Keys of the Kingdom 10 – Defend Yourself!

And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you are blessed. And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled. But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks a reason for the hope that is within you, with meekness and fear; having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. (1 Peter 3:13–17)

When God calls us to submission and meekness, our hearts cry "but I'll get hurt!"—and Peter's answer reorients everything around eternity.

Where Our Minds Go: Harm

For the last four weeks we've looked at topics that are not easy to be confronted with—submission to government, to any authority over us, the submission of wives to husbands, and meekness in the face of opposition. When Jesus taught us to turn the other cheek in the Sermon on the Mount, He gave us a teaching that is far from our nature.

None of these things are easy for us, because when we study them our minds go to the same place: harm. That's where my mind goes, and I know it's where yours goes, because several of you have come to me after services complaining that you're not sure you like this idea of submission. The concern is always the same. If I submit to government, to a harsh employer, or to my husband, then I could suffer harm. If I am kind and gracious and don't defend myself, if I walk with meekness in a world that is not meek, then it is certain I will get stepped on. That's our objection.

Our nature cries for justice. And one of the first laws of human nature is self-preservation—the desire to preserve ourselves. So when we hear "submit" or "meekness in the face of opposition," we say that's foolishness. Our culture cries the same thing: fairness, rights, equality. Stand up for yourself. Be assertive. Don't let anybody walk over you. And honestly, that's a culture our flesh feels quite comfortable in. We like that assertiveness.

What Is "Good"?

So Peter poses the tough question on submission and meekness—that attitude of yielding, of turning the other cheek—and he simply asks, "Who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good?"

First we have to ask, what is the "good"? In context, it is submission to government, to any authority, wives submitting to their husbands, and meekness in this world—a meekness marked by tenderheartedness, gracious mercy, courtesy, kindness, and not rendering evil for evil. Peter says these things are good; this is the righteousness Christ calls us to. And to be a follower of what is good means to do it, to apply it, not merely to know it.

If you're a Christian—if you've put your trust in Jesus for salvation—you instantly became a citizen of the kingdom of God, a sojourner and pilgrim passing through this world. As such, you must make every effort to be submissive, compassionate, loving, tenderhearted, gracious, merciful, kind, and meek in a world that is none of those things. My fallen nature—what the New Testament calls the flesh—hates every one of those concepts. My flesh wants assertiveness; it is unsympathetic, hard, cold, unkind, and unyielding. I don't want to yield. Whether it's my two-and-a-half-year-old or my marriage, the lack of desire to yield is real, and underneath it is fear—fear that if I do these things, I will suffer harm.

Peter Just Nods

So Peter asks the question and means it literally—who is going to oppress you, injure you, afflict you, maltreat you, if you do good? Put it into words. And instantly we have a flood of legitimate answers. Submit to government, and tyranny may follow—and history is full of tyrannies; just about every major event in history involves some tyrannical leadership. Submit to an employer, and you may get a harsh taskmaster, like the people of God in Egypt. A wife submitting to an unbelieving husband may suffer at his hands. If I am meek in an antagonistic, anti-God society and don't respond when they come against me, I will most certainly suffer harm.

Here is the difficult part. Peter throws out the question, and with it comes a flood of legitimate answers—harsh government, terrible taskmasters, unbelieving husbands, an anti-God society—and he gives no rebuttal. It's almost as if Peter, with a smile, just nods and says, "Yeah, that could happen." You want to say, "Come on, Peter, don't you have anything for me?" And he just keeps nodding: yes, all those things just might, and probably will, happen.

Christians Are All But Guaranteed Suffering

That's the first point: Christians are all but guaranteed suffering. That's exactly what Jesus taught. In Matthew 10:22–25 He says, "You will be hated for My name's sake," and one verse later, "when they persecute you"—not if, but when.

Here's our problem as Americans living in 2016. That has not been our experience, and thank God for it. We have not suffered persecution for the cause of Christ. Every time I say that, someone tells me they have—but when they elaborate, it usually comes down to suffering for being a bonehead, and Peter says there's no merit in suffering for doing wrong. We live in a nation that has afforded incredible religious liberties for hundreds of years, so we begin to think this is normal. It's not. If you read church history, what we experience is the exception. This is not how Christians have lived for 2,000 years, and it's not what most Christians experience around the world today.

