Mission Venture Ministries

But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. And do not fear their intimidation, and do not be in dread, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, but with gentleness and respect; and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who disparage your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame. (1 Peter 3:14-16). 

Christians are called to live differently from the world. We are to lead honorable lives for the sake of Jesus. And even if we have to suffer for the sake of righteousness, we are blessed. 

Therefore we are not to compromise our blessing by fearing man in times of adversity. In other words, do not fear their intimidation, and do not be in dread. Only God is to be feared; and he who fears God has nothing else to fear as quoted from Isaiah 8:12-13. 

But instead we should sanctify Christ as Lord in our heart, as the Lord’s Prayer teaches us in Matthew 6:9, “Hallowed be Your name.” To sanctify means to set apart or make holy. Even when we are persecuted for our faith, we should not refuse to stand up for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.   

Therefore, we should always be ready to give a defense to those who ask about the reason for our hope when someone asks. There is no excuse for a Christian to be unable to defend their belief. Every Christian should be able to give an explanation of his or her faith in Christ; they should know what they believe, why they believe, how to share the gospel with others, and how to defend Scripture against lies and attacks. 

Then Peter speaks of a second aspect of the Christian attitude when sharing their beliefs, “but do this with gentleness and respect…” While defending our Christian faith we should never be rude, angry, or disrespectful. We should strive to be strong in our defense and at the same time Christ-like in our presentation. If we win a debate but turn a person away from Christ by our attitude, we have lost the true purpose of our Christian testimony. Believers should reflect Christ’s teaching of gentleness and “speak the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15). 

We need not be intimidated by having to give an answer, because our answer does not have to come from our own intelligence or wisdom. The gospel which has been revealed to us is all we need. As Paul said, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes…” (Romans 1:16). 

The third point Peter employs is to give believers comfort in the knowledge that Jesus himself suffered. He uses Christ as an example that suffering can be a part of the path of a faithful believer. The story of Christ presents two comforts to the believers and helps them understand that being righteous and obedient to God’s will does not provide a protection against pain and suffering. 

In His perfect obedience, Christ suffered and died. While as believers we do not look for suffering, Christians are encouraged to not shy away from their beliefs for fear of possible sufferings. Suffering should be expected, and with the Holy Spirit’s help we are equipped to deal with those who criticize our good behavior. Just as Christ triumphed we can hope to triumph as well. 

Again Peter warns us to have a good conscience. We should live such that, if people accuse us of wrong, we can rest assured in our hearts that we have obeyed the Lord and stood for truth of His word. It should be evident there are no grounds for the accusation that others may make against us. Our conduct should be so obviously righteous that those who accuse us should be the ones who are ashamed, rather than us. 

Nevertheless, Peter warns that righteous people will sometimes suffer at the hands of evildoers. If this happens, we should view it as a blessing and not be afraid of their threats. The blessing comes, not simply because we suffer, but because we know that we are pleasing God, and that He will honor and reward those who are persecuted for righteousness sake. 

We need to be aware that God is with us and that we have an eternal reward in a much better place when this life is over. We should always put our life in God’s hands Who created us and trust Him to protect us, to meet our needs, and to provide our eternal reward. “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:10-12). 

Therefore keep in mind that “everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12).

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