Please take your Bibles and look with me at some wonderful words of life and deed. First Peter, chapter three. First Peter, chapter three. We'll be looking at the latter part of that chapter this morning. The title of this morning's message is Honor Christ the Lord as Holy. honor Christ the Lord as holy. So as we listen to God's word spoken and preached, as we read it here together, actually as I read it and you listen, maybe read along silently, I want you to be looking for this phrase and thinking about its meaning. 1 Peter 3, I'll begin reading at the 8th verse. 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. Verse 13. Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you 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. 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 formally 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. Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, as we meditate upon your word this morning, cause our hearts to be receptive to what you are saying to us. Let us hear. Let us understand. And let us obey. We ask for these blessings in Jesus name. Amen. Verse 13. Now, who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? These verses identify a great irony in humanity, namely that it's possible for one person to want to harm another person for doing that which is good. Now how in the world is that possible? I think we find the answer in the fall. The fall has left us in quite a state There are those of us who assert that particular acts are good. And there's another contingent that says that those very same acts are evil. The basic difference between these two groups is worldview, how they view the world. And there are only two options. One can either view the world from a human perspective, or from the perspective of God. This morning, I want to encourage you to adopt a biblical worldview, to view the world from the perspective of its creator. Nevertheless, I warn you that adopting such a view is not without its peril. you may have to suffer for adopting a biblical worldview. Verse 14, but even if you should suffer for righteousness sake, you will be blessed. Again, irony of ironies. Doing the right thing leads to suffering, which in turn leads to blessing. Now, let's explore the context of these verses in order to determine the blessing that Peter is talking about here. Verse 12 is basically a paraphrase of Psalm 34, verses 15 through 16, which says, So we see part of the blessing mentioned here is the fact that God hears our prayers. And that's one of those wow scriptures for me. The sovereign, almighty, creator of the universe, ruling over all of creation, allows me and you the privilege of coming before his throne to petition him. Have you ever stopped to think of how awesome and how wonderful that is? In Sunday school this morning, we talked about Isaiah. And he had the privilege of going before God's throne. Remember what he said? Woe is me, I am undone. It's an awesome thing to behold God as he is. What petitions may we bring to our God? Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we have also forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. First, a word on the way that we address the God of the universe. Jesus says that we are to call him our heavenly father. He's not a king that is bothered by our coming to him. He is not disinterested in our trivial matters. He cares. Do you remember the policy that King Ahasuerus, that was Esther's husband, he made Esther queen. Do you remember the policy that he had This is what Esther says. All the king's servants and the people of the king's provinces know that if any man or woman goes to the king inside the inner court without being called, there is but one law to be put to death. Esther was afraid to approach her own earthly husband. And yet you and I have the privilege of going before the almighty God of the universe. I hope that that privilege and that this truth about that privilege encourages you to go more often. The writer of the Hebrew says, let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in the time of need. So, as it regards the petitions, first, we are encouraged to pray for the extension of God's rule and authority, that is, that what is going on in heaven is mirrored down here on earth, that the revealed will of God is manifest within humanity, that all of humanity would honor God. Stated another way, that all peoples on the earth would adopt a biblical worldview. You see the benefit of these petitions? If God were to answer that prayer, when God answers that prayer, the struggle between worldviews will be over. Suffering for righteousness' sake will be over. Finally, heaven will be on earth. And while we wait for this ultimate of petitions, better yet, this ultimate of promises to be fulfilled, where the worldwide glorification of God results in our greatest happiness, our greatest joy, we can also petition God for those things that we need to sustain us day by day, that is our daily bread. But Christian, don't limit these things to the physical. Does God care about our physical needs? Certainly, He does. However, God cares even more about our spiritual needs. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? God is always more concerned with the heart Listen to what God said to the children of Israel. The whole commandment that I command you today, you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply and go in and possess the land that the Lord swore to give to your fathers. And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these 40 years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart. Whether you would keep his commandments or not, and He humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make known to you that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord." And so you see the repeated trials of no food and no water throughout their wilderness wanderings. And the subsequent provision of God was for the purpose of teaching the Israelites this truth, namely, that is ultimately the word of God and obedience to it, that is the Christian's life. And herein lies the rope. Because if you remember, the Israelites were willing to do the unthinkable at times in order not to be obedient to God's word. The most stark