1 Peter 3:8-22 - Counter-Cultural

Introduction:

Transition to the Text: Turn with me in your Bibles to 1 Peter 3:8-22.

Introduce:

Read:

1 Peter 3:8–22 (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. 18 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, 19 in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, 20 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. 21 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, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.

Big Idea: Culture is a good way to know what not to do.

1. Let your actions point others to Christ. (1 Peter 3:8-14a)

1 Peter 3:8-22 — "Counterculture"

Before I begin I want to thank Pastor James for giving me this opportunity to preach - it means a lot to me.

So if you would please turn with me in your Bibles to 1st Peter chapter 3 starting in verse 8. 1st Peter chapter 3 verses 8 through 22

As you’re turning there, Pastor James told me I have to introduce myself. For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Brenden Lafferty. I grew up here in Vallejo. I went to the school here for the majority of my young life. I went to Napa Valley College for 2 years and now I’m going into my senior year at Kansas State University. And I’m actually flying out there in two days.

So continuing on in the sermon series in 1 Peter 3:8, read with me.

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.

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📷📷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.

18 - 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,

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19 - in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison,

20 - 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.

21 - 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,

22 - who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.”

I have been assigned the first 7 verses. And there’s a lot to unpack there. The ESV heads this section as “Suffering for Righteousness’ Sake”. The New American Standard heads the entire chapter as “Godly Living”. And rightly so has pastor James named this sermon “Counterculture”.

Look at verse 8 with me again in your Bibles. “Finally,” Peter’s saying – “to sum up what I’ve been saying” – after addressing how we are to respond to societal rules and governing authorities and how we are to submit to them so long as it does not dishonor God in chapter 2:11-17 and in verses 2:18 to 3:7 instructs us as to how we are to conduct ourselves in our own households.

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📷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.

Having unity of mind

· The Greek root word here is homophrōn (ha-ma-phrōn)

o Meaning “of one mind”

o Visible harmony – visibly harmonious

o Inward unity of heart

o So long as we major on the majors, we can disagree on the minors. Right? So long as we major on it is by Grace Alone through Faith Alone in Christ Alone according to Scripture Alone for the Glory of God Alone and all that encompasses that, we can disagree on the little things. And that’s ok! Having unity of mind does not mean we have to agree on every single thing. Having unity of mind means though having disagreed on the little things we can still come together as one body in Christ and enjoy fellowship.

Having sympathy is to experience the feelings of another. We “weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice”.

Having brotherly love

· The Greek root here is philadelphos (phil-aw-del-fos)

o In the narrow sense it means loving a brother or sister but Peter is using it in the broader sense of loving other Christians. Treating them as you would a brother and treating them as you would a sister. Treating them lovingly as your own family

o Philadelphos (phil-aw-del-fos) is also where we get the Greek word philadelphia (phil-aw-del-fee-ah). And if we say that in an English accent it’s Philadelphia – the city of what – the city of brotherly love

Having a tender heart

· This is to be compassionate

· This is the kindness one would show their personal family

· This is deeper than sympathy

· This is to suffer with another who is suffering

· To bare the burdens of one another

Having a humble mind

· To not think too highly of one’s self

· This is to regard another as more important than yourself

· Having a humble mind means that pride does not fill your life. Your thought life

If you look closely at these attributes, you’ll notice that unity of mind complements having a humble mind; the first and the last. And having sympathy goes along side with having a tender heart; the second and the fourth. And all four of those attributes are surrounding the most important one. They are surroundingphiladelphos (phil-aw-del-fos). They are surrounding brotherly love, love for the brethren, love for the saints, love for other Christians.

Verse 8 talks about how Christian’s should act toward other believers. Verse 9 addresses how Christians should respond to non-believers even in the midst of persecution in its various degrees

Verse 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.”

· “Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless,”

o Bless means to speak well of

o To to speak well of publicly even through persecution

o To pray for them

o To pray for their salvation

Verse 10-11

(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.”

· Peter restates verses 8 and 9 by quoting Psalm 34 in verse 10 and 11

· And if you look closely at this you’ll notice that verses 10 and 11 are flip flops of verses 8 and 9. 11 complementing 8 and 10 complementing 9.

Please turn with me in your Bibles to Romans 12. Romans chapter 12 starting in verse 9. For the sake of time I’m going to start now as you find your way there. But here Paul says the same thing

9 - “Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.

10 - Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.

11 - Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.

12 - Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.

13 - Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

14 - Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.

15 - Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.

16 - Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.

17 - Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.

18 - If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

19 - Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”

20 - To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”

21 - Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

Romans 12:9-21 ESV

Peter continues on quoting from Psalm 34, quoting verses 15 and 16 from Psalm 34 in verse 12.

So this is main point number 1. And main point number 1 is “LET YOUR ACTIONS POINT OTHERS TO CHRIST”

Verse 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”

· Since the eyes and the ears of the Lord are on the righteous and not on the one’s who do evil

o The big question is, “how do I be righteous?”

