That's the verse I was struggling with last week, and why I wasn't in a place to preach this sermon last week. I'm going to briefly present a couple of answers to this problem, and one that I, one, and then I'll go to the one I would like to take. Obviously, I'm going to give favor to my view. I'm just going to quickly dispense with the other. But I just want you to know I struggled for a week and a half over which one. So it's not really fair of me, which is we only have so much time. If you want to know more about the other view, there'll be a lot of footnotes that you can ask me for. So when Peter asked this question, not being done, when Peter asked this question, he is assuming. that in some sense, there will be no one to harm us. In some sense, no one to harm us. If we are zealous, and literally the word is if we are zealots, zealots, for doing what is good. And we're thinking to ourselves right away, How can that be? We know that's not true. Well, we know it's true. Whatever it is, it's true. It's the Word of God. But it doesn't fit with experience, maybe, or even with what Peter himself has been saying in this book. Hasn't he made the opposite point all along? Sometimes those who do good will be spoken against and reviled and treated with evil intent, to use his language, maybe even beaten, Peter says, chapter 2. Hasn't he already said that in your handout, our calling, think about that, our calling is to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. And where did Jesus walk? In the path that led to suffering. In chapter 4, Peter's gonna say, don't be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes on you. As though some strange thing were happening to you. So how can Peter say here, and who is there to harm you if you're zealous for doing what is good, for what is good? Well, one possible solution is that Peter is thinking of ultimate harm, and maybe that's immediately crossed your mind. If we're zealous for doing what is good in the eyes of the Lord, then we're gonna experience His blessing and His favor on our lives. His ears are open to our cry, His eyes are upon the righteous, right? We saw that two weeks ago. And so, who is there in all this world who can ever do you any ultimate harm, any ultimate harm? Now that is certainly a mindset and a way of thinking we should all have. And just in case that's what Peter means, I just want us to appreciate that truth. Matthew chapter 10 says, do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Brothers and sisters, that might not sound comforting to you at first, but it ought to comfort. Fear him rather who can destroy both soul and body in hell and he will not because we put our trust in Christ. I think of Romans 8.31 that says, if God is for us, who in this whole universe can ever be against us? I want to encourage you, and I have been encouraged, even though I don't believe this is what Peter is saying here, it says it in other places in Scripture. We can be confident and secure. Are you confident and secure? And do you love being confident and secure? in the ultimate safety and well-being of your soul. What a wonderful thing. This should be in your handout a constant source of comfort and joy and courage for every single one of us here every single day of our lives. I think one of our big problems is we've got all these wonderful truths and wonderful realities of the gospel and we don't spend enough time actually Thinking about it. And knowing, what does it mean that I am absolutely secure and safe? My soul, nothing can touch my eternal well-being. And so, I think of John chapter 10, which says, my sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me. And I give them eternal life. Here's the words of Jesus. Brothers and sisters, listen to these words. I give them eternal life and they will never perish. and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father who has given them to me is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand." It's a wonderful thing to feel safe, isn't it? To feel secure. And this is what Jesus gives to us in these words. So if that's what Peter was meaning and saying, well, we've appreciated that. Now, in this context, I'm going to say some things. I can't tell you all the process of this. So, I feel like I'm doing you a disservice, like I need to treat you better. We just don't have time to do that. So, in the context, the Greek word here for harm, and other things about the context, It seems that the meaning here, I believe very clearly. I feel strong enough about it, I'm gonna preach it. That this is the sense of the passage. And we can go, yeah, I think you're already there. Great. So, who is there to persecute or mistreat you if you are a zealot for what is good? I believe that's the sense of what Peter is saying here. And again, if that's what Peter means, we're right back to square one. And we say, well, all sorts of people. That's what we're supposed to be expecting, right? To be a Christian means to suffer, right? And I'm gonna give you maybe just a mentality. To be a Christian means to suffer. So, if you're not suffering in some way, what does that mean? Something's wrong with you. We're not being a good Christian, right? If we're not suffering, What I think Peter is saying here in this verse is a big, huge, resounding, WRONG! WRONG! That is not a biblical way of thinking about suffering. Ever since the middle of chapter 2, let's let Peter