Relating to the world 1 Peter 3:13-18

Scripture introduction: Good morning. My name is David and I’m one of the pastor’s at GCF. Please turn to 1 Peter 3:13-18. Whenever I preach I preach out of the book of 1 Peter. I’m going to ask everyone to stand to honor the reading of God’s word.

Scripture reading: 1 Peter 3:13-18. “Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? (14) But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, (15) but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, (16) having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. (17) For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil. (18) For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,

Prayer for illumination: please join me in prayer…

Sermon introduction: Throughout the history of Christianity Christians have related to the world in a variety of different ways. Some in the early church tried to avoid relating to the world all together. My favorite was Simeon Stylites who was a “pillar saint”.

Kenneth Scott Latourette writes- “There were the ‘pillar saints,’ those who lived on the top of pillars. One of the earliest and… most famous of them was Simeon Stylites, who died in 459 AD. He dwelt on his pillar east of Antioch for thirty-six years, is said to have touched his feet with his forehead more than 1,244 times in succession, and to have dripped with vermin. His fame spread, and multitudes, including some high state officials, came to see him…” (Latourette, 228).

My second favorite was Theodore of Sykeon. “…he led a life of extreme asceticism, much of the time in a narrow cage suspended from a rock, where he was exposed to the storms of winter, had himself loaded with irons, undertook prolonged fasts, and followed a severe regimen of psalm singing. Others were attracted to him and he became the centre and the head of a monastery.” (Latourette, 198)

Both of these men tried to avoid the world all together.

On the other hand some liberal Protestants of today embrace every lifestyle and choice the world has to offer showing no discrimination.

Neither of these approaches is Biblical. So how in the world do we relate to a hostile world? Do we flee? Do we conform? Do we ignore? Do we love? How are we supposed to relate to the world? Thankfully in this passage Peter gives us instructions on relating to a hostile world!!! Here is what he says-

First, have no fear of the world Second, have an answer for the world Third, be willing to suffer for the world.

First, have no fear of the world Why are we tempted to fear the world? Persecution is real! Look with me at verses 13-14a. “Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? (14) But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed.” In verse 13 Peter indicates, with a rhetorical question, that if you are zealous for what is good persecution will probably not be the norm. Nonetheless persecution does still happen, specifically persecution for doing righteous deeds. Peter has already mentioned persecution five times in 1 Peter. But this is the first time he deals with it in detail.

Most of the persecution of Peter’s day was verbal in nature. Our context is similar. I’m not a prophet or the son of a prophet but I work for a nonprofit and I do think persecution will grow in intensity in our country. This is one of the reasons I wanted to preach through 1 Peter in the first place.

If you are a Christian you are increasingly thought of as being intolerant, close minded, bigoted, and narrow. You may be the butt of jokes at the water cooler, passed up for promotion because you won’t bend the rules, sneered at by family members or neighbors, and misunderstood by friends.

We fear persecution because it is real, yes it is minor in this country, but it is real. I can be tempted to fear greater persecution because I read church history. Our freedom and prosperity as Christians in this country is the exception not the rule and this could change quickly. According to John Blanchard in recent history over 300,000 people are killed a year because they are Christians.

There may be a day coming when it will be illegal to say that certain lifestyle choices are wrong from the pulpit. This is already the case in Canada and parts of Europe and pastors in these countries get fined or go to jail.

We may not experience this level of persecution but we need to be prepared for it.

Why are we tempted to fear the world? Persecution is real!

How do we overcome fear of the world? We believe God’s promise! Look with me at verse 14. “But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed.” This is incredibly encouraging. If we are persecuted we will be blessed. This is a promise from almighty God. The promise of blessing is probably referring back to verses 10-12. I will not go into detail about the nature of those blessings that was the last sermon. But we don’t have to know all the details of those blessings to be encouraged. God will bless those who are persecuted for righteousness sake. Wow!!! What a fear destroying promise.

Jesus says the same thing in Mat 5:11-12 ESV "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. (12) Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” This promise of blessing is not the promise of an easy life. It is a far greater promise. One can experience tremendous persecution and still experience God’s blessing.

You can endure anything if you know that the outcome will be worth the pain. This is why Olympic athletes beat their bodies from the time they come out of the womb. They know that the gain is worth the pain. In the same sense you can endure devastating persecution if you know that you will be blessed by God.

Why do we fear the world? Persecution is real! How do we overcome fear of the world? We believe God’s promise!

How else do we overcome fear of the world? We fear God! Look with me at verses 14- 15a. “But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, (15) but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy,”

Instead of fearing the world we are called to honor Christ the lord as holy. The word for honor literally means to reverence or regard as holy. This is another way of saying instead of fearing the world we must fear God. Why must we fear God? Because he is the one who is in control of all things.

Illustration: 1 Peter 3:15 is a quotation of Is 8:13. The context of Is 8:13 illustrates the importance of fearing God. To understand how let me tell you what is happening in Isaiah 7-8.

This story in Isaiah takes place in 735/34 BC. The nation of Judah led by King Ahaz is threatened by two nations (Assyria and Israel) who have joined forces!!!

