Set Apart Christ As Lord-1 Peter 3:8-17
SET APART CHRIST AS LORD
1 Peter 3:8-17
Key Verse: 15:
“But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.”
Good afternoon, everyone. As we read in verse 8a, “Finally,” Peter is concluding his remarks about submission in an unbelieving world, which he started in chapter 2 and finishing in chapter 3 verse 7. In those verses, Peter wrote about being submissive to the government, to our bosses, and to one’s spouse in the marriage relationship. It was often to be a silent submission following the example of our Lord Jesus as Peter wrote in chapter 2 verse 23. “When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.” It is believed that 1 Peter was written during the time of the cruel Emperor Nero who persecuted Christians. They were facing real harm and difficulties for their faith. Peter encouraged them to have the same attitude to insults and evil done to them as their Lord Jesus. This is the attitude we must have towards unbelieving people living in an ungodly world. Now, beginning in chapter 3 verse 8, Peter writes to believers how to have the proper attitude towards other believers and all people in general. He also writes to them how to reply verbally to those who question their faith. Because as Peter writes, when we live such good Christian lives and as good model citizens that was quite opposite to the cultural behavior at that time, people may start asking, “Why do behave as you do?” Then that is when we should open our mouths not to curse, but to bless others by sharing the gospel of salvation with them. In other words, we behave and act as we do because we have set Christ apart in our hearts, which is also the title of my message today:
Look at verse 8. “Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.” Here Peter gives five adjectives describing what all believers should be like in their demeanor and disposition. First, they should be like-minded. It does not mean that all Christians should agree on everything all the time. Rather, it is having the same objective or goal in mind together. For example, we can all agree that is right to help others who are in need. But believers may have different opinions or approaches in helping others like financially or emotional support or prayer, visitation, and sharing the gospel. God did not make believers to be just like robots or computers getting the same program, but we are to be like-minded in Christ. 2 Corinthians 2:16 reads, “’For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.” St. Augustine said it best when he said, “On essentials, unity; on non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.” Second, we should be sympathetic. In other words, we should be understanding of others, especially those who are suffering or in need. In Peter’s time, there were many believers suffering for their faith. As mentioned, when Nero was emperor, he persecuted Christians severely and killed them. He was the emperor responsible for killing both Peter and Paul. The believers had to understand each other’s suffering and encourage one another. Especially, those who were strong in the faith had to help and encourage those who were spiritually weak or going through some difficult time.
Third, all believers should have a loving attitude towards one another. This is how we show the world, as Jesus commanded, that we are his disciples “when we love one another.” In order for believers at that time to make an influence in their society they had to live differently from the poisonous culture in which they lived in. I always remember as a UIC student how I loved coming to the UIC Bible house between classes and after classes because it was an encouraging place and everyone seemed to love and serve one another. There was always some ramen to eat for lunch. It was to be the same loving relationship in the church. I remember as a boy going to a different church with my parents. I remember though we always sat close to the door so as soon as service was over, we went out the door as fast as possible. Because of this lack of building a loving relationship, I didn’t establish any relationship with anyone and eventually left that church. Fourth, we are to be compassionate people. More than just understanding people’s suffering in our minds, but more in our hearts that we are moved to do something for them. Like the Good Samaritan who could not just pass by when he saw a man beaten and dying on the side of the road. Because of his compassion he was moved to take care of the wounded man until his wounds were healed. These days, our brothers and sisters in Ukraine are practicing this first hand because they care for the needs of those who lost family members or houses because of this terrible war. In this picture, our church members visited and donated to this grandmother whose house was destroyed in the war. Though we are in America, we pray to have compassion for them and help them as best as we can with prayers and aid. Fifth, we are to be humble people, which does not mean to have a false façade of being humble outwardly. Rather, it is being humble before God and acknowledging that though we are sinners, we have received forgiveness through his Son, Jesus Christ. We cannot be proud in ourselves because we did not do anything deserving God’s mercy. Being truly humble is considering others even better than ourselves. When believers live with these five-character traits, they will be well prepared and can respond properly when they encounter the evil and insults, they face in the ungodly world. Also, it would be a joy and pleasure to hang out with people who has these 5 traits.
