Live for good as Christ lived for you.

 

Sermon for Easter 6, May 14, 2023

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  By his great mercy he gave us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.  Amen.

1 Peter 3:13-22  ¹³Who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good?  ¹⁴But even if you should happen to suffer because of righteousness, you are blessed.  Do not be afraid of what they fear, and do not be troubled.  ¹⁵But regard the Lord, the Christ, as holy in your hearts.  Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give a reason for the hope that is in you.  ¹⁶But speak with gentleness and respect, while maintaining a clear conscience, so that those who attack your good way of life in Christ may be put to shame because they slandered you as evildoers.  ¹⁷Indeed, it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil, ¹⁸because Christ also suffered once for sins in our place, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.  He was put to death in flesh but was made alive in spirit, ¹⁹in which he also went and made an announcement to the spirits in prison.  ²⁰These spirits disobeyed long ago, when God’s patience was waiting in the days of Noah while the ark was being built.  In this ark a few, that is, eight souls, were saved by water.  ²¹And corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the body but the guarantee of a good conscience before God through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  ²²He went to heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him. (EHV)

Live for good as Christ lived for you.

Dear redeemed and washed children of the Father,

            Did you ever try to mix oil and water?  They don’t naturally go together and when put together, they immediately start to separate.  If you like an oil and vinegar salad dressing, you know that you have to shake it well, immediately before use, or you don’t get the whole flavor. 

Christians and unbelievers are a lot like oil and water.  They don’t mix very well, and as soon as put together, they naturally try to separate.  So, you can imagine the problems that came to pass as Christians preached about Jesus in that pagan world.  In fact, we don’t have to imagine it; there are numerous historical accounts of persecution against those early Christians by the non-Christians around them.  Peter wrote this letter, specifically, to comfort and encourage persecuted and afflicted believers, and in our sermon text, he encourages us to Live for good as Christ lived for you.

Do you suppose those early Christians sometimes started to wonder whether it was all worth the cost?  Or whether believing in Jesus was worth facing the hatred and slander of their former friends?  Tragically, maybe you sometimes wonder the same thing.  Of course, we don’t have to worry about being thrown to the lions yet, but how often have you faced a friend’s mocking for your faith in Christ?  Have you ever considered whether your faith was worth losing a job over?  How often do we waver in weakness when friends or family accuse us of acting too pious, of living too clean a life, of trusting too much in a Savior who died, of being too faithful to the words of a book that was written thousands of years ago? 

To believers who are troubled by such questions, St. Peter wrote, “Do not be afraid of what they fear, and do not be troubled.  But regard the Lord, the Christ, as holy in your hearts.  Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give a reason for the hope that is in you.”  When we get worried about what non-Christian friends think of us, or about whatever troubles or harm might befall us, are we not putting something else above Christ Jesus as the center of our life and salvation?  When we worry, do we not rate our own powers above God’s?  When we are worried about our lives, are we not showing that we have lost confidence in the Lord’s salvation?  If ever you start to waver in your faith, remember the Good News that is yours because Christ lived for you.

The answer to doubt is not to turn away from the Lord, but to trust Him all the more; not to boast in ourselves or live in vain glory, but to trust Christ completely as the answer to our sinfulness, as the power of salvation, and as the sure defense for all who believe.  Indeed, Peter wrote, “Who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good?  But even if you should happen to suffer because of righteousness, you are blessed.”  Whenever doubts might trouble us, we need to remember the forgiveness and salvation that is ours through faith in Jesus.  The sinful world hated Jesus and actively tried to kill Him, but Jesus willingly laid down His life so that you may enjoy eternal life with Him.

Peter tells us to sanctify the Lord in our hearts so that we have absolute confidence in what He has done for us.  We have a hope that is certain and sure.  Our eternal salvation is not based on anything in us, nor on anything we do, nor on anything that happens to us in this troubled world.  Instead, our hope of eternal life and glory is based solely in the immovable, unchangeable Rock of salvation, Jesus Christ. 

Christ lived on our behalf in absolute purity, trusting solely in His heavenly Father.  Then, though perfectly without any sin, Jesus died on a cross in our place to cover our guilt, and His resurrection from the grave proved that He is true God as well as true Man, and that all of God’s promises are true: our sins are forgiven, and we too will rise from the grave.  We need not fear or be ashamed, for Christ’s victory over sin, Satan, and death is given to us through faith in Jesus.

The Spirit instructs us to “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give a reason for the hope that is in you.  But speak with gentleness and respect, while maintaining a clear conscience, so that those who attack your good way of life in Christ may be put to shame because they slandered you as evildoers.”  The Word recognizes the world we live in.  We will be falsely accused of many things by those who hate us for our faith.  How can the writer assume that?  Because, he knows by faith and experience that “The mind-set of the sinful flesh is hostile to God, since it does not submit to God’s law, and in fact, it cannot.” (Romans 8:7)  We remember that Jesus said, "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.” (Matthew 5:11)  The non-Christian remains an enemy of God who may despise you, but his wicked accusations will also be his shame when he stands before the Lord in judgment.

