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Pilgrim Living: Always Ready! - I Peter 3:13-17

Pilgrim Living in a Fallen World: Always Ready!

I Peter 3:13-17

Introduction: Over thirty years ago, I participated with the church I was pastoring in NJ, as a counsellor in the Billy Graham Crusade in the Meadowlands. There were training sessions to help with the crusade in which a survey was given... One question asked, "What is your greatest hindrance to witnessing?" The answers were surprising. Nearly ten percent said they were too busy to remember to do it. Almost thirty percent felt they lacked the information they needed to share. More than ten percent felt their own lives were not speaking as they should. None said they didn’t really care. But by far the largest group, more than half, were those whose biggest problem was the fear of how the other person would react! Peter has been saying that since God is watching over us (v.12) we should boldly be about His work!  

       We are not all evangelists, but we are all witnesses. One approach to sharing that takes off some pressure is to start by not preaching, but instead asking questions. It’s a model that Jesus himself often used. Start by asking the person about their religious background and beliefs. Ask for clarification, it may help people think about what they believe and why: 1) What do you mean by that? Or, 2) How did you come to that conclusion? This approach isn’t new, Jesus asked questions when he taught. He asked, for example, “What is the greatest commandment?” And to his disciples, “Who do people say that I am... Who do you say that I am?” Ask questions, smile, don’t pressure. By the way, since you came to faith, you have been a witness. And we are all still learning. Our Christian life is our continuing education. An easy thing we can all do is to offer a Gospel or a gospel tract, and ask, “Would you be willing to read this over and get together again to talk about it?” Most, once you have listened to them, would at least be willing to take it. Some might even read it. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ! Peter today encourages us to lay aside fear of men, and to embrace our calling to share Christ.

The BIG Idea: Our devotion to God should motivate us, even when it is difficult, to lift up Jesus as the only way to salvation, and to live a life that points others to Him.

I.  The Foundation of a Good Witness (3:13-15a). God is working, we can trust Him.

13 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 regard Christ the Lord as holy…    

     First, be zealous to live a good life that honors God and shows grace (13). Remember that the verse divisions were put in later, they are not a part of the original letters that the apostles sent to the churches, so verse 13 follows and is logically connected with verse 12.  The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayers, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil…” “Who then is going to harm you if you are eager to do good?” In other words, as Paul said, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” If we dwell on this one, simple, truth we should be emboldened in our witness! The King of the universe is watching, He is with us, and He hears our prayer.  But Peter talks about the “righteous,” I don’t always feel righteous, do you? Well, if we are in Christ, we are righteous, because the righteousness of Jesus has been reckoned to our account. So, we know His is watching us. Does that encourage you?  Repeatedly we see admonitions in both the OT and NT: “Fear not, I am with you!” Therefore, we should boldly, zealously, pursue “what is good.” But what is good?

       The word “good” appears throughout the opening of the Bible as God created the universe, at each stage, He saw that it was “good.” It was exactly as God had planned it, without flaw. “Good” in this fallen world is that which conforms to the revealed will of God.  Who is there to harm us if we are God’s, if we are following Him and doing His will?  We can know that “Nothing can touch us without first passing through the hands of our loving heavenly Father, nothing.” THAT is quite a comfort. God is in control. He has a plan. He is good, and He does good, so His plan is good. We are included in that plan! He is not only concerned with the end of the story, our “destination,” but He is also present and working in the moment, as we live life in this fallen world. And He is working His purpose both IN us and THROUGH us.  He is not saying that believers who live a “good life,” a life in conformity to his revealed will, will never suffer. On the contrary Jesus warned, “In the world you WILL HAVE tribulation…”  It’s certain. The only question is the degree to which we will experience it.  We should be zealous to obey Him, to walk with Him, to be engaged in His mission in the world. So, live a good life!

     Secondly, Don’t fear what people can do to you—trust God (14; cf. 17). Put verses 14 and 17 together for a minute, “14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil.” Verse 14 made me think of the prophet Daniel’s friends: Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego. “Our God is able to deliver us… but even if He does not…” (Dan 3:16-18). Here Peter says, “Who can harm you…?” And then he says in v.14, “But even if you should suffer for righteousness sake…”  I think this reflects the reality of living in the world as a citizen of heaven, of living a life where we are called to be light in the darkness. Jesus said “Don’t be surprised if the world hates you… it hated me first…” He said, “In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world!  What can anyone do to us? We belong to Jesus, forever! And we know the end of the story: Jesus wins! But, now, for a little while, we may be grieved by various trials (I Peter 1:6). That’s the BIG idea, our devotion to Christ should motivate us, despite the cost, to lift up Jesus as the only way to salvation and to live a life that points others to Him.

