Grace Fellowship Church
Suffering As Evangelism
1 Peter 3:13-17
December 31, 2006
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 regard 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; 16 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. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.
Introduction
It does not take very long before a person realizes we do not live in a perfect world. Things are not fair. Ever since sin was introduced to the world by Adam fairness and equity have not ruled the day. Even in probably the most free and equitable society that ever existed there has been and always will be events and attitudes that are unfair.
People are often looked down upon because of their education level, their economic status, their skin color, their nationality, and even their physical attractiveness. This is all superficial and does not necessarily indicate the type of person that you are dealing with.
Our passage today deals with unfairness. It deals with a group of people being disenfranchised not because of skin color, economic status, nationality, or educational level, but rather because of their belief and their radical morality.
I am talking about the group of Christians that Peter was writing to in the first century. Here was a group of people who had been evangelized and had, as a result of the gracious action of God, received the Lord Jesus as their savior and Lord and were now seeking to live holy lives.
Context
Peter begun his epistle by reminding his readers of the great salvation that God almighty had bestowed upon them. He reminded them of the privilege of belonging now to the family of God. He also reminded them of their need for holiness and sanctification. Now that they were believers they were to walk in that belief and live in a manner worthy of their calling. Chapter 2:11-12 has been the key to the passages that follow. Peter tells us that we are to wage war against the desires of the flesh and in the process of this internal sanctification we are to keep our conduct pure among the unbelievers that we are around. This is no pharisaical holiness. The world is not concerned with Pharisees because they see right through that. It is those who walk in holiness in private and in public that cause the world great concern.
It would seem to the logical person that those who submit to the governmental authorities would have an easier life than the anarchist. It would also seem that those who submitted to their masters would reap the rewards of that hard work and dedication. It would seem that the woman who submitted to her husband would be treated with honor, respect, and love and be held up as an example to the world. It would seem that the husband who lived with his wife with understanding and respects her would be championed as a man among men. It would seem, as we saw a couple of weeks ago, that the person who lived a Christlike life, did not return evil for evil or reviling for reviling would be someone who the world would look at and say, “Boy that is what I want to be like!”
But I told you earlier that the world is not a fair place. Peter recognized this as we all have and starts off this section in a similar manner. Look at verse 13.
13 Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good?
The answer would be no one if we lived in a world obedient to the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. However we do not live in a world that is in love with the Lord Jesus. We live in a world that hates Christ and is in opposition to him. Law abiding citizens should live peacefully and prosper in society. However society likes those who are like them. They like people who tow the company line. Society is friendly to those who share in their ethic and their lifestyle.
However, society dislikes those who by their lives, call them to holiness. They hate the stark contrast of holiness with their depravity. Jesus said that we would be the salt of the earth. If you put salt in a wound what you will find out rather quickly is that it burns. It causes discomfort and let me assure you that people like to be comfortable and secure in their depravity. When the saltiness of holy living is poured into the wounds of reprobation the natural reaction is to get rid of the salt.
Jesus also called us the light of the world. When the light of Christ shines into the darkness the depraved who hate the light will do what they need to do to extinguish that light.
Why do you think that the Ten Commandments is such an offense? Why do you think that anything that has to do with the Lord Jesus Christ is hated by the world? It scares them. It calls their security into question. The world wants and desires comfort in their sin but the Lord Jesus Christ calls them to a standard that they are not willing or able to keep. Why do you think the Pharisees and the Sadducees wanted to kill and ultimately did kill Jesus? They were comfortable in their brand of religion and that is all that mattered.
That is why many churches today will not tolerate the preaching of the Bible. That is why the watered down feel good messages of people like Rick Warren, Robert Schuller, Billy Graham, and Joel Osteen are so popular. When the world thinks you are the greatest preacher since Jesus then let me assure you that you have some major ethical and theological issues. When the world thinks that you are one of them and love you then you have problems. If you live out the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ then let me assure you that the world will give you problems. Look at verse 14.
14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed.
You should be very familiar with Peter quoting the words of the Lord Jesus and know that he is simply repeating what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount. Peter tells us of the probability of suffering for the sake of the Gospel in verse 17. Look at it with me.
17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.
This is simply Peter restating his admonition from chapter 2:11-12.
11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. 12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.
I want you to understand that our passage this morning has everything to do with suffering as an evangelistic method. Now I know you will not find many books if any on the subject of persecution evangelism. Evangelicals prefer door to door evangelism, servanthood evangelism, and lifestyle evangelism. All of these have their place but Peter has a two thousand year old tried and true method of evangelism. That method is suffering for the sake of the propagation of the Gospel.
