Week 4 Video

a refusal to live by the rules everyone else accepts. The early church was a movement, a resistance, scattered groups of people living under a new king. But their resistance was different, and the leader gave some shocking orders. When they strike you, don't strike back. When they curse you, bless them. A radical resistance that refuses to become what it opposes. It raises the question, "When the world pushes, what do Christians do?" By now, the Christian's neighbors had noticed something that surprised them. These believers had stopped showing up to the old parties, the old temples, the festivals that doubled as social and business life. They are surprised that you do not join them in their reckless, wild living, and they heap abuse on you. Peter isn't interested in helping Christians win culture wars. He's interested in helping them bear witness to a different king. Why? Because of who is on the throne. Jesus is not only risen. He is vindicated and in throne, with every authority and power in the universe now beneath his feet. Who has gone into heaven in his at God's right hand, with angels, authorities, and powers in submission to him. Christ's death, resurrection, and kingship rule over every power. Peter grounds the command to not retaliate in the fact that Jesus already reigns. And knowing the war is already won, changes the way you fight it. Authorities and powers in submission to him. That was explosive in Peter's time. Probably still is today. Lord, Savior, Son of God, the one to whom every power bows, that was the language stamped on coins and carved on statues. So when Peter writes that angels, spiritual beings, not earthly ones, then every authority and power are in submission to the crucified Jesus. He's taking an emperor's job title and handing it to a man the empire executed, set out loud in the wrong company that one sentence was sedition. It was treason and it could get you killed. So how does the world fight then and now with force, with outrage, with swords and shields and aircraft carriers and raw power? Well, how do Christians fight? We don't fight like the world. Our enemy is not flesh and blood. So if we can't fight like the world and we can't surrender to it, how do we live? Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear their threats. Do not be frightened. But in your hearts, revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior

may be ashamed of their slander. Christian resistance. What does that mean? Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing. That's crazy by the world's math. But it is the logic of the cross. Jesus absorbed the worst that was done to him and he never returned these insults. Peter hands us orders. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you and to give the reason for the hope that you have. The word is apology. It's a Greek word that means a reasoned defense. This doesn't mean a social media battle or a Reddit debate. It means a reasoned defense. When Christians get stuck in this back and forth culture war, we often forget the second half of this verse. It says that we're to make a reasoned defense with gentleness and respect. Jesus draws people with gracious words, not with clever clap backs. Peter asks, who will harm you if you are eager to do good? He's promising nothing can ultimately harm you if you belong to God. If Christ is your Lord, you have nothing to fear and that makes you harder to rule. Live like that and a community of believers becomes its own argument, its own apologia. A church full of people who love each other deeply is shocking. That kind of surprising love is a real resistance, but underneath Christians fight another battle. the battle between serving self and serving God. Hospitality matters because the answer is sometimes better shown than told. A community that takes the stranger in, that forgives, that stays, that is not just theory, it's visible. Real hope nobody can argue with because it is lived. Love is the one apologia the world cannot refute. And yet, love like that looks far too small to matter. Peter tells us to do the opposite of our instincts. Don't fight fire with fire. Meanwhile, Christians are still being abused, losing homes, facing opposition. So how is fighting from victory any different from just surrendering? From the outside, gentleness and cowardice can look identical. The difference is, what is underneath? Most people think that anger is the opposite of fear. Often, it's actually a mask for it. When we're threatened, embarrassed, rejected or wounded, retaliation promises relief. It gives us the feeling of taking control again. That's why blessing an enemy feels so unnatural.

Peter isn't asking Christians to deny their hurt. Instead, it's to not let their hurt decide who they become. Cowardice is the absence of conviction. Gentleness is controlled conviction. You could swing back, you choose not to. Christians were never told to be doormats. They were told to be the kind of strong that doesn't need to hit back. One of the hardest things for people is holding two realities at the same time. We want life to be simple, either we're winning or we're losing. Either God is faithful or things are just hard. Peter refuses that choice. Jesus reigns and Christians suffer. Both are true. Spiritual maturity is learning not to abandon one truth when you're experiencing the other. We grieve without despairing and we celebrate without pretending. We pray, "Come, Lord Jesus, while we hold on to victory." So the church doesn't take up the world's weapons. And it doesn't flee from the fight either. It takes a third way. Faithful presence. Surrender means giving up. We've lost. But the Jesus movement lays down the weapons of the world because we know we've won. The most dangerous resistance to an empire is one that can no longer frighten. The church has no fear because Christ is already on the throne. The powerful are ruthless because they are terrified of losing. People who follow the cross love their enemies because we have nothing to be afraid of losing. Be ready with a reason and give it gently. Serve each other with whatever you have been given. Speak as though God gave you the words.

Love so well that the watching world stops attacking and becomes curious about why. So that in all things, God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen. (upbeat music)