1 Peter #8
The Book of 1 Peter • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Transcript
Introduction:
Introduction:
Connection:
The Good Life—everyone’s desire—everyone’s ignorance.
Theme
Blessings, the Good Life, and Apologetics
Need:
We need to let God’s Word speak to our Greatest Needs, and we need to live and speak God’s Word to the world’s Greatest Needs. We need to be equipped and empowered for faithful and fruitful witness in suffering.
Purpose
To exhort the church to unity and love, to instruct the church in the good life, to comfort the church in the hope of the Gospel, and to equip the church to faithfully defend the faith, even in suffering.
Read Text:
1 Peter 3:8-17 ESV
PRAY - PRAY - PRAY - PRAY
(1) We must be Unified in Heart and Mind for God’s Blessings - v. 8-9
(1) We must be Unified in Heart and Mind for God’s Blessings - v. 8-9
Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. 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.
After some exhortations in the Christian life about submission—submission to the government, submission to masters, and submission to husbands—now the Apostle directs the entire church toward submission to Christ the Lord in suffering and witness. In fact, this is the main theme of the Book of 1 Peter—encouraging a suffering church to persevere in their faith and witness for Christ as elect exiles in this evil and fallen world.
We’ve seen how we are to live before the world (as morally beautiful saints), we’ve seen how we are to live personally (killing the sin of our evil hearts), we’ve seen how we are to live in our families (with loving order and service), and now Peter wants to show us how to live in our churches (with unity of heart and mind).
He says that we are to have “unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind “(v. 8). We are to be unified in our mind in what we confess to be true, sympathetic in our hearts toward each others hardships, filled with brotherly love and affection as the family of God, compassionate in our hearts toward each other, and humble and meek in our confession of faith. All of these Christ-like and Spirit-filled virtues are what compose a healthy church family who is living for the glory of God.
This is why we adopted a statement of faith, because we must be unified in a bold but humble mind in the faith once and for all delivered to the saints.
This is why we must have a high view of church membership, because of the duties of sympathy, love, and compassionate hearts that extends far beyond the Sunday gathering.
Church health goes no farther than spiritual health—and spiritual health goes no farther than our devotion to Christ—and our growth in grace and knowledge is a sign of God’s blessings upon us by His Holy Spirit.
How are we doing as a church family?. Can you look at the person sitting beside you and say: We are unified in mind, sympathetic in pain, filled with brotherly love, joined with a tender heart, and united with a humble mind. Is that true of us at Calvary Bible Church? Do we have a vibrant culture of discipleship—do we have a vibrant culture of members who love to deny themselves and serve their church family? Do we have a vibrant culture of serious joy combined with zealous holiness? Do we know what we are struggling with? Do we know what sins we are wrestling with? Do we know how to help each other? Do we know how to counsel each other? How closely are we walking together in the Lord? How superficial is our unity? How deep is our unity? Is our unity based upon word only? Or action and deed and truth and Scripture and the Holy Spirit? How spiritual rich is our communion of saints? How spiritually healthy is our congregation?
These are the kind of questions we must be asking. We must not be content with where we are spiritually—we must always and evermore be striving for greater levels of the presence, power, blessings, and graces of our Triune God. We must seek Him diligently, in our prayer closets, in our prayer meetings, and in our corporate prayers. We must beseech the Lord, we must wrestle with the Lord, we must persevere in the Lord. Why? Because we are in ever need of God lavishing us with greater spiritual blessings, with greater levels of sanctification, with more holiness, love, joy, peace, unity, compassion, humility, and sympathy.
Jesus—the head of the church—is worthy of a healthy church—for we are His bridegroom, we are His body, and we are His people. We must be delightfully holy, as He is delightfully holy. God help us to walk in the joys of the Lord, together, that our identity would be less of a ‘me, me, me’, and more of an ‘us, us, us’. “How blessed is it when the brothers dwell in unity” (Ps. 133).
