Life Project Blog

Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.” But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. 

1 Peter 3:13-17

In our earlier post, Peter told us what it looks like to love one another in the form of a lesson or instruction, and he continues the theme here asking who would want to harm you if you are doing good?  He continues with transition, into an implied question of “What if they harm me anyway?”  Peter’s answer to that unwritten question is that you will be blessed in spite of everything. The result of course, is that even if we suffer for doing the right thing, as sometimes happens in this life, we will be blessed.

In telling us not to fear their threats (or the things that others fear) Peter is quoting from Isaiah 8:12, and if you think about it, this is a very apt quote, for we who will live even though we die, and to whom blessings are assured, need not fear what the world can do to us for doing right. It may seem odd what Peter says next: always be ready to tell people, who ask, why you have this hope in Christ, and do it with gentleness and respect…

It may be that Peter is thinking that the way we react to problems will serve as a catalyst for such questions; after all, shouldn’t we be afraid?  Everyone else would be− that makes “evangelism” look quite different from handing out leaflets and knocking on doors. Those who slander you may become ashamed and… who knows? They might come to see things quite differently than before.

In any event, if God wills it, it is better to suffer for good than to suffer for wrong… so always do what is right in the eyes of the Lord.

Now, when you view this in its fuller context of 3:8-17, the whole thing becomes clear:  Love one another, live your life in the love of Christ so that the world may see His love through you.  If the world should react badly, you have nothing to fear because of what you have in Christ… and it might even give you a better chance to share.  In any event, living our lives as Christ would live is better than doing wrong.

Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. 

1 Peter 3:8-9

In these two verses, Peter is telling us what it looks like when we love one another.  What may confound us at times is that He has set this out as an imperative, making it a lesson or instructions. When a group of people share real fellowship, what happens, what do they look like to others?

Well, let’s see, they are in harmony, they aren’t fighting, they are gentle and they are humble in their demeanor, caring for one another.  They are forgiving of one another, and they are blessings to one another.  Isn’t that about what he said? OK, maybe you are thinking that I simply found different words and re-wrote the text… a kind a paraphrase. Fine, then let’s think about it.

To love is to put the interests of others ahead of our own interests.  So, when it comes to opinions, we are not going to argue and fight to “win” every point, we are going to respect the views of other people, and in this we are “like-minded.”  That love involves being sympathetic with those whom we love is pretty much a given, right?

Can you love a person and not have compassion when they are hurting?  Of course not, because you care about them.  Isn’t the same true for humility?  If you are putting their interests ahead of your own, you aren’t going to be cramming things down their throats are you?  It would seem not…

If someone you love sins against you, aren’t they usually the first ones that you are willing to forgive?  So, there is no evil for evil and insult for insult.  No, you would try to be a blessing to those you love, even when they aren’t being good to you… forgiveness again.

See it now?  Peter is describing love in action:

For,

“Whoever would love life
    and see good days
must keep their tongue from evil
    and their lips from deceitful speech.
They must turn from evil and do good;
    they must seek peace and pursue it.
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
    and his ears are attentive to their prayer,
but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

1 Peter 3:10-12

Lord, may we become the people you would have us to be, loving one another as you loved us, so that in all that we do, we would be pleasing in Your sight.

1 Peter 3:1-7

Peter moves on from his discussion of Christian slaves and their masters in which he called upon slaves to be good and reliable workers who respect their masters for the sake of the Gospel, and now applies the same thinking to marriage.

Marriage is an interesting relationship: Two people love one another, live together and relate on multiple levels with each other… and they get to know each other for all of their faults, and all of their strengths.  They see each other at their worst and at their best, and they have times of bliss and times of turmoil. Peter teaches that each is to put the other first.

He tells wives that they should submit to their husbands, as Paul says that wives should obey their husbands. Peter says that husbands should be considerate to and give respect to their wives. Paul says that husbands should love their wives as Christ loved the church and gave His life for her.  Even though some today would be critical of these comments, in truth, allowing for the fact that Peter and Paul wrote in a very different cultural context, the message is really the same: Each should put the other ahead of themselves.  For one thing, this is a recipe for a happy marriage in most cases, for another reason, this is how we are supposed to treat everyone. It is how Jesus behaved toward everyone also.

