Wayfaring Strangers
A study of 1 Peter
Part 14
“The fair is in October and we don’t have tickets”
1 Peter 3:13-17
Today we are going to continue our study of 1 Peter titled wayfaring strangers
Last week we looked at Peter’s checklist of spiritual maturity
As he prepared us for the suffering part of his message
We learned that if we will respond in ways that please God
Even when we suffer
Even when we are persecuted
Even when we are mistreated
Our hope is still in Christ
And with his strength
Not our own
We can overcome every trial
And even consider them as joy
Let me quickly remind you of the checklist items
Strive for unity
Show sympathy
Love each other
Have compassion on our fellow man
Humble ourselves
Forgive others
Keep quiet if we can’t say something nice
And chase purity and peace with everything we have
As I said last week
If we can check each of these check list items
Our lives will be better
Our relationship with Christ and with each other will be better
And even our relationship with ourselves will be better
Peter gave us this check list because
Life just ain’t fair sometimes
That’s not fair
Seems to be the battle cry of many in this world today
When one person gets a bigger piece of the cake
That’s not fair
When someone else gets the job or the promotion or the position
That’s not fair
When something bad happens
Even when it is our own fault
We want to cry
That’s not fair
My dad used to say
When I would cry
That’s not fair
“The Fair is in October and we don’t have tickets”
To that I have added over the years
Get over it
In this section of Peter
He deals with a principle
Listen
There are many promises in the bible
And God never breaks his promises
But there are many things in God’s word that are principles
Not promises
When we don’t differentiate between the two
And confuse God’s principals with his promises
We can easily become discouraged
When things don’t go as we feel they should
Mixing these two up also can highjack our faith
When we believe God has broken a promise
We may begin doubting the other [promises
And even doubt God himself
So
Today
Peter begins with a principle of God
Please open your bibles to 1 Peter chapter 3
And I will break down verses 13-17
Let me read them in their entirety first to set the scene
And then as always, we will come back and break them down and apply them to our lives
1` Peter 3:13-17
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!
Now the general principal of this passage
Verse 13
13 Now, who will want to harm you if you are eager to do good?
Peter asks a rhetorical question here
Who will want to hurt you if you do good
What this means is in principal
If we live a good and Godly life
Do what is right
Follow the check list from last week
Keep our noses clean
Our thoughts focused on Christ
That no one
Should want to do us harm
Notice
I said
Should
This is what makes this a principal and not a promise
We know that bad things happen to good people all the time
We know we live in a sinful world
And sometimes stuff happens
If we take Peters’s words here as a promise
And then we live right and something bad does happen
That would mean the promise was broken
And God
Remember does not break his promises
Period!!!!!
So
He says
Live like you know you should as believers
And most likely nothing bad will happen
But we know life is not always fair
And so does Peter
So, he continues
With verse 14a
“14 But even if you suffer for doing what is right”
Peter adds the but
Always a but right
But
Even if
I am not a Greek and Hebrew scholar
And I will never profess to be one
But in this context if we look at the word if
It can have 4 meanings in the original languages
It can mean, assumed true or– most likely will happen which would contradict Peters words in verse 13
It can mean, assumed false or most likely will not happen which would negate the next verses
It can mean maybe/maybe not- which could fit here
But the fourth and most likely use of the word if here
Would be – unlikely but possible
So
Peter says
Live like you should and most likely no harm will come to you
But
If it should
We can act like the world when life is not fair
And kick and cry and scream
Try and get even
Get justice
Get vengeance
We can sull up
Or even respond in hatred
Anger and violence
Or we can act like mature believers
And respond to the hardships
And troubles
With grace
Peter shows us 5 responses in this passage of a mature believer
And his responses if followed
Will strengthen our walk and our witness
But will also make it where problems just roll off like water off of a ducks’ back
Response 1 from verse 14a
“God will reward you for it”
When we face troubles in this life that we don’t deserve
That is persecution for our faith
We should consider ourselves blessed
Blessed is another name for reward
When we overcome with Christ
The rewards or blessings we get are a deeper relationship with Him
More faith
Stronger faith
More hope
More peace
More joy
More contentment
More of the good stuff
There is a reason I always answer the question how you are
With I am blessed
Because I know that I truly am
Knowing how blessed we are to be forgiven children of the living God
Should make our problems in this world seem very small
Or at least make them seem overcomable
Verse 14b
“So don’t worry or be afraid of their threats.”
