A PILGRIM FACING HOSTILITY

Introduction

-[1 Peter 3]

-Since this is Memorial Day weekend, it makes us think of the members of our armed forces who gave the ultimate sacrifice so that we could enjoy the freedoms that we too often have taken for granted. These brave men and women willingly went into hostile territory to fight the good fight for the nation and the people. With courage and steadfastness, they met open hostility and fulfilled their duty.

~I see this as a picture or metaphor for what we as Christians will be facing in the years to come, especially considering what the world will supposedly recognize and celebrate this next month. They like to call this next month Pride Month, but what they celebrate is not something to be proud of. What we have found as the tides have turned away from God to debauchery, is that they not only openly celebrate sin, but they have also become very openly and publically hostile toward those who dare oppose their agenda. Make no mistake about it, they want us silenced one way or another. And, yes, it might come to the point where we too have to make the ultimate sacrifice for standing for God’s truth and righteousness.

-As this culture and nation becomes more and more given into sin and openly hostile toward God, Christ, the Bible, and our faith, how do we live? How do we carry on in the face of growing hostility? We are more than able to stand tall and stand firm in an openly hostile environment because we are in Christ and we are on the right side of eternity. But while we are pilgrims sojourning on this earth, living in this environment is not easy. It is not for the faint of heart, and it is definitely not for the weak in faith.

-What we want to learn from our passage today is that we can live without fear in a world that grows more hostile to our faith because of what we possess and because of whose possession we are. If you remember nothing else, just remember that.

1 Peter 3:13–22 NET 2nd ed.

13 For who is going to harm you if you are devoted to what is good? 14 But in fact, if you happen to suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. But do not be terrified of them or be shaken. 15 But set Christ apart as Lord in your hearts and always be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks about the hope you possess. 16 Yet do it with courtesy and respect, keeping a good conscience, so that those who slander your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame when they accuse you. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if God wills it, than for doing evil. 18 Because Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, to bring you to God, by being put to death in the flesh but by being made alive in the spirit. 19 In it he went and preached to the spirits in prison, 20 after they were disobedient long ago when God patiently waited in the days of Noah as an ark was being constructed. In the ark a few, that is eight souls, were delivered through water. 21 And this prefigured baptism, which now saves you—not the washing off of physical dirt but the pledge of a good conscience to God—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who went into heaven and is at the right hand of God with angels and authorities and powers subject to him.

-[pray]

-vv. 13-14 give us the subject matter and theme of this particular passage. In the passage right before this one, Peter told us that to truly obtain the good life, we actually give our life away and do good to other people. The good life is one of serving others, not in living selfishly. He now says in v. 13 FOR WHO IS GOING TO HARM YOU IF YOU ARE DEVOTED TO DOING GOOD? Peter is not saying that we will somehow be specially protected if we do good. Peter is looking to the end judgment. He is saying that ultimately, if we follow Christ and do good in His name, we will not be destroyed, because even if we are killed we come out the winner.

-Knowing, therefore, that no one visible or invisible can do us ultimate harm, he says in v. 14 to continue to take our stand do what is right on this earth, even if we suffer for it because we will be eternally blessed. And then quoting Isaiah 8:12 Peter exhorts us DO NOT BE TERRIFIED OF THEM OR BE SHAKEN. As Isaiah was told not to fear the advancing Assyrian armies, neither are we to let the enemies of the cross cause us to fear such that we back down or stand down. We do not need to fear the hostility of sinners in this hostile environment.

-But, for most of us, that sounds easier said than done. We are not used to being in hostile environments or being on the receiving end of hostility, so as the heat ratchets up, fear might be our first response. Peter tells us NO, YOU NEED NOT FEAR AND YOU NEED NOT BACK DOWN. This leads us to the question: How can we live without fear in the face of increasing hostility? Peter uses the rest of this passage to answer this question. Let’s look at four lessons on how we can live without fear in the face of increasing hostility:

1) Concede that Christ is your Lord (v. 15a)

-To concede means to surrender, to give in, to yield to a truth—and there is a certain truth that we need to yield ourselves to if we are to live without fear. In the beginning of v. 15 Peter says that we are to SET CHRIST APART AS LORD IN OUR HEARTS. Some translations might say to sanctify Christ as Lord in our hearts. Peter is saying that you must not just know the truth that Jesus is Lord, but decide to live like Jesus is Lord.

-This first begins by believing in Jesus Christ for salvation—that Jesus died for you and rose for you. But you must believe in Jesus rightly, and throughout Scripture the exhortation is to believe in the LORD Jesus Christ and be saved. Adrian Rogers said that we cannot have what He GIVES unless we first accept what He IS. He is Lord, meaning Master, meaning our ultimate sovereign. You cannot have Him as Savior without having Him as Lord.

