(I Peter 3:13-22)

 

 

  kuvrion de; to;n Cristo;n aJgiavsate ejn tai'" kardivai" uJmw'n,

 

as Lord, but The Christ, you (pl.) set apart / sanctify in your hearts

 

 

(Notice Ezra 8:28, “I said to them, You as well as these articles are consecrated to the Lord.  The silver and gold are a freewill offering to the Lord, the God of your fathers.”)

 

 

 

How do I know if I have made Christ Lord in my heart?

 

There are all kinds of ways that let me know that I haven’t made Christ Lord in my heart.  The Scripture says so clearly not to say that we know the light when all we do is walk in darkness. 

 

There are two things that are indicators to us that we have made Christ Lord in our hearts.

 

These are also two goals that we will reach for because we have indeed made Christ Lord in our hearts.

 

 

 

 

I.                    Always be eager to do what is good (I Peter 3:13-14).

 

 

·        Don’t be afraid (enemy of doing good)

 

·        Don’t be afraid of doing good

 

-   The fear of the Lord keeps us from doing evil.

 

-   The fear of the Lord helps us do what is right.

 

-   The fear of man (peer pressure) makes us do evil.

 

-   The fear of man keeps us from doing good.

 

·        Don’t be afraid to suffer

 

-   The always present threat of suffering

 

-   Horrible reality of unjust suffering

 

 

 

 

II.  Always be prepared to give a message of hope (15-   ).

 

 

·        Gentleness and respect

 

 

 

 

 

·        Clear Conscience

 

-   This shames our enemy (rather than shame on us) – vs. 16

 

-   This sustains us during unjust suffering (vs. 17-20)

 

-   This saves us because of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.

 

That is why we baptize!

 

Not to remove dirt from the body or from the soul.

 

-   getting into the water and being immersed is not a bath to remove dirt from your body.

 

-   “bath”:  the immersion of the body or a part of it in water; a vessel for holding water in which to plunge or wash the body.

 

-   Knights of the Bath (Henry IV in 1399 and revived by George I in 1725):  received its name  from the candidates for the honor of being put into a bath the preceding evening, to denote a purification or absolution from evil deeds.

 

-   “bathe”:  to immerse in water.

 

 

Baptizw – dip, immerse, dip oneself (middle), wash (in non-Christian literature: plunge, sink, drench, overwhelm, or soak).

 

 

“Baptism is the occasion and sign of transition form an old way of life to another that is marked by a new ethic.  In accepting baptism the person is affirming willingness to share in the known experience of baptized persons; i.e. the experience of suffering” (Linguistic Key to the Greek NT).

 

 

But because it is the response of a good conscience.

 

I BELIEVE THAT JESUS CHRIST IS LORD.

 

 

 

“Baptism is a symbolic picture of the resurrection of Christ as well as our own spiritual renewal.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

How do I know if I have made Christ Lord in my heart?

 

There are all kinds of ways that let me know that I haven’t made Christ Lord in my heart.  The Scripture says so clearly not to say that we know the light when all we do is walk in darkness. 

 

There are two things that are indicators to us that we have made Christ Lord in our hearts.

 

These are also two goals that we will reach for because we have indeed made Christ Lord in our hearts.