Christ suffered for sins that are not His – He suffered for our sins. Christ suffered for our wrongdoings and that is enough to take away all the punishment for our wrongdoings. And it brought about salvation for us. Hence, should we suffer, it must be for our well-doing, and not for wrongdoings.

Note that Christ’s suffering for our sins to obtain salvation for us is still very potent and efficacious for us today. This means that if a person is presented with the biblical gospel today and he accepts Jesus Christ sincerely and truly with all his heart, he can still be born again. Well-doing is when we do everything that God wants us to do as revealed in His Word. We then behave like Christ. And we point others to Christ when they see the holiness of Christ in us. Such well-doing may lead us to suffer. When you (who bear the name of Christ) suffer for your wrongdoings, you send the message that what Christ had done for us is not enough, and that we must suffer for our own sins to complete the suffering of Christ. What Christ had done for us is enough to bring us to God, to change us from God’s enemies into God’s children. Hence, we must live in obedience to Him continuously, and should we suffer, it must be because of our well-doing. Thus we are telling the world that the salvific work of Christ for sinners is still available today. Jesus’ suffering for sins is still very potent today and no matter how serious the sins are, what Christ had done for us is enough to save us. There are many who refused to suffer for Christ. When we are not willing to suffer for Christ, and do not witness for Him and do not live a holy life, we are useless to God. We must not let sin damage our Christian testimony for God.

The believers in the Old Testament are saved in the same way as the believers in the New Testament and believers today: by believing and putting our faith in Christ. Noah and his family suffered for well-doing when they built the ark and preached God’s Word. Be prepared to suffer for Christ. Be faithful in sharing the gospel. Others will see the impact of Christ’s suffering for sins in our life of holiness. The potency of Christ’s suffering has no ending but the availability of it to sinners has an end. It will expire when Jesus comes again in His glorified form as Judge. The day of salvation will then be over. Have you experienced the power of what Christ had done? Prove it – live a holy life, do not be ashamed of Christ. Be prepared to suffer for well-doing. In doing so, we are telling the world that the potency of Christ’s suffering for sin is very much alive today.