Click on this title to listen to the message: Nothing to Fear When Jesus Is Lord
Below is a basic outline of the sermon:
1 Peter 3:13-16
First Christian Church, Owensville, IN
June 28, 2020
Bart W. Newton, Preaching Minister
(Abbreviations for Bible translations that may be quoted: ESV = English Standard Version; NLT = New Living Translation; CSB = Christian Standard Bible; GW = God’s Word; Amplified Bible = AMP; KJV = King James Version; New King James Version = NKJV; The Message = MSG; KNT = Kingdom New Testament)
• When was the last time you were afraid of suffering for doing something you knew was good?
• Let me ask the same question in a slightly different way. When was the last time you were afraid of suffering for doing something you knew was right.
• Most of us don’t fear suffering something that we think of in terms of being good—take a meal to a neighbor who is sick; return someone’s lost wallet to its rightful owner.
• We might fear suffering for doing something that is right. For example, your boss tells you to do something ethically questionable and you know the right thing would be not to do it might mean losing your job.
• How are we to handle situations in which we run the risk of suffering for obedience to Jesus? Gareth Reese tells us, “The gist of what [Peter] writes in the rest of chapter 3 is this—suffering while doing good may open up new areas of service. It did for Jesus, it can for the Christian. –Gareth Reese, Jude & Peter, p. 78.
• Background: Rome had suffered a tragic fire. Christians were falsely accused of setting it. Peter was doctrinally trying to prepare Christians for possible suffering due to persecution by the government. (Reese, p. 78)
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… (ESV)
Peter begins by asking a question::
13 Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good?
• V. 13, Amplified: Now who is there to hurt you if you become enthusiastic for what is good?
• Taking verse 13 by itself, it seems that Peter is asking a rhetorical question, the answer being that usually no reasonable person would harm us for doing good.
• But maybe Peter is referring back to 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.”
• In other words, God sees and rewards the righteous, no ultimate harm can result.
• “Our enemies might hurt us but they cannot harm us.” –Warren Wiersbe, Be Hopeful, p. 84
• Think of it this way: They can kill you but they cannot take away your salvation inheritance!
14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed.
Three rhyming thoughts leading to Peter’s main point:
1. To suffer for choosing what’s best, means by God you’ll be blessed. (vv. 13-14a)
• “blessed” = spiritually prosperous
• Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5:10-11: 10 God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right,
for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
11 “God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. (NLT)
• Peter brings this up later in the letter:
• 1 Peter 4:12-14: 12 Dear friends, don’t be surprised when the fiery ordeal comes among you to test you, as if something unusual were happening to you. 13 Instead, rejoice as you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may also rejoice with great joy when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are ridiculed for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. (CSB)
• The main blessing that ultimately comes if we remain faithful is growing in our Christ-likeness. Remember, Christ suffered, leaving an example for us.
• The challenge is that even though God will bless us for doing what pleases Him, it’s easy to become fearful of those who can hurt us. So Peter continues:
14bHave no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy,…
2. People we won’t fear if Jesus we revere (vv. 14b-15a) .
• Peter references Isaiah 8:12-13 from the Greek OT.
• As Wiersbe describes, Ahaz, King of Judah is facing a crisis because of an impending invasion of the Assyrian army. Kings of Israel and Syria wanted Ahaz to join them in an alliance, but Ahaz refused. So, Israel and Syria threated to invade Judah. Behind the scenes, Ahaz confederated himself Assyria! The Prophet Isaiah then warns Ahaz not to align himself with ungodly alliances, but instead trust in God (p. 89).
• Isaiah 8:12b-13: 12b And you are not to fear what they fear nor be in dread of it.
13 “It is the Lord of hosts whom you are to regard as holy and awesome.
He shall be your [source of] fear,
He shall be your [source of] dread [not man]. (Amp)
• So, how do we keep from cowarding in fear?
15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy,… (or “in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord.”)
• If we can just remember that Jesus is God; man is not.
• If we fear Jesus reverently out of love and awe, we don’t need to fear others.
• Vv. 14b-15a, GW: Don’t be afraid of those who want to harm you. Don’t get upset. 15 But dedicate your lives to Christ as Lord.
