1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:

A Bridge made of Two Boards and Three Nails

The Golden Gate Bridge is a masterpiece of modern engineering.

It is a 1.7 mile spread of steel, wire, and rivets,

On May 27, 2014 the Golden Gate Bridge celebrated its 77th anniversary.

This bridge took four years to complete

The bridge opened to pedestrians and to cars the next day.

It took 83,000 tons of steel, nearly 60,000 strands of wire.

If this wire was stretched out, it would measure nearly 80,000 miles.

The engineer that designs the bridge said I present to you a bridge that will last forever.'

Think about it, 83,000 tons of steel and 80,000 miles of wire masterfully engineered to span a gap of 1.7 miles is an impressive feat, to say the least.

But more impressive still is the infinite gap between a holy God and sinful man that spanned with only two boards and three nails.

A bridge that really will last forever.

There are several reasons why Jesus died for the believer.

Jesus died to bridge the gap between God and Man

Talk about how sin separate us from man.

Therefore, making a bridge with two boards and three nails

The first thing the bridge made up of two boards and three nails show us - it showed us Christ died once and for all.

1 Peter 3:18A For Christ also hath once suffered for sins

Vicariously mean that Jesus suffered eternal death so that we do not have to suffer eternal death.

He was the just One dying for the unjust.

What does this mean?

It means two things.

Jesus Christ was perfectly just or righteous.

Jesus Christ was perfectly just or righteous.

He was sinless: as Man He lived a sinless life.

Therefore, He stood before God as the Perfect and Ideal Man.

He was the ideal pattern of what every man should be.

His righteousness was the ideal righteousness.

It means that whatever Jesus Christ did could stand for and cover all men.

It means that His righteousness could stand as the ideal and perfect righteousness.

·It means that His death could stand as the ideal and perfect death.

It means that Jesus Christ could become the ideal and perfect sin-offering for man.

Jesus makes us acceptable to God

Jesus Christ loves us;

Therefore, He gave His life for us.

We deserve to die

We deserve separation from God, for we are unjust and sinful.

But Christ loves us;

Therefore, He has become our substitute:

Jesus borne our sin and judgment, condemnation, and punishment.

Therefore, we would never die or separated from God.

If we surrender our lives to Jesus

If we give ourselves over to HiHis righteousness covers us and His death covers us.

In Christ we become acceptable to God.

In other words, there is a bridge built with two boards and three nails

The second thing the bridge made up of two boards and three nails show us - it showed us Christ died vicariously.

1 Peter 3:18B the just for the unjust,

The third thing the bridge made up of two boards and three nails show us - it showed us Christ died to bring us to God

1 Peter 3:18C that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: