Church Sermon - May 5, 2002

DO YOU APOLOGIZE FOR YOUR FAITH?

Rev. Mark F. Bartels

Old Testament Lesson; Acts 17:22-31
Gospel Lesson; John 14:15-21
Sermon Text; I Peter 3:15-22

The letter of first Peter was written very near to, or in the year of 64 AD. And, if you are familiar with church history, you know that the year 64 AD is a very significant, an extremely significant year in the history of the Christian Church. You may even know what I am going to talk about, if you are familiar with church history. For those of you who are not, I will set up the history, first.

In the book of I Peter, which is a short little book in the Bible, Peter mentions the word suffering 15 times!

By this time, 64 AD, the Christian church had spread rapidly. And, although the Christian church had spread rapidly, it was very dangerous to be a Christian, during this time period. By the time 64 AD came, the Roman Empire felt that Christians were a threat to society. Christians were perceived as a threat to society, because Christians believe that there is:

And so, the Christians would not worship the Roman Emperor. And, that was seen as a threat for the Roman society.

Christians also would not involve themselves in the pagan festivals that were societal events. All the other citizens were involved in them, as they freely worshiped false gods. But the Christians kept themselves separate from that. They wouldn’t involve themselves in the pagan festivals. Because of this, they were seen as people who were anti civilization, which could really threaten the Roman Empire. They were seen as threats to their society.

And so, it was very dangerous to be a Christian, during this time. In fact, it was this dangerous, because it was legal to arrest Christians, to imprison Christians and to even put Christians to death.

In the year 64 AD, very shortly after Peter had written this letter (Peter happened to be imprisoned in Rome, when he wrote this letter), a fire started in the city of Rome. This fire burned a great portion of Rome. Nero, who was the emperor at the time, blamed the fire on the Christians. A violent persecution broke out against the Christians. That is why the year 64 AD is such a prominent date.

This may have been one of the most violent times in history, for Christians to live. In fact stories are told that during those days, (I hesitate to tell these stories, but you should know this.) some Christians were sewn up alive in animal skins, thrown to wild animals and eaten alive. Other Christians were put onto stakes, covered with tar and lit on fire. They were then used as living torches, to light up the circus. Still other Christians were lined up on crosses, in big, long lines along the roadsides and crucified. Peter, who wrote this letter, was among those who were crucified in the year 64 AD. It was very, very dangerous and serious business to be a Christian, at that time.

Peter, writing to the Christians and knowing how very dangerous it was for them to be Christian writes, "Do not be afraid." I Peter 3:14

And, then he wrote what you find on the back of our bulletin, today, in I Peter 3:15. He says, "But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord." Those words were dangerous words for Peter to write. Peter could be put to death for writing those words,

Be prepared. Be ready. Set apart Jesus, as Lord. There is no other master. There is no one else you bow to. There is no one else who you serve, but Jesus Christ. He is your Lord. He is the one who died for you. He is the one who paid for your sins. He is the one who holds your eternity in His hands. He is your master. So set Him apart as Lord. And, don’t be afraid to do that.

And then Peter went on and said these words,

Always be prepared. Peter knew that anyone who read this letter could have something happen to them, at any time. There could be a knock on their door, in the middle of the night, and they could be arrested for being a Christian. They could be at work and be arrested for being a Christian. They could be in a worship service and be arrested for being a Christian. It could happen at any time. Peter said, "Always be prepared to give an answer" if and when that ever happened.

Peter knew, from first hand experience, what it was like not being prepared to give an answer. Peter knew what it was like to be threatened, to have your life in danger and not be prepared. Peter, himself, was not prepared the night that Jesus was put on trial. And, Peter’s sinful nature was ashamed of Christ. Peter’s sinful nature wanted to apologize for being a Christian. Peter’s sinful nature wanted to say, "I am sorry that I am a Christian. I am sorry that I follow this man. In fact, I don’t even know this man." Peter wanted to apologize for his faith in Jesus.

Now Peter said, "Always be ready." In Greek it says, "Always be ready to give an apologia. That is our word for apologize. So does Peter mean, always be ready to apologize that you believe in Jesus? Does it mean, always be ready to say, "I am sorry that I believe in Jesus?"

In the Greek language, the word apologia means:

to give a defense.

Peter was telling these people, "Always be ready to give a defense for the reason and the hope that you have, no matter what! When that knock comes on the door, when they grab you by the shoulders, when they are threatening you with your life, always be ready to defend the cross. Always be ready to explain, "Here is why I believe in Jesus. Here is what I believe Jesus has done for me.

I believe that I am a sinner.

I believe that

Jesus has died

to pay for

my sins and

the sins for the

whole world!"

Be ready to do that!

Peter then says, "And do this with gentleness and respect" so that you don’t undo your words by your actions. Defend the cross with your words and by your actions, so they see that you are a person with love in your heart. Let them see that you have love for them and care about them, no matter how they may threaten you.

Peter then goes on and says, "It is better, if it is God’s Will, to suffer for doing good, than for doing evil." Peter was saying that if it is God’s Will, be ready to defend your faith and seal your testimony, with your blood.

That is what it was like in those days to be a Christian. As you can see, it was very dangerous to be a Christian in those days.

