WHAT TO DO WHEN LIFE IS SHORT
1 Peter 4:7-11

Dr. Charles Franklin DeVane, Jr., Pastor
Lake Hamilton Baptist Church
Hot Springs, Arkansas

September 22, 2013

The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
-- 1 Peter 4:7-11, ESV


I used to have this recurring dream about being on death row.  Though it was only a dream, it was very unsettling to feel like my life was about to end.  Have you ever felt this way?

Unfortunately, terminal cancer patients know too well how this feels.  Sometimes a soldier knows that death is waiting just around the corner.  But most of us do not live with the constant expectation that the end is near.  

So, leave it to Simon Peter to be a killjoy for us all.  “The end of all things is at hand,” he says.  Our lives, the world as we know it, indeed all things are so close to the end that we can reach out and touch the finish line.  Thanks a lot, Pete.  

Actually, the inspired Apostle wasn’t being unduly pessimistic.  He was being very realistic.  Speaking to Christians about the Christian life, he was simply communicating the obvious truth that our lives are quite short, extremely meaningful, and filled with opportunity.  He wanted believers to understand how to make the most of the short life that we have.  He offers instruction that will train our minds, fix our hearts, and direct our bodies on how to make the most effective use of our time and opportunities.  So let’s listen and learn what to do when life is short.

Life is short, so pray.

When confronted with the fact that life is short, the first thing to do is pray.  I’m sure there are a lot of prayers said on death row, in cancer hospitals, and in the trenches.  Remember, all of us, especially those of us with a Christian world view, have a time appointed for our deaths, live with the terminal disease of humanity, and live our lives in constant spiritual warfare.  We should heed the words of the bad little boy being carted out of the sanctuary by his father who cried out to the congregation, “Pray, people, pray!”

Actually, the first things Simon Peter said to do include being “self-controlled and sober-minded.”  This summarizes his previous admonitions to disciples to be disciplined (especially in the previous six verses).  But the reason stated here to be holy and godly and serious about your faith is “for the sake of your prayers.”  Prayer is the foundation of a life in tune with God, and prayers can be hindered by sloppy discipleship and unconfessed sin (ref. Psalm 66:18).    

The Christian life begins with repentance (and faith).  Repentance is a changing of the mind that unlocks the changing of the heart and the will.  Once we’ve been given the gift of repentance that leads to life (ref. Acts 11:18), we have a responsibility before God to keep our minds fixed on Him and focused on how He wants us to live.  So pray, people, pray.

Pray at regular intervals, like morning and evening.  Pray unceasingly, speaking to God throughout the day in communion (with Him), intercession (for others), and supplication (for yourself).  Pray in confession when you sin against Him and others.  Pray in adoration for His grace, mercy, and love.  Prayer is the way in which we rub shoulders with God, and when we rub shoulders with God enough, God begins to rub off on us.  

Prayer puts the mind in the right gear for the short lives we have to live.  But we need something for our hearts, too.  In the words of John and Paul (in this case the Beatles, not the Apostles), “All You Need is Love.”  

Life is short, so love.

Simon Peter sings three songs about “loving one another” in this text.  He sings about how to love, what love does, and what love looks like.  And while most rock songs speak of love in the erotic sense (physical, sensual love, which is actually not mentioned in the New Testament), our inspired Apostle uses the two common New Testament words for love, agape (sacrificial love, twice in vs. 8) and phileo (brotherly love, once in a compound word in vs. 9).

As for how we are to sacrificially love one another, we are to do it “earnestly.”  The word literally means outstretched, which means at least two things.  It means to reach out, for you can’t really love from a distance.  And, it means to strain or hurt.  Yes, “Love Hurts” (which was a folk song by Graham Parsons and Emmylou Harris before it was a rock song by Nazareth).  How did and how does God love us?  So, put this love in your heart for one another.

As for what love does, it “covers a multitude of sins” in a multitude of ways.  Love leads to forgiveness and reconciliation when a sin has taken place.  Love does not retaliate nor spread gossip.  Love does not let differences of opinion fester into accusation and division.  Love keeps families together, keeps churches from splitting, makes the devil madder than Hell, and makes the angels rejoice in Heaven.  So let love be your leading attitude.

And let love lead you to action, especially towards your bothers and sisters in Christ.  This is what love does.  It “shows hospitality.”  Christian love is brotherly, friendly, helpful, reciprocal, and active.  The word actually is used for showing kindness to strangers or outsiders, but here it is to be applied to “one another.”  Can you imagine what our church would be like if we treated each other like the first-time visitor, or like the person we’ve met for the first time who is interviewing us for a job, or someone else you are trying your best to make a good impression upon?  

