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August 23, 2020
Jason Meyer (Downtown Campus) | 1 Peter 3:13-17
Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. 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. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.—1 Peter 3:13–17
Introduction
I read a paragraph this week that stopped me in my tracks. The author was a missionary overseas focused on sharing the gospel in a hostile setting. He came back to the States and was surprised to see how much had changed here. He saw a surge of hostility to Christians and the gospel. So he wrote a book on Evangelism as Exiles.
Here is the paragraph:
We’ve believed the most effective witness for Christ is positive and encouraging. We’ve assumed the way to win the masses is by rebranding our churches and offering people a better life. We’ve believed our greatest apologists are successful CEOs or professional athletes. The gospel has become one-dimensional: it’s all about accessing blessing without the need to avoid judgment.1
Here is my translation. “We have used worldly marketing techniques. We have tried to do the Lord’s work in the world’s way. This is evangelism that believes the power of the gospel is in its marketing. It must be packaged in positivity and success. Give people what they want to hear and hide the parts they do not want to hear.”
What is missing in modern evangelism? Peter puts his finger on it in this passage. We will unpack it and find the answer together.
We have parallelism again in that Peter begins and ends on the same theme: suffering. Then, like a good pastor, he shows them how to respond to suffering.
Outline
2. The Response to Suffering (1 Peter 3:14b–16)
Notice first that Peter does not merely presuppose that Christians will be sold out for good; he goes out of his way to make it explicit (i.e., he spells it out) and emphatic (i.e., he repeats it twice for emphasis).
Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed.—1 Peter 3:13, 14a
For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.—1 Peter 3:17
Why is this so necessary? It is a necessity because of the new birth. Christians are a new creation. It is not about bad people becoming better, but about dead people becoming alive. The new birth creates a passionate hunger and thirst for righteousness (cf. Matthew 5:6). Peter wants his readers to be sold out in their commitment to fill the Roman empire with beautiful behavior that is an expression of the excellencies of Christ.
The next observation to make is that suffering in the form of persecution is not automatic. Peter presents an assumption in the form of a rhetorical question: “Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good?” (v. 13). Some people read this in the Matthew 10 sense: Even if you suffer, you will not be eternally harmed, because not one hair on your head will be touched. In other words, they can’t touch your soul.
Another way to read it is to say that people do not normally expect that doing good will result in being treated poorly. For example, Peter just said that government exists to reward the good and punish the bad.
... Or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.—1 Peter 2:14–15
You could say the same thing with your boss at work or a parent at home. No boss would tell their employee to stop doing such a good job. What parent is going to discipline their child for being good? I have never heard a parent say, “Stop listening to me so well! You need to disobey more and break the rules more!”
But Peter’s whole point is that they are living in a highly charged society with hostility toward believers, so that they should not be surprised by suffering and thus conclude that they are no longer experiencing God’s blessing.
But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed.—1 Peter 3:14a
Peter uses the form of the Greek verb that emphasizes the possibility of suffering (the present optative form). Suffering is a very real possibility for all of his readers, even though it is not a present reality for every single one of them.
In other words, suffering is not yet an empire-wide experience. But these Christians live in a context charged with suspicion, fear, and hostility. The volcano has not erupted for everyone, but it is smoking and could erupt into violence and persecution at any moment.
Peter makes the same point with the last verse in this passage:
For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.—1 Peter 3:17
The point is that suffering is not outside of God’s will. Believers must always be ready because it could come at any moment. Long before he tells them to be ready to give a reason for their hope, he informs them that they need to be ready to suffer. Do not conclude that something strange or random is happening to you or that you are now outside of God’s will. Let’s not forget that the very reason Peter writes to them is that some of his readers have been targeted. They have received accusations (2:12), ignorant talk (2:15), evil and reviling (3:9; 4:14), and threats and malicious talk (3:14, 16).
Application
My guess is that many of you find yourselves in the same situation as Peter’s readers. When you take a stand for what God calls right and the world calls wrong, the world will put pressure on you to conform to the pattern of this world. They will resort to all different kinds of shaming strategies. But we cannot be conformed to the world’s pattern of thinking or the world’s strategy of shaming. We will stand for righteousness and when we are shamed, we will bless in return and not play verbal dodgeball. Why? The same reason we saw last week. We are the people who bless because we are blessed.
Peter says that if God chooses to bring suffering, the believer will still be blessed. This point is a continuation of the previous passage. Christians are blessed because they have a living hope through the resurrection. They are God’s beloved children and heaven’s citizens. Christ is their forever Savior and God is their forever Father. The Spirit has set them apart forever for God and his family. Therefore, as Psalm 34 made clear, God’s eyes are on the righteous. His ears are open to their prayers. The light of his countenance shines on the righteous, but his face is set against the wicked.
