First, let me share this morning that Katie's soccer team won yesterday. Point Loma was victorious over Vanguard University. They now advance to the round of 8 to play the #1 team in the nation today at 2:00pm. You can go to the website below to read about the game. Peter reminds us to always be ready. Ready to share the reason for our hope and faith. Ready to share about our faith and life and love of Christ. Unbelievers can see that Christians have something different; only “hope” gives us strength and joy in hardships and persecutions. Unbelievers will ask about it, and when the ask, believers must be ready to tell them. All Christians must be ready and able to give a reasonable defense of their faith. They need not be apologists or theologians, but every Christian ought to be able to clearly explain his or her own reasons for being a Christian.
Believers must not be obnoxious, but share their faith in a gentle and respectful way. To keep one’s conscience clear refers to one’s personal integrity before God alone, as he or she lives consistently with their knowledge of God. The Holy Spirit helps each believer know and understand God’s will, and sensitizes his or her conscience to God’s desires. All believers should keep clear consciences. To do that, believers can avoid willful disobedience. If we do disobey, we should stay in constant communication with God, repenting and asking forgiveness. Each time we deliberately ignore our conscience, we harden our heart. Over a period of time our capacity to tell right from wrong will diminish. As we walk with God, he will speak to us through our conscience, letting us know the difference between right and wrong.
Just by being Christians, these believers could find themselves facing persecution; they ought not supply their enemies with ammunition by also breaking laws or acting and speaking in an evil way. If the Christians’ lives were above reproach, unbelievers would end up ashamed when they speak evil against them. They would realize that they had done nothing more than slander someone’s good life.
Peter referred to the advice he had given servants, suggesting that if Christians were to suffer, it should never be for doing wrong. If they had to suffer at all, they should suffer only for doing good. Their example is Christ. He never sinned, yet he suffered, died. Christ’s suffering resulted in his death for sins. Although he seemed to have been defeated, he was raised to life in the Spirit. Christ’s death was once for all time. His sacrifice was sufficient. No one else will have to die for people’s sins; Christ will not have to die again.
At the end of the chapter, Peter entered into an exaltation of Christ and his victory over all opposition, whether attacks of Satan or the cruel treatment of the government. Peter himself had been an eyewitness. He saw Jesus’ ascension (Acts 1:9). Jesus had gone to heaven, a place beyond the clouds, beyond our human sight. There Jesus is seated in the place of honor next to God. Christ has royal power and dignity as a result of his resurrection (Matthew 22:44; Mark 12:36; Acts 2:34; Romans 8:34; Colossians 3:1; Hebrews 1:13). Thus, angels and authorities and powers are bowing before him. In this context, these words refer to all spiritual beings in the universe, both good and evil. Everything in earth and heaven is already subject to Christ. One day in the future, when he comes to judge, his power and authority will be made known to everyone.
SO WHAT? (what will I do with what I have read?)
ALWAYS be ready to share my faith. How does one get to the point where you can do that? It's not rocket science, but rather very simple. We talk with others about the things that matter most to us.
Why is it so easy to talk about our golf game, or our favorite teams, or a hobby or our kids, vacations, new purchases? Those things matter to us. They should matter to us. In the same way, our faith - or relationship with God and what He has done for us should matter so much - it should be so important to us, that He is always on the tip of our tongue. Always on our mind. Always thankful for His blessings and provision.
An important verse to memorize in this regard - Colossians 3:2 (ESV). "Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth."
What's my point? While we live in this world, we are citizens of a different world. Philippians 3:20-21 (ESV) says, "But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself." Folks, this world is not our final destination - heaven is. Live here. Work here. Raise your family here, but always be heavenly minded.
1 Peter 2:11 (MSG) tells us - "Friends, this world is not your home, so don't make yourselves cozy in it. Don't indulge your ego at the expense of your soul."
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