Well, how do we receive God’s spiritual blessings in Christ? Well to start, they are already ours by right—we are already blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places—now they just must be grabbed ahold of by faith and the work of the Holy Spirit. Our transformation, “comes from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2 Cor. 3:18)—and through “the word of his grace which is able to build you up” (Acts 20:32). And as we seek the Lord in the means of grace, in spiritual discipline, with faith, repentance, and striving for holiness—we are able to fulfill what Peter says next.
Peter continues and says:
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 (v. 9).
Part of what it means to imitate God as His beloved children is to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Jesus. And what’s some of the most difficult parts of being a disciple and child of God in Christ Jesus? Not repaying evil for evil, or reviling for reviling. Not cursing those who curse us. But rather: Blessing in response!
When someone slanders you—don’t slander in return.
When someone scoffs at you—don’t scoff in return.
When someone sins against you—don’t sin in return.
When someone swears at you—don’t swear in return.
When someone misrepresents you—don’t misrepresent them in return.
When someone abuses you—don’t abuse them back.
When someone insults you—don’t insult back.
One of the hardest parts about the Christian Life is recognizing that we must not take matters into our own hands but must entrust them to our God and Father who will judge impartially on the last day. Why is that so difficult? Because our flesh wages war against us and urges us to try and be the ultimate Judge ourselves. We want to be the one who returns the justice upon the evildoer. What’s the problem with that? We’re the evildoer too. Thus any moment that we act or think like we are the Judge we are ironically condemning ourselves.
Beloved—this is why we must run to Jesus Christ, and His precious blood to wash away our sins. We are not the judge—God is. And we are not righteous—we are sinful. We need mercy, not justice. We need grace, not wrath. And the only Person who can provide that is the eternal Son of God who became a man to save sinners like you and I.
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
And as we run to Him for salvation by grace alone through faith alone—as we rest upon His promise to forgive us, clothe us, and adopt us by sovereign grace—our hearts are freed and empowered by true love and gratitude to follow the example of the great Shepherd of the Sheep. Oh trust in Jesus, fellow sinners. And find a Saviour who is sufficient to save from all your sin. Then out of delightful joy and peace and security and rest, run after him with all your heart—imitating his life, holiness, obedience, and humility. Dr. Schreiner says:
When Jesus was “insulted,” he did not respond [with insults]. As Peter summarizes fitting behavior for believers, Christ functions as the supreme example, showing that believers are called upon to live as Christ lived; he is their model and their inspiration.
Peter says—instead of cursing we are to bless. We are to bless even our enemies. We are to good to, pray for, serve, and lavish our enemies with love just like Jesus did to us.
Even at the dying death of our previous Saviour—as the most wicked of evils was done, the murdering of the Son of God, our Lord prayed for God’s blessing on his enemies—that God would forgive them for their sins. Oh that we would walk in the old path of the Cross. That we would run in the ways of our Lord. That we would overflow with mercy toward the very ones who spit in our faces. For in so doing we are reflecting the beauty and glory of our Father who is in heaven: Luke 6:35-36
But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.
But why? Why must be bless others? Peter says: For to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing (v. 9).
To this you were called to. Just as God has effectually and irresistably “called us out of darkness into his marvelous light" (2:9), so to has He called us to “be blessings to others—that we may obtain a blessing”. We are called to walk in the ways of Christ that God might pour out His blessings upon us in even greater measure. These are not physical blessings but spiritual blessings. God blesses His Holy People who bless others—He blesses and lavishes His saints by grace, as they are walking on the path of life in the way of our Lord.
Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
Happy, blessed, and joyful is the man who is walking in holiness—because the fruit of holiness is Joy in the Holy Spirit. Do you want greater spiritual blessings in your life? Then you must walk in the way of the Cross—in the way of obedience—in the way of discipleship—in the way of imitating our blessed Lord in the power of the blessed Spirit. Are these blessings merited by our works? No. They are rewarded by grace; for even the holiness that God blesses is produced in us by His grace: “working in us that which is pleasing in his sight” (Heb. 13:21). Thus all of us are humbling to dust—and God gets all the glory—for “from him, and through him, and to him are all things” (Rom. 11:36).
