First Epistle of Peter
OUR GREAT REDEMPTION
Scripture Reading: 1 Peter 1:18 (KJV)
"Forasmuch"
refers back to the preceding few verses. We have been redeemed with a very great price, the blood of Christ, and this should be an incentive to holiness. Realizing this, we should be highly appreciative, and it should cause us to pass the time of our sojourning in fear or holy reverence. This verse (18) tells what does not redeem us. Our next verse (19) tells what does redeem us.
"Forasmuch as ye know"
The redeemed know it. What a wonderful thing to know. Many do not know, and think it is impossible to know. Yet the Bible everywhere testifies to the fact that you can and should know. We have the word "know" thirty-six times in the First Epistle of John. Following, is a verse that tells us very plainly that we can know. "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God" (1 John 5:13). If we believe on the Son of God (and certainly other verses teach us to obey what He commands); and if we do trust and obey, we then have eternal life; contrariwise, if we do not have eternal life, we do not trust and obey Him. We may believe about a doctor and never go to him when we are sick; but if we believe in him, we will go to see him. One we believe in, we trust and obey.
If one is trusting in his own good works, he cannot know, for how can one know when he has done enough. Only true trusting and obeying Christ can bring assurance.
"ye were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold"
What a lovely word "redeemed" is. It means more than just to purchase something. You redeem something that at one time you possessed, but then lost. When one brings something to a pawn shop and gets money on it, he does not buy it to get it back, he redeems it. If he cannot pay the redemption price, it is lost forever. By creation, we originally belonged to God, but by the sin of Adam and Eve, we were lost to Him and enslaved to Satan. Unless redeemed, we would be lost forever. "But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost; in whom the god of this world (Satan) hath blinded the minds of them which believe not" (2 Cor. 4:3 and 4). But the Lord can say, "Deliver him from going down to the pit. I have found a ransom" (Job 33:24). Christ's blood is the ransom price.
We surely needed redemption. We were ensnared by Satan. "The whole world lieth in wickedness (the wicked one)" (1 John 5:19). We read in Romans 7:14 that we were "sold under sin." Man by nature is a slave to sin. "Whosoever committeth sin is the servant (slave) of sin" (John 8:34). Many a man has tried to free himself from the drink or tobacco habit, but found himself a slave. Other sins are even more binding that these habits.
We were cursed by the law. "For it is written, cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them" (Gal. 3:10). But, thank God, we read, "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree" (Gal. 3:13).
He redeems us from sin, too, for we read in Titus 2:14, Who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity." "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed" (John 8:36).
In Scriptural times, when a man would get hopelessly in debt he would sometimes sell himself as a slave to someone in order to pay the debt. Only his nearest of kin could redeem him from this slavery. He was called "the kinsman redeemer." If a man had to sell his property for one reason or another and could not redeem it, then too, the nearest of kin could redeem it for him. We have quite a commentary on this in the little book of Ruth. Christ is our kinsman redeemer. He took upon himself flesh, so becoming our kinsman, and then went to the cross, and by shedding his blood, became our redeemer.
Sometimes, folks say Christ bought Heaven for us. This is not so. Heaven always has been the property of God and Christ. No reason to buy that which was not lost. We were lost and needed redemption. We are redeemed for heaven, not heaven for us.
Fallen angels are not redeemed. Angelic beings that fell into sin are hopelessly lost. Only redeemed mankind will be able to sing the song of Revelation 5:9. "For thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation." How thankful we should be, that though we sinned as well as fallen angels, He has passed them by, but provided a redemption for us.
And what did He see in us? Certainly nothing in our fallen state. Only what He saw He could make of us in Christ, made it worth while for Christ to die for us. We have a little inkling of this truth in Ephesians 2:7, "That in the ages to come He might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus."
"with corruptible things as silver and gold"
Men do not think of silver and gold as corruptible things, but they do have a way of getting away. This is the second time Peter suggests that gold is corruptible. In verse 7, he says, "That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth," etc. With silver and gold, man can buy most anything and manage to get most anything done. How men love it. They will slave their life away to get a little of it. It may be valuable for many things, but one thing it can not do, it cannot redeem a soul.
