Answering the “Why”

                                       1 Peter 3: 13-17

 

 

          Why? Why are some people so hateful? Why do we still have wars? Why do we have to suffer even when we are doing good? Why be a Christian? Isn’t it enough to be a good person? Isn’t it enough to just live and let live and not be so concerned with everything and everybody? Even if you’re Christian, can’t you just sort of get along and not make waves?

There are so many whys in this world. In this life, we will never have the answers we seek. Oh, we can get lots of answers. Ask a finite question and you can get a finite answer. Like how far is it to the moon or to the planet of Jupiter? The answers to those questions can be calculated. But if you ask the hard questions, like how old is God, no one can really give you a straight, calculable answer. We don’t even know how old the earth is, no matter how much the scientists posit otherwise. We can only guess. 

Why do you believe in God? And, by the way, which God do you believe in? Some people, like Buddhists and Hindus, believe in polytheism, the worship of more than one God. If you’re a Jew or a Christian or believe in Islam, you trace your lineage back to Abraham and to one God. Islam calls God Allah, which is Arabic for God. Same word, different language. All three religions believe in one God. One religion, Christianity, believes in Jesus as God’s Son. Judaism sees him as the greatest false prophet in a line of false prophets. Islam denies his divinity, but calls him a great prophet. So even though you believe in God, that God being the God of Abraham of the Old Testament, you still are only one of three world religions, which differ as to who Jesus is.

So we’re back to why do you believe in God. and in the case of Christianity, you can layer that up to Jesus and the Holy Spirit, because we Christians believe in a Trinitarian God. Well, regardless of which monotheistic (one God) religion one practices, there is no hard proof. Yes, Jesus is a historical fact. He lived on this earth. We know when and it’s documented. But what he did with his life? And death? And the resurrection? That’s every bit as much legand as it is fact. It can’t be proved, at least under the standards of proof applied today. . We have no photographs of his Ascension. We have no video, no audio, no proof other than the eyewitnesses who testified in the New Testament.

So why? Why do you believe in God, and if you’re a Christian, then why do you believe in Jesus? And what does that mean? “I believe in Jesus.” Well, that’s great. I’m sure that gives you a warm and fuzzy feeling, but what do you tell Joe Gizmo, who has never set foot inside a church and now is standing in front of you and asking why? Why do you believe in God, much less Jesus? What do you tell Joe?

In the book of 1 Peter, Peter is writing to some Christians in Asia---Galatia and other provinces—to people dispersed. What does that mean? Probably that they had been in Rome and other places closer to “civilization,” but that for various reasons they find themselves relocated, dispersed. Out there in the hinterlands, they may have been finding the Christian way a path harder to tread than when in the safer confines of a larger Christian population. They may have felt like “foreigners” in their own land when they spoke of their beliefs. Their new Christian habits may not have worn so well in the diaspora of Galatia and other parts of Asia.  

Peter reminded them that righteousness is a two-edged sword; that even though you receive a blessing for seeking to be righteous, right with God, it will come at a cost and that cost will most likely be suffering. If the suffering doesn’t come through ridicule or persecution or strife, then it will come in the form of living out a different kind of life from your friends. There will be times, more than a few, when your Christianity causes you to feel like a foreigner in your own country.

Think about the world today. Here in this rural community, God is still very much part of our lives. Even those who don’t practice Christianity understand to be respectful of those who do. All I can tell you is if you find that valuable to you, don’t think you will find it everywhere you go. Modern society, even here, is coming more and more to accept and even legalize principles and practices that are just plain inconsistent with the gospel of Jesus Christ. 1  It seems to me that we have become so fascinated with individual rights that tolerance trumps truth.

But the truth of today is that a lot of people don’t really know what the truth is. People say well, I have my truth and you have your truth. Not! Not when it comes to our belief system. There is only the truth, not your truth or my truth.

Peter says “always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.” Peter is the Boy Scout of the apostles. His motto is Be prepared! How does your preparation show? When others start eating in the restaurant and you instead bow your head and hold hands, why do you do that? When the game announcer asks for a moment of silence, why do you pray? When children are fussy and your spouse is irritable, why do you religiously show up for Sunday school? Why!

Because you know about faith. Because you know about grace. Because you know, you know…about Jesus. How do you know? You have claimed some biblical promises and some biblical truths. And you live with and by those promises and truths. That is your preparation. That is your obedience.

What are some of the promises and truths that you can carry around in your toolkit for the Joe Gizmos of the world?

Here are just a few of my personal favorites:

          Theologian Karen Jobes says that First Peter “challenges Christians to reexamine our acceptance of society’s norms and to be willing to suffer the alienation of being a visiting foreigner in our own culture wherever its values conflict with those of Christ.” This is no time to be silent. We Christians must express our faith. We must witness to it, not just within the confines of a safe and friendly church sanctuary, but in the highways and biways of our communities. We must be ready, be armed with scripture and belief and then give our witness wherever and whenever the opportunity arises.

          Why do you believe in God? Do you know? Can you tell Joe Gizmo?  Arm yourself with some scripture. If you’re worried about what to say, write it down, put it in your wallet or your pocketbook. When the time comes, let God lead. You’ll do just fine! Say it humbly. Say it respectfully. But for God’s sake, say it!

Let us pray.

1 Karen H. Jobes, 1 Peter, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, 2005, p. 5.