Following in the way of Jesus, blessing others, leads to further blessings from our Father, which brings holiness and spiritual unity in mind and heart amongst the people of God. Do you want this Calvary?
(1) We must be Unified in Heart and Mind for God’s Blessings - v. 8-9
This leads us to our second point:
(2) We must be Repentant and Prayerful for the Good Life - v. 10-12
(2) We must be Repentant and Prayerful for the Good Life - v. 10-12
For
“Whoever desires to love life
and see good days,
let him keep his tongue from evil
and his lips from speaking deceit;
let him turn away from evil and do good;
let him seek peace and pursue it.
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.”
In my understanding of this text, the blessings that are obtained (or inherited by grace), are summarized by this quotation from Psalm 34. Thus it is confirmed that these blessings are not primarily physical but spiritual in nature. The good life is the life of holiness and communion with our triune God, and love to our neighbours in our various callings.
Peter quotes the Psalm which tells us that if we desire to love life and see good days—if we desire the truly good life… then what must we do? How can we live the blessed life? How can we live our best life now? By giving all you have to the TV evangelist? By investing into the prosperity gospel?
No… by (1) keeping your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit.
Truthful lips endure forever,
but a lying tongue is but for a moment.
Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil,
but those who plan peace have joy.
No ill befalls the righteous,
but the wicked are filled with trouble.
Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord,
but those who act faithfully are his delight.
Walking in the joys of wisdom and truthfulness brings peace, joy, and delight. The good life is one of following Jesus who is the True God and Eternal Life.
(2) by repenting of evil and doing good; by seeking peace and pursuing it.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and uphold me with a willing spirit.
As one repents of their sin, turns from evil, and runs after the Lord Jesus Christ—they are restored to the good life of joy in the Holy Spirit, and a life of blessed communion with God.
(3) by walking in righteousness and prayer.
Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.
Repentance that leads to righteousness and holiness in prayer brings a sweet fellowship and communion with Christ as we abide in Him, and He in us—as we taste and see that the Lord is good, and as He rejoices over us with song.
What’s the opposite of the good life according to Psalm 34? The opposite of the good life is opposition from the Lord—whose face is against those who do evil. The wrath of God abides on those who do not repent and believe. The justice of God hands over those who are still in theirs sins—who might be professing God but are denying Him by their works—who are not truly born again—who are practicing sin and living in unrepentance and wickedness. The Lord is not for such people—the Lord is against them. Listen to what it means for the Lord to be against someone:
Therefore thus says the Lord God: Like the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so have I given up the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And I will set my face against them. Though they escape from the fire, the fire shall yet consume them, and you will know that I am the Lord, when I set my face against them. And I will make the land desolate, because they have acted faithlessly, declares the Lord God.”
The scariest thing one can ever hear in life is: “Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you” (Ezk. 29:3).
God is against the wicked in this life, and in the life to come. He is against those who do evil and do not repent. His wrath abides on them. And His wrath is a dreadful thing—none shall escape the wrath of the Lamb. The only way to escape the wrath of the Lamb is to run to the mercy of the Lamb before it is too late! Run to Jesus Christ and find forgiveness of all your sins, a covering and refuge on the day of judgment, eternal life and salvation, peace with God, justification, hope, and safety. Oh Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you perish in his wrath! the Cross of Calvary is the only place where righteousness and peace kiss.
Lest we think Jesus is but a nicer version of God, he speaks to the churches in Revelation 3: “I have a few things against you … therefore repent. If not I will come to you soon and war against you with the sword of my mouth”. It is not safe to be in the four walls of the church. It is not even safe to be a church member. If you are not truly trusting in Jesus Christ, all your scaffolding will fall down by the sword of his fury and you will be shown to be a waterless cloud, a hypocrite and unbeliever. Examine your hearts.
Are you born again, trusting in Jesus, and living for Jesus?—then know that “God is for you! And nothing can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord”.
Or are you living in unrepentant sin—if you are, God is against you and you must run to Jesus Christ in true faith for salvation.
