INTRODUCTION SLIDE #2
Over the past few weeks as we have been studying the book of 1 Peter, we have looked at how we are to conduct ourselves among and with various people.
Now, if we follow Peter’s instructions, everything in life will be smooth sailing for us, right?
If you do what is right, if you spend your time doing what is right, your life will be problem free, won’t it?
How may times in your life have you gotten into trouble while you were doing something good, or trying to help another person?
How many times have you suffered for doing the right thing in life? You know what I am talking about, you are doing what God has called you to only to face people making fun of you, or people who would try to get other people to persecute you.
I know for students, living for Jesus, trying to do good it life can be difficult. There are always people who try to make fun of people who do good, or they make fun of the boy or girl who wants to abstain from sexual activity until they are married.
In the workplace, when you try to do good, it is sometimes met with resistance and trouble from other people.
We look around us and see good people dying at the hands of the wicked and we see the wicked seemingly prospering.
Life is not always fair.
It is tempting to think that if we do what God calls us to do with our lives that we will not have problems, but it does not always work out that way because life is not always fair.
What do we do when life does not treat us as it should? How did Jesus deal with what happened to Him?
Turn with me to 1 Peter 3:13-22 as we read God’s Word together.
We are going to see that life is not always fair.
SERMON
Life is not always fair because: SLIDE #3
I. DOING WHAT IS RIGHT CAN CAUSE US TO SUFFER. 13
SLIDE # 4.Verse 13 asks us “Who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good?
This leads to the subject of the rest of chapter three which is, suffering while doing good can open other areas of service for us as it did for Jesus.
CLICK #4. To be zealous for what is good means to love doing good with the same passionate intensity with which the most fanatical patriot who loves his country has.
The word “good” deals with a lifestyle of doing good, not just occasionally doing good. It is a lifestyle that loves to do the morally good thing even if the person we are direction our good works toward has been hostile to us.
Have you been around people who seemed to get joy out of doing the right thing? That person who finds the wallet stuffed full of money and wants no reward for returning it to the owner, money in tact?
Can you think of times in your life where you suffered for doing the right thing? Maybe you lost a friend with whom you would not follow down the wrong path they wanted to take you. Maybe you lost a boyfriend, girlfriend or fiancé?
Maybe it was a job issue, the company is pressuring you to do something immoral and you refuse to do it, only to pay the price of loosing your job or knowing you will never get the opportunity to advance.
When we are persecuted for doing what is right, what do we do? We are doing what God calls us to do, but we seem to be paying a steep price for it, what do we do?
You would think God would not allow bad things to happen to us as we are following His will for our life; it does not seem fair does it. The one who is living for themselves is seemingly getting along fine, and then here I am, being persecuted for doing good.
Since life is not always fair: SLIDE #5
II. HOW ARE WE TO RESPOND TO UNJUST SUFFERING? 14-17
When we suffer for doing good, how do we handle it? How do we respond? Here are five responses we are to have that will help us to deal with the injustice.
SLIDE #6
1. Do not give up, God is still blessing you! (14,17)
Verse 14 tells us that at times we will suffer for doing good, it should be a rare occurrence, but it will happen.
The original readers of this letter were facing persecution like nothing we deal with today. It would seem that if you are being persecuted that God is not with you. Verse 14 reminds us that if we are suffering for doing good, we are still being blessed by God. The word “blessed” in this verse is the same word Jesus used in the beatitudes. It means to be spiritually prosperous.
It does not mean we will enjoy the persecution, but dealing with it properly can help us to grow spiritually.
Verse 17 also reminds us that it is better to suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing evil.
The second response we are to have is: CLICK #6
2. Do not allow misplaced fear intimidate you into quitting! (14)
We are encouraged not to allow people to intimidate us into ceasing doing good. The fear of persons is misplaced because our God is stronger than person. A person can take your life, but they cannot take your soul.
Do not allow yourself to be intimidated into silence. In Acts 4, Peter and John were arrested and then the Jewish leaders tried to intimidate them. They tried to get them to stop preaching. In verse 19 Peter and John said they would obey God.
The word “troubled in verse 14 gives us the picture of putting water in a jar, then placing the lid on the jar and then shaking up the water. Do not allow yourself into being troubled to the point of quitting!
The third response we are to have is: CLICK #6
3. Give Jesus His rightful place in your heart. (15)
We are told to “sanctify Christ as Lord of our hearts. The Lord is the one we should fear, not those who persecute us.
To sanctify in the heart means to: enthrone, worship as sovereign, to acknowledge in the inner part of the mind as supreme.
If Jesus is first in our heart, if we allow Him to be our LORD and Savior, we will be able to handle the bad treatment that can follow as we try to do good.
If God is for us, who is against us?
