OPENING: When I asked you to turn to I Peter 3:13 this morning, did you realize that about 800 years ago… you couldn’t have done that?
Do you know WHY you couldn’t have turned to I Peter 3 back then?
Because there were no chapter divisions. That didn’t happen until 1227, when Stephen Langton (Archbishop of Canterbury) went through the Bible and created the chapter numbers we now have. If he hadn’t done that I’d have been saying something like “Turn to I Peter and go through it a few pages till you find a sentence that begins with (whatever).”
Chapter divisions are a good thing. They help us to be able to find places in the books of the Bible that would have been much harder to identify before Archbishop Langton performed this service for us. Being able to find places in our Bibles quickly is the main advantage of having our Bibles divided up into chapters and verses.
BUT, the disadvantage of those divisions is that sometimes those chapter numbers create a break in the middle of a thought, and we lose the continuity of what the writer is trying to tell us.
That’s what’s happened here in I Peter 3 and 4.
Now, before I get into that part of the message I want to remind you of something I spoke of a few weeks ago. The people Peter is writing to here are under persecution. And the entire letter is dealing – in one form or another - with the struggles the believers there are having with that discrimination and harassment.
So, the first part of I Peter is dedicated to reminding the Christians there of their blessings.
• They’ve been chosen (1:2).
• They’ve been sanctified (1:2).
• They’ve received mercy and forgiveness (1:3)
• They’ve been given hope in a hopeless world (1:3)
• And they’ve received an inheritance that this world can’t take away (1:4)
And that’s just for starters.
The reason Peter starts the letter this way, is because the Christians there are hurting They're being persecuted for their faith. And when people face hardship and mistreatment because of their faith - they have a tendency to respond to those persecutions by asking “Why?”
Why is this happening to me?
Why has God forsaken me?
Why isn’t God listening to my prayers?
Now, keep your finger in I Peter and turn with me to Genesis 39.
I want you to listen very carefully as I read the first few verses of this chapter. And you’ll hear one phrase show up two times as I read it to you:
“Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there. The LORD was with Joseph and he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. When his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD gave him success in everything he did, Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned.” Genesis 39:1-4
What phrase did you hear repeated in that story?
That’s right: “And the Lord was with Joseph.”
Now listen again as I read the last few verses of that chapter:
“Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined. But while Joseph was there in the prison, the LORD was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.
So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.” Genesis 39:20-23
Did you hear it again?
Yep, there it is: “And the Lord was with Joseph.”
Four times that phrase shows up in this chapter.
Twice while Joseph is a slave, and twice when he’s a prisoner.
Why? Why does it show up so often in this story?
Well, it’s not for Joseph’s benefit. He didn’t read the story - he lived it.
God repeats that phrase for so that we’ll see He was there in Joseph’s trials and tribulations.
If we hadn’t read that phrase throughout this part of Joseph’s story we might be tempted to believe that God had abandoned Joseph in the midst of his difficulties. But God repeats this over and over and over again: “The Lord was with Joseph” so that you’ll KNOW He was there.
And that’s what Peter is doing in his letter that we’re reading today.
He repeatedly tells the Christians he’s writing to - God is with them.
Now, I’m going to read I Peter 3:13-22 and I want you to follow along and pay very close attention to what you hear… because there’s going to be a test afterwards. When I’m done reading this passage, I’m going to ask you to tell me what thoughts jumped out at you.
Ready?
“Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. "Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened." But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. 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, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.
It is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.
For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also— not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand— with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.”
Ok… now what did you hear?
(I received various answers, including the fact that it seemed that Peter had started out talking about suffering… and then it was like he broke off from that thought and starting giving a “history lesson” about Jesus going and preaching to those who had ignored Noah’s preaching and then talking about baptism).
Yeah, that’s what I heard too.
It’s like Peter was getting really heavy into talking about suffering and facing persecution as a Christian again (a common theme in this letter)… and then he just goes off in an entirely unrelated direction and lays some heavy theology on the folks.
But that’s NOT what he’s doing.
Look with me at the next verse: I Peter 4:1
What’s the first word in that verse?
“Therefore…”
“Therefore?”
We preachers have an old saying:
“Wherever you see a ‘therefore’ you have to ask what the ‘therefore’ is there for.”
The “therefore” is always in a text tying the thought BEFORE the “therefore” with the thought AFTER the “therefore.”
It’s a connecting word for ideas.
1 Peter 4:1 says “Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin.” (NIV 1984)
So in I Peter 4:1 Peter gets back to his “suffering” theme. And he starts out by telling us the Christ suffered in his body.
