being the means by which we are cleansed from our sins. The New Testament frequently connects our forgiveness not merely to Christ’s death, but to His shed blood. Consider these verses:
 
·         Romans 3:24-25: “[we are] justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.
·         Romans 5:9: “Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.”
·         Ephesians 1:7: “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.”
·         Colossians 1:19-20: “For in [Christ] all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.”
·         1 Peter 1:18-19: “you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.
 
            This emphasis on the shed blood of Christ teaches us that we are saved not merely by the fact that Jesus died, but by why and how he died. It would have done nothing for us if Jesus had simply died of old age or through an accident in the carpenter’s shop. No – we are saved because Jesus died as an intentional offering to pay for our sins, and in such offerings, the shedding of blood is required.
            The author of Hebrews put this very plainly when he wrote in Hebrews 9:22, “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” This was God’s requirement because of the connection between the blood and the very life of a sacrificial offering. He explained it this way to the children of Israel as he laid out for them the system of animal sacrifices under the Law of Moses: “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life (Leviticus 17:11).” This is why we sometimes talk about the “lifeblood” of something, because life and blood are virtually synonymous.
            And so, by shedding his blood as a sacrificial offering for our sins, Jesus has paid the necessary price for our forgiveness. And as our Statement correctly says, “His sacrificial death on the cross became and is the only ground of atonement for sin.” It is not Christ or something else, as though we have multiple options for forgiveness to choose from. Nor is it Christ and something else, as though there is more that needs to be accomplished for our forgiveness. It is Christ alone as the only ground of atonement for sin.
 
“Whereby man, by personal faith, is redeemed…”
            And how is it that we come to receive the forgiveness that Christ has purchased for us? Is it something that God gives only to those who were born into the right family? Is it something that he gives only to those who appear to be more worthy of it than others?
            No – as our Statement says, it is received simply by personal faith in Christ. We simply have to acknowledge that we need this forgiveness because we have rebelled against God through our sin. When we make that humbling admission, we then simply trust in Jesus to save us, believing that he has done all that was necessary for our forgiveness through his sacrificial death.
 
Monday Matters
            As we go through this series, we always want to remind ourselves of how a knowledge of doctrine can help us in daily life. With the doctrine of the atonement, there is one application that rings out above all others:
 
Christ's death for my sin is the clear and unchanging proof that God loves me.
 
            If I may modify the song “Jesus Loves Me” just a bit, I might say it like this:
 
Jesus loves me, this I know,
For he died to show me so.
 
            Christ’s death for us is the proof of God’s love for us, our shelter in the time of storm. Sometimes the blessings of life blow in all around us like a gentle breeze in the Spring, and we feel nothing but the sunshine of life upon our faces and we see beauty on the horizon all around us as far as our eyes can see. But at other times, the storm clouds of life roll in like an unstoppable front, and the damaging winds blow and threaten us with harm.
            How can we stay grounded and secure in such times? With this ever-changing turmoil we may often ask, “Does God really love me?” But over the anguished cry of our doubts comes the sound of nails being hammered into wood, and the sound of the very same words that are on our minds: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Then drowning out every other sound in our souls comes the triumphant cry, “It is finished!”
            Yes, God really does love me. Christ’s sacrifice stands for all time like a beacon in the night, shining through the darkness to help me keep my bearings when I might otherwise feel lost. Doubts will come because they are part of difficulties, but they do not have to win the day because the hill of Calvary is the high ground that our doubts cannot overtake. We will find refuge from our doubts about God’s love if we flee to the cross of Christ again and again.

            Last week, I was putting together a puzzle with Adrianna. It was a puzzle we had never done before, and we just had all of the pieces in a baggie – we didn’t have the box for the puzzle at all. As we were putting it together, I found myself wishing that we had the box so we could look at the picture on the front of it and see how this whole thing was supposed to look. As you all know, it’s very helpful to have that picture on the front of the box to show you what the puzzle is supposed to look like when you finish it.
            When it comes to God’s plan for us as his children, he has already given us the picture on the front of the box, so to speak. We don’t know about every twist and turn along the way, but we know what things are going to look like for us when God’s plan is all said and done. The culmination of God’s plan for us is going to be joyous and beautiful and glorious.
            So far in the book of 1 Peter, we’ve read about the apostle’s description of the plan of God for our salvation. He’s emphasized that the fulfillment of this plan is certain – that there is an inheritance being kept for us, and we are being guarded for it. He wrapped up this first section by telling us that this plan that God has for us makes us the envy of the very angels in heaven!
            Beginning with verse 13 of chapter 1, Peter is now going to instruct us about how we should live in light of this great plan of salvation that God has for us. It is not only a truth to sit and savor – it is also a truth to send us into action in some very particular ways. In our passage for today, will begin to see that:
 
Central Idea: Our knowledge of God’s plan for us should lead to clear thinking and clean living. 
Follow with me as I read 1 Peter 1:13-16 [READ].
 
