Called to Holiness #13

DEFENDERS OF THE FAITH

**Note: The passage in the bulletin and on the schedule for this morning includes 3:13-22. For the sake of practicality and clarity we will look only at verses 13-17. Martin Luther said of this passage (18-22): “This is a strange text and certainly a more obscure passage than any other passage in the NT. I still do not know for sure what the apostle meant.” I encourage you to go to my blog to read a few notes on the passage as a way of compensating your curiosity about the text. Go to kemc.net and Shepherd’s Shire, or http://klassenstein-klassenstein.blogspot.ca/.

Radical Muslims in France took up weapons recently to defend the prophet Mohammed. They killed several people in response to a satirical magazine’s depiction of their prophet in a cartoon. Muslims have a very strict policy that no one is to make any kind of image or caricature of Mohammed. The majority of Muslims will not kill over such a blasphemy but some fringe radicals will take vengeance, as we saw in Paris.

            As I read the news reports on this tragic incident, it dawned on me that this sort of reaction does not endear anyone to Islam. Moreover, if Allah and Mohammed need defending, what kind of God and prophet are they? A God that needs defending in this manner appears rather weak. Granted, the Muslim is concerned about holiness and reverence for their religion. But the question remains: Does Allah need defending?

            This week I also read in Judges 6 how the Lord told Gideon to tear down an altar to Baal. The people in his village woke up to find this altar broken and became angry wanting to kill Gideon. But Gideon’s father replied, “If Baal really is a god, he can defend himself when someone breaks down his altar,” (Judges 6:31). It was a wise response that probably saved Gideon’s life and spoke to the potency of the gods.

            As Christians, we confess the Shema of Deut. 6:4ff, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.” There is one God and Yahweh is his name. And Jesus is His Son. That is our profession of faith. That profession finds resistance even in our North American society.

            The question for us is this: When Christ is slandered or mocked in our presence, do we need to defend Him? When our faith is ridiculed and demeaned do we need to respond? If so, how? How do we defend our faith and our God in such a way that people are blessed, as we talked about last week? I propose to you that the best witness in a world that resists Christ combines good behavior with thoughtful words under Christ’s lordship.

1. When Christians Face Resistance

a) Will anyone harm you for doing good? Peter brings us once again to the theme of suffering for Christ. He asks a question that seemingly needs no answer: “Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good?” (3:13). The answer is: no one.

            As the parallel passage in Romans 12 indicated, if you live as a good citizen and seek peace with everyone, life should go well for you. Peter taught his readers to submit to authorities, to slaves, and to unbelieving spouses with the hope that excelling at these positions would bring others to Christ. Doing good for others could not possibly bring suffering, could it?

b) Some will hurt you for being “good” - Doing good does not irritate people so much as being good. Peter implied that the answer to his question was “no one.” No one would hurt you for doing good. But then Peter continues and wrote about suffering for being righteous, “But even if you should suffer for what is right you are blessed,” (3:14a).

            “Peter wants us to know suffering may come our way even when we are living as God instructs us to live. Indeed, suffering may come our way because we are living godly lives. A number of evangelical Christians fail to grasp this. They sincerely believe that if they follow the divine principles of Scripture, they can be assured of a happy, trouble-free life, a life of “prosperity.”Job’s friends made this same error. They assumed Job’s prosperity was the result of his piety; when adversity overtook him, they were certain he had done something wrong.”[i]

            Unbelievers may simply feel condemned in your presence knowing that you are a Christian. A professional golfer was once invited to play a foursome with Jack Nicklaus, Gerald Ford, Billy Graham (the evangelist). Someone asked the golfer what it was like to play with Graham. The golfer let out a torrent of curses and said in a disgusting manner, “I don’t need Billy Graham stuffing religion down my throat.” His friend went after him and when the golfer had calmed down he quietly asked him, “Was Billy a little rough on you out there?” The pro heaved an embarrassed sigh and said, “No, he didn’t even mention religion. I just had a bad round.”[ii]

            Just knowing you are a born-again, gospel-believing, Christ-centered individual will set some people off. They will even try to trap you or make you stumble just to satisfy themselves that you are not perfect.

c) Do not fear them – If you suffer, suffer for doing what is right, Peter instructs. And do not fear them. Peter quotes Isaiah, “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened,” (3:14b).

            We can imagine Peter echoing the words of Jesus as he reminds his readers of the basis for our courage. Jesus said, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in hell,” (Mt. 10:28).

