“’Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture,
“Behold, I lay in Zion
A chief cornerstone, elect, precious, And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.’”
And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.”
“Believes on him” is more than to believe about him. To simply think about him does not qualify us to be a Christian. We would be lost for eternity if that were the case. To believe “on” him means we trust him. Do you have confidence in the plan of God for your salvation? Belief is the point where one enters the plan of God.
Some put their trust in someone only to find that they must shamefully retreat from them because of some indiscretion. This will never happen to a true Christian because of the integrity of Christ.
“By no means” is a double negative in Greek, making this phrase very emphatic. The Lord Jesus assures the believer of ultimate victory.
“Put to shame” means dishonored or disgraced. This might refer to the Great White Throne judgment for unbelievers. Only unbelievers will stand at the Great White Throne judgment. This is where God will indict the unbeliever. God will indict them because they chose to stand there apart from the cross.
At the Great White Throne judgment, God will not mention sins to non-Christians. Why? Because of the principle of double jeopardy. The unbeliever attempts to stand on his own works. Those works are not sufficient to meet the righteousness of God. Man’s righteousness cannot stand before the righteousness of God. Sins are not the issue at the Great White Throne because Jesus paid for our sins by his death on the cross.
What is the principle? At some point in your life, you were probably ashamed of someone in your life. If we stand with our good works before God, God will be ashamed of us. The Christian will stand at the Judgment Seat of Christ. God will not mention our sins to us because Jesus took the judgment for them. If we stand in our righteousness, we will be embarrassed.
“Shame” – the more we orient to the grace of God, the less we will experience shame. All of us have done many things that bring us shame, but God will overrule that shame with his grace.
PRINCIPLE:
God does not want Christians to carry guilt complexes.
APPLICATION:
The grace of God elevates us from shame. His cross meets all the demands of God. That is why we can forget the failures of our past (Phil. 3:13). We can move on without guilt. The grace of God is our platform for victory.
The principle of double jeopardy means that God will not judge the same sin twice. God judged our sin on the cross. Therefore, he will not judge us for sin again. Jesus paid for all sin of all time. The issue before us is to accept God’s elect plan for our salvation and to live a life rejoicing in the death of Jesus Christ for the sins of the believer.
I am borrowing much of your insightful and informative writing on 1 Peter to teach a class of women at First Baptist Church Arlington, TX. You have made these rich verses richer still. I could use any one verse to develop an entire lesson.
The Hope Class is indebted to you and greatly appreciates your research, knowledge, and generousity.
Thank you,
Elaine Teichman
Thanks Elaine for that blessing.