Victims and Victory

Introduction

Victimhood is something that you seem to hear a lot about these days. You might have even heard it said that we’re living in a “victim culture.” What people typically mean by that is that our culture values victimhood or being a part of an oppressed class to an almost obsessive degree. And there’s certainly some truth to that I think. It does seem if you look at the most progressive ideologies out there, that there’s almost a competition to see who is the most oppressed and persecuted. In a backwards kind of way, the more you can show how much you’ve been marginalized, the more status and sympathy you have. It can feel like people are playing “intersectionality bingo” at times, competing to fit into more protected classes or marginalized groups than others.

It does feel so ridiculous sometimes that it would be easy for Christians, especially “conservative” Christians today, to write the whole victim culture, the whole question of oppression and persecution of certain groups off as just silly. But I think it would be a serious mistake to do that too quickly. It would to be to ignore a very large elephant in the room: that is that the whole concept of winning by being a victim is a thoroughly Christian one. I mean, just think about it for a second: winning the victory by becoming a victim and suffering unjustly; is that not the story of Jesus Christ himself, the story we Christians live by? I don’t think it’s going too far to say that we Christians were the ones who taught Western culture that there was dignity in suffering unjustly. That there could be victory in being a victim.

No, the issue of suffering and persecution is something we have to reckon with. And it's a very confusing time for us to do that. We have to ask questions like, are we Christians a persecuted group? Are we a part of a privileged or persecuting group? Both? And how should we react to suffering and persecution? Fortunately the apostle Peter has timely words to guide Christians in reckoning with just those questions.

The Possibility of Suffering

We modern American Christians have much to learn from 1 Peter, because the Christians he was writing to were in a similar situation to us in some important ways. Peter was writing to communities of Christians scattered throughout the pagan world of Asia Minor. These Christians were a minority in their culture, and a minority that the world around them was still trying to figure out what to do with. Who exactly was this kind-of-Jewish group who seemed to worship a crucified man as though he were a god? They didn’t fit into a neat category, so many were suspicious of them. And it seems that suspicion had already led to persecution and suffering for some Christians. But that persecution was still far from being widespread. This was still before the time of the more severe persecutions that took place from time to time under people like Emperor Nero. This was a Christian church that was still figuring out where it stood in the world.

So in the first couple of verses, Peter walks a tightrope in advising his readers about the attitude they should take toward the possibility of suffering. He carefully guides them to avoid a number of bad reactions to persecution. First he says, “who is there to harm you if you are zealous for good?” In a way, he sort of downplays the possibility that anyone might persecute Christians if they’re living the way that Christ taught. Yes, it’s true that the culture of Greco-Roman paganism was often immoral and inconsistent with the Christian faith and life in many ways. Peter knew it too; in chapter 4 he talks about “what the Gentiles want to do,” namely things like drunkenness, orgies, and lawless idolatry. Obviously these are things Christians can’t take part in. And yet, Peter seems to believe that there is enough common ground between what Christians consider “good” and what pagans think is “good” that they shouldn’t have to expect constant persecution. Peter didn’t want Christians living as though their neighbors are enemies who are constantly out to get them.

In the next sentence, though, Peter acknowledges the possibility that there might be persecution: “even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed.” Clearly he is reminding them of the words of his Lord Jesus from the Beatitudes: “blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Peter doesn’t want Christians to live in constant paranoia about being victimized by the world around them, but he doesn’t want them to naively assume that everything will be sunshine and roses either. He strikes a careful balance between the two.

Once Peter has navigated between two wrong attitudes, he begins to describe the right Christian attitude toward the world: Don’t be afraid of every little thing, and don’t get all worked up, but have an attitude that honors Christ and his holiness by always being ready to explain to anyone who asks what the reason is for the hopeful and non-fearful attitude with which you live your life. And of course that reason is Christ himself. Christians should be eager for any chance the world gives them to talk all about why they have such a cheerful hope and trust in Christ. And just in case anyone was even starting to get the wrong idea, he adds, “yet do it with gentleness and respect.” Peter doesn’t want even an ounce of hostility or anxiety in the attitude of his beloved Christians toward the people around them. He paints a picture of a cheerful, almost breezy attitude, that is not afraid to suffer if need be, but not expecting it around every corner or looking for a fight either. May God grant all of us such an attitude.

Finally Peter throws in another warning and caution about a bad way to suffer. He advises Christians to keep their conscience clean because it is better to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. In other words, if you are suffering or being victimized by others, you’d better make sure that you’re actually suffering for living and believing like a Christian, and not for doing wrong. It is possible that people hate you because you’re a Christian. But it’s also possible that people just dislike you because you haven’t actually been behaving like one. You need to examine your conscience and your life to know the difference.