            A more literal translation of Peter’s words would be, “Do not fear what they fear.” In other words, don’t give in to the threats of your adversaries, their intimidation. Fear the Lord, is Peter’s answer to fear. He says, “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord,” (3:15a). Our stance in the face of resistance to our faith is to fear God, or to honor Christ in our hearts. ]

            Peter speaks from experience. His concern is that we will allow fear to make us silent or to take the edge off of our zeal for Christ. He himself was in that position when he was under pressure during Christ’s trials. Three times, you remember, he was pressed about his friendship with Jesus, and he allowed fear to seize his heart and he denied Jesus. It is in those times, he now wrote, that we must not allow fear to keep us from witnessing to the presence of Christ in our hearts. Under pressure we may feel apologetic about the gospel and try to soften for those who find it harsh. We have all been there, I believe. Peter says, “Don’t fear what they fear.” Defend the gospel.

2. How Christians Present a Defense

a) Be prepared to answer – So does defending the gospel mean running into CBC offices in Winnipeg and setting off a bomb? Certainly not! Does our gospel need defending? Yes and no. Defending the gospel is not what it sounds like.

            Defending the gospel, as Peter explained it, is making a reasonable response to our opponents. “Always be prepared to give an answer…” The word “answer” is the word apologia in Greek and is where we get the word “apology” from. However, it does not mean apologizing, as in, “I’m sorry I’m a Christian. Does that offend you? I’ll stop believing.” An apology in the NT sense is giving a defense for your faith. C.S. Lewis was an apologist, which means that he carefully explained in books and radio broadcasts what it meant to be a Christian.

            We need to be apologists too. Brian Bell said that the tragedy of the modern church today is that there are so many members who if they were asked could not explain what they believe nor why they believe it.[iii] Peter’s tense in his wording is that we should be “ready and waiting” for an opportunity to explain the gospel.

             I was tempted to give you the answer to those questions so that you had an apology ready to give. But one writer said that if we rely on scripts and prompts we are like the cultists who come to your door. When I interrupted a Jehovah’s Witness one time to ask about some Scripture, the person was flustered and thrown off. We have more than a script; we have the scriptures. We have experienced the grace of God through the gospel and we should be able to explain what we believe and why.

            The gospel message is simple: You need to tell a person what sin is and what it has done in terms of alienating us from God. They need to know who Christ is and how He bore our sin through His death and resurrection. And they need to know how to accept God’s gift of eternal life and forgiveness through faith.

b) Be prepared to answer anyone – Peter continued this thought saying, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have,” (3:15b,c).

            George Whitefield, the 18^th century evangelist, once said, “God forbid that I should travel with anybody a quarter of an hour without speaking of Christ to them.” That is a challenge for all of us (and I mean me too).

            Sometimes we think evangelism is telling people what they need to give up. We should be telling them to seek first the kingdom of God, and then those bad habits will seem repulsive to them in the light of what Christ offers them.

            Secondly, we think we need to defend the Bible. That’s like defending a lion! Just uncage it and it will take care of itself. The basic problem of every person is the same: He’s a sinner, alienated from God. He needs to know the freedom from sin that the Bible speaks about.

c) Be gentle – Peter is quick to add that our defense of the faith is not to be combative. “But do this with gentleness and respect,” (3:15d). We are not arguing or debating with people who oppose our faith; this would not be gentle. We are not called to win arguments, but to win lost souls to Christ.

            Paul counseled Timothy about his approach to unbelievers. Paul said, “And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will,” (2 Tim. 2:24-26).

            Gentleness is coupled here with instruction, which tells us once again that Christians don’t need to be silent when faced with resistance, but we do need to be gentle.

d) Be respectful – Do we need to respect the beliefs and values of a person who is not a Christian? Yes, we do not want to give the impression that we think they are fools for believing in something else. But that’s not what respect means in this context. “Respect” returns to the earlier encouragement to “set apart Christ as Lord.” Respect can mean “fear” and fear is reserved for the Lord. In a sense, Peter is telling his readers to mix love and truth together. As it says in v. 18, “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit,” which is the core doctrine of our faith. Peter did not shrink from that truth.

            Sodium is an extremely active element found naturally only in combined form; it always links itself to another element. Chlorine, on the other hand, is the poisonous gas that gives bleach its offensive odor. When sodium and chlorine are combined, the result is sodium chloride - common table salt - the substance we use to preserve meat and bring out its flavor.

            Love and truth can be like sodium and chlorine. Love without truth is flighty, sometimes blind, willing to combine with various doctrines. On the other hand, truth by itself can be offensive, sometimes even poisonous. Spoken without love, it can turn people away from the gospel. When truth and love are combined in an individual or a church, however, then we have what Jesus called "the salt of the earth" and we’re able to preserve and bring out the beauty of our faith.

e) Be consistent – Walk the walk, and talk the talk. Nothing hurts the Christian testimony more than inconsistency. If we preach the goodness of God we must also live it.

            That’s why Peter added, “…keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander,” (3:16). We do not want to give anyone cause to say, “Christians are hypocrites.” Of course we are, but we don’t need to fuel that fire. We point to the Christ who is perfect and the perfection that He will complete in us on the day He returns.