Illustration
Our family has some friends who are missionaries in
Many missionaries go on the field understanding this. But do we as the people of God living in
PNP
Today from our text, I want you to see three godly reactions that glorifies the Lord Jesus in the midst of persecution that leads to evangelism. There are three imperative verbs in verses 14-15 where we will take our points from.
1. We are not to fear our persecutors.
2. We are not to be troubled by our persecutors.
3. We are not to forget who is in control.
Purpose
My purpose in preaching this passage this morning is to prepare you to biblically react to persecution when it comes your way. The most drastic persecution is obviously death. But there are others. Men you could lose your jobs. Wives you could be reviled for your conviction to be keepers at home. Parents you can be reviled for how you choose to keep your children from the world and not expose them to the vileness of the world. Your neighbors may think you are horrible people because you choose not to participate in pagan activities. The list goes on and on. So we as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ desiring to live godly in an evil age must be prepared.
RPNP
So look with me at these three godly reactions that glorifies the Lord Jesus in the midst of persecution that leads to evangelism.
1. We are not to fear our persecutors.
Look at the next phrase in verse 14.
Have no fear of them
The first thing we must do is identify the them in the verse. The them in the text is the ones who would harm you for doing good. These are the ones who will despise you for the fact that you live for Christ.
I want you to understand that this is not new. Peter is making an allusion if not directly quoting Isaiah 8 throughout this passage. Isaiah 8:12 says this which shines some light on our passage. And you are not to fear what they fear or be in dread of it.
As those who know the Lord Jesus Christ we react differently to the world. We are not caught up in the same attitudes of the people around us. But rather we know who we are to fear. Listen to Matthew 10:24-33.
24 "A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. 25 "It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul , how much more will they malign the members of his household! (Jesus is saying to those who follow Him to be prepared for persecution. Be prepared for trouble if they give the Master trouble. So what do we do? How do we react?) Jesus says in verse 26:26 "Therefore do not fear them,(Why are we able to not fear?) for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.(What does Jesus mean? There is nothing that God does not see and will ultimately and finally punish. So in the light of this we are called to do something. Verse 27.) 27 "What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops. (Jesus then emphasizes the ultimate reason why in verse 28.) 28 "Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell . 29 "Are not two sparrows sold for a cent ? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 "But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 "So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows. (And then the warning comes. This has nothing at all to do with walking an isle in church during an invitation and telling the church you have accepted Christ. This is confession in the face of persecution. This is confession of Christ in face of possible death.)
32 "Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. 33 "But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.
Therefore we are not to fear those who would do us harm but rather fear the One who is in ultimate control.
But the fact is most have a fear of man. Proverbs 28:1 says, 1 The wicked flee when no one is pursuing, But the righteous are bold as a lion.
Proverbs 29:25 says, 25 The fear of man brings a snare, But he who trusts in the LORD will be exalted.
Isaiah 43:1-3 says, 1 But now, thus says the LORD, your Creator, O Jacob,
And He who formed you, O Israel, "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name; you are Mine! 2 "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you. 3 "For I am the LORD your God, The Holy One of
Peter had lived through this experience. Remember it was Peter who feared the words of a lowly servant girl at the Lord’s trial and crucifixion. But after the resurrection Peter stood up in the middle of
Therefore when we are about to suffer understand that if it is God’s will for us to suffer we are to do so without fear. We are to stand bold in the face of adversaries knowing that it is God who is our protector and our provider and nothing on earth can harm us unless it will be for God’s greater glory.
It has been said that the Kingdom is established by the blood of the martyrs. That has been historically true. Any time in church history that the church has gone through a great change and God has breathed new life into His flock it has been accompanied by often intense persecution.
So in order to glorify God we are not to fear our persecutors.
Next I want you to see that:
2. We are not to be troubled by our persecutors.
Look at the remainder of verse 15.
nor be troubled,
The NASB translates this verse a little better than the ESV. The end of verse 15 says this in the NASB, AND DO NOT FEAR THEIR INTIMIDATION, AND DO NOT BE TROUBLED,
This is a quote from the Greek translation of Isaiah 8:12. God tells Isaiah not to fear the terror of the people nor be troubled by them. Likewise Peter uses this passage to teach his readers that they also must not fear the terror of their persecutors nor be troubled by it.
The word troubled in the text is an imperative verb and made negative. This is a command not to be troubled by the terror of the ones who oppose Christ.
We can be troubled by many things. This word is used in Matthew 14:26 when the disciples saw Jesus they were terrified. In John 14 when Jesus was telling the disciples he was going back to the Father they were not to be troubled. The reason for this is because God has not given us a spirit of fear but of sound mind and courage.
So far Peter has told us to not fear and to not be troubled. The third point will tell us how we can do this.
3. We are not to forget who is in control.
Look at verse 15.