Oh to have a blessed assurance that Jesus is mine, oh what a foretaste of glory divine! To know that I am safe in the Rock of Ages. And to live for His glory alone. Truly, this is the good life. Nothing else compares to the joys and sorrows of following the King of kings, the Lord of lords, the Alpha and the Omega, the Triune God of Eternity—who is blessed forever, amen!
Do you desire to love life and see good days? Do you desire to live the good life? The good life is not the American Dream—the good life is the path of holiness, self-denial, and communion with our covenant-keeping God. Repentance brings refreshment int he presence of God—and prayer is the enjoyment of the presence of God. God help us to walk in the way of our Saviour—walking in the Spirit—for the glory of our Father who is in heaven. Amen?
The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
(2) We must be Repentant and Prayerful for the Good Life - v. 10-12
This leads us to our third point:
(3) We must be Prepared to Suffer in Defense for Christ the Lord - v. 13-17
(3) We must be Prepared to Suffer in Defense for Christ the Lord - v. 13-17
Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 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, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.
We have seen that Peter has called us to unified church life, and repentant Christian living for the good life—and now he calls us to suffer and witness for Christ. Peter tells us, or rather, asks us that if we are zealous for what is good then who is there to harm us? If we are truly living in Christ—if we are truly living repentant lives—if we are truly basking in prayer—then who is there to harm us? Now, clearly there are people to harm us—but Peter’s point is that they shouldn’t be able to find evil reasons in us to persecute us. We should be living so zealously and righteously and prayerfully that the world cannot point to our moral failings and bring dishonour to Christ.
Are you zealous for what is good? Are you overtaken by the desire to follow Christ? Are you set upon obedience and communion with the Lord? Are you passionate about seeing the Kingdom of Christ advance and his will be done? Are you zealous for what is good? Are you zealous for God? Can you say with Phineas of old: “zeal for your house has consumed me”?
I afraid that the answer to that question is too often: no. I am content in my half-way obedience. I am content in my prayerlessness. I am content in my merely external religion. I am content in my coming to church once a week and checking off the box.
Oh dear saints, God is not pleased with half-hearted love—we must love the Lord our God with all our heart. We must be zealous, passionate, serious, joyful, and filled with strong desire to seek God’s face in all of life. We must not be sleepy or drowsy in the worship of God—we must be delighted and devoted.
Stephen Charnock says: “The excellence of the One we worship demands our highest engagement of strength. Drowsy worship does not honour Him! The things of God ought to stimulate us more than any earthyl things. Our souls must be boiling hot when we serve the Lord! … We must give him the best of our affections, the flower of our strength, the cream of our spirits.”
Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.
who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.
God help us to live zealously and joyfully for Christ our King, in the power of His Holy Spirit, for the glory of our God and Father!
Peter then says: But even if you should suffer for righteousness sake, you will be blessed. (v. 14)
Now this is one of the greatest paradoxes of the Christian life—that while suffering for Jesus we are blessed and the Spirit of glory rests upon us! That in suffering for Jesus we are being granted the opportunity to follow in the shadow of the Cross, to walk in the ways of our Lord, to show forth his beauty and glory by imitation. Even if you are slandered—even if you are persecuted—even if you are shunned—if you are suffering for the Cause of Christ, and not for your own sin, then you will be blessed, joyful, and happy in Christ. Blessed is the man who suffers for Christ the King—who is counted worthy to suffering for our God and Saviour. Like the Apostle’s of old, after being beaten: Acts 5:41
Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.
For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake,
For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.
As we suffer for righteousness sake the Spirit of God comes with the comfort of Christ like no other—as we share in the sufferings of Christ, we share in the comforts of Christ. God help us to have this holy attitude in our walk with Christ.
But we aren’t going to suffer for righteousness sake if we aren’t living for righteousness sake. We aren’t going to be slanders for sharing Christ if we aren’t sharing Christ. We aren’t going to be mocked by the world if we aren’t living a holy life. Are you “seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness?” (Matt. 6:33). Then know what the Spirit says:
Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,
But as we are living in the fear of God, keeping his commandments, living in the power and fruit of His Spirit—we don’t need to fear man. Peter says: Have no fear of them, nor be troubled. As we fear God—all other fears subside. The only fear that can quench earthly fears is a heavenly fear—a fear of Almighty Jehovah, Merciful Yahweh, the Blessed Trinity. Not a fear of punishment for the Christian, but a holy reverence and respect and childlike desire to honour our Father in all things.
