“Suffering” is one of the major themes in 1 Peter, and the subject of the final major section in this letter. In this study, we learn how we should suffer for righteousness’ sake, should our Lord call us to it.
Teaching Notes:
How To Suffer For Righteousness
1 Peter 3:13-17
Intro: Here, at 1 Peter 3:13, we begin the 3rd and final major section of the book.
1Peter 1:1-2:10 – Salvation
1 Peter 2:11-3:12 – Submission
1 Peter 3:13-5:14 – Suffering
Remember, Peter is writing to believers who are undergoing persecution and suffering because of their faith. The word “suffer” occurs 12 times in 1 Peter. That is more often than in any other New Testament book. Peter is seeking to encourage and strengthen his brethren in the midst of their sufferings. Up to this point the sufferings of the readers have scarcely been mentioned. Now they loom large in all Peter says. At this point we come to the main section of the letter.
Now, what is the theme of this paragraph? What is the Central Idea? Well, let’s look at repeated or similar words. Notice the words Peter uses in this paragraph: Harm you: (3:13); Suffer: (3:14); intimidation: (3:14); troubled: (3:14); slandered: (3:16); revile: (3:16); suffer: (3:17).
Also: Good: (3:13); Righteousness: (3:14); Good conscience: (3:16); Good behavior: (3:16); Doing what is right: (3:17).
Obviously suffering is one idea, and doing righteousness is the other. Thus, Peter’s main idea is Suffering For Righteousness. In fact, in this paragraph he is instructing his persecuted, suffering readers how to suffer for righteousness. Let’s take a look at those instructions.
1. Realize You Are Blessed: 1 Peter 3:14. The word “blessed” carries the idea of “made happy, satisfied, or enriched.” How is it that believers who suffer for righteousness are blessed?
- 1 Peter 4:14 “If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.” God promises that the Spirit of glory and of God rests on those reviled for the name of Christ. What a blessing to have the Spirit of glory resting on us! Though we may be reviled and shunned by man, we have the presence and communion of God in a rich and satisfying way.
- Matthew 5:10 “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus tells us that the kingdom of heaven awaits those who have been persecuted for righteousness’ sake. What a blessing to know we are headed to God’s eternal glorious kingdom!
- Matthew 5:11-12 “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” We are blessed when we suffer for righteousness, because it means that we have a great reward awaiting us in heaven!
- Acts 5:41 “So they went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name.” The apostles who were arrested, jailed, and then flogged were blessed because God considered them worthy to suffer shame for His name. When William Booth was street preaching one day, an onlooker spit on him in scorn. One of Booth’s disciples rushed to wipe it off, but Booth replied, “Don’t wipe it off; it’s a badge of honor!”
- 2 Corinthians 1:5 “For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ.”
So, what are the blessings that come when we suffer for righteousness’ sake in Scripture? The supernatural presence of God, the kingdom of heaven, a great reward in heaven, the Lord’s commendation, and abundant comfort. Wow – those are great blessings indeed!
2. Don’t Fear Man: 1 Peter 3:14 “and do not fear their intimidation, and do not be troubled.” Intimidation refers to threats. Things had gotten very bad for 1st century believers in the Roman empire. The officials were pressuring Christians to burn a pinch of incense and confess “Caesar is Lord” as a way of maintaining the unity of the empire under a single political leader. Christians, however, felt they could not make this confession without denying their true Lord, Jesus Christ. As a result, these believers were faced with intimidation and threats that if they did not comply, they would forfeit their lives. And, not only were they being intimidated, they were also being “troubled.” This word means “to shake up” or “to agitate.” Agitation, distractions, surgings to and fro of thought and feeling were being brought on by a strong fear. Peter exhorts them not to be afraid of men. He has just told them in 3:12 that “the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” In other words, our enemies are also God’s enemies. God is against them. They are under God’s curse and displeasure and can do nothing to us except God permit it. Jesus said in Luke 12:4 “I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that have no more that they can do.”
Polycarp, a disciple of the apostle John, was arrested late in his life. He was promised release if he would blaspheme Christ. Polycarp responded, “86 years I have served Christ and He has never done me wrong. How can I blaspheme my King and my Savior?” The Proconsul threatened to feed him to the wild beasts. Polycarp responded, ”It is well for me to be speedily released from this life of misery.” The Ruler threatened to burn him alive to which Polycarp said, “I fear not the fire that burns for a moment. You do not know that which burns forever and ever.”
How is it possible to banish all fear of man? Notice Peter’s next instructions.
3. Reverence Christ: 1 Peter 3:15 “but reverence Christ as Lord in your hearts.” Notice that this phrase begins with the word but. Do not fear man but instead sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts. So, the way not to fear man is to reverence Christ. Or, to put it another way, the way to overcome the fear of man is to have a healthy fear of God. The word “sanctify” literally means to make holy, to hallow. It is the same word Jesus used when He taught His disciples to pray, “Hallowed by Thy name.” The way to overcome the fear of man is to hallow Christ as Lord in your hearts. The word “sanctify” is translated as “honor, respect, consecrate, regard, and worship” in modern translations. We are to set apart Jesus Christ as the Sovereign Lord and Master of the universe, and regard Him as such in our hearts. If we do that, we will not fear man. What can man do to me, if Christ is my Lord? The worst thing he can do (take my life) is the best thing for me (release me into the presence of Christ).
