Sermon Text:

As we continue working our way through 1 Peter we see a pattern. Believers in Jesus Christ are called to a radically different life than those who are in the flesh. Through the blood of Jesus, and our union with him by faith, we are changed into something new. Our perspective on everything, including our reputations, comfort, and even our own death is transformed. It is impossible to honestly live the Christian life in the flesh. It requires being born again to new life through the power of the Holy Spirit.

It is rare to see someone truly living this way and it is easy to think that the holy life is abnormal. Our common experience is a world marked by sin so holiness stands out in stark contrast. The truth, however, is that we were designed and created to live holy lives. It is the so-called normal life that is unnatural. It is sort of like how most people in the U.S. think it is normal for coffee to taste bitter because they have never had a quality cup of coffee. Sin distorts our perception of what is normal and skews our frame of reference for what is godly.

Sin has corrupted everything but in Jesus, God is redeeming his creation. Rather than discard it and just make another one, which he could certainly do, he enters into the brokenness Himself to restore it to the glory for which it was intended. This work begins with the church. Through his resurrection Jesus is the firstborn of the new creation and we are his brothers and sisters. 

We have the blessings of experiencing the reality of the next world, while still living in this one. We have the blessing of knowing that this world, with its pain and struggle, is not all there is. We know we can trust God because Jesus is risen. We know evil will be punished because of the cross. We know God will keep his promises because the Father chose us before the foundation of the world, the Son died for us while we were his enemies, and the Holy Spirit now dwells with us, seals us, and is the guarantee of our inheritance.

All of Peter’s instructions on how to live in a hostile world are built on these realities for believers. The main point of our passage today and the main point of the message this morning is that,

Believers are called, in both word and deed, to share the hope that is within us.

Peter begins by again encouraging believers to be a blessing. He says,

13 Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good?

Although the world opposes our faith, if we pursue the selfless pursuit of the good of our neighbors there will be many unbelievers who will appreciate the blessings that follow. For example, many in the world may hate our opposition to murdering unborn children, but very few hate our willingness to adopt and care for these children or provide support to young women who don’t think they can care for their children. Doing these things are good and lends credibility to our position on abortion.

Feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, providing shelter to the homeless. Healing the sick, encouraging the disheartened. These are all things that even unbelievers recognize as helpful and good. The world tries to solve the problems sin creates through laws, regulations, and policies but ultimately it is love that meets people's needs and no people should be able to outlove those in whom Jesus dwells.

Of course, our primary goal cannot be to avoid suffering so that we compromise our faith to do so. That is what Peter has been saying. Being a believer in this world will involve opposition and often suffering. Sometimes we will suffer not only despite our good efforts, but because of them. Even then Peter says we are not to lose heart. He says,

14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. 

We seek to be a blessing and we seek to love others but we do so as those who follow Jesus. Like Jesus, we love in the truth and are called to be faithful to God regardless of the cost. It may even cost us our lives but we should not fear because if we suffer for the sake of righteousness, we will be rewarded. The author of Hebrews says this about those early believers in Hebrews 10:32–36,

32 But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, 33 sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. 34 For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. 35 Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. 36 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.  

Like Moses, who considered the reproach of Christ to be greater than the wealth of Egypt, believers are to store up our treasures in heaven, knowing we will receive there an inheritance that is eternal and unfading. There is hostility and opposition in the world but Peter says,

Have no fear of them, nor be troubled 

One of the key themes we see in this letter is that we are to have no fear of men. This life is only for a moment and there is nothing the world can take from us that is of any real value. Do not be afraid, do not be troubled. Psalm 46 says God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea!

Fear is one of the main reasons that we fail spiritually. Fear paralyzes us and keeps us from following Jesus. The night he was arrested, they all left him. Even Peter, who had been so bold, denied him out of fear. It is the same with us. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. There is no greater need in our Christian walk than to have our hearts strengthened against the fear of man. We do this by focusing on the promises.

But what if they ruin my reputation? So be it, for my name is written in the book of life. What if they don’t like me anymore? God loved me so much he gave his only begotten son so that the sin that separated me from him would be removed and I could be with him forever. What if they ruin me financially? I am an adopted child of God, heirs with Christ to an eternal kingdom where there are treasures that moth and rust can never reach. What if they take my life? I have already died with Christ and am united to him. If I am killed then I will be raised in a glorified body and will be like my Lord. 

All of my greatest enemies have been defeated. Death has no sting. Sin has no power. Judgment has been taken away because I stand before the holy God justified in Jesus Christ by faith. Believer, there is no need to be afraid of men because in the end it is you they will stand before. The apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6:2, “do you not know the saints will judge the world?” We will all give an account to Christ and as believers, we are seated with him in the heavenly places.