     Next Peter says, we are to have a heart devoted to Christ, an attitude of worship (15a). “In your hearts, regard the Lord Jesus Christ as holy...” Another translation says, “Sanctify the Lord Jesus Christ in your hearts...” This precise form, a command meaning to “set apart” someone or something occurs only here in the NT, but it occurs about a dozen times in the Septuagint (LXX). A few examples can illustrate the sense...

ESV Isaiah 8:13 But the LORD of hosts, him you shall regard as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. [It is a call to reverence Yahweh, the God of the Bible!].

ESV Jeremiah 17:22 And do not carry a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath or do any work, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your fathers.

ESV Joel 1:14 Consecrate a fast; call a solemn assembly. Gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land to the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD.

There are several more uses in Joel, several speaking to setting apart the people for Holy War. Then we read finally in 1 Peter 3:15,  “...but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, always being ready to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you...”

       The phrase often means “to be dedicated to God, available and yielded for the Lord to use.” The reference to a “solemn assembly” referred to leading the people into a a time of repentance, a time of fasting to put aside the distractions of the flesh and to fix their hearts on God. Here Peter is calling on his readers to set Christ apart in their hearts. Like an army dedicated to a battle, like an assembly dedicated to solemnly and sincerely seeking God, Jesus, above all, is “set apart,” He is the most precious, the most important, the most exalted, the most sought after, the most treasured reality in our heart. That attitude will lead us deeper in our worship, and our obedience.

       Even in using that language to refer to the “heart,” Peter implies that we are to love HIM above all. That is how the song “Above All” by Michael W. Smith put it,

Above all powers, Above all kings; Above all nature and all created things.
Above all wisdom and all the ways of man; You were here before the world began.

Above all kingdoms, Above all thrones; Above all wonders the world has ever known.
Above all wealth and treasures of the earth; There's no way to measure what you're worth…

Is that your heart? Is it mine? Do we love Him, do we treasure Him above anyone and anything the world has to offer?  That is a radical love, it’s crazy love (to use Francis Chan’s phrase), and it is the kind of love that will well up in our hearts when we grasp, even a little, who He is and what He has done for us. When we treasure Jesus like that, when we love Him and desire His fame to spread to those around us, our witness will be changed, we will be zealous for what is good! We will be enthusiastic, sincere, devoted ambassadors for Christ.

       Super Bowl Sunday just passed, were you watching? Do you know someone who is such a sports fan, that as soon as they start talking about “their” team, their expression changes, and the joy just exudes as they talk? Nothing wrong with that, fan = fanatic! That kind of joy should be evident when we talk about Jesus – and more. Listen: 100 years from now it won’t matter who won the game. But your neighbor’s soul is eternal. So, we should treasure Jesus, set Him apart in our hearts, and that will show when we speak of Him to those around us. Our devotion to Christ should motivate us, whatever it costs, to lift up Jesus as the only way to salvation and to live a life that points to Him.

II. The Freedom of a Ready Witness (15b-16).

…always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you;  16 yet do it with gentleness and respect, 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...

      Always ready… Implies preparation, alertness to opportunities, being available. We are in the middle of a sentence here, the idea carries through, as we set apart Christ in our hearts, the One who alone is worthy of our worship and adoration, we should be ready to talk about it, to defend our faith, to explain why we believe what we believe.

       Peter says “...always ready…” This is a key aspect of our calling to be a witness. It is not only during a church service that we are ready, or during a “designated” outreach event… it’s not only when we are out on a church visit or discussing the Bible in a small group meeting or a Sunday School class. We are to be “always ready.”  This is implied in the Great Commission itself. Jesus said “Go, therefore and make disciples of all the nations...”  Grammatically, the command in that verse is to “make disciples.”  “Go” is a participle, and the sense seems to be “As you go...” or “When you go...” [make disciples]! Jesus was saying that as we go about our lives in this fallen world, we are on assignment, we are a part of His mission. You know that my dad was a police officer in New Jersey. I noticed when I was young that he would always take his off-duty gun, a chrome plated .38 revolver, and put it in his waist band before going out. When I asked him why, he said police are always on duty, they need to be ready to intervene at all times if something happens. Like a police officer who is always “on duty,” alert to criminal activity or to people in danger, believers in Jesus go about life, but always alert, looking for the lost, the seeking, always ready to point them toward JESUS, the one who is the answer to their deepest need. “Always ready to give a reason for our hope...”

