Zeus ordered the creation of a new goddess because of his sheer boredom. According to In Greek mythology, Zeus had run out of other goddess to seduce, so he had Pandora created. Pandora was given a mysterious box and was told that whatever she did, she was not to open this box. She resisted the temptation for twenty minutes before opening the box. When she opened the box all the evils of the world came spilling out including sickness, death, and disease. Hope was the last thing to climb out of Pandora’s box. You and I still refer to Pandora’s box today, which is a reference to the ancient Greek gods. Surprisingly, many in ancient times saw hope as the dredge of evil itself. Atheist Friedrich Nietzsche explains how he views hope as evil: “Zeus did not want man to throw his life away, no matter how much the other evils might torment him, but rather to go on letting himself be tormented anew. To that end, he gives man hope. In truth, it is the most evil of evils because it prolongs man’s torment.”
Today, we talk about “hope against hope” or… or “hope for the best…” or “not a hope”. In this way hope is a synonym for optimism. Yet there is another side to hope.
Christianity speaks of hope in different tones that does ancient Greek or Roman mythology. Christianity speaks of hope even differently than you and I speak of hope today. Webster’s Dictionary defines Hope as “a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen” Hope in Christianity is much stronger and robust than it is commonly spoken of in everyday conversations. The Bible speaks of hope as a confident expectation. It speaks of hope as a conviction or with expectancy.
Hope is a powerful tool in the human psyche. The early settlers of our country realized this. The state seal for Rhode Island has the word hope in it. On the seal, you see the word hope above an anchor. The anchor is picture of Hebrews 6:19-20 where hope is referred to as a “sure and steadfast anchor of the soul.”
Today’s Big Idea: “Unjust suffering carried out with unwavering convictions and confidence in God produce unimaginable impact and blessing for you and others.”
“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)
Peter has now moved to the issue that is dominants the remainder of his letter: the issue of Christians who suffer. Despite the best efforts of some, the fact is that Christians get old and wrinkled. We contract cancer and heart disease, become deaf and blind, and eventually die. According to a recent Gallup Poll, fewer than half (43%) of respondents report they have a “great deal of control” over their pain. An estimated 50 million Americans live with chronic pain caused by disease, disorder or an accident. In a study done in 2000 it was reported that 36 million Americans missed work in the previous year due to pain.
But there are some sufferings that are peculiar to the people of God. More people were martyred for the faith in the past century than in the previous 19 centuries combined. Some of this is due to the incredible growth in worldwide population. Even so, Christians in America, have been largely untroubled by official persecution. We must be aware that we are the exception and not the rule. Yet, even in our country, subtle anti-Christian pressures are increasing.
The Bible makes no attempt to whitewash the anguish of God’s people when it comes to suffering. All through Scripture, we see believers facing suffering who argue with God, complain to God, and weep before God. Last week, we observed Peter’s words of how God has turned the problem of suffering upside down. Christ-followers are freed from any need to vindicate themselves. Instead, suffering has become an opportunity to meet evil with good.
1. Experience a Fundamental Exchange
Peter has just told us in verse twelve that God will treat the righteous with kindness. There we are told that God is watching our actions and His eyes are upon the righteous and His ears hear their prayer. In contrast, God will set His face against those who do evil. Peter is speaking about the final judgment day. So in verse thirteen, Peter asks a rhetorical question. Peter is reasoning aloud in verse thirteen when he says: “Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good” (1 Peter 3:13)? Peter’s answer is that no one will harm you for doing good. Peter still has the final and ultimate Day of Judgment in mind in verse twelve as he did in verse thirteen. While suffering stalks the believer until this Christ returns, the pain inflicted upon the Christian is temporary. When I say temporary, it will not feel temporary to many of you. It will feel temporary in the way a parent will tell their child to persevere through school because one day the child will graduate. That doesn’t feel temporary to teenagers suffering through Calculus. That doesn’t feel temporary to teenagers suffering through Beowulf. Yet, those of us who are older know it is temporary because we take the long view of life. And that is Peter’s explanation of suffering, it is temporary.
There is no ultimate harm done to Christians when you compare your present sufferings to eternity. We can paraphrase Peter’s thoughts in verse thirteen as “No one will be able to harm believers on the future day of judgment if they are zealous for good.” Peter can even say that present suffering is not a sign of God’s punishment but of God’s blessing. Peter learned this lesson the hard way. “And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, ‘Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times’” (Luke 22:61).
The artist Rembrandt paints the scene for us from 1660. Peter is shown wearing a light-colored cloak. The only thing illuminating the scene is a soft candle. Observers can see skeptical looks on the faces of those accusing Peter. To the right of the painting, you can see Jesus being interrogated by His accusers. At the moment when Peter denies Jesus a third time, Jesus locks eyes with him. There is not only fear on Peter’s face but astonishment at the gravity of his own deed. Yet, after the resurrection of Jesus Christ, Luke paints a picture of Peter much different. He is no longer huddles by the fire in the outer courtyard. He is now standing in front of the very same group of men who had accused Jesus Christ. Before he was in fear of a maid. Now he confronts the high court by telling them they killed Jesus (verse 30):“But Peter and the apostles answered, ‘We must obey God rather than men’” (Acts 5:29)
Peter reminds me of Proverbs here: “The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion” (Proverbs 28:1).