explain himself. Ever since the middle of chapter 2, Peter has been urging us all, urging us constantly, constantly, to be doing the kind of good, good, that even Gentiles recognize to be good. We're supposed to be doing the good that they call good, and that they approve of, and that they praise. So in 1 Peter 2, 12, it says, keep your conduct among the Gentiles good. so that when they speak against you, and you know, we could say, some could say, so that when they, because they will, and they're almost sure to tomorrow, or it could be the idea of so that even when they speak against you, but when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds, which they recognize to be good, and glorify God on the day of visitation. Here's what I want us to think. As Christians, we need to have wisdom. Here's the way we think. When it comes to being yoked together with unbelievers, and this is where the church gets messed up, on both sides. When it comes to being yoked together with unbelievers, Paul says that we have how much common ground with unbelievers? How much? Zero. Zero. Zero, zero, zero common ground. None with unbelievers. when it comes to being yoked together. So Paul says in 2 Corinthians 6, do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers, for what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? And this has often been quoted just as a proof text, like I shouldn't go into a business partnership with unbelievers, or I shouldn't marry an unbeliever. But this is, Paul is seeking to teach us wisdom that we recognize that between us and the world, the light and the darkness, there is, in a sense, nothing in common. This should impact how we approach any kind of relationships with the world, friendships with the world. This should teach us wisdom. But, but, when it comes to letting our light shine, before unbelievers. Peter says that we do share common ground. See, can you see why the church gets messed up? Because they hear the Bible telling us, no common ground. Then they hear the Bible telling us, common ground. And it's a different kind of common ground in a sense, but we're off over here or off over here, and we don't accept both realities. So, When it comes to letting our light shine before believers, Peter says we do share a common ground in this knowledge, even in this approval. Even in the approval. Not just knowing what's good, but the world even approves of what's good. Again, there's times when you read the news or you watch the newscast and you hear them approving what's good. That's common ground. It's only because we have this common ground with unbelievers that Peter can say some of the things he says, like this in chapter 2 verses 13 to 15. Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme or to governors as sent by him. And what do these pagan, Gentile, unbelieving governors do? They punish those who do evil and they praise those who do good. at least in general, this is the general work of government, for this is the will of God, that by doing good, since the government praises those who do good, therefore when we do good, we'll put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. So what Peter's talking about here is the power of good to overcome evil. Overcome in your handout. Or we could say conquer evil. And that's where I like to bring back in that word zealot. In Peter's day, he knew good and well what zealots were. I mean, they were a political militant class among the people who were working for the overthrow of the Roman government. I mean, everyone hated the Roman government. Everyone hated it. But the zealots were the people that said, I'm gonna go out and overthrow it if I can through use of force. And so Peter uses this word zealots and saying that we are to be zealots Not for working over the human government, the Roman government, but zealots for doing the things that are good in this world that even the world knows is good. And this is that power of good to even overcome evil. So, when Christian slaves, you might be hearing a bit of a, I'm going to say at the end, would you class yourself as a pessimist or an optimist? And when it comes to these things, you're hearing me talk about good overcoming evil, and all of us here are like pessimists. Really? And that's a problem. We ought to also be biblical pessimists. I think there's biblical pessimists and biblical optimists, and there again, we have to work to put these things together. So, when Christian slaves submit to their masters, and Christian wives submit to their husbands, They're doing what, at least in Peter's day, was good, not only in God's eyes, but in the eyes of their culture. And so they're giving their unbelieving masters and husbands, here's the key, no legitimate reason to persecute or mistreat them. I'm doing all the good that you already say is good, so you have no legitimate reason to treat me badly. And therefore, when someone has no legitimate reason to treat you badly, it's far less likely that you will be treated badly. That's just a law. It's just a rule. It's just the way it works. So one commentator says, zealousness for the good robs opponents of any real reason for mean treatment of the readers. as in the case of Jesus, who constantly went about dispensing good. So when they wanted to put him to death, what did they have to do? They had to come up with lies and falsehoods. Some other reason had to be trumped up. And then in