WHEN GOD BEGINS HIS SAVING WORK IN OUR LIFE

1 Peter 3: 13 – 22


22 Jesus has the last word on everything and everyone, from angels to armies. He’s standing right alongside God, and what he says goes.

I am listening to a podcast from a Messianic synagog in Jacksonville Florida. While I was setting up for this teaching on the 'puter, the Pastor said the words that became the title I decided to use.

15 Through thick and thin, keep your hearts at attention, in adoration before Christ, your Master. Be ready to speak up and tell anyone who asks why you’re living the way you are, and always with the utmost courtesy.

We were taught recently in a class on apologetics that we must be ready and able to give a reasonable defense of our faith. The problem with this is that for the mot part, when we hear some folks talking trash about Jesus, we are kinda afraid, or shy. Either way you look at it or define the feeling, we keep our mouths shut not wanting to impose our beliefs on others. Sometimes we think that it would be rude to interrupt their conversation to present our views.
Too bad that the word of God tells us to act differently.

14 Even if you suffer for it, you’re still better off. Don’t give the opposition a second thought.
16 Keep a clear conscience before God so that when people throw mud at you, none of it will stick. They’ll end up realizing that they’re the ones who need a bath.
17 It’s better to suffer for doing good, if that’s what God wants, than to be punished for doing bad.

So what are we worried about?
If Peter shows us that it better to suffer doing what God wants us to then,
Why do we shy away from presenting the gospel?
Why won't we publicly defend our faith in Jesus?
Dunno. I guess it boils down to fear.
We're afraid. We want to consider ourselves good Christians, being separated and all, supposedly acting out our walk with God.
C.S. Lewis wrote, “When we Christians behave badly or fail to behave well, we are making Christianity unbelievable to the outside world.”
To me, failing to act is failing to behave well.
C.S. Further wrote, “The war time posters told us that careless talk costs lives.” “It is equally true that careless lives cost talk.” (Mere Christianity)
When we fail to behave well, our careless lives start the outer world talking and we give them the grounds for it in a way that casts doubt on the truth of our faith itself.

18 That’s what Christ did definitively: suffered because of others’ sins, the Righteous One for the unrighteous ones. He went through it all—was put to death and then made alive—to bring us to God.

Suffered death to Bring us God?
And we're afraid to interrupt a conversation to bring the truth to others.
Boy howdy. There are times when we can be such wimps.