Evangelizing an Enemy

1 Peter 2:11-12

December 4, 2005

Most recently in Peter’s letter,

We have talked about the privileges of being a Christian.

To these rejected selected, it may look all trial and no triumph.

Peter has assured them that is not the case.

It is far better to be a suffering Christian in the world,

Then a comforted non-believer.

The privileges are still greater.

In tonight’s text, Peter begins tackling a new theme.

No doubt one of the biggest hardships these rejected Christians were facing was difficulty in ministry.

And we know what this is.

Sometimes the most discouraging attacks the enemy throws at me

Are when he tells me there is no way I can ever win the lost,

Because they are too angry.

HOW DO YOU WITNESS TO THE PERSON WHO HATES WHAT YOU STAND FOR?

HOW DO YOU LEAD YOUR ENEMY TO CHRIST?

That is indeed where these rejected selected are.

They aren’t popular in their world, they are rejected,

Yet they are trying to reach the lost for Jesus.

HOW CAN YOU REACH THE PERSON WHO HATES WHAT YOU STAND FOR?

HOW DO YOU EVANGELIZE THERE?

That is the theme to Peter’s text tonight.

He is going to show us the tool that you must use

In order to evangelize your enemy.

Of course it is worth noting the people really aren’t our enemies,

Although sometimes it may seem that way.

Our enemy is really Satan, and he’s their enemy as well, they just don’t know it.

Ephesians 6:12 “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

We are really fighting Satan, but because he has some people so ensnared,

It can seem like we are fighting people,

And they most certainly feel as though they are fighting us.

That makes for difficult ministry.

How do you witness in this situation.

Well there are three things in this text we will look at, tonight,

To help us understand the tool we must use in this situation.

#1 THE CIRCUMSTANCES

Before we dive into what to do,

We must look at the circumstances

That surround those who are receiving this letter.

This will help us,

Because often times we are tricked into thinking

That if we are in this same boat,

Then we must have done something wrong.

There are two main circumstances that these people find themselves in.

1) THEY ARE STRANGERS

Vs. 11a, “Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers…”

We must first let this sink in.

We say it many times, but we must do more than say it.

Christians are in the world, not of the world.

We are not here to blend.

We are not here to float down stream.

This world is headed for a waterfall of destruction,

And the stream gets faster every day.

We are not called just to grab a log and float along.

We are called to stand against the flow.

We are never to be content with the world.

We are never to crave the world.

Hebrews 11:13 “All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.”

So are we.

For some reason, the mindset today

Is that a certain amount of worldliness is required

So that we are not offensive, and can more easily win the lost

“may it never be!”

1 John 2:15-17 “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.”

You say I agree with that preacher.

“I don’t love the world,

I just befriend the world in order to reach the lost”.

That sounds noble doesn’t it.

James 4:4 “You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”

Let me clue you in on a very important truth.

YOU ARE INTENDED TO BE DIFFERENT.

Did we not just read it a couple of weeks ago.

1 Peter 1:14-16 “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, "YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY."

Let me assure you, it is OK to be an outcast in the world.

It is OK to be considered a stranger

It is OK to be considered an alien

I don’t recall Jesus fitting in with the world too well either.

The people Peter is writing to are strangers, we should be too.

2) YOU ARE SLANDERED

Vs. 12b, “…they slander you as evil doers…”

Boy here is another one that if the shoe fits,

We think we have done something wrong.

For some reason, if someone dislikes us enough to slander us,

Then we automatically think we must have done something wrong.

Because no one should want to slander a true Christian.

Well, let’s take a second and look at Jesus.

After all, anytime you do something that a lost person doesn’t like,

He’s the first person they will throw in your face.

“Jesus wouldn’t have done that.”

Well let me ask you this.

IF JESUS WAS SO POPULAR, WHY DID THEY NAIL HIM TO A CROSS?

If my memory serves me correctly, the slandered Jesus like crazy!

So why do we assume that when a lost world slanders us,

We must have done something wrong?

Brethren, this was promised.

Matthew 10:22 "You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.”

Matthew 10:24-25 "A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. "It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign the members of his household!”

2 Timothy 3:12 “Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”

John 16:1-3 "These things I have spoken to you so that you may be kept from stumbling. "They will make you outcasts from the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God. "These things they will do because they have not known the Father or Me.”

You see folks, these are the circumstances

That real Christians often find themselves in.

If you are a slandered stranger,

It does not mean you have done something wrong,

It may very well be that you are doing things right.

These who received Peter’s letter certainly fit that bill.

The problem was, how do these witness to those who are slandering them?

I mean, if you have a person who hates your stand for truth,

And hates the way it dictates your life,

And they hate it so much that they are actually slandering you,

How do you witness to that person?