1. Pull your thoughts together and focus them on the grace that is coming to you (v. 13)            You might be able to tell from the wording of verse 13 that Peter’s main point is this command for us to set our hope fully on the grace that will be brought to us at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Remember that in the Bible, hope is not mere wishful thinking; it is a confident expectation and anticipation of something that you are looking forward to. In this case, Peter reminds us that we’re looking forward to the grace we will receive when Christ returns.
            This undoubtedly is a reference to the whole package of blessings that we will receive at that time. There will be the awesome experience of seeing Jesus with our own eyes – this one whom we have loved even though we’ve never seen him. We will enjoy being with him, and, as Peter mentioned in verse seven, we stand to receive praise and honor from him based upon our obedience to him today.
            Peter tells us that the anticipation and longing in our lives is to be set fully upon the return of Christ. That must be the moment that we are looking forward to more than any other – more than any plans that we’ve made for the future, even more than good things like having more kids or having grandkids or retiring. There must be nothing that we are looking forward to more than the return of Christ.
            Why is that? Because of this simple principle – what you desire to have the most tomorrow will determine what you prepare for today. Your desires for the future will impact the way you behave today.
            I remember speaking with a young lady once about the return of Christ. As our conversation went on, she said to me, “I can’t wait for Christ to return, but I hope I can get married first.” Think for just a moment about what that young lady was really communicating. I don’t believe she was trying to downplay the significance of Christ’s return, but what her statement really communicated was that she wanted to get married more than she wanted Christ to return. She could have said, “I can wait for Christ to return if it means I’ll get married in the meantime.”
            Now, I certainly understand the desire to get married. That desire hit me hard after I met Carmen, and I think the desire is even stronger for ladies! But what’s the danger in desiring marriage more than you desire the return of Christ? Well, you might be very tempted to resort to sinful ways of getting the attention of the opposite sex, or you might settle for the first person who shows interest even if that person doesn’t have the makings of a great spouse according to biblical standards.
            Anything that we might desire more than the return of Christ will bring along with it strong temptations to disobey Christ’s commands. And so, if we can set our hope fully on the return of Christ, we will find ourselves preparing for that moment more than any other, which in turn will lead us to live in the proper way.
            But how exactly do we see to it that our hope is set fully on the return of Christ? That’s what Peter tells us how to do in the first part of verse 13. He uses an interesting word picture in the first phrase of the verse. In Greek, it literally says “gird up (or pull together) the loins of your mind.” He’s referring to the way that the Jewish people would adjust their clothing when they needed to get down to work rather than leisure.
            The typical outer garment for a Jewish person was a long robe that stretched all the way down to the feet. When a person was getting ready to do something active, something that might require more freedom of movement, they would pull up the bottom of that robe and tuck it into their belt so it wouldn’t get in the way of their feet and trip them up. That action was similar to what we might do when we roll up our sleeves if we are about to do something dirty, or when a track athlete removes his or her warm-ups to get ready for an event. So we might say that the idea is that we need to pull our thoughts together so that none of them trip us up.
            This statement is a call for us to carefully assess the way that we think about every part of our lives. We don’t want to leave any loose ends in our thinking that might trip us up. So for example, perhaps a person might be thinking in a biblical way about how to start a family, but he’s not thinking biblically about how to grow his business, so consequently he gets tripped up – he starts to pursue some unethical and sinful ways to do business.
            Or perhaps a person thinks in a biblical way about how to work for his boss, but he’s not thinking biblically about something like retirement, so he becomes greedy and falls in love with money. So as we look toward the future, we don’t want to set our hope on Christ’s return in only three fourths of our lives or any other fraction. We want to pull together all the loose ends of our thinking so that none of them trip us up.
            Peter also tells us that part of setting our hope fully on Christ’s return is to be sober-minded. That statement emphasizes clear thinking – careful reflection on life that is not clouded by ignorance or any of the other hindrances that might characterize those who don’t know God’s message to mankind.
            We are not in that predicament, are we? We know God’s word, his message or revelation to mankind. We know his commands, and so we have a clear guide to know what is right and wrong. We know about his plan for the future, and so we have a clear view of where human history is headed and how we can be prepared for what’s to come.
 
