1 Peter 3:13-17
New Living Translation
Suffering for Doing Good
13 Now, who will want to harm you if you are eager to do good? 14 But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So, don’t worry or be afraid of their threats. 15 Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. 16 But do this in a gentle and respectful way.[a]Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ. 17 Remember, it is better to suffer for doing good, if that is what God wants, than to suffer for doing wrong!
What do you do when Hostility holds Holiness hostage? We will answer that question in today’s message entitled,
When Holiness meets Hostility # 118
Suffering for doing Good
Look again at verse 15,
“…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, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.”
You may remember from what we’ve covered already in this letter that Peter is writing to Christians living in Asia Minor in the early 60s AD. In these first few decades after the coming of Christ, these churches were the very first seeds of the Church planted in hostile ground.
This is a culture that is foreign to the gospel. It was not a popular word or even one widely accepted or tolerated at the time. The seeds are barely taking root and putting out their first shoots. It is a time when believers were extremely vulnerable and open public prey for predators of the gospel
In some ways, we are similar, right? The ground and soil of the maritime culture has been shaped and entrenched very powerfully by a form of godliness but one void of reality. We desperately need to encounter the person of Jesus not just an illusion of him.
In many ways, the message of grace, miracles and healings are still in seed stage here, isn’t it? In the history of the province, the true Church has never been more than a small undercurrent, counterculture waiting for an awakening. If you are the impatient type like myself, prophecies don’t cut it anymore.
And so, we can identify. We live in a land of tolerance where Christianity has not been a dominant cultural force. Radical Christianity is not welcomed in many circles of our community where status quo is the norm. Just the thought of you asking to pray for someone sends shockwaves of offense even to the seasoned of saints. (Are you a gulper or a sipper)
From that feeling of danger and risk, Peter speaks four specific words of encouragement to us in this section of which we will deal in detail later:
- I am not comforted by the promise but Peter says, Bet your life on the blessing of God (13–14a). 13 Now, who will want to harm you if you are eager to do good? 14 But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it.
When opposition and difficulty comes, it’s easy to turn inward in self-protection, we defend and justify ourselves as to why I don’t “have to”, or retreat into the “I’m not called” cave, rather than pressing onward and upward. The giving away of self, crucifying the self for others is not appealing even though God will reward you. LOL
Peter would have us bet everything on the blessing of God, to be zealous for the good of a gospel-shaped life. To press the suffering and subsequent glories of Christ into every crack and crevice and corner of your life, betting everything on the resurrecting blessing of God in Christ.
- Don’t fear the opposition of the unrighteous (14b–15a). So don’t worry or be afraid of their threats. 15 Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. Do not fear those who would persecute you, revile you, hate you, and slander you. Fear and honor Christ the Lord as holy, trusting in his triumph over the world.
- Be ready to defend your gospel (not your belief) (15b). And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. As the Lord presents the gospel to the world through our lives—a gospel that is a joke to a perishing world—they are going to ask, “Why on earth would you do that? Live like that? Make decisions like that?” And Peter would have us ready to give a defense of the hope that makes what is a joke to the world the very wisdom of God.
- Live like your enemies are watching (16–17). 16 But do this in a gentle and respectful way.[a]Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ. 17 Remember, it is better to suffer for doing good, if that is what God wants, than to suffer for doing wrong!
Nothing undermines a Christian defense of the gospel like compromising Christians. Live in such a way that even if your enemies could watch you around the clock, they would be put to shame when they slanderously accuse you of evil.
Let’s begin with betting your life on the blessing of God.
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You can Bet on the Blessing. You can rest in the reward provided you don’t retire and retreat.
“Let is not grow weary in well doing for we will reap if we faint not.” Galatians 6:9
Look again at verse 13,
13 Now, who will want to harm you if you are eager to do good? 14 But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. “
Peter again says that suffering and the subsequent glory of Christ is a pattern for our lives: Death to self, resurrection with God. And what he would have us see is that, if the gospel is true and we belong to God in Christ, then safety doesn’t lie in placing our bets and protecting ourselves, but in zealously throwing ourselves into fire of conflict for the sake of life and love.
Matthew 8:36“What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul.
Do you feed your faith or your fear? What do you feed your faith with?
Peter is saying, “Be zealous to obey God, even if it means you look very weird to others in doing so. Be zealous to love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and to love your neighbor as yourself—even if it means potential persecution.”
The risk of results is rewarded by retention.