Where did Jesus “suffer in his body?”
It was on the cross wasn’t it?
Now, hold that thought in your mind… and let’s go back to the beginning of our text for this morning. Paul says:
“Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good?” 1 Peter 3:13
In other words, who wants to hurt a nice guy?
ILLUS: Its like if I were to go home and find a cute little puppy in my back yard. I’d probably think: “I don’t want this puppy. I want him to go away.” But then he rolls over and wants me to pet his tummy and he pays attention to me and… well, he looks so darned cute. So I put out a dish with water and another with some food out on the sidewalk… and I go inside.
The next day he’s out there waiting for me. And he wants to play. He pays attention to me and is nice to me and, before you know it, he’s in my home. He’s become my pet.
And I didn’t want that puppy to begin with!
So Peter starts out with an obvious statement: who’s gonna be mean to you if you’ve been a nice guy? Well, it does happen. There are people who seem bent toward becoming your enemy just because you’re a Christian.
But God makes us this promise in Proverbs 16:7
“When a man’s ways are pleasing to the LORD, he makes even his enemies live at peace with him.”
Enemies? Why would anyone want to be my enemy? I’m a nice guy. I’m a loving Christian.
I mean… would someone really be my enemy just because I’m a Christian?
Well, yeah, they would.
Often people oppose us as Christians because we have moral principles they don’t agree with. And they feel threatened by us and feel condemned by the stands we take. They have a picture in their minds of what we are like and so they respond to us in the same way they think we’d respond to them.
ILLUS: I’ve noticed on Facebook that there are some very mean-spirited and snarky kinds of people out there who are believers in Christ. They say nasty things because… well, they don’t know you and they can’t see you, and it’s easy to be condemning when you’re not face to face with folks.
But they’re nasty comments only reinforce the opinion the world has of us. And it’s not a good opinion.
But, notice how Peter says we should respond to our spiritual enemies.
“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, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.”
I Peter 3:15b-16
How should we respond?
We should have an answer for the reason we have hope. This isn’t an answer to why we go to the church we belong in, or an answer for why we like this preacher, or that Christian song. This is an answer about why you believe in Jesus. Why are you taking this Jesus thing so seriously?
And it helps if you begin with this truth: I’m not a Christian because I’m a nice person. I don’t deserve the love God has given me, because I’ve messed up in my life. The only reason I have any hope is because God loved me so much He sent His only begotten Son…”
Notice – in that answer – you’re not being “holier than thou”. You’re humbling yourself before someone who’s prepared to tear into you because they feel you are judging them. In that humbleness you’re pulling them off balance. You’re responding in a way they wouldn’t expect.
Then Peter adds to this:
“do this (giving your answer) with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience.”
I was on Facebook having a discussion with someone who was being very difficult… and I responded badly. I said something mean that I shouldn’t have said. And it bothered my conscience.
So what am I supposed to do if I’ve wronged someone?
That’s right, I have to apologize.
So, I got back online and I said “I said something here that I shouldn’t have. I was wrong. Will you forgive me?”
And that simple phrase changed the tone of the conversation there.
Then the most intriguing phrase shows up:
“Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison”
I Peter 3:18-19
Christ died for sins. He was put to death in the body…
Where did that happen?
On the cross.
Remember what we read in I Peter 4:1?
It said Jesus suffered in the body for us?
Where did that happen?
On the cross
You see – it’s the same theme.
Jesus suffered for us so that we could be brought to God.
His suffering had a reason. It had an objective. He didn’t suffer in vain.
He died on the cross… but what happened next?
He was made alive in the Spirit.
Jesus suffering led to triumph and victory.
The Point? Just like Jesus suffered, we suffer.
But like Jesus’ suffering led to triumph and victory… so can yours.
Now this is where the text “seems” to veer off into a history lesson.
This is where it says that before His resurrection Jesus “preached to the spirits in prison.”
Before His resurrection… before His victory over the grave… Jesus was reaching out to those who had rejected God’s message in the days of Noah.
In the same way, in the midst of our suffering and hardship… that’s WHEN we can be most effective in our witness to those who reject God’s message in our day.
And just as Jesus’ suffering was intended to “bring you to God” – our suffering can be used to “bring our enemies to God.”
In other words our suffering doesn’t have to be in vain. It can actually accomplish powerful for the salvation of people who violently oppose God’s saving grace.
It’s then that Peter uses Noah’s flood to talk about baptism saving us. (I Peter 3:21)
But here’s the deal: how does baptism save us?
