“Honor Christ as Lord in your hearts!”

“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,” (1Peter 3:14-15ESV)

Peter continues his teachings about “Godly Living” in Chapter 3 by telling us how we can gain a new perspective on our lives. The part of these verses that I want to discuss today is “honor Christ as Lord in your hearts” because if we can understand this direction from Peter, everything else that he tells us about godly living falls into place.

Peter chose his words carefully; remember, Peter was the disciple who denied Jesus three times right before Jesus’ crucifixion. Peter knew what he was talking about when he said that “we,” including himself, need to “Honor Christ as Lord in our hearts.” When he did not do that, he denied the power and Lordship of Jesus, but when he did, God used him as the mighty Apostle to the Jews. Peter knew the difference in a life that has “sanctified” or set apart Christ as Lord.

The Greek word Peter uses and that EVS translates as “Honor” is “hagiazo,” which is translated as “sanctify” in the NASB and KJV and many other translations. Sanctify is one of those “churchy” words that is not used a lot outside of church writings.

So, what does “sanctify" mean? Basically, it means “to treat as holy, to set apart as holy, to honor”; in other words, to start treating Jesus as the Holy one from God that He is. The basic meaning is to “set apart” to treat Jesus differently from everything else in your heart. It means that Jesus is not just important to you; he is what is of the highest importance, the pinnacle of adoration. It means that Jesus is not just one of the top 10 or top 3 important things to you but that He is at the top of the list, separated from everything else. It means that no one or nothing shares his importance in your heart.

Just making Jesus important in your heart is not what will get you through the tough times; remember, Peter was writing to Jewish believers who were being persecuted for their faith in Jesus; these good folks knew tough times. Peter was telling them that for them to be blessed while being persecuted, they needed to make Jesus first place in their hearts. They needed to set Him apart as Lord. If they did not do that, then they would start to think that God owed them something, that God owed them good health, financial security, or protection from false accusations, which are not true. If we remember, honor, and make Jesus first in our hearts, if we set Him aside from everything else, if we understand the proper order of our allegiance, then even in persecution, sickness, family, and financial problems, we will see God’s blessings.

We can find contentment in our present relationship with the Lord Jesus. Paul tells us this in Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” Remember the context: Paul was saying that no matter what this world throws at him, whether he has plenty or is in need, whether he is clothed or cold, nothing matters to him because he has “Honored Christ as Lord in his heart!”

So, believers, we might need to re-adjust our thinking about Jesus; he just is not important; he is the most crucial relationship in our lives.

"Living in Grace is not about what I can do, but about what Jesus has already done!"