Coping with Opposition (1) (1 Peter 3:13-17)

This sermon was preached on 13/10/2011

Peter proceeds to deal with the difficult problem of suffering for the faith and his instructions will cover the section from 3:13 to the end of chapter 4. The section also includes references that can be difficult to understand such as Jesus preaching to the spirits in prison (v. 19) or his claim that baptism saves (v. 21). In the section he provides several pieces of advice on suffering, with the first being how to respond to the possibility of legal action by the civil authorities. The reason why the first point includes legal action is based on Peter’s use of the term ‘defence’ in verse 15, which probably includes a court trial within its range of meaning.

He begins by pointing out that normally civil governments will not harass those who live good lives (v. 13). This point is made elsewhere in the New Testament. Paul says in Romans 13 that civil authorities have been appointed by God and will usually reward those under their authority who do good. The obvious deduction from this passage is that Christians should not attempt to bring punishments on themselves by disobeying laws enacted for the common good. Another deduction is that we should be thankful for God’s common grace. Among its effects are the various actions of human governments in maintaining a civilised society.

Nevertheless, there may be situations when the civil powers will attempt to punish Christians, probably when the laws of the state cannot be obeyed by Christians. What should believers do then? This is an issue that we may face in the future as our society continues to depart from its Christian heritage.

Comfort

The first detail that concerns Peter is comfort, and he shows this by reminding his readers that state opposition will not prevent them enjoying the blessings of God (v. 14). What comfort could be given to them? Given that Peter does not spell out specific comforts, it is reasonable to assume that he had normal Christian comfort in mind. What would some of them be?

First, persecution identifies them with Jesus Christ. He taught in John 15:18-21: ‘If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: “A servant is not greater than his master.” If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me.’ It should be a source of comfort to a Christian that opponents identify him as belonging to Jesus.

Second, persecution often becomes a door for evangelism. This connection has been noted for a long time. The church father Tertullian claimed that the blood of the martyrs was the seed of the church. A more modern example is the experience of the church in China through the Cultural Revolution. There was once a report in a Christian magazine that a Chinese evangelist told an American reporter of a Christian magazine that he would advise American Christians to cease asking God to stop the persecution in China and instead pray that he would send persecution to the American church.

Third, persecution enables believers to have increased fellowship with Jesus Christ. Remember the words of Jesus to Paul in Philippians 3:10: ‘that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.’ In a remarkable manner, the sympathy and support of Jesus is communicated by the Spirit to those who suffer for the faith. And that is very comforting.

Fourth, when believers are persecuted they are given aspects of the Spirit’s work that only seems to be given in times of opposition. This is connected to the previous point. Note these words of Peter: ‘If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you’ (1 Pet. 4:14). His words indicate that suffering believers are given special foretastes of the glory that is yet to be theirs.

Fifth, opposition is a means of helping the process of sanctification. I only want to read some verses that state the connection between a joyful response to opposition and growth in grace:

James 1:2-4: ‘Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.’

2 Corinthians 12:9-10: ‘But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.’

Romans 5:1-5: ‘Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.’

Sixth, suffering for Jesus will receive a great reward. The reward is the kingdom of heaven, where sufferers will reign with Christ. It includes receiving commendation from Jesus as well being given places of glory and appropriate functions to perform in the eternal world.

Seventh, persecution is the proof that it takes grace to live the Christian life. What else but this could cause believers to persevere through a lifetime of opposition, of ridicule, and of abuse? If one persists as a disciple of Jesus through a period of suffering for the faith, depending upon him, then he has an aspect of assurance that will bring him comfort.

Perhaps Peter was thinking of what Jesus had taught him in the Sermon on the Mount: ‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven’ (Matt. 5:11). The resources of the kingdom of God belong to such. So the range of blessings would include the presence of God, access to him in prayer, the consolation of Christian fellowship, and the prospect of heaven.

It is hard for us who may not yet be experiencing strong opposition to appreciate the importance of these blessings. In a sense, they are not necessities for us and we may not ask ourselves if we have experienced them to a great degree. Yet, if persecution comes, we will find ourselves valuing them highly. I suppose we only need to survey Paul’s prison letters to discover that these four points occur again and again in his experience. The testimony of those who have suffered for the faith also points to those areas of blessing as being crucial. In the meantime, it raises for us the question as to whether or not we value spiritual comfort.