Do not fear, the world is dark but just as assuredly as night is followed by the dawn, Christ is coming. Therefore, we can be faithful without worrying about the consequences. That is why Peter begins verse 15 by saying,

15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, 

When we center our life around this we will not fear, we will be a blessing, we will be unshakeable in our faithfulness. The key to the Christian life is to not focus on what is going on around us, but what God is doing inside us. As a pastor, I meet with a lot of people who are struggling with sin or behaviors they want to change. They often tell me how hard they are working to do or not do certain things. I often tell them, that is why you are struggling. The answer to killing sin is to stop focusing on sin. To stop focusing on what you do or don’t do and instead to focus on the grace and love of Jesus Christ.

Begin each day filled and satisfied with Jesus. Walk each day looking to honor Jesus and fellowship with him. You see, you cannot do those things and be in sin. Flesh cannot overcome flesh, but in Christ your flesh has already been crucified. The key to overcoming sin is to walk by faith in the fellowship with God that Jesus has purchased for you in his own blood!

We do this, Peter says in verse 15,

always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; 

There are certain verses that are anchor verses for particular topics and this is one of those. There is a branch of Christian study and ministry called apologetics. Christian apologetics is concerned with a rational defense of the Christian faith. The name comes from the Greek word ἀπολογία, which is the word in this verse that is translated as defense. It basically means to give a reason or explanation of something to defend it as true or right.

I want to address two different types of apologetics and then tie them together with what Peter is saying. The first type of apologetics I want to talk about is what I would call scholastic apologetics. This is what people think of when they hear the word apologetics. If you were to buy a book on apologetics, whether it an academic work like Alvin Plantinga’s Warranted Christian Belief or one written for the general populace like Lee Strobel’s A Case for Christ you are getting scholastic apologetics. 

These books advance various arguments and reasons justifying Chrsitian belief and usually critique and compare non-Christian views. There are a lot of different approaches and methodologies within Christian apologetics. There are classical apologists like Thomas Aquinas, R.C. Sproul, and William Lane Craig

that focus on various rational arguments. 

Evidentialists such as Gary Habermas and Lee Strobel, who focus on evidence for Christianity. There are cumulative case apologists such as C.S. Lewis and Richard Swinburne that argue from a probability standpoint for the truth of the faith. There are presuppositionalists such as Greg Bahnsen, John Frame, and Ron Nash that show we must begin with the truth of scripture and show the impossibility of the contrary.

There are several others I could mention and these approaches often blend into each other. I am just trying to show you there are many different approaches to arguing for the truth of Christianity. Those who have been blessed with a ministry to equip the saints in this way are gifts to the church. 

When I was younger I often heard arguments that sounded convincing to me but when I got to college and began reading philosophy and studying other disciplines I encountered well-reasoned and powerful challenges to what I believed. Some of these challenges just steamrolled over the straw man arguments I had been taught in the church. 

Much of what I was equipped with was no more effective against the best arguments against Christianity than nerf darts would be against a tank. This created a problem for me. I believed in the Bible but I couldn’t demonstrate why or how that was a reasonable belief to have. I could see that the best arguments from unbelievers were not easily dismissed and there were real questions about the faith that couldn’t be waived off and deserved good honest answers that I did not have. I could not be a Christian if there were not good reasons for doing so. If Christianity were false, it would be useless and thus foolish and dishonest to continue in it.

This led me to do two things. First, it drove me to really read the Bible seriously, probably for the first time. I knew that one way or another the whole thing would stand or fall on whether this book was really what Christians claimed it was. That was the best thing that could ever have happened. It transformed my life in several ways, but relative to this, the Bible itself testified to me that it was God’s word. It was as if I could perceive the glory of God in its pages. To this day, when I preach, what I am trying with all my weakness to do, is to share that with you so you can see it too. I double majored in history and literature as an undergraduate so I had to read a lot and one thing I knew was that the Bible was unlike any other book. It is the revelation of God.

The second thing was that I began looking for Christian defenses that directly addressed the kinds of questions that I was facing. Frankly, I was disappointed by much of what I read but eventually, by God’s grace, it was like a window opened. I recall finding Carl F.H. Henry and being so encouraged to see a believer honestly interacting with the best arguments of unbelievers. I recall being blown away reading Gordn H. Clark’s An Introduction to Christian Philosophy, and Cornelius Van Til’s Defense of the Faith.

There are no intellectual arguments we can make that are guaranteed to convince or convert someone. The chief stumbling block to belief is not a lack of evidence or rational objections, it is a sinful heart that does not want to admit it is evil and rebellious and submit to God. So, there are no silver bullets, but there are good answers. There are good and sufficient reasons to believe that are not isolated to your personal experience.

Our brains do not fall out in the baptistry. We are to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind. God has gifted the church with many capable defenders of the truth and I am happy to recommend resources for you in this area if it is something that would benefit you. 

Again, there is a lot out there so depending upon what questions you are interested in there may be different recommendations. I do, however, want to mention one in particular that I think does a really good job of presenting some of these scholastic concepts in a very practical and accessible way. If you are looking to be better prepared to discuss your Christian convictions and answer the kinds of questions and objections you are likely to hear in everyday conversations, I encourage you to pick up this book Tactics by Greg Koukl. This is one of the books we make available at the resource table in the back. If we run out, don’t worry, just let us know and we will get one to you.

