I Peter 3:15 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:
16 Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.
17 For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.
Godly evangelists, pastors and teachers cannot function like modern day politicians. We do not put our finger to the wind and see which way it is blowing and then respond in kind.
In Ephesians 4:11 God listed five categories of true spiritual leaders. The apostles and prophets are the Scriptures. They are eternal. II Peter 1:19-21 tells us that God chose “holy men” to record what He told them to speak and write. Those men set aside their own ideas and spoke exactly what God told them to say. They did that even when they did not understand what God was doing. In Daniel 12 God told Daniel to shut up the words and seal the book. It was not time for the events prophesied there to happen at that time, and Daniel needed to be content with his place in God’s family. In John 21:22 Peter wanted to know God’s plan for the apostle John, and Jesus told him to concern himself with God’s call on his life and leave John’s call in God’s hands.
We know that the men God chose to give us His Word were holy men who obeyed Him explicitly when it came to writing down His Word. We can have full confidence in the King James Bible for the English speaking world.
In that same verse in Ephesians 4, God listed evangelists, pastors and teachers. These are contemporary men, who live in the current generation. They will change through this dispensation. These men are not inspired of God. Their responsibility is to take the inspired and preserved Word of God and preach it faithfully. Those men who are ordained of God have no authority to change anything that God has preserved. It does not matter if society does not like what God says, these men are required to preach the Word faithfully.
The apostle Paul noted this in II Timothy 4:
II Timothy 4:2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
Most men and even women (although no woman is ordained of God to preach), must not have that verse in their scriptures. They alter the Word of God to suit their own opinions and what they think the listeners want to hear.
That is not what God wants of His men. If you read Ephesians 4:12-16 you will see that the purpose of those five categories of men are assigned to help society to know the true God and how to live for Him, once they know Him.
In our opening verses, we see that the first requirement of the man of God is to sanctify the Lord God in your heart. The word “sanctify” in that verse means: “to make holy, to consecrate, to dedicate”. The man of God must intentionally surrender his will to the Lord God at all times. He needs to be fully surrendered to His will. Jesus prayed: “not my will but thine be done”. That should be the prayer of every true child of God. That certainly should be the prayer of every true ordained servant of God, whether evangelist, pastor and teacher.
The second thing God says in I Peter 3:15 is that the man of God needs to be ready to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear. The man of God cannot be ashamed of the truth. What is the hope of the man of God? His hope is in the true God. His salvation is based in the promise of God. He has trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation and is not trusting in anything else. He is a humble servant of God who seeks to honour God in his life. His hope is not in his opinions. It is in God’s sure Word.
As the man of God answers those who ask, he does so with meekness and with fear. He responds to questions in a God fearing and God honouring manner. He knows God sees and hears him. He knows that God not only sees and hears the outward expression, but God knows the heart. Hypocrisy was common among the Pharisees. Jesus knew that. Jesus knew what was in Peter’s heart prior to His trial. He knew what Peter would do, not because it was forced upon him, but because he was not trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ as he needed to.
We have made statements in our devotionals and in our church that are controversial by worldly standards. My goal is not to try to stir up trouble. My goal is to teach the truth. In teaching the truth, falsehoods will be exposed. People that have chosen to believe falsehoods, will take offence to the truth. It is important to note that God’s Word is Truth. It comes from the God of Truth. It is never wise to argue against the Truth.
In verse 16 of our opening text we see the importance of a “good conscience”. We cannot answer people if they can honestly prove we are hypocrites. The devil is the “accuser of the brethren”. He will do all he can to try to knock out a true child of God. He was able to convince Pilate to sign Jesus’ death warrant, even though Pilate knew the chief priests were lying. The important point is for personal examination. A good place to go for that is Psalm 139:
Psalm 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
God knows my heart and He is well able to show me what is actually going on in my heart. If I am humbly listening to Him, He will reveal the wickedness that is lurking there. He will show me through His Word.
When people speak evil of a true child of God, the important factor is that it is not true. They will be ashamed for falsely accusing a good testimony. There is a lot of noise in our world. There are far more false teachers than true teachers. There are many perversions of God’s Word and ONE True version of God’s Word. Stick to the Truth and walk humbly with the LORD and He will guide your steps.
In verse 17 of our text we see that “it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.” God knows what is best. He knows what each of His children needs to strengthen them. He knows what I can handle and what I need to learn to handle. He will give me the strength to endure what I need to as I walk with Him. There is no shortcut to being able to digest spiritual meat rather than just the milk. God is good and His way is the right way.
What is sadly lacking today, is that too many pastors have chosen the route of the politician, rather than the route of the God-fearing pastor. In the Old Testament, the true prophets were outnumbered by the false prophets. Men like Jeremiah needed to know how to endure hardness and he did learn that. In the New Testament men like the apostle Paul were few. The false teachers were plentiful and popular. The same is true today. Glitzy websites and graphs and charts and pictures attract the curious. They can also be used to distract from the Truth. It is important to know the Truth and to remain grounded in the Truth.
Pastor Bartel