-But then setting Jesus apart as Lord also means that our loyalty to Christ trumps our loyalty to anything and everything else. We ought to be loyal to our family, but our loyalty to Jesus comes first. We ought to be loyal to our church, but our loyalty to Jesus comes first. With this loyalty comes the reverence and awe that is due to Him. But listen to this—if we fear and revere the Lord as we ought, we would have no place to fear what mankind would do to us. We wouldn’t be as concerned about what man can do to us if we would first consider what the Lord wants from us. That is why Jesus said:

Matthew 10:28 NET 2nd ed.

28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the one who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

-Concern yourself more with the matters of your Lord than of the world, and the things of this world will grow strangely dim. But it is not only a matter of fear, but also a matter of trust and love. His lordship is not a matter of tyranny, but one of love and mercy and goodness. When Jesus is set apart as Lord, we recognize that He alone is our refuge and protection. If Jesus is my Lord, then we join the psalmist in saying:

Psalm 118:6 NET 2nd ed.

6 The Lord is on my side; I am not afraid. What can people do to me?

-Setting Jesus apart as Lord means I recognize that He sovereignly controls every detail of the world and, personally, every detail of my life. Nothing is going to happen to me that the Lord does not will, and if I belong to Him I will not be destroyed. If I die, I go to Him. If I live, I live for Him. But I get this perspective and live it out only when I concede that Christ is my Lord. As Alexander Maclaren wrote: “Only he who can say, ‘The Lord is the strength of my life’ can go on to say, ‘Of whom shall I be afraid?’” Fear flees when we yield to Christ as Lord.

-It made me think of the Lion King movie when young Simba is trapped by the hyenas. He tries to scare them away with a roar, but it comes out barely louder than a meow. Then all of a sudden this gigantic roar comes out of nowhere scattering the hyenas in fear as the King had come to the rescue.

-We have no power on our own, but when the King has our back, what is there to fear? The question is do we live like He is the King? Do we live like we have a Lord? Until we set Him apart as the Lord, fear will continue to haunt us.

2) Consider the truthfulness of your faith (vv. 15b-17)

-The last half of v. 15 tells us to ALWAYS BE READY TO GIVE AN ANSWER / DEFENSE TO ANYONE WHO ASKS ABOUT THE HOPE WE POSSESS. This is a Christian apologists go-to verse. What Peter is saying that as you navigate the hostility of the world, and you suffer for your faith, and the world sees you suffering with grace and dignity and hope and strength, they might ask you how you can react in such a way (how you can maintain hope)? Be ready to tell them why you are able to cling to hope.

-Be prepared to tell them the source of your hope and faith and why it is the truth. That means you need to know what you believe and why you believe it. And this is important, because if you truly consider the faith and study the faith, the more convinced you will be of its truthfulness because all evidence points to it. What helps us to dispel the fear in a hostile environment is knowing that we have the truth, this truth can be demonstrated, and nothing that anybody can try to do to us will ever change that truth.

-People try to tell us that it’s pretty intolerant to make the claim that we possess exclusive truth, and all other philosophies and religions are wrong. It is no more intolerant to claim the exclusive truth of Christianity than it is to claim the exclusive truth of 2 + 2 = 4 (although, there are some people who try, and they are wrong about that just as they are wrong about their religion and philosophy).

-If you take all the data from philosophy, from history, from science, from Scripture, and you attempt to have certain worldviews make sense of it all, there is only one worldview that can give the answer that takes it all into account—biblical Christianity. Only biblical Christianity can make sense of origin and meaning and morals and destiny. Only Christianity can give the answer because only Christianity has the answer. We hold on to the truth—why should we fear?

-And so, Peter tells us that since we have the truth, we are able to tell others why that truth gives us hope. But we don’t argue with people in mean-spirited ways. We don’t argue just to argue. We give our answer with courtesy and respect (v. 16), and live in light of the truth, keeping a good conscience as our good conduct backs up our arguments and reasons. And our good conduct ought to cause shame when they slander us—if not on the earth, then in the day of judgment. And even if we still suffer, then let us suffer from doing good and speaking truth in love, not for doing evil and acting like jerks (v. 17). Possessing truth dispels fear.

-If I’m taking a math test that covers just one subject, and I know the truthfulness of that subject, and I know the ins and outs of that subject, I shouldn’t fear taking the test. If the test is on the Pythagorean Theorem, and I know the Pythagorean Theorem, and I can apply the Theorem, and I know that it speaks truth, I wouldn’t fear taking the test. I know the truth, and when you are on the side of truth you need not fear.

-If you know God through Christ, you know the truth and you are on the side of truth. If you hold to a biblical Christian worldview, you know the truth and are on the side of truth. And the truth sets you free to live without fear because you belong to the one who is the truth and way and life. So, when fear of coming hostility starts to creep into your heart, tell that fear that you know the truth and will live according to that truth.

3) Commit your destiny to the gospel message (v. 18)

-v. 18 gives us a succinct summary of the gospel message. Peter introduces it reminding us that Jesus Himself faced hostile situations from hostile forces. But God used that hostility to bring about the greatest blessing mankind could ever know—salvation from sin. Jesus suffered and died—the only righteous man to ever live giving Himself in the place of unrighteous sinners. He who knew no sin became sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God. He died in the flesh and was raised back to life by the Holy Spirit so that we could be brought to God.

