The Way of an Exile
In this blog we are going to consider the subject of evangelism. However, our focus is going to be not so much on the methods of evangelism, but on the manners of an evangelists—the ways of an exile evangelist.
We are using the phrase "exile evangelist" because it describes the climate in which believers in Peter’s day were evangelizing in. It also depicts the climate today that believers find themselves in more and more, especially when they resist being conformed to the ways of the world.
The recipients of Peter’s letter, who he referred to as exiles, had not yet experienced the fierce political persecution that would later come from Emperor Nero. Christianity would become criminal and even punishable by death. Instead, what they were experiencing as Christians in a pagan culture was contempt, scorn, and ridicule—what one commentator called, soft persecution.
The gospel has spread throughout church history not because the church figured out what methods of evangelism worked best. Rather, it spread because the message of the gospel coupled with their manner as exile evangelist resisted the culture and became convincing proof before their adversaries of the saving hope and grace of Jesus.
Fearlessness that Reveals our Hope
In 1 Peter 3:15, God’s word says that exile evangelists are “always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.” An exile evangelist, who lives knowing that this world is not their home, exhibits a hope that is not of this world. And that hope is evident to those around them and provides opportunities to share the hope of Christ with others.
Beginning in verse 13 Peter writes, “Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled.” Notice here that believers are to be fearless and zealous about doing good, even if they suffer for doing so. This fearlessness and zealousness comes from knowing that “the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous and His ears our open unto their prayers.” (1 Peter 3:12)
We are not alone when we are suffering for righteousness. God is with us and His grace will strengthen us. And it’s this grace upon our lives—a grace that makes us fearless and zealous for doing good even in the face of suffering that manifests a real other worldly hope before a watching world. People are not going to be moved to ask us questions about the things that matter most because of the hope and passion we display for a political party. They’re certainly not going to be drawn to the Christianity we claim to live, if we display contempt and speak disparagingly of people with whom we disagree with on political issues.
Instead, our hope in Christ is revealed when we do good to those who would speak disparagingly of us as Christians—when we take risks and make sacrifices to bring the hope of Christ to others.
Readiness to Give Reasons for our Hope
After encouraging exile Christians not to be fearful about the sufferings they may endure for doing good, Peter continues, “but in your hearts honor 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...” (1 Peter 3:15). Honoring Christ as holy (set apart) in our hearts produces the fearlessness and readiness that displays a compelling hope before a watching world.
It’s impossible to be all that God wants us to be in a hostile culture apart from Jesus having the highest place of honor in our hearts. Seeking God’s face continually in the word and in prayer so that He is truly set apart in our hearts must always be our first resolve not our last resort. When He has His rightful place on the throne of our hearts, His hope will be the anchor of our souls giving us a fearlessness about suffering for righteousness and a readiness to share the hope of Christ with others. When this is true of us, people will want to know what it is that is so different about us—they will want to know about the hope that is revealed in our selfless and sacrificial devotion to Christ.
I appreciate Vance Pitman’s words here: “If followers of Jesus were as bold in proclaiming the Gospel—the only message that can change the world—as we were in proclaiming our political opinions we would turn the world upside down."
Does Jesus have the preeminent place in your heart—the throne of your heart? It could be that Jesus was set apart in your heart, but in more recent times He’s taken a back seat to politics and pandemics or other worldly affairs. It could be that you’ve allowed our culture of outrage to infect you and draw you away from a single-minded devotion to Jesus. If you recognize that something or someone else has taken the place in your heart that belongs to Jesus, I pray that you would repent and give that preeminent place in your heart back to Him.
Gentleness that Resists Those who Mock our Hope
After explaining that an exile evangelist is “always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you,” Peter adds: “yet do it with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15c).
Again, the gospel has spread throughout church history not because the church figured out what methods of evangelism worked best. Rather, it spread because both the message of the gospel and their manners as exile evangelists resisted the culture and became convincing proof before their adversaries of the saving hope and grace of Jesus.
When we are asked to give a reason for the hope that is revealed through our otherworldly way of life, what is the answer? We saw in verse 15 that as exile evangelists, we can fearlessly suffer for righteousness, which reveals our hope, when in our hearts we honor Christ the Lord as holy. So the answer that we can give when we are asked about the hope that is evident in our lives is, “my hope comes from setting apart Christ in my heart by faith as Savior and Lord.” Or you can say it like that precious hymn, “my hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness.”
Often bible teachers reference 1 Peter 3:15 as a proof text for the importance of apologetics. Apologetics has to do with giving reasoned arguments in the defense of the Christian faith. But one of the great truths that our text is teaching us is that the counter-cultural life of an exile believer is the best apologetic for the Christian faith.
