Suffering for being a Christian

1 Peter 3:13-22 (Pt 1)

(Notes for a sermon, abbreviated for the web - especially the first part - so not the actual text of what I preached).

We start with a question, 'Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good?'

Imagine reading these words if you were a church minister facing execution, accused of leaving Islam & becoming a Christian.

'Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good?' - who will harm you if you give your life to pastoring God's church?

'The government will.' You might say.

And Peter himself knows how Christians have always suffered for doing good. In his own day the Romans beat and crucified Christians in their thousands. Peter saw Jesus himself beaten, lashed, nailed to a cross and murdered.

These are not the trite words of a comfortable, western 21^st C church pastor paid a handsome salary. These are the words of someone who has seen and experienced suffering suffering for himself. The words of someone who will himself be killed for doing good, as Jesus had said he would.

But put yourself in the shoes of the pastor threatened with execution. Or his wife's shoes, or his children's. And look at verse 14, 'But even if you should suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed.' Blessed?! Imagine reading that the day before you're due to be executed. How can a pastor's execution possibly mean blessing for his family?

And yet, I know of Christian women here in TW who have lost their husbands in road accidents or through cancer, have been left to bring up children by themselves and yet can speak of God's faithfulness to them and to their children. Women who can praise and worship and thank God for his blessings despite, and in the midst of, unimaginable pain.

This can only be possible because, as Peter has been showing us, in Christ, we have become new & different people.

In his translation of ch 1, J B Phillips captures this superbly,

Thank God, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, that in his great mercy we men have been born again into a life full of hope, through Christ's rising again from the dead! You can now hope for a perfect inheritance beyond the reach of change and decay, "reserved" in Heaven for you. And in the meantime you are guarded by the power of God operating through your faith, till you enter fully into the salvation which is all ready for the [final outcome] of the last day. This means tremendous joy to you, I know, even though at present you are temporarily harassed by all kinds of trials and temptations. This is no accident – it happens to prove your faith, which is infinitely more valuable than gold.

“This is no accident”. Suffering is no accident.

The atheist says, 'How can you believe in a good and powerful God in the face of such suffering'. And we answer, 'How can you live without plunging into utter despair if all such suffering is just an accident?'

Knowing that life is not just an accident is itself a blessing . In the midst of suffering, we it is no accident. We know that God has a much, much bigger and far more glorious goal for us than this life in which suffering of one sort or another comes to us all.

One of the reasons suffering is such a massive question for us all is that we fear what might happen. Of course we do. We're human. We feel pain, both emotional and physical. And the thought of suffering fills us with dread. And yet, says Peter, quoting Isaiah, 'Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened.'

And it's worth going back to Isaiah and looking at what was happening when Isaiah first wrote these words. Then we'll discover what was in Peter's mind as he quotes them. Isaiah 8:11-14.

There were two types of people within God's people Israel – those who feared God and those who feared the king of Assyria. The threat from Assyria seemed more imminent, more real, more frightening. But God's word to his people is, 'I am the one you must consider as holy. I'm the one you need to fear, not Assyria. Fear me, and you will find I am your sanctuary. I am your security. I am your hope.'

And so, back in 1 Peter, to those who are threatened by non-Xn government, employers and even husbands, Peter says, 'Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened. But in your hearts honour Christ as holy'.

It may be that people in authority over you have considerable power to make our lives a misery:

• the government can oppress us and try to stop us speaking the truth.
• You employer may have the power to fire you, to bully you, to belittle you.

But we must recognise that their authority and power is limited and temporary. God's power is unlimited and eternal. Therefore, 'Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened. But in your hearts honour Christ as holy'.  Let Christ your Lord be Christ your Lord.

And when Christ is your Lord and you don't fear other people, then you will appear very different from your friends and colleagues. As oppression, bullying & threats increase, the more you will stand out as someone who doesn't fear what they fear because you honour Jesus Christ as Lord. 

As the economic situation deteriorates, the more we Christians should stand out. Our friends and colleagues will become increasingly fearful for the future. But we remain confident and full of hope – not that the EU or the IMF or the Bank of England will sort out the mess, but that ultimately there is something more important than prosperity and growth.

And so, if Jesus Christ really is our Lord, people will begin to see that we're different. Our hope is not in economic recovery, but in our Lord Jesus. Perhaps Europe won't recover. Perhaps the EU will fall apart. There may even be civil war if not international conflict. But we will not fear. And non-Christians will question us. 'Why are you so different? How can you remain full of hope when everything looks so black?'

And, with gentleness and respect, we will give an answer for the hope that is in us – we will explain that we have a hope that transcends anything this world has to offer. 

But will it take an economic crash and a depression for us to demonstrate the hope that we have? Sometimes I think it might. And yet there are opportunities every day when we can demonstrate that we honour Jesus as our Lord:

I'm sure that in your office, no-one ever moans(!), but if that should ever happen, it's a great opportunity not to join in! To show that there are more important things in life – because let's face it, in the eternal scheme of things, the usual office complaints aren't terribly significant.

Or what if you work in the public sector: you're going to hear lots of complaints about the changes in pension arrangements. You might be balloted about strike action.

What should you do? How will you respond? Think about it from perspective of eternity – what difference will that make? What is it that your colleagues are afraid of? Should you fear what they fear?

And at school – there are great opportunities to demonstrate that JC is your Lord. Do you join in the criticisms of you teachers? Do you fear exams like they fear exams? What are exams in the light of eternity?

And all of this is not just to gloat over our calmness and joy in the face of difficult circumstances, but, v6, when people criticise us or oppose us, they might realise their stupidity, and be ashamed of their slander. Such shame might, in God's kindness, bring them to repentance and faith in Jesus.

Perhaps it will save them from the fear of man and help them to fear the One who is holy, and who alone has eternity in the palms of his hands.

PS John Piper's book, Don't Waste Your Life is well worth a read if you want to explore what it really means to live free of the fear of the world and in the fear and honour of God.