In his first letter, Peter spends a lot of time talking about suffering. And it makes sense that he does this. Consider the people to whom he wrote. More than likely many of the members of this church were poor, that is, they had no power. That, after all, is what being poor really is about. Having even a little of this world’s goods gives you some power. It provides a measure of control over your situation and your relationships with others. But the poor are without this and so they often suffer the abuse of others who do have some power. Most of the early Christians were poor. They were powerless and so they suffered. They needed to be taught how to deal with this suffering. There were, also, a significant number of slaves in this church. We know this because Peter addresses them directly in different parts of the letter. They were obviously without power. The owner of a slave could work him to exhaustion, beat him to death, use and abuse him – or her – for his pleasures. Evidently, from what Peter writes in this letter, some of the owners of these Christian slaves were doing these sorts of things. So, here we have a congregation that is faced with suffering. And Peter writes to them about this.
Peter’s obvious aim in this letter is to encourage these Christians as they deal with their suffering. And how does he do that? Consider our text. There are those who, upon reading these words of our text, would simply laugh at Peter and label all of this as ‘worthless religious talk’, ‘pie in the sky, bye and bye’ or even ‘the opiate of the people’. After all, they’ll tell you, what is Peter doing but passing on platitudes about being blessed and asking dumb questions like, ‘Who is there to harm you if you do good?’ “Why didn’t Peter do something helpful? What good is all of this? It will take more than just some Bible verses to really help those folk.” We need to admit that these folk raise some important points. The fact is that too many Christians think they’re being helpful when all they do is lob a verse or two from a distance and then just walk away. What help is that? But that’s not what Peter is doing. While he writes from a geographic distance it is clear to these Christians that there is no emotional distance. What Peter writes in his letter is actually helpful.
In this part of the letter Peter recognizes the power of fear. Remember, these are people who are poor and enslaved, people without power. So, he quotes God’s encouragement to Isaiah when he had to deal with fear. ‘And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.’ God tells Isaiah – and Peter tells these Christians – to be fearless. But you need to be careful. This does not mean ‘pay no attention to danger’. There is danger and risk all around us. Peter isn’t saying to these folk, ‘Just forget about any danger. Ignore it and charge ahead.’ Absolutely not! Peter’s point is this: Don’t let the threat of danger stop you from obedience to your God. Danger is real. These Christians had been taken advantage of by others. And that was something that was going to continue. The danger was real. The temptation to react must have been great. They must have considered their options, ways in which they might gain some power themselves or at least protect themselves. But that would have been so wrong. And it would have been wrong because it would have been based on fear. ‘Look at what they are doing to us. We must do something, or we’ll be crushed!’ That is how the world responds. Peter has a different way. He tells them not to be afraid.
If he just wrote that and then moved on, it would have been worthless. But that’s not what happened. In the previous section of his letter Peter quoted from Psalm 34. Listen. ‘Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.’ Peter points to sinful responses to the abuse of power: a tongue that speaks evil of others (think slander and gossip), and those who go beyond this and do evil to others. (Even slaves can cause great harm by sabotaging things.) Peter encourages the people to turn away from such evil and to pursue peace. And he gives them a reason to do this. Their God sees what’s going on. His eyes are on the righteous. And their God hears their cries for help. His ears are open to their prayers. They have good reason not to fear. Their God is against those who do evil. He knows what’s going on. He will act. The people don’t need to be afraid.