Peter's book, even when these reasons are trumped up, even when we're slandered, even when we have these false accusations, our constant zealotry Our constant zeal for what is good, our refusal even to return evil for evil, even when we're treated with evil, we still do good. And by the way, the world knows that returning good for evil is good. And if the world sees ever a non-believer doing something like that, they'll praise it. They'll stand in amazement at it because they know it's good. Our prayer then is that by continuing to do good, even when we're treated wrongly, this might put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. It might even result in their salvation, Peter says in chapter three. Are you seeing how very, very, very concerned Peter is that you and I be careful to be doing what's good in whose sight? The Gentiles. I don't know. I think there is a part of the church, and if we ever fell on a side, or if I ever fell on a side, I confess that it might be this side, where we're not really that concerned about what the Gentiles think. Because you know who the Gentiles are? They're the ones that we expect suffering from. And maybe we don't think that out loud, But under the surface, there's ways we begin to think. So on the flip side, if Peter's concerned, we always do good in the sight of the Gentiles, and go the extra mile. Like, what do the Gentiles think is good? Oh, I'm going to make sure. Are they watching? I want to make sure. I want to do good. On the flip side, Peter's equally concerned that we never ever endure any mistreatment for doing what is evil, or what the Gentiles would call evil. Peter's big about this. 1 Peter 2, what credit is it if when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? Answer, none. 1 Peter 3, verse 17, it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil. Don't do that. 1 Peter 4, 15, let none of you ever suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. And so now I think we have the key to reading our verse this morning. We can go to the next slide just so we have only our verse. Here's the question Peter asks. Who is the one to persecute or mistreat you if you are zealous for what's good? I do not think we're meant to read that as an encouragement or as a comfort. I believe we're meant to read it as a call to examine ourselves. I was talking with the Acries over to our house last night and we were talking with them about the protesters, the people that go out with signs about God hates these people and God hates those people and the kind of signs that they put up. And that's an example in an extreme case of someone who needs to examine themselves. Because if they're ever persecuted, they are the ones who gave the enemy cause to do it. And this is what Peter says cannot happen in the church. Now that's extreme, but what are the ways, we're gonna come to it later, some examples from myself, where what are the ways that we give the world reason to mistreat us? If I'm ever being mistreated or persecuted by the world, and if you ever find yourself mistreated or persecuted by the world, the first thing you do is say, oh, I'm a martyr. I'm suffering for Christ's sake. What's the first thing we do? Have I provided any reason whatsoever for this mistreatment by doing any evil myself or in any way misrepresenting the cause of Christ? That's the first response. I need to make sure that I haven't even responded to evil. When they treated me evilly first, I didn't respond back. If the world, let's put it this way, this is logical, if the world is never ever going to mistreat you for doing what even the world calls good, the world is that consistent. They won't, they're not going to come after you for doing what they call good. And if I then am constantly a zealot for doing that good, then the only, this is important, we're gonna come back to this later, the only real path that they have to persecution will be trumped up charges, slanders, and lies. Now, you might say, well, all they have to do is say, you're a Christian, I hate Christians, and so I'll persecute you. But no, they're gonna make your Christianity out to be something it's not. Because our Christianity, our lifestyle, our way of living is good. We do not hate. We do not hate in that way that so many Christians have given the world reason to think. Think, for example, of the prophets in the Old Testament. It was always false accusations. Jesus himself in the Gospels, false accusations. Stephen and Paul in the Book of Acts, false accusations. In light of all that, let me ask you the question and you answer it in your own mind. Who is there to harm us if we're zealots for doing what is good? Answer. Only the one who lies. Only the one who slanders. Only the one who accuses us falsely. Only the one who has absolutely, how much legitimate reason to do so? Zero. Zero legitimate reason. And what that means practically is that in this world that is still restrained by God's common grace, where they still recognize what is good and even praise what is good at times and even regularly, persecution and mistreatment should not be, as a general rule, our regular or our constant expectation. Now, who is there to persecute and mistreat you if you're zealous for what is good? Let me ask you, and I ask myself, are we really zealots for doing what is good even in the eyes of the world? Does that matter to us? Or have we written the world off and said, well, that