§ Before I answer that question I need you to understand what our current state is - - what man’s current state is

§ As Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones says it, - “Man is sick. Man is spiritually dead.”

§ Man’s natural state is that he is spiritually dead - - that we are spiritually dead

§ We are utterly incapable of meriting any kind of righteousness on our own

§ On our own, we are utterly incapable of being righteous

§ You have zero point zero zero percent chance of attaining your own righteousness.

· 📷Nobody in human history, nobody in present life, and nobody in the future has or will ever attain righteousness by themselves and like it or not you’re not going to be the first to do it – nobody here is going to be the first to do it

§ We are dead in our trespasses and sins. We are enemies and rebels against God and we are corrupted by our sin

§ Romans 3:23: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

§ We are enemies of God, we rebel against Him daily, and according to Ephesians 2:3 we are by nature children of wrath

§ Each of us is fully deserving of hell because we have sinned against a Holy God.

§ And we know that by Exodus 34:7 that God will by no means leave the guilty unpunished

o If we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, — and God by no means leave the guilty unpunished,

§ That begs the big question!

§ That begs the biggest and most important question you could ever ever yourself in your entire life

o HOW DOES SINFUL MAN BE RIGHT WITH HOLY GOD??

§ How do I, — knowing that my sin makes me an enemy of God, HOW DO I BE RIGHT WITH GOD?

o WHAT BRIDGES THE GAP???

o WHO CAN BRIDGE THE GAP BETWEEN SINFUL MAN AND HOLY GOD???

§ “For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all

§ A ransom for all - - the Just gave Himself up for the unjust!

§ Acts 4:12 - - “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.””

§ John 14:6 - - “Jesus *said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”

§ Paul says in Romans 7!

· “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

o IT IS BY CHRIST CRUCIFIED AND CHRIST RESURRECTED THAT WE ARE MADE RIGHTEOUS

§ Apart from Christ we cannot be righteous

§ It is Jesus Christ’s righteousness that so clothes us

§ Apart from Christ, we CANNOT be right with God

o I plead with you, if you have not done so, I plead with you - - repent of your sin, confess your sin to God and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins!

o Acts 2:21 - - “And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’”

o For God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

o Romans 10:9-13 - - “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.””

o And if you think you’re too bad of a sinner, that you’re too far gone, can you have that one sin that you know just can’t be forgiven, YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND HOW GOOD OF A SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST TRULY IS

o THE GOOD NEWS OF JESUS CHRIST HAS THE POWER TO BRING DEAD MEN BACK TO LIFE. Amen?

Verses 13-14

(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.”

· If you prove to be zealous for what is good for society typically people won’t come after you. Right? They don’t want to be the one that ostracizes the good guy. Right?

o But it can and does happen. But even if you are persecuted for doing good, you persecuted for righteousness’ sake, persecuted for being a Christian…

§ Let me remind you of one more verse

Matthew 5:10 - - ““Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

2. Be countercultural (1 Peter 3:14b-18)

Explanation: Have no fear of culture. Do not be troubled. To honor Christ in your heart is to be countercultural. And Peter says to be ready to defend yourself.

Because, to be a Christian and to believe Christian things is to be countercultural. And like we have said over and over, if culture says it’s good, it’s probably bad.

James 4:4 ESV

4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

As Christians, we should not try to be friends with the world. We are countercultural.

We spend so much time in churches trying to not offend unbelievers. But the truth is that if an unbeliever can sit in our worship and feel completely comfortable, then we aren’t preaching the Word. I’m not saying we need to be hateful jerks, but the Word of God should convict the world of sin and call people to repentance. And the same is true for Christians. Even Christians should be reminded that the sin in our lives is bad.

So your defence must involve humility that we haven’t arrived yet. I’m always amazed when people throw a Christian’s sin into their face as the zinger for why they are hypocrites. “Well you’re not perfect, so why should I believe you about Jesus?”

That’s the point of Christianity. When in humility we acknowledge our shortcomings and turn to God for forgiveness and grace, we tell the world about Jesus. So be countercultural in your response to your own mistakes.

And again, people will revile you for following the Bible and believing what is good and putting down what is bad. Don’t let Satan use you to silence his truth.

Today more than ever, the call to be quiet, is not coming from the world, but from Christians who want to be friends with the world.

We will all stand before God one day and give an account for the things that we stand for and the things that we don’t. I’ll have my own things, and you’ll have yours.

Be ready now and you’ll be ready then.

And what are we defending? The truth about Jesus.

That Jesus died for our sins even when we were unrighteous; even when we weren’t deserving; even though there was nothing in ourselves to earn God’s grace.

He was our substitute. The righteous took on unrighteousness so that we, the unrighteous could be righteous. The self-existence great I AM who was and is and is to come died so that we, the dead, might have eternal life.

