INTRODUCTION: Most Christians are inwardly terrified about engaging in personal WITNESS. Many of us cover up with a brave smile, but underneath it lies sheer panic. Why does terror strike? There seems to be three basic reasons for our fear.
1. We don’t know our lines – 2 Tim 2:15 “Study to show yourselves…”
2. We are not filled with the Holy Spirit – see Acts 1:8 and Acts 4:31.
3. We don’t believe God can meet our needs – Hebrews 13:5 God has said…and Philippians 4:19 “I can do all things through Christ…
We live in a changing world marked by emerging nationalism, terrorism, population explosion, scientific breakthroughs, star wars and a continuing threat of nuclear extinction. But praise God, whatever the changes may be in this or any other age there are things that never change, that are always the same. Jesus Christ is the same, our message is the same, our mission is the same. What is urgently needed today is an anointing of the Holy Spirit to relate our unchanging gospel to the changing times. You can be the change!
But first we need to know what the good news consists of, and how it relates to what people who are not Christians understand and know about God.
Secondly we need to be able to tell others what the good news means to us. We need to share personally our good news of what has happened to us through our faith in Jesus Christ. We need to be able to share the testimony of our experience as committed Christians and how God has changed our lives.
When Peter wrote his first epistle he was speaking to believers who were facing the imminent hostility of having to, “suffer for righteousness sake”, 3:14. In the light of this he urged them in v15 to have a Christian answer ready. The day has come when we too are facing opposition and maybe persecution for the sake of the gospel. The day has come when we have to take a stand and give a Christian witness in the presence a bitter hatred and vicious opposition. Jesus promised that the time would come when “whoever kills you will think he offers God service” (John 16:2). SLIDE 2 If we are to be confident in our witness….
1. THERE MUST BE A CHRIST-CENTERED DEDICATION. 3:15, “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” To set apart Christ as Lord implies two very important matters, JC must be your Saviour and Lord…
Jesus Christ must be your Saviour. The Apostle Paul reminds us that, “no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.” The implication is clear. Trusting Jesus Christ as Lord is a saving act. It is where we must begin. Paul began his Christian experience when he prayed, “Lord, what do you want me to do?” (Acts 9:6). From that moment on he made this the basis of what he believed. For him the recognition of Jesus Christ as Lord not only indicated the commencement of the Christian life but also the climax of the Christian life. He looked forward to the day when “at the name of Jesus every knee would bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.” I know that some people come to church because of individuals. Some might even come because of the Pastor! Let our name perish but let Christ’s name last forever. Jesus! Crown him Lord of all! He is the only one that can save you and he is the only one worthy of being your Lord.
Jesus Christ must be your Saviour and Lord 3:15. When it says set apart Christ as Lord he uses the word that is translated elsewhere as ‘sanctified’. It is not until Jesus is both our Saviour and our Lord are we truly set apart to be his disciple. That is a call for us to become Holy. But there is no chance of our becoming Holy until Jesus Christ is made Lord of every area of our lives. (Consider your relationships, your budget and your views)
To sum up our thinking on this point, only as we have high conceptions of Jesus Christ who indwells us will we seek to live out the standards of holiness that he demands and deserves. Is Jesus Christ Lord of your life? Why is this important? To the measure that Jesus is Lord to the same measure will you know what it is to be filled with the Holy Spirit!
If we are to be confident in witness there must be dedication and
2. THERE MUST BE A CHRIST-CENTERED EDUCATION
3:15, “Be prepared to give an answer to everyone” Dedication to Jesus Christ prepares us for education but does not educate us; we must apply our hearts and minds to wisdom under the Lordship of Christ. Our text instructs us that we must be open as Christians to both teaching and training.
i. Academic teaching, 3:15. The word used here in the original is the word for ‘apologetics’. This was a speech made by a prisoner in his defence but later the word came to be associated with treaties in defence of the Christian faith. Such a defence of the faith demands academic teaching. It might be argued that Peter was NOT an educated man. But remember that his academic teaching was under the greatest tutor the world has ever known, and that for three and a half years.
ILLUSTRATE: I am often told that people don’t want to come to church to be taught. They want to come to be encouraged. You may even be bored at some of the subjects that we feel we have to grapple with. But under the Lordship of Jesus Christ it can become an unanswerable argument for the faith you possess. Jesus taught the truth of the Christian faith and so must we. And Christians everywhere must be prepared to be educated in the truths of the faith.
ii. Systematic training. “Be ready to give an answer” 3:15. Readiness to give, to speak, to witness is not the result of teaching alone but training as well. Teaching without training produces proud, cold and dead intellectualism. An institute of learning must be married to a school of obedience.
ILLUSTRATE: The most valuable training that I ever received was at the feet of people like Stephen Olford, Selwyn Hughes and Raymond Lloyd! The purpose and the programs of their ministries were to implement all academic teaching in terms of practical obedience. Looking back at my experiences under these great men of God I learnt more by way of practical Christian discipleship than at any other time in my life.
If we are to meet the challenges of the day then we need to be sure in our faith and be practiced in how to share it.
If we are to be confident in witness there must be Christ Centered dedication, education and…
3. THERE MUST BE A CHRIST-CENTERED PRESENTATION
3:15, “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” If there is a Christ-centered dedication and education you can expect a Christ-centered presentation which means giving your testimony of what Jesus has done
But it must be given reasonably, reliably and respectfully
i. Reasonably, 3:15, “Be ready to give the reason”. The word translated reason is ‘logos’, implying a thoughtful and reasonable explanation.