If the wicked are against God and his righteous ways, then it is a very real possibility that they will not like his children when they follow his ways. Refusing to participate any longer in the ungodly practices of society will offend people in that society. In other words, we will lose the favor of our former friends. But we cannot lose the blessing of our Father.
It seems strange to some people to put these two terms together: “blessed” and “suffering.” Let’s remember that Peter is not pulling this word blessed out of thin air. It almost certainly takes us back to Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 5. Notice the combination of “blessed” and “righteousness’ sake,” just like in 1 Peter 3:14.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”—Matthew 5:10
“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.”—Matthew 5:10–12
His point is that it is good news when people treat you as different for the sake of righteousness, because that is how the world has always treated the citizens of heaven. It is almost as if they are testifying to who you are and reinforcing your identity. I want to return to this point in the conclusion because we can so quickly lose sight of the Father’s smile when all we feel is the world’s frown. Peter is a good pastor and so, having painted the general backdrop of suffering, he now helps them know how to respond to suffering.
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.
Let’s begin with two observations: (1) Peter’s structure and (2) Peter’s source.
The structure of these verses is a classic negation and affirmation. In other words, Peter helps his readers know what not to do (what is natural) and what to do instead (supernatural).
What is the source of these words? It may not be immediately obvious to us, but once again Isaiah has something to say about it.
For the Lord spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying: “Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. But the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.—Isaiah 8:11–13
Have no fear of them, nor be troubled.
In the context of Isaiah, the prophet speaks to the Southern Kingdom of Judah as they face the threat of an alliance between the Northern Kingdom (Israel) and Syria. They are not to be afraid of human alliances as they threaten them. So what is the antidote to the fear of man? Peter now drives that point home.
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.
What: Honor Christ as holy in your hearts and be ready to give the reasons for your hope in him.
But the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.—Isaiah 8:13
But Peter does something truly magnificent here in the way he modifies the quote in verse 15.
But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy.
Do you see it? Peter says that Christ is the Lord of Isaiah 8:13. Rather than fear adversaries, they are to set apart Christ as holy (one of a kind, in a class by himself). He could have simply said, “do not fear them; rather, fear the Lord Jesus.”
That is essentially what he is saying. Isaiah calls them to “let him be your fear, and let him be your dread” (Isaiah 8:13). In other words, the problem that Peter’s readers have is not fear, but the lack of the right kind of fear. We lack the fear of the Lord that is the beginning of wisdom. Peter has already told these believers that they are to live in reverent fear before the Father during their temporary sojourn and exile here on earth (1 Peter 1:17). He has already told them that they must honor everyone, including the emperor, but they are only to fear God (1 Peter 2:17).
Reverent fear of the Lord requires a right recognition of his holiness. Holiness does not just mean his moral purity. It is the essence of his being. As the holy one, there is no one like him. If you rightly fear him, you will not fear anyone else or anything else. Do not bring Christ down to that level as if there is some kind of comparison. There is no comparison. He is the Lord over all. Infinite in power! They are to revere the Lord of Isaiah 8:13, namely the Lord Jesus Christ. Peter freely identifies Jesus as God.
Now we can begin to understand the fear of man versus the fear of God. Let’s return to Isaiah to see what Peter is reading in this context. Isaiah warns the nations that take aim at God’s people that God fights for them.
Take counsel together, but it will come to nothing;
speak a word, but it will not stand,
for God is with us.—Isaiah 8:10
In other words, you could say that God’s presence is the hope of God’s people, but that does not go far enough. Why his presence? What is it about God himself that would make his presence the great game changer and perspective shaper?
It is the very fact that God is exalted in power and might above all the nations of the earth. The nations are a drop in the bucket, dust on the scales; they are like grasshoppers compared to the One who sits enthroned above the circle of the earth and holds the waters in the hollow of his hands and weighs the mountains in a scale the way that we pick up and weigh a bunch of bananas. In other words, we are talking about God’s awesome holiness. He is greater than all, exalted over all. No one compares to him.
Therefore, no weapon formed against his people will prosper. They can take counsel, but it will do nothing. They can say words, but their words will not stand (they will fall to the ground). Why can they be confident that God is for them and with them?
But lest we think Peter is playing fast and loose with Isaiah, let’s read Isaiah 8 in context. Don’t forget that Isaiah 8 is placed squarely between Isaiah 7 and 9. The whole promise of this section is the coming of Immanuel, God with us. The government will be on his shoulders. The hope of Isaiah 8:10—“the Lord God is with us”—is ours; we have the very fulfillment of that promise in Immanuel, who is God with us.
If God is with us and for us, then who can be against us? In other words, do not fear what they fear (the superior might of Assyria—what they know), because you know something far better: the presence of the Lord.
Their challenging circumstances have not made them lose their hope. Why?