Moreover, if our Christ-like way of life will open people’s hearts to want to hear about our hope, then the manner in which we share the hope of Christ matters too. When we’re asked about our hope and we go to give the answer, which is Jesus, Peter explained, “...yet do it with gentleness and respect…” (1 Peter 3:15b.
Jesus described Himself as, “gentle and lowly in heart…” (Matthew 11:29) to encourage others to come to Him and find rest in Him. If gentle and lowly describes Jesus’s heart, which compels the lost to come to Him, shouldn’t gentle and lowly describe the way of His followers—of exile evangelists? Our manner of life and the way we share the message of Christ, with gentleness and respect, especially in our culture of rage, should attest to rather than contradict the message that we preach.
“Just as our enduring hope can be a compelling testimony when we suffer, showing respect to our rivals has a way of validating the gospel we preach. Many times people won’t be compelled to listen to our message on account of sound arguments or persuasive evidence. Instead, their ears will only open when we demonstrate inexplicable kindness, meekness, and compassion.” -Elliot Clark
There is power in responding in a gentle way and with a good conscience to those who come at us in a harsh and disrespectful manner. In 1 Peter 2:15, Peter wrote that our good conduct can silence those who would speak evil of us, and in 1 Peter 3:16 he adds that our gracious speech and good heart can put them to shame. Peter is not saying that we should purposely go around shaming people by demeaning them. Rather he is saying that our gracious conduct and speech can both disarm people and bring a conviction to their heart that can lead them to repentance.
“When the church is absolutely different from the world, she invariably attracts it. It is then that the world is made to listen to her message, though it may hate it at first.” -Martin Lloyd-Jones
How have you been affected by living in this age of “us against them?” Are you, as an exile evangelist, rising above it and showing others a different way or have you succumbed to it? We will succumb to it and not rise above it if we allow ourselves to be discipled more by the 24/7 news cycle and rancor of social media than by Christ the Lord.
Beloved, it’s impossible to be all that God wants us to be in a hostile culture apart from Jesus having the highest place of honor in our hearts. Seeking hard after God continually in the word and in prayer so that He truly is set apart in our hearts must always be our first resolve not our last resort.
When we give Jesus His rightful place on the throne of our hearts, His hope will be the anchor of our souls giving us a fearlessness about suffering for righteousness, and a readiness to share the hope of Christ to others with gentleness and respect to the glory of Christ.
In your service,
Pastor Marco
We are using the phrase "exile evangelist" because it describes the climate in which believers in Peter’s day were evangelizing in. It also depicts the climate today that believers find themselves in more and more, especially when they resist being conformed to the ways of the world.
The recipients of Peter’s letter, who he referred to as exiles, had not yet experienced the fierce political persecution that would later come from Emperor Nero. Christianity would become criminal and even punishable by death. Instead, what they were experiencing as Christians in a pagan culture was contempt, scorn, and ridicule—what one commentator called, soft persecution.
The gospel has spread throughout church history not because the church figured out what methods of evangelism worked best. Rather, it spread because the message of the gospel coupled with their manner as exile evangelist resisted the culture and became convincing proof before their adversaries of the saving hope and grace of Jesus.
Fearlessness that Reveals our Hope
In 1 Peter 3:15, God’s word says that exile evangelists are “always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.” An exile evangelist, who lives knowing that this world is not their home, exhibits a hope that is not of this world. And that hope is evident to those around them and provides opportunities to share the hope of Christ with others.
Beginning in verse 13 Peter writes, “Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled.” Notice here that believers are to be fearless and zealous about doing good, even if they suffer for doing so. This fearlessness and zealousness comes from knowing that “the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous and His ears our open unto their prayers.” (1 Peter 3:12)
We are not alone when we are suffering for righteousness. God is with us and His grace will strengthen us. And it’s this grace upon our lives—a grace that makes us fearless and zealous for doing good even in the face of suffering that manifests a real other worldly hope before a watching world. People are not going to be moved to ask us questions about the things that matter most because of the hope and passion we display for a political party. They’re certainly not going to be drawn to the Christianity we claim to live, if we display contempt and speak disparagingly of people with whom we disagree with on political issues.
Instead, our hope in Christ is revealed when we do good to those who would speak disparagingly of us as Christians—when we take risks and make sacrifices to bring the hope of Christ to others.
Readiness to Give Reasons for our Hope
After encouraging exile Christians not to be fearful about the sufferings they may endure for doing good, Peter continues, “but in your hearts honor 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...” (1 Peter 3:15). Honoring Christ as holy (set apart) in our hearts produces the fearlessness and readiness that displays a compelling hope before a watching world.
