Has anyone ever had to apologize for you? Maybe it was the time when you put a frog in your teacher’s desk at school. The prank got a few laughs when the frog jumped out causing your teacher to scream, but it also earned you a trip to the principal’s office. That was followed by a call to Mom who had to rearrange her schedule and pick you up since you were suspended from school for the rest of the week. You and your parents also had to meet with your teacher to apologize. You no doubt said sorry, but so did your parents. They apologized for you and assured your teacher that you would never do something like that again.
It’s humiliating when another person has to apologize for you so it will surprise you to learn that our sermon theme this morning is “Apologize” for Jesus. No, Jesus has done nothing for which we need to be ashamed. Quite the opposite. He’s saved us from hell and is ruling this world on our behalf. So I need to explain that the word “apology” is actually a Greek word which means to “defend.” To make an apology for Jesus in biblical terms then means to defend or speak well of Jesus. We will “apologize” for Jesus in this way when we describe his help to others, and when we declare our hope as Christians.
Listen again to how the Apostle Peter started our text. He wrote: “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord” (1 Peter 3:15a). That’s such a simple directive but so hard to put into practice. We are to set apart Christ as Lord, but we often think and act as if we are lord. How does that become apparent in our lives? Well what is your attitude about retirement? Banks and investment companies want you to believe that retirement is finally the time when you get to do what you want. After all you’ve put in 25 to 40 years of hard work right? Now it’s your turn to take it easy and to indulge yourself. But one Bible student mused about such an attitude and wrote: “My reward for years of hard labor is God’s to give in eternity, not a right I have to bestow upon myself now…the notion that I have earned a life of ease in retirement [is] absurd.” (Bruce Waltke, “The Dance Between God and Humanity: Reading the Bible Today as the People of God” p. 411).
I don’t think Waltke is advocating full-time work until one keels over. He’s instead addressing a self-centered attitude that is prevalent in every sinner - an attitude which makes it clear that we often set apart ourselves rather than Christ as Lord. And so the child who is asked to take out the garbage will protest that he did it the day before. It must be someone else’s turn. Married couples too often mentally keep track of the work they’ve done around the yard or house and expect their spouse to keep up. With all our church building-related projects going on I find myself thinking: “I can’t wait until it’s done. Then I can get back to a quiet life.”
But who of the believers in the Bible ever experienced a life of quiet where they got to do their own thing without the “bother” of having to serve God by serving others? Look at Moses. Do you remember how old he was when God called him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt? He was 80 years old! And he didn’t just lead Israel for 30 years before spending the last 10 years of his life puttering around in a golf cart as Joshua took over the work of directing the Israelites to the Promised Land. No, Moses served right up until the day God called him home to his heavenly rest at age 120. And that was true of all the believers in the Bible that I can think of. They didn’t retire as the world thinks of retirement today. When believers thought of a life of rest and ease they thought of heaven.
Yes, it is God’s right to bestow on us a life of ease and he will do that in eternity and only because he is gracious. Until then we will continue to set apart Christ as Lord as we eagerly look for opportunities to serve him. No, I am not saying that you’re stuck in your 9-5 job until you die. Nor am I saying that you can never take a break from the daily grind and routine. Jesus did when he got away to recharge and to connect with his heavenly Father, but it was so that he was fully prepared to serve. In the same way when you’re contemplating your retirement or simply thinking about your weekend plans ask yourself, “Is what I’m planning going to glorify God and serve others, or am I just eager to do what I want?”
Peter gives us a good reason to set apart Christ as Lord our whole lives. Listen again to how he described Jesus’ help to us. “Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God” (1 Peter 3:18). Last November the Edmonton Journal ran an article about a skittish dog named Sydney. You may even remember seeing posters of this five-year-old black Labrador-whippet cross. She had escaped from her owners and there was a $10,000 reward for her safe return. $10,000. Wow. Sydney must have been a prize dog! Actually she was a stray from Mexico that had been hit by a car and would have died had it not been for a St. Albert resident who rescued it while in Mexico and spent six months nursing it back to health there. This same individual then paid to fly the dog to Edmonton where she found it a good home. But that’s when the dog took off only after 12 hours with her new owners. Would you offer a $10,000 reward and spend seven months actively looking for a dog that didn’t know how to show thanks? This woman did. When she eventually found Sydney in Entwistle, 100 km west of Edmonton, she paid the $10,000 reward money to the person who had managed to capture Sydney and then adopted the dog as her own.
