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which is good, not that which is evil. He that doeth good is of God, but he that doeth evil hath not seen God. The word good here refers to a life characterized by Christian virtues like generosity, unselfishness, love, and kindness toward others. It is true that people do not generally hurt those who are good. It is unusual for people to mistreat those who are passionate about doing good. When people find that you are very helpful, compassionate, and caring, they will not go out of their ways to hurt you, to harm you. They will find it hard to condemn you. This is the usual case, not all the time, but most of the time. That is why Peter said, and who is he that will harm you? If ye be followers of that which is good. Then he went on to say, but and if ye suffer for righteousness sake, happy are ye. Here the word if is a fourth class condition implying there is no certainty that suffering will happen, but it might. Allow me to briefly explain. There are four classes when it comes to the word if. The first class condition is a condition according to fact. For example, if Jesus Christ died for you, that is a fact. So it is a first class condition. The second class condition is a condition of impossibility. For example, if you have not stolen the money, you would not be charged. The fact is that you had already stolen the money. It is a condition that is impossible. You would be charged. The third class condition is a condition of probability. As in verse 13, if ye be followers of that which is good, most of the Christians would be followers of that which is good. The fourth class condition is a condition that implies there is no certainty, but it might happen. In other words, you may not suffer for righteousness sake, but if it happens, this is what you must do. There are lots of Christians who have done nothing but good, and yet they have been persecuted. So do not be surprised even if you have always been doing good, good, behaving yourselves, and yet you have to suffer. The Bible says happy are ye. How can we be happy in times of suffering? Suffering will reveal who we are. The word happy is exactly the same word for blessed that you find in the Beatitudes in Matthew chapter 5. Blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness. I believe you remember all the different blessings. The word blessed is more than just a description of someone who is happy. It describes someone whose happiness is based upon the fact that he is a child of God. His hope is in heaven, and his assurance of this hope is certain. This happiness is not accidental.This happiness is not external. It is not like someone attending a party, eating, drinking, laughing, enjoying in merry-making. That is the world's idea of happiness. When the Bible says, Happy are ye. It is not the world who says, You are blessed. It is God Himself who says, You are blessed. My friends, not everyone will suffer for righteousness' sake. But if it is God's will for us to suffer for righteousness' sake, we are willing, because it will reveal who we are in Christ. We are the children of God. If they have persecuted my Lord, they will also persecute me. But my hope is not in the circumstances or the things of this world. My hope is in heaven. And this assurance of my hope is certain. As 1 Peter 5, verse 10 says this, But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, the suffering will not go on forever. Even if God allows you to suffer, it is for but a while. And the purpose is to make you perfect, establish, strengthen, settle you. That is why we are willing. If it is the Lord's will and purpose for us to suffer for righteousness' sake, let it be, O God, let it be. Our second point is our devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ. Look at the second part of verse 14. And be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled. The word terror can mean intimidation. And how can you and I not be intimidated and troubled when we suffer? Well, verse 15 says, But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts. To sanctify means to set apart or to consecrate in an act of devotion. We would all remember the familiar verse in Romans 12, verse 1, that says, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, wholly acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. That is to set apart our lives unto God. That is to consecrate our lives as a devotion to God. To sanctify the Lord God in our hearts simply means to set apart our devotion to Jesus Christ. Instead of allowing our hearts to be overwhelmed and consumed by the fear, doubts, and frustration that come with the suffering, we let our hearts be set apart on focusing on Christ. That is the idea. We let our hearts and minds always be focused on our Lord God. We know that the eyes of our Lord watches over us, and our prayers are always heard by Him. We know that nothing happens to God's children without His permission. And if we have to suffer for righteousness' sake, it is for the sovereign purpose that we may increase in our knowledge of Him, in our faith,in our knowledge of Him, in our faith of Him. Who will never forget, neither will He forsake us. Let us take a moment and consider this. When was the time when we were most prayerful? Or when was the time when we were most worshipful? Or when we were most devoted? Was it not the time when we were suffering, when we were going through troubled times? When little children are hurt, they immediately run to their parents and cling onto them for comfort and strength. In a similar fashion, when the children of God are hurt, are suffering, they too run to the Almighty God and cling onto Him so that they may be comforted and strengthened. But our devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ is not subjected to the circumstances of life, whether in times of joy or in times of trouble. We are still devoted to Christ. Perhaps suffering will only cause us to tighten our grip, to cling on even more. In other words, we are always clinging onto Christ. But in times of suffering, we cling on even tighter. When we sanctify the Lord God in our hearts, we are affirming our submission to His control, to His instruction, to His guidance. We are declaring that our Lord God is sovereign over our lives. So often, when we encounter some drastic events, in our lives, whether it be sicknesses, accidents, or death, we will try to interpret those events based on our limited human knowledge and experiences. But to be honest, we don't really know, do we? We ought to humble ourselves and say to our Lord, God, I'm not in control of the situation. You alone are in control of the situation. I do not understand. I do not know what to do. Please take control of my life. And I'm willing to submit to your sovereign command. I'm willing to submit to