To put this in common terms
Don’t freak out or try and RUNNOFT
When trouble does show up
Worry is s sin and a joy stealer
Fear does not come from God
But is a tool of Satan
The people this life who may want to do you harm because of your faith
Cannot do anything to your soul
Listen we are promised eternity
And it will be glorious
And no one on this earth ---in this life
Can harm us in the spiritual manner
So, Peter says
Because you are a child of God
Don’t waist your time worrying or being afraid of things in this life
In short
He says
God’s got this- don’t worry be happy
I think 3 is the glue in this passage
Actually, it is the glue in our lives
Verse 15a
“15 Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life”
Many people claim to know Jesus
Many claim salvation
Few really place Jesus as Lord of their lives
If you don’t get anything else this morning
Get this
If Jesus is not The Lord of your life something else is
And nothing else has the ability to properly fill this role
Everyone and everything will fail you
Christ will not!!!
When we put Christ as the center we often can’t see the problem anymore
Other versions say sanctify Christ in your heart
This simply means
Place him first
Treat him with awe
Respect
Reverence
Set him on high
Exalt Christ
This is the most amazing thing about a maturing Believer
When the rest of the world is panicking
Running away
Crying out in total despair
We are focusing on God
Not always liking what is going on
Not always understanding it
But not letting it \ whatever it is
Take the place of Christ
Next Peter says we should be prepared to explain why we are not panicking
Why we are not running off
Why we have hope
Verse 15b
“And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. “
Listen
Hope sets us apart from the rest of the world
And without Christ there is no hope
When the wheels fall of your life
Someone asks you
How do you get through this?
Tell them the source of your hope
Tell them about the love of Jesus that changed your life
Tell them about his forgiveness
His protection
His faithfulness
Listen
You don’t need to wow them with deep theology
Just tell your Jesus story
In your own words
With honor and reverence to the one who gives hope
The religious leaders who stoned Stephen to death were shocked by his response
In the face of death
He smiled
Looked up into heaven and asked God to forgive his murders
Stephen knew where his hope came from and he shared it
Right to the death
Listen to me
One of the biggest turnoffs to the world our side those walls
Is inconsistency in our faith
Saying one thing and then doing another
And listen
This is important
When sharing the reason for your hope
Do it in a loving not condemning way
Verse 16
16 But do this in a gentle and respectful way.
We must meet the unbelieving world with love and compassion
We must know the truth
And proclaim the truth in love
In order to know the truth, we must seek the source of truth
God’s word
Read it
Study it --think about it
Apply it to your life
Live it
Listen to those you are sharing with
Talk in a way they can understand
Big church words often scare people away
Just be you
Number 5
Peter tells us to maintain integrity
Verse 16b
“Keep your conscience clear.”
How do we keep a clear conscience?
How do we maintain integrity?
By doing what is right
In every situation
How do we know right?
Keep your conscience clear.
open the book
Listen to the prompting of the holy Spirit in your heart
Why is this important?
Why have a clear conscience?
Why have integrity?
Why be a man or woman of character?
Peter answers this in verse 16b
Verse 16b
“Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ.’
Horace Greely – Congress man, presidential candidate and founder of the New York Tribune had these words to say about integrity
“Fame is a vapor, Popularity an accident, riches take wing, and only character endures”
His words ring true
At the end of
All we may have is our character
Or integrity
A clear conscience
A these are an amazing testimony to Jesus the author of our hope
Someone said these words, and they are so true
“There is no stronger defense for the gospel than a life lived in integrity”
Peter wraps up this section with these words
Verse 17
17 Remember, it is better to suffer for doing good, if that is what God wants, than to suffer for doing wrong!
This is the underlying theme of Peters words here in verses 13-17
No one wants to suffer
Prayerfully you will never have to
But if you suffer for doing right
You will be blessed
If you suffer for doing wrong
I hate to tell you this
You will get little sympathy
and while some may hate that you are going though those hard times
you and they know you are reaping what you sowed
getting what you gave
So, to warp up this section
On dealing with hardships
Realize you are blessed and lived as blessed people
Don’t freak out when trouble comes
Trust in God to handle it
Make Jesus Christ Lord of all in your life
The good and the bad- he is the God of the mountain and the God of the valley
Always be ready to tell others the reason for your hope
And keep your integrity in all you do.
Close from the heart
Pray