Hope in 1 Peter
Hope in 1 Peter is a future-oriented hope. God will be faithful to do all that he said. He is going to bring final judgment. They hope in the grace that will be brought to them at the revelation of Jesus Christ. It is fixed and certain. It is certain because they already have the guarantee of it in the first coming and the resurrection of Jesus Christ (living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 1 Peter 1:3). It is this hope that separates them from the people around them. The people do not have this hope and so they live differently and think differently.
Notice where this hope is. It is in you. Some commentators say Peter is talking about their shared hope: the “hope among you.” But the parallel with the heart in verse 15 shows that the ESV got this right. It is the hope that the church shares together, but everyone has it personally deep down as their core identity. This hope defines them first and that hope unites them as Christians.
So let us return to our original question. What is missing in modern evangelism? The problem in modern evangelism is fear of man more than fear of the Lord. So what is the antidote to the fear of man? We could summarize it in two words: holy fear.
The fear of the Lord is not only the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10), but the beginning of evangelism as well. Fearing the Lord and honoring him as holy is utterly essential for being ready to give a reason for our hope in Christ. Krispy Crème donut stores have a sign that lights up saying “Hot Now” when their donuts are hot and fresh. Day-old donuts are still good, but hot and fresh are the best. In the same way, rather than giving our hearts over to the fear of man (1 Peter 3:14), we want to honor Christ in our hearts as holy (1 Peter 3:15). We want the “hot now” sign over our hearts to stay on for Jesus.
Main Point: Believers are not to fear those who are against them; rather, they must set Christ apart as supreme in their hearts with holy fear so that they are always ready to testify to the hope that he alone gives.
A lack of evangelism does not come from the presence of too much fear, but from the absence of the right kind of God-centered, Christ-exalting, eternity-focused fear.
Rather than defend our honor, we are supposed to honor Christ in our hearts as holy. We are to live for the honor and approval and smile of our Savior. If we live under his smile and for his smile, we can die to the smiles and frowns of others. We do not need to live for what they can do for us or fear what they can do against us.
When we live for the approval of others, we are most committed to our own approval. We want to keep people happy—to keep them liking us. We want them to think that we are smart, contemporary, hip, tolerant, fun, approving, positive. We don’t fear their loss (eternal hell); we fear what we could lose (approval or friendship).
How can we preach Christ with a clear conscience if what we really fear is losing our comforts: money, friends, power, influence? Dear friends, that is what they fear. That is why Isaiah says not to fear what they fear. Do not be like them in their fear.
The problem with fear of man is always the same: high views of humanity (what they can do for us or against us) and low views of God!
This is the way that people treat all exiles. Think of the exiles in Nehemiah’s time. All of their opponents mocked them and shamed them. Their explicit goal was to get Nehemiah to fear him (Nehemiah 6:19). What did Nehemiah say?
Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome.—Nehemiah 8:14
Think about what Isaiah faced. In Isaiah 6, he was told that he was going to preach to a people who did not want to hear his message. It would fall on deaf ears. No one ever wants to hear about God’s judgment. So he was warned not to fear his opponents or their rejection. Rather, he was given a vision. A vision of what? A vision of the holiness of God (Isaiah 6).
We need to resurrect a holy fear. In the book of Acts, the church grew and the gospel spread as they lived in the fear of the Lord (Acts 9:31). Paul called Christians to be ambassadors, and the fear of the Lord was an essential prerequisite for this task: “Knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others” (2 Corinthians 5:11). We attempt to save others by snatching them from the fire and we show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh (Jude 23).
The final judgment gives us both a reverent fear (heaven and hell) and a winsome certainty (hope). No one is going to be in heaven lamenting that Christ-rejecting people on earth did not think they were more hip and tolerant. And people in hell will definitely not be celebrating all the cultural approval and physical goods they had in this life.
Holy Fear and Certain Hope in Pandemic
If you put your ear to the ground right now, what are people talking about? People are filled with questions and no one really knows the answers. There is a ton of speculation and possibilities. What will happen to the economy? What will happen to our health? What will happen to school?
In other words, a pandemic brings with it a plague of uncertainty. Uncertainty about what life will look like in the future. Rather than dreaming about returning to life as it was, or what it could be, Christians are fixed on what certainly will be (hope).
When there is a plague of uncertainty in the world, people need a church with a fixed and certain hope. When hope is scarce and those around you see it and want to know where you found it, you have to be ready to give a reason for why you have it and where you found it. Are you equipped for the task? Are you eager and equipped for the task? Do you have what you need to unpack the glorious reasons we have for hoping in Jesus?
Despair and hopelessness expose the tragic way that many people turn to counterfeit hopes in times of trial. These false hopes are like patches of thin ice that cannot bear the weight we put upon them. In a time of pandemic, we do not hope in social distancing strategies, stimulus packages, or advice from the Center for Disease Control. We can be thankful for these things without trusting in them or hoping in them.
