The Hope Within You
1 Peter 3:14-17,
In our Sunday school time we've been going through the book of Acts, and I'm sure you've picked up that theme that comes through again and again, and that's simply that suffering was a big part of the early church, suffering and persecution. Then the life of Paul this past Sunday, we were reminded that Paul's missionary enterprises and his travels involved a lot of suffering; in 2 Corinthians 11 he picks up that word danger at least seven times.
And here in 1 Peter, when Peter writes his letters he's writing to suffering Christians, Christians who were suffering big time. That word suffer, suffering, suffered is used almost 15 times in these two epistles. So that's a major theme in 1 and 2 Peter and in 1 Peter 3:14 he picks up that word, “But even if you should suffer for righteousness sake you will be blessed.” Then if you drop down to verse 17 again, “For it is better to suffer for doing good if that should be God's will than for doing evil.” He's seeking to help these suffering Christians to suffer wisely and patiently.
Notice that right at the first verse in this chapter he addresses women, married women who are married to unconverted men. And he knows that part and parcel of that life together will be one of suffering, it is not an easy situation to be married to an unconverted man. So Peter seeks to encourage these Christian women. He tells them they can be wonderful instruments in bringing their husbands to a saving knowledge of Jesus. Look at verse 1, “Likewise wives, be subject to your own husbands so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be one without a word by the conduct of their wives.” He's telling these ladies you don't always have to speak, you can be quiet. There can be a meekness, a kind of silent evangelism without a word. That's what he says, without a word, your husband can come to know the Savior by your life, by your meek, quiet spirit you can win him. Then later on in 1 Peter 3, he gives another wise instruction about evangelism. Again, he's promoting what you could call a lifestyle evangelism. I picked up a couple of different words to think about it, what you might call a passive and patient evangelism as opposed to an aggressive and immediate evangelism.
There's a sermon preached by George McDearman years ago at the Pastors Conference in New Jersey and he preached on this passage. He titled it Normative Evangelism, I never forgot the title. The point he makes is that we shouldn't always think that when it comes to evangelism, we have to be the first to open our mouths. He doesn't say we have to, we don't have to be the one to initiate.
Sometimes Christians unwisely are intrusive and obnoxious with their mouths. They are aggressive in an unwise way. And there are times, don't get me wrong here, there are times we have to be intentional (I mentioned that last Sunday), and take initiative. We have to speak to people even if they don't want to hear us. But sometimes, sometimes the best and most effective evangelism is when people come to you with questions. That's what he's saying here in 1 Peter 3, Peter is assuming that people are coming asking questions and that Christians, you and I, should be willing and prepared to give a defense. He uses that word apology, a defense, an apologetic. Verse 15, look at it, “Always be prepared to give a defense to anyone who asks for a reason for the hope that is in you.” But clearly they are coming, they are coming to you asking you what is the hope within you.
They are people who are living without hope, but you have hope. You have hope and hope is a grace. It's a supernatural grace, just like love, just like faith. And hope gives stability in the midst of difficulty, it functions like the ballast in the boat. Christians and only Christians have this hope. It's not an iffy hope, it’s a sure hope. It's a hope of heaven; it's the hope of the resurrection; it's the hope of eternal life; it's the hope of seeing Jesus once again face to face. They come to you and they ask you why you're not fretting, worrying in the midst of your suffering. They see your suffering, they see it, they observe it, but you're not responding like they do. They are fretting. They are paralyzed with fear and anxiety every day of their lives. But with you, you have a hope, you have the ballast of hope in the boat, and they see there is this peace that passes all understanding. They even can observe a joy in the midst of your sorrows and pains, a contentment in every circumstance. You don't even seem to be afraid of death.
How do you answer them? Look what Peter says, “Be ready to give an answer of the hope within.” And notice he also says this in terms of the attitude and disposition we ought to have, “with all gentleness and respect.” Don't be obnoxious. Don't be pugnacious. Peter is assuming here that Christians can live a life of hope, love, faith and the world will observe, they will see it. They can't ignore you and they perceive that you are different, hope-filled as opposed to fear-filled; hope-filled as opposed to fear-filled. A grateful, joyful, hopeful Christian is countercultural.
You want to put your Christianity on display. It won't always be by your mouth; but by a quiet meek spirit, a gentle spirit. A person who has hope, hope that can be attractive to our neighbors, to our children. But we have to have our eyes fixed upon the hope. It's a future hope, the hope of eternal life, the hope of the second coming, the hope of the resurrection. As we heard in our Ladies Conference when Pastor Jim Sevastio was with us, it means living in light of eternity, a future hope. We can have a future hope, some wonderful opportunities, brethren, from the standpoint that they come to us. We don't always have to go to them, but they see us, and that often takes a period of time. That's why I called it patient evangelism as opposed to immediate evangelism, but we can be ready to answer the questions they have.
So we should pray, brethren, that we would have more of this hope. Do you ever pray for that grace? Hope. Hope. Hope, not fear, not anxiety, but hope. We live in a world that is hopeless. Without Christ, they're hopeless and we have hope. So we should pray that we would put that grace of hope on display in the midst of our trials, our afflictions, and our sufferings.