Now, about suffering for Jesus’ sake, that also goes along with being a Christian, and Peter isn’t speaking of the run of the mill heartaches that are always a part of this world—even the unbelievers share in that kind of trouble.  But, Peter remembered that Jesus said, “‘A servant is not greater than his master.’  If they persecuted me, they will persecute you too.  If they held on to my word, they will hold on to yours as well.” (John 15:20)  Thus, to encourage us for those times when we suffer for our faith and for godly living, Peter writes, “Indeed, it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil, because Christ also suffered once for sins in our place, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.” 

Suffering for wickedness is just and proper, so no sinner should ever complain about punishment for sins, but when we suffer without any fault of our own and especially because of being faithful to Jesus and His Word, we could be tempted to complain.  We don’t always know why God allows us to suffer persecution and hatred, but the faithful believer relies on the infinite love of the One true God we serve. 

Our heavenly Father sent Jesus, the Righteous One, to suffer and die for all the evil ones who ever roam this earth, including all of us, and it may be that our suffering for the faith will lead others to share in Christ’s salvation, just as the apostles had to endure persecution and false accusations as they shared the Gospel in an unbelieving world.  Dare we expect anything different?  However, for all His followers who endure such trouble, Jesus promises, " Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.  Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven.” (Matthew 5:11-12)  Through faith in Jesus, we were rescued from just condemnation and granted eternal life, so that we may Live for good as Christ lived for you. 

Peter also gives us insight into the first moments after Jesus rose from the dead when He went down to the prison of eternal torment for those spirits who opposed Him even way back in the dawn of time.  “He was put to death in flesh but was made alive in spirit, in which he also went and made an announcement to the spirits in prison.  These spirits disobeyed long ago, when God’s patience was waiting in the days of Noah while the ark was being built.”  Our victorious Savior entered the devils’ lair to announce His victory and establish His permanent rule over all things, crushing Satan’s rebellion.  Indeed, St. Paul explained, “He humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross.  Therefore, God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth.” (Philippians 2:8-10)

Peter shows us how God used the same water that drowned the wicked world to lift Noah and his family above the destruction and save them from death.  That flood of water is the antitype of how you and I were saved: “Baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the body but the guarantee of a good conscience before God through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”

Noah’s flood is a graphic picture of Baptism’s life-giving work!  In one flood of water, our sinful nature was drowned, and a new life of faith is raised up to eternal glory.  Baptism isn’t an ordinary bath that you might take after a hard day pulling weeds in your garden.  It doesn’t wash off material dirt, but the filth of sin.  Baptism washes away all that made you unholy before God, and it is not our work, but that of God Himself.  Through that simple water and Word, God washes away everything that kept you separate from Him.  In that washing, your Savior clears your conscience, because He took all your sins upon Himself and paid the eternal death penalty you deserved.  Thus, in raising Jesus from the dead, God declared to all creation that Christ’s death was sufficient payment for you and me and everyone.  Nothing more is required to make any of us right with the Father.

Because Jesus lives, the victory for our souls is won!  Therefore, we Live for good as Christ lived for you.  Likewise, St. Paul explains our role in this world: “We are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God.  For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:20-21)

Now, with all the hardships and pain this rebellious world throws against us, it can be very tempting for us to ask, “Why should we have to suffer?”  Yet, Jesus warned His disciples, “If the world hates you, you know that it hated me first.” (John 15:18)  Just as Jesus endured all things so that you and I could live with Him forever in His Father’s heavenly mansion, so we will sometimes experience much trouble so that the Gospel may be spread among enemies still lost in sin.  But as we hold on to Jesus through any cross or trial, as we sanctify Him in our hearts, we bear witness to a fallen world of what Christ has done to give us life.

Peter also assures us that our suffering for the faith is never without God’s good will or plan involved.  Satan does not have the upper hand.  No person on earth can afflict you unless Jesus, Himself, allows it, for Jesus has authority and power over all things.  Knowing that we have Jesus’ help and protection and that the Lord is working through us to share salvation with many other sinners, Christians can endure suffering in this world, even persecution, slander, pain, or death, because “Jesus Christ went to heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him.” 

Shortly before Jesus went to the cross to suffer and die in our stead, He told His disciples, “He who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him." (John 14:21)  Loving Jesus isn’t something we chose on our own; He had to bring us to that saving love.  Jesus did that for you and me as He washed us clean of all sin in Baptism’s flood.  By sending His Holy Spirit through that water and Word, God makes Christian believers out of rebellious sinners like we all were, and through that humble bath, Jesus showed Himself to each of us.  Through the Baptism ceremony that combines ordinary water with God’s powerful Word, He made you His own ambassadors to a world of sinners.  Thus, through your Baptism, Jesus made it possible for others to enjoy His love as you reflect your faith in His salvation while you Live for good as Christ lived for you.  Amen.

The God of all grace, who called you into his eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will himself restore, establish, strengthen, and support you.  To him be the glory and the power forever and ever.  Amen.