church

INI
21st Sunday after Trinity
October 12, 2008
Ascension Lutheran Church, Tacoma WA
Paul Naumann, Pastor

BULLETPROOF BELIEVERS
I Peter 3:8-15

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
Today I ask you to turn your attention to the Word of God as we find it in the
First Epistle of Peter, chapter three, beginning with the eighth verse, as follows:

Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as
brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling
for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this,
that you may inherit a blessing. For "He who would love life and see good days,
let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking guile; let him
turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes
of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayers; but the
face of the Lord is against those who do evil." And who is he who will harm
you if you become followers of what is good? But even if you should suffer for
righteousness' sake, you are blessed. "And do not be afraid of their threats, nor
be troubled." But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to
give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you,
with meekness and fear. Here ends our text.

In the name of Jesus, who is Shield and Protector, Dear Fellow Redeemed,

The other day I was pulling into Summit Foods over here on Canyon Road, and
I saw an armored car parked by the front door. He was loading boxes of coins
onto a hand truck to take into the store. I'm sure it was a routine task - ever
since I was a little kid, I've always gotten kind of a thrill when an armored car
comes into view. Just the sight of one conjures up visions of exciting hold-ups
and daring raids. The vehicles are equipped with bulletproof glass and thick
steel plating. They have reinforced tires, and there are even slots for the guards
inside to shoot through in case of a robbery attempt. An armored car is really a
rolling fortress, and from top to bottom -- it's designed to be bulletproof!

Did you ever think of yourself as being bulletproof? In a very real way you are!
You're a believer who trusts in God for your physical and spiritual safety. He
promises to protect your physical life, as in Psalm 91, "Surely He shall deliver
you -- You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies
by day." But much more importantly, our Savior has disarmed the deadly power
of sin to condemn us. As Paul said, "Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who
died, and furthermore is also risen." Rom 8:34. In a way, God makes us
"bulletproof," and that changes or should change the way we live. In what
ways? Our text tells us several things about --

BULLETPROOF BELIEVERS
I. Being blessed, they can bless others
II. Being righteous, they can enjoy life
III. Following Jesus, they can be fearless
IV. Sanctifying God, they can be witnesses

There's an expression people use to describe a person who's born into a
wealthy family - a person who's had all the advantages of money since he was a
child; do you know the cliche I'm talking about? They say, "He was born with a
silver spoon in his mouth." In a way, Christians are "silver spoon" people, too.
We have been born again through faith in God, most of us long ago, at the time
of our baptism. That was a very "noble birth," and it carries with it a very
special blessing. Yes, we Christians have it made! From the very beginning, our
text says, we were "called to inherit a blessing." That blessing is better than
money, better than social status - it's the blessing of eternal life! Earlier in this
letter Peter says, "God...has begotten us again to a living hope through the
resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and
undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you..." I Pet
1:3-4.

You believers are blessed with the bulletproof, foolproof, incorruptible
inheritance of eternal life. You were called to receive this blessing, and Jesus
blood guarantees it to you. And knowing that you are blessed allows you to
bless your Christian brothers and sisters, too, in all the ways our text describes
-- by being "of one mind, having compassion for one another; loving as
brothers, being tenderhearted, courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling
for reviling, but on the contrary blessing." It's interesting that each of those
words that describe how Christians feel toward one another occur only in this
passage of the Bible. The bond between fellow believers is so=2 0unique, so
warm, so close -- it's almost as though Peter had to make up new words just to
describe it! Because we are blessed ourselves, we "bulletproof believers" are
able - and eager - to bless others.

Another thing about us believers - because we are righteous through Christ, we
can enjoy life. After all, that's what everyone is after in our day, isn't it? To get
happiness, and enjoy life. Unfortunately, so many people around us are looking
for happiness in all the wrong places; they think that wealth, or glory, or
pleasure, or love - or some combination of those things - will equal happiness.
In our text, Peter gives us the real formula for happiness. Listen for the key
word in the formula: he says, "He who would love life and see good days, let
him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking guile; let him turn
away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of
the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayers."