AMPLIFY John 1 “the Word” The Word is Jesus! So much of preaching and witnessing today is just unrelated scriptural text and evangelical clichés. God forgive us! Jesus is the reason that we are Christians and we are to tell what HE had does for us!
ii. Reliably, 3:15, “The hope that is in you”. The message of the Bible is one of hope. Summing up the teaching of the OT Paul says, “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through endurance and the promises of scripture might have hope” (Rom 15:4).
The patriarchs looked on in hope, the poets sang in hope, and the prophets declared their flaming messages of hope of the coming Messiah. Then JESUS came, lived, died and rose again and ascended on high to return one day to complete all the hopes of the past, present and future. The NT message is one of hope. To quote the Apostle Paul again,
“Therefore having been justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ to whom also we have access by faith into the grace in which we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (Rom 5:1-2). What a message to a world that is lost and hopeless! Our message is a message of hope and we must not forget it.
all this in the context of suffering.
ILLUSTRATE: 35 American servicemen were killed in one OVERSEAS action. Before the bodies were loaded aboard a military jet to be shipped back to the US there was a solemn airport ceremony attended only by Mrs Barbara Kaiser, wife of one of the victims, and her 5-year old son. She said, “I don’t have to mourn or wear black because I know my husband is in heaven. He’s better off. God doesn’t make mistakes!” What a testimony of hope. Here was a woman who could speak from personal experience of her hope in the Lord.
iii. Respectably, 3:15, “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.”
EG My experience in Cardiff City Centre when I was stopped and asked aggressively “Are you saved?”
We must not testify with arrogance and self-assertion but with due respect towards people and reverence before God. With some hearers the spirit in which a statement is made may matter more than its contents. Only if they are attracted by the former will they give a proper hearing to the latter. Then adds the Apostle Peter, “Having a good conscience, that when they accuse you as evil-doers those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed”, 3:16. The acid test of a worthy presentation is a good conscience towards God and a good commendation before people.
That is why the first four verses of Chapter 4 is vital. It is about living for God and demonstrating by our lives and lifestyle that we are radically different from Non-Christians.
CONCLUSION: We have seen what constitutes BEING CONFIDENT IN Witnessing;: a Christ-centered dedication, education and presentation. Have you prepared yourself for the one and only answer you can give to our generation in this hour of confusion, frustration and tension? If you have, then dedicate yourself to Christ as Lord and use your Christian education and presentation to win a lost world for Jesus Christ and his Kingdom. Amen.
Group Notes
Confident in Witness
1 Peter 3:13 – 4:6
First Thoughts
They pop up online all the time nowadays – customer service chat boxes. Whether you’re researching a new bike, working out how to invest your pennies, or choosing a hotel in Tenerife (or Tenby), you’ve probably had one of those little boxes pop up offering you a ‘chat’ with a member of staff. Proactive companies know potential customers often have questions. They know they may not discover these answers all by themselves. Or, worse still, they’ll discover the answers on a competitor’s website! Good customer service agents do their best to understand what it is you want to know, then provide you with the relevant information in a clear and easy to understand way. When the agent has answered your question(s), they may ask if there is anything else they can help you with, and they may suggest some next steps. The best of them do all this in a personable and non-pushy way. Of course, this session isn’t about engaging with ‘potential customers’ in the hope they’ll ‘buy our products or services’. But it is about how we can respond well when those on our frontlines ask us questions about our faith in Jesus.
Read – 1 Peter 3:13–18 & 4:1–6
Focus on the Theme
1. Can you think of a time someone on your frontline made a comment about or asked about your Christian faith? What did they say? How did the conversation go?
What Does the Bible Say?
2. Before he writes about answering questions, Peter first encourages these Christians not to be frightened (3:14). Why does Peter assume fear might be an issue for them?
3. Peter says they should be prepared to give the ‘reason for the hope’ that they have (3:15). What reasons for hope do you think Peter has in mind?
4. In 3:15–16, Peter makes it clear it isn’t just about what his readers say, but the way they say it. In what manner should they talk about their faith?
Why would this form an important part of their witness?
5. What challenges were these Christians facing (4:1–6)?
In what way is living a Christ-like life a witness too?
Going Deeper
6. In 4:4–5, Peter refers to God’s future judgement, and how it should shape how people live in the present. What else does Peter have to say about how the future should shape how we live now?
You may find it helpful to break into pairs, with each pair looking at one or two of the following verses: 1:3–9; 1:13; 2:12; 4:7; 4:12–19; 5:1–6; and 5:10–11.
7. Look at 1 Peter 3:19–22 in your Bible. Why do you think Peter included these verses?
Living it Out
8. In what way would you like to grow in confidence in your Christian witness?
9. Pause to pray and ask God to remind each person in the group of a person who isn’t a Christian, someone he’d like you to pray for, love, and be a witness to.
In pairs, give a pen portrait of that person – their character, situation, what they think about Christian faith, about Jesus. What do you think a good next step in their faith journey might be?
10. If you had the opportunity to ‘give a reason for the hope that you have’ to that person, what kind of things would you say?
Prayer Time
Pray for the people you’ve talked about, asking God that he will give you the opportunity to be a good witness to them and to speak well of Christ.
Theme and Questions from LICC booklet
– 1 Peter ‘Confidence in a Complex World’ by Joe Warton