Be Ready to Give an Answer
Living as Lights (1 Peter) • Sermon • Submitted
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· 147 viewsBe ready to give the lost an answer of the hope that is in you. A healthy church is a church that has a heart for the lost.
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1. Be Ready for Persecution (3:13-14)
1. Be Ready for Persecution (3:13-14)
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,
You are Persecuted
What is very apparent is that Peter assumes that his Christian hearers are going to be persecuted for righteousness’ sake. This was a theme in Jesus’ teaching. There will always be persecution of believers. Paul said, “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” ().
Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,
Christians are salt and light. We are to be demonstrating a freedom from the slavery of this world system.
You are Immortal Till God is Finished
“Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good?” (3:13). Peter’s is quoting , “It is the Sovereign LORD who helps me. Who will condemn me?” “Who is there to harm or ultimately damn my soul” is the idea. If you are zealous for what is good, zealous for God, a true believer, then who can ultimately harm you? No one has the power to ultimately damn you. You are forgiven in Christ. Any other suffering is superficial.
Behold, the Lord God helps me;
who will declare me guilty?
Behold, all of them will wear out like a garment;
the moth will eat them up.
Paul said, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” ().
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
Peter is saying, “You are immortal until God is finished with you.” No one can hurt you if you truly have the zeal of the Spirit in you, unless they have God’s permission. Peter goes on to explain that “But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled” (3:14).
You are Blessed!
“But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled” (3:14). Even if you suffer in this life, don’t be disturbed!
None can do real harm to the Lord’s people; they may persecute them, but he will make all things work together for their good. You are blessed no matter what, so rejoice. Replace any fear of living in total surrender to God with zeal and joy.
You are in God’s Hands!
Sometimes the hostile world around us troubles us. Don’t be troubled. Be zealous for God! Get on fire for God. If you suffer for doing right, you are blessed. Have no fear. Don’t be troubled. Yet we often are troubled. We can’t think of what to say. We fear what unbelievers might think of us if we evangelize them.
Do you know what evangel means? Good news! Whoever turned on you when you gave them good news? Regardless, we need to be courageous in proclaiming the good news. Be bold. In the book of Acts, you don’t see them stirred up and troubled. You see them as bold messengers of the living God.
2. Be Ready to Give an Answer (3:15-18)
2. Be Ready to Give an Answer (3:15-18)
, “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.”
, “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.”
Have a Right Heart
The alternative to fear is to focus attention on someone else. “But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy” (3:15a). Anyone who meets the living God will have a holy dread. , ‘But the LORD of hosts, him you shall regard as holy; let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.”
Treat Christ as holy, special. Regard him reverently. Holy evangelistic zeal comes from a heart and life surrendered to Christ as holy Lord of your life. Do you want to honor him? Be done with lesser things. Be done with anything questionable. Be done with half hearted prayers or a totally dead prayer life. You have to sanctify Christ in your heart as holy.
God will use a clean vessel to pour out his Spirit. Are you a clean vessel? God can use a donkey, but he’s not going to use a dirty vessel.
Have a Ready Answer
“Always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you” (3:15b). The stance of Christians toward unbelievers must never be merely passive or neutral. We can’t just be focused on our own lives and forget the world lost in darkness. It’s not an option for a Christian.
The last command of our Lord Jesus is to “Go!”
And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
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And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
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and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
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Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Have the Right Attitude
Have the Right Attitude
How should you answer the lost? You should do it 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.”
We approach God’s people with a sweet gentleness and respect for who they are. We are to model the fruit of the Spirit, be salt and light to this dark world. I’ve heard Christians share the Gospel in an angry, proud way. That does not befit the sweetness of the Gospel. We have gentleness and respect. We share the Gospel like a heart surgeon, not a butcher.
Have a Good Conscience
, “having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil.”
We must have a good conscience when we evangelize. We cannot trick our hearers into heaven.
Have the Right Message
, “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit.”
“Always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you” (3:15b). The word “reason” is “logos.” People who know Christ sometimes sound like fools with no logic to this world. The world asks, “What’s the reason, the logic behind your hope in Christ?” We must have the right message and give people the reason of our hope – Christ redeems! Jesus saves. The logic behind the Cross is that we are all wretched sinners. Christ loves us in our sin. He died for us, “the Just for the unjust that he might bring us to God.”
People often say they are saved, and they don’t know the Gospel. They don’t have a clear trust in the blood of Jesus. They don’t understand his death and resurrection. Listen, Jesus died vicariously for us. That means, “in my place.” I should receive hell, but he got hell for me. Anyone who trusts in him is completely forgiven. No sins. No condemnation.
3. Be Ready to See God Work (3:19-22)
3. Be Ready to See God Work (3:19-22)
Peter now gives an example of someone who gave an answer in his day. He speaks of Noah. Now these verses may seem to be confusing at first, but if you take them in a simple way, they are deeply encouraging.
Did Jesus Visit Hell After His Death?
Here is Noah, and we read that Jesus proclaimed the Gospel to the souls in prison in Noah’s day. This message of eternal life was even proclaimed in Noah’s day. Jesus’ ministry and power is present in Noah’s day. What did Jesus do in Noah’s day?