Jesus said in John 15, "If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you." Yet we have people who stand up with open Bibles and preach—almost always out of context—that if you're a Christian you won't suffer. Anyone who says that is lying to you. They may be sincere, but they're lying, because Jesus never said that. Christians suffer the same difficulties non-Christians do in a fallen world: the cancer diagnosis, the lost job, the foreclosure. The added "benefit"—and the Bible does call it that—is that a Christian might suffer more because they are a Christian. Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 3:12, "Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution."

How Is That Good News?

So how on earth is that good news—and "gospel" means good news? Peter leaves the question suspended in thin air, like a tightrope walker over the Grand Canyon, with no rebuttal. After your long list of "I might suffer this and this," he just nods and says, in verse 14, "But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you are blessed."

What kind of thinking is that? Today it's common to sit down to a great meal, snap a picture, and post it "#blessed." Bonus check—"#blessed." We live in a hashtag-blessed society. There's truth in it; we are incredibly blessed. To be blessed means we've received great benefit and are therefore deeply happy. But Peter says: if you suffer for doing what's right, #blessed. There's no way to look at that and say, "Yes, I feel that 100%."

This only makes sense in light of the biblical promise of eternity. It has no value apart from the promise of Jesus through the gospel. As Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:19, "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most pitiful." If you put your faith in Jesus only because you thought it would give you a good life here and now, you are pitiful—and you have something sorry coming, because it won't be what you thought. That's why so many give up on this Christian thing: it didn't work the way they were told it would. It's the worst possible bait-and-switch. But the Christian's hope is not in this place. Praise God, this is not our home. The Christian lives this life in hope of another life still to come, and that hope makes this life—even filled with suffering—all the better.

The Philosophy of Our Day vs. the Teaching of Jesus

The philosophy of our day goes like this: life is cruel and short, so do everything you can to have a great life now, because this is all there is. That's nothing new—there is nothing new under the sun. And no wonder people are depressed if this is all there is.

The teaching of Jesus is awesomely different. The way to have a great life now is not to live for this life, but to live for the life that is to come—and in doing so, you'll have a wonderful life too. We saw it last week in 1 Peter 3:10: "He who would love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil... let him turn away from evil and do good, let him seek peace and pursue it." Everything He tells us to do goes against our nature, yet God says if you do this, your life will be good.

Is that really Jesus' teaching? In Matthew 16:25–27, in the same conversation where Peter confesses, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God," Jesus says, "Whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?... For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works."

This is one of the keys of the kingdom. The ruling philosophy of Jesus' day was the same as ours: give everything you can to gain this world. Jesus came preaching the gospel of the kingdom—a kingdom that is not here and now. One of the keys of that kingdom is to live for that kingdom and not for this world.

Christ Suffered to Save Us Out of Suffering

That's the second point: Christ suffered to save us out of suffering. There is suffering all human beings experience because of sin and the fallenness of this world. There is also a compounded suffering you might experience as a follower of Jesus, persecuted for doing right—and the gospel writers call that a blessing. Paul wrote in Philippians 1 that it has been granted to you as a gift to suffer for His name.

If you've trusted Christ for salvation, the Bible promises not just forgiveness of sin now, but salvation from sin and its woeful effects in His kingdom to come. Knowing that promise, waiting for that reward, makes suffering here even joyful—so that James could write, in truth, "Count it all joy when you suffer." A person with no hope of heaven looks at that and says it's dumb. But when your hope changes, everything changes.

Even if you live a hundred years in the worst persecution, what is that compared to eternity? Eternity makes my head hurt because it's too big for my finite brain. "Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, nor has entered into the heart of man" what awaits us. The second you step into eternity and look back, you'll ask, "What was that in comparison?" We experience a micro version of this in America: people work a job they hate for forty years because they hope it will yield a few years of retirement. The Christian has a hope far better than a 401(k) and a possible yacht. And understand—eternity is secured to you not because of anything you've done, but because of Christ's work on the cross. Yet there is even more reward in eternity for those who suffer for righteousness' sake.

Do Not Fear Suffering

So Peter continues in verse 14: "And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled." That's a command. We're all fearful of harm—I have a long list, Peter—but the command stands: don't be afraid of their threats.

Jesus said it too. Matthew 10:28: "Do not fear those who kill the body and cannot kill the soul, but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." Luke 12: "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body... but I will show you whom you should fear: fear Him who... has the power to cast into hell."