            An effective testimony requires a clear conscience regarding one’s personal integrity before the Lord. We cannot explain the hope we have in Christ while living in ways that contradict that hope. If anyone is offended by our testimony, let it be because of the content of our message, that Jesus is Lord and Savior, and not the manner in which we gave it.

            Our good behavior will nullify their criticisms. Your life will back up your words, and our defense of the gospel will be effective.

Does our Gospel need defending? If we are talking about arguing for the truth and marching in rallies to protest movies that depict Christ in a negative way, then I would say “no.”

            If we are talking about taking the opportunity when we are ridiculed for our regular church attendance, mocked for being Christian, slandered as “cheap” Mennonites, or accused of being cliquish, yes we can defend the Gospel. We can take those opportunities to ask questions (questions were a common tool of Jesus’ when he wanted to make people think), and to correct misconceptions. Most importantly these moments of “resistance” from hostile unbelievers are an opportunity to speak of Christ’s sacrifice. Or at the very least, to show them that the love of Christ lives in us.

            Suffering for Christ and being a Christian is to experience what you committed yourself to in baptism. We were not only baptized into sharing his life, but also into sharing his suffering and death. If we suffer in this world, wouldn’t it be a privilege to suffer for loving Jesus?

            My challenge to you this week is to write out in just a few sentences what you believe and why. If you want, you could write out a dialogue of what a person you know might ask about your faith and how you might respond. Or you could write out your own questions about our faith and try to answer them from Scripture and from your experience. What I am asking you to do is write out your own apology, your own defense of the gospel. I am calling on you to become a defender of the gospel.

                                                            AMEN

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[i] Bob Deffinbaugh, sermon “A New Slant on Suffering.”

[ii] R. C. Sproul (The Holiness of God [Tyndale], pp. 91-92)

[iii] Brian Bell, sermon “Giving a Defense.”

Note on 1 Peter 3:18-22

Martin Luther said of this passage: "This is a strange text and certainly a more obscure passage than any other in the New Testament. I still do not know for sure what the apostle meant."

If Martin Luther struggled with the meaning of the passage then it is no surprise that we find ourselves stumped and confused ourselves. Consider the text: "For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit, through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also -- not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God's right hand -- with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him," (1 Peter 3:18-22).

These are the most difficult verses in the NT to try to interpret. Many have taken these words to mean such a variety of different things that some are led astray by their misinterpretation. Verse 18 is simple enough to grasp; it is the pure doctrine of the Christian church. Christ died for our sins once for all - his death on the cross is effective for all our sins for all times. Where it gets difficult is the next verse which speaks of Christ going down (somewhere) to preach to spirits in prison. Before making any conclusions about these verses we have to ask several questions:

1) What does Peter mean when he says "Christ was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit"? Does Peter mean to separate the body and the spirit in this statement? There is a danger for Christians to adopt a Greek understanding of death (separation of body and spirit) through Peter's statement. What happens when we die?

2) Where did Christ go when he went to the spirits in prison? Many have understood this to be hell. But hell, also known as sheol, tartarum, and hades (all "places of the dead") is never in the NT referred to as "prison."

3) What did Jesus say to the spirits in prison? Did he preach the gospel to them so that they might be saved? Augustine was concerned about this interpretation because it led to a belief in post-mortem salvation, or in other words, the possibility of salvation after death. Scripture simply does not speak of this possibility. On the contrary, Scripture speaks of the urgency to accept the gospel in the here and now before we die. There are no second chances after death.

4) Who were the spirits that Jesus spoke to in prison? Peter tells us that these spirits were those who disobeyed in the age of Noah. Why them? Why not everyone from Adam to just before Jesus? The audience of Christ's proclamation makes this passage even more of an enigma.

5) What was Peter's intention for including the Noahic episode in his teaching about suffering? The connection is not obvious, nor is the baptism reference.

6) When did Jesus preach to the spirits in prison? It has often been assumed that Jesus went to "hell" and preached to the spirits in prison thereby "leading captives in his train." In part, this interpretation has been derived from the old creeds that taught Christ descended into hell between Good Friday and Easter Sunday. This is the only passage that suggests this and since we have no idea what the original readers understood concerning this reference we cannot assume that Christ descended into hell between Good Friday and Easter.

Some commentators suggest that Christ preached through Noah to the people of Noah's day. Others that it was Enoch who preached during the pre-flood era. We simply don't know.

For these reasons I felt it was better to focus on the other verses, 13-17, to bring a practical doctrine to bear for Sunday morning. The heavy theology of these obscure verses might better be addressed in a Sunday School room than from the pulpit, depending on the congregation.

