SEVEN ESSENTIALS IN SUFFERING FOR JESUS – 1 Peter 3:13-16
Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on July 7, 2013 under 2013 |
Preached Sunday, July 7, 2013 from 1 Peter 3:13-16
Theme: This passage gives us seven essentials that must be in our lives if we would suffer for Jesus to His glory.
(Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version; copyright 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc.)
I truly love this letter to persecuted Christians! I’m glad the Spirit of God has preserved it for us. I hope you are too. It’s a powerful encouragement for us who seek to follow Jesus in the often difficult days in which we live.
Most recently, we have studied what the apostle’s letter told us about how we are to handle ourselves when we’re made to suffer for our faith. Peter urged his readers to make sure that they don’t respond to those who mistreat them in the same way they are treated by them. As followers of Jesus, we are not to return evil for evil, or insult for insult. Instead, we’re to bless those who mistreat us. We are to do as Jesus Himself taught us to do; that is, to love our enemies. That bears a powerful testimony to them.
And now, in this morning’s passage, you might say that after Peter writes about what not do to, he goes on to speak of what to do instead. He tells us how to respond to those who mistreat us so that we suffer for the Lord Jesus in a way that brings Him glory and honor. In 1 Peter 3:13-16, he writes;
And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. “And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.” But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed (1 Peter 3:13-16).
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We shouldn’t be surprised whenever genuine believers in Jesus are made to suffer in this dark and fallen world for being identified with Him The Lord Jesus Himself even taught us that this is something we should expect. “If they persecuted Me,” He said, “they will also persecute you” (John 15:20). Being persecuted for our faith not something unusual.
But neither is it something purposeless. Our suffering for Jesus is something that the sovereign Lord uses to advance His testimony in this world—if we will be what we ought to be in the midst of it!
The person who is writing this instruction to us—the apostle Peter—is someone who knew a thing or two about that. He was a bold preacher of the gospel who often suffered for his proclamation of Christ. But it wasn’t always so. He was also someone who blew it terribly. Do you remember that time, just before He went to the cross for us, that the Lord Jesus told His disciples that He would be struck—and that they all would scatter from Him? Peter was one of the disciples who boldly and confidently exclaimed, “Not me, Lord! Everyone else may deny You, but I never will!” Jesus told him, “Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times” (Matthew 26:34). Peter went on to say—and I believe that he sincerely meant it—that even if he had to die for Jesus, he would never deny Him. We always wince a little bit when when we read of him saying those, don’t we? We know what happened next. After Jesus was arrested in the garden, this same Peter who was certain that He would die for Jesus was so afraid—even of a little servant girl—that he denied three times that he knew Him.
You would be tempted to think that Peter was not the person to write a letter like the one we’re studying—one that encourages other Christians to stand strong for the Lord in their day. But in fact, he was the perfect person to write it. The Holy Spirit transformed him—just as He can transform you and me—and made him into a bold witness for Jesus. Do you remember further how, after the Lord Jesus was raised from the dead and the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost, Peter preached the gospel of Jesus boldly to the very people who had nailed the Lord to the cross? The leaders of the Jews apprehended Peter and John and told them to stop preaching about Jesus to the people. And they responded by saying—very respectfully, I believe; but very firmly and boldly—“Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:19-20).
I believe that the apostle Peter—this man who once, out of fear, had denied the Lord Jesus; but who later, in the power of the Holy Spirit, boldly proclaimed Him and laid down his life for Him—is the perfect person to tell us how to suffer for the Lord Jesus in our own day in a way that brings glory to Him.
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In this morning’s passage, Peter gives us seven essentials that are necessary to suffer for Jesus in a way that brings Him glory and advances His cause.
Notice first that we must have . . .
1. CONFIDENCE IN RIGHTEOUSNESS (v. 13).
Peter starts off this section in verse 13 by asking, “And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good?” The word that he uses for “harm” in this verse is really the word for “evil”. It’s the same word he used in verse 12; when he wrote, “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers; but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” Even though the Lord promises to punish those who do evil, we could naturally expect that—if we are followers of what is “good”—almost no one would actually want to harm us.
And for that reason, I believe the apostle Peter appeals to us to be people who truly follow after that which is good. We should be a people who earnestly desire that which is considered to be just and equitable and fair and honorable in the sight of all people. In fact; even though the translation I’m using speaks of being “followers of what is good”, the actual word in the Greek is much more intense than that. It literally says that we are to be “zealots” for what is good. We’re to be very passionate for it; and very committed to seeking it; and very sacrificial in our pursuit of it.
I believe that we do one of the the best thing that we can do to protect ourselves from harm in an ungodly world when we make sure we’re a people who are truly zealous for good works. It can give us great confidence in a dark and difficult time. “The wicked flee when no one pursues,” Proverbs 28:1 says; “But the righteous are bold as a lion.”