15 but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy,
One of the things that amaze me as I read and study the New Testament is simply the amount of Old Testament knowledge that is assumed by the authors. Here Peter makes another allusion to Isaiah 8:13-14. If you do not understand the section of Isaiah then you will get this all wrong. Peter changes the admonition slightly from its form in Isaiah 8:13. Listen as I read Isaiah. 13 "It is the LORD of hosts whom you should regard as holy. Peter says, but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy. Peter changes the Lord of Hosts to the Lord Christ and adds the admonition to do so in your heart.
The Lord had just told Isaiah not to fear or be troubled by those who would oppose him and persecute him and Peter had just told the Christians not fear their persecutors.
I believe that Peter assumed that his readers would know Isaiah 8 and would know what the rest of that verse says. He assumed that they would understand because of that verse that they did not have to fear or be troubled. What was the reason? Listen to the rest of Isaiah 8:13.
13 "It is the LORD of hosts whom you should regard as holy.
And He shall be your fear, And He shall be your dread.
What Peter is saying is that our fear must be in the right place. Our dread must be properly placed. One of the truths that has been watered down for so long in the church is the fear and dread of the Lord. Many have said wrongly that fear simply means respect. But you can not read Isaiah and come to that same conclusion. Here we are to fear the Lord and dread him. The word dread is the Hebrew word arets. It means to make tremble. We are to understand that the God that we serve is the most powerful being that has ever or will ever exist. He is so powerful that He spoke the universe into existence. The Lord Jesus emphasized this as well. Listen to Matthew 10:28.
"Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell .
This is the problem with many people who would deny the faith today. They will acquiesce to the world and deny the Scriptures and the power of God. We see this constantly. Recently in an interview with Larry King on Larry King live, Joel Osteen was asked a question that King routinely asks his guests. “What if you are Jewish or Muslim and you don’t accept Christ at all?” Osteen’s response, “Well you know, I am very careful about saying who would and wouldn’t go to heaven. I think only God…” King interrupts. “They are wrong aren’t they?” Osteen, “Well, I don’t know if I believe they are wrong but I believe here is what the Bible teaches and from the Christian faith this is what I believe but I just think that only God can judge a person’s heart. I’ve spent a lot of time in India with my father and I don’t know a lot about their religion but I know they love God and I don’t know but I don’t know I’d have to see.. and I’ve seen their sincerity so I don’t know for me and what the Bible teaches I want to have a relationship with Jesus.”
Let me be harsh here in my critique. Osteen does not know much. He says so about ten times in a one minute clip. But I can assure you he does not know the Jesus Christ of the Bible who demands utmost allegiance and told the world their was no other way of salvation. To hedge on Christ is to show that you fear man more than you fear God and when you tremble at the feet of Larry King then it is obvious you have not trembled at the Word of the Living God.
It has been said that if a person kneels before the Lord that person can stand before anyone.
In contrast to Joel Osteen on Larry King live you have John Macarthur on a different night. King, as always, tries to pin his guest down to saying that Jesus is the only way of salvation. This time he uses Saddam Hussein and the fact that he prayed five times a day. King says, “He must be praying to someone?” Macarthur responds, “Yes but he is praying to the wrong God. If you are not praying to the God of the Scriptures, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. And if you are not praying to that God then you are praying to no one.” King replies, “But he (Hussein) does not believe that, how do you deal with that? His belief may be as strong as your belief. How do you deal with that?” Macarthur replies, “Sure. You can believe you can fly and jump off a five story building. It doesn’t make it real. Unfortunately false religion is the ultimate deception.” King asks, “The Muslim world is all false religion?” “The theology of Islam is false. It’s the wrong God. It’s the wrong view of Christ.” King interrupts. “When they hear that don’t they get their anti-American thoughts?” JM replies, “It has nothing to do with
Understand that Christianity is in direct opposition to the world’s way of thinking. Therefore, by its very nature it invites scrutiny and persecution. It says to the world that they are fallen, dead, depraved creatures who can not pull themselves up by their bootstraps and be right with God. It tells the world that there are not many ways to God and that you are not free to choose which path you will travel. It says to the world that they are sinners and without the Savior they will spend eternity in Hell. It says to the world that they must repent not only of their sins but repent of who they are, enemies of God, and trust in a crucified Savior as the only way to eternal life. Plus once they are converted they must endure persecution and never deny the Lord. That is what Jesus said in Matthew 10:32-33.
32 "Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. 33 "But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.
Let me boil this down for you. In the face of persecution and terror we remember who is in ultimate control. Him we fear. Him we tremble before. Then Isaiah 8:14 says this. 14 "Then He shall become a sanctuary;
This is the word in Hebrew for the holy place in the
God will help her when morning dawns. 6 The nations made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered; He raised His voice, the earth melted. 7 The LORD of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah.
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