• V. 15a: But in your hearts set Christ apart [as holy—acknowledging Him, giving Him first place in your lives] as Lord. (Amplified)
• Our verbal profession of faith and our behavior and lifestyle choices must align under the lordship of Jesus Christ.
• “[Sanctifying Christ as Lord in our hearts] means to turn everything over to Him, and to live only to please Him and glorify Him.”—Warren Wiersbe, Be Hopeful, p. 85
• In fact Wiersbe says its combining Matthew 6:33 and Romans 12:1-2 “into a daily attitude of faith that obeys God’s Word in spite of consequences.” (Be Hopeful, p. 85).
• Setting apart King Jesus as Lord of our minds, hearts has to do with giving our ultimate allegiance to Him, an allegiance that replaces or supersedes all other others.
• When did we give Jesus our pledge of allegiance to Jesus and His Kingdom? Was it not upon our confession of faith, repentance and time of our baptism?
• In his book, Scandalous Witness, Lee C. Camp writes, “Baptism is a voluntary induction into a new way of life in which our ultimate allegiance is the lordship of Christ. His lordship teaches us how to tell the truth, love our enemies, keep our marriage vows, and share our wealth. Baptism is the Christian’s pledge of allegiance. The voluntary nature of this commitment is itself a profound political alternative…
“[B]aptism—which is to say, induction into citizenship in the kingdom of God—is …an alternative political act in that it explicitly transcends sociopolitical barriers…
“Baptism is…no mere religious ritual. It is a pledge of allegiance to trump all other pledges of allegiance. Thus when we are called to pledge allegiance to other political authorities, we must either reject such a call or do so only with a highly qualified pledge.” –pp. 126-127
• If you truly live with Jesus as your Lord, someone is going to ask questions about it. So be ready to explain it:
… 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,…
• v. 15b, in other words, “Why are you living like that? Why are you so zealous to do what is right and good in the eyes of Jesus even if you suffer at the hands of men for doing it? “
3. When asked, humbly share the reason why it’s Jesus you’re pleasin’ (vv. 15b-16:a)
…to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you..
• Hope = faith. Peter speaks of hope several times just in the first chapter:
• 1 Peter 1:3: 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. (CSB)
• 1 Peter 1:13: So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. (NLT)
• 1 Peter 1:21: Through Christ you have come to trust in God. And you have placed your faith and hope in God because he raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory. (NLT)
• Would you be able to give a reason for your hope if a non-Christian asked you? If not, I suggest you sit down, pray, and write it out so you can tell people in 3 minutes or less.
• Remember, how we give the reason for our hope matters:
…yet do it with gentleness and respect,…
• Does Peter mean gentleness and respect toward the person your answering or Someone else?
• V. 15, CSB: Yet do this with gentleness and reverence…
•Who are we to revere? King Jesus.
• I cannot answer with gentleness and respect toward others if I’m not being humble and reverent toward King Jesus. If we do that, then our tone will be as it ought to be.
• I’m not sure many of us have reverent and humble before God or respectful and gentle towards others lately (especially in some social media posts). We’ve been pridefully partisan. We need to communicate in a way that enables us to:
… 16 having a good conscience…
• If I respond to my critics and agitators in a way that compromises my witness, my conscience is compromised before God. Such as by insult for insult or giving in to pressure and compromising my faith.
• Remember, our purpose is not to win the argument but to win the soul to Christ.
• 1 Peter 3:9: Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will grant you his blessing. (NLT)
• Our earthly nation is in a crisis. But as citizens of the kingdom of God, we know that the answer is Jesus! We’ve been reminded why the Incarnation—God taking on a human body in the Person of Jesus Christ—was necessary!
• Only He can transform our minds, hearts and lives…if we truly let Him be Lord, Ruler, of our lives!
Review:
• To suffer for choosing what’s best, means by God you’ll be blessed. (vv. 13-14a)
• People we won’t fear, if Jesus we revere (vv. 14b-15a) .
• When asked, humbly share the reason why it’s Jesus you’re pleasin’ (vv. 15b-16:a)
Main Point: When Jesus is Lord of your heart, there is no reason to fear.
Let’s spend some time reflecting on what God’s Word has shown us, using the acronym SPECKS:
• Sin to confess?
• Prayer, promise or praise to hold onto?
• Example to follow?
• Command to obey?
• Knowledge to retain?
• Share the passage with whom?