Christian Living Is Meant to Be Inexplicable

Announcements

Good Morning & Welcome to Guests

If you are a guest, we’d love for you to fill out a Guest Card

Back table near offering basket

Drop it off in the offering basket.

Next Work Day

Saturday, November 14 @ 9am-2pm

Let Elizabeth Palmer know if you plan to come.

New Landscape

Hopefully, you noticed the new landscaping as you drove in.

What a difference a few plants and mulch can make on the looks of a building.

More upgrades and beautification to come.

Thursday evening from 6-8pm

The topics this week will be Understanding Sanctification & the Process of Biblical Change.

Anyone is welcome to come for any of the individual classes offered over the next 5 weeks even if you do not wish to attend the entire course.

Christmas Choir

Meet at Piano after service

Next Sunday, October 25

Mark & Christy Patterson

Fellowship Meal

Opening Prayer

Catching Up

Last week we looked at vv.13-15a…read

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,

We took note of two very important truths...

#1 There is a battle that rages in our hearts when we suffer for the Lord

That Battle is raging for our loyalty…our affections...

We will either fear our persecutor, be troubled, and fall away...

As the parable of the sower explains.

Or we will honor Christ as Lord and as holy in His lordship.

#2 While honoring Christ as the holy Lord as we suffering for Him, blessings come...

We will have a testimony to the world of the infinite treasure that Jesus is...

And, will have an inner testimony to our self that we belong to Christ.

The Battle that Rages Within Will Produce Something

14b 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,

When you do not honor Christ as the holy Lord in your suffering...

Your doubts OR what you are believing in the moment of your suffering...

Will express itself.

If you’re suffering is causing you to doubt or deny the lordship of Christ and that He is holy in all His works...

Then the behavior you express will be that you are troubled at heart and afraid of the persecutor or the persecution.

We cannot help but to express what we believe.

Because what we believe is what drives our behavior.

If you are enduring suffering and maintaining loyalty to the Lord...

In your heart you are honoring Christ the Lord as holy.

Right?

Because your belief is that Christ is the holy Lord...

And it is expressing itself by enduring suffering with loyalty to your Savior.

Because...

What You Believe Always Expresses Itself in a Person’s Behavior.

When your behavior is inexplicable to the world...

When they see you suffering and enduring your suffering...

While maintaining loyalty to the One who is the cause of your suffering...

They don’t understand such behavior.

The world avoids suffering.

When relationships start getting tough and the relationship is not doing for you what you intended for it to do...

The world says leave the relationship.

When the world sees a relationship causing suffering...

Their advice is to leave that relationship.

So, when they see someone suffering because they are a Christian...

Because of their belief.

They would advise you to leave that relationship...

Deny Christ and relieve yourself of all discomfort, right!

Isn’t that what the Romans did to Christians?

Deny Christ and you can walk away from the coliseum.

Why would you be loyal to Someone when that relationship brings you physical discomfort?!

And, one of the consequences of the Roman persecution of the church...

Was converts!

Why?

Because the people saw a faith that was so strong that it was willing to suffer for the relationship they had with Christ.

Why is that attractive to the world?

Because everyone knows down deep that they are not as good as the person they portray to the people around them...

But, at the same time they want a relationship that is willing to stick with them through thick and thin...

They want a relationship that will be loyal to them in the good times and the difficult times...

ANd, so when they see the loyalty of the Christian to Christ…even in suffering…difficult times...

They are intrigued.

They want to know why.

They want to know how you can be that kind of person...

The kind of person they want to have in their life...

And it gives us a chance, Peter says...

15b to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you

The hope that is in us...

Is the loyalty of Christ to us.

When they ask us why we have hope in Christ...

We can share the glorious gospel with them...

And, explain to them the riches of Christ’s loyalty to us...

Despite our rebellion towards him.

Despite our disdain for Him before we were united to Him.

We are loyal to Him because of His infinite and inexplicable loyalty to us.

Let me say, this is a major reason that in Christian marriage...

It is so important to keep the covenant made to one another...

If at all possible, even in suffering.

Our hope is that Christ is the Lord & that He is holy...

Not worldly hope, but biblical hope...

Confidence, conviction based on truth and evidence.

Now, Peter adds an addendum to this defense of our hope...

He says, when you are asked and you are making a defense for the reason for the hope that is in you...

must do it with gentleness and respect

What does that mean?

What is Peter getting at here?

What is point out?