The forth response we are to have is: CLICK #6
4. Turn a bad situation into an opportunity for Jesus. (15)
When we are going though unjust treatment, we can use it for an opportunity to reach people for Jesus.
Verse 15 tells us to always be ready to make a defense to everyone concerning the hope that is in us.
When people see how we deal with adversity, they will want to know how we are able to do it.
“Ready” means to make the necessary preparations and to be anxious to take advantage of the opportunity.
“Defense” means to answer before a magistrate with a reasonable, intelligent statement of one’s position.
We are to give this defense with an attitude of gentleness and reverence. We cannot come across as angry or with an “I’m better than you attitude.”
The fifth response we are to have concerning ill-treatment is: CLICK #6
5. Maintain a good conscience. (16)
The conscience is the voice in our head that tries to get us to do what is right and convicts us when we do wrong.
People will only take notice if we keep ourselves pure in action. Verse 16 says if we keep our conscience clear, we will put to shame those who try to persecute us for doing good.
It is easy to give up and reason that if we are going to be persecuted, we might as well get in trouble for doing evil. That will accomplish nothing.
Even though life did not seem fair: SLIDE #7
III. JESUS TURNED HIS BAD SITUATION INTO AN OPPORTUNITY FOR GOD! 18-22
This section of scripture is one of the more difficult ones we can tackle. It is also a very rich passage! The first thing we need to remember is: SLIDE # 8
1. He did not suffer for His wrongdoing. (18)
Once again in verse 18 we are reminded that Jesus suffered for the sins for the just and unjust once for all.
It was the sins of the world that put Him on the cross and all the suffering that came with it!
What did Jesus do with what looked to be a bad situation? It was all part of God’s plan. CLICK #8
2. Jesus turned what looked to be a bad situation into a ministry opportunity. (18-22)
SLIDE #9
His apparent defeat turned into our victory! (18)
When it looked like Satan had won, Jesus rose from the dead insuring us the opportunity to be able to become a part of God’s family.
The word in verse 18 “bring” is a word used of the official who would decide who would have access to the king and who would not get access. Jesus is our access to God. Jesus is the one who allows us to be with God.
Jesus died so we could be brought close to God. Jesus took our sins and offers cleansing to all who will come to Him. CLICK #9
Jesus even ministered between His death and resurrection. (19-20)
When Jesus was put to death in the flesh, His Spirit was energized and He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison who were once disobedient during the days of Noah.
To understand what He did we need to understand a couple of things.
Where He went. Before the resurrection, the souls of the dead went to Hades. In Hades there is two compartments, paradise and Hades. It is like a house with 2 rooms separated a great gulf (Luke 16:23-26 Rich man and Lazarus).
The souls of the righteous would go to paradise and the evil to Hades. When Jesus told the thief on the cross today “today you shall be with Me in Paradise.” Luke 23:43.
Jesus, after His death descended into Hades to proclaim God’s plan of salvation is complete and to release the saints to be with Him in Heaven until judgment. The lost will continue to be locked in Hades until judgment.
What did He say? The word “proclamation” denotes an official announcement, a proclamation made by a representative of a government.
Jesus most likely did not preach a gospel sermon, because the fate of those in Hades and paradise was already sealed, He most likely proclaimed release for the righteous and letting the lost know they would receive their just penalty. WOW. CLICK #9
The resurrection gave us a new beginning and a clear conscience. (21)
Peter tells is that during the days of Noah, eight people were saved. Peter is comparing the waters of baptism as the line of demarcation or separation between the lost and the saved.
In verse 21 the phrase “corresponding to that” speaks of the water in the days of Noah and the waters of baptism. The grammatical construction of the sentence backs this up.
Before immersion, we are outside of Christ, when a person is repentant and submits to baptism, they are transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of God.
The word translated baptism in this verse has an ending that makes the word emphasize not the act of dipping, but the significance or result of the action.
We are told that baptism is not a removal of dirt, but an appeal to God for a good conscience. The word “appeal” is a technical term that was used as a stipulation in a contract that needed to be accepted before the contract was validated. Once all the stipulations were accepted or the appeals fulfilled, the contract would be validated.
When we are immersed into Christ, we can stand before God with a clear conscience, knowing are sins are washed away! CLICK #9
Jesus suffering led to a greater position and ministry. (22)
Jesus is at the right hand of God and is making intersession on our behalf.
All authority is subjected to Him, Jesus is in charge.
CONCLUSION
SLIDE #10
There are times when we will suffer for doing good. We must not lose heart; we must press on and continue to do what God calls us to do. The world is watching how we deal with adversity.
Is our faith only strong when things are going well or will it withstand tough times also?
We need to always understand that no matter what, God is in control!
