Freedom from Fear

Introduction

TIMER: Good morning please open in your Bible’s to 1 Peter 3:12-22 that is 1 Peter 3:13-22. If you are using one of the Bible’s scattered throughout the chairs the text can be found on 1016. Page 1016.

365 times we are told throughout the Bible “Do not be afraid!” That means you could read a different verse everyday for a year that commands you to not be afraid. This highlights that importance of bravery and courage in the Christian life and this command to not be afraid in one of two ways. Either you read these commands and you hear them as if Lord is a stern general telling his army to not be afraid and be ready to fight. Or we read these commands and hear the words of a Father to a child that wakes up in the middle of the night. It’s ok, Daddy is here. You do not need to afraid.

While context is key and at different times we need each type of admonishment from the Lord. In fact, Peter has told these Christians to “gird up their loins” in 1 Peter 1:13 which is more Army general than loving Father, I want to suggest that this text is the former. Here in 1 Peter chapter 3 I believe as writes to a persecuted and hurting church and gives the command to “have no fear of their persecutors” he is giving this command as a Father does to a frightened child. He reminds us in this text the Christians are Free from Fear. That the fear of suffering, silence, and of all that is lesser does not have a hold on those who belong to Christ.

As Christians we are free from fear, even when things are frightening. As we cling to Christ we can live lives of bravery in the midst of a troubled world. As we study the text for the morning I pray we leave encouraged that Christ is King and we have no need to fear. Let’s read 1 Peter 3:13-22.

Free from the Fear of Suffering v. 13-15a

1 Peter 3:13–15 “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..

Peter begins this section of his letter asking the rhetorical question, “ Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good?” While this is new section of the letter it is still closely linked to the previous section about abstaining from the passions of the flesh while being mistreated. One could read Peter’s question and say from his one words in chapters 2&3 uhh… how about a corrupt government, or a cruel master. They could harm me. A non-believing husband and wife that hates God they could hurt me. What about all the friends and family members and others in the communities of Peter’s audience who are openly persecuting these Christians! They could harm for doing good.

Which is why Peter acknowledges the reality that Christians will suffer even for doing what is righteous as he writes “But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Peter’s question in no way suggest that the suffering of his hearers is not very real and very painful. And as I preach today I do not want to suggest that you free from suffering and pain in this life.

However, I do want to suggest that you are free from the fear of your suffering. That inevitable suffering does not mean we are to stop doing good. Peter tells his audience if you suffer for righteousness’ sake you will be blessed. He is referencing back to verse 9 when he wrote 1 Peter 3:9 “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.” Peter is suggesting that those who suffer for doing right will be blessed by God. We are blessed in that the peace of God will be with us in our suffering and we are blessed in that an eternity of joy awaits those who follow Jesus Christ. Peter is reminding them that an eternal blessing awaits those who endure hardship for the sake of Christ. So, as suffering arises do not be afraid.

He tells his readers Have no fear of them, nor be troubled. The NASB translation gives more accurate translations as it says, “But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. AND DO NOT FEAR THEIR INTIMIDATION, AND DO NOT BE TROUBLED,” Peter quotes from Isaiah 8:12-14 but it poignant to his readers as he tells them not to fear that which is frightening or intimidating. It is very similar language that he used with wives in 1 Peter 3:6 as he says“ …if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening.” Peter is not ignoring the problem. He is acknowledging this is scary.

It is not the fears of children in the night who think a monster is under the bed. They might be truly scared but parents just have to turn on the light and show them that nothing is there. These monsters are very real and are very much there and they are causing real pain for the readers of this letter.

I believe this is why Peter quotes from Isaiah 8. The background for Isaiah 7 and 8 is that the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the nation of Aram are plotting to depose the king of Judah and lay waste to the people there. The people are Judah are very much afraid of the real threat they face. But Isaiah tells them that God is going to rescue them through the Syrians and God does just that. Peter is telling them, the threats are real, but so is your Redeemer.

They are not to be your the one you fear! Rather, Isaiah 8:12–13““…. and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. But the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. Peter adds a Christ centered interpretation to Isaiah 8:13 when in verse 15 he says, “but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy.” He equates Christ with Yahweh, the LORD, as he commands the people to establish Christ as the Lord of their hearts. The text literally reads sanctify or set aside Christ the Lord in your hearts. Who rules you? Is it Christ? Or is it your fear?

The suffering is real, but the reality of Christ as Lord strengthens us and empowers us to not be afraid. The promise of eternity overshadows the suffering of this world as Paul says in Romans 8:18 “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” Paul also uses a rhetorical question in Romas 8 as he asks, “If God is for us, who can be against us? He rattles of a series of rhetorical questions but he lands here. Romans 8:37–39 “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 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.” Because nothing can separate us from the love of God and his promises of eternal glory we can ask with Peter “Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good?”