One of the best ways you can put love and grace in action is to use your spiritual gifts in the service of your church and others.

Life is short, so serve.

“Gift” is literally grace gift, sometimes referred to as spiritual gift.  When a person is born again by the regenerating and indwelling Holy Spirit, God brings a special mixture of spiritual giftedness to every Christian soul.  1 Corinthians 12 mentions a plethora of spiritual gifts used by the Apostles and Christians in the early church.  Romans 12 gives a great list of seven predominant spiritual gifts endowed upon believers today.  Here, Simon Peter classifies all gifts neatly into two categories: speaking and serving.  Generally speaking, most Christians can serve in only one area.

“Whoever speaks” is someone especially gifted to understand, communicate, and apply the “oracles of God.”  Pastors, elders, teachers, evangelists, and other church leaders speak and lead only in the power of God’s Spirit informed by the truth of God’s word.  Those who have a special burden to study and pray are generally those who have the ability to teach and lead.  Throughout church history, those given the speaking gifts by God are the minority rather than the majority, although you’d never know that in most Baptist churches.  Gifted speakers serve by speaking, while everyone else in the church should speak by serving.

“Whoever serves” is just as special, if not more so, to God as gifted speakers.  Servants who perform caregiving and menial tasks inside (and outside) the church have a special touch of the Spirit upon them that makes them so much like Christ.  They have compassion, mercy, empathy, humility, and energy that comes from “the strength that God supplies.”  They would rather be behind the scenes than behind the pulpit.  And we who preach in pulpits would have no one to preach to if it were not for the servants in the church.  

Whether you serve by speaking or speak by serving, you’ve got a short time on this earth to serve the Lord by serving the body of Christ.  We can rest when we get to Heaven.  

Life is short, so glorify God with your life.

In actuality, Simon Peter is not preaching three sermons in this text, but one.  “The end of all things is at hand; therefore ...” glorify God.  This is the true meaning of the short, Christian life on earth.  To believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and glorify God with our minds, hearts, and service.  

At the end of the day, it will not matter if you prayed three times a day or memorized the Lord’s prayer; but rather, did your glorify God in your prayer life?  At the end of the day, it will not matter how many people loved you or how many people you loved; but rather, did you receive and share the love of God?  At the end of the day, it will not matter how many sermons you preached or how many shifts you served in the nursery; but rather, did the Spirit of God show Himself through you in prayerful, loving, service in Christ’s church?  If you are doing, or will do, these things, then you know what to do with your short life.  Glorify God.  

JOE NAMATH vs. JIM ELLIOT
1 Peter 4:1-6

Dr. Charles Franklin DeVane, Jr., Pastor
Lake Hamilton Baptist Church
Hot Springs, Arkansas

September 15, 2013

Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God. For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you; but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does.
-- 1 Peter 4:1-6, ESV


Have you ever dreamed of having someone else’s life?  Sure you have.  We all, at one time or another, would rather be somebody else.  It might be a beautiful movie star or singer, a great actor or athlete, a person of great wealth, a powerful politician, or in a few cases maybe even a famous missionary or preacher.  All of us would like to be interesting (like the man in the beer commercial) and we often find great interest in other people’s lives.  

Today I am going to give you a choice between two people.  As I studied this passage in 1 Peter, both of them came to mind as near perfect illustrations of the text.  So here is your choice: you can either be Joe Namath or Jim Elliot.

Joe Namath vs. Jim Elliot

Most people, even the ladies and the youngsters among us, have heard of Joe Namath.  He was born in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, starred on a national championship football team at Alabama, led the New York Jets to win the Super Bowl, and remains well known for his charisma, good looks, success, and place in the professional football Hall of Fame.

Namath lived a life of human passions.  Driven by sensuality, he never said no to his passions for food, drink, sex, or a good time.  His propensity for drunkenness was displayed in a not-too-distant episode of Monday Night Football during which he tried to kiss an attractive sideline reporter.  I do not know if he participated in any orgies the way in which we may think of them, but the Greek term simply means carousing, or having sex with multiple partners, and Namath was famous for that.  He certainly competed in drinking parties, literally drinking contests, as a collegian and as a pro.  And as far as lawless idolatry goes, he no doubt served as his own god and became a god-like figure to many.  I can’t think of any life that describes this text any better, and a whole lot of people in this world would have loved to have had this life.  Joe Namath was cool.