It’s impossible to be all that God wants us to be in a hostile culture apart from Jesus having the highest place of honor in our hearts. Seeking God’s face continually in the word and in prayer so that He is truly set apart in our hearts must always be our first resolve not our last resort. When He has His rightful place on the throne of our hearts, His hope will be the anchor of our souls giving us a fearlessness about suffering for righteousness and a readiness to share the hope of Christ with others. When this is true of us, people will want to know what it is that is so different about us—they will want to know about the hope that is revealed in our selfless and sacrificial devotion to Christ.
I appreciate Vance Pitman’s words here: “If followers of Jesus were as bold in proclaiming the Gospel—the only message that can change the world—as we were in proclaiming our political opinions we would turn the world upside down."
Does Jesus have the preeminent place in your heart—the throne of your heart? It could be that Jesus was set apart in your heart, but in more recent times He’s taken a back seat to politics and pandemics or other worldly affairs. It could be that you’ve allowed our culture of outrage to infect you and draw you away from a single-minded devotion to Jesus. If you recognize that something or someone else has taken the place in your heart that belongs to Jesus, I pray that you would repent and give that preeminent place in your heart back to Him.
Gentleness that Resists Those who Mock our Hope
After explaining that an exile evangelist is “always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you,” Peter adds: “yet do it with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15c).
Again, the gospel has spread throughout church history not because the church figured out what methods of evangelism worked best. Rather, it spread because both the message of the gospel and their manners as exile evangelists resisted the culture and became convincing proof before their adversaries of the saving hope and grace of Jesus.
When we are asked to give a reason for the hope that is revealed through our otherworldly way of life, what is the answer? We saw in verse 15 that as exile evangelists, we can fearlessly suffer for righteousness, which reveals our hope, when in our hearts we honor Christ the Lord as holy. So the answer that we can give when we are asked about the hope that is evident in our lives is, “my hope comes from setting apart Christ in my heart by faith as Savior and Lord.” Or you can say it like that precious hymn, “my hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness.”
Often bible teachers reference 1 Peter 3:15 as a proof text for the importance of apologetics. Apologetics has to do with giving reasoned arguments in the defense of the Christian faith. But one of the great truths that our text is teaching us is that the counter-cultural life of an exile believer is the best apologetic for the Christian faith.
Moreover, if our Christ-like way of life will open people’s hearts to want to hear about our hope, then the manner in which we share the hope of Christ matters too. When we’re asked about our hope and we go to give the answer, which is Jesus, Peter explained, “...yet do it with gentleness and respect…” (1 Peter 3:15b.
Jesus described Himself as, “gentle and lowly in heart…” (Matthew 11:29) to encourage others to come to Him and find rest in Him. If gentle and lowly describes Jesus’s heart, which compels the lost to come to Him, shouldn’t gentle and lowly describe the way of His followers—of exile evangelists? Our manner of life and the way we share the message of Christ, with gentleness and respect, especially in our culture of rage, should attest to rather than contradict the message that we preach.
“Just as our enduring hope can be a compelling testimony when we suffer, showing respect to our rivals has a way of validating the gospel we preach. Many times people won’t be compelled to listen to our message on account of sound arguments or persuasive evidence. Instead, their ears will only open when we demonstrate inexplicable kindness, meekness, and compassion.” -Elliot Clark
There is power in responding in a gentle way and with a good conscience to those who come at us in a harsh and disrespectful manner. In 1 Peter 2:15, Peter wrote that our good conduct can silence those who would speak evil of us, and in 1 Peter 3:16 he adds that our gracious speech and good heart can put them to shame. Peter is not saying that we should purposely go around shaming people by demeaning them. Rather he is saying that our gracious conduct and speech can both disarm people and bring a conviction to their heart that can lead them to repentance.
“When the church is absolutely different from the world, she invariably attracts it. It is then that the world is made to listen to her message, though it may hate it at first.” -Martin Lloyd-Jones
How have you been affected by living in this age of “us against them?” Are you, as an exile evangelist, rising above it and showing others a different way or have you succumbed to it? We will succumb to it and not rise above it if we allow ourselves to be discipled more by the 24/7 news cycle and rancor of social media than by Christ the Lord.
Beloved, it’s impossible to be all that God wants us to be in a hostile culture apart from Jesus having the highest place of honor in our hearts. Seeking hard after God continually in the word and in prayer so that He truly is set apart in our hearts must always be our first resolve not our last resort.
When we give Jesus His rightful place on the throne of our hearts, His hope will be the anchor of our souls giving us a fearlessness about suffering for righteousness, and a readiness to share the hope of Christ to others with gentleness and respect to the glory of Christ.
In your service,
Pastor Marco