example that I picked out was this one. God said, send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving the people of Israel. That's Numbers 13 and 2. And remember the context of this. God has fought for Israel, delivering them from slavery in Egypt. Deliverance was granted through the 10 plagues. And then freedom was granted through the Red Sea and the drowning of the army there. And life was granted by the provision of the bread from heaven and water from the rock. And even a military victory was granted as Moses was holding high that staff on top of the mountain as Joshua led the army down below. Yet, after all this, when the people were instructed, go into the land, take it, I'm giving it to you. What did they do? They refused. And they said, would that we had died in the land of Egypt, or would that we had died in the wilderness. Why is the Lord bringing us into this land to fall by the sword? He just gave them a military victory. They saw the Egyptians drown in the Red Sea with all of their horses and chariots. And yet they struggled still to believe. Not only did they want to die, they said, would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt? And then they said to one another, let us choose a leader. and go back to Egypt. They wanted to go back to slavery. Are you ever tempted to go back to slavery? God has set us free. We are free in Christ. When the trials and the sufferings and the hot fires come, are you willing to stand And there you have it, in the starkest possible terms, the choice each of us must make. We must choose either to believe in God, that is to trust in God and in his word, or we can go about life trusting in ourself, trusting the wisdom of man. In other words, we can fear God or we can fear man, but we can't do both. The latter part of verse 14 and following makes this explicit. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled. But in your hearts, honor Christ the Lord as holy. We're not to honor man as holy. We're not to put him on a pedestal. We're not to follow his wisdom. We're to follow the wisdom laid out by God. God would have us not to fear hunger or thirst or even death at the hand of our enemies as we strive to take the promised land. Conventional wisdom says, fulfill your desire for this or that, you fill in the blank with whatever tempts you. Fulfill your desire for it with what the world has to offer. But listen to God's wisdom. Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden. and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." God goes on to say, "'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. God has been asking the same question of humanity since the very beginning. Adam and Eve, do you trust me? Abraham, will you trust me? Joseph, will you trust me? Christ reformed church. Will you trust me? Because to trust God is to honor him. To believe that one has the power to fulfill his word is to demonstrate faith in the one who has spoken those words. Remember what Moses said under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit about Abraham. And he, that is Abraham, and he believed the Lord and he counted it to him as righteousness. we don't believe, not all the time. Like the Israelites, we are prone to the fear of man and to unbelief. And thus, we're instructed to pray that God would both forgive us of our unbelief and to enable us to believe. Forgive us our debts. Lead us not into temptation. Beloved, this is the secret to the Christian life. Are you ready? Here it is. This is how it's designed to work. We read God's word and seek to understand each passage within its original context. We ask ourselves, what did the original author intend to communicate to his original audience? And once we understand that truth, we take it as it is, namely the word of God. Then we live our lives in accordance with it. It's the truth. without doubting. And when we do doubt, we pray, Lord, I believe, help my unbelief. In other words, you can't do this alone, Christian. The gospel is not a self-improvement program. The gospel calls for reliance upon God through the power of the Spirit by means of his word to change what we want. to give us a new heart and a new mind. So we read, we understand, we plead to believe, repeat. We read, we understand, we plead to believe, repeat. Christian, God's word is your life. Do you treat it as such? Do you treasure it up in your heart? Do you meditate over it throughout the day? Listen to the prayer that Jesus prayed while he was still on earth. Sanctify them in the truth, your word. is truth. Christian, we must avail ourselves of the God-ordained means of our sanctification. Read. Understand. Plead. Repeat. So we've looked at one side of the blessing from Peter's paraphrase of Psalm 34. Now let's look at the other side. To recap, the eyes of the Lord are on those or toward the righteous, and his ears hear their cry. That is, God hears our prayers. Now verse 16. The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from earth. I love to watch the YouTubes. And one of my favorite things to watch are apologists, especially those that go to the college campuses and stand in the public forums and are asked questions by these college students. And just about every time you pull one up, Todd Friel is one of the ones I love, just about every time you pull it up, one of the questions someone asks is, how do you square the God of the Old Testament, who is hell and brimstone calling for the death of men and women and children alike, how do you square that God with the God of the New Testament, who is meek and mild and murdered by mankind? And one of the best answers I've heard thus far is, have you ever read Revelation? Anybody read that? We heard about it in Sunday school this morning. Whoa, whoa, whoa to you. God's wrath is coming. Judgment day is coming. The face of the Lord is against those who do evil to cut off the memory of them from the earth. In other words, God will eventually punish all sin, every single sin. This morning in Sunday school, we heard that every idle word that comes out of our mouth is written down somewhere. And someone is going to give an account for it. Every idle word. I don't even know how many words I've spoken. And God has them all recorded. This is what Paul