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Now; we can expect—generally speaking—that if we would zealously pursue what is good, no one would want to harm us. But in a fallen world such as this one, we know that this just isn’t always so. Peter recognizes that there may be times when—even though we sincerely seek to live righteously—someone may still seek to harm us for it.
But this leads to yet another essential in suffering for Jesus; and that is . . .
2. HAPPINESS IN HOPE (v. 14a).
In verse 14, Peter says, “But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed.”
You should know that, in the original language, the word that Peter uses for “blessed” is the same word that is used in the section of our Lord’s Sermon on The Mount that we refer to as the Beatitudes. It’s a word that means “very happy”. Even if we do have to suffer at times for righteousness sake, Peter reminds us that we have reason to be very, very happy. We have cause to rejoice in great hope.
I believe that Peter is intentionally drawing our thoughts to what the Lord Jesus said in the Beatitudes—back in Matthew 5:10-12—when He said;
“Blessed [that is, how very happy] are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed [how very happy] are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:10-12).
Do you realize why you are “blessed” when you suffer for righteousness sake—and why you should jump for joy over it? It’s because you have a great reward in heaven! That’s one of the most important “essentials” we can have when we’re called to suffer for Jesus—a glorious happiness in the hope that is laid up for us in heaven. Every time someone calls you a vile name for being a follower of Jesus; every time someone slanders you as an evildoer when you seek to be faithful to His instructions in the Bible; every time someone punishes you in some way for speaking a good word for Him in this world, you should be very happy, and smile, and—I almost dare to say—thank them! They have just made you richer in future heavenly glory!
It’s so important that we make sure we cling to this ‘happiness in hope’ when we stand for the Lord Jesus.
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A third essential that Peter points out to us is that of . . .
3. FEARLESSNESS UNDER THREAT (v. 14b).
In verse 14, he goes on to say, “And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.” And do you notice that, in your Bible, this is put in quote-marks or in italics? That’s because Peter is here quoting from Isaiah 8:12. It was a call to God’s people to have courage in Isaiah’s day; and Peter is exhorting his Jewish Christian kinsmen to have the same sort of courage also in their day—and exhorting us to have that courage in our day too.
I have to admit, this is something that wouldn’t come naturally for me. I am by nature a timid person who hates to have people mad at me. When I read these words, I often think of what the Lord had to say to the prophet Jeremiah when He first called him to his ministry. God told him, “Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’ for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and whatever I command you, you shall speak” (Jeremiah 1:7). If you read the book of Jeremiah, you’d know that God called the prophet Jeremiah to say some of the most difficult things imaginable to his fellow Jewish people; and he had to suffer horribly for it. I’m not a ‘youth’ anymore; and so, often tell young preaching students that, before they commit themselves to being faithful preachers of God’s word, they’d better read through Jeremiah carefully first and make sure they really want to do that! It can be a fearful work to have to do at times. I can understand it perfectly when the Lord had to go on to command Jeremiah, “Do not be afraid of their faces, for I am with you to deliver you,’ says the Lord” (v. 8). Sometimes, when we stand for our Lord in this fallen world, the face of those who oppose us can be horribly intimidating.
Yet; I’d like to suggest to you that one of the most important elements in our faithful witness to Jesus Christ—and also one that we don’t give enough attention to—is the power of courage to testify to the validity of our faith. When we display confidence in the Lord to have His hand on us when we proclaim Him—and are fearless while under threat for doing so—we bear witness of the truth of the gospel. The apostle Paul made this point powerfully in his letter to the Philippians when he wrote;
Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel, and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that from God. For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, having the same conflict which you saw in me and now hear is in me (Philippians 1:27-30).
When people see us standing boldly and faithfully for the Lord Jesus—even when we’re threatened for doing so—they can tell that Jesus is real, and that we truly are in fellowship with Him! Unbelieving people marvel at those who are so boldly confident in Christ; and realize—as those who threatened Peter and John also realized—“that they had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13).
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Now; these three things—’confidence in righteousness’, ‘happiness in hope’, fearlessness under threat’—you might say are all ‘essential habits of attitude‘. But next, Peter wrote of what we might call ‘essential habits of action‘. These are things that, being of the right mindset in a time of suffering, we’re to also ‘do’.
The first that Peter gives to us is that of . . .
4. SANCTIFICATION OF CHRIST (v. 15a).
In verse 15, Peter writes, “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts . . .”
To “sanctify” basically means ‘to set someone apart as special or holy’. And the most reliable texts of the original Greek have it that the focus is on Christ Himself. We are to sanctify Christ Himself as Lord. But doesn’t that seem like a strange thing to tell us to do?—to ‘set Jesus apart as special and holy’? Isn’t He already set apart as ‘special’? Isn’t He already ‘holy’? Isn’t He already ‘Lord of all’? How could it be that we could add anything to that? How could we ‘sanctify’ Him?
