LESSON VIII.—SABBATH, AUGUST 19, 1893
SUFFERING FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS' SAKE.
REVIEW QUESTIONS.—(a) What instructions are given to the wife? (b) What to the husband? (c) How will such instruction if heeded affect their prayers? (d) What injunction to union is given? (e) What disposition should we manifest toward those who speak against us? I. God's Care for His People.
VERSES 12-14: "For the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears unto their supplication; but the face of the Lord is upon them that do evil. And who is he that will harm you, if ye be zealous of that which is good? But and if ye shall suffer for righteousness' sake, blessed are ye; and fear not their fear, neither be troubled." - What care has the Lord for the righteous? Note 1.
- How does he regard the evil?
- What question does the apostle ask? Note 2.
- How should we regard suffering for righteousness' sake?
- How should those things which cause fear in the world affect us?
II. Our Duty in Time of Trouble.
VERSES 15-17: "But sanctify in your hearts Christ as Lord; being ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason concerning the hope that is in you, yet with meekness and fear; having a good conscience; that, wherein ye are spoken against, they may be put to shame who revile your good manner of life in Christ. For it is better, if the will of God should so will, that ye suffer for well doing than for evil doing." - In time of trouble what should be the exalted object in our hearts? Note 3.
- What should we always be ready to do?
- In what spirit should the answer be given?
- What should be kept good? Note 4.
- What effect would such a spirit have on those who do us evil?
- If it is God's will that we suffer, for what should it be?
III. Christ's Sufferings for Us.
VERSES 18-22: "Because Christ also suffered for sins once, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God; being put to death in the flesh, but quickened in the spirit; in which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison, which aforetime were disobedient, when the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a-preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water; which also after a true likeness doth now save you, even baptism, not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the interrogation of a good conscience toward God, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ; who is on the right hand of God, having gone into heaven; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him." - Who, though innocent, suffered for us?
- Why did he thus suffer?
- In what condition was he put to death? and how quickened?
- To whom did he preach by his Spirit?
- Through whom did he preach? Note 5.
- At what time in the world's history did he preach?
- How many were saved? and by what means?
- What like figure is seen in our salvation? Note 6.
- Through faith in what are we saved?
- What assurance is given us that Christ is able to save us from all that can come upon us?
1. The eyes of the Lord, etc.—There is nothing which ought so to encourage the sincere Christian as the fact that God cares for the righteous; not the righteous in his own works, but those upon whom the Father sees his own righteousness, that which the believer has obtained by faith (Rom. 3:22), the way in which Abraham obtained his (Rom. 4:3). God hears their prayers, not only if they sin not, but if they are truly repentant of sin (1 John 2:1, 2); for the Lord "delighteth in mercy" (Micah 7:18), and takes pleasure in those that hope in his mercy (Ps. 147:11). "The face of the Lord is upon them that do evil;" that is, those who cherish iniquity in their heart (Ps. 66:18); such really endeavor to divide the heart between God and the cherished idol, and their prayer becomes an abomination (Prov. 28:9). 2. Who is he that will harm you, etc.—In a general way this means that men will have no desire to harm those who are imitators of Christ, and under ordinary circumstances this has been true as promised (see Prov. 16:7), but there are many exceptions to this general rule. But even though we suffer persecution for righteousness' sake, that will not work to our ultimate harm, though it causes present sufferings; for to them that love God all things work together for good; even in the greatest sufferings his followers are, through the love of God, more than conquerors. See Rom. 8:28, 37. In the very sufferings then they may find happiness and rejoice. See also Matt. 5:11, 12. 3. Sanctify in your hearts, etc.—It will be noticed that a part of verses 14 and 15 are almost identical with a part of Isa. 8:12, 13. Peter reads: "Fear not their fear, neither be troubled; but sanctify in your hearts Christ as Lord." Isaiah reads: "Neither fear ye their fear, nor be in dread thereof. The Lord of hosts, him shall ye sanctify." Isaiah tells us in the next verse what the Lord will be to those who trust in him: "He shall be for a sanctuary," a safe and holy place; for in the time of trouble God will spread over us the pavilion of his power (Ps. 27:5; 34:7), and hide us under the shadow of his wings (Ps. 17:8), in the secret place of his tabernacle (Ps. 27:5). It will be seen by referring to Isa. 8:9-20 that this scripture has special force in the last days, when men are fearing and623dreading all sorts of evil, and are combining together for protection, and seeking unto those who have familiar spirits. In the fearful peril before us, when the wicked shall tremble over imaginary evils because they will not believe God, when the judgments of God will fall because of wickedness, the only safe shield will be the power of God's truth (Ps. 91:4), the only safe habitation, refuge in God (verse 9). And now and then, with God in our hearts as the only object of fear, trust, worship, and love, we may with meekness tell others of the blessed hope (Titus 2:13), the living hope (1 Peter 1:3), which like an anchor holds us and will hold us through all the coming storm (Heb. 6:19). Men may think to do God's servants evil, and destroy his message by destroying their lives or confining them in prison walls, but God will turn the evil for their good (Gen. 50:20; Rom. 8:28), and to the spread of his truth even as of old (Acts 28:30, 31; Phil. 1:12). 4. A good conscience.—A good conscience is a conscience "purged from dead works" (Heb. 9:14) by the blood of Christ (10:22), and held good by faith in Christ, by the word and Spirit of God (1 Tim. 1:19; 3:9). Compare with Titus 1:15, 16. 5. He went and preached.—The Spirit of Christ is given to every child of God (Rom. 8:9); and the gift of preaching is bestowed through it (1 Cor. 12:4); through that Spirit Christ has always ministered to the souls in the prison house of sin (Isa. 61:1; Ps. 51:12, 13). In the days of Noah that Spirit spoke through the patriarch (2 Peter 2:5), who by faith preached the message and saved his house (Heb. 11:7). The expression "which aforetime were disobedient" is parenthetical, the clause "when the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah," modifying "preached." That is, Christ by his Spirit strove with man (Gen. 6:3), and through Noah (2 Peter 2:5) preached to them during that time when the long-suffering of God waited. Those who lived then were shut up in the prison house of sin. 6. After a true likeness.—The margin reads, "in the antitype." We suggest the following explanation of the difficult passage. The chief statement of the sentence, upon which all the rest is dependent, is verse 18: "Because Christ also suffered for sins once, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God; being put to death in the flesh, but quickened in the Spirit." Verses 19 and 20 are composed of several clauses, all dependent upon the statement of verse 18, through the adjunct "in which." Verse 21 is also a relative clause dependent on verse 18. The important facts are that Christ died for our sins, and was raised for our justification by the power of the Spirit of God. See Rom. 4:25; 8:10, 11. It was by faith in those facts, already accomplished in the purpose of God, which were preached by the Spirit through Noah, that those who outrode the deluge were saved; and the ark in which they were saved from the waters above and below was a symbol of Christ and their faith in him. So also baptism is a figure or likeness of the death and resurrection of Christ from the dead. See Col. 2:12; Rom. 6:3-5. The believer's baptism shows his faith in the risen Saviour. It was not the ark that saved Noah and his family, but the power of the Spirit given through his faith in a Saviour died and risen, of which the ark was a symbol of Him who was to come. It is not baptism which saves us, but the power of the Spirit which raised him from the dead, given through faith, of which baptism is the symbol.