Jim Elliot was a square, at least by the world’s standards.  He was born in Portland, Oregon in the 20’s and died in the 50’s before he reached his 30’s.  Like Namath, he was handsome, bright, and very athletic.  He could have played college football, but chose to attend relatively tiny Wheaton College instead.  Girls had crushes on him, but he never had sex with a woman until he was married.  He never used drugs, he never got drunk at a beer pong party, and he turned down careers in which he could have excelled at making money to go and translate the Bible for a people-group in South America that had never heard the gospel.  In return, the people whom he gave his life to reach, took his life with their knives and spears.  His body was dumped in a river in the middle of a jungle.  

Jim never won the Super Bowl, never made any money, loved only one woman, and is not famous to anyone except a small remnant of Christians who have read Elisabeth Elliot’s most excellent books.  Now seriously, how many people in America, even in the American church, would want Elliot’s life compared to Namath’s?

The Flesh vs. The Spirit

These two men illustrate this text so well because this text puts forth the classic New Testament confrontation between the flesh and the spirit.  All humans live in the flesh but only born-again believers live in the spirit.  Lost people’s lives are dominated by the desires of the flesh and they generally live according to those desires, putting good feelings, happiness, and having fun above all else.  Saved people have to deal with all of the same desires, yet temper those desires by the power of the Holy Spirit under the lordship of Jesus Christ.  The two lives are as different as, well, Joe Namath and Jim Elliot.

But the key to mastering this epic battle between flesh and spirit is not found in two lives, but one.  The life that really matters is the life of the Lord Jesus Christ.  God became man for two reasons: to provide the perfect example for sinners and to perform the perfect atonement for sin.  Salvation comes from the latter, but anyone saved by the sacrifice of Christ has a strong, spiritual desire to emulate the life of Christ.  So how did Christ, who took on flesh, who lived in the power of the spirit, handle this epic battle?

Christ suffered in the flesh.  On the cross?  Sure.  But the meaning here is that Christ suffered throughout His life by denying human passions in order to stay in the will of God.  Ask a person who is trying to quit smoking what it feels like to deny himself a cigarette.  Ask a person who is trying to slim down from being overweight what it feels like to eat broccoli rather than barbecue.  It is suffering.  This is the way Christ suffered, and this is the same way of thinking every Christian should share.

God loves us and does not want our God-ordained desires for food and drink, comfort and pleasure, even sex, to go unquenched.  However, He also loves us enough to show us, by His word and His Spirit, how to fulfill them in an honorable way that does not lead to debauchery, meaning dishonorable to God and destructive for man.  God’s Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, got hungry and thirsty.  He feasted on occasions and make His own wine, but He curbed His cravings and was not given to gluttony nor drunkenness.  Jesus no doubt encountered a lot of attractive women in His day, but since it was not God’s will for Him to marry any of them, He curbed any desires for sexual intercourse and refused to violate another man’s wife, or potential wife.  Jesus enjoyed His brief life to the full, all the while His spiritual desire to love and honor God and people overcame any fleshly feelings to gratify Himself at someone else’s expense.  Neither your nor I can be Jesus; but, we can follow Him.

Christians, you’ve got flesh and you’ve got the Holy Spirit.  One is infinitely greater than the other.  And while it is not true to say that a Christian will never sin, I think it is safe to say that a Christian will never let sin get the best of him, nor live a lifestyle of debauchery in any form or fashion.  It is a matter of God’s glory and our own Christian witness.  It is a matter of life and death.

Death vs. Life

Do you want to be judged in the flesh the way people are, or live in the spirit the way God does?  These words in context refer to Christians who have gone on to be with the Lord were were judged by lost people on earth as being square, or uncool, or religious fanatics who are now spiritually and totally alive with God for eternity.  They believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, and they proved it by being willing to delay gratification for the glorious prize before them.  This prize is set before us all, all people, even people like Joe Namath and people like Jim Elliot.

Fortunately for Joe Namath, he is alive.  I do not mean to be his judge, just someone who has inspected some of the fruit in his life.  I do know he is still alive, and many like him, who still have the opportunity to repent and believe the gospel of Jesus Christ.  No amount of pleasure on earth is worth surrendering your soul to an eternal Hell.  I like Joe Namath and I hope he has come to believe the gospel, and I hope many others like him will, too.  Fortunately, as long as we live, there is time.  