Some may think that by good giving, they can at least partially buy a seat in heaven. The Lord does not need gold. The streets of heaven are paved with it. The assembly of Christians needs some money, and likewise the servants of the Lord, and it is right that the Christians give to their support; but this must be done from love to Christ, not with any expectation that it helps in one's salvation.
It is surprising what the Lord can accomplish without any gold. Peter says in Acts 3:6, to the beggar at the temple gate, "Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk." The church today that professes to be built upon Peter is said to be the richest organization in the world. Vastly different from Peter or the Lord Jesus when He was here. They cannot say with Peter, "silver and gold have I none," neither can they say, "rise up and walk."
"from your vain conversation"
We already noticed, in connection with verse 15, that the word "conversation" would be better translated "behavior" or "manner of life." We were redeemed from our "vain behavior," more than just from hell. Some think that salvation is little more than escaping hell and gaining heaven. In Matthew 1:21, we read, "for he shall save his people from their sins," not just from hell. Are we saved from our sins? Are we redeemed from our vain manner of life? The chances are, if your life is no different than before you professed to be saved, that you are not saved at all. At least, the Lord's purposes have not been fulfilled in you as He desires. Is the life we are now living worth the great price Christ paid to redeem us? Has our vain manner of life changed to a profitable way of life?
Any behavior, or manner of life, apart from being a true Christian, is a vain manner of life. "Vain" means "unprofitable", "futile" or "empty." Before salvation, we were living unprofitable lives. The vain life of the wicked Gentiles is described in Romans 1:18-32. The vain life of the more moral Gentiles, we read in Romans 2:1-16. The vain manner of life of the Jews, we read in Romans 2:17 to Romans 3:8. The vain manner of life of the Jew is summed up in Romans 10:3, "For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness; have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God." Are some of us in the church today making the same fatal mistake?
"received by tradition from your fathers."
Much of the Jews manner of life, by which they hoped to gain salvation, was merely tradition that they received from their fathers. Things, concerning which, the Scriptures said nothing. The Lord Jesus talks of some of these traditions in Mark 7. There were many things such as washing of hands, pots, and tables, that they ceremoniously observed, but in doing so they were forgetting the things of the Scriptures. In verse 13, He says, "Making the Word of God of none effect through your tradition." Some hold similar traditions today.
Scripture Reading: 1 Peter 1:19 (KJV)
Here the blood of Christ is called "precious." Peter uses the word precious five times in his first epistle, and twice in his second. In 1 Peter 1:7 he says the trial of your faith is precious. He uses it three times in chapter two, in verses four, six and seven, each time having reference to the person of Christ. Surely, He is the most precious. Then, in the second epistle, chapter one, verse one, we have, "precious faith" and in verse four, "precious promises." All these things would be meaningless to us apart from the precious blood that He shed for us.
Things are called precious for various reasons. First, if they are costly or of great value they are called precious. But certainly nothing is of greater value than one's life blood. If that is spilt, everything else earthly loses its value. What good is a million dollars to one that is bleeding to death. In the face of death, nothing of earth is valuable. But how much more valuable is the blood of Christ than the blood of any other? The blood of that spotless one, who was not only human, but divine as well.
Then things may be called precious because highly esteemed for other reasons. Children are precious. Other things too, of little value to others, are highly esteemed by us. The Son is very precious to the Father. He said, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 17:5). He is precious to us too, and we highly esteem His blood. If one is a preacher or a teacher, the blood should have a great place in the message or lesson.
"precious blood of Christ"
Our redemption was not a cheap one. Nothing else could do but the blood of Christ. No greater price could be paid, and nothing less would be satisfactory payment. If Christ was willing to pay so great a price, our redemption must be important. Therefore, we should highly prize our salvation and also the price that was paid to obtain it.
Truly, our Bible is covered with blood from cover to cover. Already in Genesis 3:21, we read, "Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them." To provide these skins, some animal or animals had to have their blood shed. Man is the only creature in this world that needs artificial clothing. This is because of his sin. This clothing of Adam and Eve pictures our being clothed with the righteousness of Christ. Before He could so clothe us, His blood had to be shed.
