1 Peter 3:8-18a
When times get tough, we human beings often grow even more self-centered than we usually are. We feel exhausted or irritable and just have no energy to reach out and serve or bless others. Our natural tendency is to plunge into ourselves and think, "Why is this happening to me? Why isn't anyone noticing my situation? We become irritable or depressed or... just mad.
Parents know this is true. When we've been with sick or overly active young children all day, we just get worn out. "When is their father (or mother) coming home? I need a break!" Of course, the father or mother comes home from work after a terrible day and thinks the very same thing. "I need some peace and quiet." Neither person feels very inclined to serve the other one in those moments. And, of course, the result is what sometimes seems like a "Mel Gibson-like tirade back and forth."
So, you show up to church and your pastor has the audacity to tell you in the sermon that your greatest opportunities for serving others and blessing others and even receiving a blessing yourself are those times when you reach out to others in the midst of your own trials and suffering. I'll tell you in this sermon that when most people find it hard to think about anyone else's problems other than their own, you and I who follow Jesus should place our own problems on the back burner and serve others. Well, that's so counter-cultural that I'm concerned about whether you will give me a hearing.
But, this is indeed the message of Scripture and the testimony of God's people over the centuries. So, I ask you to be attentive to God's Word and see if God might have something powerful to say to us all today as we come to 1 Peter 3:8ff. Notice that the section begins in v. 8 with the word "finally", or, "the sum of the matter is this..." Peter is taking us back to the changed life we have been discussing ever since 2:4. When we "come to Jesus", we put him at the center of our lives so that we live for him and not according to the ways of the world. In 2:12, those who come to Jesus will begin to live such good lives among the nations that people will see our lives but see the glory of God in the way we live. Over the past few weeks, we have considered what those "good lives" look like in our nation and in the workplace. Next week, we will take time to think about the change Christ is to make in our marriages and families. But, beginning with v. 8, Peter puts it all together. "The sum of the matter is this," he declares. And he says that all of us will have some of our greatest opportunities to show the beauty of God to our world and to make known the truth of the Gospel of Jesus when we go through trials.
The Lesson: Our lives always should make know the glory of God among the nations wherever God puts us. But, one thing that truly distinguishes us as followers of Jesus is that we know that God's purposes are fulfilled in and through us not only in spite of tough times but often specifically because of how we live in tough times.
The foundation of the message today is that because we have found a "living hope" through faith in Jesus that nothing in this world can take away, we therefore can have 1) a temperament that can reach out to bless others and 2) a testimony that points others to Jesus – even in the worst of times.
I. A temperament that reaches out to bless others in the midst of tough times (3:8-12)
Turn from evil and do good; seek peace (shalom) and pursue it (3:11).
What we see in verses 8-9 sounds very much like Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. In fact, scholars often point out how this entire section is dependent on Jesus teaching in his famous sermon. Jesus and Peter talk about inner character traits that are to mark the one who has come to Jesus. But, as we all know, this inner temperament, this life of Shalom, does not happen overnight. Notice the progression of this in Peter's letter.
Step #1: The new temperament that begins when we come to Jesus must be nurtured and developed in the family of God. Be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble (3:8).
Peter is talking here about traits that are to be shown and to grow in the household of faith. Do you remember 2:4-5 telling us that when we make Jesus our Cornerstone, that we become a part of what God is building together with other "living stones."? The Bible teaches consistently that we become what we should be as we live life in the community of fellow believers. What temperament traits should we see developing in our lives? Notice that there are five listed in this one verse:
1) Be like-minded – The word Peter uses is that we are to develop in the church a single vision for our lives; i.e., to be holy as God is holy together. We are to help one another grow in that direction of becoming Christ-like.
This is more than just being tolerant or nice. It takes real love and courage. It means that when we see a brother or sister in Christ living in sin – not pursuing holiness – we must learn to love enough to confront. We are not "like-minded" if the Word of God tells us to be holy and some of our living stones are knowingly living sinfully. We must prayerfully seek to find ways to say, "There are some commitments to Christ that I see you are not following." And, when similar corrective words are spoken to us, we must not become defensive or go on the attack. We need to learn to receive both encouragement and correction if we will grow together.
The most important quality in this is learning to listen to one another so that we might make adjustments and become more like Christ in community, which leads to the second quality.
2) Be sympathetic – This word means to be able to suffer with another person. We often, in the midst of our own trials, only want them to suffer with us and to take away our suffering -- but, when we find a living hope in Jesus, we should be set free of focusing on ourselves and our problems so that we might seek to feel what others feel. When encouragement is needed, we seek to provide an uplifting word. When correction is needed, we find the grace and courage to speak it too. We empathize.
3) Love family members – The word Peter uses is the famous "Philadelphia" – family love. My biological brother was great at this. As we grew older, he deeply wanted me to do well – and rejoiced when I did. But, he confronted me when he saw arrogance developing. "Come off it, brother," he would say. "I'm your brother so you don't have to pretend you're something you're not." We could deal with one another truthfully because we were in a family in which we were committed one another in love. We could become very defensive one day – but the next morning, we were still brothers. We need that same commitment in the church family.