Notice the place where we are to sanctify Christ as Lord – in our hearts. The heart is the place of affection, love, trust, and worship. If we truly reverence Christ in our hearts we will enthrone Him as King in the center of our being. When God sanctifies us, He makes us holy. When we sanctify Him, we set Him apart as the Holy One. We are to enshrine Him as the object of supreme, absolute reverence. Christ must be first and foremost in our hearts, set above all our other allegiances. We are to put Jesus in a category all by Himself – the highest place, the greatest value, the most supreme treasure, the One you esteem, honor and love more than anyone or anything else in all the world. We don’t make Jesus Lord. He already is! We can’t Him be something He already is. We simply recognize and treat Him as who He is. We could paraphrase Peter’s thought here as, “Don’t fear man, but instead, worship Jesus Christ as Lord!”
4. Be Ready To Make A Defense: 1 Peter 3:15.
always being ready to make a defense: we are not ready to make a defense of our hope until we have sanctified Christ as Lord in our hearts. The Greek word for “defense” is apologia. We get our word “apologetics” from it. It is the branch of theology in which we defend the Christian faith by removing misconceptions and answering objections for the unbeliever.
everyone who asks you: remember the context of this passage – persecution and suffering. Peter assumes these believers will be asked about their Hope. Why would he assume this? Because these believers are willing to suffer for their hope! If need be, they are willing to die for their hope! That causes others to take notice big time. This includes the government official who is sent to arrest you, or the executor whose job is to put you to death if you don’t say “Caesar is Lord.” It includes your neighbors and co-workers who notice the reviling and slander you are willing to receive for Christ. Others see that Jesus Christ gives you hope beyond this life.
to give an account of your hope: The hope Peter is talking about is the Living Hope of 1 Peter 1:3-5 – our eternal inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for us. All of this implies that these believers’ hope had so impacted their life, that non-Christians asked about it. Their hope caused them to live differently from the world. Because they believed they were going to heaven, they didn’t live for this present world. For non-Christians this present world is all they’ve got. It is as good as it is ever going to get. But for the believer this world is nothing compared to what is coming. For us, this is the worst it is going to get.
Yet, with gentleness and reverence: when we face persecution for Christ and people are asking us why in the world we hope in Him, it is just as important how we respond as what we respond. We are to respond, not in anger and retaliation, but with gentleness and reverence. If they slander or revile us, we are to respond meekly, showing due respect.
Now, if someone were to ask you why you believed you were forgiven and headed for eternal glory and joy, what would you say? Someone might say, “I don’t know. I just grew up in the church, and this is what they told me.” Someone else might say, “I decided Christianity was at least as good as the rest of the religions.” But these are not defenses of our hope. We should have a well-reasoned and well-grounded basis for our hope in Christ. What would you say?
5. Keep A Good Conscience: 1 Peter 3:16. This speaks of maintaining integrity, honesty, and blamelessness before the world. Make sure that the things you are reviled and slandered for are not true. Keep a good conscience before God. Our verbal defense will have very little weight without a corresponding way of life to back it up. The ultimate result is that our enemies will be put to shame. Their wicked accusations will be shown to be lies, as people examine our lives.
6. Realize Your Sufferings Are The Will Of God: 1 Peter 3:17. Notice this little phrase, “if God should will it so.” Now, when we speak of the “will of God” we do so in at least two different senses. We mean either the “desire” of God, or the “decree” of God. Often, when the Bible speaks of God’s will, it is speaking of what pleases Him in terms of His moral will. But that is not the sense in which Peter is using “if God should will it so.” Peter is speaking of God’s decreed will, His sovereign, unfrustratable purpose. Peter is subtly clueing us in to the fact that all of our sufferings are part of God’s sovereign will for our lives. God’s sovereign will includes every detail that takes place in this world, including our sufferings. He either ordains or permits our sufferings, and if He does so, He has a reason for allowing them. Notice 1 Peter 4:19, “Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.” Actually, this truth will make your sufferings much more easy to bear. If I thought that God had nothing to do with my sufferings, but they were coming upon me from the devil, and there was nothing God could do to stop them, I would despair! At least when I go through suffering, I have the confidence that God has ordained them for my good and His glory. I can trust that He knows best, and ultimately I shall see His wisdom in ordering them for me.
Conclusion: Our sufferings here in America are infinitesimally small in comparison to the sufferings of 1st century believers. But, to whatever degree we face sufferings for our allegiance to Jesus Christ, realize you are blessed, don’t fear man, reverence Christ, be ready to make a defense, keep a good conscience, and realize your suffering are God’s will!
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