Prepared to Make a Defense
I Peter 3:13-22
This weekend, as a nation, we take time to remember those who gave their life in the defense of freedom. There will be parades and gatherings at cemeteries around the country. Speeches will be made about giving the ultimate sacrifice. It is good that we take this time because it can become too easy for us to become complacent about the freedoms that we take for granted in our country. A time of remembrance like this brings us back to the reality that there are those in the world who would try and take those basic freedoms from us. We must always be prepared to defend those freedoms.
That sounds a lot like what the Apostle Peter was saying in his first letter to persecuted believers in the early Christian church. He was writing to encourage those who faced estrangement from their families and their community because they believed that Jesus was their Lord and Savior. In more severe circumstances they even faced death because they were believers. That can be a difficult challenge for a new believer. It can be a difficult challenge for any believer. A few weeks ago we had the privilege of hearing ten of our young members pledge their faithfulness to the Lord and His Church even to the point of death. That can be easy to say when there are no threats because of your faith. When you suddenly realize that if you persist in making a bold confession of faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior you may lose your job, your family, your home or your life, you are facing a different story. Those early Christians needed encouragement. They needed someone to tell them, “If you should suffer for righteousness sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled.”
At the same time, Peter was not just saying, “Don’t worry. Be happy.” In the verses that I read before as our text, he gives them a plan of action. As we consider that today, may we take to heart the advice of Peter and resolve to do what Peter says in our lives.
As I mentioned before, many of the early Christians had a difficult time because of their confession of faith in Jesus. Peter didn’t try to ignore that. Look at the reading again in your bulletin. As you scan through it you will find many words that describe the challenges that those early Christians faced. He mentions, harm, suffer, slander, revile. That shouldn’t come as a surprise to us. Jesus warned his disciples that there would be those who would try to discourage the faithful. The devil is always out to destroy all that is good and he will use any means possible to shake the faith of believers. He will use the world around you and he will attack you where you are perhaps the most vulnerable, your sinful human nature. That is were the seeds of doubt and fear are felt the most.
The challenges to the faith of believers have not gone away. All you have to do is look around you in the world, watch the news, observe the trends in society, see how the standards of morality have changed over the years, how boundaries of decency have been destroyed and you can see how hard the devil continues to work. When Christians are depicted in the media as ignorant, intolerant, bigoted fools, for the sake of a laugh, you can feel the challenge to your faith. When you see it often enough, it can begin to wear you down and if you are not prepared, it can destroy your faith altogether.
It is here that Peter encourages all Christians, those in the first century and down through the ages, right up to our own time, to take heart and do not fear. His words of advice begin with the admonition, “In your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy.” That is where you have to begin. First of all, know that Jesus Christ is Lord. He is true God. He was no common teacher when He was here on earth. He came to earth and took on our human form to be one of us. He lived a perfect life for us and then He died as the punishment for our sin. He rose again to proclaim His victory over the power of sin, death and the devil. He is holy. Without Him we would be lost. But in God’s great love, He came to be our Savior. He is the Christ, the Anointed One, anointed to be our Prophet, Priest and King. Through Him we are reconciled to God. We have new life now and life forever with Him in heaven. Let there be no doubt in your mind that this is the One whom you love and trust and whom you worship and serve with all your heart, soul and mind.
That being said, Peter continues by urging you to always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.” Earlier I mentioned those who gave up their lives in the defense of freedom. I am certain that they went into battle well prepared for they would encounter. They had the skills necessary to do what their commanding officers expected them to do. They were prepared.
In much the same way, you are to be prepared to make a defense of your faith. If someone should ask you why you can be confident to live a joy-filled life or why you would be confident to face death unafraid, you could be able to tell then that you trust in the Lord and His promises to always be with you, that nothing can separate you from His love and that when you die, you will be with Him in the glory of heaven for all eternity. You might be ready to say to me, “That’s easy for you to say, you’re a pastor. You’re expected to know those things, but what about me?” I would guess that the early Christians may have worried about the same things. How do I get prepared to make a defense of the hope that I have?
The best place to begin is the Scriptures. That can be a daunting task if you really don’t know where to begin. You could start at the beginning and just read through. Many people have done that and it is a wonderful exercise for your faith. The Scriptures not only inform you of God’s will but they also have the power of the Holy Spirit to work in you to strengthen your faith. For some though reading through the Scriptures can be a difficult task. You can get bogged down in the laws that are found in Leviticus and Numbers and you might be tempted to give up. We Lutherans have a great advantage when it comes to getting in touch with God’s will. We have the gift of Luther’s Catechism, that little book of instruction in the form of questions and answers that summarize for us the six chief parts of Christian doctrine. It opens for us the Scriptures and help us to be prepared to make a defense of the hope that we have in Christ. If you have confirmed your faith sometime in the past, you have studied that Catechism. That is a beginning.
An important part of training is learning and practicing skills. A good way to be prepared to make that defense that Peter spoke of is to practice the things that you would say. Find someone else who needs the practice and practice on one another. If you do it often enough you will become more and more comfortable in making that defense of the hope that you have in Jesus.
Be alert then for the opportunities that the Lord places in your life to be able to put to use those skills that you have learned. Paul prayed that God would open doors for his ministry and you can do the same. When those doors present themselves, you can be ready to make that defense of your faith. Peter also urges us to do it with gentleness and respect. You don’t want to drive people away but at the same time you want be give them an opportunity to hear the good news that is so important to you.
You also need to know that you will not always be able to convince someone to believe that Jesus Christ is Lord. That is the work of the Holy Spirit. But you can be prepared to make the defense of the hope that is in you. If you mess it up, if you are not well received, don’t be discouraged. You have not failed. There will be other opportunities. Look to the Lord for forgiveness and strength, Trust in His Word, remember your Baptism, be strengthened by the body and blood of Jesus in the Sacrament and look for the next opportunity. Through those Means of Grace, you will be able to share God’s grace with those around you because you were prepared to make a defense of reason for the hope that is in you. Amen
Rev. Gerald Matzke
Zion Lutheran Church
Painesville, Ohio
The Sixth Sunday of Easter
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