The apostle speaks today about not being afraid of those who hate us for our faith. We tend to think if we do right we will come to no harm, and to a certain extent this is true. But there are those who hate the Lord so much that they would love nothing more than to see His people gone from the earth. Peter knew a lot about persecution already. He knew more was coming. In our own day there are places in the world where claiming the name of Christ can get you killed. I feel that persecution will come to our own country someday, and I don't know what form it will take, but Peter encourages us to keep on doing right even if everyone around us is doing wrong. If we fear God, we don't need to fear man.
"Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good?" (1 Peter 3:13) Bad things happen to good people in this world, so Peter isn't promising us we will live lives of ease as long as we do right. But we are less likely to draw unpleasant attention from the authorities if we are doing good works and living law-abiding lives.
Peter knows there are those who hate Christ and who hate Christians. He isn't going to lie to anyone about the possibility of being persecuted for doing good works in the name of Jesus. "But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed." (1 Peter 3:14a) Suffering is inevitable in this fallen world. If we are going to suffer, it's better it should be from standing up for what is right instead of from sinking down into evil.
He now quotes the prophet Isaiah, "'Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.'" (Isaiah 8:12) In context, the words of the prophet go like this, "This is what the Lord says to me with His strong hand upon me, warning me not to follow the way of this people: 'Do not call conspiracy everything this people calls a conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, He is the one you are to fear, He is the one you are to dread.'" (Isaiah 8:11-13) In a time when it seemed like everything was falling apart, the Lord said to Isaiah, "If you fear Me you won't have to fear anyone else. Don't be afraid of the things the godless heathens are afraid of. They always think the sky is falling and the world is about to end. Don't be paranoid about this or that political plot or rumor of war. You belong to Me and you don't have to fear what the world fears."
King David is believed to have written the words of Psalm 118, and he says from his own experience, "The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?" (Psalm 118:8) The Lord saved David from every plot and conspiracy that ever came against him. David died in his own bed, not on the battlefield or as the result of a murderous scheme.
But what of those who have died or will die for their faith? Can it be said that the Lord did not defend them or that they should have feared man instead of God? No, because Jesus said, "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell." (Matthew 10:28) Those who have lost their lives for the faith are in the presence of the Lord. After killing their bodies, there was nothing more their enemies could do. Though they lost their physical lives, their souls will never die and no one can take away their eternal security in the Lord. The Lord has been faithful even to those who have been martyred for His sake. He has kept His promise to bring them safely home to Him. He will also keep His promise to avenge them.
Right now in our country persecution against Christians has not yet reached a violent state. We may be disliked, ridiculed, excluded, or passed over because of our faith, but so far no one is dragging us out of our homes and churches to beat or imprison or execute us. But if we can't stand up to the type of passive persecution we face today, how will we stand up to aggressive persecution if it comes? We need to concentrate on pleasing the Lord, not on pleasing man. We don't need to fear what unbelievers fear: not being part of the "in crowd", not being liked by everyone, not being included in everything, not being invited or promoted or approved of. God's approval is what matters, and we are number one in His eyes. He proved His love like this: "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)
No comments:
Post a Comment