doesn't even matter at all. I only do what's good in the eyes of God. Well, it's true. The two things will always go together, but it is different in our approach and mentality. We're going to read a verse later where Paul says, I aim for what is good, not only in the sight of God, but also in the sight of men. Have we written the world off so we don't care about that? Are we constantly in every way adorning the doctrines of the gospel with a life that's blameless? Are we always giving a good name to Christianity? Let's look at what Peter goes on to say in verse 14. But even if you should suffer for righteousness sake, you are blessed. Again, a lot we could talk about here that went into this. We don't have time for it now, but I do want to say this, in grammar, Don't turn me off when you hear grammar, because I only bring this up because I think it's helpful. Verbs have different moods. And the moods in the Greek are in the form of the word. You know if it's in the mood, because the word has a form. So in Greek, we have the indicative mood, where the verb is in the mood of just saying how things are. So I'm going to the store. That verb was in the mood of just saying how it is. Then you have the imperative mood, where the verb is in a very different kind of mood. He just feels like saying, you go to the store right now. Then there's a subjunctive mood, where the verb now just feels like deciding something or encouraging others to do something. So let us go to the store. And then there's the really, really rare, rare optative mood. And you might guess that that's the mood we have here. Where the verb is feeling very unsure and very uncertain. So, I might possibly go to the store, let me think about it. It's that last mood that Peter uses twice in this passage. So we could translate here, go to the slides. But even if you should possibly suffer for righteousness sake. You are blessed. And then if we skip ahead to verse 17, it's the same optative mood again. It is better to suffer for doing good if that should possibly or in your handout potentially be God's will than for doing evil. So what in the world is Peter's point with this optative mood? Well, in the first place, I hope you're wrestling with this because I think it's the wrestling match we need to be having. The Bible never encourages you. So we shouldn't all go out of here thinking, oh good, I don't have to think about suffering. That is not Peter's point. The Bible never encourages us to think of suffering as only an unlikely, probably not never, remote possibility. We know that because, and we need to remember that, especially us living in America. Jesus said to his disciples in John 15, let's bring this in. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own, but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. And you might say, well, my neighbor doesn't hate me. When he talks about the world, he's talking about the world system, which ultimately even our neighbors are caught up in that world system, but then we have to balance that with the common ground of approving what's good. So that if I say, well, my neighbor is supposed to hate me, so why should I be concerned about doing good so my neighbor approves and praises me? See, this is the tension that we live in. Common ground, no common ground. Remember the word that I spoke to you, a servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. Paul says in 2 Timothy, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. What is he saying? It's just a principle. If you live a holy and godly life in a world that's not holy and ungodly, you are bound in your handout at times. to experience opposition and persecution of some kind or another. That's a mentality we should have. What partnership has righteousness with lawlessness, Paul asks. And so Peter says in chapter 4, verse 12, Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. So the Bible never encourages us, suffering is remote, it'll never happen, probably not. But neither does the Bible encourage us, and here's the other side, it never encourages us to always expect that persecution is just around the corner. That's not what it says either. Or that somehow suffering should be our normal, everyday experience as Christians. This is because of God's common grace, the common ground between the Christian and the unbeliever. So who is there to persecute us if we're zealous for what is good? Only those who lie in slander and falsely accuse. And so now with Peter's optative, He's emphasizing the same thing again in the very next verse, that we should, in your handout, and this is important because it brings us, it sends us down a wrong path. We should never see suffering as something inevitable like that, or resign ourselves to persecution as somehow the Christian's way of life. Do you know what that way of thinking ultimately does to us? It robs us of zeal for doing good in the eyes of the world. Instead, Peter says, we should be living in such a way as to make persecution and mistreatment the least likely of a reality as it can possibly be. Now that might sound like heresy, but that does not mean that we compromise with the world. That's not what we're saying. It doesn't mean we hide our Christian witness. It doesn't mean we minimize and try to smooth out any of the offensive edges of the gospel. Not at all. But it does mean what Paul says in Romans chapter 12. Repaying