-For those who believe in Jesus, their destiny has been altered, because now they are children of God who will be brought to Him in the heaven of God and be in His presence for all of eternity. Those in Christ are not condemned to judgment, and are the eternal recipients of peace and hope. But those who do not believe have already been condemned—their sin falling under God’s justice.

-What does this have to do with suffering in a hostile world? Everything. Because our eternal destiny is secured in Christ, and we have the assurance that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ, there is nothing this world can do to us that would change that fact. Humanity’s greatest fear ought to be falling into the hands of the Living God and suffering under His wrath. That ought to be the entire world’s fear, and it ought to cause them to seek out His mercies which He gives abundantly in Christ. But it doesn’t. But those of us who are in Christ do not have that fear because our debt was paid.

-Compared to God’s wrath, there is nothing we need to fear. The gospel took care of my biggest problem. Like I quoted from Psalm 118, what can mortal man do to me? Those in the world might say: we’re gonna make you suffer because of your faith. Well:

Romans 8:18 NET 2nd ed.

18 For I consider that our present sufferings cannot even be compared to the coming glory that will be revealed to us.

Well, we’ll kill you then:

Philippians 1:21 NET 2nd ed.

21 For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain.

-Well then, we’re going to.... You’re going to what? There’s nothing you can do to me to change my eternal destination once I’m in Christ.

-There’s a lot of things that can change in the world. As the saying goes: the only constant is change. I have programs constantly telling me to change my password. I might look in the mirror and see I need to make some changes in my physical appearance. The packaging on some of my favorite food items change. Restaurants change their menu. Change is ever occuring.

-But the only thing that can’t change is my eternal destination when I’m in Christ. Why should I fear those who can’t change my eternity. And just to help us bolster this...

4) Celebrate Christ’s victory over all enemies (vv. 19-22)

-vv. 19-22 is one of the most discussed passages by scholars trying to figure out what in the world it says and means. It talks about prisoners, Noah, baptism, angels. This thing is all over the map. One view says that it’s talking about Christ going to hell after His death and giving the souls there a second chance to believe. This passage is definitely not saying that.

-The most common views are that it’s talking about the Spirit of God preaching repentance through Noah to souls imprisoned in sin in the days leading up to the flood. Or, it’s talking about Christ preaching His victory to the demons imprisoned in chains because of their shenanigans in Genesis 6 with the whole Sons of God marrying daughters of men thing. Whichever view you prefer, I think it leads to the same thing…namely, v. 22 just tops it all off. Either way, Christ died and rose again, and He went to heaven and is seated in the seat of kingly authority, and all angels and powers and authorities (whether they are visible or invisible) are now subject to Him.

-We return to where we began—the sovereign Lord sits in power and has claimed victory over all enemies—whether human or demonic. Paul elsewhere talks about how Christ’s death and resurrection in essence made a spectacle, a laughingstock, out of all the power of darkness. All of Christ’s enemies have been placed under His feet. They are all defeated foes. When someone is hostile toward us because of our faith, they just haven’t figured out yet that they’ve been defeated. And if they don’t repent, they’re defeat is eternal.

-If all these power have already been defeated, why would we fear them? Why fear a defeated foe?

-I was reading an article about 500 Japanese soldiers being attacked and killed by saltwater crocodiles in Burma during WWII. Those things can be dangerous. But if there was this 20-foot crocodile and all of its teeth were pulled out, its snout was muzzled, all its feet were securely tied together, and there was a large chain wrapped around the length of its body holding it to the ground. You wouldn’t fear that beast because it has been defeated and the threat neutralized.

-There is nothing that any human or demon can do to us to ultimately hurt us. They are all defeated foes. So, instead of walking in fear of their hostility, walk in the victory that Christ has secured for us.

Conclusion

-I’ll close with this: how hostile is the ways of the world to our faith:

Robert Hoogland was a father in Canada with a teenage daughter. Although she was biologically female, she identified as a trans male. The dad insisted on calling her his daughter and he was arrested for misgendering his own child. There was another incident in England where Isabel Spruce was praying silently near an abortion clinic. Police confronted her and asked her if she was praying. She responded, “I might be praying in my head” after which she was promptly arrested for silently praying, saying it violated the Public Space Protection Order.

-This is the world we live in, and if you don’t think it will happen here you need to wake up. But when it does, we need not fear because we have a Lord who loves us, we have the truth on our side, we have a gospel that saves, and we ultimately have the victory.

-Christian, come to the altar, pray for strength, pray for our nation, pray that the church stands strong, and pray for the repentance of those who are hostile toward us, because God desires their repentance.

-If you are not a Christian you are destined for judgment, but that is something you can change. Repent and believe in the LORD Jesus and be saved...