Further helps and tools in discerning this passage come from Bob Deffinbaugh. Bob offers some good insights to help us approach this and other passages of this kind.

Handling the Tough Texts

(1) Recognize that we are in good company when we find some texts or truths hard to handle. The prophets had difficulty understanding the things revealed to them (see 1 Peter 1:10-12). During our Lord’s earthly ministry, the disciples failed to grasp the meaning of our Lord’s words (Mark 9:32; Luke 18:34). Peter finds Paul’s writings difficult to grasp at times (2 Peter 4:14-16). Why should we expect to understand all things pertaining to an infinite God, especially in this life (see 1 Corinthians 13:9-13; 1 John 3:2).

(2) Do not feel compelled to have a satisfactory explanation for every text in the Bible or a solution to every biblical problem. Tough texts humble us, reminding us that God is infinite and beyond our ability to understand or put in a box (see 1 Corinthians 13:9-12). It is good for us to be mystified by Scripture so that we realize we do not have it all under control.

(3) Problem passages should not be the basis for new and novel doctrines or interpretations. Never accept a doctrine based solely on a problem text. Any truth vital to our understanding will be taught clearly, emphatically, and repeatedly. The cults often use difficult texts to establish bizarre doctrines which have no support elsewhere in Scripture.

(4) Be suspect of interpretations of difficult texts which do not have broad acceptance throughout the history of the church (2 Peter 1:20-21).

(5) We should not be overly dogmatic about the conclusions we reach concerning a problem passage. We should hold these interpretations and applications more tentatively and not make them a test of spirituality or orthodoxy.

(6) Avoid becoming obsessed with the gnats of the text and thus miss the camels. The mysterious elements of Scripture can sometimes become an obsession to the neglect of the main teaching of the text. Often the main thrust or message of a problem text is clear, even if some of the particulars are uncertain. We should not lose sight of the message, even if we do not understand the minute details of the text. Seek to determine the main flow of argument and to discern the main point. In our text, the message is clear, even if the minutia is not.

(7) In seeking to interpret difficult texts, determine if there are any parallel texts similar in teaching, and interpret the more obscure text in light of those which are clearer.

(8) Determine the issues, the interpretive options, and then choose the interpretation that best fits the context, the argument of the entire book, and biblical theology.

Called to Holiness #12

OUR CALLING: BLESS, BLESSING, BLESSED

How do you respond when you are personally offended? I’m talking about being outright insulted. Our base instincts would tell us to fire back. But as some wise sage once said, “The more mud you throw, the more ground you lose.”

            I wish that I could say that words of offense roll off my back like water off a duck’s well-oiled feathers. I wish I could, as my mentor once told me, grow a soft heart with a thick skin, to have compassion for others, even adversaries, while not letting their arrows pierce me. I wish I could, but I can’t.

            That’s not entirely true. I have grown to understand that hurting people hurt other people and that they don’t mean to hurt. I have been able to process those hurts through the filter of “second thought” known as my wife, Sharon. But unlike the “sticks and stones” jingle, words still hurt.

            When I was about nine, one of my school pals picked his nose and wiped it on me saying “You’ve got snot-itis.” There was nothing worse than an “itis” in those days. Seeing some girls across the street, I thought to run over and “tag” them to divest myself of the “itis,” (this was the cure). As I turned to run across the road, I immediately ran into a speeding car. If I had been faster, I would have been in front of the car instead of hitting the car on the passenger door.

            If we do not respond appropriately to insults and offenses, the consequences can be disastrous. You might not get killed, but you might kill your reputation. Or worse, to retaliate and respond aggressively to your nemesis shows what side of the spiritual conflict you are on. The Christian’s choice in how to respond to others in every situation is a choice to be blessed by God or opposed by God.

            This is the message that Peter gave to his readers, who, as Christians, were not only persecuted outright, but were being slandered publicly by their neighbors. Peter taught that the Christian’s calling in all situations is to be a blessing.

1. To Bless: Family Dynamics for Christian Community

Christians need to have an attitude of harmony with others. There is a saying, “Charity begins at home.” Lots of things begin at home including how we treat others. So Peter begins with a reminder that how we treat others begins with how we treat fellow Christians.

            Five virtues are encouraged in v. 8 as being essential for the harmony of any Christian community. Let’s consider each one separately and then as a whole:

Be like-minded – Believers are to have a common mindset. In Phil. 2:5 Paul tells us to have “the mind of Christ.” The cross of Christ is our common focus; we have the same forgiveness, the same love of God, the same Holy Spirit. Being like-minded does not mean being a clone, as if we were a cult, or having the same gifts or tastes or habits. Rather, we have a common heritage of faith and ethical tradition.