What we have discovered is that just like the body needs health, the soul needs hope. And many people do not think deeply about their hope until it is gone and then they wonder why. In many cases, it is because people feel like they are out of control. It scares them and shakes them to the core. But we testify that you can’t lose what you never had. You have not lost control, just the illusion of control. When the audacity of trusting in ourselves and the illusion of control is stripped away, then we can find real hope only in Christ who controls all things with the word of his power.
We must not buy into the lie that our difficulties are bigger than our God. Christ upholds the universe with the word of his power (Hebrews 1:3) and in him all things hold together (Colossians 1:17).
So we are called forward into this world. We must avoid the ditches of retreat or attack.
Two Ditches: Retreat or Attack
Peter does not tell believers to withdraw from society for the sake of their safety. He also does not advocate an angry counterattack. Faith does not close doors to relationships with anyone out of fear or anger. Faith turns to Christ as upholds him as holy and keeps cultivating hope so that it is always served hot and fresh. Faith turns to Christ and that same trust is always open or ready to share him with others.
Christians must live openly before a watching world. When their differences stand out (and they will), they must always be ready to explain what they have that others do not.
How to Give a Reason for Our Hope
... Yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience—1 Peter 3:15b–16a
Let’s ask a few questions that will help us in our witness.
Gentleness is a reference to being under the control of Christ and not out of control with anger or fear. It was often used of domesticated animals whose great strength was brought under control. It is the opposite of wild animals—strong, but dangerous and unpredictable. Christians are gentle because they are under the control of Christ.
Respect here is once again the Greek word for “fear.” I think Peter has in mind a reverence for God (φόβος, phobos, fear). It is true that reverence for God will also cause us to treat those who are made in his image with respect. In other words, Peter calls his readers to respond with a double-sided coin: gentleness toward others because they are under the control of Christ in holy reverence toward Christ.
An effective testimony requires a clear conscience regarding one’s personal integrity before the Lord. One cannot explain the hope we have in Christ while living in ways that contradict that hope.
People will probably not ask about what makes us different if we look the same as everyone else. And you will not be very eager or effective at sharing your hope if you have a compromised conscience and thus there is no ring of authenticity to what you are saying.
Why We Give the Reasons for Our Hope in This Way
... So that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.—1 Peter 3:16b
Peter says we do this with a view toward others coming to see the truth. When their eyes are opened, they will stop speaking out of malice and ignorance. In this verse, Peter returns to the main refrain of this section.
Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. 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.—1 Peter 2:11–12
Keep living in such a way in the midst of slander that you are not giving them any real evidence for the way they are treating you. God will take care of the results. Either they will have their eyes opened and turn to Christ or they will have their eyes opened at the last judgment and they will be forced to confess that Christ is Lord and that they were wrong, to their everlasting shame.
Conclusion and Closing Song:
‘Jesus I My Cross Have Taken’
Jesus, I my cross have taken
All to leave and follow Thee
Destitute, despised, forsaken
Thou from hence my all shall be
Perish every fond ambition
All I’ve sought or hoped or known
Yet how rich is my condition!
God and heaven are still my own.
Let the world despise and leave me
They have left my Savior, too
Human hearts and looks deceive me
Thou art not, like them, untrue
O while Thou dost smile upon me
God of wisdom, love, and might
Foes may hate and friends disown me
Show Thy face and all is bright.
Man may trouble and distress me
’Twill but drive me to Thy breast
Life with trials hard may press me
Heaven will bring me sweeter rest
Oh, ’tis not in grief to harm me
While Thy love is left to me
Oh, ’twere not in joy to charm me
Were that joy unmixed with Thee.
Go, then, earthly fame and treasure
Come disaster, scorn and pain
In Thy service, pain is pleasure
With Thy favor, loss is gain
I have called Thee Abba Father
I have stayed my heart on Thee
Storms may howl, and clouds may gather
All must work for good to me.
Soul, then know thy full salvation
Rise o’er sin and fear and care
Joy to find in every station
Something still to do or bear
Think what Spirit dwells within thee
Think what Father’s smiles are thine
Think that Jesus died to win thee
Child of heaven, canst thou repine.
Haste thee on from grace to glory
Armed by faith, and winged by prayer
Heaven’s eternal days before thee
God’s own hand shall guide us there
Soon shall close thy earthly mission
Soon shall pass thy pilgrim days
Hope shall change to glad fruition
Faith to sight, and prayer to praise.
______
1. Elliot Clark, Evangelism as Exiles, p. 57
Outline
Main Point: Believers are not to fear those who are against them; rather, they must set Christ apart as supreme in their hearts with holy fear so that they are always ready to testify to the hope that he alone gives.
Discussion Questions
Application Questions
Prayer Focus
Pray for a grace to die to the fear of man and to cultivate a holy fear and fixed hope in Christ.