says, Do you presume on the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? The reason why there's a delay is He's giving you time to repent. But because of your hard and impenitent heart, you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day when the wrath of God's righteous judgment will be revealed. God is just, He is holy, and His wrath is just and will demonstrate His holiness. he will render to each one according to his works. To those who by patience and well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. Make no mistake this morning. The God of the Old Testament is the God of the New Testament. And the day of His wrath is rapidly approaching. So it's the choice that we have to make becoming more clear. Choose life or death. There is no other option. The latter part of verse 15 continues 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. Do you see the conundrum these verses reveal? World views clash. that which the Bible defines as good, that is, that which God defines as good, is spoken evil of. And when we live lives characteristic of what God defines as good, people start asking questions. Why do you behave like that? Or even worse, they might start to take offense. Are you judging me? Do you think you're better than me? into persecution. When the questions come, what will you say? Will you profess faith in the sovereign almighty creator of the universe and in his truth, or will you capitulate to the doctrine of mortal men? Will you stand up for the truth, or will you virtue signal like the rest of the world? Peter here admonishes the believer to trust in God, to do whatever faith in God requires, which will in turn lead to having a good conscience, knowing that ultimately, those who trust in God will be vindicated. On the judgment day, when we're standing with Christ, we're not gonna feel bad about what happened. So I lose the argument. They make me look stupid. I'm standing with Christ, I probably won't remember that. No, that's not gonna probably do it. I won't remember that. I will be vindicated, I won't be put to shame. They, on the other hand, will be proved wrong. They'll be standing on the wrong side. Do you see the freedom in the judgment of God for the Christian? The freedom and the judgment of God for the Christian is this. I don't have to seek vengeance. I don't have to get even. I don't have to hold a grudge because God's got it. The Christian is enabled to let things go, even terrible things, because ultimately God will punish all wrongdoings. Now, he will either punish the sinner forever in hell or as a fellow believer who has offended you or wronged you, he's already punished Christ on the cross. You ever think about it that way? So, for another Christian, you can't hold a grudge against another Christian because Christ has paid for that sin. And don't try to punish the unbeliever because God can punish a whole lot better and more thorough than you can. Do you see how freeing this is? Leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. To the contrary, if your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he's thirsty, give him something to drink. for by doing so you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. A little word on the heaping burning coals of fire. Now, if you think about Job, when Job was finally confronted by God, he said, I despise myself and I repent in dust and ashes. So Job went to the fire and he, on the periphery, got some of the ashes and threw them up in the air, and they fell on him, and they fell on his head, and he repented in dust and ashes. Think of someone who's even more sorry for their sin. They don't even go to the periphery. They just go get a handful from the hot coals even, and they throw those in the air. And so the goal is not, I want them to suffer more in hell. I want more burning coals on their head. The goal is their repentance. The goal is their repentance. So do you hear what this means? When someone offends me or when someone attacks me, rather than praying for their destruction, I'm to pray for their salvation. And I have a God that can save. Who knows whether that person who is persecuting you whether he or she might be the next Saul of Tarsus. Remember him? Persecutor of the church. Tried to destroy it. What does he say in Galatians and Ephesians? Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God. Persecutor of the church. Stood there while Stephen was being stoned to death. Someone was praying. Now, let's take a test. As we consider this next verse, and please no hands, how many of you can truly say, without any hesitation, that this is true for your life? For how many of you, you hear these words and it's like a chorus of angels in the background? For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil. Isn't that the complete opposite of the way the world thinks? If you're a criminal and you're almost caught, you're like, well, I've done three quarters of it. I'm going to just finish up the job. I'm going to jail anyway. Get caught in the act of taking the cookie. You don't put the cookie back. You go ahead and eat it real quick. And then mom says whatever she's going to say. That's not the biblical worldview. The biblical worldview says if I'm going to suffer, I'm going to suffer for doing the right thing, not the wrong thing. I'd rather go without the pleasure than to go about obtaining that pleasure in a way that displeases God. That's the biblical worldview. So, and no hands here, how many of you passed the test? How many of you failed? If you pass, and whenever you pass, whenever you do the right thing, whenever you follow God's instruction, know that it wasn't you, but it was the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit in you, and give Him praise. And whenever you fail, Read, understand, plead, repeat, until the Lord grants you the victory, and then praise. Praise Him for making the truth, His truth, a reality in your life. And speaking of reality, is this real? Is it possible for a person to live this way? Can a person really bless those that persecutes them? Can a person really suffer for doing what is good rather than for doing what is evil? Verse 18. For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God. Praise the Lord. Hallelujah. Amen. There's our example right there. He has done it. We don't have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weakness, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. So Christ is the example that we must follow. Every time we read the Word, we're looking for the example of Christ, the glory of Christ. Paul says, and we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into that same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. And that's why any time we grow, any evidence of sanctification that we display in our life, we praise God for every instance. and when we fail to live up to the standard, which is perfection, by the way. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in the time of need. The blood of our Passover lamb, Jesus Christ, has purchased our redemption and our sanctification. His spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God and have children and heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. Did you notice the summation of the gospel there? Verse 18. 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. There are a number of doctrines, important doctrines to the Christian faith that are in that one verse. It's amazing what God can pack into just a few words. Substitutionary atonement. Christ suffered as a substitute for our sins. The righteous for the unrighteous, it says. The humanity of Christ. He had a body of flesh and resurrection through the Spirit. And listen to this good news. If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through a Spirit who dwells in you." Just a few words and wonderful truths that are encouraging. They encourage the soul. And so when the world does try to beat you down, go to the Word. Look for an image of the glory of your Savior. And then pray for the grace to become more and more like Him. Verse 18, 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 formally 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." So the righteous Christ died a real physical death to atone for our sins before God and to bring us to God. Afterward, Christ was resurrected by the power of the Holy Spirit. He died in the realm of the flesh and he was made alive in the realm of the Spirit. Similarly, in this realm of the Spirit, Jesus preached through Noah throughout the days when he was building the ark. And what message was the Spirit of Christ preaching through Noah? Come to God for salvation. flee to the safety of the ark in order to escape the just wrath of the Lord." The Gospel message hasn't changed in all these years. Today, we still say, come to the God-man, Jesus Christ, for salvation. Take refuge in Him and escape the just wrath of the Lord. Verse 21, 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. So here's another doctrinal point that the scripture is shedding light on. Remember that Christ preached the gospel through Noah throughout the time when he was building the ark. but only those who responded to the gospel message. Eight persons sought refuge within the ark and were saved. Similarly, Peter asserts that it is not the act of baptism that saves a person. It is not some ritual with magical powers. Rather, it is an outward sign which must correspond to an inward reality. Namely, the recipient's dependence upon the gospel message as evidenced by one's availing oneself of the means of sanctification. Namely, reading, understanding, pleading, repeating. This is not sign of card walk an aisle, that is not Christianity. That is not salvation. Salvation is evidenced by a new heart, a new mind, and new desires. Verse 22, Jesus Christ has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him. in the ancient world to be at the right hand of a ruler signifies that you have that ruler's authority, you have his power. As an example, think of Joseph and his position in Egypt. Genesis chapter 41 says, And Pharaoh said to Joseph, See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt. Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph's hand. And he clothed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. And he made him to ride in the second chariot. And they called out before him, bow the knee. Thus he set him over all the land of Egypt. Moreover, Pharaoh said to Joseph, I am Pharaoh. and without your consent no one shall lift a hand or a foot in all the land of Egypt." So, having completed the work of redemption, the God-man Jesus Christ is sat down upon the throne of heaven with all authorities and powers, whether they are fleshly or whether they are spiritual in nature, fully subjected to him Psalm 115 and three has never been more true. Our God is in the heavens. He does all that he pleases. I can think of no better conclusion to our meditation this morning than this. Our God is in the heavens. He does all that he pleases. He commands that we honor him as holy forsaking all others, saying, do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Indeed, fear him. He commands that we be willing to suffer for doing good, if that should be his will. That is to accept his providence. You are exactly where He intended you to be, in the family He placed you in, in the circumstances He intended you to be in, for His purposes and for His glory. Yet He does not call us to do all of this by our own power. Rather, He enables our obedience through the indwelling of His Spirit, who as we read God's word and behold the truths of the glory of our Lord and Savior detailed therein, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another, for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. Christian, read, understand, plead, and repeat. And may God be glorified by your obedience, both now and forever. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, what a privilege it is to come before your throne in awe, yet unafraid, solely based on what our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has accomplished on our behalf. His death on the cross has purchased not only our redemption, but it has purchased our sanctification as well. What else can we do but praise the one who died on our behalf to bring us to God? Cause us, Father, more and more to honor Christ the Lord is holy, fearing him alone, obeying him alone to the praise of your glorious grace alone. In Jesus' name, amen.