Be sympathetic – The term “sympathetic” is a compound word made up two roots: “suffer” and “with.” To be sympathetic is to “suffer with” others as they suffer, to be sensitive to their hurts. What it means to be sympathetic might be illustrated by a video I watched on YouTube of an intersection in an African city. There were no traffic lights to govern the flow of cars in this intersection. It was amazing to watch the multiple lanes of cars turning and going straight with no one crashing. This is the Christian way to operate in community – being sensitive to what’s going on around them.

Be brotherly in love – Sorry, the NIV 2010 says “love one another” but that misses a key piece in the equation. We are not just to love one another but to love like family. We are not mere acquaintances or distant relatives; we are family. This is the love Jesus required of his disciples (John 13:34-35).

Be compassionate – This word was used to refer to the intestines or bowels since it was believed that deep and intense emotions came from deep within a person. Peter uses the word to refer to the depth of concern we ought to have for one another. This virtue of compassion was understood in the 1^st century as kindness towards family members.

Be humble – In the Greco-Roman world humility was a sign of weakness and shame. If you could not think of a “come-back” or even physically defend your honor, you were considered humble (not a good thing). Peter holds humility up higher as a virtue to be sought. Humility is like submission and essential for building unity in the church. Christ humbled himself and became a man – certainly he is our example.

            These virtues have one thing in common. “Brotherly love” and “compassion” particularly point to the kinship obligations of family. Peter applies family relationships to the Christian community, building on the theme that our new birth through Christ literally makes us family under God the Father. These virtues testify to the transformed character of the believer, that we are no longer like the rest of humankind, we are different.

2. To Be a Blessing: Christian Responses to Offenses

With this character in mind, and in hopes of being consistent, Peter now addresses the relationship of Christians to hostile people outside the Christian community. He writes, “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 may inherit a blessing,” (3:9).

             Do you hear the echo? Peter is either borrowing from Paul, or Paul is borrowing from Peter. Either is okay. In Romans 12:14-21 we find the same Spirit at work as in 1 Peter, the same teaching in effect (Read Romans).

            What Peter identifies here as expressions of hostility are insults, defamation of character, and verbal abuse. These are the weapons typically used in an ungodly, honor-and-shame society for challenging the honor of others. They would publicly shame a person precisely to get a response, get the person to defend themselves, and thereby humiliate themselves. The Christian response of non-retaliation would be startling within that culture. Peter exhorted the believers to respond with blessing rather than verbal retaliation.

            Trash-talk is expected in sports. Players say things to each other on the ice and on the field that would curl your hair. They are trying to psychologically throw each other off their game. Unfortunately, trash-talk finds its only comparison on the school playground. Seven-year-olds may talk “big” but true maturity does not yield to verbal taunting.

            Peter goes further than non-retaliation; he teaches that the Christian is to “repay evil with blessing.”        

            After the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989, no person in all of East Germany was more despised than the former Communist dictator Erich Honecher. He had been stripped of all his offices. Even the Communist Party rejected him. Kicked out of his villa, the new government refused him and his wife new housing. The Honechers were homeless and destitute.
            A pastor by the name of Uwe Holmer was the director of a Christian help center north of Berlin. Holmer became aware of the Honechers’ situation, but thought it would be wrong to give them a room meant for even needier people. So Pastor Holmer and his family decided to take the former dictator into their own home.
            Now, the interesting thing is that Erich Honecher’s wife, Margot, had ruled the East German educational system for twenty-six years. Eight of Pastor Holmer’s ten children had been turned down for higher education due to Mrs. Honecher’s policies, which discriminated against Christians. Here were the Holmers caring for their personal enemy—the most hated man in Germany, and his wife. This was so unnatural, so unconventional, so Christlike.
            By the grace of God, the Holmers loved their enemies, did them good, blessed them, and prayed for them. They turned the other cheek. They did to the Honechers what they would have wished the Honechers would do to them. [i]

            This is the acting out of Peter’s principle in the most literal sense. This is what it means to repay evil with blessing.

            One writer who commented on 1 Peter 3:9 helps us out with the complicated feelings we have in this regard. “Loving” in modern culture refers to an emotional attachment of a greater intensity than merely “liking.” But Peter clearly interprets Jesus’ command to love (your enemies) to refer not to emotions but to acting rightly towards one’s adversaries, regardless of whatever emotions may or may not be involved.[ii]

            It’s not about “feeling” but about “doing” that makes love real. Jesus said, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” (Mt. 5:44). Be a blessing to them.

3. To Be Blessed: Why We Don’t Retaliate

What we have seen so far is how Peter uses Scripture (OT) to make his case. This is not new teaching; Peter learned from the Master (Jesus) how to use the OT to teach disciples.

            Peter quotes Psalm 34 to persuade his readers as to why we need to endure ridicule for believing in Jesus and do not retaliate. First of all, David, the writer of the Psalm, challenges his readers that if they want to see good days they will do two things: 1) keep their tongues from evil, and 2) turn from evil and do good instead.

