This week we are looking at a section of a letter that is
preserved and recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible called the book
of 1 Peter. Yesterday, we looked at 1 Peter 3:13-14, where we discovered a
timeless truth when it comes to about how we are to live in a rapidly changing culture as followers of
Jesus in that living as part of God’s kingdom community should lead to a life
that responds to suffering the right way.
In 1 Peter
3:13-22, we are going to see Peter reveal for us two different ways that
followers of Jesus respond to suffering the right way. First, we see Peter
reveal for us the reality that we respond to suffering the right way when
suffer for the right reasons. Peter’s point here is that as followers of Jesus,
we experience God's favor when we suffer for living faithfully for Jesus. As
followers of Jesus, when we experience suffering because
we represent Jesus well by living a life that is right in line with the high
moral standards of Jesus and that promotes what is good in our relationships
with others, we are especially favored by God as a result of being in right
relationship with God.
You see, one of the evidences that demonstrate that we
possess a genuine and authentic relationship with Jesus is when we place our
confident trust in Jesus and do the right thing, even when it is not the easy
thing, or the popular thing, to do. And because doing the right thing is not
necessarily the easy or the popular thing to do: Because suffering as a result
of representing Jesus well by living a life that is right in line with the high
moral standards of Jesus and that promotes what is good in our relationships
with others is difficult, notice what Peter states next, beginning in the
second half of verse 14b-16. Let’s look at it together:
AND DO NOT FEAR THEIR INTIMIDATION,
AND DO NOT BE TROUBLED, 15 but sanctify Christ as Lord in your
hearts, always being ready to
make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is
in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; 16 and keep a good
conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile
your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame. 17 For it is
better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right
rather than for doing what is wrong.
Peter begins this statement by quoting from a section of
a letter that is preserved and recorded for us in the Old Testament of the
Bible called the book of Isaiah. In Isaiah 8:12, the prophet Isaiah proclaimed
to the Jewish people the Lord’s message that they were not to fear the invading
Assyrian Empire. Instead they were to place their fear, their reverent respect
towards God in a way that resulted in submission and obedience to God.
Peter quoted this Old Testament passage to reinforce the
reality that they were not to live in fear or intimidation of those who were
causing sadness and suffering in their lives. Instead the confident expectation
for the future that they had as a result of Jesus life, death, and
resurrection, should lead to a life that was dedicated to looking like Jesus
and that was driven by a reverent respect for Jesus as a part of His kingdom
community.
In addition to demonstrating a reverent respect for Jesus
that overcomes the intimidation of those who were causing sadness and suffering
in their lives, Peter commands followers of Jesus throughout history to sanctify
Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being
ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account
for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence.
Now as we have talked about in the past, sanctify is a
big fancy church mumbo jumbo talk word that means to set apart and dedicate. In
addition, the word heart here refers to the center and source of one’s inner
life. So Peter is commanding followers of Jesus throughout history to respond
to suffering by setting apart Jesus as the one who is large and in charge of
their lives from the center and core of their being.
In addition, these early followers of Jesus were to always
being ready to make a
defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you.
In other words, as these early followers of Jesus we ridiculed, criticized, and
slandered for holding on to a faith that was viewed as strange and outrageous;
as these early followers of Jesus were challenged for representing Jesus well
by living a life that was right in line with the high moral standards of Jesus
and that promoted what was good in their relationships with others, they were
to be ready to make a defense.
And that defense that they were to make involved the
hope, the confident expectation for that future that they had as a result of
Jesus life, death, and resurrection. Notice that Peter did not call them to
defend theology: Notice that Peter did not call them to defend the Bible, or
creation, or the church for that matter. Instead, Peter called these early
followers of Jesus to respond to criticism, ridicule, and even suffering by
being able to defend the difference that Jesus had made in their lives and the
hope that Jesus provided for their lives.
Peter then explained that such a defense was to be done
with gentleness and reverence. What is so interesting is that the word
gentleness refers to the quality of not being overly impressed by a sense of
self-importance. In other words, as followers of Jesus, we are to engage those
who challenge and even criticize and slander our faith in a way that does not
come off as being full of ourselves and that is respectful towards others.
Because, as Peter points out in verse 16, when we engage
those who challenge, criticize, and slander our faith in a way that does not
come off as being full of ourselves and that is respectful towards others, we
will be able to keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are
slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame.
Now our conscience is our inward faculty that distinguishes right from wrong.
Peters’ point is that when we respond to suffering the right way, we will maintain a clear conscience in the face of any evil or
slander that will reveal our integrity and that will result in shame for those
who defame and treat us in a despicable way.
Peter then
hammers his point home in verse 17 by basically saying, "if God has a
purpose in mind that results in us experiencing suffering, then we better make
sure that we are suffering because of God’s purpose for that suffering. We
better make sure that we are not experiencing suffering because we have been
doing what is wrong, because that is on us for doing what is wrong. We better
make sure that if we are suffering, we are suffering because we are doing the
right thing, the faithful thing that lines up with the message and teaching of
Jesus."
And the same
way today, as followers of Jesus, we respond to suffering the right way when
suffer for the right reasons. As followers of Jesus, we experience God's favor
when we suffer for living faithfully for Jesus. As followers of Jesus, we are
not to be intimidated by those who seek to intimidate us for living faithfully
for Jesus. Instead, as followers of Jesus, we are to revere Jesus and be ready
to defend the reasons why we live faithfully for Jesus.
As followers
of Jesus, we are to set our lives as being dedicated to Jesus as being large in
charge. We are to be ready to defend the reasons why we live faithfully for
Jesus to anyone who asks for an answer as to why we live the way we do. We are
to be ready to defend the confident expectation that we have for the future
regardless of our circumstances.
And as
followers of Jesus, we are to be ready to defend the reasons why we live
faithfully for Jesus in the right way. A way that is not to overly impressed
with a sense of self importance. A way that is respectful of others. A way that
maintains a clear conscience in the face of any evil or slander, that reveals
our integrity in the face of slander and that results in shame for those who
defame and treat us in a despicable way.
And as
followers of Jesus we are to make sure that we are suffering for the right
reasons. We are to make sure that we are suffering as a result of doing the
right thing in the eyes of God, not as a result of the evil and wrong we may
have done to God and others.
Friday, we
will see Peter reveal a second way by which followers of Jesus respond to
suffering the right way...
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