1 Peter 3:8-17

Relationships-gospel living

Last week, we talked about the mission of making disciples. For Christians, the mission of God is of utmost importance.

Theres lots of things in life we get to be a part of and enjoy:

Sports

Family

Friends

Fishing, Hunting, going to the lake

Riding horses

but our command is: DON’T LET ANYTHING compromise the mission.

This is the command that all our relationships should be submerged in - the mission to make disciples (to see others worship God)

SO...

Lets ask a hard question:

When people are around you, what does it compel them to do?

Worship God

Rebel

Not really anything

The answer to this question reveals a lot about our hearts

1 Peter 3:8–17 ESV

8 Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. 9 Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. 10 For “Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; 11 let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. 12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” 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 honor 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; yet do it with gentleness and respect, 16 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.

Maybe walk through 8 to 12, approaching 15.

Slowly walk through 15,

moving to a defense of the hope that is in me, personally.

Apologetics have built my faith.

The resurrection is one of the main things my hope hinges on.

I have to have faith when I come across paradoxes in the bible.

I have to have faith when the natural science says miracles and bible stories aren't true.

But evidential and presup apologetics is what has strengthened my faith.

Theres lots of books on “evidences” apologetics that are great:

Case for Christ

Evidence that demands a verdict

Presup is one that doesnt get talked about a lot, but has preserved my faith in the hardest of times, when ive been pushed the most.

The basis of presup is that people dont need more evidence to believe, they need to repent and believe.

It acknowledges that sin and rebellion is peoples big issue, not that they need more evidence to believe.

Romans 1:18–32 ESV

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. 24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. 26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. 28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

This doesn’t undermine that people like Lee Strobel said he looked at the evidence and believed. It all works together to see people come to Christ,

Guys like that prove that we aren’t just asking people to drink the koolaid and have dumb blind faith,

but at the end of the day,

Peoples sin, peoples disbelief is the problem, not God.

Define Presup

Presupposition - a thing or idea that is assumed before hand at the beginning of a line of thought or argument.

Example:

Matthew 20:20–21 ESV

20 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something. 21 And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.”

What did the mom presuppose?

So presup apologetics is:

Its arguing with ideas instead of evidence.

Im saying that the bible says,

Christianity is the idea above ideas because God is.

Isaiah 40:8 ESV

8 The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.

Isaiah 40:18–19 ESV

18 To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him? 19 An idol! A craftsman casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and casts for it silver chains.

No other God (g capitlized on purpose)

Isaiah

37:16

37:20

43:10

44:6

44:8

45:5

45:6

45:14

45:18

45:21

45:22

46:9

64:4

This is where it gets good for my soul

In philosophy, for a worldview or belief to be complete, it must not borrow from another belief.

If it does borrow, it doesn’t make it totally irrelevant or without truth, it just cannot be trusted to be the absolute truth.

Presup apologetics argues that because God is complete and so christianity is complete.

Therefore, Christianity does not borrow from any other worldview to stand on its on and be complete.

Natural science has to borrow from some other view to explain why the entire world is not natural selection.

If natural selection was true, love would only be a chemical process that is used to continue the species or manipulate the game to be the strongest to survive.

Yet soldiers give their life for their brothers in war.

People make fools of themselves for love

If natural selection were true, based on how God calls his people to live, his people would have been wiped out thousands of years ago. The church thrives when its persecuted without fighting back.

Actually the world would have not beauty because the only ones that would exist would be the ones that dangerous and killer enough to wipe the rest of us out.

(maybe even mention organization to chaos instead of chaos to organization, so has to borrow from another view to explain why natural rips itself apart and rots and men build against it)

Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and many other world views have an issue. No one is good enough to make it to a perfect God.

Buddhism and Islam say just try, but

Hinduism is pretty consistent to its world view. It says you just keep being reborn trying to get there.

Not going to pick apart every religion.

Lets look at presup a little further.

So what about errors or contradictions in bible? What about miracles?

The rules of Philosophy allow for paradoxes

(even if it looks like a contradiction, this leaves room for another explanation that we dont know right now.)

this is where the belief thing comes in, because it doesnt matter how well you argue on specific “contradictions”, my experience is that if someone doesnt want to believe, they wont.

Example:

Older, distinguished people

Ever argued with one? (andy its kind of like arguing with a teenager or a 3 year old)

Grandpa with wipers at walmart

My policy on selling heat pumps to old people

Music

The miracles? This is maybe where I have found the most hope. People will make fun of miracles, like Jonah and the well.

But God says its true, the reason i can live with that, is that christianity is complete. It may have some crazy stuff, but it is complete without reliance on outside help.

We have an answer for origins (Genesis)

We have an answer for organization to chaos

we have an answer for geography (the flood)

we have the answer to languages (babel)

we have the answer to the way time breaks down (BC and AD),

we have the answer for how its going to end in very good detail,

we have the answer for when (the father knows),

we have the answer for how to live in harmony in society (the law and the greatest law in NT) and

we have the answer for the most basic need, how to live forever with God.

That guards my faith, but that doesnt necessarily explain the hope in my heart.

Hope comes from belief and supernatural work of the holy spirit to remind you through God’s word and things around you.

John 16:33 ESV

33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

Romans 8 ESV

1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. 12 So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. 18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. 26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. 31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

1 Peter 3:13–17 ESV

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 honor 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; yet do it with gentleness and respect, 16 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.

Hes saying, based on what the world believes:

Dog eat dog

the gods will save you

try harder, fight harder

your conditions should not be producing hope right now.

BUT IT IS!!!

So tell the world why, because thats what brings others hope. Jesus Christ!