            David learned this from experience. If you look at Psalm 34 in your Bibles, you will note at the beginning that this is a Psalm of David, written after he pretended to be insane before an enemy king so that he could escape. The story is found in 1 Samuel 23. David scribbled on the gate and drooled down his beard to mimic insanity. It worked.

            The story is much broader than this strange incident and the Psalm really covers three chapters of 1 Samuel. What Peter quotes reflects 1 Samuel 25 when David sent men to a wealthy man to receive supplies. David tells his messengers to greet Nabal with these words, “Long life to you! Good health to you and your household! And good health to all that is yours!” (25:6). Then, seeing as how David’s men had not molested Nabal’s shepherds but actually protected them, maybe he could spare some meat and supplies.

            But Nabal answered, “Who is this David? Who is this Son of Jesse?” He basically insults Israel’s most famous warrior and sends his men away empty-handed. David’s reaction to insult is to arm his men and get ready to slaughter the whole lot of them.

            A servant, however, goes to Abigail, Nabal’s wife, and tells her what happened. She loads up some bread, wine, mutton, grain, and raisins and other foods, and goes to head off David before he can act on his temper. It works…except for the raisins (what an insult).

            David said to Abigail, “Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, who has sent you today to meet me. May you blessed for your good judgment and for keeping me from bloodshed this day and from avenging myself with my own hands,” (25:32-33).

            Ten days later, Nabal is struck dead by the Lord’s hand. It seems he had a stroke from the text. So David could write in Psalm 34, “turn from evil and do good…seek peace and pursue it.” And remember what we read in Romans 12? “Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath…Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good,” (12:19&21).

            Christians are, in no uncertain terms, to avoid evil. For if we do evil (by verbal retaliation or otherwise) God will be against us, for the Psalm clearly says, “the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” Peter employed the Psalm quotation to show that people who have been born again into the good days of the new life in Christ are called to bless when insulted and to return good for evil no matter what happens.

            It comes down to trusting God. When someone hurts you emotionally with uncaring words or thoughtlessness, our calling is the same: to bless in order to receive a blessing from God, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.

C. S. Lewis said, “To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable, because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.”

            The cross of Christ reminds us of that truth. Jesus died for the sins of the world. That means that he died for the offenses that you and I experience. When you are hurt by words or actions from a brother or a sister, remember that Jesus died for your hurt. Jesus died for the one who hurt you. All of the fallenness of our world, all the insults and careless gestures and physical wounds were gathered up and nailed to the body of Jesus on the cross.

            In response to our injustices, Augustine wisely said, “If you are suffering from a bad man’s injustice, forgive him lest there be two bad men.”

            We suffer injustices and cruel words with grace and respond with blessing because Christ has absorbed all that evil and sentenced it to hell.

            “That is why,” Paul declared, “for Christ’s sake, I delight in my weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong,” (2 Cor. 12:10). His grace is sufficient for you in your times of offense and hurt.

                                                            AMEN

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[i](Reported by George Cowan to Campus Crusade at the U.S. Division Meeting Devotions, Thursday, March 22, 1990.)

[ii] Karen Jobes, 1 Peter, p. 217.

Called to Holiness #10

BEAUTIFUL!

We are continuing to deal with that difficult topic of submission this morning. And the difficulty level increases as we address the contentious subject of wives submitting to their husbands.

            Someone has said, “Usually the husband regards himself as the head of the household, and the pedestrian has the right of way. And, usually, both of them are safe until they try to prove it.”[i]

            Each of our households represented in this congregation operate differently when it comes to “who’s in charge.” Some marriage relationships operate under male headship principles; others are more egalitarian, where leadership in the home is shared equally between wife and husband. In our home, we operate under a form of male headship – at least, that’s what Sharon tells me.

            My purpose this morning is not to critique or persuade one side or the other to change your family dynamic. Rather, my goal is to present a biblical exposition of the principles found in 1 Peter 3:1-6 as closely to what Peter intended as I can. I leave it to you to wrestle with and apply them.

            To understand our text, we must remember that the overall theme of submission began in 2:11-12. Peter urges his readers to reject sinful desires and live such good lives that unbelievers will see their good deeds and think, “Hey, this Christian God makes a difference in their lives.” So the purpose of this section is the Christian witness in a pagan world.

            That Christian witness began with being a good citizen (submitting to rulers), a good slave (submitting to masters), and now Peter encourages wives to submit to husbands under the same goal. Peter speaks of submission in this sense as something that a woman puts on, like an adornment, implying that it is something that makes them beautiful or attractive.