Even if the direct result of your obedience to Jesus is opposition, hatred, reviling, persecution, obedience to Jesus is the better option. Why? Because “…even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed or rewarded.”
This guarantee of blessing isn’t Peter’s invention; it’s Jesus’ promise to his people in the Sermon on the Mount.
Matthew 5:10–12, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
So, here’s a question for us; are you zealous for what is good? Do you view yourself and your purpose biblically? What I mean is, do you view yourself as being for something? He bought you and saved you and renewed you and forgave you in order to make you something, to use you, for you to be his possession, his instrument of change, a catalyst, a rock on which he can build.
You’re blessed when you are persecuted for righteousness’ sake and by standing up for him!
To be zealous for what is good means to aim your life directly at bold, risky obedience to Jesus. Meaning we need to devour the Word of God to see what the good looks like, to lean into that, and to live in such a way as to make it look like we are betting everything on the reality of resurrection and divine blessing.
Could I look at your life and say, “There’s a man who is betting it all on the truth of the gospel, the worth and reward of Christ!”
God promises that he will bless us when we suffer for his sake, doesn’t he? Is that promise still good today or not? God delights to bless his people to vindicate his Word.
And what happens is that as the people of God zealously pursue the glory of God in every corner of their lives is that the Kingdom advances, but persecution and opposition do as well. And so, number two, Peter exhorts us to live fearlessly.
Have No Fear of Them
Look at verse 14 again with me,
14 But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don’t worry or be afraid of their threats. -1 Peter 3:14–15a
If you don’t play it safe-Eventually persecution will pursue you. Just because you are good and righteous doesn’t mean you will be immune. BE ready because it is inevitable. Eventually someone will say or do something that you will take offense to. The world will tolerate you to the point of a decision.
Illustration: When people are in a dark room their pupils are dilated.(BIG) When you come in and open the blinds so light comes in, they are not happy. “Ask any teenager”
Acts 10:38
King James Version:38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.
Yet….what happened?
Do not live in fear of those who oppose Christ. Don’t give honor and fear to those who oppose Christ, but rather live in holy fear of God, honoring Christ as your Lord. Peter is assuming that if you do Christianity correctly, you should need to hear this as an encouragement. If you’re obeying Jesus, zealous for good, you should expect to be hated, to suffer to a degree.
Quote: “If you’ve never met the devil face to face, chances are you’re traveling in the same direction he is”
We will know we’re going the right way when people raise their eyebrows at us, when people oppose us, want us to fail, want us out of there; want us to stop troubling their world and stirring up their culture. But be encouraged that you are the light of the world shining in a darkened culture. Of course, there will be a reaction!
New International Version John 3:19
This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil
New International Version 2 Timothy 3:12 Paul told Timothy
In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,
If you are mastered by fear of people rather than the fear of God, it becomes impossible for you to be zealous for what is good according to God. Instead, you will be zealous for what is good according to the people you fear. You will find yourself continually flexing your identity, your values, your words, your deeds—all of you—to mold around the people you’re trying to impress, the people you’re living in fear of.
You can’t cave in, bow, buckle or bend to your convictions because your conscience will not permit it.
Do you fear people? Are you terrified of sharing your faith? Are you ashamed to publicly be known to believe certain unfashionable parts of the Bible? The Christians in Asia Minor had massive worldview gaps between themselves and their neighbors, gaps that were resulting in persecution and suffering. But they knew that they couldn’t love their neighbor if they feared their neighbor more than God.
Skip Heitzig “Persecution is the result of obedience” Plain and simple, you need the heart of a lion, the skin of a rhino, the eye of an eagle and the gentleness of a dove.
And what Peter would have them believe and to have us believe is that God is good for his promises, that fearing people and trying to get them to bless you and satisfy you will never prove out the way that fearing God and trusting him to bless you will.
Jesus stood his ground, proved his point and still never won over the word and neither will you. You will win some; be happy with that.
John 15:18 18 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.20 Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.
How do you win over the unbeliever? Quit trying to correct them. Earn their respect and they will give you their ear.
If you earn the ear you have nothing to fear
Christians are not better than anyone else, but they are better off than anyone else.
You can invite persecution upon yourself by being weird and obnoxious.
God is looking for sharp shooters not grenade launchers.
Love people into the kingdom! Don’t hate them in. It is not us against them!
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Defend the Hope
Number three, be ready to defend the hope that is producing in you a kind of life that looks utterly foolish to those around you. Verses 14b–16,
“Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 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, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.” 1 Peter 3:13-16
In the context of this passage, which is about non-Christians persecuting Christians for looking like Christians, what Peter is saying is that you are going to have to defend the hope in you that makes what looks like a joke to the world the very wisdom of God.