Fortunately for Jim Elliot, he is dead.  I am not saying his death was fortunate, for it was a great tragedy.  He left behind a dear wife, a baby daughter, and a lifetime of mission service unfulfilled.  However, the killers among the Auca Indian tribe that murdered Elliot and four fellow missionaries did eventually come to Christ.  Their brave outreach, and the even more brave persistence of Elisabeth and the other wives, eventually established a church near the very spot where Jim Elliot died.

The real fortunate thing about Jim’s death was the moment he passed from this life into the actual and visible presence of God.  At that moment, Jim was truly glad he had trusted in the gospel of Jesus for salvation.  At that moment, it was worth it all to say no to illegal drugs and illicit sex.  At that moment, it was worth it all to have passed over worldly riches in exchange for meaningful Christian service.  At that moment, Jim was glad to be dead to this world and alive in Christ.  

That moment, the moment we see God fact to face, is coming for Joe Namath, too.  And for me and for you.  What will it be like?  It will be like Namath vs. Elliot, flesh vs. spirit, death vs. life, and Hell vs. Heaven.

HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT
1 Peter 3:18-22

Dr. Charles Franklin DeVane, Jr., Pastor
Lake Hamilton Baptist Church
Hot Springs, Arkansas

September 8, 2013

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.
-- 1 Peter 3:18-22, ESV


My golf game is improving but I keep losing golf balls.  Only now, I don’t loose them in the trees and in the water, but in the fairway.  I’m going to get my eyes checked this Wednesday.  It will be cheaper than buying boxes of golf balls.  I’m just tired of losing them when they are hidden in plain sight.

Reading the Bible is a little like playing golf.  It is not necessarily easy.  There is a lot to think about.  And if you are not careful, while reading a particular passage, you can walk right past some wonderful truths that are hidden in plain sight.

The Hidden Key of the Gospel

The gospel is fairly easy to see if you are a Christian, or even if you are not, providing you have heard enough gospel sermons or presentations.  God became a man, God’s Son, by incarnation.  God’s Son sacrificed His life for sinners, by crucifixion.  God’s Son and His followers have eternal life, by resurrection.  Incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, this is the gospel you can see.  And, you can see it very plainly in this text from the pen of Simon Peter.

“Christ suffered ... for sins ... being put to death ... but made alive.”  In the context of preparing Christians for witness and service, Simon Peter reminds us that the gospel is the basis of eternal life and responsible church membership.  

In the context of suffering for Christ, he reminds us that our Lord experienced the ultimate suffering.  In a context where some Christians were being imprisoned and executed for their faith, he reminds us that those who have believed the gospel, like the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, will live forever.  

But there is a hidden key in this gospel paragraph that is often overlooked in gospel preaching.  It is the doctrine of double imputation, explained here in the phrase “the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God.”  Jesus is perfectly righteous, right with God the Father, sinless and spotless.  Humans are unrighteous, alienated from God, sinful and rebellious.  But by grace through faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, a double transaction takes place.

The first is obvious.  Our “sins” and “unrighteousness” are nailed to the cross of Jesus Christ, placed on His back, paid for by His sacrificial death.  The second transaction is less talked about.  It is the imputation of Christ’s righteousness to our account.  This is essentially what it means to be justified by faith and this is an essential key to the gospel, one often hidden in plain sight.

You not only have to be forgiven to be saved (accept Christ’s sacrifice for your sins), you have to   be made perfect before a holy and perfect God.  The gospel gives you both.  The great transaction of the cross is a double blessing.  Christ’s blood cleanses you from all sin (past, present, and future) and Christ’s righteousness makes you acceptable to God (instant in justification, constant in sanctification, and complete in glorification).  What grace!  What a blessing!  What a privilege!  And one that can either be abused or appreciated.

The Hidden Preaching of Jesus

One of the ways you can appreciate the double imputation of the gospel of Jesus Christ is to share it with others as a witness.  Please don’t use the words, double imputation, but do put words to your testimony of salvation and impress upon others their need to be saved by grace through faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ.  

But witnessing is a hard row to hoe.  It always has been and it seems more difficult today in a culture far removed from God, respect for God’s church, and reverence for God’s word.  Well, no one today has it tougher than Noah in his day.

The second movement in this passage is a difficult text on which even the best biblical scholars are divided.  Some say that between Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday Jesus went to “prison” and preached to the people who were there, some of whom were living on earth in the days of Noah.  I have a great deal of respect for some of the people who put forth this position, but I respectfully disagree.  I cannot find a reason for Jesus to do such a thing.  Furthermore, I see ways the church has been sidetracked by such a position (the addendum to The Apostles’ Creed, the doctrine of Purgatory, etc.).  And finally, it does not seem to be the best rendering of the biblical passage.

