What ought the Christian to be prepared with, to faithfully, lovingly, and honestly defend the hope they have? The answer is her confidence in salvation which is located outside of herself, in the person and work of Christ.
As the Easter season winds down in its last couple of weeks, the Church hears the teaching of Jesus on the delivery of the Paraclete, the preaching of Paul on Mars Hill, and the centerpiece of the epistle series, the 1 Peter bullseye at 3:13-22. All the readings are a matter of thematic series in a sense, but this week none of the readings particularly connects to another; at least, none of the pericopes seems overtly chosen to support one of the other readings. The epistle is a great, standalone text, but more than that, seems best to confess the other great feast scheduled for the week, the Ascension of our Lord this Thursday. Preach the epistle, our Lord’s harrowing of Hell, and the great gift of baptism that now saves you (1 Peter 3:21).
The secular calendar might also offer some fodder for a message. Many countries worldwide celebrate Mother’s Day on this day, and while some may balk at secular intrusion into divine worship, the astute preacher will remember that the one gift many mothers ask (demand?) of their children on the holiday is simply to come to church with them. What an opportunity to recognize! May you have the blessing of a so-to-speak “captive audience” to hear not only the blessing of birth, but also of the new birth worked for them by the Lord whose death saves them, whose resurrection saves them, and who seals the promise in a baptism that now saves you.
Peter summarizes the history of the world’s salvation in these brief ten verses in the middle of his letter. And it is all wrapped up in the person and work of Christ. The context is apologetic, of course, a specific angle for a sermon that can encourage your hearers to be informed, equipped, and ready for evangelism. “Always be prepared” (1 Peter 3:15), immediately suggests a helpful premise: What ought the Christian to be prepared with, to faithfully, lovingly, and honestly defend the hope they have? The answer is her confidence in salvation which is located outside of herself, in the person and work of Christ that Peter goes on to describe. Jesus suffering for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous (1 Peter 3:18), is not a mere example to follow or a model to compare one’s own suffering to (1 Peter 3:13-14, 16-17). Christ’s suffering and victory over death and Hell is the source of the Christian’s confidence and defensible hope, indeed, of her salvation.
In my opinion, there is nothing more scandalous and to the point for the “outside of yourself” accent I am emphasizing than to magnify the miracle of baptism in contrast to the works we do to equip ourselves. Baptism is more than a one-and-done. It is a baptism that does instead of leaving it up to the baptized, a Word from God instead of a work from me. Such baptizing with water indicates, after all, that the Old Adam in us should, by daily contrition and repentance, be drowned and die with all sin and evil desire, and that a new man daily emerge and rise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever. Better than a “how-to” bullet-list on evangelism or apologetic defense, baptism is preached here both as a powerful witness and daily comfort for your hearer. The root of “always being prepared” is not knowing lots of things, having lots of scriptures memorized, having a personal testimony drafted, and/or articulating a worldview with footnotes to point up the logical fallacies in other belief systems. The root is a salvation wrought in Christ’s death and resurrection, and applied really, bodily, materially, historically to the sinner. The root is the word of salvation which saves, the promise of Christ that is received and trusted.
Better than a “how-to” bullet-list on evangelism or apologetic defense, baptism is preached here both as a powerful witness and daily comfort for your hearer.
Certainly, read the scriptures and put them in your memory, know them by heart. But the do, do, doing of preparation is not what will save you or your hearer. Only Christ does that. Certainly, practice hospitality. But the do, do, do of friendliness, acceptance, listening, and long suffering is not what will save you or your hearer. Only Christ does that. Certainly, be prepared to speak about your savior. But the do, do, do of your eloquence and argument, your skill and persuasiveness, is not what will save you or your hearer. Only Christ does that.
This is where the order of things becomes important as we distinguish Law and Gospel. Is our historic witness primary, or is it consequential? Is it stimulus or response? Response, as all good works are, to the Gospel received. Apologetic preparation and evangelistic work then become not a matter laden with anxiety or of slavishly appeasing a divine or human taskmaster (the way it was encouraged when I first became a Christian in high school). It is, rather, a translation of gratitude for the gifts God gives, having a gracious attitude towards the objects of God’s affection and ours, a matter of loving the neighbor because God first loved me.
There is a funny thing for theologians who study these things. “Apologetics,” as such, is classically a matter of prolegomena in dogmatics; the stuff you read before the stuff you want to read. Really, the so-to-speak “first things” in a systematic study. In real-life application, though, what we are talking about from 1 Peter 3:13-17 is practically second. It is the free response, the loving gratitude, the sanctified good work God has called us to walk in as newly risen coheirs with Christ, a response to salvation, a response to baptism that now saves you.
Following is a sermon outline which may help spark your thoughts as you deliver the goods this week. One final thought. There are lots of folks in my own church tradition who lean dogmatic (as opposed to say exegetical or historical). I hail from a catechetical tradition that loves to quote scriptures as proof texts, a move that earns a justifiable critique of coopting God’s Word in Christ as ammunition in doctrinal debate. Perhaps, this is not the first and best use of the scriptures, particularly in a sermon. “Baptism now saves you” (1 Peter 3:21), is one such, but this text is richer than a “gotcha” verse to counter anti-sacramentalists. Dwell on it, preacher. Pray about it. Meditate on it. And thank God in Christ for the miracle wrought in the water and the Word, for your hearer, and for you.
- Easter as Apology: Defense Given, Not Constructed (1 Peter 3:15)
- The empty tomb stands as God’s own apologia – the defense is given, not built by us.
- “Always prepared” flows not from technique, your skill set, your gifts, but from what God has done outside of you.
- Memory Grounded Outside Yourself
- The Easter narrative women remember, the disciples remember; you are given something more sure than memory: Baptism.
- Not your grasp of the Word, but the Word grasping you in water: Objective, given, enduring.
- The Power of the Word Doing What It Says (1 Peter 3:18-21)
- “Baptism now saves you” is not ammunition but miracle: God acting through Word + water.
- Not your work, but God’s – drowning the old, raising the new in daily repentance and life.
- From Facts to a Living, Saving Reality
- The resurrection is not just to be argued but applied (and God applies it!): You are buried and raised with Christ.
- The “answer” you give is your life in baptism – a salvation enacted, embodied, not merely explained (all your vocations!)
- Daily Baptism as Witness and Comfort
- Your preparedness is this: Returning daily to what God has done – death and resurrection in you.
- Here is both witness and comfort – Christ present and active, not as a memory, but as gift.
Additional Resources:
Craft of Preaching-Check out 1517’s resources on 1 Peter 3:13-22.
Concordia Theology-Various helps from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO to assist you preaching 1 Peter 3:13-22.
Lectionary Kick-Start-Check out this fantastic podcast from Craft of Preaching authors Peter Nafzger and David Schmitt as they dig into the texts for this Sunday!
The Pastor’s Workshop-Check out all the great preaching resources from our friends at the Pastor’s Workshop!