“But even if you should suffer for righteousness sake you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 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, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil.”
In our Sunday school time we've been going through the book of Acts, and I'm sure you've picked up that theme that comes through again and again, and that's simply that suffering was a big part of the early church, suffering and persecution. Then the life of Paul this past Sunday, we were reminded that Paul's missionary enterprises and his travels involved a lot of suffering; in 2 Corinthians 11 he picks up that word danger at least seven times.
And here in 1 Peter, when Peter writes his letters he's writing to suffering Christians, Christians who were suffering big time. That word suffer, suffering, suffered is used almost 15 times in these two epistles. So that's a major theme in 1 and 2 Peter and in 1 Peter 3:14 he picks up that word, “But even if you should suffer for righteousness sake you will be blessed.” Then if you drop down to verse 17 again, “For it is better to suffer for doing good if that should be God's will than for doing evil.” He's seeking to help these suffering Christians to suffer wisely and patiently.
Notice that right at the first verse in this chapter he addresses women, married women who are married to unconverted men. And he knows that part and parcel of that life together will be one of suffering, it is not an easy situation to be married to an unconverted man. So Peter seeks to encourage these Christian women. He tells them they can be wonderful instruments in bringing their husbands to a saving knowledge of Jesus. Look at verse 1, “Likewise wives, be subject to your own husbands so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be one without a word by the conduct of their wives.” He's telling these ladies you don't always have to speak, you can be quiet. There can be a meekness, a kind of silent evangelism without a word. That's what he says, without a word, your husband can come to know the Savior by your life, by your meek, quiet spirit you can win him. Then later on in 1 Peter 3, he gives another wise instruction about evangelism. Again, he's promoting what you could call a lifestyle evangelism. I picked up a couple of different words to think about it, what you might call a passive and patient evangelism as opposed to an aggressive and immediate evangelism.
There's a sermon preached by George McDearman years ago at the Pastors Conference in New Jersey and he preached on this passage. He titled it Normative Evangelism, I never forgot the title. The point he makes is that we shouldn't always think that when it comes to evangelism, we have to be the first to open our mouths. He doesn't say we have to, we don't have to be the one to initiate.
Sometimes Christians unwisely are intrusive and obnoxious with their mouths. They are aggressive in an unwise way. And there are times, don't get me wrong here, there are times we have to be intentional (I mentioned that last Sunday), and take initiative. We have to speak to people even if they don't want to hear us. But sometimes, sometimes the best and most effective evangelism is when people come to you with questions. That's what he's saying here in 1 Peter 3, Peter is assuming that people are coming asking questions and that Christians, you and I, should be willing and prepared to give a defense. He uses that word apology, a defense, an apologetic. Verse 15, look at it, “Always be prepared to give a defense to anyone who asks for a reason for the hope that is in you.” But clearly they are coming, they are coming to you asking you what is the hope within you.
They are people who are living without hope, but you have hope. You have hope and hope is a grace. It's a supernatural grace, just like love, just like faith. And hope gives stability in the midst of difficulty, it functions like the ballast in the boat. Christians and only Christians have this hope. It's not an iffy hope, it’s a sure hope. It's a hope of heaven; it's the hope of the resurrection; it's the hope of eternal life; it's the hope of seeing Jesus once again face to face. They come to you and they ask you why you're not fretting, worrying in the midst of your suffering. They see your suffering, they see it, they observe it, but you're not responding like they do. They are fretting. They are paralyzed with fear and anxiety every day of their lives. But with you, you have a hope, you have the ballast of hope in the boat, and they see there is this peace that passes all understanding. They even can observe a joy in the midst of your sorrows and pains, a contentment in every circumstance. You don't even seem to be afraid of death.
How do you answer them? Look what Peter says, “Be ready to give an answer of the hope within.” And notice he also says this in terms of the attitude and disposition we ought to have, “with all gentleness and respect.” Don't be obnoxious. Don't be pugnacious. Peter is assuming here that Christians can live a life of hope, love, faith and the world will observe, they will see it. They can't ignore you and they perceive that you are different, hope-filled as opposed to fear-filled; hope-filled as opposed to fear-filled. A grateful, joyful, hopeful Christian is countercultural.
You want to put your Christianity on display. It won't always be by your mouth; but by a quiet meek spirit, a gentle spirit. A person who has hope, hope that can be attractive to our neighbors, to our children. But we have to have our eyes fixed upon the hope. It's a future hope, the hope of eternal life, the hope of the second coming, the hope of the resurrection. As we heard in our Ladies Conference when Pastor Jim Sevastio was with us, it means living in light of eternity, a future hope. We can have a future hope, some wonderful opportunities, brethren, from the standpoint that they come to us. We don't always have to go to them, but they see us, and that often takes a period of time. That's why I called it patient evangelism as opposed to immediate evangelism, but we can be ready to answer the questions they have.
So we should pray, brethren, that we would have more of this hope. Do you ever pray for that grace? Hope. Hope. Hope, not fear, not anxiety, but hope. We live in a world that is hopeless. Without Christ, they're hopeless and we have hope. So we should pray that we would put that grace of hope on display in the midst of our trials, our afflictions, and our sufferings.
Posted in Pastor Devotional