no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is good in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. And so again, we're not to give any legitimate reason for the world to persecute us, because we carry about with us, think about this, we carry with us everywhere we go the name of Christ. So, for example, when a collection was taken up from the churches in Macedonia and Achaia, and Paul's going to bring this collection of money to the church in Jerusalem, he said, I'm not going by myself or even with just this brother. We're going to have at least three godly brothers of good repute accompanying this money to Jerusalem. And he explains why in Chapter 8 of 2 Corinthians. We take this course because Paul trusted himself in that sense. He knew he wasn't going to rob the churches. But he said, we go this extra mile so that no one should blame us about this generous gift that's being administered by us. For we aim at what is good, not only in the Lord's sight, but also in the sight of man. In the context, we were talking about Gentile unbelievers as well. Paul cared what the Gentiles thought. Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 4, Aspire to live quietly and to mind your own affairs and to work with your hands as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders. Was Paul conscious of what outsiders thought? He sure was. So are we conscientious and purposeful? In your handout, there is a sense in which it does matter what the world thinks. There is a sense in which we should be concerned about the opinions of others, even the opinions of the world. There is a sense. This is what it looks like for us to live wisely in this world. 1 Timothy chapter 2, just an interesting passage that goes along with this. Let's touch on it briefly. It says, first of all, then I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions. And what do they do? They're supposed to reward what is good, praise what is good, and punish those who do evil. So those are the people we're praying for, so that we who do good may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. Did you notice, what's the goal of praying for our leaders? Peaceful and quiet lives. Peaceful and quiet lives means that you're probably not being persecuted or in constant conflict and opposition and turmoil with the world around you in that sense, in the culture that you're living in. But that's not the ultimate goal. We don't pray so that just I can live a life of ease. The end goal of peaceful and quiet lives is what? that we are godly and dignified in every way. Now we can be godly and dignified in suffering, but the words Paul uses imply that these peaceful and quiet lives are the ideal situation for us to shine our lights as brightly as possible. I like what one commentator says, he says, what we're really praying for is an ideal set of social circumstances, peaceful and quiet life, in which, what's the point? Not we can be happy and have our comfy, cozy life, but a life in which we can give unfettered expression to our faith. in observable Christian living. I think of our brothers and sisters in a place like North Korea. And I think they, in some senses, if they're going to be wise, have to be hiding. They can't give unfettered expression to their Christian faith in observable Christian living. What a blessing we have that we can. So what is the benefit of this life we have here in America thus far? It should be Christian witness and light that shines out all the brighter. But how often? Is our peaceful and quiet life only an excuse for complacency and apathy rather than being zealots for what is good? I think of the old saying there that the seed of the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church. And so we're all like, well, I guess if the church is gonna grow, we better have some blood, right? Well, the Bible also teaches us to pray for a government that will punish evil and praise good. So that as a people who are zealots for doing what's good, we'll live peaceful and quiet lives. I'm gonna ask you, are you using these days, am I using these days as the ideal chance to give unfettered expression to your Christian faith? in observable Christian living. I think of Daniel who prayed three times a day with his window open. In a letter where one of the main themes is persecution and suffering, here we come to really the conclusion of this section and then we'll just have a little bit after. Look how Peter is careful to guard us against any kind of martyr complex. I don't know, do you have a martyr complex? Sometimes we can have different levels of martyr complex and it reveals itself in subtle ways. What's a martyr complex? Well, first of all, it's a kind of thinking that minimizes any common ground between me and my unbelieving neighbor or between me and the Gentiles. It's a kind of thinking that emphasizes almost exclusively, this is the thinking that really majors on the fact that there is no partnership or fellowship between light and darkness. That's where this martyr complex spends its time, all of its time. This martyr complex is pessimism versus a biblical kind of optimism in big huge quotation marks. And so in this way of thinking, do you know what happens? The world becomes only something to be endured, rather than something to be won. The world becomes, in this modern complex, Only something to be resisted. And again, I know I'm using, there is the world that's the world