First, it does it “as an appeal to God for a good conscience” and that’s impressive in itself. But there’s a more basic reason it saves us: “through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.”
In other words: our salvation has been brought about by a Jesus who has angels, authorities and powers in subjection to Him. Those who persecute us have no idea who they’re really messing with. We’ve got power in our corner. We’ve got the one who overcame death by victorious resurrection. And we belong to HIM!!!
CLOSE: Years ago I went to a secular college. My brother said I needed to just to be in their Glee Club and experience the things they could do for me. And since dad was willing to pay the tuition, I went. Of course, while I was there I wanted to take classes I thought would help me in being a better preacher, so took things like sociology, psychology and philosophy.
One of the classes offered in the syllabus was called “Religions of the West”. The description of the class said it would cover Judaism, Christianity and Islam and tell me about their background and cultures.
And I thought – this should be no-brainer. This would be a great class to take. It would give me a leg up on my plans to attend Bible College a couple of years later.
But the teacher had no intention of really telling us about the nature of Western Religions. His objective was to attack and undermine the faith of his students. His first class was dedicated to attacking the Old Testament. He said that Moses didn’t write the first 5 books of the Old Testament.
Now, bear in mind my total religious education consisted of listening to sermons and going to Sunday School. So I didn’t have much to say… but I raised my hand anyway.
I said “That’s not what I’ve always heard.” (Which I’m sure impressed the teacher)
He smiled back and said “That may be so, but the majority of scholars agree with me.”
Then he proceeded to attack another Bible book, and again I raised my hand and offered a lame challenge, and again he declared that the majority of scholars agreed with him.
Years later I realized how I must have looked to the other students. They hadn’t paid to hear me talk. They’d paid to be taught by this professor, and I was doing little more than embarrassing myself. But I was determined not to let the Bible be treated like that.
Now I wasn’t real quick, but I began to realize that if this teacher was attacking the Old Testament, he’d do the same to the New Testament when he shifted his attention to Christianity. So I went to the Campus Ministry and asked if they had any resources I could read that would help me do a better job of defending the Bible.
Sure enough, when the professor got started on Christianity, his first words were that Matthew didn’t write Matthew, Mark didn’t write Mark and so on. But I was ready. I raised my hand and said “According to this scholar and that scholar he was wrong because of this that or the other thing” (I couldn’t begin to tell you the arguments I used, but I remember feeling good about myself).
The teacher paused for a moment – I don’t think anyone had ever challenged him like that before – then he said “Well, the majority of scholars agree with me.”
And we were off and running.
He’d attack Scripture, I’d cite my scholars and he’d respond that the majority of scholars agreed with him.
Then came the test. I answered all the questions, but then I wrote at the bottom of the test: “I need to apologize. This is your class and I’ve been giving you a hard time. But you’ve been attacking something that’s very important to me.
However, you’re going to be teaching on Islam next… and I don’t care about what you say about them. I promise I won’t bother you any more.”
I was done with him. But God wasn’t.
He no sooner got started in teaching about Islam than he began to talk about Black Muslims. Black Muslims got him to racial prejudice and racial prejudice got him to WWII. And he said that the reason we dropped the bomb on the Japanese and not the Germans was because the Germans were white and the Japanese weren’t.
Now, I love history and I was pretty sure that wasn’t right. But I’d made a promise and so I didn’t say anything. The problem is, people tell me that when I get frustrated I sigh. And I must have sighed because he looked at me and said:
“Alright Strite, what’s wrong now.”
I hadn’t said anything!
But there was no getting out of it. I responded “According to everything I’ve ever heard, we didn’t have the bomb when the Germans surrendered.”
“We did too,” he came back. “We had it in 1942.”
Well, what did I know? We’d just come out of the Vietnam War. Nixon was president. The government lied about all kinds of things. Maybe they’d lied about this too. Once again, I was beaten down by a man who knew more about life than I did.
That’s when God played His card.
One back and 4 seats to my left, a girl raised her hand. “I’m sorry sir, you’re wrong. My father worked on the project and we didn’t have the bomb until after Germany surrendered.”
Now, notice what God did.
He set me up. He allowed me to make an absolute fool out of myself defending Scripture, all for the purpose of allowing that girl to expose that professor’s false thinking. In one fell swoop, He discredited everything that professor had said and made everything I had stood for have weight.
It was in my weakness God used me.
It was in my lack of knowledge and wisdom that God used me.
It is in our suffering that God can use us.
But first you must belong to Jesus Christ.
INVITATION.