The amount of effort and money spent in rescuing Sydney is reminiscent of the effort and cost God spent to secure our salvation. God didn’t just drop ten-grand to find us; he dropped his Son into this violent world to be subjected to a tortuous death on the cross. And he did this not because we deserved it. Like Sydney the dog we’re skittish when it comes to God’s presence. He promises us a good home and tender loving care when we live under his Word, but we keep bolting from him thinking that life lived by our instincts will be more liberating and exciting. And yet it’s dog-stubborn sinners like us that Jesus came to save. Peter now invites us to “apologize” for Jesus - that is to defend him before a world that thinks it has no need for Jesus. We “apologize” for Jesus when we describe the help he’s given us. Why not use the true story about Sydney the dog to describe to a friend the true story of what Jesus has done for all sinners?
As you describe this help that Jesus has given, you will also be declaring your hope in Jesus. And what hope Jesus gives us! Listen to what else Peter says Jesus has done and is doing for us. Peter wrote: “[Jesus] was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, 19 through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison 20 who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built” (1 Peter 3:18-20a).
This passage is one of the more difficult passages in the Bible. It’s describing Jesus’ resurrection. It tells us that the first thing Jesus did after rising from the dead was to descend into hell. And for what purpose? “To preach to the spirits in prison.” This cannot mean that Jesus went to hell to give unbelievers who had already died a second chance to believe in him. God’s Word is clear: “…man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). So the “preaching” that Jesus was doing in hell was proclaiming his victory over Satan and death. Satan thought he had won on Good Friday. After all, God’s Son was dead. But now, on Easter Sunday, there Jesus was…in hell…with both soul and body! And he hadn’t arrived to suffer for sin. He had already done that while on the cross. Jesus is alive and rules over all. Peter makes note of that when he wrote: “[Jesus] has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him” (1 Peter 3:22).
Since Jesus is in total control of this world is there any reason for me or for you to fret about retirement or any other uncertainty in life? No! So our calm demeanor when handling life’s difficulties should make such an impression on the unbelieving world that they ask: “How do you do it?” Peter knew believers would be asked that question and so he urged his listeners, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15).
It’s from this verse that I took the theme of the sermon. The original language of the text literally reads: “Always be prepared to apologize for the hope you have.” No, we’re not ashamed of Jesus or of our faith in him. How can we be when we consider all that God has done for us and continues to do for us through Jesus? And so we will continue describe his help and declare our hope in him to everyone who asks.
It’s for this very reason that I’m looking forward to our Dedication Service on June 21. The service is designed to be one big apology, that is, a defense and explanation of our faith. As we dedicate the various objects in our new church like the baptismal rock-font we’ll get to explain to visitors how baptism really saves (as Peter says in our text). When we point to the altar we’ll declare how this is where Jesus himself meets us with his body and blood in, with, and under the bread and wine of Holy Communion. When we talk about the water mosaic which will flow from the entryway to the cross it will give us the chance to declare that Jesus is the only way to heaven. But as Peter points out in our text, our purpose in doing this is not to show off how much we know. Our purpose is that others would come to believe and also declare their hope in the forgiveness of Jesus. So please spend the next few weeks praying for me and the worship leaders as we prepare for that service. Pray that we boldly yet respectfully apologize for Jesus. Pray too that God makes you eager in your witness of Jesus as you invite family and friends to our new church. We will want to do this for our Jesus didn’t just die and come back to life for us, he did that for all. Amen.
SERMON NOTES
What does the word “apologize” mean in Greek?
We are to set apart Christ as Lord in our hearts, but we usually set apart ourselves as lord. List at least three specific ways in which you are guilty of doing this.
The story of Sydney the stray dog can be used to describe the kind of rescue God pulled off for us. Describe another way to explain Peter’s words: “Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God” (1 Peter 3:18).
Peter tells us that after his resurrection Jesus descended into hell. Why did he do that? Why is it comforting?