#2 THE COMMANDS

Two clear cut commands of how to be a witness to your enemy.

They are both vitally important, and the second builds upon the first.

1) ELIMINATE EVIL DESIRES

Vs. 11, “Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul.”

Notice he didn’t say “abstain from fleshly actions”

Here Peter is talking about the desire.

You see, if you don’t first win the battle in your mind,

You will never win it in your body.

Our flesh has a very powerful tool, it is called rationalization.

If you allow your mind to dwell on something long enough,

It won’t be long ‘til your mind finds a way to justify it

EVER JUST START ENTERTAINING THE THOUGHT OF GETTING A NEW CAR?

If you ever start entertaining the thought, you’ve lost the battle.

You can rationalize action in your mind.

That is why the first step is to “abstain from fleshly lusts”

James 1:14-15 “But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.”

You must say no to those things, for they “wage war against the sole”

They literally attack the Spirit in you.

It is that war that Paul talks about in Romans 7.

If you allow it, it will only attack and try to get more of you.

Romans 6:19 “I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification.”

Make sure you don’t love the world, it will nail you every time.

2 Timothy 4:9-10a “Make every effort to come to me soon; for Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica;”

1 Timothy 6:9-10 “But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”

Peter says if you want to be a witness to those who hate you,

The first thing you must do is eliminate evil desires.

You must not even allow yourself to want some of those things.

2) EXHIBIT EXCELLENT DEEDS

Verse 12a, “keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles”

The simple truth is that the world is watching you

Because they want to see you fail.

Now, since they are watching you, use that as a witness.

You must first get your desires right,

Because action is consequence of desire.

This doesn’t always work in regard to righteousness,

But I’m convinced it just about never fails in regard to sin.

If there is some sin you want to do, odds are you will follow through.

So you must first get a handle on your desires.

But once you’ve done that, then control your actions.

You witness to your enemy by living above reproach.

THEY ARE WATCHING

Matthew 12:1-2 “At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples became hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat. But when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, "Look, Your disciples do what is not lawful to do on a Sabbath."

John 8:1-6 “But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people were coming to Him; and He sat down and began to teach them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the center of the court, they said to Him, "Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act. "Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?" They were saying this, testing Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground.”

Matthew 21:14-15 “And the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that He had done, and the children who were shouting in the temple, "Hosanna to the Son of David," they became indignant”

See, they are watching you, so live excellent among them.

#3 THE CONCLUSION

This is the result of our flawless living before those who hate you.

And there are two aspects here.

1) THEY MAY WITNESS YOUR GOODNESS

Verse 12c, “so that in the thing in which they slander you as evil doers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them,”

You see, you may walk in righteousness,

And they may even say what you are doing is wrong.

Keep it up, because they may say it’s wrong, but they’re watching

Matthew 5:16 "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

2) THEY MAY WORSHIP YOUR GOD

Verse 12d, “so that…they may…glorify God in the day of visitation.”

WHAT IS THIS DAY OF VISITATION?

Luke 19:41-44 “When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, "If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes. "For the days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, and surround you and hem you in on every side, and they will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation."

This visitation is the day in which the Spirit of God

Visits them in regard to salvation.

Now, here is what Peter is saying.

Suppose you have a person who hates your righteous lifestyle.

They hate the things you do,

And even tell you that you are wrong for doing them.

The world will tell you,

In order to win that person, you have to become less offensive.

My parents had a church growth expert come to their church in Wichita Falls.

His name is Josh Hunt.

He encouraged having a block party with some sort of entertainment. (Super Bowl).

But one thing he stressed, “DO NOT SHARE THE GOSPEL”.

He said it was too offensive.

Apparently that mindset is sinking in.

Because our biggest concern is that the lost like us.

SO WHAT!

We aren’t here to make friends, we are here to make disciples.

I want you to know I had more friends before I became a preacher.

I had more friends before I became a Christian.

So remove the gospel..?

Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

LET ME TELL YOU WHERE THE LIE CAME IN.

Somewhere along the lines, people convinced us that the best way to win a person to Christ was through building a relationship with them.

NOW, WHY WOULD THAT BE SO?

The only reason I can see

Is because you would seem to be more influential in their life

If you have a relationship with them.

But have we not learned, we are not trying to persuade.

1 Corinthians 2:1-5 “And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.”

It is my observation that when people try to first build a relationship,

They never fully present the gospel,

Because the relationship becomes the final aim.

Peter’s point teaches otherwise.

The best way to win your enemy is not to give in to him.

The best way to win your enemy is to live flawlessly before him.

Because there will come a day when God will visit him,

And at that point, you will be on his mind.

At that point all you have done will witness to him.

If you truly want to be a witness to an unbelieving world,

Then do what Jesus said.

Matthew 5:48 "Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”