And our baptism is our victory dance.

Now there is a lot of disagreement on what it means that Jesus went and proclaimed to the Spirit’s in Prison. Some think that between Friday and Sunday Jesus, in his death, descended into hell to proclaim victory to the demons who are there because of their role in bringing about the flood during the days of Noah. Others argue that Jesus preemptively proclaimed victory during the days of Noah when God visited the world with a great flood and destroyed those demons with judgement.

There are a few other views as well. I lean towards the view that Jesus goes to Hell during his death and resurrection because oldest and most well attested view codified in the apostle’s creed.

Regardless of your view, the message is the same. Jesus proclaims victory over sin and death. The way is open for us to come to God, not on our own, but through Jesus as He brings us to God.

And every time we celebrate a baptism, we proclaim that victory.

Interesting statement here that Baptism saves you. There are some that make this verse mean that Baptism is required for salvation. But that’s not what it means as the Bible is clear that salvation is by grace through faith alone. And at a minimum, the thief on the cross would not have been baptized.

But baptism is a reenactment of Jesus’ victory on the cross.

And with that victory we get to be a part of something bigger than ourselves.

Illustration: Culture is so pervasive because we have a natural predisposition to want to fit in. So we rally around things that help us belong to something.

Sports

Favorite Books or movies.

Schools

And sometimes we will find ourselves on one side of something when we’ve never even tried to see things from the other side. I have friends from Texas that will swear that Whataburger is better than In N Out. And that is absolutely a hill worth dying on for me. In N Out is way better. I’ve never had Whataburger and they’ve never had In N Out, but that doesn’t mean anything. Culture is what makes us a part of something.

Applicaiton: In the church, we need to be a counterculture. We need to do things differently. And Here’s another hill I’m willing to die on, the absolutely only time that the church can rightly be accused of being hypocritical judgmental is when we allow the world to infiltrate our culture.

What’s amazing to me is that even the world knows that we ought to be held to a higher standard. Even the world knows we ought to be countercultural.

Response: How can you stay counter-cultural in this world?

Summation: Big Idea: Sometimes CULTURE is a good way to know what NOT to do.

1. Let your ACTIONS point others to the love of Christ. (1 Peter 3:8-14a)

2. Be COUNTER-CULTURAL (1 Peter 3:14b-22)

Response: How can you stay COUNTER-CULTURAL in this world?

By listening to godly witnesses.

My Bible reading has had me in 2 Kings these past few weeks.

I’m always amazed that the most powerful prophets were sent to the Northern Kingdom of Israel.

In contrast to the Southern Kingdom of Judah who occasionally had a good King who devoted himself to God, the Northern Kingdom was always evil. They didn’t have one good king. They were devoted to false worship. They did things worthy of being wiped off the map.

But God, in his mercy sent the two most powerful prophets to the Northern Kingdom. Elijah and Elisha. Other than Jesus no two prophets did miracles as great as those 2.

They healed the sick, cured the leper, and even brought people back from the dead.

God reserved a powerful witness to His strength and might, for the most wicked people. Because he is a loving God.

Even in the midst of our wicked backward culture, God left a witness. And even when Elijah felt hopeless, God promised that he had reserved for himself 7,000 people who had not bowed the knee to Baal.

In the midst of a wicked nation, God kept a witness for himself. And because of that, many people came to God.

And even in the US, the evangelical church still stands as God’s witness to an increasingly pagan society.

Its problems, as bad as they are, still pails in comparison to the good that most churches are doing in their communities and world.

Don’t ignore the problems, let’s fix them. But let’s celebrate the good that we do in taking the name of Jesus.

Week 5 of 2022 Summer Sermon Series: Unshakeable: Counter Cultural (1 Peter 3:8-22)

Big Idea: Sometimes CULTURE is a good way to know what NOT to do.

1. Let your ACTIONS point others to the love of Christ. (1 Peter 3:8-14a)

2. Be COUNTER-CULTURAL (1 Peter 3:14b-22)

Response: How can you stay COUNTER-CULTURAL in this world?

Opening Discussion:

How should a Christian’s attitudes and actions compare to those in the world? What does a Christian look like?

Sermon:

How does Peter describe the righteous person?

In contrast to the righteous person, what does a person who “does evil” look like?

What does suffering for the sake of righteousness have to do with being a Christian? Why is this such a common theme in the New Testament?

Who are the “spirit’s in prison?” What does Jesus proclaim to them?

What role does baptism play in the life of a believer?

What does Jesus’ glorification mean for us, as we live in a world that is not our home?

Application:

How can you grow in righteousness on a daily basis? What is the basis of our righteousness?

What is evil? Why is it so important to chance our understanding of what is evil?

What does it look like to be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you? What is your reason?

How can remembering Jesus help us to have confident faith in this world?