Well; He truly is already ‘set apart’ as Lord. But He may not yet be fully set apart as Lord ‘in our hearts’ as He should be. He may be a part of our lives; but He may not yet be the chief part. He may be ‘in us’; but only as one of many things we value in our lives. He may not yet be the chief of all that we value. He may not yet be seated upon ‘the throne’ of all that we are and have. And if we want be useful for the Lord Jesus as we should be in a time of suffering for Him, we need to climb off the throne of our own hearts and place Him upon the throne as Lord instead—where He truly belongs.
Jesus Himself said something about why this is important. He told us;
“Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels” (Mark 8:34-38).
When Jesus is truly ‘set apart as Lord’ in our hearts, then certain things happen in our times of suffering for Him. We will faithfully go where He wants us to go in those times of suffering, and say the things that He wants us to say in them. We will follow His commands and instructions in the midst of them. We will recognize Him to be the complete Sovereign over our lives—free to do with us as He sees fit. But we’ll also recognize Him to continually be Lord over the circumstances of our suffering. We will recognize that those circumstances will never exceed His sovereign control; and will never thwart His good plan for us. They instead only serve the good plan that He has for us—and for those who hear us.
Let me pause here and ask—has Jesus Christ truly been set apart as Lord in your heart? I don’t mean to ask whether or not you have trusted Him as your Savior. I mean more than that. I mean to ask whether He is your Lord. Perhaps He was set apart as Lord in your heart at one time; but you have, over time, pushed Him aside and resumed the place on the throne that is meant only for Him. If that’s the case, this would be a very good day to tell Him you are sorry and to offer the throne of your heart back to Him again.
You simply cannot be what the Lord Jesus would want you to be in a time of suffering for His sake, unless He is truly set apart as Lord of your whole being!
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That, I would suggest to you, must be the absolute first ‘essential habit of action’ when seeking to live for Jesus in a dark and hostile world. And when He is seated on the throne of our hearts as He should be, we should get ready. People will want to know what it is that is so different about us.
This leads us to the next essential . . .
5. READINESS IN TESTIMONY (v. 15b).
After urging us to sanctify Christ as Lord in our hearts, he says, “. . . and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you . . .”
By the way, dear brothers and sisters; are you ready? When someone comes up to you and says, “Hey; I notice that—even though you’re being treated badly—you still seem so calm and happy. Why is that?”, are you ready to give an answer? Sometimes, we’re not ready—and we get caught off-guard, and stumble around a bit; and say, “Well; I’m just that way, I guess”—instead of bearing a clear testimony for our Lord.
We need to learn to be ready to give an answer—literally, a verbal defense—for the hope that is in us. That doesn’t mean that you have to be an expert in theology; or that you have to know how to answer every perplexing philosophic question that is put to you. It just means that, when people see the evidence of the hope you have in Christ and ask you about it, you’re always ready to tell them why it’s there. I would recommend that you make such a priority of this that you prepare for it well in advance. Have you ever tried to write down the brief story of how you came to know Jesus Christ as your Savior on a single sheet of paper, and think it through so you can share it clearly in a couple of minutes? Have you ever rehearsed the telling of it in your mind? Or better still, have you ever practiced telling it to another brother or sister; so they can help you make it clear?
Whatever you are ready for, you’re more likely to do. So; get into the habit of always being ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.
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But beware. Some people have become real experts in the first part of verse 15, but have neglected what we’re told in the last part of it. It’s essential that we have a readiness in our testimony; but it’s also essential that we exhibit . . .
6. GENTLENESS IN MANNER (v. 15c).
Peter says that we are to give the reason for our hope “with meekness and fear . . .” Meekness, of course, doesn’t mean ‘weakness’; and the ‘fear’ is not a matter of being afraid of the people to whom we speak. ‘Meekness’ has to do with the intentional gentleness of our approach to people—and the thoughtful, courteous and respectful way we treat those who inquire into our faith. And ‘fear’ has to do with reverence toward God—and the respectful way we talk about the things of our Lord.
Nothing makes people interested in our Lord like the hope that they see us have in a time of suffering. And nothing turns them off faster than to see us be insensitive and harsh in the way we respond to their interest. The apostle Paul once wrote;
And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will (2 Timothy 2:24-26).
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And along with that, Peter adds the essential of . . .
7. INNOCENCE IN CONDUCT (v. 16).
People don’t just pay attention to our words. They pay very close attention to our walk. And so, Peter adds, ” . . . having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed.” This is very much like what he said earlier in his letter;
Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation (1 Peter 2:11-12).
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Dear brothers and sisters in Christ; when God allows us to suffer harm because of our devotion to the Lord Jesus, let’s not look at it as an unusual thing. But more—let’s go so far as to look at it as an opportunity from the sovereign God by which He is working through us to expand the kingdom of His Son.
Let’s build these essentials into our lives and be the kind of people He wants us to be in those times of suffering. Then, those times can be used to advance Jesus’ glory!