Jesus preached “in the spirit ... in the days of Noah.”  This simply means that the Holy Spirit, God of very God just like God the Father and God the Son, was the power within Noah that enabled him to preach the gospel to the people of his day.  The fact that no one believed except for Noah’s own family is not the fault of Noah the preacher, but the people who listened and disobeyed the gospel.  God calls us to be faithful, not necessarily successful.

My point is that if the spirit of Jesus can enable a farmer and boat builder to witness to the most hardened people in history, He can enable and empower you to witness to your family and friends.  For when we tell or preach the gospel, it truly is Jesus in us and through us doing the preaching.  And perhaps, you and I are never more like Jesus that when we are preaching, teaching, and living His word in front of other people who need Him in their lives.  

The Hidden Meaning of Baptism

If by chance someone sees you living the gospel or hears you share the gospel, and they want to accept the gospel, and they ask you what to do, what are you going to tell them?  Tell them what the New Testament tells them.  Follow Jesus by repenting, believing, and being baptized.

Following Jesus is plain enough.  Repentance is often overlooked by plain by definition.  Believing is easy, probably too easy in our day and age.  But what about baptism, and how can Peter say it now saves you?  

Some say it literally does.  The doctrine of baptismal regeneration states that a person is saved when they are baptized, when water makes contact with the skin, that the great double imputation of the gospel occurs when a person is dipped, dunked, or drained with water.  This has been the doctrine of the Roman Catholic church for over a millennium, the Church of Christ for over a century, and various other groups of Christian churches.  While I can honestly see how this text and others (like Acts 2:38) seem to teach this, I also see how such an interpretation contradicts the great doctrines of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, not works (see Ephesians 2:8-10).  

Look closer at the text.  Simon Peter makes it plain that it is not the act of baptism itself that saves, not water against flesh, not the external “removal of dirt from the body.”  But rather it is the “appeal to God,” the desire for “a good conscience,” the need for forgiveness and eternal life, the calling on the name of the Lord in repentance and faith, that applies the salvation of the Lord to a human soul.  When a person is baptized in this spirit of confession, they are also confessing their intent to live the rest of their lives under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, being “subjected to Him” like all of creation should be.  

One does not need to be baptized to be saved.  But, a saved person needs to be baptized.  And, the next time you see a person baptized, look at all that is hidden in plain sight.  The perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ is deposited in their life.  Not only that, but Jesus Himself, through the person of the Holy Spirit, has come to live inside of them.  Now they are living, not only with Jesus, but in His kingdom, under His lordship, and the promised eternal life has truly just begun.

PREPARATION FOR PERSECUTION
1 Peter 3:8-17

Dr. Charles Franklin DeVane, Jr., Pastor
Lake Hamilton Baptist Church
Hot Springs, Arkansas

September 1, 2013

Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. For “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.”  Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness 'sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil.
-- 1 Peter 3:8-17, ESV


All of life, especially the Christian life, is about preparation.  Football teams prepare nine months for a three month season.  Dancers prepare nine months for a three hour recital.  Preachers prepare ten to twenty hours for a thirty minute sermon.  All Christians have all of this life to prepare for the very moment when we meet God, face to face.

There are many things we have to be prepared for in this life.  Among these things is persecution.  Persecution may be well defined by a phrase in the closing sentence in this text, “to suffer for doing good.”  Suffering for doing bad things is punishment.  Suffering for doing good, godly things is persecution.  Given that Christians will do good and godly things with their lives, we all must be prepared for persecution.

Simon Peter bravely faced the first wave of persecution against Christians from the Jews.  It dissipated as Judaism and Christianity separated into two very distinct religions.  As he writes his epistles, near the end of his life, he is facing the second wave of persecution against Christians, this time at the hands of Emperor Nero and the Roman Empire.  If the Jews threw a rock, the Romans fired a cannon.  

Why must Christians suffer for their faith?  How are we supposed to respond?  What will be the consequences of a proper or inadequate response?  What will be our reward for doing right?  These questions and more must be considered as we prepare for persecution.

Christians are Persecuted Because of Our Character

Peter does not run the gamut of Christian character in this text, but he leads with five virtues that characterize a close follower of Jesus Christ and responsible member of His church: “... unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.”  These traits are in keeping with the present context of the epistle, namely the meek and submissive character of a Christian.  They stress conformity over independence, surrendering happiness to hurt with others, caring for others, having compassion for others, and a mindset devoid of pride.  While all of these should be common for Christians, they truly have another thing in common.  To the outside world, they all appear as weakness.  

