Living, Enduring Hope
I Peter 3:14-17 14But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; 16yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.
Intro
In 1992, Operation HOPE, Inc. was founded as a non-profit, public benefit organization. According to their website, Operation HOPE “seeks to bring true and sustaining hope to those living in under-served communities, creating sustainable change by consistently promoting opportunity, self-esteem, self love, optimism and future aspiration.”
Operation HOPE provided services to refugees from Hurricane Katrina like emergency budget counseling and assistance with deferring mortgage payments. This organization saw finances as the key to bringing hope to people.
There are stories of hurricane refugees who have found hope through organizations like this, or in their family and friends, or in the help of strangers, or even in something like finding their lost pets. Some say their hope is simply to be able to forget these events and circumstances and move on.
Something about a person whose hope lasts through difficult circumstances grabs your attention. When you see a person that is not just surviving, but seems to thrive in what would be considered a devastating situation, you can’t help but ask, “How are they able to do that?”
What was the hope they had?
The book of 1 Peter is written to people in difficult circumstances, exiles, people who are in a place that is not their home. The book is addressed to “the elect exiles of the dispersion”, or “to God’s elect, strangers in the world” (NASB). As we see from Peter’s letter, they were undergoing “painful trials” (4:12). From many perspectives, it would seem impossible for them to have hope. Persecuted for their beliefs, they didn’t belong to the pagan Gentile communities or to the traditional Jewish communities. This is the kind of situation in which a hopeful person would stand out.
And yet, Peter tells them to be ready to give an answer for the hope that is in them. So we start by asking the question, “What was their hope?” Throughout this book, Peter reminds these believers of what their hope is. Let’s look in chapter 1 to see this hope that Peter is talking about.
1 Peter 1:3-5 3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
These believers’ hope is a living hope. It is made theirs through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, because of God’s mercy. Death cannot dim this hope, as Christ has already demonstrated. And, because of Christ’s resurrection, there is a heavenly inheritance to hope in. This is an imperishable, undefiled, unfading inheritance, kept in heaven for them. For people whose earthly future was pretty uncertain, a secure, unshakeable inheritance, one that was in God’s hands, must have been a great source of joy.
Then we see that not only is there an eternal inheritance to hope for, even their own lives are being guarded by God’s power. In no way does this hope depend on their strength, influence, or ability. Unlike Operation HOPE’s goal of optimism, self-esteem, and self-love, this is a hope that is rooted in faith in God, in his mercy and power.
1 Peter 1:13 Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Peter commands the believers to set their hope fully on this grace. Not partially on God’s grace, not mostly on God’s grace, not occasionally on God’s grace. Fully. There is no room for a “Christ and ___” attitude. There is simply no need for anything else. Hope in God is unique in this way.
If your hope is in money, you have a backup plan if the stock market fails. If your hope is in influence, you have a backup plan if your political party doesn’t get re-elected. If your hope is in friends and family, you have a backup plan if you have to move away. If your hope is in Christ, there is no backup plan required. This is a long-term hope, an eternal hope, a hope that will outlive any trial, suffering, or persecution.
1 Peter 1:20-21 20He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for your sake, 21who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
Christ was raised from the dead and glorified so that believers’ faith and hope would be in God. This is not blind faith and unreasoning hope that Peter is encouraging. Christ was made manifest for believers’ sake! Believers are meant to see Christ’s death, resurrection, and glorification, and hope in God!
1 Peter 1:23-25 23since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; 24for“All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, 25but the word of the Lord remains forever.”
And this word is the good news that was preached to you.
This is a living, enduring hope. It is imperishable, even if everything else falls away (and everything else would fall away for some of the people Peter was writing to). Their hope is in the word of the Lord, and the word of the Lord remains forever. Things that remain forever are the kind of thing you want to put your hope in.
I got my wife a diamond engagement ring, like most guys. They say, “diamonds are forever.” That diamond will probably be around on Earth longer than I will, but it won’t last forever. It is a shadow of forever. The longest bond the U.S. Treasury offers is a 30-year bond. 30 years used to seem like forever to me. It seems less like forever the closer I get to actually being 30. A 30-year investment may even outlive you, but it won’t last forever.
If you asked residents of New Orleans in 2004 how long they thought the city would continue in its present form, they probably would have said “forever.” And yet, in a matter of days, something as simple as rain and wind and its after-effects killed over 1,300 people and left hundreds of thousands without water, food, or shelter. Those whose hope was in a city they thought would last “forever” quickly lost hope.