These words are very relevant to American Christians today. Like the people Peter wrote to, Christians today are figuring out where we stand with the present culture. We’re also moving toward being a minority group in society again, if we aren’t already. That isn’t something that we’re used to. Unlike the Christians Peter wrote to, Christians in the modern West are used to living in a society that has been shaped by Christianity, and where Christians were even in the majority and had a privileged status. That is rapidly changing of course. Christianity is going from being a respected and central aspect of society to being a looked down upon and marginalized group. But the change isn’t complete yet, which puts us Christians in a complicated position. What should our attitude be? Is there persecution coming in the near future?

I don’t know the answer to that, but Peter’s advice still holds true: Persecution is a real possibility, but not a certainty at every moment. So we should adopt that same attitude of cheerful hope, refusing to be hostile to the people around us, and refusing to be afraid or anxious about what they might do. After all, “who is there to harm you if you’re zealous for good?” As hard as it may be to believe sometimes, there is still some common ground between what Christians call good and what the world calls good. Maybe even more than there was in Peter’s day, because so much of modern culture is still shaped by Christian values. It may often be a perverted and incomplete version of Christian values, but there’s some common ground nonetheless. People might think you’re weird or even misguided for living according to Christ’s commands, but most are not out to get you. And if you’re really focused on living as a Christian rather than worried about becoming a victim, they may even ask you for a reason for the hope that you live your life from. And that’s an opportunity we welcome.

Hope and a Clean Conscience

But Peter is not going to just give us an attitude adjustment without talking about where our whole attitude comes from. That’s what the second half of our text is all about: Jesus. Peter has told us that Christians’ life in this world will be characterized by hope and a good conscience. But we can’t lose sight of the fact that our hope and our good conscience comes from the victory of Jesus that is given to us through his death, resurrection and ascension. Our hope, our attitude, and our way of life don’t rest on how good we are at making a defense for the hope that is in us, or on how well we react when others mistreat us, or on how good we are at playing the victim game. Our life and hope rest on the resurrection of Jesus.

That is why Peter says that the waters of Baptism save you “as an appeal to God for a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” Peter has already said that Christians should live out their hope with a good conscience, but that good conscience doesn’t come from your own good behavior; it comes from the resurrection of Jesus. The reason that you can have a good conscience is because your sins are forgiven. All the times in the past that you have done evil rather than good and deserved to suffer for it, all the times you self-righteously wanted to be the persecuted victim and play that game, and even the times you have been hostile to others and persecuted them, all of it has been put to death and left in the tomb with Jesus, because he suffered and was put to death as a sin offering for you.

And Jesus was given new life again by the Spirit, he proclaimed his victory over all the evil spirits who deceive human beings, and he ascended to heaven to live and reign in the presence of God. In doing so, Jesus has given you the same things: a brand new life, victory over sin and evil, and has brought you to God to live before him forever in righteousness, innocence, and blessedness. You have a clean conscience now because your unrighteous deeds have been buried, drowned, so to speak, in the flood of judgment that came upon Christ, and now you share his new life of bold confidence and hope. That’s the gift of Holy Baptism: you share in the benefits of Christ’s death and resurrection. The same waters that drowned your sin have lifted you up and placed you in the ark that is Jesus Christ. He is the life boat that gives you hope and will see you through all the suffering of this life.

And of course, now that you have a good, clean conscience, you should strive to keep it clean by being “zealous for good,” by living with gentleness and respect the way Christ has taught you. Why would you want to go back to doing things you would be ashamed of and looking at everyone with fear and worry? But if and when you do fail again, remember that your Baptism does not go away. It is always there to cleanse you and drown your sin again, and restore your good conscience. That eternal promise of a clean conscience through Christ’s forgiveness is what we live from. It is the only thing that can give you that glorious, cheerful hope that can’t be shaken by fear or suffering.

Conclusion

So are Christians victims? Are we a marginalized group? I think Peter’s advice would be not to waste time worrying about that. Focus instead on the hope you have because you are baptized into Christ. If you live your life from your Baptism, constantly returning to the promise of forgiveness and a clean conscience, being zealous for good, and treating others with gentleness and respect, you’ll have nothing to fear. Yes, you might still suffer. Yes, there are people out there who might mistreat you for following Jesus. But that is still only a mere possibility in comparison with the certainty of God’s promises. Being a victim is a possibility. But being a victor through sharing Christ’s resurrection: That’s a certainty.

In Jesus’ Name. Amen.