1 Peter 3:13-16

The Christians as followers and defenders of good: V.13. And who is he that will harm you if ye be followers of that which is good? V.14. But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye; and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled, V.15. but sanctify the Lord God in your hearts; and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear; v.16. having a good conscience, that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evil-doers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.

The Christians may sometimes have to bear evil for a season, but in reality all things work together for good to them: Who will do you wrong if you are zealous for that which is good? If the Christians at all times are zealous for that which is right and good, if they have a veritable passion for that which has the approval of the Lord, then nothing can really work lasting harm in their case, for they are under God’s care and protection. The only things which really will hurt us, in time and in eternity, are disobedience, deviation from God’s Word. But no enemy can take away from us the true, eternal blessings: God’s grace and mercy, forgiveness of sins, righteousness, peace with God, joy in the Holy Ghost.

And should God permit some evil to strike us, the apostle again has a word of comfort: And even if you should suffer on account of righteousness, yet you are blessed. That is true enough, he means to say, it does happen that the malice of your enemies will reach a point where the very fact of your leading a blameless life will act as a spur to their hostile attitude, increase their bitterness, and make them all the more determined to harm you, to cause you suffering.

But what of that? In the very midst of such sufferings the Christians are to be congratulated, for the blessing of the Lord rests upon them, and they are truly happy, Matt. 5, 10. 11. It follows, then: But their fear do not fear, neither be disturbed; but the Lord Christ sanctify in your hearts, always ready with a reply to every one who demands an account of you concerning the hope which is in you. It appears throughout the discussion that the conduct of the Christians in persecutions is not a matter of indifference, but is carefully regulated by the will of the Lord. This the apostle shows in a passage from the Old Testament, Is. 8, 12. 13.

The enemies of Christ and of the believers will often resort to threats, in order to create fear in the hearts of the Christians, backing them up by such acts of meanness as to make life almost unbearable in certain instances. And yet the Christians should not let themselves be disturbed or filled with fear. It is true, their enemies can do much harm, they can even, with God’s permission, take the life of the believers, Matt. 10, 28, but they must fall back in helpless anger before their inability to harm the soul, so long as the Christians cling to their allegiance, so long as they sanctify, hallow, Christ in their hearts as their Lord and Master, put their trust in Him and wait for Him to repay at His time.

In the mean time they will also not overlook the necessity of confessing their Lord, of being ready with a proper reply for any one that may demand an account of them concerning the hope of their faith. This does not mean that every frivolous scoffer may make the Christians the butt of his untimely jokes; for that would be throwing pearls before the swine. What the Lord wants us to do is to be ready with an exposition of our hope of salvation and particularly of our expectation of the second coming of Christ in the case of every person that shows a real interest in the Christian doctrine as we profess it. Whether this be a genuine searching for the truth or a mere curiosity, it may pave the way for a proclamation of the Gospel that may save a soul. Such a testimony concerning Christ, as the apostle writes, must always be made in meekness and in fear. All personal bitterness must be put aside, a holy reverence for the Word of God must fill the heart, for it is the honor of the Lord which is at stake (For verses 8-15, compare Homiletical Magazine, 29 (1905), 193-207).

There is one more factor that must not be missing at the time when such a confession is made: Having a good conscience, so that, in their very slander of you as of evil-doers, those that slander your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. Christians that are obliged to rise in defense of the Christian truths have particular need of being careful in their entire conduct, lest there be something in their life which will give their opponents a reason to scorn all instruction which they might be able to give. So clean, so beyond reproach the lives of the believers should be at all times that such as still presume to speak evil of them will find themselves without foundation for their statements and will thus heap shame and disgrace upon themselves, a fact which may again result to the advantage of the Christian religion.