Look at verse 9. “Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.” When we are insulted or evil is perpetrated against us our natural reaction is want to fight back and get even. But Peter writes, “on the contrary, repay evil with blessing.” This is difficult for anyone, even believers to obey. Rhoel said in our Bible study this week that it would take the Holy Spirit working in a believers’ heart to compel him to bless those who do evil to them. He is right because without the help of the Holy Spirit we only want to retaliate. Recently, we heard about the tragedies of several mass shootings in California. In one of those cases, the man who shot other coworkers in California said he did so because he was being bullied, he was forced to work long hours, and his supervisors ignored his pleas. He said that he was not in his right mind. This is why it is important for believers to think of blessing others when insulted rather than retaliate in kind. Without faith in God all he could think of to solve his problems was to repay evil with evil. But believers are to repay evil with blessing.
Peter wrote there is God’s purpose in repaying evil with blessing in verse 9b. “…because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.” Like the example of the shooter above I was also bullied as a boy by American neighborhood kids. I was called a “chink” even though I am not Chinese. Dr. Ben is a “chink” but I am a “flip.” Not only name-calling but other physical abuse occurred also. When Maria was bullied, she became depressed. (But once as a teenager another kid made a snarky comment to her. She got made and grabbed the boy by his collar and threw him across the street. However, Peter does not encourage us to grab people by their collar and throw them across the street when they insult us.) I had hatred towards those who did evil to me and in my mind, I had evil plans to get even with them like blow something up. Having such hatred even gave me strong incentive to do well in sports to show that I was better than them. I also wanted to break American bones, but only my weak Filipino bones were damaged. But even being successful in sports could not resolve the desires in my heart to repay evil with evil. It was not only until studying the Bible and accepting Jesus as my Lord and Savior did my desires change. Luke 23:34a reads, “Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.’” This verse changed my heart and I could forgive those who did evil to me because they did not know what they were doing. Then I could love Americans and pray for them and even teach them the Bible and God blessed my life even more after deciding to bless others. When we obey God’s word and decide to bless others then we can really love life and see good days.
Look at verse 10. “For, ‘Whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech.’” Starting from verse 10 to verse 12 are quotations from Psalm 34:12-16. Why did Peter quote these words from the book of Psalm? Probably, he quoted Scriptures to show the early believers that his advice, which sounded counter-cultural, was not his own idea, but the very words of God. They could go back and read Psalm 34 on their own. We learn here if you want to love life and see good days read the Bible and obey God’s teachings. There are 150 Psalms, so why did Peter pick this one? Of course, this Psalm supported his point of not retaliating or speaking back to those who insulted them or did evil to them. But this Psalm was also written by their venerated king, David, whose life was in danger while he lived in the enemy territory of the Philistines. When his enemies wanted to kill him, David had no way out. David didn’t want to die but because he loved life and wanted to see good days. God gave him wisdom to act like an insane man until his enemies threw him out instead of killing him. David could eventually live on and in God’s time defeat his nation’s enemies the Philistines. David knew the danger that he was in and did not open his mouth to curse his enemies. Instead, he relied on God’s wisdom to overcome the difficult situation. Peter was telling the early believers to have wisdom when they were confronted by antagonists. This is similar to the wisdom that Jesus taught his disciples before sending them out to evangelize in a hostile world. Matthew 10:16, “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” Jesus taught his disciples to be wise when they talk and communicate with unbelieving people. As we continue reading Psalm 34, we see why it is better to do good to others, rather than harm.
Look at verse 11. “They must turn from evil and do good; they must seek peace and pursue it.” Here Peter is encouraging believers not only to avoid evil, but be proactive in doing good. They must be passionate about doing good for others, as well, as seeking to live in peace with others. When I was younger, I thought I was good and not as bad as others because I did not smoke, drink, take drugs, and I didn’t even have a girlfriend. But in my heart, I knew I was a sinner because I was proud inwardly, full of lust, selfish, and egotistical. Anyone who tries can avoid doing evil, but God’s people proactively seek to do good for others. For example, Confucius taught his disciples, “Do not do to others what you do not want done to you.” It is the same as trying to avoid evil by not doing anything. But Jesus taught in Matthew 7:12, “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” Jesus is saying that we should not wait until somebody does good for us, then we will do good for them in return like quid pro quo. Jesus taught to take the initiative, be proactive, do something good for others, even to those who don’t deserve it without expecting to get something back in return. We do so because 1 John 4:19 says, “We love because he first loved us.” We do not become righteous by our works, but because of the righteousness we received from God through his Son Jesus, we are compelled to do good for others. When we live in this way, God is watching over us and listening to our prayers.