system, and when that world is used in that sense of the word, it's only bad. But the Gentiles are part of that world system. And so there is this tension. It becomes something only to be resisted, rather than something to be conquered with good and for good. And I use the word conquered in light of that word zealots. The world becomes, look at this, this is the real martyr complex. The world becomes only the means to my refinement. That's the martyr look, right? The world out there is just the means to me being refined and purified and fit for heaven. rather than something standing desperately in need of our kindness and compassion and our example of good and ultimately the message of the gospel. When the martyr complex starts seeping in, we'll no longer be as motivated, and that's why Paul was warning the readers against this, Peter. We'll no longer be as motivated to always be zealots for what's good in the sight of all people. even in the sight of the Gentiles and unbelievers. Because we begin to think subconsciously to ourselves, to be a Christian means to suffer, right? If I'm not being persecuted in some way, then something must be wrong, right? So how much does it really matter how hard I work to give a good name to Christianity in the eyes of the world? There's a big difference in your handout. between expecting suffering as something always inevitable and being ready for suffering. Ready, yes, and never surprised, never ever surprised at suffering as something that is always possible. And even when we're suffering, how do we respond? With good. in the real hope and prayer. We don't just respond with good because that makes me more holy. We respond with good in the real hope and prayer of overcoming that evil with good. The good that even our persecutors know is good. An excellent principle to remember here, and I think this is so powerful. If I would in any way feel like a hypocrite, witnessing to a person after how I've spoken to them or treated them, then I've done what is evil. And almost certainly what is evil even in the eyes of the world, rather than what is good. Now, you might think, what? You mean I'm just supposed to lay down and let the world just run roughshod over me? We could think of examples of how we ought to respond in various situations, but I believe with all my heart that if you cannot witness in good and clear conscience, witness to the gospel after how you have treated or spoken to a person, we have been guilty of evil. So, I don't know. Part of me is like, I don't want to give these examples because I look really bad. And then I don't want to give the examples because if I did the right thing, then I think, well, I did pretty good. So it's bad either way. So I just want to give these because let's just focus on the looking really bad. And I was sharing this with a brother the other day. We were looking out our window one morning, and someone was walking their dogs by. And they came up into our front yard. I felt like near to our front door. And the dogs were out there doing their thing in our front yard. And I thought, well, they should have gone to the other side of the sidewalk, the street side. Why are they doing this? And I didn't wait to see if they were going to pick it up, because I thought, well, even if they pick it up, they should have gone the other side. And so I just stepped out on the porch, I didn't say anything mean, but I knew I was irritated. And right away, this individual pulled the bag out and was going to have picked everything up. So what I'm saying, at that point, I just said, oh, good morning, and walked back in. And you think, well, you didn't do anything wrong, but the reality is, if you'd been there, you would've known. I stepped out on the porch because why? She knew why. And I knew why, and I didn't say anything mean. And so I came back in, and I realized, I told my kids right away, don't do what I did. I was just wrong. The biggest thing I realized is that if I were to ever be in a situation where I could bring the name of Christ to that person, I would be ashamed to do so. Now, could I have said something? If it had happened, could I have done something in a nice way and said, hey, you know, wanted to meet her, said something, done something in a good way and then communicated that I would prefer that not happen in a way that's Christian, in a way that would still give me opportunity to be a witness to Christ afterwards? I believe I could. But there's the key. For me it was, I know I'm not in a place to do that. I wasn't as zealot for what was good. That matters. So after that, I kept watching for her to go by. I didn't want to go chasing her because that would be weird. So I kept watching. Hopefully, we'll catch her. And as time goes by, you're like, oh, it's a lot of time. And now it would really be weird because she doesn't remember. And I hope she's forgotten. And it's all right. We'll just go on with life. Well, one day, not too long ago, it was several months after, I got into the van and I saw her. And I knew. There she was again with her dogs. And I was backing out and she looked over and she saw me. I thought, oh boy, she saw me. She knows, I knew it right there. And so I drove out and the Lord just gave some courage and she remembered and she forgave me. Because even the world knows what's good. And maybe she's a Christian, I don't know. But she knew what's good, she knew what's good to forgive. And