Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/Sermons/zz19950402.htm

FULFILLED CHRISTIAN LIVING IN A PAGAN WORLD
"Part VIII: Conquering Being Intimidated By The Ungodly"
(1 Peter 3:8-18)

Introduction: (To show the need . . .)

(1) Consider the following facts that often leave us who believe in the 6 solar-day creation of Genesis 1 looking for answers:

(a) Light travels over 6.2 trillion miles per year.

(b) Thus, a relatively close neighboring galaxy like Andromeda is so distant that light traveling at today's speed would take 2 million earth years to reach us.

(c) However, the Biblical account puts creation of the universe around 6,000 years ago.

(d) How then can we see the light from even close

stars if creation was 6,000 years ago and that

light should still be a very long way from even

our being able to SEE it at night?!



(2) Ken Ham of the Institute of Creation Research writes that this is one of the most-often asked questions he faces in his seminar ministry: "I have heard creation scientists attempt to solve this seemingly insurmountable problem for those who believe the Bible's account of a young world. However, I . . . (have not in the past been) . . . convinced of real progress towards complete, scientifically satisfying framework." Humphreys, Starlight and Time, p. 6.



(3) Some say God created the starlight between earth and the stars to settle this problem (The Mature Creation Theory)! But if so, how can we explain a star explosion witnessed by scientists in 1987 in one of the Magellanic stellar clouds 160,000 light years away? If this Mature Creation Theory were true, God would have made that explosion as an "in-transit" series of illusionary light images 6,000 light years from earth where no true explosion ever occurred. Then Psalm 19:1's claim that "the heavens declare the glory of God" would teach a hollow divine glory (Ibid., p. 44-45)!





DOES THIS QUESTION ABOUT STARLIGHT AND TIME MAKE US UNEASY?!



Need: "My faith in Christ is solid -- I see His work in my life since accepting Him as Savior. Yet, ungodly people view my faith as simplistic, countering with queries like, 'If God made the universe in 6 solar days, and if the universe is young, how can we see starlight from bodies more than 10,000 light-years away?' I can't answer this question, and I feel intimidated if asked it! Any suggestions?!"
  1. To handle conflicts from ungodly parties, Peter wrote 1 Peter 3:8-4:6 to believers in the Roman Empire, B.K.C., N.T., p. 849.
  2. Accordingly, we examine 1 Peter 3:8-18 which focuses on the believer's handling intimidation from ungodly antagonists:
    1. Step One In Handling Intimidation Before The Ungodly - Shield ourselves with God's protection from unnerving failure before the ungodly by being considerate of them, 1 Peter 3:8-12.
      1. Peter quoted Psalm 34:12-16 in 1 Peter 3:10-12 to show that God's protective blessing as a rule rewards godliness !
      2. The godliness featured in the context is one's being considerate toward others, whether they be unsaved or carnal believers, 3:8-9:
        1. Peter's 1 Peter 2:18-3:7 remarks are to Christian slaves and married adults who had to relate to ungodly associates!
        2. Thus, 1 Peter 3:8ff teaches God blesses for consideration for the ungodly: it means "likeness of 'sentiment or disposition' rather than of 'opinion'" (homophrones, M.&M., Voc. Gr. N.T., p. 450 -- here = congenial in spite of belief differences), being sympathetic (sumpatheis), kindhearted (eusplagchnoi), unassuming (tapeinophrones, A.&G., A Gr.-En. Lex., p. 812) & sociable (philadelphoi, Ibid., 866), v. 8 (UBS Gr. N.T., 797).
        3. Additionally, believers must not get even when verbally reviled by others, but rather bless those who mistreat them, 1 Peter 3:9. Otherwise they will lose God's protective blessings while facing ungodly attacks, cf. 3:12-15 implied!
    2. Step Two In Handling Intimidation Before The Ungodly - Applying the above considerate demeanor towards ungodly opponents naturally diminishes the believer's facing conflict with them, 13!
    3. Step Three In Handling Intimidation Before The Ungodly - Replace fear of the ungodly with a greater fear of God !
      1. The believer should not be afraid of ungodly opponents, 3:13-15.
      2. The reason for this command comes from a quote in Isaiah 8:12-13 where God told people not to fear false gossip rumors about grave conspiracies , but rather to fear God instead!
      3. Accordingly, the believer must respect Christ as Lord in his thinking in order to diminish his fear of the ungodly, 1 P. 3:15a.
    4. Step Four In Handling Intimidation Before The Ungodly - Always do our homework assigned by God beforehand in order to give the logical apologetic to anyone who questions us about our faith.
      1. The word "answer" ("defense," NASB) in v. 15 is the Greek word apologia ("apologetic") (UBS Gr. N.T., p. 798). It is "the 'defense' that a defendant makes before a judge," B.K.C., N.T., p. 850.
      2. This means absorbing apologetic facts so as to defend our faith logically were we to be asked to do so in judicial court !
      3. If the former steps are in order, God will fulfill the promises of Matthew 10:18-20 and John 14:26 to arrange matters so that we can answer adequately in all encounters with the ungodly:
        1. A believer who is obedient to God also fellowships with Him in the Holy Spirit's ministry, cf. 1 John 2:3; Jn. 14:21.
        2. If he fellowships with God, God's Spirit (a) pre-instructs the believer (Jn. 14:26a), (b) rules over his attacks from opponents (Mt. 10:18ff) and (c) provides adequate recollections (Jn. 14:26b) so he can answer if asked even by kings !
    5. Step Five In Handling Intimidation Before The Ungodly - While answering opponents, be gentle and respectful so that our demeanor will counter the credibility of their attacks! 15b-16.
Application: To handle feeling afraid before ungodly opposition, (1) trust in Christ for salvation from sin to obtain God as our Coach, Jn. 3:16; Jn. 14:15-26! (2) Then, confess any sins to remain open to the Spirit's coaching work, 1 Jn. 1:9; 2:3. (3) In this position, check to see that we are considerate toward opponents so as to (a) retain God's help and (b) naturally minimize creating conflict. (4) If we come across apologetic info, absorb it --God is supplying it so as to recall it as fodder it for future conflict! (5) If we face conflict, fear God above opponents , 1 P. 3:15a. (6) Then trust God's controlling lead in conflict incidents and (7) speak uprightly in manner to diminish the validity of any false charges! Then enjoy God's victory, 2 Cor. 2:14!