Look at verse 12. “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” Actually, this verse is the incentive of why we behave as we should in the world. We want to live before the eyes of God, not before the eyes of men. People of the world laugh and scoff at those who look weak and do not fight back. But we stay strong in our faith and do not fight back humanly because we know that our Lord is watching us and listening to our prayers. The “eyes” and “ears” of the Lord means that God is carefully watching over our lives. God even called Israel the apple of his eye. It means he is watching and listening carefully to his precious children. Last week, Maria and I were blessed to take our granddaughter, who is 3 years old, to the UIC pool. Of course, we both kept our eyes and ears out to make sure she was safe from the moment she entered the pool to her last step out of it. She never left our sight. Some believers, who may lack faith, think that God is going to let them drown in times of trouble. But God will never take his eyes off us. Even when there are times of trouble or it is time for us to leave this world, God is keeping an eye on our souls, making sure that it is safe until we are reunited once again with our glorious resurrection body.
However, to the enemies of God “the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” The “face of the Lord” was an expression of God’s wrath upon whom he would show. God was not only watching but protecting his servants from their enemies when they sought goodness and trusted in him. God taught this important lesson to Abraham when he was afraid for his life when Abimelech took Sarah to be his wife. God was watching over his servants Abraham and Sarah, especially when she was taken by Abimelech to be his wife. Then God visited Abimelech in a dream. Genesis 20:7 reads, “Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her, you may be sure that you and all yours will die.” It was more of a nightmare for Abimelech than a dream. It is amazing that even though Abraham was also to blame because he lied about Sarah being his sister, God still protected him and Sarah from being harmed. God would also not let Abimelech off the hook until Abraham prayed for him. God did so because he was making a clear distinction who were his servants and who were not. We are sinners and do not deserve God’s mercy, but out of his abundant grace, God protects and watches over us as the apple of his eye in spite of our many mistakes. That is why whether we suffer or not in the world we need to put our faith in God.
Look at verses 13-14. “Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.” In general, in the world, especially in our society, people will not harm those who are doing good and philanthropic work. Even rich and corrupted people will be praised for giving donations for cancer research or helping the poor. Though America was known as a Christian nation, it no longer appears to be that way and the truths in the Bible are no longer upheld in high regards as before. As time has been passing and more liberal ideas are being more indoctrinated in our society and educational system there is more anti-Christian sentiments rising. Especially, because we believe in the clear teachings in the Bible regarding issues as gender—only two sexes, marriage—only between a man and woman, abortion—protecting the rights of the unborn, etc. If you mention these biblical principles to those who oppose these truths then you may be persecuted and labeled as narrow-minded and a bigot. But God makes it clear that we should not fear persecution from anyone but stand on God’s truth. Even if we suffer for it, we will be blessed.