       We shouldn’t conclude from this that we are expected to have all the answers! That would be nice, but it isn’t realistic for any of us. Sometimes the right reply to an objection to our faith might be, “You know that is a really good question, and I really don’t have an answer to give you.  I’d be happy to look into that and maybe we can get together to talk about it.” You could give them a Gospel of John or a good gospel tract and ask, “In the meantime, would you be willing to read this, and maybe we could talk about it when we get together again?” Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of Christ! Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice...” That implies listening, recognizing the Word of God, believing Him, taking Him at His word. We should be “always ready.”  

       ...to make a defense...” A reasoned apologia [defense] of our hope  These days I’ve seen Bible Colleges and seminaries more and more offering virtual classes in Bible and theology. I saw one free course offered through Dallas Seminary on “Apologetics.” You can just audit it, and “soak in” as much information as possible, or you can take it for college credit. Apologetics… It may sound like you might be studying the art of learning to say “I’m sorry” but that isn’t it! (Though that isn’t a bad idea either, but that is a study for another day!) Apologetics prepares us to give a reasoned defense of our faith. Why do we believe what we believe? Pastor Ben has taken the youth through a study on the topic. How can we defend our faith from some common questions and objections?  Courses like that can give some tools to have a more ready response.

       To some degree all of our Bible teaching in Church, Sunday School, small groups, even our daily devotions, should be helping us to deepen your faith and to have a more ready answer when objections and questions come.  A course like the one Pastor Ben taught the youth, or the one offered by Dallas Seminary, will be a more targeted preparation and training time. Whether that is convenient for you or not, we should all be students of the Word, reading the Bible, learning from others, deepening our faith.  By the way, that is my motivation in putting an outline in the bulletin, to facilitate taking notes, maybe giving a place to jot down a question or an observation, and then on Wednesday night in our hybrid Bible study, it would be a great time to bring it up and learn together. We also have some of the best Bible teachers in the world available to us on the radio, online, even on television... We can even learn through the recorded messages of men now with the Lord, men like Adrian Rogers and J. Vernon McGee. But we need to be discerning!  We should listen, and then, like the Bereans in Acts 17, go home and search the Scriptures to see whether what they are saying is true.

       How do we to make this defense, what is our attitude? Peter tells us, “with gentleness and respect.” We are not to talk down on people, as though we are the “wise ones” with all the answers. Nor are we going to argue anyone into Heaven. Only God can open a heart. For our part, we are one beggar, telling another beggar, one sinner telling another sinner, where to find bread. Before you speak, remember God’s grace in your own life, and remember, “There, but for the grace of God, go I.”

       Having a good conscience – notice the following phrase, “...so that when you are slandered those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.”  Remember back in 1 Peter 2:12,  Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.” It is not about us. It is living in such a way that God gets the glory.  As we said last week, we certainly don’t want our life to give someone an excuse not to believe, “above all, do no harm!” If our love and compassion and good works can make them see something different, something real, it can evoke questions, or at least soften hearts, so that we can point them to Jesus.

What is God saying to me in this passage? Our devotion to Christ should motivate us, even when it is difficult, to lift up Jesus as the only way to salvation and to live a life that points others to Him.

What would God have me to do in response to this passage? He chose you on purpose, for a purpose. God gave His Son for us, we need to be available for Him to use as He carries out His mission in the world. That means using our gifts here, because Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function,  5 so it is with Christ's body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other...  (Romans 12:4,5).  Twenty-two guys are on the field for the Super Bowl, right? Millions are watching. Christianity is not a spectator sport. So, we encourage each other, and we use the gifts that God has given us to equip each other. And we must also stay alert to opportunities to share the Good News.

     First, prayerfully consider those that God has put in your life- the people around you, your family, your friends and neighbors, relatives, co-workers, classmates... Pray for them, ask God for an opportunity to talk to them. Jesus is still building His church – and you are a key player on God’s team. It’s fine to cheer for a football team and get excited, but above all, let’s determine to be bold witnesses for Jesus!   AMEN.                                                     


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