, “in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, 20 because they formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water.”
That sounds really different doesn’t it? Some people have taken these verses and taught that Jesus, after the crucifixion, went down to hell and proclaimed the Gospel to the rebellious people who rejected God in Noah’s day.
If that were true, it would mean that these people had the opportunity of repenting, believing, and being saved after they died. But the Bible says, “it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment” (). The Bible tells us there are no second chances after death. “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him” ().
And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.
And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.
Hell Came to Calvary
What is Peter saying then? Peter is not saying Jesus went to hell. He’s saying hell came to Calvary. Jesus did enter hell, but not through a visit there between his death and resurrection. Hell came to Calvary on the day Jesus died. He experienced all the dimensions of hell on the cross. The crucifixion of Jesus lasted for six agonizing hours. The trial and scourging of Jesus took place early in the day, and he was crucified at nine o’clock in the morning. Many things happened during the next three hours. The crowd taunted Him. Religious leaders mocked his claims. Thieves who were crucified beside him hurled abuse. Then, at midday, God stepped in. Darkness covered the whole land. This was not an eclipse. Jesus was crucified at Passover when there was a full moon, and besides, an eclipse does not last for three hours. The darkness at Calvary could only be explained by a direct intervention of God.
Jesus’ suffering during these three awful hours of darkness is indescribable. Peter has already told us that Jesus “bore our sins in his body on the tree” (2:24). That is what was happening in the darkness. He carried the weight of the accumulated guilt and shame of the world. The wrath of God was poured out on Him. He was cut off from the comfort and love of God the Father. And throughout this suffering He was in a conscious agony of body and soul. That is hell, and Jesus tasted every dimension of its pain on the cross. Jesus’ descent into hell was not a disembodied visit for preaching between His death and resurrection. It was the heart of His suffering as He bore the penalty of your sin on the cross. He entered hell so that you should never know what it is like. Take a moment to pause and worship.
Jesus Spoke through Noah
What then was happening? What is Peter talking about that Jesus preached to the souls in Noah’s day? Peter wants us to know that the same Jesus who died and rose again spoke by the Holy Spirit through Noah. When Noah spoke, Jesus was speaking through Him. Those who heard Noah were highly resistant to his message. They continued in their disobedience to God, and that is why their spirits are in prison today. But Christ spoke to them during their lifetime through Noah. Now, here’s the encouragement for you: When Noah spoke God’s truth, God spoke through him, and when you speak about Jesus, Jesus speaks through you. The Lord Jesus Christ speaks in every age by His Spirit through His people.
Be ready to see God work in mighty ways. He worked in Noah. He’ll work through you. Don’t of course be discouraged by the day of small things. Only eight were saved on the ark.
Of all the characters in human history, God chose Noah as the model for our ministry. That is significant. Noah’s generation was the most wicked in all of human history. Corruption and violence had multiplied, and God sent the Flood on them because He saw that the thoughts of that generation were “only evil all the time” ().
If you have found that some of the people around you are hard to reach with the gospel, then spare a thought for Noah. God called him to speak to the most resistant people who have ever lived ().
Noah didn’t see great results from his preaching. In fact, at the end of his entire life of ministry, only eight people were saved. That should teach us to be cautious about how we measure results. The important thing about Noah’s ministry was that Christ spoke through him. This did not mean that vast crowds of people repented and believed. But they did hear the voice of Jesus. Ministry among highly resistant people isn’t easy. What matters is not the number of people you lead to Christ, but your faithfulness to Christ in the place where He has set you. And if He has set you in a tough place, don’t get discouraged by small results.
The Powerful Ark that Saves Us
, “Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.”
Noah’s ark is a wonderful picture of Jesus Christ. God told Noah to enter the ark. It must have taken an act of faith for him to do this: The ark was on dry ground, and there was no sign of rain in the sky! But Noah believed God’s promise and acted on it. He gathered his family and got into the ark. Then God closed the door, and the judgment He had spoken about began. Rain fell from the heavens, and springs of water rose from the earth. The ark rose, carrying Noah and his family safely through the judgment and into a new world. When you take the step of believing God’s promise and putting your trust in Jesus, the Bible describes you as being “in Christ.” Just as Noah was brought safely through the first judgment in the ark, so Christ will bring all who are in Him safely through God’s final judgment on the world. Being “in Christ” saves you and that’s why Peter speaks here about baptism. Peter is not suggesting that being baptized saves you in itself. Baptism is the sign of a person identifying fully with Jesus, and it is being “in Christ” that saves you because He has risen and “has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him” (verse 22). Noah didn’t have an easy life. God called him to a tough ministry. He was not privileged to lead a great revival in which hundreds turned to God in repentance and faith. But Christ spoke to the people of Noah’s generation through him. God was faithful to His promise and brought Noah safely through the Flood and into a whole new life. This same God will be faithful to you throughout your life, and then He will bring you safely through the judgment into eternity. That gives you solid ground for living with confidence.
Conclusion
What can we say to all this? It’s God who saves. It’s Christ who can give eternal life to your loved ones and neighbors. Whether he saves only eight people, or eight hundred thousand people, salvation is of the Lord.