The key word in there in "righteous". Only a "righteous" person is under the
loving, protecting eyes of the Lord. Only the prayers of a righteous person are
heard by Him. Only a righteous person is able to "refrain his tongue from evil,
to turn away from evil=2 0and do good." Are you such a "righteous person?"
You certainly are! Not because you've kept all the commandments - actually
you've broken every single one. No -- but you and I, and every single true
believer, has a perfect righteousness - the righteousness of Christ! We can't lead
perfect lives, but He did. We can't suffer to pay for our sins, but He could, and
He did. This righteousness of Jesus is what makes us "bulletproof believers."
It's our armor-plated shield that the worst sin cannot penetrate. Paul valued this
righteousness so highly that he said he'd sacrifice anything in order to keep it, "I
count all things as rubbish that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not
having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through
faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from Go d by faith." Phlp 3:8-9.
When we have this righteousness, our text says, we can enjoy life. We can "see
good days," with a conscience cleared by our Savior. We are enabled to "turn
away from evil and do good." We can "seek peace, and pursue it."

The third thing our text tells us about bulletproof believers is this: following
Jesus, they can be fearless. Have you ever seen a bulletproof vest? They're
standard equipment on police departments and law enforcement agencies
around the country. They're made of a space age material called Kevlar. I have
a friend who's a sheriff's deputy in South Dakota. He. took one out to the range
one day and shot at it repeatedly from close range, but the bullets couldn't
penetrate the amazing material. Very few policemen are actually shot at in the
line of duty. But it's easy to see how wearing one of these could make a
policeman feel fearless - or at least a lot safer than before!

The same is true about us. The fact that we are followers of Jesus is like a
bulletproof vest that protects us. But unlike a policeman, we know we're going
to get shot at! Every time we turn around, Satan's loading up with high-powered
rounds of sin and guilt and accusation, firing at us from all angles, at every
opportunity. But as disciples of Christ, as followers of what is good, Peter tells
us we have nothing to fear. He says, "And who is he who will harm you if you
become followers of what is good?" The answer is obvious: nobody will harm
us!

Does this mean that Christians will never suffer at the hands of the unbelieving
world? No, and Peter admits it. But he goes on to say, "Even if you should
suffer for righteousness' sake, you are blessed. 'And do not be afraid of their
threats, nor be troubled.'" Sometimes we suffer because we are Christians.
People talk us down because we won't join in their secret lodges and
anti-Christian societies. The intellectuals o f this=2 0world sneer at us and
condescend to us because they consider our Christian faith foolishness and
superstition. Even other Christians criticize us because we refuse to overlook
false teaching so that we can join others in worship. These and a hundred other
small indignities we suffer -- for the sake of following Christ. Does it hurt? Yes!
Will it harm us in the long run? No - in fact it gives the added blessing of
strengthening our faith. This you can say about bulletproof believers: in
following Jesus, they can be fearless!

One final thing we can say about them: by sanctifying God, they can be
witnesses. Our text says, "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always
be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that
is in you, with meekness and fear."

It's been many years ago now that a young minister's son named Gil Dodds
came out of Nebraska to set the indoor track record for the mile, in Madison
Square Garden. It was an amazing performance, but even more amazing was
what the young man said as he stepped to the microphone after the race, "I
thank the Lord for guiding me through the race, and seeing fit to let me win. I
thank Him always for His guiding presence in my life." The crowd was hushed
in the huge stadium. They hadn't heard anything like that before! This athlete
had shown them something about the Christian faith, something that's true for
us, as well: in order to be a witness to other people, you need to "sanctify God
in your heart." That means to make God special and holy in your life. To clear
out the central place in your heart, and reserve it for God alone. You can repeat
Bible passages to people from memory all day long, but your witness won't be
convincing unless you have taken God's Word to heart. When you believe
God's Word - trust in it, rely on it - then you are truly "hallowing His name."
Then your faith will be a fire that people will see in your life and hear in your
speech, and that fire will spread to their lives, too!

The other day I saw a film clip about the Pope's recent visit to his home
country, Germany. The clip showed him traveling down a street thronged with
people, his hands uplifted, blessing the crowd. What always makes it look kind
of comical is the vehicle he rides in - a sort of modified golf cart, with a high,
bulletproof dome protecting the pontiff from would-be assailants. You and I, of
course, don't travel with that kind of protection. The protection that we need -
for our bodies and our souls - comes from God alone. And, for Jesus' sake, it is
very good protection indeed. In fact, it's protection that God uses to make us
what we were called to be - bulletproof believers! Amen.