Sermon Tone Analysis

“*NO FEAR*”

(A Chosen People – Series in I Peter)

 

Westgate Chapel 11~/19~/00                                       I Peter 3:1-7

 

PROPOSITION:  As we follow the pathway of submission to authority that Jesus has prepared for us, we need not fear if we trust the Lord instead of words, instead of physical appearance, instead of domination.

! I. introduction

!! -     THERE is a fundamental ingredient of authentic Christianity that is missing today…and it is the cross.

!! -     “O, PASTOR,” you say, “the cross is not missing.”

!!! ~*     I have a gold one hanging around my neck.

!!! ~*     We have one on our church building.

!!! ~*     I have one on my T shirt.

!!! ~*     I sing all kinds of songs about the cross.

!! -     NO, I am not saying that the symbol is missing.

We have done a good job of that in our society.

!! -     I AM suggesting that what is missing in contemporary Christianity is you and me on the cross.

!! -     PAUL wrote, in Galatians 2:20,

!!!       “*I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me*.”

!! -     TWO Sundays ago I preached from I Peter 2:13 to 3:7 on the submission of the Christian to authority in the state, authority in our community (church to work place) and authority in the family.

!! -     AND this morning, with the Lord’s help, Rita and I are going to take a closer look at submission and respect in the Christian family.

!! -     BUT unless you and I are living the cruciform life, the “I” that we battle with will never submit to anything or anyone, anywhere.

!! -     IN Galatians 2:20 Paul says, “*I no longer live*…”

!! -     BUT the truth is, for most of us in this building, that is not the case.

We are very much alive.

We squirmed off the cross a long time ago, if we ever were crucified with Christ.

!!! ~*     We bristle over perceived injustice that puts us on the ‘short end of the stick.’

!!! ~*     We defend ‘our rights.’

!!! ~*     We demand things be done our way.

!!! ~*     We act as if our perspective is the only one that could possibly be correct.

!!! ~*     We regularly go on the attack against authority wherever it exists in our lives.

!!! ~*     Disrespect frequently comes out of our mouths towards those in authority.

!! -     IF any of these statements describe you or me it is a sure sign we have climbed off the cross.

!! -     ONCE again, from Paul in Galatians 2:20,

!!!       “*I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me*.”

!! -     GOD is calling us at Westgate Chapel to be crucified with Christ.

!! -     THERE is no other hope for your marriage.

!! -     ALL the counseling in the world will do nothing unless you are willing to be crucified with Christ, stop living yourself, and let Christ live in you.

!! -     BUT we are afraid!

!! -     WE are afraid that if we lay down on that cross….

!!! ~*     Our wives will take advantage of us.

!!! ~*     Our husbands will take us for granted, or stifle our freedom.

!!! ~*     We won’t get our way.

!!! ~*     We won’t reach our potential.

!! -     SO our marriages become roped-in boxing rings with two frightened people….

Both determined to win each round….because

they are afraid that the first one to submit will be the loser.

!! -     AND today, Rita and I are here to call you to the cross in your relationships….and

that without fear.

!!! ~*     Not because our marriage is perfect.

!!! ~*     Not because we have always lived the cruciform life in our family.

!!! ~*     But because of the unchanging, powerful Word of God…and our deep love for your marriages, your families, and your children.

!! -     TWO Sundays ago we studied I Peter 2:13-15 about being submitted to authorities in matters of state!

!! -     WE also learned, from verses 16-17, about submitting to one another in our community, from your local church to the workplace.

!! -     TURN with us now please to I Peter 3:1-7, and let’s learn from the Holy Spirit about submission to the authority in the home, the family.

!! -     HUSBANDS and wives, let’s consider the cross of Christ in our marriages today…and consider laying our lives down for His sake…without fear.

!! -     I HAVE entitled this sermon, “No Fear.”

!

ii.

conduct rather than words

!! -     REMEMBER the heart of the whole subject of submission, in 1 Peter 2, is Peter’s description of Jesus, our Shepherd whom we follow.

!!!       “*To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.*

(22) *‘He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.’*

(23) *When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats.

Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly*.”

(1 Peter 2:21-23)

!! -     JESUS submitted to the will of the Father, even going to the cross, because He entrusted Himself to God.

!! -     HE left the outcome in God’s hands.

!! -     HE trusted….without

fear…because He was confident in the heart and character of His Father.

!! -     THE family described in 1 Peter 3 has a Christian wife and an unbelieving husband.

!! -     IN this situation, if the Christian wife gives in to fear, one way she may try and wrestle control of the home is through the use of words.

!!! ~*     Explaining words.

!!! ~*     Debating words.

!!! ~*     Nagging words.

!!! ~*     Argumentative words.

!!! ~*     Abusive words.

!!! ~*     Negative words.

!! -     WHAT is behind all these words is the fear of losing control of your dreams, your life, or your future…..fear of not having any say at all.

!! -     AND to these Christian wives, haunted by fear, Peter says in I Peter 3:1 (page 1202),

!!!       “*Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives*, (2) *when they see the purity and reverence of your lives*.”

!! -     THE words, “in the same way…” is an adverb that connect wives…to Jesus’ submission in 2:23, and to Christians’ submission to every authority, in 2:13.

!! -     THE Greek word for submission means to “rank yourself (come into line) under.”

!! -     GOD has instituted submission as part of our lives because…

!!! ~*     It is consistent with life within the godhead, the Trinity.

!!! ~*     He is a God of order, not chaos, and chaos is the fruit of anarchy.

!!! ~*     Order is a means of productivity, and fruitfulness is God’s heart for His people.

!! -     SO, for the family, God has instituted the husband as the final authority, not because the husband is superior, but it is simply a role God has called the husband to fill.

!! -     IT is not about VALUE… it is about ORDER.

!!! ~*     God’s purpose in the submission of the wife is the unity and happiness of the family.

!!! ~*     His purpose is the smooth and joyful functioning of the family….which is not possible with two willful people launching scud missiles at each other from their respective corners.

!!! ~*     His purpose is the salvation of the husband.

!! -     GOD calls Christian wives to this submission in the home even if their husbands are not believers…and the Greek of verse 1 clearly implies that the husbands in view here may even be antagonistic to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

!! -     SO rather than using words, God says that it is the conduct of the wife that will win the day and win the husband.

!! -     AND that conduct is…

!!! 1.   Submission….to

their husbands.

!!! 2.   Life of purity….virtuous

conduct (Proverbs 31).

!!!! •     She brings him good, not harm.

!!!! •     She is productive in those things that benefit the family.

!!!! •     She is energetic and hard-working when it comes to the priorities of the home.

!!!! •     She is clothed with strength and dignity.

!!!! •     Listen to verse 30 and see its connection to the passage in I Peter 3,