Lesson: If we use correct spiritual analysis & adjust ourselves with God , we will win in conflicts with the ungodly! (2 Co. 2:14)

Conclusion: (To illustrate the message . . .)

 Dr. D. Russell Humphreys, Ph. D in physics from LSU, has worked in General Electric's High Voltage Laboratory and at the Sandia National Laboratories in nuclear physics, geophysics, pulsed power research and theoretical atomic and nuclear physics. He has also labored on the Particle Beam Fusion Project. He is a Christian, a firm believer in the six-consecutive-solar-day Creation. His 1994 book on Starlight and Time , promoted by Ken Ham, offers the following explanation about starlight and time to critics of the Six Day Creation:

Einstein's theory of general relativity makes time, space and matter all relative to one another. Thus, God could have "stretched out" the heavens away from the earth at speeds far exceeding the speed of light on earth's second solar day (Gen. 1:6-8). The n God could have ignited the particles (stellar entities) left in the stretched area (space) on day four, the day when the enormous "event horizon" shrinking from the Gen. 1:6-8 gravitational expansion reached the earth. This arrival of the massive event h orizon would have caused billions of years of time to occur in space relative to the single fourth solar day on earth! Thus, starlight in its present form would have arrived on earth the evening of earth's fourth solar day. (This theory also explains the cosmic microwave background found throughout space plus the red shift of light seen from the most distant galaxies, p. 85!) Humphreys illustrates such time dilation as follows: " . . . an atomic clock at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England, ticks five microseconds per year slower than an identical clock at the National Bureau of Standar ds in Boulder, Colorado, both clocks being accurate to about one microsecond per year. The difference is exactly what general relativity predicts for the one-mile difference in altitude . . . There is no longer any way to say which is the 'correct' rate at which time runs -- it all depends on where you are in relation to a gravitational field!" (p. 12)



We were asked the question about starlight and time in our Adult Class several weeks ago. Feeling a bit put on the spot, I suddenly thought of Einstein's theory for an explanation! That was before I knew of Humphrey's book! That's how we face these challenging matters -- we let the Lord guide us when facing them!