Courage

The second detail in Peter’s response is a call for courage. He tells his readers that they should not be afraid of their opponents or troubled by what they might do. Is Peter’s mind going back to the upper room in Jerusalem when Jesus instructed his disciples, as they were about to go into a period of trouble even if they did not know it then, that they should not let their hearts be troubled or afraid (John 14:27)? Peter could recall the uselessness of natural courage at that time, so he cannot be advising his readers to trust in their own resources. Instead he is urging them to look for courage from God.

Or is Peter referring to Isaiah 8:11 and 13, in which the prophet uses similar ideas to the apostle? In verse 13, the prophet says, ‘But the LORD of hosts, him you shall regard as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.’ It does have similar ideas to Peter about sanctifying the Lord. From that verse it is clear that the only way to avoid the fear of man is to fear God in a reverential way. Such a fear caused Moses to leave Egypt, caused Daniel and his friends to disobey the Emperor of Babylon, and led Peter and John to ignore the threats of the authorities. The list could be extended down the centuries.

Peter would approve of Paul’s exhortation to the Ephesians that they should be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. There is such a thing as spiritual courage, which can make even the timidest believer in a Daniel. In spiritual courage, there is dependence on Christ and determination to serve him fully wherever he places us, whatever the difficulties or problems. There is also an assessment of the strength of the enemy in comparison to the strength of Christ – one sure way to lose courage is by over-estimating the power of one’s opponents. Further, we can obtain courage by acknowledging the providence of God in allowing them. These aspects of courage must always be fresh in our experience. Yesterday’s resolve is of no use today.

Consecration

The third detail that Peter highlights is consecration. We see this in his words, ‘in your hearts honour Christ the Lord as holy.’ For Peter, an important element in resisting opposition is regular reminders of who Jesus is. It is as if he is saying, ‘Before you do anything, remind yourself who Jesus is.’ We are not merely to think about Jesus, but we are also to honour him. Consecration requires bowing of the heart before the confession of the lips. The reason why we fail to serve Jesus is often traceable to this necessary action of giving him first place in our hearts because of his unique person and position. I don’t think Peter is urging his readers to think of the sinlessness of Jesus; instead he is telling them to think of the perfection of Jesus, that there are no flaws in who he is, what he did, or where he is. When we are consecrated to Jesus, we will cope with opposition through his strength.

Convictions

Peter mentions a fourth detail – convictions. The term for ‘defence’ that Peter uses points to the real possibility that he has a court case in mind. He is not merely telling Christians that they should always be ready to tell their neighbours about the faith in the sense of personal witness. The situation seems to be one where Christians are being slandered and reviled because of their Christian outlook. Peter’s teaching includes preparation and practice.

The preparation involves understanding the Christian message. It is interesting that what the Christians will need to explain is their hope, which draws attention to what they believe will happen in the future. This must include their expectations regarding the return of Jesus, the resurrection, and the eternal state. I suppose the reason why they would have to explain these details is because the Christian message about another King would be regarded as threatening by the Roman authorities. Whatever the reason, the Christians had to prepared at any time to explain what they believed.

But how were they to give their explanation? Given that it is very difficult to undergo false accusations, the temptation would have been there to answer in an aggressive manner. In contrast to such a response, the Christians were to defend themselves with gentleness and with respect to the authority of the court. In other words, they were to be Christlike.

Clear conscience

The fifth requirement for a Christian response to persecution is a good conscience (v. 16). When in their defence they would claim innocence of the charges they had to have a conscience that was clean. There is no benefit in claiming innocence if one is guilty. This is a reminder by Peter that God’s people have to live circumspect lives all the time, so that when they are accused, their conscience will testify that the slander is false. Peter is saying that normally human law courts will recognise when an accusation is unjust and will vindicate the believer and punish the accuser (by shaming him). Consistency of behaviour has a variety of benefits and one of them is the silencing of untrue accusations.

Compliance

Peter has a sixth requirement and that is compliance with God’s sovereign will (v. 17). Sometimes Christians will be unjustly punished and when that happens believers should acknowledge the sovereignty of God and wait for him to vindicate them, whether in providence or at the judgment seat. They know that he has a big plan and that one small element in it is their current circumstances. Their situation is not a denial of his wisdom or his power or his love. Instead, they submit to his providence because they know that he knows what he is doing.

So Peter gave six pieces of advice to Christians who were about to suffer, or perhaps had already face suffering. What they needed was divine comfort, God-given courage, Christ-focussed consecration, definite convictions about their hope and character, a clear conscience and complete compliance with God’s will. We need to have the same if such a scenario becomes our experience in the future.