your sovereign purpose. When you and I are devoted to the Almighty God, the circumstances may still not change, may still be exactly the same as before. The sickness may still be there. The pain may still be there. The inconveniences may still be there. But one thing has changed. The person who is undergoing those difficulties would have changed, because he would receive the courage, boldness, and strength from the Lord to weather through those adversities. Do you believe that when you call upon the Lord and your eyes are fixed onto Him, even in the most difficult times of your life, will the Lord not give you the courage, the boldness, and the strength to go through whatever circumstances? Most certainly He would. Our third point is our readiness to give an answer. Verse 15, and be ready always to give an answer to every...Our third point is our readiness to give an answer. Verse 15, and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asks you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear. The Greek word for give an answer is from where we get the English word for apologetics. Christian apologetics means to provide an intellectual defense for our Christian truth or faith. We are to speak in defense with meekness and fear. This fear is toward God, not man. In other words, we do not retaliate, we do not fight back. We defend our actions and what we believe in and explain humbly. When people ask you, why are you Christians behaving like that? Why do you have to hold onto your Christian principles so rigidly? Why don't you just compromise and say, perhaps Jesus is just one of the ways to salvation? Why must you say that the Bible is totally inspired and preserved, infallible and inerrant? Do you not know that you would be accused of breaking fellowship, you will be ostracized? We do not compromise the truth, but at the same time, we must never be arrogant. We humbly say to the adversaries, I believe in a God whose eyes are always on his children. I believe in a God who says what he means and means what he says. I believe in a God who cannot make mistakes. And if I were to say anything or do anything or think of anything against him, man may not know, but God knows. And one day, I have to stand before him and give an account of the things I have done. Humble ourselves as we give an answer to every man who asked a reason of the hope that is in us. Why we believe what we believe? We are not arrogant, we must be humble. One theologian asked this question, allow me to quote him. When we defend the Christian faith, when we give an answer to every man for the reason why we believe what we believe, which is more important, a heart that is directed toward God or a theology that is correct? In other words, which is more important, the heart or the mind? Well, he went on to say, both are equally important. When it comes to the Christian faith, we have to affirm the importance of the heart and the mind. The truth of God's word cannot get to the heart unless it is first processed by the mind. Our hearts cannot embrace what the mind does not know. Our hearts cannot embrace what the mind finds unbelievable. So it is important for us to make this distinction because if we separate the heart from the mind and try to get to the heart by bypassing the mind, you know what will happen? He says this, we are left with a blind emotion without any valid basis at all. How true. This is what happens to many.This is what happens to many contemporary worship today. The contemporary worship appeals to the heart, the feeling, without the mind, the thinking. Some people will tell you that it does not matter what you believe in as long as you have this warm feeling in your heart for Jesus. Have you ever encountered someone who says to you, I have no doctrine but Jesus Christ? Or it doesn't matter what you believe in as long as you embrace Jesus Christ or it is the heart that matters. It may sound very nice but that kind of statement is immediately destroyed as soon as you ask this question, who is Jesus Christ? The moment he or she tries to answer that question and say something about the identity of Jesus Christ, the thinking will be involved, the heart will be engaged in the doctrine of Christ. Then he or she would have to explain what the Bible says about him. So my friends, that is why it is always important to study and be equipped with the word of God so that we are ready always to give an answer to every man that asks you a reason of the hope that is in you. If you were brought before the magistrate and you are on trial for your faith, you would have to say and be ready to explain why you believe what you believe in, right? If your neighbor asks, I notice you go to church every Sunday, I notice you carry a huge book with you, I notice you pray before you drive off, what is it that you believe in? Are you ready to explain not only what you believe in but why you believe it? After the time of the apostles in the second century, there was a man named Justin Martyrs who was one of the most important early Christian apologists. His most famous writing was entitled, The Apology, which he addressed to Emperor Antonius Pius. He wanted to defend the Christians against the false charges being spread around the empire against them. In those days, the Christians were being accused of many things. Firstly, the Christians were accused of being atheists because they did not embrace polytheism. Polytheism is the worship of many gods. They refused to worship the emperor, which was widely practiced in Rome. Because they would not worship the emperor, they were accused of sedition and being traitors to the empire. They were also accused of cannibalism. Rumors spread that Christians met together in secret to eat someone's body and to drink someone's blood. This rumor was nothing more than a terrible distortion of the Lord's Supper. Justin Martyrs clarified what the Christian church believed in. He told the emperor that Christians were not atheists, but they believed in a God who is one and not many.believe in a God who is one and not many. He explained that Christians do not worship Caesar because only Jesus Christ is Lord. Nonetheless, Christians will be obedient to the king and judges. Christian pay taxes and they pray for those who rule over them. He also explained the nature of the Lord's Supper, which was far from cannibalism. And he did all these things with a spirit of meekness. By apologetics, ready always to give an answer, Justin Martyrs corrected the misunderstanding and distortion that was spread about God and the Bible. My friends, what about you? Are you ready to defend the faith? Are you ready to give an answer to every man that asks you why you believe what you believe in? If you are not able to give an answer as to what you believe and why you believe it, how can your unbelieving