And now for a question. This is all well and good in theory, but what about putting it into practice? How does one put his fears aside? You can’t just wish them away, can you? What do you do? Listen to Peter. ‘But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts…’ Peter’s solution to fear is to raise this question: Who is your God? If He is some distant deity who isn’t involved in your life, then it makes sense to be very afraid and to take measures to protect yourself. Or if He is some kindly old grandfather who loves you to pieces but is powerless to do anything to help then, again, it makes sense to be afraid and to act on your own. Who is your God? Please be aware that Peter isn’t interested in people getting the correct answer to some theological question. He isn’t interested in what your mind thinks. Peter is interested in what your heart feels. The right theological answer that is never put into practice is worthless and actually worse than worthless. So, Peter deals with this key question, ‘Who is your God?’ and he wants an answer on the level of the heart. ‘But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts…’
So, consider Peter’s question. Who is your God? Is He a distant deity or a powerless grandfather? Who is your God? This brings us to where we always need to go. This brings us to Jesus. Sooner or later, it’s always about Jesus. Listen to verse 18. ‘For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God…’ Jesus shows us what kind of God our God is. Jesus came and suffered for our sins; He, the just one, for us, the unjust. As a result, we, who were so far from God, were brought near, not as invited guests in God’s home, but as loved children welcomed into the family. Jesus has revealed your God. Is He some distant deity? Absurd! Or maybe a kindly old grandfather? Ridiculous! He is aware of your need. He sees what’s going on. He hears the prayers of sinners crying out for rescue by Jesus. In Jesus your God has come to rescue you from far worse then evil men who abuse you by their power. Jesus shows what kind of God you have.
And so, let me ask you, if your God has done all this, what is there to fear? Is there danger? Certainly! We live in an evil world. There is danger all around. Will there be suffering along with its pain? To be sure! Who could expect otherwise? Yet, there is nothing for us to fear. That is, there is no good reason for us to give in to the temptation to disobey our God and justify it by pointing to some danger or risk. So, Peter’s counsel to those saints and to us is simple. Don’t be afraid. Instead, remember who your God is and trust Him in your suffering.
We’re not done with Jesus. He reveals our God to us. But He also provides an example of how we are not to fear. In that last verse that I quoted to you, Peter talks about Jesus’ death. Think about what was going on there. Jesus was one of the poor. He presented Himself as one without power. He was being abused by those with power. Jesus faced the same kind of situation as the saints that Peter writes to. How did He respond to that unjust suffering? Listen to another part of Peter’s letter. ‘For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.’ Jesus is our example. He suffered without reacting against those who caused that suffering. There was no reviling, no threats. And why? It was because He was not afraid. Instead of giving in to fear, He entrusted Himself to His Father who judges justly. Jesus is our model of how not to be afraid. We are to entrust ourselves to our God who sees what is going on, who hears our prayers and who will act at the right time, bringing justice to bear, rewarding us and condemning them.
Does this mean that we will always be cool as a cucumber in the face of suffering? Not necessarily. Your heart rate might go up. Your stomach might tighten. There may be all the signs that you are nervous. But the danger that confronts will not stop us from obeying our God. We might be calm or we might be nervous. But in either case we’re going to obey.
We live in a culture that is given to fear. I’ve just turned 57. According to the common way of thinking, I am supposed to be looking forward to retiring in 8 years. And because of that I should be getting a little anxious. Will I have enough to retire? What if my health fails? What if I can no longer care for myself? What if…? What if…? What if…? Fear!! Our world is filled with it. Now, let me be clear. Is it wrong to consider the future? Certainly not! But the motivation behind our thoughts for the future, whether it’s retirement or anything else, should not be anywhere close to anything like fear because of the dangers that the future may – or better will – hold. Who is your God?! Will He forget you? Can it be that He will let you down so that you will be left to your own resources? Is that even a remote possibility? ‘But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts!’ Does this mean that, if you do this, your life will be smooth and relatively care-free? Certainly not! Who ever said that it would be? That’s just another tempting fruit that Satan dangles before our eyes. There will be suffering. But Jesus left you an example of how to deal with that suffering. We should not expect an easy life. But we most certainly should expect a blessed life. And why not? God is our Father. Jesus is our older Brother. The Spirit lives within with all His grace and power. And it’s when more and more Christians live like this that we will see something else that Peter points to. ‘… always being prepared to give an answer to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you…’ Others will come with their questions, asking us how we can live so fearlessly. We won’t have to do door to door or any of that. They will come to us!
When you feel those fears rising, that temptation to panic, even just a little, this is what you should do. First, ask yourself, ‘Who is my God?’ Then, answer that question by looking at Jesus, the revelation of the love of our powerful God. And then, lastly, pray that the Spirit would give you the ability to believe your answer to that question, to believe what you see revealed in Jesus’ life. As you do that, your fears may not melt away, but they will not stop you from obeying your God, thus bringing honor to His name. And that is always the most important thing.
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