Hope that lasts is good news. This was the good news that was preached to these believers… the word of the Lord remains forever, and through the word of God, they had been born again of imperishable seed.
This is the kind of hope that is talked about in Hebrews 6: “…a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf…”. This is an absolute, supernatural confidence. Full assurance, not an uncertain expectation.
This hope is not what we mean when we say, “I hope it doesn’t rain today,” because it might rain, and that’s what we mean, and that’s not what the Bible means. When the Bible says “Hope in God,” it doesn’t mean “Cross your fingers, He might win”. It means preach to yourself that He’s going to win.
How could they be prepared to give an answer?
1 Peter 3:15-16 15…but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; 16yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.
Different translations phrase this differently. ESV and NAS say “make a defense”. NIV says “give an answer”. Simply put, this is a call to make known the truths that cause hope. Whether this is in response to a confrontational questioner or someone who is genuinely interested isn’t completely clear, but in all cases, it is to be done with “gentleness and respect”.
The goal is to present the truth when asked in a way that is honoring to God. The response may be one of hostility or it may be one of conviction and repentance - we see both responses talked about in 1 Peter. But regardless of the response, this is in the context of Peter’s exhortation to return blessing for evil, to seek peace while living a righteous life. Giving an answer for their hope was to be motivated by God’s glory and the good of the hearer.
But the exhortation is to “always be prepared”. How exactly does one “prepare” to give an answer? One tendency can be to immediately jump to apologetics, to study, to academic discussions of why the Gospel, the Bible and Christianity are correct.
But picture a man escaping from a burning building on a fire escape ladder. If someone leaned out of a window of the building and asked him, “why do you seem hopeful?”, he probably wouldn’t respond with, “Well, studies have found that 95% of the people in buildings which burn longer than 10 minutes lose their lives, and if you analyze this ladder, it clearly has the structural capacity to hold my weight, so I’m hopeful because I have a way out of this fire.” Those facts may certainly be true, but at that moment, the discussion is not primarily academic.
The man would actually probably say something like, “The building is on FIRE! I’m escaping! This ladder is the only way out! If you climb down this ladder you won’t die! Come on!”
This man is very aware of why he is hopeful. When he is asked for his reason for hope, his answers are ready.
John Piper wrote:
“We can fill our minds with answers for others as we day by day feed our own hope upon the promise of God and His trustworthiness. The main purpose of daily devotions is to strengthen and enliven our hope in Christ. The only way this can happen is if we are seeing reasons in the Word for why we should be hopeful. But if we are daily feeding our faith with reasons from the Word, then we should not be lacking when someone asks, ‘How come you can have so much hope in life?’ “
Peter has done just this in the previous chapters, giving us many reasons for hoping in the eternal promises of God, and in his salvation. There is something that’s very important to remember, however. When we share those reasons, we’re not just giving a reason for “a hope”, ours is the only hope. We’re not just saying “This worked for me”, but “this is the only thing that works”. We are proclaiming that “no man comes to the Father except through Christ,” and that is our hope. This is evangelism at its core! Evangelism is ultimately about communicating our hope, the hope of the gospel, the only true hope, with others.
John Cheesman says this about evangelism:
“Evangelism is not a making of proselytes; it is not persuading people to make a decision; it is not proving that God exists, or making a good case for the truth of Christianity; it is not inviting someone to a meeting…Some of these things are right and good in their place, but none of them should be confused with evangelism. To evangelize is to declare on the authority of God what he has done to save sinners, to warn men of their lost condition, to direct them to repent, and to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ”.
That is ultimately the answer when someone asks the reason for our hope. Declaring “this is what God has done to save sinners! I am a sinner, but God saved me by drawing me to faith in Jesus Christ. That is why I have hope.” That is what we try to convey every time we are asked why we have hope.
The fact that Peter tells them to be prepared when people ask about their hope is another very challenging part of this passage. Peter’s call to be prepared when people ask implies our hope should manifest itself in a way that causes people to ask about it.
Why would people ask about their hope?
Be holy, keep your conduct honorable
Peter not only reminds them of their hope, he exhorts them to live lives that reflect that hope for the glory of God.