That is the kind of stuff people think of when we talk about apologetics. Virtually every apologetics book quotes this verse. It is the flagship verse of the apologist. As I said, there is much value in apologetic ministries as they help equip us but the reality is that I don’t think Peter expects the average believer to understand the ontological argument for God’s existence, or the transcendental argument for the truth of Christianity.

I believe that Peter is talking about something more common and something that every believer can do. Notice he says we are to always be prepared. I suppose that is partly where the other stuff comes in, we should be learning so we are ready. Even so, this isn’t an academic exercise. Peter says always be ready to explain to anyone the reason for the hope that IS IN YOU. This isn’t abstract. This is personal.

Why are you full of joy and peace even though you suffer? How can you look at the world around you and have joy and peace when everyone else is complaining and anxious. How can you celebrate life even when you lose friends, family, and property? How can you love those who hate you? We persevere in these things because of the hope that is within us. Be ready always to share that hope with anyone.

Most people walk around in despair, worried and upset about all kinds of things, and they are ready to talk to anyone they can about them. These things are foremost on their mind and it is important to them that others understand why they are so concerned or upset. Brothers and sisters, if you are a Christian, the distinguishing thing about you should be your hope. The foremost thing on your mind should be the hope you have in the promises of God. 

Does your life and your walk project hope as it should? Mine doesn’t, not as it should. I pray we would all grow in our maturity so that people would look at us and wonder. I pray God would bless us so that others are curious about what we have that they do not and we would be ready to tell them.

Brothers and sisters, we are no better than anyone else. Every one of us are sinners saved only by the grace of God. Had it not been for God’s mercy, every human being would be exiled to hell because we have all rejected God. But God is gracious and he is merciful. He sent his perfect son Jesus as a substitute for all who would put their faith in him. He did what we were supposed to do and then exchanged his perfect righteousness for the sin of all who would put their trust in him. He suffered the wrath of God that we deserved, and we inherit the glories of heaven that he deserved.

He was tortured and crucified on a cross. He died and was buried, but three days later, he was raised from the dead and then ascended into heaven. Now he is calling all sinners to repent and believe so that we may be saved. Those who do receive the promise of resurrection and eternal life. We receive adoption as sons and daughters and citizenship in the kingdom of God. Most importantly, we are united by faith with Jesus. That brothers and sisters is the hope that is within us.

Peter is calling on all believers to be ready to share Christ. We are to be ready to share the gospel. Yes, we want to be informed so that we can answer honest questions. Yes, there are specialists who can debate with the wise men of this age, but it is not the cosmological argument that will save anyone. Salvation is found in Jesus Christ alone. Only God can breathe life into a dead heart and open the eyes of a sinner so they can see the beauty of the Lord. 

It isn’t necessary to get a doctorate to keep this command. Read your bible so you know the truth. Find in there the promises that anchor your hope and the Christ which has purchased them for you. Read your bibles. Then pray. Pray that God would give you opportunities to share the hope within you. Pray for specific people. Pray that he will guide your words. Pray. Fellowship together with other believers. Fellowship so that you can be encouraged and reminded of God’s mercy and goodness. Fellowship so you can encourage others in that way. Fellowship so we can read the Bible and pray together, fanning the flames of this hope so that the fire God places in our hearts would be light to the world.

The reason for the hope within me is that my lord and savior, Jesus Christ, gave his life to save me and now he is seated at the right hand of majesty, interceding for me, and he has promised to return for me and bring me into his kingdom. I deserve none of this, but I have it because of his great love and mercy. I didn’t earn it. I don’t deserve it. Whatever good you see in me comes from him. My hope does not rest in who I am or what I have done, but in who he is and what he has done.

Be always ready to share this with everyone. If they ask you, can these things be true? Could this really happen, then as best you can, prayerfully and honestly answer their questions, but most importantly pray for them. Just as we must rest in God for our salvation, we must rest in him for the salvation of those we share the gospel with.

Peter says we must be ready to share Christ,

yet do it with gentleness and respect, 16 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 are not to turn people into projects or seek to win debates. We are to be ready because we love and have been loved, not because we have some other agenda. We are not out to look smart or religious. Our intent is the glory of God and the salvation of other sinners who are just like us, in need of grace. As one brother has said, “we do not love people in order to share the gospel, we share the gospel because we love them.”

If our interest and readiness to witness is truly motivated by a love for others then it will be to their shame if they abuse us for it. If rather than trying to do good works, we simply seek to bless others, in deeds and in testimony, and they reject that and make fun of us for it, then that is on them. If it comes to the point where we must even suffer, let it be that we suffer for doing good rather than evil. If we are to be abused, let us be like Jesus and suffer abuse because of our love.

We are called to be ready to give a reason for the hope within us. The reason for that hope is what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. In Ephesians 1:16–23 the apostle Paul prays that the Ephesians will know the hope to which they have been called in Christ. I would like to close this morning by having all of pray this same prayer for each other as we meditate on the amazing depths of these truths,

16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 

19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.