4) Be tender of heart – This refers to an inner quality that is so beautiful when we experience it – but is hard to put into words. A tender heart: It's one that knows it hasn't arrived yet but longs to become Christ-like. It's that quality that makes us long to forgive and show mercy – because we know we have so much need of mercy ourselves. It's strong but never self-righteous. It refers to an inner temperament that longs to grow and longs to benefit from what others bring into the relationship.
5) Be humble – This is the quality that the Greek culture viewed as weakness. The humble spirit would never rejoice in saying, "You're fired! Get off the island!" When we have this quality of humility, we are set free from grudges and jealousies – those things that destroy relationships. We can reach out with whatever we have to serve those around us.
All these qualities must be developed as we worship together, serve one another, and live in community in the church family together. They are the inner qualities of Christ himself. Jesus gives us to one another in the church family so we can learn how to live well and then go into the world living good lives among the nations. All this is what I have been calling "breathing in" regarding the life of the church. We face battle in the world but then we come to this family gathering to learn and to grow so that we might breathe out – living good lives among the nations.
I will be talking about this much more in future weeks but let me say that, although we are a larger church, we must be a family to one another. And, to become that family, we all need to worship together, find ways to serve alongside one another, and find places for "community" – to pray with one another, lift up one another and sometimes correct one another. Real living develops in God's family.
Step #2: The new life that is nurtured in God's family must then be lived out in the world.
Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called... (3:9).
So, we "breathe in" when we go to church but then we go into the world to "breathe out." How will we learn not to be overly defensive when people accuse us? How will we learn not to be overwhelmed when things go wrong all about us? How will we learn to live for God when we are the only Jesus-followers in our biological families? We must learn it and develop it in the community of the church.
Peter will make the point that our lives do not have to be like the lives of those around us. Even if we are going through trials, we can bless those around us instead of tearing them down. Their lives can experience some of the peace, support, kindness and patience of God – simply because God has brought us into their lives. It's to that life of blessing others – even in tough times – that we have been called.
Step #3: When we bless others, we receive blessing ourselves.
To this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing ... (3:9).
I'm quite sure the Bible is not saying here, "God will give you a solid gold Lamborghini if you live right." No, it's talking about that greatest blessing of all, i.e., the shalom of God – the deep joy and peace that comes from knowing you are living as God made you to live. It's the inner satisfaction that comes from knowing that our lives have made a positive difference in this world and brought glory to God. 1 Peter is filled with this message: Living God's way does not ruin our lives but it fills us with life. Living for God is not always easy – but it is always blessed.
I learned the truth of this again this past week as I was speaking to my father. He had to move to an assisted living center because of my mother's dementia and his inability to care for her on his own. In doing so he gave up his home, much of his freedom, his church and countless other things. When we experience that enormity of loss, we often become bitter, or depressed or angry. But, as he has always done, my Dad started looking for ways that he could be productive in his new location. He noticed that at their Sunday church service, people hardly sang the obligatory hymn – and then the service went straight to the preacher. But, he also noticed how much the people still loved music – though they had given up singing and become observers of others performing. My Dad decided to start a choir. He started recruiting – and few gave him much hope of any interest. Last Sunday evening they had their first rehearsal. Almost 30 people showed up. My Dad said that at first the singing was frail. But, after about a half hour of encouragement, the people started singing. Several started singing alto. My father thinks there may even be a tenor among the men. By the end, everyone was amazed at how beautiful the singing was.
The people at the center said this choir is the buzz of the place and the highlight of the year. My Dad not only brought blessing to others in the midst of his trials – but he was the happiest I've heard him in a long time. He was blessed. Now, he's talking about a Christmas cantata.
II. A testimony that points others to Jesus – even in tough times (3:13-17).
Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have (3:15).
Peter ended the section on temperament by quoting Psalm 34 to make the point that "living good lives" will bring blessing. Starting in v. 13, I think Peter is listening to some of his early readers saying, "Well, Peter, that's easy for you to say. But here in Asia Minor, we're experiencing hard times for all this goodness!" And that was true. Some of the heaviest anti-Christian activity happened early in Asia Minor. By the time Revelation was written, a few decades later, people were being killed there simply because they were following Jesus.
So, Peter restates the general principle in v. 13: Generally, he says, good and considerate acts will be received well. Please know that. Most people, believers or not, respond well to love and mercy. But, Peter acknowledges that this is not always the case. In v. 14, he admits that sometimes we suffer specifically because we are doing what is right. Even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed.
I can hear the people saying, "But, Peter, how will we convince people that what we believe is true and that the Jesus we believe in really is who he says he is when we are constantly rejected because of our faith?" And Peter's answer is this: People will know your faith is real through the consistency of your words and your actions. In fact, the tough times will often give you opportunities for testimony that you otherwise may never have had. People will see a living hope in the midst of trials that will point them undeniably to the fact that God is at work in you.
