Accompanying Graces for the Persecuted

The point: Give your reasonable response with a gracious, respectful, and cautious demeanor, characterized by meekness and fear, reflecting a sensitive, Christ-like heart.

A commentator's suggestion that 'fear' means both reverence and caution is quoted to clarify the meaning of 'fear' in the context of giving a defense.

But one commentator suggests that neither of these responses really suits the context and suggests the following. The reference is not to the fear of man that produces timidity, nor does the view that it means the fear of God seem to satisfy the context. And then this commentator says, Peter goes on to quote another commentator and says, fear may be understood to mean both reverence and caution. Reverence because of the solemnity of the subject and caution, lest in the earnestness of discussion anything might be said which would give an opponent occasion to accuse the Christian before the civi...

21:29 - 22:13 Read in full sermon

The point: Give your reasonable response with a gracious, respectful, and cautious demeanor, characterized by meekness and fear, reflecting a sensitive, Christ-like heart.

Luther's quote about answering with 'fear and lowliness' as if before God's tribunal is used to emphasize the proper disposition for giving a defense.

They're not coming with the humble spirit of inquiry saying, please, it is more a frustrated spirit of inquiry, and so this commentator suggests your response must be marked by meekness and by fear. And then there is a quote from Luther that I found in several of the commentators. Luther said, then must you not answer with proud words and bring out the matter with a defiance and with a violence as if you would tear up trees, but with such fear and lowliness as if you stood before God's tribunal, so must you stand in fear and not rest in your own strength, but on the word and promise of Christ....

22:40 - 23:54 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The third reality is a 'consistent, authentic Christian life' before God and man, evidenced by a 'good conscience' (maintained through repentance and confession) and a 'good…

Martin contrasts saying 'I'm sorry' with 'I sinned, will you forgive me?' to illustrate the difference between expressing feeling and truly owning sin for a good conscience.

And again, as much as I've emphasized it in this pulpit, I'm appalled at how much I still hear of the language of I'm sorry. Frankly, I don't care to know if you wronged me if you're sorry. That's simply a statement of how you feel. I'm not interested in how you feel.

27:17 - 27:35 Read in full sermon

The point: When you have wronged someone, confess your sin and seek forgiveness, rather than merely saying 'I'm sorry,' to maintain a good conscience and reconcile.

The modern negative connotation of 'do-gooder' is used to highlight the cultural antipathy towards moral uprightness, contrasting it with Peter's emphasis on 'good' living.

of a good conscience and not periodically and occasionally but having as much as your skin is something you have and cleaves to your muscles and to your bones having a good conscience your constant companion as part of a consistent authentic Christian life before God and man as the context of your reasonable response but then he says join to a good conscience which is inward here's God's check so we're not guilty of self-deception and delusion skip down to the last part of verse 16 these who revile themselves fill your good manner of life so a good conscience is joined to a good manner of life...

30:10 - 31:38 Read in full sermon

The point: When you have wronged someone, confess your sin and seek forgiveness, rather than merely saying 'I'm sorry,' to maintain a good conscience and reconcile.

The analogy of silent letters in words (like 'g' and 'h' in 'light') is used to describe Christians whose lives are so silent they make no impact, contrasting with the need for a validating life.

oh what did he do it is to be an intelligent rational response our apology is not a mindless effusion of our feelings there is to be a ready mind and a ready tongue but there's to be more than that there is to be a gracious respectful and cautious demeanor in giving a reasonable response but with meekness and fear so that goes from a ready mind and tongue to a right heart but then that's not enough he says the third accompaniment is a consistent authentic Christian walk before God and man as the context of your reasonable response that points to your proven manifest patterns of character befor...

33:06 - 34:34 Read in full sermon

The point: Feel a deep and inescapable shame for robbing God of His glory, despising His Son, and not partaking of His grace, as a first step towards life and salvation.

The example of a 'whore's forehead' from Jeremiah and modern perverts 'out of the closet' is used to illustrate the tragedy of a generation that has lost its sense of shame.

accusing them of being evil doers when they are not they are reviling them threatening them in terms of exalting them heaping verbal abuse upon them and when the people of God respond as they do sanctifying Christ as Lord in their hearts readiness to give this reasoned response to their questions in a gracious demeanor out of the context of a consistent life what is the intended result you have a clause of purpose here is the intended result that they may be put to shame that they may be put to shame now it's hard for us to have an immediate reaction to the word shame in this generation this i...

37:31 - 38:56 Read in full sermon

The point: Prepare for potential future persecution and aggressive opposition to anything distinctively Christian, as the clouds are gathering for a possible end to our 'dream world' of ease.

The story of John McEnroe's induction speech, where he shamelessly joked about cursing umpires, is used to illustrate the modern world's contempt for goodness and lack of shame.

in many parts of the world who this very day have sealed their witness with their blood others have sealed it by being dragged off to prison the opposition to anything distinctively Christian becomes more and more bold the antipathy to anything good as I said earlier is shameless may I give you an illustration just catching a few minutes of the news section dealing with sporting events one of the few things that I try to catch sometimes at 10 minutes to 11 at night and there was John McEnroe being inducted into the tennis hall of fame the tennis brand known for his foul mouth cursing and throw...

56:34 - 58:01 Read in full sermon

The point: Young men and women, count the cost to own Christ from the heart in this wicked and perverse generation, as you may have to pay a price some older believers have not.

Martin recounts being taunted as a 17-year-old convert with phrases like 'Hail Holy Rock!' to illustrate a mild form of persecution he experienced.

The most some of us have received is a pretty good battering with nasty words. I got that as a 17-year-old kid when I got converted. When the windows were rolled down and the hot rods that drove down the hill on Strawberry Road in Stanford, Connecticut. Hail Holy Rock!

60:04 - 60:23 Read in full sermon