1 Peter 2: Live So That People Ask You Why

Introduction

"You have been placed where you are for a purpose." Pastor Roger of Toulouse International Church, an English-speaking, multicultural church in Toulouse, preaches as part of an autumn series on the church's outreach. He asks a direct question: why has God placed you where you are, and what responsibility comes with that?

He recalls the vision of his church: a diverse group of people united in Jesus Christ, transformed by him to make an impact in offices, schools, neighborhoods, sports fields, and all the way to the ends of the earth. "We are a people from all nations, for all nations." Everything starts with worship: when we worship God, he transforms us, and he gives us the example and the heart to serve others.

The text is 1 Peter 2:9-12, completed by 1 Peter 3:15. The message comes down to one conviction: because you belong to God, your life should show who he is, and your mouth should be able to explain it. Both together.

Message Outline

1. Foreigners Placed There for a Reason

Peter writes to exiles scattered in a land that is not their own. "Does anyone here feel like a foreigner in the country where you live?" In an international church, many recognize themselves.
The pastor points out the purpose clause of verse 9: you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, that you may proclaim the excellence of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
These exiles had not even chosen their situation. Yet Peter tells them: where you live, where you work, where you go to school, God has placed you for a purpose. "That purpose is no accident."
Verse 12 adds the other side: keep your conduct honorable among those who accuse you, so that they may see your good works and glorify God on the day he visits them.

2. Being God's People Before Doing God's Work

The pastor offers four questions for reading Scripture, especially Paul's letters: Who is God? What has he done? Who are we because of what he has done? How should we live?
Ephesians follows this order: who God is, what Christ has done, who we are, and then, in chapters 4 to 6, how to live. The creation story does too: God is Creator, he made everything, we are his creatures made in his image, and then he entrusts Adam and Eve with cultivating the earth and multiplying.
It is the same with love: God is love, he sent his Son to die for us while we were still sinners, we are his beloved children, and we love because he first loved us.
The serpent tried to reverse this order with Eve: do something in order to become someone. Thinking that the more we do, the more God will love us, "is not the gospel."
If the order is reversed, we serve with the wrong motives. "We must be God's people before we do God's work."

3. Proclaiming and Showing: Both

Peter calls us to proclaim (2:9) and to show through good conduct (2:12). "Not just one, not just the other."
Between these verses and 1 Peter 3:15, the apostle describes a life different from the world's: how to submit to authorities, how to work for your superiors as though for God, how to love your spouse without criticizing them behind their back or refusing to serve them.
When someone curses you, you do not curse back: you bless. That is what makes the difference visible.

4. Always Ready to Give an Account of Your Hope

1 Peter 3:15 does not mean preparing all your arguments to show others they are wrong. In this context, people notice your life and ask you: "What is going on in you?"
The answer is Jesus: "It is not me, it is Christ in me." Creation science and apologetics have their place, but here the only answer is Jesus.
The verse begins with the call to honor Christ as Lord in your hearts. The pastor stresses that it speaks of the hope that is in you, not of a debate between creation and evolution.
He uses the image of a movie trailer: a few glimpses of the film, enough to make you want to see it. We are not perfect, but the people around us should see enough love to say: "I want what they have." And on the day he visits them, they will say: "It is even better than I thought."
He acknowledges that the church often says what to do without saying how. He announces an entire message, on November 15, to learn how to explain the gospel with confidence.

5. Worship Leaders, All of Us

The pastor thanks the worship team, then asks: "How many of you are worship leaders?" Few hands go up.
If 1 Peter is true, every believer must live in a way that draws the attention and affection of others toward God. "If you believe in Jesus Christ and he has changed your life, you are a worship leader."
He imagines a man from the church, at work, who spends time with the Lord and becomes patient and loving. A coworker thinks: he could not have done that on his own. Then asks him: "Why are you so full of hope?" And he answers: "It is not me, it is Jesus in me."
"It is not our work, it is his work in us and through us." And he goes before us.
These questions should not be rare: "Are you expecting them?" The pastor invites us to pray every day: whom is God preparing today so that I can proclaim his excellence?