Now Peter goes on and he explains why they should be ready to do all of this. He says, "For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God." That is why they should be ready to defend the cross, no matter what came.

Christ didn’t just die for Christians.

Christ didn’t just die for believers.

Christ died for everybody,

once for all,

the righteous for the unrighteous

to bring

to

God!

Christ died for those who threatened the Christians.

Christ died for those who arrested the Christians.

Christ died for those who murdered the Christians.

the unbelievers so much that

to pay for

their sins.

They are forgiven!

Heaven can be theirs!

God wants Christians, even in a threatening situation to spread that Good News that Jesus is YOUR Savior. He died for you. He paid for your sins. Your sins are forgiven, through what Jesus did. This is all yours, by faith in Jesus! And, the Christians in Peter’s day were courageous people and they did just that!

There are stories about Christians who, while chained to their prison guards and soldiers, being lead to their execution, gently and respectfully defended their faith in Jesus their Savior! They explained to the soldiers they were chained to, why they believed in Jesus. And, some of those same soldiers, who had lead Christians to their execution, became Christians!

Christ died for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring us to God. Those Christians were faithful witnesses. They were outreach minded, even in the face of great threats!

And then Peter tells Christians why they shouldn’t be afraid to witness, no matter what may come. He lists three things, as he is talking about Jesus. First of all, he says, "He was put to death in the body, but made alive by the Spirit, through whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison." Here Peter is talking about Jesus’ decent into Hell. The Bible says, "He was put to death in the body, but made alive by the Spirit". This was after He rose from the dead. We believe that it may have even been before the stone was rolled away from the tomb. The first thing Jesus did, on Easter morning, was walk into Hell with His risen body, making a victory march through Hell. There He "preached to the spirits in prison who disobeyed". He proclaimed His victory. It was as if He said, "Look, you put me to death. You took my life. But I am alive again, and I have defeated sin. I have risen from the dead! I have defeated Hell! I have defeated Satan!" And, with that He walked out of Hell. Even the gates of Hell cannot prevail against The Church, against Christ! Peter here reminds the believers that our Savior holds the victory in His Hands and even the gates of Hell cannot prevail against you, no matter what the world may do to you. So, don’t be afraid to witness your Christian faith.

Then Peter goes on to say, "baptism that now saves you, also - not the removal of dirt from the body, but the pledge of a good conscious toward God." You are saved! You have a good conscious toward God. Your sins are forgiven. It was given to you at baptism. You belong to Jesus Christ and that victory that He holds in His hands, is your victory. And so, no matter what they do,

"Take they our life,

Goods, fame, child and wife,

Let these all be gone

They yet have nothing won;

The kingdom ours remaineth."

(A Mighty Fortress Is our God)

Then Peter goes on and he says this, "It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into Heaven as God’s right hand - with angels, authorities, and powers in submission to Him." Our Jesus is now at the right hand of God and has the authority, the power and the rule of God. All things are in submission to Him. The whole world is in submission to Him, whether it knows it or not. And, because of that, Christians should not be afraid to witness their faith.

And so, to you also Peter says,

We live in a world where it is a little troubling to witness our faith. "What will people think? Will they laugh at me? Will they close the door in my face? Will they not want to be my friend anymore?"

But Peter says, "Do not be afraid. In your hearts set apart Christ as Lord." He is the One who died for your sins. He is your savior. Set Him apart as your master, as the One you live for, as the One you want to live for, in all you do.

Always be prepared to give a defense, not an apology. When someone starts to talk about religious things, our sinful nature wants to say, "I’m sorry that I am a Christian. I embarrassed that I am Christian. I wish that I didn’t have to talk about my faith."

Say, "No" to your sinful nature! Give a defense for the cross. Be ready to defend the cross. Be ready to explain to anyone who asks you, "Why do you believe that Jesus is your savior from sin?" And, do it with gentleness and respect. Don’t get into fights. Don’t be angry. Don’t be rude. Do it gently and do it respectfully.

And, why do we do this? We do this because "Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God." He didn’t just die for the people in this congregation. He died for everybody. And, Jesus wants us to spread that word to everybody. He died once for all, to bring us to God. His payment for sin is what saves us. How can we keep that away from other people? It is our duty, and it is our privilege to be outreach minded, mission-minded people, who talk about our faith in our savior. After all, He is the One who holds the victory in His hands. We don’t have to be afraid of anything, because He rules over all things.

And, even if they were to

Take our life,

Our goods,

Our fame,

Our child,

Our wife,

Let these all be gone,

They yet have nothing won.

The Kingdom, ours remains.

I just want to close with this thought. This summer, our evangelism committee is going to give everyone in our church the opportunity to be involved in a canvas, a neighborhood canvas, where we knock on doors, and talk about our faith in Jesus, our Savior.

What if they get mad? What if they slam the door in your face? What if they don’t want to hear what you have to say? What would Peter say? Peter would say, "Don’t be afraid. 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." Be ready to defend the cross, because Christ died for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring us to God.

When that opportunity comes, pray about it. It would be wonderful to have many of our members involved in an outreach to our community, sharing our faith in Christ, as our Savior.

All of us should always be ready and always be prepared to defend the cross and explain to this world why we believe in Jesus, our Savior.

Amen.

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