Sermon Tone Analysis

We are in our third message out of a quick series on 1 Peter, highlighting a few key passages from the book.

In our first message, we saw that God has caused us to be born into a new and living hope.

This hope isn’t wishful thinking that things might get better in the future; it is the certain trust that God will keep his word.

We said our hope is based on Jesus’ resurrection, which points us back to the promises God has made, gives us the right perspective on our tough days now, and gives us the hope of a future inheritance that is better than we could imagine.

So, because of what Jesus has done, we have an incredible, unshakeable hope.

Not only that, because of who Jesus is and what he has done, we have an identity that is greater than any other group of people in history.

If you have surrendered to Christ as your Savior and Lord, you have been called to be a part of a special group of people, a chosen race that God has called to himself.

You are now a part of a royal priesthood with direct access to God because of what Jesus has done for you.

You now have the privilege of declaring his praises, telling people how awesome he is, so they too can know the God who loves us like this.

I need to offer one quick statement to clarify something that I should have said last week.

As I talked about finding our identity in Christ, I should have mentioned one other truth: Every human life has dignity and worth.

Whether or not a person is a Christian, every human being is created in God’s image and ultimately designed for God’s glory.

This includes the unborn, the disabled, the elderly, and those who follow after false religions or live in blatant sin.

Every human life has intrinsic value and dignity and should be protected.

However, those who follow Christ are the only ones who have the relationship with God Peter describes and the identity of being a part of God’s chosen people, a royal priesthood, and a people for God’s own possession.

With that said, as those who follow Jesus, we have a unique identity and an incredible hope that others don’t share.

In fact, as we saw last week, there are some who are even hostile to the idea altogether.

To some, Jesus is a crutch for weak-minded people or perhaps a fairy tale or fable.

He may have had some good things to say, but in their minds, it isn’t worth building your whole life around him.

Others aren’t sure what to make of Jesus, so they look at your love for him and don’t understand why you would do what you do or act like that.

As the years go by, it seems like more and more people are choosing not to follow Jesus.

How, then, do we respond to their objections and their criticism?

Let’s turn to this morning to find out.

The Christians Peter was originally writing this letter to understood this well.

They were beginning to be persecuted and pushed to the outer edges of society because they believed in Jesus.

Having explained their hope and their identity, Peter then begins to teach them how to respond to those who don’t agree and may even be hostile to the message of the gospel.

We will see this morning that for you and I to honor God based off our hope and identity in Christ, we must be ready to respond.

If you and I are going to be ready to respond when we are asked about our hope, we must first...

1) Live rightly.

In the first two chapters of Peter’s letter, he lays out some theological truths that suffering believers need to know, like their hope and their identity.

In chapter three, however, he is switching to more direct instruction on how to live.

If these things are true, then what is my day-to-day life supposed to look like?

The first section of chapter 3 gives us great instruction on how our homes should reflect Christ.

We don’t have time to look at that today, so we are going to pick up in the more general instructions.

Look with me at verse 8-12.

In verse 8, Peter is specifically talking about the way we respond to other believers, and he calls us to be like-minded, or unified in our thinking.

Unity doesn’t mean uniformity.

We will have differences of opinion, but we will have the same purpose because we are all trying to live lives that honor Christ.

We are to have sympathy; not the kind that says, “Bless your heart,” but the kind that genuinely cares for what is going on with your brothers and sisters in Christ.

Honestly, when was the last time you really hurt for another person at church?

When was the last time you were genuinely excited because something good happened for a believer you know?

If you want a great passage to get a more complete picture of what this looks like, write down and John 13:1-11.

We are to be kindhearted, having compassion on each other.

That is further indicated in the term “brotherly”, which implies loving each other like you would a brother.

It’s the idea that you can pick on your little brother, but nobody else can!

We are to be kindhearted, having compassion on each other.

Listen: this should be the most caring place on earth.

We say over and over that our goal is love, but I really wonder how much we mean it.

Having talked about relationships with other believers, Peter points us to those outside the church in verse 9.

He only gives us one command, but it is a doozy!

We are not only called to not be mean back to someone who hates us or reviles us; we are called to actually bless them!

Blessing in Scripture has the idea, as one dictionary talked about it, of filling someone with benefits.[1]

In this context, we are talking about actively doing nice things for someone who has insulted us; has even done evil against us.

God calls us to fill that person with benefits, to genuinely pray for and seek their good!

Remember, that’s exactly what Jesus did.

Look back at .

Jesus did it and died to give you the strength to obey in that same way.

Look at verses 10-12…

And as we said at the beginning, that draws attention from God Himself.

Look at verses 10-12…

If we have the attitudes in verses 8-9, we will keep our mouths from speaking deceit.

We will pursue peace.

Look at the promise of verse 12.

Remember; God knows everything and is everywhere.

He is also spirit, so He doesn’t have physical body parts.

However, He is described here in a unique way to tell us about the incredible relationship God has with those who live according to His standards and nature.

The psalmist elsewhere fleshes this out:

Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, On those who hope for His lovingkindness, To deliver their soul from death And to keep them alive in famine.

(, NASB95)

Hanani, a prophet in the Old Testament, said this about God’s eyes:

“For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His…” (, NASB95)

Here, Peter says that God’s eyes are toward the righteous.

He sees, He knows, you have His attention as you live differently.

He is watching over you to strongly support you; to help you through any trial or struggle you face, especially when you face it because you have served Him in a world that doesn’t agree.

Not only that, but He is listening to you! His ears attend to your prayers.

Isaiah said,

Behold, the Lord’s hand is not so short that it cannot save; nor is His ear so dull that it cannot hear.

But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.

(, NASB95)

For those who are in Christ and strive to live righteously, God is attentively listening and responding to your prayer.

Do you feel as though God isn’t responding to your prayers?

Although there are seasons where He is quiet or He responds differently than we expect, you need to examine your heart and see if your life matches up with who God has called you to be in these verses.

Are you living differently, or have you bought into the rugged individualism that our society puts such a high value on.

God has designed you for community, and sin destroyed that.

Jesus died to reconcile us to God and to others, and that allows us to live in true community towards others.

His life flows through us, allowing us to actively seek the good of those who don’t love Jesus and even hate us for loving Him.

In turn, that lifestyle is pleasing and honoring to God, which results in His special care and concern for us.

Wow!

What an incentive to live differently.

What does all this have to do with being ready to respond to people who may challenge what we believe?

We claim to have had life-altering, eternity-shaping encounters with the God who is himself the embodiment of love and grace and mercy.

If we are going to make that claim, then we had better back it up with the way we live!

You cannot expect to disregard what God says about how you should live and then expect to help others find a true relationship with Christ that you aren’t showing that you have.

However, when you do treat your brothers and sisters in Christ differently, and when you do react differently to those who hurt you, you establish a great foundation to talk about the hope you have.

As you live this way, there will be opportunities to talk to others about who Jesus is, what he has done, and what he can do for them.

When that happens, you must...

[1] Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, “Blessing and Cursing”.

2) Respond appropriately.

When we live the way God calls and expects us to live, then other people are going to notice.

Some aren’t going to like it, and some are going to get angry.