How can a poor, little, weak, and small sheep face the ferocious wolves? How can the child of God face the lions den? How can the little lambs of God encounter the flaming darts of the evil one? Only by the presence and power of the infinite, eternal, unchangeable, glorious, beautiful, almighty, all knowing, all present, all seeing, all just, and all merciful God. Like Moses of old we cry out: “Lord I will not go if you do not go with me”. And how can we go in the power of our triune God? Peter tells us next:
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 (v. 15).
Isa.8.
To face the persecution of the world in our suffering, to be faithful in our witness—we must not merely present Christ as a lord, or as a god, or as a saviour—or as a possible lord, or a plausible god, or a partial saviour—no we must present Christ as the only Lord, the only God, the only Saviour—the Alpha and the Omega—the King of kings—the Creator, Sustainer, Redeemer, and Restorer—as the Godman who came to this wicked world to save wicked men—whose Word is Truth, whose Spirit is Life, whose Gospel is grace, whose Law is liberating, whose beauty is stunning, whose glory is majestic.
We must present Christ the Lord as holy—and we must honour Christ the Lord as holy. As we share the Gospel we must not be cowardly—we must not be fearful—we must not compromise—we must preach Christ Crucified, a stumbling block to the Jew and an offense to the Greek—we must preach Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge—we must fear the Lord alone, which is the beginning of knowledge and wisdom.
We must not merely present Jesus as probably the Lord—but as certainly the Lord. And how can we know that Jesus is certainly the Lord? Because the Lord himself has spoken to us in Scripture, given us his Spirit to open our eyes to the authority and truthfulness of Scripture—and when God speak, that settles it. We must presuppose Christ the Lord as holy in our hearts—because we presuppose the Word of Christ as true in our hearts. Scripture is our starting point—to reject it is to reject the truth itself.
“The apologist must ‘honour Christ the Lord as holy’, but also that his argument must presuppose that lordship. In apologetic argument, as in everything else we do, we must presuppose the truth of God’s Word. We either accept God’s authority or we do not, and not to do so is sin. We must be faithful to our Lord’s revelation. There is no neutrality. Our witness is either God’s wisdom or the world’s foolishness. There is nothing in between. Even if neutrality were possible, that route would be forbidden to us. God’s revelation in Scripture must be the ultimate standard of truth. But argument itself will not be enough; God must intervene. Thus, prayer is the ultimate apologetic weapon”
So how do we defend the hope that is within us? How do we defend that Christ is Lord? How do we defend the faith before the unbelieving world? Three simple steps:
1 - Argument by truth. Answer from Scripture as the authority and starting point for knowledge and certainty because it is God’s Word and Revelation that proves itself to be from God and of God. One can also appeal to creation, science, logic, evidence, history, and experience as supports but not as neutral grounds.
2 - Argument by folly. Show that the unbeliever’s worldview has no ground for knowledge, science, logic, ethics, or anything whatsoever. Just ask him how he knows what he is claiming to know. At the bottom of his answer will be: well we really don’t know, or, we know for sure but can’t ground that knowledge. This is self-defeating because it is self-relying. This standpoint leaves the unbeliever without any ground for knowledge whatsoever becuase He is not starting with the Word of God, and the God of the Word, as His foundation which is the beginning of knowledge and wisdom.
3 - Presentation of the Gospel: Appeal to the knowledge of God and His Law that is written on all men’s hearts, that they know they are sinners and need a Saviour, and humbly but boldly preach the Gospel of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ for the salvation of sinners. Then call the person to repent and believe the Gospel and enter the Kingdom of God. Pray that the Holy Spirit will open the eyes, ears, mind, and heart of the unbeliever by his sovereign grace and mercy.
