Suffering and the Exaltation of Christ
1 Peter 3:8-22
Pastor Steven Lee
College Church, Wheaton
How to not retaliate.
Peter has been instructing followers to not compromise, to hold fast, to shift in order to make pressure stop. Be counter cultural--live as a people called to be set apart. Challenge us to live a godly life anyway. Do we exhibit these qualities?
1--Love for our enemies...not just fellow believers, but pray for those who hate you. Psalm 34 Just because things are going badly, don't assume God is judging you, God allows suffering to those he loves. If we truly believe God will judge and take vengeance, then WE can be passive and let God be God.
2--Boldness in speaking about our faith...revere the Lord in your heart and you won't have room for fear of others. Fear the Lord. Do we share our trials so that others might see the difference? (Plug for small groups here) Are you engaged with non-believers? If so, do they see a difference, do they see your hope? "Never let a serious crisis go to waste." Rahm Emmanuel. Have we made the Gospel intelligible?
3--Do we exhibit a hope in a suffering savior, a belief that Jesus has saved us (believers will never suffer for our sins--we may suffer as children of God, but never FOR OUR SINS because we have a suffering savior, he has paid the price, is paying the price) Jesus overcomes. Do we rest in Him? Peter admits it is hard. God left us here in order to be lights, not to lash back, but to show God's love through us. WHAT IS DIFFERENT ABOUT YOU?
No comments:
Post a Comment