grandparents, parents, children, relatives, colleagues come to know Jesus for salvation? We all know that many of our unbelieving loved ones have misunderstood Christianity and the Bible. But are we able to correct those misunderstanding and distortions? When our unbelieving loved ones lie on their deathbeds, are we able to look them in the eyes and say, it doesn't matter, as long as I know, as long as I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. God forbids, the Lord have mercy on us. You and I must be ready to give an answer. Our final point is our conscience is clear. Look at verses 16 and 17. Having a good conscience, that whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation or your good behavior in Christ. For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well-doing than for evildoing. Concerning suffering, there are several possibilities. Firstly, there are people who may suffer for doing what is wrong. They may suffer for the consequences of their sins. When I was in Singapore, I used to visit the prisons. I noticed some of the prisoners who speak as if they were like the Apostle Paul in prison. And they would even quote scripture verses like, I am now in bonds for Christ. They are not in bonds for Christ. They are in bonds for their own crimes. My friends, if you have committed an offense and you are charged in court, or if you have done something wrong in your office, you have stolen some money, you have taken some things back home without permission, and you are sacked from your work, please do not deceive yourself into thinking that you are suffering for righteousness' sake. You are suffering for the consequences of your own sins. Secondly,for the consequences of your own sins. Secondly, there are people who suffer for certain causes that they stood for. There are people who would fight for freedom. They will spend their entire life to fight for the freedom of a particular nation, or for the independence of a particular group of people. Some would fight for animal rights. Others would fight for the world to save the planet, or to save the vegetation. All these may be noble causes, but they are not the kind of righteousness, suffering for righteousness, that Peter was referring to here. Peter was referring to believers who suffer for righteousness' sake, and for well-doing. It is a very specific kind of righteousness. It is a righteousness that is in accordance to God's word. It is a righteousness that is well-pleasing in the sight of God. It is a righteousness that is part of God's sovereign will for our lives. Therefore, verse 17 says, for it is better if the will of God be so, that he suffer for well-doing than for evil doing. Remember, there are four classes of the word, if. Here, the word if is in the fourth class, which means there is no certainty, but it might happen. In other words, it is not God's desire that you would suffer. It is not as if Peter desired that you would suffer. But in the event that you suffer, in the event that you suffer, if suffering is going to come upon your life, it is better that you suffer for well-doing than for evil doing. That is what it means. When you and I suffer for righteousness' sake, we must maintain our conscience. Our conscience must always be pure and clear. The only way our conscience can be pure and clear is when our conscience is toward God. The conscience is something that people cannot see. It is invisible. It is inside the person, and only the person knows what his conscience is telling him. Man may try to put on an hour show. Man may try to say the right thing, do the right thing to impress others. Do you know who knows best? God. God is omniscient, and nothing can escape his eyes, even our conscience. Cannot escape him. He looks into the deepest recesses of our hearts and knows our thoughts. The believer who has a good conscience will not try to look good on the surface, but beneath it is totally inconsistent. The believer with a good conscience will not try to watch if anyone is looking, because there is always someone watching, and that is God. God sees into our hearts. God knows our conscience, and once our lives are measured in the light of God's word, it will show whether or not it is a life that glorifies the one who has saved us. It will show whether or not it glorifies the one who has died on the cross of Calvary, shedding his precious blood.shedding his precious blood, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Our lives are not perfect. No man is. We will always have our weaknesses. But a believer with a good conscience will not pretend. He will not live a double life, because his conscience is always toward God. People may slander you. They may speak evil of you, as if you are an evildoer. But you continue to do that which is good. You continue to maintain a pure conscience before God, so that those who falsely accuse you will be ashamed. They will be greatly ashamed when they see your good conversation in Christ, which means your good behavior in Christ. That is how you and I should live our lives. My friends, we can tell people all about Jesus. But if our conscience is not right toward God, if our lives are not lived according to scriptures, if we allow the circumstances of life and the fear of men to turn us all around, if we behave like everyone else, where is the impact? Where is the testimony? Where is the light that must be reflected through our lives as Christians? Therefore, you and I must pray. God, please strengthen my faith that I may be willing to suffer for righteousness' sake as I live a Christian life, glorifying you in this world. Strengthen my faith that I may be devoted to the Lord Jesus Christ, regardless of the circumstances. Strengthen my faith and grant to me the knowledge and understanding of your word, that I may be able to give an answer as to why I believe what I believe in. And finally, that I may have a good conscience toward you, because you are the one who sees into the innermost of my heart, because you are the one whom ultimately I will have to stand to give an account of all the things I have done. Let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank thee for thy precious word. We thank thee for this opportunity that we can have to consider this portion of scriptures. Help us not just to understand thy word. Help us, most importantly, to be able to apply thy word into our lives through the working of thy spirit. Fill us with thy spirit, that thy people will be good testimonies for thee. That even if we were to suffer for righteousness' sake, we are most willing, because it reveals to us who we are in thee. O Lord, help us to apply what we have learned this blessed evening. We give thee thanks, and we pray all this in Jesus' name. Amen. I will now pass the time to Deacon Jeffrey, who will lead us in this time of prayer.