September 1, 2013 Rev Steve Rahter 1 Peter 3 8-17 Praise Tabernacle Podcast www.praisetabernacle.com

09/01/2013

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Sunday September 1st1 Peter 3:8-17Back in chapter 2 Peter began a discussion of proper Christian behavior which included submitting to government authorities and serving as dedicated employees. He continued that same theme into chapter 3, as we saw last week, with a discussion of how husbands and wives should treat each other, and now he pulls it all together with these next few verses:8 To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; 9 not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing.When Peter uses the phrase “to sum up”, he means that all of those previous discussions are included and he says this goes for “all of you”. He then lays out a valuable reminder about the need to develop humility, harmony, sympathy and kindness. Finally he echoes Paul’s words from 1 Thessalonians 5:15“See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people.”In fact these verses are very similar to what Paul wrote in Romans 12:9–219 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; 11 not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; 12 rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, 13 contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. 16 Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation.17 Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men.18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. 19 Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 “But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.So we see from both Peter and Paul that Christians are not to retaliate in response to persecution, but instead we are to “bless” our enemies. That’s exactly what Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:43-45 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”We probably all would admit that we KNOW that forgiving our enemies is one of the central teachings of Jesus. That’s why He taught us to pray, “forgive us our trespasses AS we forgive those who trespass against us.” We also would probably admit that forgiveness is a lot easier SAID than DONE! But if we are going to live like true sons and daughters of our heavenly Father, we MUST be willing to allow God to change us in this way, no matter how hard that process seems.Ultimately, what Peter is saying is that our willingness to forgive those who have hurt us is inseparable from the fact that we call ourselves Christians.He says that “you were called for the very purpose” of walking in the blessing that comes from letting go of bitterness and resentment,Then Peter goes on to quote from Psalm 34 verses 12-1610 For,“The one who desires life, to love and see good days,Must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit.11 “He must turn away from evil and do good;He must seek peace and pursue it.12 “For the eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous,And His ears attend to their prayer,But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”Do you see the word MUST 3 times? Does that tell you how serious God is about our choices?IF you want life, love, and goodness you MUST keep evil and deceitful words from coming out of your mouth. You MUST choose to do good rather than evil. You MUST pursue peace and reconciliation.IF we want the Lord to listen to our prayers and to answer our prayers we MUST do these things. They are not optional. In fact, if we DON’T do these things the Lord turns His face away from us. We may not like that. It may not fit with our view of a loving God. But the Holy Spirit had both King David AND the Apostle Peter write those same words, so I don’t think there’s any doubt about what they mean.Some people might object by saying, “So does that mean that Christians have to be like doormats, letting anyone treat us however they want to?” Peter addresses that very question in verses 13-17:13 Who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good? 14 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, 15 but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; 16 and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame. 17 For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong.When Peter says “who is there to harm you” he isn’t denying that Christians might be called to suffer for their faith. He’s not saying that nobody can possibly harm you if you’re doing the right thing. In fact Peter and many others were severely persecuted for their faith and in Chapter 1 verse 6 he acknowledged that “you have been distressed by various trials.” One commentary says that this statement may be best interpreted as whatever happens to Christians, no external force can cause spiritual harm to them.It’s similar to what David wrote in Psalm 56:4In God, whose word I praise,In God I have put my trust;I shall not be afraid.What can mere man do to me?Or what Jesus said in Luke 12:4“I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that have no more that they can do.” Peter even says in verse 14 “even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed.” That’s what Jesus said in the beatitudes in Matthew 5:10–12 “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.11 “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”In Verse 15 Peter says that we should “always be ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence.” The word that Peter uses in Greek that we translate as “defense” is Apologia, which doesn’t mean that we apologize for being Christians–it means a well thought-out defense in response to questions, or even attacks, from hostile people. Keep in mind that verse is written in the middle of a discussion about persecution. Our ability to properly answer the questions of people who ridicule our faith can make a difference in where they spend eternity. Every believer should be able to provide a simple explanation of the main points of Christianity.So to make sure that you have a readiness to defend your faith, here is a brief 4-point summary which is easy to remember:1st. Life Is Short.James 4:14: “Life is like a vapor.”I Chronicles 29:15: “Life is like a shadow.”Job 7:6: “Life is like a swift messenger.”Life is uncertain and it is fragile—we can be here today and gone tomorrow! Most people would admit that they know someone who died tragically or suddenly. Most people would also admit that the older they get, the more the years seem to fly by!2nd. Eternity Is Long.One person described it this way:“Suppose that a sparrow took a drop of water in it’s beak from the Atlantic Ocean, then flew across the U.S. and deposited it into the Pacific. Then suppose he kept repeating this process until he had emptied every drop of the Atlantic into the Pacific. When he was finished, eternity would only have just begun.”3rd. The Bible tells us that we will all spend eternity in either heaven or hell. Sin is rebellion against God.The penalty of sin is eternity in hell. Ezekiel18:20 says that “the souls that sins shall die.” Romans 6:23 tells us that “the wages of sin is death.”4th. God has provided a way for you to go to Heaven for eternity rather than HellAn American tourist made a trip to London. He was all very impressed with Buckingham Palace. So one morning he went to the gates, expecting to go right in. But two soldiers stopped him. He took a $1,000 bill out of his pocket and said to them, “Take this money. I can pay my way in.” But they said, “You can’t buy your way in. You have to be invited in. And if you are invited, you can go in for free.”It’s the same way with heaven. You can’t buy your way in or work your way in or do enough good deeds to get in. There’s only one way in—by accepting the personal invitation of Jesus Christ that He provided for you by dying on a cross to pay for your sins. Heaven is open to all who will trust Him for salvation. Keep in mind that Peter says our defense of Christianity shouldn’t be done in a hostile or confrontational way, but “with gentleness and reverence”, so we aren’t really giving a good defense if we’re operating in anger or disrespect for the unsaved person. Then Peter adds this in verse 16:“and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame.” Back in Colossians 4 verse 5, Paul had said, “Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity.”Our conduct, our lifestyle, should show that accusations against our behavior are unfounded.One of the things that unbelievers love to use as a reason not to consider Christianity is that “Christians are all hypocrites.” Peter is saying that our behavior should be so good, and our conscience should be so clear, that people who make accusations against us will feel ashamed when the see how we really live what we believe.The last little piece of this evangelism puzzle is what Peter says in verse 17. “For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong.”Some folks might ask if it would ever be God’s will that Christians should suffer. Peter is saying that sometimes it just might be His will. It just might be His way of reaching a lost person, by having them be the source of your suffering and then watching you love them in spite of what they did to you. Someone put it this way:“Unjust suffering is within the providence of God and is for the good of His children and His own glory.” In fact, we’ll see later that the very last verse of this letter, in Chapter 4:19, is simply this:“Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.