Is 7:2 we read – Ahaz and his people are so afraid of the inevitable siege warfare coming their way that their hearts shook like a leaf in the wind. Have you ever been so terrified of something that you literally shook like a brittle leaf shakes in the cool wind?

When I was in fourth grade I ran on the cross country team. Before meets I was so nervous I would cry, shake, want to throw up, and want to empty my bladder. I was terrified. But I was not nearly as terrified as the people of Jerusalem in this story. In order to understand the fear of these people we must understand siege warfare. I’m reading you the edited version of what I read about siege warfare. “At the siege of Samaria by Ben-hadad II, so terrible were the straits to which the besieged were reduced that they cooked and ate their own children (2Ki_6:28). While all the inhabitants of a city under siege suffered the famine of bread and the thirst for water, the combatants ran the risk of impalement and other forms of torture… Houses were destroyed and women dishonored (Zec_14:2). When Darius took Babylon, he impaled three thousand prisoners (Herodotus iii. 159). The Assyrian sculptures show prisoners subjected to horrible tortures, or carried away into slavery. The captured Zedekiah had his eyes put out after he had seen his own sons cruelly put to death (2Ki_25:7).” (ISBE)

In the midst of this impending doom Isaiah says in Isa 8:13 ESV But the LORD of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.

In other words don’t fear the Assyrians fear God he is the holy one who controls all things. Peter picks this up and says don’t fear persecution from the world instead fear God who controls all things.

Yes your enemies may hurt you but they can’t ultimately harm you if you belong to God.

They may even kill your body but they cannot kill your soul and you will get your body back someday.

Isn’t this what Jesus said in Mat 10:28 ESV And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Let’s argue from the greater to the lesser. If we don’t have to fear death then why should we fear being made fun of by our friends who don’t know Jesus?

First, have no fear of the world…

Second, have an answer for the world When does the world want answers? When they see hope! Look with me at verse 15. “but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you;” This verse assumes several things. It assumes that you are living your life in close proximity to non Christians. If you don’t have close non Christian friends it will be hard for them to see the hope that is in you. Do you have close friends that are far from God? Peter assumes that you do. In my experience, if you are with a non Christian long enough the gospel will come up if you are looking for opportunities. In other words, you don’t have to force the gospel down people’s throats. Just love people and pray for opportunities. This verse also assumes that your life is so radically different from the lives of your non Christian friends that they will start to ask you questions. This is very convicting. Are we living lives so radically different from the world that our lost friends start asking questions? You can’t fake this! The only way you can live this way is if you are constantly communing with Christ through his word, through prayer, through fellowship, and through the sacraments. Then you will stick out like a Husky fan in Martin stadium or a Santa Clara fan at the McCarthey Athletic Center or a Northsider on the South hill.

When does the world want answers? When they see hope.

What kind of answers do we give? Apologetic answers! Look with me at verse 15 again. “but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you;” The word “defense” is Greek word “apologia” this is where we get our word apologetics. This word means to respond to an accusation. When non Christians accuse us of hope we need to respond with apologetics. This does not mean that one needs a PhD in Apologetics. In fact, all we have to do is be prepared to talk about our hope. Our only hope is in Jesus Christ, his life, death, and resurrection. If you are a Christian you don’t have to have all the answers. All you need to do is be able to tell people what you know about your hope. Isn’t this encouraging. Just tell them what you know. You may be asked some very difficult questions; again you don’t have to have all the answers. It is pretty hard for someone to argue with a changed life.

When does the world want answers? When they see hope. What kind of answers do we give? Apologetic answers.

Have do we give answers to the world? Lovingly! Look with me at verse 15 again. “but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,”

I cannot emphasize how important it is to be gentle and respectful with those who are not Christians. Non Christians already have plenty of reasons to distrust Christians. Don’t give them more ammunition to distrust you. Remember that no matter who you are talking with they are made in God’s image therefore worthy of respect. You can still disagree with someone and treat them with gentleness and respect. We don’t have to force others to believe that is not our job. Only God can make non Christians believe. Don’t belittle their questions, don’t belittle their objections, take their concerns seriously and try to loving help them find the answers.

Love is the greatest apologetic. Do not back down from the truth but when proclaiming the truth do so gently and respectfully. If not you are sinning. How you say it is just as important as what you say.

Warren Wiersbe says- “We are witnesses not prosecuting attorneys… the purpose is not to win an argument but to win lost souls to Christ.” (Wiersbe, 414)

Illustration- When I was a WSU without out fail every year the Christian freak show came to campus. I always knew they had arrived because I would walk down the center of campus and see a huge crowd forming a circle around a few individuals with bullhorns, posters, and their king James Bibles. Some in the group stood silently holding up large colorful signs with flames and demons on both sides. In the middle of the sign big letters spelled out God hates homosexuals, although it was not worded that graciously. I vaguely remember what the other signs said but I’m pretty sure there were signs about the evils of the NIV and the Democratic Party. What is ironic is that some of the things they said about Jesus were right but the way there were saying things through their bullhorn was demonic. They were yelling and screaming. This is the exact opposite of what Peter has in mind.