Richard Wurmbrand endured fourteen years of imprisonment and torture in Romania between 1948 and 1964. He had been leading a secret underground ministry when the Communists seized Romania and attempted to control the church for their purposes. Wurmbrand recounts the events: “I remember my last Confirmation class before I left Romania. I took a group of ten to fifteen boys and girls on a Sunday morning, not to church, but to the zoo. Before the cage of lions I told them, ‘Your forefathers in faith were thrown before such wild beasts for their faith. Know that you also will have to suffer. You will not be thrown before lions, but you will have to do with men who would be much worse than lions. Decide here and now if you wish to pledge allegiance to Christ’” Wurmbrand states the boys and girls had tears in their eyes when they said yes.
The Bible records for us “that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22). And, “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted…” (2 Timothy 3:12). When suffering comes our way, let’s pursue Christ with boldness. Let us not shrink bank because of others. Remember Today’s Big Idea: “Unjust suffering carried out with unwavering convictions and confidence in God produce unimaginable impact and blessing for you and others.”
2. Replace Fear with Reverence
“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…”
(1 Peter 3:14-15).
Peter tells us there is no need to fear suffering for it is the path to blessing. It’s was that way for Jesus (next week’s message) and He has appointed this the path for every believer. The Bible does not… I repeat does not promise that believers will escape rejection and harm in this word. Suffering stalks the believer until this present age comes to an end. But what does it mean to hallow or sanctify or revere Christ as Lord? It means regard Him as the holiest being in the universe. Regard Him as unique, one of a kind, without peer or rival in purity and rectitude and goodness. Now what does hallowing, or sanctifying Christ as Lord have to do with the other concerns of this text — being zealous for doing good? What does it have to do with suffering if necessary for righteousness’ sake? What does revering Christ have to do with being fearless and meek and reverent? Or giving a defense of our hope? We can see the answer if we just read carefully verses 14b–15. “Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy…” In other words sanctifying Christ as Lord in your heart is the alternative to fearing man. Don’t fear man, revere or sanctify Christ as Lord.
To break the grip of fear we must confess the lordship of Jesus Christ not just in our minds but in our hearts. When we pray the Lord’s Prayer, the first petition we make is, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name” (Matthew 6:7). The first priority in the heart of Jesus is the name of His Father. And it is the first priority of the followers of Jesus. We pray, first and foremost, “Father, cause your name to be hallowed and revered among all people. In the church, all over the world, work with sovereign power to bring hearts to the place where they hallow your name.” That word “hallow” is the same word that Peter uses in verse 15 of this text when he says: “but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy…”
A praising heart is heartens and hardens us against the fear of other people. Instead of being afraid of others, another fear possesses us. It is a fear that does not flee in terror but draws near in awe and worship. So there is something about fearlessness before the threats of men that honors Christ as Lord.
Paul could say it this way: “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us” (Romans 8:31)? The enemies of Christ may hurt us but they cannot ultimately harm us. Jesus said it this way: “… you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved” (Matthew 10:22). “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28).
3. Turn Your Crisis into Opportunities for Witnessing
Again, today’s Big Idea: “Unjust suffering carried out with unwavering convictions and confidence in God produce unimaginable impact and blessing for you and others.”
“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” (1 Peter 3:15-16)
The word used in verse 15 is “defense” and it’s the word we get apologetics for, meaning a defense of the faith. How does being fearless revere Christ? Because Christ is the ground of it and the goal of it. When our hope looks strong, Christ, both the ground and goal of our hope, looks strong. So He is hallowed and honored when we show that our hope is unshakable. Does this really work? How can my crisis really be an opportunity for witnessing?
On January 19, 1981, a group of terrorists called “M-19” broke into the S.I.L. residence in Bogotá, Columbia, and kidnapped Wycliffe translator Chet Bitterman. The communiqué from the terrorists read, “Chet Bitterman will be executed unless the Summer Institute of Linguistics and all its members leave Columbia by 6:00 PM February 19.” Wycliffe did not budge. Brenda Bitterman and her two little children waited 48 days. On March 7, the terrorists shot Chet Bitterman through the heart and left his body on a bus in Bogota. More than one hundred Wycliffe members in Columbia were given the choice of a new field. None left. And two hundred candidates volunteered to take Chet Bitterman’s place. An indigenous missionary walked barefoot from village to village preaching the gospel in India. His hardships were many. After a long day of many miles and much discouragement he came to a certain village and tried to speak the gospel but was driven out of town and rejected. So he went to the edge of the village dejected and lay down under a tree and slept from exhaustion. When he awoke, people were hovering over him, and the whole town was gathered around to hear him speak. The headman of the village explained that they came to look him over while he was sleeping. When they saw his blistered feet, they concluded that he must be a holy man, and that they had been evil to reject him. They were sorry and wanted to hear the message that he was willing to suffer so much to bring them.
Hope isn’t simply optimism that things will get better. Hope is a conviction in the LORD Jesus Christ. Hope isn’t evil as Greek and Roman mythology portrays it with hope the last of all evils coming from Pandora’ box. Instead, hope is the visible reminder of an invisible Power. Would you not agree that there is a fundamental difference between pain in the cancer ward and agony in the delivery room? One is suffering that brings life; the other is that of death.
As a pastor, I have watched many people struggle with cancer. It is such an awful disease. I think of one friend who went through so much – lost her hair during chemotherapy — - had her body ravaged by the disease – and then she slowly died. Her hospital room was a place of pain. The delivery room is also full of pain. The agony of labor is of a different kind than cancer suffering. Labor is pain based on a beautiful hope. For a believer, the sufferings of life are those of the delivery room. Romans 8 says that our sufferings are “birth pains” that will one day give way to the sons of God being revealed. Remember, our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. “So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, 33 but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 10:32-33). If you admire and love someone tremendously, and you get lumped together with them and treated the same way, it is a great honor.