Here’s what Peter is addressing...

Our natural response is to not like people who disagree with us...

Because, naturally, we take an attack on what we believe as an attack on our self...

Because we know that what we believe is what produces who we are...

And, so an attack on what we believe is an attack on our perceived self-worth.

So, in order to respond to persecutors, scoffers, and skeptics who disagree with us...

In order to respond to them with gentleness and respect...

We must first, rightly understand the source of our value...

And, the source of our value is Jesus...

And, the righteousness that we have from our union with Him.

Then, we can respond to our persecutors, scoffers, and skeptics...

And see our self in their behavior…outside of the grace of God.

Then we can give a defense with gentleness and respect.

Gentleness is expressed outwardly towards others but it comes from the inner person…it is an accepting that God is behind your circumstances…and there are good purposes behind it.

Respect is expressed in controlled politeness towards others but is produced by an awe/worship of God.

So, you’re reacting and defending the reason for your hope with gentleness and respect towards the inquirer...

Because of your love for and belief that Christ is the sovereign Lord...

And the belief that Christ always exercises His lordship with omnipotence and holiness.

And, remembering that you could do what they are doing to you...

If it were not for the grace of God in your life to unite you to Christ.

Knowing what we know as Christians now...

We can respond towards others in the way we would want to be treated...

And with the desire for them to know what we know...

And in the manner in which we know it.

We need to interact with others in such a way, Peter says, that we can have a good/clear conscience in the way we interact...

What is the Purpose of the Conscience?

John MacArthur describes conscience as “a built-in warning system that signals us when something we have done is wrong. The conscience is to our souls what pain sensors are to our bodies: it inflicts distress, in the form of guilt, whenever we violate what our hearts tell us is right.”

The conscience, meant to alarm us when we violate God’s moral law,…can be defiled & seared...

1 Corinthians 8:7 However, not all possess this knowledge. But some, through former association with idols, eat food as really offered to an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled.

The defiling of the conscience is when the conscience is trained in ways that do not accord with godliness.

1 Timothy 4:1-2 Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, 2 through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared,

The searing of the conscience is when we ignore the conscience enough to cause a softening of the volume of the conscience.

R.C. Sproul said “We have to remember that acting according to conscience may sometimes be sin as well. If the conscience is misinformed, then we seek the reasons for this misinformation. Is it misinformed because the person has been negligent in studying the Word of God? “

The conscience can only function as it was designed by God to function when it is being regularly informed by the Word of God.

So, for Christians one of the important benefits of having a constant diet of the Word of God...

...Is that our conscience is being renewed, informed, and programmed so that it can operate as God designed it to function.

How can we have a good/clear conscience?

There is a huge difference between a seared conscience...

And a clear conscience or good conscience.

Operating with a seared conscience cause one to live under the delusion that they’re okay.

Operating under a clear conscience one can lives under the truth and freedom that has been gained through union with Christ.

So, what are the elements necessary for a clear conscience...

#1 Forgiveness & Imputed Righteousness

Guilt from disobedience is what removes the good standing in a conscience.

In order for a conscience to be clear once again...

Forgiveness must be granted from the One who was ultimately offended by the sin...

And, that is God.

Forgiveness from God only comes through faith in JC.

And, true righteousness is the only thing than can give us a sense of obedience.

#2 Reconciliation

This is not always achievable.

But it is always to be desired.

Reconciliation should always be pursued by Christians.

It restores the relationship that was broken by sin.

True biblical reconciliation always makes the relationship better...

And stronger than it was before.

#3 Obedience

Because disobedience is what cause the conscience to not be good/clear.

When we obey God we can have a clear conscience because we have not violated God’s standard and prescriptive will for our life.

Now, why is forgiveness necessary if we are obeying God?

Because our obedience is never fully pure and never perfect.

And, so our obedience must be united to the atoning blood of Christ...

Which takes away the guilt of our impure obedience...

And, the righteousness of Christ is what keeps us from losing our good standing with God when we imperfectly obey God.

Let me close by defining something...

What is this righteousness sake that brings suffering?

Righteous living is departing from iniquity

2 Timothy 2:19 But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”

So, departing from it is the negative command or prohibitive aspect of righteous living.

What is the positive of righteous living?

Colossians 3:12-14 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

So suffering for righteousness sake is pursuing a life that is departing from iniquity and filling your life with expressions of righteous deeds...

That stem from a belief that Christ is the Lord and holy.

Closing Prayer