When does the world want answers? When they see hope! What kind of answers do we give? Apologetic answers! Have do we give answers to the world? Lovingly!

Application: You don’t have to be perfect to be a good witness to the world. Think about Peter who wrote this letter. He had all kinds of problems (he denied Jesus three times, he cut off a dude’s ear, and Jesus said at one point that he was the mouthpiece of Satan). You don’t have to be perfect but you do need to be a work in progress. Ask God for grace!!!

You don’t have to have a degree in apologetics to be a good witness to the world. Although knowing the basics of apologetics is helpful. Christianity is based on historical facts and is very reasonable and it helps to know the facts and know the reasons. I would highly recommend two books- “The Reason of God” by Tim Keller and “I don’t have enough faith to be an Atheist” by Norm Geisler and Frank Turek.

You don’t have to have all the answers but you do need to open your mouth. You may be thinking, I’m just going to live a Godly life and see what happens. There are times to initiate spiritual conversations. Your Godly life will add to your credibility.

We are asking the question how do we relate to the World?

First, have no fear of the world. Second, have answers for the world.

Third, be prepared to suffer for the world How will you suffer? You will be slandered! Look with me at verse 16. “having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.” Peter’s audience was being persecuted by being slandered. This is surly a form of suffering for the gospel. One of our goals should be to keep a clear conscience so that others have no grounds for slandering us. If our conscience is clear, (i.e. we are living Godly lives) than those who slander us will eventually be ashamed because what they are saying about us is simply not true. Does Peter really want to shame non Christians? In one sense yes in one sense no. He does not want to shame them for the purpose of public humiliation. But he does want to shame them so that their shame will lead to their conversion.

Christians suffer at the hands of slander. Being slandered is no fun! Just ask Joseph in the Old Testament. Remember what happened. Potiphar’s wife slandered Joseph and he was sent to prison. (Gen 39: 6-15)

Part of being a Christian is suffering. But the Joys of the Christian life far out way the suffering.

How will suffering help the world? It may lead to their salvation! Look with me at verses 17-18. “For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil. (18) For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,

Peter says that suffering for doing good is good. Here is the question we must ask. Why is suffering at the hands of non Christians who oppose us good? Because it may lead to their salvation. How can we say this? This is what verses 17-18 strongly imply. Let’s read them again.

“For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil. (18) For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,”

Christ suffering at the hands of wicked men was very good because it lead to our salvation. He suffered by dying on a cross in our place.

His suffering ensures that someday suffering will cease! His suffering ensured that we could be reconciled us to God! His suffering ensured the forgiveness of all our sins! His suffering ensured our justification! His suffering destroyed the power of the Devil! His suffering ensured that we will be adopted by God! His suffering ensured that we will never taste a drop of the wrath of God! His suffering ensured that we can be filled with the very presence of God! Why did Jesus suffer on the cross for us? Because he loves us and he wants us to spend eternity with us.

Here is the important connection. Christ suffering leads to our salvation and our suffering can lead to the salvation of others. No obviously we don’t die for the sins of others. But our suffering for the gospel may lead a non Christian to take Jesus seriously. They may start asking questions such as- why is Suzy willing to be laughed at? why is Tom willing to be honest when it means less money? why is Jake refusing to listen to the office gossip? why are these people willing to suffer? Could it be that Jesus is real? Maybe I should look into this Jesus thing?

Wayne Grudem commenting on these verses writes- “Just as Christ endured unjust suffering for our salvation, Peter reasons, so we are blessed by God if we endure unjust suffering for the salvation of others.” (Wayne Grudem, 155)

The only way we are going to be able to suffer for the sake of others is if we look to Jesus Christ the suffering savior and ask him for grace.

Conclusion: Bruce Shelly writes- “In the popular mind, the early church was above all else a noble army of martyrs. In many ways it was, and none was more noble than Polycarp, the aged bishop of Smyrna in western Asia minor. The authorities brought the highly respected pastor into the crowded arena and prepared so shove him to the lions- but only reluctantly. They much preferred a denial of the charge against him. He was a Christian. ‘Simply swear by Caesar,’ the governor pled. ‘I am a Christian,’ said Polycarp. ‘If you want to know what that is, set a day and listen.’ ‘Persuade the people,’ answered the governor. Polycarp said ‘I would explain to you but not to them.’ ‘Bring on your beasts,’ said Polycarp. ‘If you scorn the beasts, I’ll have you burned’ said the governor. ‘You try to frighten me with the fire that burns for an hour, and you forget the fire of hell that never goes out.’ The governor called to the people, ‘Polycarp says he is a Christian.’ Then the mob let loose. ‘This is the teacher of Asia,’ they shouted, ‘the father of the Christians, the destroyer of our Gods.’ So Polycarp, praying that his death would he an acceptable sacrifice, was burned at the stake.” (Shelley, 37)

Many people in the early church became Christians after observing scenes like this. Proving true the old saying- “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.” Polycarp had no fear of the world Polycarp had answers for the world Polycarp was willing to suffer for the world. Lord, give us grace to do the same. lets pray…