Sadly, as in some other areas, there have been those who used Bible passages for selfish purposes at various points over the years, using selectively some of these injunctions to assert male dominance over women.  People who deliberately misapply Scripture are called “false teachers” by the Scriptures, and in our time, I think that it is important that we not allow the sins of false teachers to sour God’s Word for us.  The whole point of these passages is to demonstrate what Christ’s love looks like in action in various everyday situations.  Oppressiveness toward one’s spouse can hardly be called the love of Christ.  Putting the interests of the other person first, even when they are not being very lovable, is always Christ-like.  Being abusive and then citing the Word to justify it is downright evil.

Putting others first, is very much like something Jesus said one day.  It’s a rather famous statement, and I’ll bet you’ve heard it once or twice: Do unto others as you would they should do unto you.  Yes, that’s it, the Golden Rule−  That is how husbands and wives are supposed to behave toward each other. So, one cup of the Golden Rule, plus a teaspoon of forgiveness is a good recipe to begin a happy marriage.

“He committed no sin,
    and no deceit was found in his mouth.”

When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

1 Peter 2:22-25

The second chapter concludes at the foot of the cross, as Peter applies the prophecy of Isaiah 53 so as to make clear that Jesus is our example in dealing with the hardships of life.  In everything that Jesus said or did during His ministry, His priority was on serving the Father by serving others in a way that would advance the Father’s purpose. When this involved sacrifice, He sacrificed. When it required suffering, He suffered, for that is how great His love for us was… and is.

As followers of Jesus, can we expect to do less?  If that means putting others first, we put others first, because we love Jesus. If that means that we endure hardship, then we endure it for His sake because we love Him. If that means we love our neighbor even when our neighbor seems less than lovely, then we do it because we love Him. Through this process, we are modeling the behavior of our Savior to the world. Some might scoff and call us fools, but others will respond and follow the One who reached out to them through us in love, and we will have added to His holy spiritual house one more living stone.

And all because we love Him who first loved us.

Slaves, in reverent fear of God submit yourselves to your masters, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. For it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God. But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

1 Peter 2:17-21

Slavery was a fact of life in the Roman world of the first century, and Peter addresses it as such.  It isn’t accurate to insist that the Bible condones it, however, as some would do.  It was not permitted under the Law of Moses, and the New Testament addresses it only as one of the ways of this world. There were many in the past who cited the New Testament’s treatment of slavery in an attempt to justify the practice, and of course there are some today who use the same approach to discredit Christianity, but in both cases, such commentators demonstrate a complete lack of understanding concerning the nature of the New Covenant, which established a Kingdom not of this world, and in opposition to this world.

Since we, for the most part, live in places where slavery does not exist as an economic system, we can draw insight from this passage regarding our relations with employers, and that is how I’ll approach it here.

Peter is telling slaves (employees) to submit themselves to their bosses out of regard for God.  He goes on to say that we should do this not only with “good” bosses, but with the harsh ones as well.  For our time, let’s look at it this way: If you are a Christian and you have a bad attitude at work, how does this look to your fellow workers or your boss?  You talk about all the good and wonderful things, and then you are resentful, demanding, and lazy and cause problems for everyone. So, is this what it is to be a Christian? Seems a fair question. If you are always telling your friends that the boss is always trying to cheat you, what kind of impression does that make?

OK, to be fair, I was almost always in management, but to me you would just sound petty and selfish, certainly not like a humble servant of Jesus… but maybe I’m wrong.

Peter goes on to ask what good it would do for you to suffer a beating for doing wrong.  For our time, you sure can’t complain too much if you get fired for doing something wrong, can you?  Getting in trouble for doing right is a whole different matter!  In all cases, Peter is saying that we need to do what is right in God’s eyes and in building God’s Kingdom, and if that requires some sacrifice on our parts, that’s well worth enduring for His sake. Jesus thought so, and as a result of His willingness to suffer and sacrifice, you and I are free from sin and death.

In the next section, Peter looks directly at the suffering of Christ, and we will dive into that one next time.