It’s about people looking at you and saying, “Geez, only an idiot would do that with their money, their time; only an idiot would shape their lives around an old book.” “You give 10% or more back to the church?” And Peter would have us be ready in those moments where people scoff at us and at a gospel-shaped life to say, “Let me tell you about the hope that makes what looks like folly to you the very wisdom of God.”
When the body of Christ lives with a Spirit-cultivated zeal for good works—obedience to Jesus born from hope in Jesus—it simply looks weird.
When they ask for a reason…be reasonable, responsible and ready. Don’t be ridiculous.
How do you present a palatable Jesus? “in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy” Set him apart daily! Jesus must be Lord in your heart before you can proclaim him as Lord to the world.
Back in Roman days if someone said, Jesus is God, no one would care because the Romans had many Gods. But if someone said, Jesus is Lord over all, that could cost them their life.
The only way you can stand publicly is because you kneel privately.
You set him apart daily as you love the Lord your God with all your heart, your soul and your mind. Matthew 22.37
“always being prepared to make a defense” Greek word for defense is apologia (Latin for apology, from Greek ἀπολογία, “speaking in defense”) is a formal defense of an opinion, position or action.
It doesn’t mean always be prepared to make an apology
We get our word apologetics from that word >it means have a defense or offer an explanation or give good reasons for.
This world is a living court room. Like lawyers giving a defensive explanation
Unbelievers have really good questions don’t they? If so, then believers should have really good answers. You might know what you believe but do you know why you believe it?
It looks peculiar because the life of a Christian lived with bold, fruitful, fearless zeal just is a lower-case-i incarnation of the shape of the gospel into a human life. It is a display of the gospel in skin. God is through his people making a display of the way of his gospel.
So, we do it with “gentleness and respect.” Just because you win an argument doesn’t mean you won the war!
And lastly, number four, Peter would have us avoid diminishing our witness with evil.
4.The World is always Watching you.
Illustration: A cannibal was looking intently at the captive. When the captive said, “Why are you looking at me that way? The cannibal said, “I’m the food inspector”
Live like people are watching. Look again at verse 15,
“…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, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.”
-1 Peter 3:15–17
Live in such a way that even if your enemies could watch you around the clock, they would be put to shame when they accuse you of evil.
How many of you have felt the eyes of the crowd piercing your conscience? Have you ever noticed the look, bend and whisper?
People say, I know he can preach but how does he practice? My response and reaction is always being scrutinized.
What happens when you do all the right things for all the right reasons and you keep getting the wrong answers? You get slander, accusations, insults, cursed at! Then what?
YOU DO NOTHING! Your conscience IS CLEAR. There is nothing clearer than a clean conscience.
Your conscience is that divinely planted mechanism whereby you are feeling accused or excused. Convicted or affirmed.
Peter’s point is that a clear conscience will help you face a hostile world. You did your part, now rest that God will do his. You are not called to win the world…only some.
Acts & Us
As we leave the text this morning, let me give you a picture of this in action from Acts. The book of Acts records the work of the Spirit through the Apostles in bringing the gospel to the ends of the known earth at that time, the Roman Empire.
That pattern or shape that I laid out a moment ago describes God’s work in the church in that place and time. As the gospel went into new towns and cities and regions and took root in souls, we actually have moments where the non-Christians give us insight into what it is that they thought was happening, what Christianity looked like from their perspective. Here’s one such account from Acts 17,
“Now when [Paul and Silas] had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.” And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women. But the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd. And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” And the people and the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things. And when they had taken money as security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.”
-Acts 17:1–9
Here’s what I want you to see in this text: The non-Christians got it. They understood what was being claimed by the Christians. They understood that they weren’t heralding a new system of good works, a tweaked philosophy of the morality, a nice new religious ideology.
They understood the gospel—which was a claim to everything. It was nothing less than the claiming of their city as a new province of Jesus’ Kingship. “These men have turned the world upside down… saying that there is another king, Jesus.”
We serve the same King. We have the same good news to herald: The King is forgiving all rebellion and sin by his own blood! Be saved and be his!
What is stopping us? What’s stopping us from being bold in the gospel? Are we zealous to love our neighbors—loving them by serving them and by making them uncomfortable? What are we scared of? Our Lord has told us to “Have no fear of them, nor be troubled.”