Look at verse 14 again. “But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.” In verse 14, Peter again quotes from the Old Testament to show the believers that it is how God taught his people to live in times of trouble. This time from Isaiah 8:12, “Do not call conspiracy everything that these people call conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it.” God had sent his servant Isaiah to encourage Ahaz who was the king of Judah at that time. He was afraid because the kingdoms of Syria and Israel threatened to attack his nation Judah. But Ahaz did not put his trust in God but rather the powerful nation of Assyria to help him fight against Syria and Israel. Ahaz’s plan backfired because Assyria would not only attack Syria and Israel but invade the land of Judah as well. This is what happens when God’s people give into threats and become frightened rather than trusting in God. Through Isaiah God told his people whom they should fear and dread. Isaiah 8:13 reads, “The LORD Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread.” Instead of fearing his enemies, king Ahaz needed to fear God only. We should have fear in our hearts but not towards men, but towards God. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. The fear of the Lord is what gives us strength and courage so that we don’t have to fear men. If God is with us who can be against us. With God’s power and strength within us we don’t fight the human battle. Instead, we fight the spiritual battle by sharing the gospel with others and testify to them our faith in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Look at verse 15. “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” Other Bible versions starts verse 15 as, “sanctify Christ as Lord.” Sanctify or set apart means honor and adore Christ most of all. When you love, honor, and adore someone you are ready to do anything for that person. Last year, when Maria and I came back from Ukraine we should have rested to recover from jetlag and a long trip. But only after a few days arriving, Maria decided to go the Philippines in order to bring her sick mother back to Chicago. She was already tired and didn’t recover from jetlag, but because Maria loved and cared for her mother, she was willing to make any sacrifices to make sure she was home and safe. In the same way, when we love Jesus, we can do extreme measures in order to hold him as Lord in our hearts. This is what Peter encouraged the early believers to do. In the midst of trials, in the midst of suffering, they had to focus on Christ. Jesus is our only safe haven in this sinful world. There is no other person or any place we can go to that will give us security and peace as in the arms of our Lord Jesus. Without Jesus in our hearts there is no point to our sufferings. They would be meaningless and we should avoid suffering as much as possible. But in the midst of trouble, Peter encouraged the believes to set apart Jesus as Lord in their hearts. In this way, they could endure all sufferings and keep their faith in Jesus to the end. They also had to prepare themselves to give an answer to why they lived the way they did, which was quite contradictory to the culture of that time.
Look at verse 15b. “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” The ESV reads, “always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you have.” Here the word “defense” is the Greek word, apologia, which we get our word apologetics from. Apologetics is the study of defending our faith in God with reasonable and systematic arguments. When people ask why do you go to WestLoop church we should not answer, “Because there are nice people there and they have a good lunch after church.” We must be ready to give the reason for our faith and belief in the basic tenets of Christianity like Jesus’ death and resurrection, forgiveness of sins, salvation, and our hope in the kingdom of God. It is good that we are also studying the books of Acts on Sundays. Stephen in Acts chapters 6 and 7, is a good example of someone who was ready to defend his faith in Jesus. He was only serving God, but some evil men brought false charges against him and he was put in front of the Sanhedrin, the judicial court of Israel. When asked about the charges against him, Stephen did not defend himself but gave them a powerful message of God’s redemptive history, culminating in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He gave such a clear gospel message that the Sanhedrin members were cut to the heart and decided to stone Stephen. Though he was innocent and only doing good Stephen was persecuted and was sentenced to death. But even in his death, Stephen did not curse those who were killing him but prayed for them as Jesus prayed for all of us on the cross. Acts 7:60, “Then he fell on his knees and cried out, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them.’ When he had said this, he fell asleep.” He left this evil world with a first-class ticket to the kingdom of God where the Lord Jesus was waiting for him with open arms. He had a clear conscience before God and would not let evil make him do evil in return. Rather, he was doing good and pleasing God to the last moment of his life.
Look at verses 16-17. “…keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. Sometimes Christians say, “I don’t know what God’s will is for my life.” These verses tell us clearly that it is God’s will that we suffer for doing good rather than for doing evil. If we are suffering because of our sins then we know 100% that we are not doing God’s will. But when we obey God’s word prayerfully and even suffer for it, then we don’t have to be afraid because God is watching over us, protecting us, and is pleased with our lives. When we set apart Christ in our hearts, we can be ready to share the gospel with others anywhere and at any time. As Paul encouraged Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:2, “Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.” May God help us to sanctify Jesus in our hearts and be ready to explain to anyone why we believe in God and in his Son, Jesus Christ. But let’s also remember the end of verse 15 which reads, “But do so with gentleness and respect.” In my apologetics study I have been learning some things about what apologists should not do. For example, an apologist does not get into an argument with others in order to compete and show superiority over others. The goal is not just to defeat his opponents and silence them because his arguments and reasoning is much better. The goal and purpose are to help the unbeliever accept the gospel and the believer to be strengthened in his faith. It is to win others over to Christ with good reasons for our faith with a gentle and respectful demeanor. From this passage I pray to sanctify Jesus as Lord in my heart and not be afraid of doing good for others. I am happy, and to me it’s no problem, to help my children and WestLoop members. But what about unbelieving people? This morning these words from Luke 6:32-35 came to my heart. “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ lend to ‘sinners,’ expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.” I pray that in this year to set apart Christ as Lord in my heart and serve and do good for people who are lost as well in the name of Jesus. Amen.