Apologetics, or Defending the Faith, isn’t just something for academics—this is the duty of every Christian! To defend the faith, and to destroy unbelieving thought—just as Paul says: 2 Cor. 10:3-5
For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,
How do we destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God? By honouring Christ the Lord as Holy in our Hearts—by presupposing His Word as the Ultimate Authority which is the foundation for all knowledge and wisdom—and by showing that to reject Christ and Scripture is to wander into foolishness and stupidity. Jeff Johnson says:
“Opposing non-Christian worldviews cannot completely separate themselves from the Christian worldview. The knowledge of God, logic, and morality are inherent in all people. These are the core presuppositions behind the Christian worldview. In fact, knowledge of God, logic, and morality exclusively belong to the Christian worldview because only the Christian worldview can give a consistent account for their existence. God exists because of the impossibility of the contrary. To make sense of the world around us, we must presuppose God—the personal, transcendent, and imminent trinitarian God of the Bible. God is a necessary condition for knowledge —all knowledge. He is the foundation for everything. As Lewis says: ‘I believe in Christianity as I believe that the Sun has risen, not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.’ Without the light of God, we remain in the darkness. Knowledge, all knowledge, must begin with God, or otherwise meaninglessness and absurdity take over everything …only faith in Christ can rescue us from the darkness of our own making. The Christian worldview is simply the only trustworthy worldview because of the impossibility of the contrary. ‘So the choice is this,’ according to John Frame: ‘either accept the God of the Bible or deny objective morality, objective truth, the rationality of man, and the rational knowability of the universe’” As Van Til says: “To argue about Christianity is like arguing about air. One must presuppose it while arguing against it”
But this isn’t enough—we must also do this in 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 (v. 15-16).
Too often Christians who defend their faith are dishonoring their Lord as they do so—why?—because they are defending Christ the Lord while sinning against Christ the Lord and his Law of Love. Too often Christians try to be bold without being humble, they try to speak the truth but without love, they try to win arguments rather than souls. We must reject this, repent of it ourselves, and we must go in the power of the Spirit, in the fruit of the Spirit, with hearts soaked in prayer, and minds filled with Scripture—this is how we honour Christ the Lord as we defend Christ the Lord as holy. God help Christ to rule in our hearts by his Word and Spirit—make us faithful and fruitful.
How does Peter end? He reminds us that: It is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil (v. 17).
As we defend the faith, as we suffer for the faith, as we live for our faith—if we must suffer, we must, by the grace of God, suffer for righteousness, for Christlikeness, for holiness and spiritual light. God’s will of decree, his sovereign plan, sometimes includes our suffering for Christ—which is used by God to build the Kingdom of Christ and to sanctify our hearts in the Spirit—thus it is a gift of God to suffer for doing good. But it is not good to suffer for doing evil.
How often does the church suffer for being foolish? How often do you hear of another pastor who morally failed. How often do you hear of another church that is discriminating against others? How often do the people of God bring dishonour to God? This, Peter says, is not good and should not be desired. If we are going to suffer—we must suffer for righteousness sake. God help us to take up our cross and follow Jesus, in the power of the Spirit—and if we must suffer, let us do so honourable, with Christ the Lord ruling over our hearts, as we live for His glory.
(3) We must be Prepared to Suffer in Defense for Christ the Lord - v. 13-17
This leads us to our conclusion:
(C) The Blessed Good Life is a Suffering Defense of Christ the Lord.
(C) The Blessed Good Life is a Suffering Defense of Christ the Lord.
We need to let God’s Word speak to our Greatest Needs, and we need to live and speak God’s Word to the world’s Greatest Needs. We need to be equipped and empowered for faithful and fruitful witness in suffering. As we do this we live in God’s spiritual blessings, we live the good life of communion with Christ, and we defend Christ the Lord like the Apostle Paul who reasoned daily from the Scriptures—and if we must suffer for righteousness sake, we absorb it in the joy of the Holy Spirit and continuing proclaiming Jesus Christ, our only hope in life and in death.
(C) The Blessed Good Life is a Suffering Defense of Christ the Lord.
(C) The Blessed Good Life is a Suffering Defense of Christ the Lord.
Amen, let’s pray.