1 Peter 1:14-15 14As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct”
1 Peter 2:12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.
He then spells out what this holy, honorable conduct looks like in many areas of life:
- In the way we submit to and honor authorities (2:13-21)
- In husbands and wives’ conduct in marriage (3:1-7)
- And in conduct in the church
- 4:8-11 (love one another, be hospitable, serve one another with God-given gifts)
- 5:1-9 (elders, shepherd well, be humble, be vigilant)
Holy living in all these areas is only truly possible by God’s power. This is to be done, not to gain God’s favor, but to draw attention to God among those living around the Christians. Peter even speaks of unsaved husbands being won solely by the conduct of their saved wives. But while holy living can certainly be a powerful witness, he issues a call to do more than have good conduct, while keeping that sustaining hope internal.
Proclaim the excellencies of God
1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
This is a call to a much more explicit acknowledgement of God. Not just to dwell in his marvelous light, but to proclaim his excellencies. This requires more of a commitment than just quietly living a self-contained holy life and keeping your religion a personal matter. But there is so much to be thankful for, having been rescued from false hopes and given the lasting hope of the Gospel, that proclaiming the excellencies of the Savior is a privilege.
Suffer injustice with gladness
Finally, Peter exhorts these believers to suffer injustice gladly.
1 Peter 2:19-20 19For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. 20For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God.
The only way that Christians can suffer injustice gladly is because a Christian’s hope is not in this world. They have Christ as an example, who “…when he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.”(2:23). Learning to trust in God, who judges justly, in the midst of unjust suffering, helps us release our hold on the world’s hope and put our hope more fully in God.
Responses to suffering reveal the true nature of your hope. A truly lasting hope is unshaken by trials, not because of optimism or some inner strength, but because the hope itself is in something worthy. The key to sustaining hope is not self love, but a love of God. Being “mindful of God” is the only reason believers are able to endure sorrow while suffering unjustly.
Do all this to the glory of God
All of these things (holy living, proclaiming God’s excellencies, and suffering gladly), are to be done so that God may receive glory. One way that can happen is by other people observing your conduct and either being won over or convicted because of it. Peter gives example after example of this:
- 1 Peter 1:7 - “…so that the tested genuineness of your faith … may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
- 1 Peter 3:16 - “…so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.”
- 1 Peter 4:4 - “…they [the Gentiles] are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you; but they will give an account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.”
- 1 Peter 4:11 - “…in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ”
So how do we apply this?
Find hope in the Gospel, not in the world
Be careful not to trade an imperishable, eternal hope for any of the seemingly attractive hopes the world offers. Only the hope found in the Gospel will last throughout our lives. At some point, every other foundation, no matter how solid it seemed at the beginning, will fail.
Even if a worldly hope manages to sustain us until we die, that is the great point of separation. All other pretenders fail at that point. Only a living hope, imperishable and unfading, is worth anything in the end, and the death of Christ has made that our hope.
Be prepared to explain your hope
We need to constantly be reminding ourselves of the reasons for our hope in God. The primary reason is that God has accomplished it, and it is God who sustains us. As Peter reminded his readers, God caused them to be born again, and they were being guarded by God for salvation. And as God builds His hope in us, and we hope more and more fully in Him, our hearts are prepared to respond when we are asked why we hope.
In addition to this, we certainly want to study faithfully, so that we may be used as effectively as possible when speaking with others. We just have to be careful not to trust our own reasoning and presentation to change people, but to pray that God would change hearts and draw men to himself.
Let your life show evidence of lasting hope, inviting questions
We are to live holy lives of honorable conduct
Under authority, in our marriages, in our church, and in all areas.
We are called to proclaim the excellencies of God
This goes beyond simply living a holy life to explicitly praises God. This even goes beyond the Bible belt “well, praise the Lord!”. This is proclaiming what the Lord has done! In trials, he has sustained us, in all things, he has blessed us. His glory is seen in creation, his love is seen in our salvation. There is no end to his excellencies.
A good question to ask ourselves is “What do we proclaim the excellencies of?”
- Money, possessions (investments, latest purchases?)
- Position, influence (promotions, who you know, what you’ve done)
- Even good things (charity work, homeschooling, etc) should not be what we’re primarily known for proclaiming the excellencies of.
Finally, we are called to suffer well
It is when the storms come that worldly hopes fail. We need to see suffering as an opportunity to strengthen our hope in God and let go even more of our hope in the world.
The hope that we have is able to sustain us through any trial. This is not to minimize the impact of trials… it is to maximize God and the hope that is to be found in Him. We have church families that encountered great trials through hurricane Katrina, but God is greater still, and that is made visible in their hope.
Hope that lasts is hope that people want. If that hope is seen in us, people will ask about it. May God guard us, strengthen us, and use all that we do so that “…in everything God may be glorified.”
Jordan Liggitt is a
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