            As it relates to faith, submission applies to both women and men. The qualities that Peter encourages these women to adopt are really for everyone then. True beauty in a person can be seen in godly conduct more powerfully than in words without conduct.

1. Beauty that overwhelms the stubborn heart

To understand the context of Peter’s words we must discern the problem he addressed. As the gospel was proclaimed in the ancient world, people came to faith. In some cases, women heard the gospel and believed but their husbands did not. The gospel was liberating to women; not only were they forgiven their sins, but they were given an elevated status before God as daughters of the Almighty.

            So here we have Christian wives with unbelieving husbands. The question that is embedded in the text is this: Why should Christian wives submit to unbelieving husbands?

            Marriages then are not what we know them today. Under Jewish law, a woman was a thing, property – like a sheep. She was owned. She could not divorce her husband but a husband could dismiss her for any offense. Greeks believed that wives should stay indoors and be obedient to their husbands. She should see nothing, hear nothing, and ask no questions. They too could be divorced on a whim. Romans gave no rights to women whatsoever. She had the status of a child. Under her father’s roof she was his child and he had the right of life and death over her. When she married, that power was passed to her husband. She was at his mercy.[ii]

            In each of those three cultures, a woman was expected to accept her husband’s religion. A wife who became a Christian was scandalous and she was seen as insubordinate. A woman coming to faith was an explosive issue. Rather than incite rebellion in households, Peter taught how a Christian wife could live with an unbelieving husband and bear witness to Christ.

            Peter points to Christ when he implies that attractive behavior involves submission. “Wives, in the same way…” The same way as what? In 2:13, Peter said, “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority…” and in 2:18 “Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect…” And then Peter underlines submission as being Christlike in 2:21. So Peter urged these wives to be Christlike, which may mean suffering innocently and silently.

            Christian wives were to submit to their own husbands. They are not to submit to other men in general but to their own husbands specifically. The goal of this submission is obedience to God first of all and then the salvation of their husbands.

            Peter indicates that these husbands have not believed the word, the gospel, and that they might be won over without words. These husbands have heard the gospel and they rejected it – so it doesn’t help to nag them. Nagging is simply trying to wear down by repeating the same things over and over. Persuasion and argument won’t help. Peter said the only thing that will affect their hearts is good behavior.

            Peter qualifies good behavior as “the purity and reverence of your lives.” Another way of saying this is that the wife exemplifies moral purity (she is not flirtatious) and lives in the fear of God (holiness). In short, an unbelieving husband should see that his Christian wife is a better wife since she came to believe in Jesus.

            What about Christian wives of Christian husbands? It would be incorrect to imply that Peter was talking only to Christian wives of unbelieving husbands. Peter speaks to Christian husbands in v. 7 assuming their wives are believers. What Peter speaks to in 1-6 is the worst-case scenario. If such a wife is taught to follow Peter’s teaching, all other wives would certainly be expected to obey as well.[iii]

            So the biblical teaching is for wives to submit to husbands. But what does that mean? The source of marital conflict comes from control issues: a wife can try to control her husband to meet her perceived needs, and a husband seeks to dominate is his wife to meet what he perceives are his needs. Paul taught in Eph. 5:21 that we are to submit to one another. Then he says wives are to submit to their husbands “for the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body…” (5:22). In this biblical relationship of husband and wife, the wife’s submitting lifts the husband up to prosper while the husband serves, not dominates, his wife to bless her and help her prosper in the Lord.

2. Beauty that comes from within

Submission can be a beautiful thing when it is done out of obedience to the Lord and for the sake of Christian witness. Real beauty begins as an inner quality.

            The problem of looking on out ward appearances is not restricted to women. When Samuel was sent by God to find Israel’s next king he was impressed by the tall and handsome sons of Jesse. But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart,” (1 Sam 16:7).

            Outward appearance has become an obsession in our culture. We care far too much about how we look, spend money on exercise and diet tools, and do little about our inner qualities. In Proverbs we read, “Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised,” (31:30).

            In Peter’s day, outward adornments were often perceived as instruments of seduction; cosmetics were viewed as an attempt to deceive. “Cosmetics” comes from the word “cosmos” which means “world,” as in worldly influence. Peter’s admonition to avoid adornments makes sense if a Christian wife is attending Christian worship outside her home without her husband. She gets all gussied up and goes out in public – what are the neighbors going to think? She’s having an affair; she’s meeting her lover. So to go and attend worship, if her husband allows her, without bangles and make-up makes her intentions more clear.