How can I not be troubled in a world of turmoil and suffering, with the probability of suffering for being a follower of Jesus? In John 14, Jesus says, "Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions... I go to prepare a place for you... that where I am, there you may be also." He promotes peace by saying, I have something better for you. "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives." And He sums it up in John 16:33: "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." How did He overcome the world? Through the resurrection—and He promises that we too will be more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

That's the third point: do not fear suffering, for His suffering has secured my salvation. "By grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." Because He has secured my salvation, I don't have to fear suffering—at most it's temporary. Even eighty years of solid, back-to-back suffering is temporary.

Sanctify the Lord God in Your Hearts

Verse 15: "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks a reason for the hope that is within you, with meekness and fear." This is a famous verse we're told to memorize. We can even note that "defense" is the Greek word apologia, to give a good answer. But our biggest problem is that we take it out of context and miss its basic meaning. Why did Peter say it? Because in the previous verse he said, don't be afraid of those who might harm you; instead, do this—sanctify the Lord God in your hearts.

That word "sanctify" trips us up because we don't use it in everyday life. My personal paraphrase is: set your heart firmly on Christ. Make Jesus number one in your heart; make Him Lord.

Two simple questions. First, is Christ exalted and lifted up as Lord in your life? If He is, it will be evidenced in how you respond to authority—you will submit yourself to every authority, because you trust God—and in how you respond to suffering, understanding it is a momentary, light affliction working for us a far greater, eternal weight of glory.

Second, is your heart fixed upon Christ and His kingdom, or on this world? I can say my heart is fixed on the Lord, but whether that's true is seen in how I live. Paul told the Colossians to set their minds on things above, where Christ is seated. In Philippians 4 he wrote, "Be anxious for nothing"—we all do great until that word nothing—"but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."

If my focus is on His kingdom, then in any trial I will have peace, because, as Isaiah said, "You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You." But if every little thing takes your peace—Trump, Sanders, Clinton, the Dow Jones rising and falling—your focus is in the wrong place. If my heart drops with the Dow Jones, I don't really trust in Jesus.

A Secured Salvation Promotes Perfect Peace

Now, "Let not your heart be troubled" is a command I cannot fulfill in my own strength. Picture driving 65 down I-15 when something flies off a truck in front of you, bouncing toward your windshield. In that instant the impulse races up your nervous system and meets the limbic system—all emotion—and your heart pounds, you flush, you taste rust because of the adrenaline. Have you ever, in that moment, told yourself, "I will now be calm, cool, and collected"? It doesn't work. Biologically, you can't.

But here is the promise: that which is impossible with man is possible with God, and I can do all things through Him who gives me strength. That's the fourth point: a secured salvation promotes perfect peace. When your hope is in an absolutely secure salvation—"Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe; sin had left its crimson stain, He washed it white as snow"—then in the midst of any trouble you can experience peace that surpasses all understanding.

Peace Under Persecution Is Evangelistic

Then Peter says, "always be ready to give a defense." That's the permission to defend ourselves—but not in the way I'd hoped. "Be ready to give a defense to anyone who asks a reason for the hope that is within you." A secured salvation and a steadfast hope of eternity with Christ produce peace, and when people see that peace in the life of a Christian, they ask, "Where did that come from?"

That's the fifth point: peace under threat of persecution is evangelistic. For decades people have used this verse alongside a saying attributed to St. Francis of Assisi—"preach the gospel at all times, and when necessary use words." And with the prosperity teaching in our nation, we're told to just live it up, have all this stuff, and people will ask, "How'd you get that?" so you can say, "My faith in Jesus." That has never happened to me.

But here's what does happen. When a Christian endures suffering with peace and joy in Christ, those who do not know hope—and that's every person without Jesus—look and say, "How on earth is that possible?" Then be ready to give an answer: "I have hope. This is not my home. I have hope in something beyond this world." I've yet to meet anyone, Christian or not, who doesn't think that sounds like good news, whether they believe it or not. That's gospel.

So Peter concludes, "having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed"—or confounded. They mock you as a Bible-thumping, hand-raising wacko, and then they watch you walk through suffering with peace, and they are confounded. "For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil."

Closing Prayer

God, help us to live this way. Apart from You, it's impossible. We have no ability in our fallen, sinful flesh to live as You command, so would You give us the power by Your Spirit this week as we walk through the myriad of what-ifs—what if this happens, what if that happens—that our hearts would be tuned and in step with eternity. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.