6. Living Without Proclaiming Is Not Enough

Many are not comfortable talking about God. The pastor understands, but does not want us to stop there.
He quotes the saying attributed to Saint Francis of Assisi: "Preach the gospel at all times and, if necessary, use words." He suggests removing "if" and saying "when necessary," "because it is necessary."
If coworkers see only good works, they may conclude that being a moral person is enough. He cites Matthew 23:15: you then make them twice as much a son of hell as before. "It sounds harsh, but that is what the text says."
Romans 10:13-15: whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved, but how will they believe in the one they have not heard about? "How will they know unless someone tells them?"
"I'm not a preacher," some say. "Then don't preach, but proclaim." You belong to God, he bought you with the blood of Jesus: these are no longer your plans, they are his.
Why do we stay silent? Sometimes because we are not truly impressed by Jesus, even though the church has just spent months in the letter to the Hebrews on his supremacy. Sometimes because we do not believe the gospel is enough to save. Sometimes because we have adopted a pluralistic way of thinking. "That is a lie. There is no other way to the Father except through the Son."

7. Proclaiming Without Living Is Not Enough Either

The pastor shares his testimony: he grew up in a church that loved to preach and tell others they needed God, but where people were judgmental and hurtful. "That creates confusion."
You say you believe in a God of love, but you gossip about everyone behind their back and complain about your boss. "God came from heaven all the way down to earth, and you will not even cross the office to get to know your coworkers."
The solution is not to try harder, it is to be with him, day after day, while he keeps changing you, equipping you, and strengthening you.
Conversely, a transformed life with no explanation leaves people without excuse, like the general revelation of Romans 1, without their understanding what changed you.
In Denver, a Christian business owner saw his company as a ministry: he prayed for his employees, blessed them, and gave them days off. A few years later, one of them came to faith and told him: "I did not want to become a Christian because of you." Seeing him always loving and ready to forgive, he had told himself he could never live up to that. The boss had never explained that it was Christ in him.
The pastor concludes: so many people live without hope. Whether you are in Toulouse for a week, three months, or a year, you were placed there for a purpose. He invites the congregation to pray for one another, not to "try harder," but to be filled with the Holy Spirit and made bold.

Key Takeaways

God has placed you where you live, work, and study for a purpose: to proclaim the excellence of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
The order matters: who God is, what he has done, who you are in him, and then how to live. You do not act in order to become, you act because you belong to him.
A transformed life raises questions. The answer to give is simple: "It is not me, it is Christ in me."
Good works without explanation can mislead, and words without a life to match create confusion. You need both.
Every believer is called to turn the hearts of others toward God, not through their own efforts but through the work of Jesus in them.

Personal Application

Do you believe that God placed you in your neighborhood, workplace, or school for a specific purpose?
Do you serve God because you know who you are in him, or to try to earn his love?
What in the way you live might lead someone to ask you why you are different?
If a coworker asked you tomorrow, would you be able to explain the hope that is in you?
What holds you back from talking about Jesus: lack of confidence, doubt about the power of the gospel, or fear of bothering people?

Verses Cited

Frequently Asked Questions

What does "proclaim God's excellence" mean in 1 Peter 2:9?

For Pastor Roger, the verse contains a reason for being: you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a people for God's own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellence of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. God placed you where you live, work, or study for this, and it is no accident.

Do I need to prepare arguments to answer according to 1 Peter 3:15?

In its context, the verse is not primarily about debates. People notice that your life is different and ask you why. The expected answer is about the hope that is in you: it is not me, it is Christ in me. Pastor Roger announces an entire message, on November 15, to learn how to explain the gospel.

Is good conduct enough to witness to Jesus?

No. Pastor Roger takes up the saying attributed to Saint Francis of Assisi and suggests replacing "if necessary" with "when necessary," because words are necessary. According to Romans 10, how will they believe without having heard? Without explanation, an exemplary life can even discourage someone from becoming a Christian.