so I praise God for giving that opportunity. I think he just lined that up in perfect timing. And now I need to watch for an opportunity to witness the love of Christ. Now I know I could with a clear conscience. But there is the difference. I would challenge you, maybe on the phone. You know, when we're on the phone with a Gentile in customer service or someone at a store in that town, I got frustrated once. And I didn't curse or swear, I'm sure it wasn't anything too bad, but I knew that I didn't have a clear conscience afterwards. Call the person up, tell them you're sorry. That's what it means to be a zealot for what is good, even after I was such a failure at being a zealot for what is good. If you can't witness afterwards, you've done what is evil. So Peter says, now who is there to persecute and mistreat you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if, if potentially, don't be a martyr, even if you should suffer for righteousness sake, you are blessed. Now I love this because after all this about doing good so that who is there to treat you and even if and potentially, Now Peter says, yeah, okay, when you are persecuted, if this happens, what does it mean? Let me ask you, what does it mean when you've done everything you possibly can, everything you possibly can, and you still are, to pursue what is good, when we've even been zealots for what is good, and we still are zealots for what is good, and even after all that, you're still persecuted? still mistreated, still slandered and reviled. Should we be discouraged then? Should we be disillusioned? Should we feel like failures? Because Peter's point, you know what his point here is? And this is so beautiful. His point is that exactly the opposite is true. How does that work? Because now we know that we really, really, really are being persecuted, any guesses? Only, only for righteousness sake. And how much of our suffering are we suffering partly for righteousness sake and partly for our own failure to do good? Brothers and sisters, let me ask you what Peter asks us. Who is there to persecute and mistreat you if you're zealous for what is good? Answer, only the one who lies, slanders, and accuses falsely. Only the one who has absolutely zero legitimate reason to do so. And therein lies your joy. There's our joy. joy in a conscience that we know to be wholly pure and clean before God. Someone said once, a pure conscience is paradise. suffering that truly is only for righteousness sake, persecution that can only be based in slander and false accusations. Do you know what that is? It's not just something to be endured and not just something we know that God said, well, it's good at the end of it. That in itself is a powerful, powerful confirmation of a clear conscience before God because why are they persecuting me? I've examined my heart and I hear what they're saying and it's all false, all false. And in that falsity, My conscience is established. I have joy. It testifies loudly and clearly to a life that truly is blameless and above all, reproach. And that's the life we know that our Lord has promised He will bless. So when Peter wrote this part of his letter, he certainly had in mind the words of Jesus in Matthew 5. Blessed are those who are persecuted. That's not the martyr complex. But nevertheless, if it should be that we are actually and truly persecuted only for righteousness sake, wow, then we are blessed, for we know that ours is the kingdom of heaven. We see the evidence in that of a clear conscience before God. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you, key word, falsely. 100%, all of it's false. All of it is false. on my account, because you've been zealots for doing what's good, well in that case rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven. For so they persecuted and falsely accused the prophets who were before you." Not to just unnecessarily prolong the message, I would just like to end with the text itself. Brothers and sisters, answer this question and I'll try to answer it with you. Who is there to persecute and mistreat you? If you are zealots for what is good, but even if you should suffer for righteousness sake, if that should be God's will, you are blessed. Dear Heavenly Father, please teach us wisdom. Show us the ways and show me the ways that I don't live in this tension that I emphasize the common ground or I emphasize that there's no common ground. And help us, Lord, to engage rightly with the world around us without compromise. Help us to understand that the gospel is an offense and it will always be to the unregenerate man. Help us not to blur the lines that should not and must not be blurred. And yet at the same time, help us Lord not to have this martyr complex. Help us not simply to be the biblical pessimists, but in a manner of speaking, biblical optimists. Help us to be zealots for doing what is good, taking thought for what is good in the sight of all men. And then even if we should suffer only and purely for righteousness sake, May we know in that the joy of that clean and pure conscience. And even then, Lord, may we continuously strive for the good that returns blessing for evil. Thank You, Lord, for showing us the way, for giving us the wisdom of Your Word and the sure foundation of its truths. Help us as we go out into the world this week to live wisely, righteously, being zealots for good, for your honor and glory. In Jesus' name, amen.