Blessed Exiles

Thank you for reading this sermon from Christ Fellowship. I hope and pray that this sermon will be a blessing of grace and truth to you. With that said, let me encourage you not to use this sermon as a replacement for your local church. Christ Jesus did not establish his Church simply for us to consume content. Instead, He calls us to be part of a real, covenant family.

I want to start this morning with kind of an odd question. How much time do you spend worrying about things you are afraid of? It’s probably more than you realize. 

Last year, a survey of 2,000 Americans found that we spend an average of 2 hours and 18 minutes every day worrying about something. And young adults spend more time worrying than older adults.  

There are broad fears about government corruption, war, pollution, and crime. There are personal fears about illness, death, and finances. There are daily fears about what could happen to us or to someone we love at any moment. 

The reasons why we are growing more anxious are complicated. People are complicated. We all have unique stories and genetics. Culture is changing rapidly around us. Information is coming at us faster than ever before. 

But the most frequently given command in Scripture is “do not fear”. And we’ve come to one of those passages this morning. 1 Peter 3: 

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

This reminds me of Paul’s words in Romans 8: If God is for us, who can be against us? Or David in Psalm 118: The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? 

But there is also a general blessing in life that comes from living well. Think back to Peter’s instructions over the past several weeks. Being subject to authority, being a good employee, being a good spouse, or a good friend… those are good things and will generally be blessed, even among non-Christians. 

But that will not always be the case. 

[14] But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled,  

This is somewhat ironic because of what we know about Peter. This was perhaps his biggest struggle with sin. 

Peter denied Jesus three times on the night of the betrayal because he was afraid of what men might do to him. Paul had to publicly rebuke Peter for refusing to eat with the Gentiles because he was afraid of the Jews. 

But I also find this comforting, that God would use someone like Peter to teach about something he also struggled with. Because that’s me almost every Sunday. I believe these things are true even if I continue to struggle with them. 

Now, let’s look more closely at the verse. Have no fear of your persecutors. Why? Because even if you suffer, you will be blessed. 

This is important theology, not only because it is so opposite of what the world thinks. It’s also the opposite of what a lot of Christians today think. The world thinks of suffering as the opposite of blessing. But so do a lot of Christians. 

I hear it all the time. If you have enough faith, you will be blessed. And what they mean by blessing is a life without suffering. Better health, more money, more happiness. 

But that’s not what God says. God says you will be blessed even if you suffer.  

We call it a blessing when a biopsy comes back clean, and it is a mercy. But Peter says something the world can’t say: the man whose biopsy comes back bad, and who holds onto Christ anyway — that man is blessed too. The world can only bless the good report. God blesses the one who trusts Him through the bad one. 

What did Jesus say in Matthew 5? Blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are those who mourn. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake. 

How can that be true? Look at verse 15. 

[15] 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,  

We read this verse in the context of 21st century America, where we have freedom of religion… And we think of this as being prepared to answer the objections of atheists or people of other religions. And that’s certainly included, but the original context was courage in the face of potential martyrdom! 

The world is essentially asking, why would anyone choose to be a Christian in a time and place where Christians are being persecuted? For instance, right now, in Nigeria, why would anyone want to be a Christian when Christians being slaughtered and their villages are being burned? 

Peter says to those Christians, don’t be afraid of persecution or death, because your suffering is not in vain. This is an opportunity to witness… and with the added instruction, do it with gentleness and respect. 

We don’t know how to show gentleness and respect to the person who cuts us off on the highway or to the people on social media who disagree with our politics and here is Peter telling ancient Christians to show gentleness and respect to their persecutors! 

[16] having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. 

In other words, let your character speak for itself. There’s no need to defend yourself. Let your good behavior speak for you. 

This is one of the things that makes Christianity so different from any other religion. Peter here is more concerned about our witness to lost people than he is for our personal safety. 

That’s because we are the people of Jesus. And what did Jesus do? He loved His enemies at great personal cost. 

But the truth is, Christian witness is often destroyed by lack of character. And I’m not just talking about good morals. Think back to the kind of love Peter described to us last week: sympathy, tenderness, a humble mind… 

Gandhi supposedly said something like this, “I like your Christ, but I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” 

And it’s entirely possible that the Christians he encountered were a poor example of what Peter calls us to here.  

The world is always watching how Christians act when it costs us something. Not when it’s easy — but when it’s hard. That’s when they find out whether we actually believe what we sing about. 

Do we have a good conscience that our behavior in Christ is consistent with our faith in Christ?  

What is a good conscience? Your conscience is your self-awareness of the moral quality of your own actions. We are forgiven sinners, but we are also learning to be obedient saints. 

There is a balance here. Peter is concerned with our witness, but he’s not overly concerned with what other people think of us or say about us either. Even our good character will sometimes be ridiculed by pagans. 

[17] For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil. 

This is, perhaps, a veiled warning to Christians not to get themselves martyred for opposing the government. If they kill you for being a Christian, so be it.  

But don’t get yourself killed for being unnecessarily rebellious. If you’re going to be persecuted, make sure it’s not because you deserve it! 

Now, let’s think about these verses as a whole. Peter is teaching us that we should do what’s right even if it causes us to suffer.  

We should let our love for Christ and our hope for the future govern our hearts and actions instead of fear. 

And at the center of Peter’s argument is a concern for the lost. How do we suffer well for the sake of our witness?  

These passages are always difficult for me to preach because of our context. It always feels a little off to preach about persecution in 21st century America when there are actual Christians in other places dying for their faith. 

No one in this room is currently in danger of martyrdom. And yet, we are not strangers to fear. In some ways, we are more plagued by fear than our ancestors ever were.  

We may not fear the sword, but we fear the diagnosis. We fear the phone call in the middle of the night. We fear for our children, our money, our future. 

Peter doesn’t scold us for that. He gives us something better to fear. Look again at verse 15. 

[15] 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, 

Before he says anything about answering critics, he says, “in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy.” That’s the antidote. Peter is quoting Isaiah, who told a frightened people: do not fear what they fear — but the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. 

Fear is not defeated by trying harder to be brave. Fear is defeated by fearing something greater. A child lying awake at night, afraid of the dark, doesn’t calm down because someone proved the room was safe. He calms down the moment his father walks in. The dark didn’t change, but a bigger presence just filled the room and crowded the fear out.  

When Christ is holy in your heart, the things that terrify the world lose their grip on you. The government cannot touch what you treasure most. And death itself has already been emptied of its power by the resurrection. 

Yesterday, Roxanne and I attended the funeral of Dorothy Butler. She was an elder’s wife at Christ Pres and a wonderful person. Her granddaughter Abby shared a quote from Dorothy during the Eulogy, something she said often, and I wrote it down because it was so good. 

“God may not be changing my circumstances, but He is changing me through them.” 

That’s the wisdom of someone who knows that even if we suffer for righteousness’ sake, we will be blessed. 

Whenever you find yourself worrying this week, remember to honor Christ as holy in your heart. When you do that, there is nothing left in this world with the power to make you afraid. Not even death, because even the fear of death has been rendered powerless in the resurrection of Christ.