Pilgrim Living in a Fallen World: Be a Voice in the Wilderness! I Peter 3:13-17

Pilgrim Living in a Fallen World: Be a Voice in the Wilderness!

I Peter 3:13-17

Introduction: A survey was given to those attending training sessions for a Billy Graham crusade... One question asked, "What is your greatest hindrance to witnessing?" Nine percent said they were too busy to remember to do it. Twenty-eight percent felt the lack of real information to share. None said they didn’t really care. Twelve percent said their own lives were not speaking as they should. But by far the largest group were the 51 percent whose biggest problem was the fear of how the other person would react! Since God is watching over his people (v.12) we should boldly be about His work!  I caught a part of a message Friday morning that was talking about a good approach to witnessing that takes off some pressure. It really follows a model that Jesus himself often used: Ask questions! Start by asking the person about their religious background and beliefs. He mentioned two helpful questions: 1) What do you mean by that? And, 2) How did you come to that conclusion? Jesus did that right? In his teaching for example. “What is the greatest commandment?” Or to his disciples, “Who do people say that I am? ...Who do you say that I am?”  It’s a low pressure approach that really doesn’t take a lot of preparation.  An easy follow up would be to simply offer them one of our Gospels of John, or a gospel tract, and ask, “Would you be willing to read this over and get together again to talk about it?” Most people, once you have listened to them, would at least be willing to take it, some might read it. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ!

The Maine* Idea: Our devotion to Christ should motivate us, regardless of the cost, 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).

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, and He hears our prayer.  Put Peter talks about the “righteous,” I don’t always feel righteous, how about 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 Old and New Testaments: “Fear not, I am with you!” Therefore we should boldly, zealously, pursue “what is good.” But what is good?

       The word “good” appears through 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 this, “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. And He is good, and He does good, so His plan is good. By grace we have been included in that plan. He is not only concerned with the end of the story, our “destination,” but He is also present and working as we pass through this vale of tears, the Valley of Baca, working his purpose both IN us and THROUGH us.  He is not saying that believers who live a “good life” will never suffer.  On contrary Jesus warned, “In the world you WILL HAVE tribulation…”  It is a certainty.  The only question is the degree to which we will experience it.  But we can have joy and peace despite our trials, and that is “good”!  We should be zealous to obey Him, to walk with Him, to be engaged in His mission in the world.

     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 troubled… ¹⁷ 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 Obegnego. “Our God is able to deliver us… but even if He does not…”  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 Maine* idea, our devotion to Christ should motivate us, regardless of the cost, to lift up Jesus as the only way to salvation and to live a life that points others to Him.

     We see in the next phrase that we are to have a heart devoted to Christ, an attitude of worship (15a). The ESV says, “In your hearts, regard the Lord Jesus Christ as holy...” Another translation says, “Sanctify the Lord Jesus Christ in your hearts...” This precise form, an imperative telling the reader to “sanctify” or “set apart” someone or something occurs only here in the New Testament, but it occurs about a dozen times in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures that was the Bible most commonly used by the early church. A few examples can illustrate the sense of the word...

^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.

^ESV Joel 2:15 Blow the trumpet in Zion; consecrate a fast; call a solemn assembly;

^ESV Joel 2:16 gather the people. Consecrate the congregation; assemble the elders; gather the children, even nursing infants. Let the bridegroom leave his room, and the bride her chamber.

^ESV Joel 3:9 Proclaim this among the nations: Consecrate for war; stir up the mighty men. Let all the men of war draw near; let them come up.

Finally, 1 Peter 3:15,  “...but in your hearts regard 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 phrase was often used in setting apart the people for Holy War, to be dedicated to God, available and yielded for the Lord to use. It is used of leading the people into a “solemn assembly,” a time of repentance and contrition, of a time of fasting to put aside the distractions of the flesh and to fix our 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 seeking God, Jesus alone 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. Even in referring 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, 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 enthusiastic, sincere, devoted ambassadors for Christ. Do you know someone who is such a Patriots fan, that as soon as you start talking about football, their expression changes, and the joy just exudes as they share about their team?  That kind of joy should be evident when we talk about Jesus – and much more. We should treasure Him, 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, regardless of the cost, to lift up Jesus as the only way to salvation and to live a life that points others 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, than for doing evil.

     Always ready… Implies preparation, alertness to opportunities. 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 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]! I think Jesus was implying 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 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...”

       I don’t think we should conclude from this that we are expected to have all the answers.  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 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…  This week New England Bible College will begin giving a [free!] course at FBC Waldoboro called “Apologetics.” You can just audit it, and “soak in” as much information as possible, or take it for college or seminary credit. It sounds 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!) Apologetics prepares us to give a reasoned defense of our faith. Why do we believe what we believe? How can we defend our faith from some common questions and objections?  That course will give you some tools to have a more ready response. To some degree all our Bible teaching in Church, Sunday School, and small groups should be helping you to deepen your faith and to have a more ready answer when objections come.  That course 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.  We have some of the best Bible teachers in the world available to us on WBCI... 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.

       “...with gentleness and respect...” I remember someone saying that no one will ever find Christ at the end of an argument. We want to live a life that attracts people to Him, and Peter is telling us that gentle, respectful sharing will go a long way.  People need to know we care, and if we show some humility and respect as we share with them, they are more likely to listen. I read the story of a missionary to China who, the first day of language school was in class. The teacher came into the class, and without saying a word, slowly walked up and down the aisles, between the desks of the student. Finally she returned to the front of the class. “What did you notice?” she asked. The students were baffled, as she hadn’t spoken a word. Finally one student spoke up, “I noticed you were wearing a lovely perfume.” The other students chuckled, and the teacher said, “That is exactly my point. It is going to be quite a while before you can say anything to the people in words they will understand, but even so you can live in such a respectful and gentle way before them that shows Christ in your living. Then your words, when the time comes, will be received more readily.” Sharing the gospel will require at least one meaningful conversation. For that to happen, the permission of two people is needed. Our living, like a fragrant perfume, can earn that permission. We need to be respectful, gentle and discerning, prayerfully engaging those around us with the Good News of Jesus.

      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. Who will see our life the most? Those people we rub shoulders with on a regular basis, our family, friends, neighbors, co-workers... Our living before them lays a foundation for our witness...

What is God saying to me in this passage? Our devotion to Christ should motivate us, regardless of the cost, 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? You may not have filled out your response to the commitment letter I sent out this week. Maybe you left it home, maybe you didn’t even get to your PO Box to pick it up. We want to make sure you have an opportunity to indicate your support for the mission, your determination to serve God as a part of this church. We don’t want anyone to be over extended. But we want everyone to be involved, because that is how God designed His church, many parts, but each one working together. Maybe once a month, standing behind a welcome table. It may be hosting a small group in your home, or being a helper or a teacher in Sunday School or nursery or youth ministry.  It may be joining with us in a “Dare to Care” type ministry on Wednesday night. Whatever it might be, you can’t just be a spectator. God has you here for a reason. This isn’t my idea, it is God’s plan, revealed in Scripture.

       He chose you on purpose, for a purpose. He 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). And it means prayerfully considering those that God has put in your life- the people around you, friends, neighbors, relatives, co-workers, classmates... Always be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in you.  To God be the glory.    Amen.