            Beauty has a different source for the Christian than hairstyles and jewelry and clothes. Not that outward beauty is a sin (Prov. 31:22 commends the well-dressed woman), “But a beautiful woman who lacks inner beauty and character is like a pig with a gold ring in its nose,” (Prov. 11:22). Halle Berry said this, “Beauty? Let me tell you something, being thought of as ‘a beautiful woman’ has spared me nothing in life, no heartache, no trouble. Love has been difficult. Beauty is essentially meaningless, and it is always transitory” [iv]

            Peter defined beauty differently than Hollywood, “…it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of greater worth in God’s sight,” (3:4). Gentleness is something we see in Jesus; gentleness is also known as meekness. And meekness is not weakness, but power under control. A quiet spirit does not mean mute, but rather tranquil or calm, not combative. A wife with a quiet spirit is a woman who is confident in her giftedness and place in life. She is secure in the Lord. A wife like this may be “quiet” and at the same time articulate and persuasive in presenting her point of view, when the time is right. That is true for anybody.

            Outer beauty will fade but inner beauty grows stronger over time. Inner beauty that is of great worth in God’s sight is a spirit that is in tune with God’s Spirit. When the world observes a couple of advanced years and marriage, they see wrinkles and broken bodies. The couple that has grown in love over the decades and experienced each other’s faithfulness in the sight of the Lord see something different – they see a partner adorned with beauty. I have witnessed these couples of advanced years and I stand in awe at how they brag (in a good way) about what their partner did or said.

           

3. Beauty that was modeled long ago

Peter offers an example of what he was thinking about when he considered true beauty. “For in this way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves. They submitted themselves to their own husbands, like Sarah who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord,” (5-6a).

            A “gentle and quiet spirit” exemplifies a heart at rest with God. The women of old (OT) were, first of all, beautiful because they put their hope in God. They submitted to their own husbands, not because their trust was in their husbands but because their hope was in God. They trusted God to work through their husbands and to work in spite of them.[v] I like that last part “in spite of them” – it suggests a lot of grace on the part of the wife.

            Abraham’s wife Sarah is held up as a specific example of submission. When God calls on Abraham to pack up his life and move to a land God will show him, Sarah must uproot her life, her relationships and connections and follow her husband (Gen. 12). God spoke to Abraham, never to Sarah, forcing Sarah to trust what Abraham said of God. Another time, three angels come to Abraham and promise him that by next year at this time, Sarah will have a baby (she’s in her 80s). Sarah overhears this conversation and laughs to herself as if it were the most absurd thing she had ever heard (Gen. 18:12). When confronted by the Lord, however, she denies laughing and submits to Abraham as her master.

            Admittedly, this is an odd example of a “gentle and quiet spirit.” What we gather from Abraham and Sarah’s adventures and misadventures is that she followed and supported him when God said “go.” And when he lied about her being his sister, she went with it (not a great eg.). But through all of these seemingly foolish escapades, Sarah did not panic, or freak out, but fixed her hope on God. She submitted to her husband knowing God’s purposes would be achieved because of, or in spite of, her husband.

The issue of submission leaves us with a few questions for our context today. I want to be sure not to leave wrong impressions of our passage today.

First, must a wife submit to an abusive husband? What constitutes abuse? I must admit that when I began my ministry 25 years ago I did not know much about spousal abuse. I have learned a lot about it since then through trial and error. Abuse can come in various forms: physical, verbal, and emotional. If anyone is experiencing any of these abuses they need to get to a safe place away from the abuser. There is no justification for an abusive relationship – no one deserves to endure that in this day and age. (this is true for husbands too)

Second, should a wife submit to a husband who asks her to do something wrong? As Sarah went along with Abraham’s lies and backed up his schemes, do women need to do the same today? No, to obey God is a higher priority than obeying a deceitful person. We must obey God rather than man, as the apostles put it in Acts 5:29.

Third, do wives really need to submit to their husbands in an age of enlightenment and culture such as we live in? Some will argue that the apostles Paul and Peter lived in a time and culture that is far removed from our time and culture. True, many things have changed and women today have an improved status and set of rights than the first century world. I heard of a woman who fell into bed and cried out, “Lord, I’m tired.” To which her husband said, “Dear, in the bedroom you can just call me Jim.”

            As someone who holds the Bible up as a core value and standard for living, I cannot ignore what Scripture says on this matter. Ephesians 5 suggests that time and culture submits to Christology. That is, the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church. What that means to me is that as a husband I must pattern my life on Christ. Jesus served his bride, lifted her up, and died for her. I don’t see domination in that pattern. I submit to Christ; so does my wife. And I trust that her hope is first and foremost in the Lord and trusts that God will work in and through me or in spite of me. I expect that’s true for both of us.

            The rest I leave up to you. Here is the Scripture. Now live it out according to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

                                                AMEN

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[i] Reader’s Digest [2/83]

[ii] Jews, Greeks, Romans – William Barclay

[iii] Bob Deffinbaugh “A Word to Wives”

[iv] (Actress Halle Berry, one of People magazine’s 50 most beautiful people).

[v] Deffinbaugh