This point leads Peter to give, in a few concise verses, some of the clearest teaching in the Bible about Christian testimony.
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, 16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander (3:15-16).
Peter's Primer on Christian Testimony
1) It must be courageous – Do not fear what they fear (3:14)! This command, I think, is related to the fact that Jesus alone can be our Lord. The term for "lord" in v. 15 is the term usually used to the emperor. The narcissistic Emperor Nero insisted on being lord and most people were afraid of him and his military henchmen. But, followers of Jesus were to regard Jesus as Lord. And, Peter is saying, "You don't have to be afraid of what Nero can do to you for what is at the core of your life can never be taken away. You have a living hope – the very thing everyone needs." They live for something in this world – and it can all be taken away. But not you! The resurrected Jesus is your Lord!"
Perhaps you know the oft-told story of the great preacher, John Chrysostom ("the Golden Mouth") of the 4th century. He was brought before the empress Eudoxia, who threatened him if he insisted on preaching the messages he was preaching.
"I will banish you!" said Eudoxia.
"You cannot banish me, for this world is my Father's house," said John"
"I will take away your treasures."
"No, you cannot, for my treasure is in heaven and my heart is there."
"Then I will drive you away from your friends and you will have no one left."
"No, you cannot, for I have a Friend in heaven from whom you cannot separate me.
"Then I must kill you," said the empress.
"No, you cannot, for my life is hid with Christ in God," said John. There is nothing you can do to harm me."
Similar courageous testimony in the face of opposition has been the seed God has used to build his church throughout the ages. Right now, it is happening in China – a growth so rapid that it is probably unprecedented in the history of the world. God does his work not only in spite of trials but specifically because of them.
2) It must be sincere – In your hearts, set apart Christ as Lord (3:15). The danger in taking classes about how to tell people about Jesus is that we may learn to say things that are learned in our heads but not experienced in our hearts. People can tell if the words you speak are just a part of an argument we have rehearsed and not a part of our real lives. They see it most truly when we go through times of suffering but continue to have a peace and joy in Christ.
One point here: I believe in miracles. But, sometimes I think modern healing and miracle movements are so concerned with restoring something that is temporary (health, wealth, physical life) that it leads to people making such demands of God with such emotion that an unbelieving world looks at it and sees little different from their own longings for temporary things. Powerful testimony takes place when we learn to pray as Jesus did, "This is what I want you to do, Father. Take this cup from me. But, your will, not mine, be done."
Christian testimony must be both courageous and sincere. People will know when our words flow directly out of a love of and faith in Jesus that is in our souls. We cannot give testimony to a living hope in the face of trials if we do not have it. God never calls us to defend something that is not real to us.
3) Our faith and hope must be expressed at some point through words -- Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have (3:15).
So, people must see our peace and joy that comes from a living hope in Christ. Silent witness is something that God uses and Peter talks about elsewhere in this letter. But for a testimony to be complete, we must use our mouths to tell why we have this hope – and that is Jesus. If we don't do that, we'll only bring praise to ourselves. "What a strong person to have such a buoyant attitude in a situation like this," others will say. We must learn to say, "No, not me. I'm just a normal person. But, the difference in my life is Jesus."
But notice carefully: The words we speak must be gracious – Do this with gentleness (3:15). The word is for a wild animal that has been tamed. We dare not be overbearing and aggressive so that people run when we go their way. In fact, they are the ones who come to us to ask – if we live with hope.
And, of course our words must always be filled with respect for others – Do this with respect (3:15). As I said, we should be growing in the way we value and show empathy to other people. Some people tell me, "Pastor, "I'm being persecuted for righteousness' sake." It may be that we are persecuted for our boorish and proud spirits.
And, clearly, our words must be reasoned and thoughtful – Be prepared to give an answer (3:15). The Bible encourages each of us to prepare – to plan. What will you say when a colleague asks you why your not as angry about getting a pay cut as he is. Why do you have a hope? Think about it? Plan for it.
And, perhaps most importantly, our words must mesh with our lives – Keeping a clear conscience... (3:16). Over and over, Peter had to tell the people, "Don't suffer for doing evil." It must have been a problem – that some were not living in keeping with their words. E.M. Forster had a character in A Passage to India mock our faith by saying, "Poor talkative Christianity." He was referring to great teaching without changed lives. Well, I find our world has grown tired of big talk. But, lives of shalom in the midst of trials accompanied by gracious and simple words pointing to Jesus – that will be convincing.
Do you see it? Tough times heighten the reality of the living hope that we've found in Christ. Tough times in this world may provide our greatest opportunities to bring glory to God.
A Final Word (3:18)
Maybe you're asking, "Is this really true? Is our pastor just giving us the kind of empty and big talk that he warns us against? Don't we have opportunities for blessing others and giving testimony to Jesus in good times as well as tough?" Yes, I am convinced of that. But, I do know this: Tough times do not render our lives as Jesus-followers unfruitful and provide great privileges to show our faith.
How do I know this? Because of Jesus. His "toughest time" brought us blessing. His toughest time brought us to God. For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God (3:18).