T/S- Suffering is real and it does hurt emotionally and physically. However, it is to hold no sway over us. We free from the fear of suffering and the empowers us to boldly proclaim the Gospel to all who will give us an ear. We are free from the fear of silence.

Free from the Fear of Silence v. 15-17

1 Peter 3:15–17 “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.”

As Peter encourages his readers to not fear those who would persecute them and to sanctify Christ as Lord in their hearts we see that they do this by always being ready to give a reason (or a defense) for hope that is in them. This verse is often misused as a means to teach that Christians do not need to be overt about their faith in Christ. Rather we just live as nice person and then or niceness will be so attractive that people will come to us and ask us about our faith.

However, I don’t think it is quite that simple. Peter is telling these Christians to set Christ as Lord in their hearts. The heart isn’t just the internal part of a person. The heart is the epicenter of person the thing that dictates the words and actions of a person. In Luke 6:45 we are told “The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” and again in Proverbs 4:23 “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” What Jesus and the proverb are teaching is that heart dictates our words and our actions. If the heart is good, then the person does and speaks good. If Jesus is Lord of your heart then you will speak about Him as Lord in an open way. What rules a persons heart rules the person. Christ is to rule you, and your words reflect that reality.

So you speak boldly of Christ because he is the Lord of your heart. And as you speak of him you tell of the hope that he alone gives you. The hope of the resurrection that is living, the hope of heaven that is promised to you and the reason you can have hope regardless of the difficulty of your circumstances. So while we are to speak about Christ boldly, Peter is still saying that your life should magnify the hope of Christ. You live a life of hope and people will take notice. We are charged with the honor of declaring the reason for our hope. We get to say, 1 Peter 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,” We get to 1 Peter 2:9 “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

And we proclaim these wonderful truths with gentleness and respect. This is also language Peter used to describe Christian wives as those women were to have a gentle and quiet spirit and were to have conduct that as pure and respectful. In that passage in this one the word translated respect is the greek word for fear. Now, the wives were not to fear their husbands by to have a fearful conduct and i argued because Peter’s use of fear in this letter that they were to fear God. In the same way, I believe that the respect of fear in this verse is not direct towards the ones that get the answer. In fact, Peter just told his readers to not fear the non-believers.

Rather, Peter is telling these Christians that their attitudes toward other people are always a reflection of their attitude toward God. Wives respect their husbands because first and foremost they fear or reverence God. And Christians treat non-Christians with gentleness and respect first and foremost because we fear or reverence God. The way we relate to others is a direct reflection of our functional beliefs about God.

I say functional because what say we believe about God and how we function don’t always line up. God is more concerned about how you function that about what you say you believe. Our actions and our words put on display our true beliefs. The beliefs the beliefs that actually govern us. Is Christ Lord of your heart? Does your life reflect that functionally?

The way you treat your adversaries says more about your beliefs about God than it does your beliefs about them. If you believe that God is in control then you can love enemies. If you fear the Lord first, then you can respond to those who ask you about the hope that is in you. You can respond with the truth and you can do so with gentleness and respect.

You can answer in a way in which you would have a good conscience. You can answer and not feel guilty about the way you treated those who slander you. In fact, if Christ is Lord of your heart you can be bold and gentle. These two things are not opposed to each, rather married to one another. We can in fact be kind and convictional.

And when our enemies slander us, those who revile or insult our good behavior in Christ, they will be the ones put to shame. It is better to suffer doing good than evil.

Martin Luther King Jr. had 6 principles of non-violence. Principle 4 was Redemptive Suffering Holds Transformational Power. He said this,

“We will match your capacity to inflict suffering with our capacity to endure suffering. We will meet your physical force with soul force. We will not hate you, but we cannot in all good conscience obey your unjust laws. Do to us what you will and we will still love you. Bomb our homes and threaten our children; send your hooded perpetrators of violence into our communities and drag us out on some wayside road, beating us and leaving us half dead, and we will still love you. But we will soon wear you down by our capacity to suffer. And in winning our freedom we will so appeal to your heart and conscience that we will win you in the process.”

60 years after the Civil Rights movement and who is now put to shame? The racists who unjustly harmed African American protesters look like fools. Those who refused service to image bearers of God because of the color of their skin, the police chief who called the dogs of students and children, the firefighters that used their hoses on women, and the murderers of MLK jr. and countless others they are the ones who are shamed.

This is example of suffering for good is but a small glimpse into the centuries of Christian suffering that has occured throughout the globe and will continue until Christ returns. But know this, a day of reckoning is coming. Those who suffer for good will not be ashamed. They will have a pure conscience before God, and the Lord will have the last word. He will subject all of his enemies under his feet and they will be humiliated as every knee bows and every tongue confesses that Jesus is Lord.

So dear brother and sisters, do not be silent. Do not fear those who are intimidating to you. Rather sanctify Christ as the Lord of your hearts and fear him alone.

T/S- And the fear of God will provide all we need to overcome all of our lesser fears.