We are not lost in some fog of uncertainty or ignorance. God has given us a clear model for how we should live, and that’s what Peter goes on to emphasize in verses 14 to 16.
 
2. Live by the pattern laid out by God, not your own passions (vv. 14-16)            In verses 14 through 16, Peter points out that just as it is normal and appropriate for children to imitate their parents, we too, as children of God, should imitate our heavenly father [READ vv. 14-16].
            The word “conformed” in verse 14 gives us an interesting word picture, in my opinion. The Greek term is the root word for our English word “schematic.” A schematic is like a diagram or a blueprint; diagrams of electrical circuits in particular are often called “schematics.”
            I think that connection can offer us a helpful paraphrase of this statement: “Don’t follow the diagram or the blueprint drawn up by the passions of your former ignorance.” As we are building our lives we need to follow a different blueprint, a different pattern – and that pattern is God’s own holiness.
            The fundamental idea of holiness is the idea of uniqueness; something that is separated out by itself because it has a unique and special quality to it. God has a unique and special quality to him no matter how you think about him. He is unique in his power, his knowledge, his eternality, and his wisdom. He is certainly also unique in the way that he interacts with others, because he always treats others in ways that are right and proper.
            We can’t really imitate God in terms of his power, for example, because we simply don’t have the capacity to be Almighty. But we certainly can imitate him in the way that we treat others, and that idea is really what the Bible is getting at when it calls us to be holy. Compared to the way that unbelievers treat other people, we should treat other people in a way that is unique and different, with a higher and more noble and beautiful quality to it.
            We should treat other people the right way, but perhaps what truly makes us unique and different is that we can treat other people the right way for the right reasons and with the right kind of goals in mind. As Christians, we certainly don’t have a corner on the market when it comes to treating people the right way. Followers of other religions and even people who are irreligious can and do treat other people with kindness and fairness.
            But what sets us apart as Christians is that we can treat people the right way for the right kind of reasons and with the right kind of goals in mind. We can treat people the right way not just out of habit or to conform to tradition as Midwesterners or something like that, but as a true expression of the character that the Holy Spirit is carving out within us. We can treat other people the right way not from a motivation of what we might get from them, but simply because they’re people made in the image of God and because it’s honoring to God to act that way.
            We can treat other people the right way without trying to satisfy any misguided notion that doing so will earn us favor in the eyes of God. Above all, I would say that our worldview and spiritual resources as Christians empower us to be able to treat all kinds of people the right way in all kinds of circumstances. Do we always do that? Of course not, but we are empowered to do so by the Holy Spirit who lives within us.
            Finally, please notice how Peter supports his call for us to imitate the holiness of God. First, he appeals to us as obedient children, which reminds us that it is simply normal and appropriate for us to imitate our father. But the real bottom line is seen in verse 16 – we have an express, written commandment from God to be holy because he is holy.
            Let us never forget that as Christians, the word of God is to be our final word for all matters of faith and practice – what we believe and how we conduct ourselves. The Bible is true and it is in fact a message from God to mankind, and though we can call God our father and Christ our brother without stretching the truth even a little bit, we must never forget that God is also our master. When we learn of his commands, we have one obligation – obey! We are not free to disobey his commands without the risk of facing his displeasure and discipline.
            And since his commands are recorded for us right here in the Bible, we also have no excuse for not knowing about them. As in our own courtrooms here in the United States, being ignorant of the law is no excuse for breaking the law. In the next section of 1 Peter, we will learn that it is in fact a fearful thing to live with the knowledge that even though we have God as our father, that fact does not exempt us from an evaluation of our lives when we meet him someday.
            It is so important for us, then, to learn God’s commands for us in the Bible so that we can obey. It is imperative for us to exalt the Bible in our own opinions so that we don’t treat its teachings as just one option among many for how we could live, but as the final word for how we should conduct ourselves in this world.
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