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1 Peter 3:13-22 ESV

Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil. For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.

I. EVERYDAY EVANGELISM (13-17)
A. Peter writes to an ancient pre-Christian world and our post-Christian one.
B. Do what’s good, seeing persecution as a blessing, without fear, always ready to speak of the hope of Jesus.

II. THE UNFAIRNESS OF THE GOSPEL (18)
A. Penal substitutionary atonement is the Gospel and it is not fair.
B. If the Gospel was fair it would be karma.
C. If the Gospel was fair it would be a contract.
D. The Gospel is unfair because it is an unconditional covenant.

III. THE FINALITY OF THE GOSPEL (18)
A. My salvation is secure because:
1. Jesus gifted it to me
2. It’s based on what He has done not what I do
3. Jesus died once forgiving all my sin for all time

IV. HOW YOU LIKE THEM APPLES (19-22)
A. Jesus rose from dead and rubbed it in faces of the Devil and his demons.
B. Noah waited 120 years but God vindicated Him and his small band of followers.
C. We can share in the victory of Jesus by appealing to God for a clean slate.
D. Jesus now sits at right hand of God because He has done all that needs to be done.

NEXT STEPS:
1. Jesus offers us rest and victory.
2. To receive that we must suffer the death of our flesh, and trust Jesus.
3. This is a message of hope meant to be shared wherever we find ourselves.