Free from Lesser Fears v. 18-22

1 Peter 3:18–22 “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.”

We are to be willing to suffer for doing good because it is what Jesus did. He died once and for all for our sins as there was an exchange made. The righteous for the unrighteous. Jesus took the place of sinners before God as he was crucified and bore God’s wrath on our behalf. He subsituationary death brought peace between God and those who follow Jesus. He was killed in the flesh and raised in the spirit. That is by the Holy Spirit.

That is the very clear part of this text. Then comes the not so clear part in verses 19 and 20. Martin Luther said of this verse, “A wonderful text is this, and a more obscure passage perhaps than any other in the New Testament, so that I do not know for a certainty just what Peter means”

I am going to briefly explain the two views I find most convincing and then leave it to you to decide. Because I believe both views have merit and both views land us with the same application for the day. That application is this: We are free from all lesser fears when we acknowledge Christ as Lord. I believe that is the point. Peter is telling his persecuted audience, do not fear. Christ is victorious and Christ is with you.

View #1- Jesus preached the Gospel through Noah through the Holy Spirit to the people who were alive during Noah’s day while Noah constructed the ark. So, during the time Noah constructed in Genesis 6 before God sent a global flood that killed everyone and everything that was not in the ark Noah preached to the people begging them to repent. Christ preached to those “spirits” or people while they were on earth. They did not repent or obey as it says in 1 Peter 3:20 and therefore after they died in the flood they went to “prison” or hell. So, the spirits are in prison while Peter writes this letter. But they were preached to while Noah built the ark before the flood. A passage of Scripture I think lends some support to this view is 2 Peter 2:5 “if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly;” and contextually if we look back to verse 18 and ask what was preached, the gospel would seem to be the answer. And the Gospel is only preached to humans in scripture.

View #2- Jesus preached victory over evil angels or spirits sometime after his resurrection but before his ascension into heaven. This view is the more popular view among scholars because Jesus needs to “go” “went” somewhere after his resurrection in the most natural reading of the text. And because the word spirits is used overwhelmingly to refer to angelic or spiritual beings. And the spiritual beings he is referring to are those mentioned in Genesis 6:1–4 which is the passage right before the story of Noah and the culmination of the evil of the world that warranted the flood to begin with. “When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown.” Jesus is proclaiming victory over this evil spirits who slept with human women. Jude 6 tells us “And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day—” and 2 Peter 2:4 “For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment;” And the immediate context that supports this view would be verse 22 of our passage that speaks of Jesus who is at the right hand of God and that angels, authorities, and powers are subject to him.

Sidenote: The bible can be really hard to understand and when it is we should use the immediate context and other passages of the Bible to help us gain clarity. That is what I tried to do for you today in presenting both of these views. And it is ok to differ with fellow Christians on secondary things like this really hard passage of Scripture.

Because the application and truth about God is still the same. If you choose view number one then we see Noah was way outnumbered by his scoffers. 8 verses the rest of the world. And yet, the 8 are saved from the wrath of God while the rest are subjected to God’s punishment through the flood. Peter is saying hang in there, the suffering you are enduring is not the last word. You are outnumbered and it feels like this is dragging on. But God will prove himself as King in the last day! Do not fear that which is frightening or any lesser fear than the fear of almighty God.

If choose view 2 you say Jesus is King of everyone! Including the evil spirits that brought about the flood of Noah’s day. Everything is subject to Jesus and he has proclaimed his victory over evil spirits and will proclaim his victory of all others in the last day. Noah was outnumbered like they are and like we are and though it was thousands of years later Jesus had the last word as he proclaimed his victory. He will prove to faithful again as we patiently endure suffering. Do not fear that which frightening trust in Almighty God.

Because no matter the view the judgment of God manifested in the flood waters corresponds to our Baptism. A baptism that doesn’t save us in the rite itself like the removing of dirt of the flesh, but a baptism that saves in the sense the through it we appeal to God for a good conscience through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Baptism represents death as we are buried with Christ in death through our baptism as Paul would say in Romans 6.

This is why being baptized by immersion does matter. Not that mode of baptism is saving but because baptism represents passing through the judgement of God and coming through it safely through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Like Noah and his family came through the flood waters of God’s judgement safely through the ark we are baptized appealing to God to save us from his wrath. We believe as Christians that we will pass through death and be raised again with Christ because Jesus died was buried and then was raised from the dead.

This assurance, which baptism reminds us of, empowers us to live free from fear.

Conclusion

Fear can rear its ugly head in many forms. We can fear the physical pain that someone might threaten us with, we can fear the rejection of others, fear the loss of reputation, or even fear God because we are just not so sure that God really does love sinners like us. 1 John 4:18 “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.” God has demonstrated his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. If you are in Christ then you are to fear Him alone. Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts and know that Christ sits at the right hand of God and everything even angels are subjected to Him. Our King who died for us has guaranteed us eternal life, and he sits on throne, you have nothing to fear. [Let’s pray]