I’ve seen footage of lions attacking a herd of antelopes.  Which ones do the lions attack?  The ones who appear to be the weakest or slowest or out of step with the rest of the heard.  The devil and his associates who attack Christians do the same thing.  They tend to attack believers who are exhibiting true belief and Christian character, those who are meek and submissive, those who exemplify the virtues listed in this verse.  We know that meekness is the opposite of weakness, but the world does not.  So, if you are living out the gospel with Christ-like character, get prepared for persecution.

Counter Opposition by Doing the Opposite

George, the putz of the cast of Seinfeld, had only one really good show.  Since almost all of his decisions and actions landed him in rejection and humiliation, one day he decided to just do the opposite.  Whatever he felt like saying or doing, he decided to say or do the opposite.  This is actually very good advice for Christians having to respond to opposition or persecution.

What do automatically want to do when someone throws something evil or reviling at you?  When they say something mean to you or, heaven forbid, assault you in some way, what is the automatic human response?  We want to talk back, tell them off, or meet force with force.  What does God want us to do?  The opposite.

Now God Himself is not against self-defense when self-defense is absolutely necessary.  But the attacks in question in this context seem to be verbal, not physical (note the use of the words reviling, tongue, speaking).  The opposite of evil, reviling speech is blessing (literally eulogy, or “good words”).  

God did not say for us to say something good if we feel like it, for we won’t.  He did not say to say something good in order to make them stop, because they probably won’t.  He simply said, in this text (based on Psalm 34:12-16) to bless, say something good in return.  Otherwise, we become as dirty as the dirt being thrown at us.  And we can do this, for we are not afraid of them.

Persecutors Are Not to be Feared

Persecution is never pleasant, but as far as persecutors go, have no fear of them.  They are a twisted minority to be feared by their followers.  We don’t follow them so we don’t fear them.  They are unrighteous and unholy, which is why they attack people who are different from them.  Like racists who attack people of different races, misogynists who attack the fairer sex, or religious nuts who attack other religions, a persecutor hates what he cannot understand.  Unbelief does not understand belief.  Arrogance does not understand meekness.  People going to hell are jealous of people confident of the hope of Heaven.  They should not be feared, but pitied, prayed for, and witnessed to.  

In your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy.  In other words, if you properly fear God, you will never have to fear any man, not even a persecutor.  If you are possessed with a sincere faith and good conscience before the Lord, no amount of trouble can make you lose your hope in the Lord Jesus Christ.  Your witness for Christ, in word and in deed, will stand up against any persecution.  Persecution ultimately shines a spotlight on the gospel, making it better and brighter in the world in which we live.  At the end of the day, or the end of days, our gentleness and respect will cause those who have persecuted us to be decidedly put to shame.

Be Prepared for Persecution

Christians are not masochists.  We don’t enjoy pain and we shouldn’t go looking for suffering.  It is always better not to suffer.  But in a fallen world, suffering is part and parcel of the human condition and it comes even to we who are Christian.

As a matter of fact, it is God’s will.  All mankind and all Christian people, because of our own propensity to sin and sin’s ramifications, will suffer, either for doing good or doing evil.  But which is the better suffering?

Consider some companion texts like John 16:33, Acts 14:22, 2 Timothy 3:12, and others.  God is sovereign, and He has sovereignly appointed times of suffering, tribulation, and persecution for His children.  It serves to strengthen our character, gain us blessings and rewards, spread the gospel of Jesus Christ, and remind us that God is faithful and true.  

Tertullian, an early church father, wrote “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.”  It reminds us of a time when Christians were actually killed for the simple reason they had a simple faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  These killings, or martyrdoms, have been faced by some of our choice brothers and sisters for two thousand years.  Because of their faith, courage, and obedience, the church has grown and the gospel has gone forth all over the world.

You will not likely be killed for displaying Christian character or sharing the Christian gospel in your church, family, school, or place of work.  But you will be persecuted, by your own church members, family members, schoolmates, and coworkers, if you are unashamedly committed to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.  It is a good thing.  It is God’s will.  It is what brings other people to Christ.  It causes the church to grow.  

Keep your Christian faith and character intact.  Let it rise above any persecution that seeks to bring you down.  God will be pleased, people will notice, and you will be vindicated in the day and hour that matters the most.