In Genesis 4, we have the story of Cain and Abel, and their offerings. Cain brought of the fruit of the ground and his offering was not accepted. Abel brought of the firstlings of his flock and his offering was accepted. Why the difference? Cain's offering had no blood in it, while Abel's did. "Without shedding of blood, is no remission" (Heb. 9:22).
Since the time of Cain and Abel, rivers of blood have been shed. First, Abel's blood by Cain. This is typical of Christ, the innocent one, being slain by His brethren. Since then, millions have had their blood shed in war and in peace. Think of the millions that were killed in World War I and II and others. Then millions of animals for sacrifice and for food have been slaughtered. All these humans and animals were unclean, and their blood could not cleanse from sin. All the animal sacrifices of Old Testament times could do no more than cover sin, until such a time as Christ, by His precious blood, could put it away.
"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom. 5:8). "Why did Jesus have to die?" A young child replied, "So the little lambs won't have to die." The Bible speaks often of sacrifices in which a lamb was offered for the sins of the people. The mind of a little child could see poor lambs slain in the Old Testament period, but not in the New. Christ had died instead.
Out of the mouths of children can come wonderful truths. We are the sheep of His pasture, and we are the lambs of His fold. Sure enough Christ died and shed His blood so the little lambs could live – "So the Little lambs won't have to die."
It is this vivid picture of the Christ who died in our place that drives Christians on at home or abroad in spite of difficult situations. I pray all mankind will come to know of His love and His provision for salvation and joy and peace.
This is Peter's second reference to the blood of Christ (See 1 Pet. 1:2). There emphasis is laid on the sprinkling of the blood. In our verse 19, it is principally the costly sacrifice that is brought out.
The shedding of Christ's blood has accomplished much for us. Besides redeeming us, by it we have the forgiveness of sins (Col. 1:14; Rom. 6), it also cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7). By it we are justified (Rom. 5:9). Christ made peace through the blood of His cross (Col. 1:20). In Acts 20:28, we read, "the church of God, which he hath purchased with His own blood." Our consciences are purged from dead works by His by His blood (Heb. 9:14). We are made nigh by His blood (Eph. 2:13). We are sanctified by His blood (Heb. 13:12). By it we enter the holies overcome Satan highly prize that which has blood." Our consciences are purged blood. We are made nigh (2:13). We are sanctified by His blood enter the holies (Heb. 10:19). By it we overcome Satan (Rev. 12:11). Surely we should highly prize that which has accomplished so much for us.
"as of a lamb"
As we have already seen, the lamb was used for sacrifice in the Old Testament, perhaps more than any other animal. We have noticed already in connection with verse two, some things concerning the Passover lamb in Exodus 12. We have a lamb in connection with many of the offerings. Isaac asks his father in Genesis 22:7, "Behold the fire and the wood; but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?"
Everywhere the lamb as a sacrifice, is a type of our Lord Jesus Christ. In John 1:29, we read, "Behold the lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." We read also in Isaiah 53:7, "He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearer is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth." Over and over again He is called "the lamb" in the Book of Revelation, four times in chapter 5 alone.
"without blemish and without spot."
The sacrifices that the Israelites brought always had to be physically perfect, because they typified a sinless, perfect Savior. Sometimes, they did bring the blind, or the lame, or the sick, and this displeased the Lord very much (See Mal. 1).
The lamb not only could have no natural defect, but no scar or limp from an injury. This would indicate that Christ had no sin from within Himself, or no sin as the result of contact with sinful men. He was the only perfect one that ever lived. From the manger to the cross, not one sin was in His heart, or His mouth, or His actions. This must of necessity be so, otherwise, He could not be our Savior. If He had one sin of His own, He would stand in the same place as all sinners, needing a Savior instead of being one.
Many attested to His sinlessness, even His enemies. Judas said, "I have betrayed innocent blood." Pilate said, "I find no fault in this man." Pilate's wife said, "Have thou nothing to do with this just person." One of the thieves on the cross beside Him, said, "This man hath done nothing amiss." The Roman centurion who, no doubt, had much to do with His crucifixion, said, "Surely, this was a righteous man." He was without blemish and without spot.
