“The Christian’s Response to Other’s Hate” 1 Peter 3:8-22

“Living Hope”

A Sermon Series Through 1 Peter

“The Christian’s Response to Other’s Hate”

1 Peter 3:8-12

Introduction

1 Peter 2:11-12 Peter says, “Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.” Then he gives instructions to different groups that may directly experience the pain from the “dispersion” and the suffering that was apart of it. His focus has been submission to authority and how one’s conduct can lead others to Christ, “genuine Christian conduct not only hushes up vilification of Christians but also wins many non-Christians. . .”[1]

Attitudes That Foster Unity (v. 8)

Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.

The word finally is telling us that he is ending his instructions to four groups of people (citizens, slaves, wives, and husbands) and turning to the church as a whole, “all of you.” So the first group of instructions deal with how Christians interact with each other.

There is to be a “unity” of how they think – of the mind, “same-thinking.” Philippians 2:2 calls it, “like-minded.” They are to be united in the doctrines and practice of Christianity. It is not that we cult like have to hold to the exact belief about everything. We all have different backgrounds, life experiences, perspectives, and even various generations – you don’t have to give those up to have unity. Peter says to have unity on substantive matters.

And it is also not that Christians simply agree about the same doctrines, but that those beliefs then unify them, and then working together work toward something. Remember each group’s instructions was for the purpose of reaching another person for Jesus. Wives were to submit to their lost husbands, so that “they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives,”

Not uniformity (everyone is the same)

but unanimity (everyone is different yet all are working toward the same direction)[2]

The unity that we share is the purpose and calling of the church. Our gifts, life experiences, and unique talents make up various parts of the Body of Christ. We are to be aware that our conduct as a whole affects our ability to make disciples of Jesus and bring others to Him. We establish a doctrinal statement (you can go and look at it on our website), so that as a body we are not constantly arguing inwardly about various doctrine and beliefs about the Bible. Nothing stops the advancement of the gospel by the church than inward fighting and disunity.

Bellevue Baptist Church exists to make disciples of Jesus Christ.

They are to have “sympathy,” which is a combination of two ideas, “to be affected” by something – “to feel something” or to have feelings stirred up within one by some circumstance. It refers to the interchange of fellow-feeling in either joy or sorrow. You are sharing the same feeling; you are able to put yourself in their place. Romans 12:15 describes it as, “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.”

They are to have “brotherly love,” this same word for love was used in 1:22 “Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart,” What unifies biological brothers and sisters is their common life experience (they grew up in the same home, same parents, etc.); what unites spiritual brothers and sisters is our connection to Christ.

To have a tender heart, full of pity, when a Christian looks around at the hard and dark world around them, they express how it has affected them by being tender hearted, which results in action. Jesus’ saying “I was sick and you looked after me,” (Matthew 25:36) did not go unheeded. Jesus’ ministry included physical and spiritual healing. The first orphanages and hospitals were started by Christians who living in a brutal and harsh society who saw children abandoned and brought them in, and saw people in poor health cast out of homes and took them in to their own homes and helped them to heal.

“When epidemics broke out, the Romans often fled in fear and left behind the sick to die without care. Romans saw helping a sick person as a sign of weakness; whereas Christians, in light of what Jesus taught about helping the sick, believed they were not only serving the sick but also serving God. Thus, Christianity filled the pagan void that largely ignored sick and dying, especially during pestilences. In so doing, it established the principle that to help the sick and needy is a sign of strength not weakness.”[3]

“and a humble mind.” – “having a modest opinion of one’s self.” Moses in the OT is described as “more humble than anyone on the face of the earth” (Numbers 12:3). His biological brother and sister were jealous of Moses (and criticized him for marrying a Cushite woman), but Moses’ response was to ask God not to punish them for their foolishness. Jesus is described in Philippians 2:3,8 “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves . . . 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

Behaviors That Counter Hateful Attacks (vv. 9-12)

9 Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.

(v. 9) “Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling,” When someone wrongs you, Peter is saying don’t try to even the score, they hit, you don’t hit back (tit for tat). Romans 12:17 “Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.” If you have been wronged, he doesn’t say not to react, but that your reaction should be something good not evil.

“In a Jewish context, the Torah allowed for a response in kind when one is violated, i.e. a retaliatory act that is consistent with the infraction, hence the allusion that Jesus makes to Exodus 21:24, Leviticus 24:20, and Deuteronomy 19:21. Old Testament justice attempted to ensure that the offender and the one offended suffer equivalent losses.”[4] Jesus demanded more than equalizing, He demanded grace (favor that the offender had not deserved). Christians are to give when asked, and go beyond what is expected. Matthew 5:39-42, “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41 And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42 Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.” Paul describes someone’s offense against us, as “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse” (Romans 12:14).

“bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing,” – We have received forgiveness of our sin (called to salvation), through Jesus (even though we have greatly offended Him and have sinned against Him). In light of all that we have been forgiven of, we then forgive others of their sin against us.

It was Peter himself who asked Jesus in Matthew 18:21-34 “Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times. 23 “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants.8 24 When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25 And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27 And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. 28 But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii,11 and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ 30 He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. 31 When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. 32 Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. 35 So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.” We are called to bless because we ourselves were blessed by God through his call to salvation. And in that forgiveness of others, we will receive a blessing of forgiveness from God.

This does not mean that if you don’t forgive then you will lose your salvation (that interpretation doesn’t line up with the Bible as a whole). You can’t work through a list of those you have forgiven and then earn your salvation, nor can you build a list of people over time that you refuse to forgive and thereby lose your salvation.

Salvation has always been by faith alone, by God’s grace alone, but if you are to live an abundant life, and to live as a Christ would have us live – then you must forgive others. It is a life filled with anger and malice toward another person, verses a life of joy and peace – Jesus wants us to have the latter.

With the one word, “For” Peter introduces us to Psalm 34:12-16 . . .

10 For “Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; 11 let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. 12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

To explain and clarify his point, Peter quotes from Psalms, “we are called to inherit a blessing, God’s own everlasting blessing. Let us then not lose it as the unmerciful servant lost his as recorded in Matthew 18:32-34.”[5]

The idea of “desires to love life and see good days,” carries the idea of living a life that means something, that is worthwhile. It is a life that one can love with intelligence and purpose. If you want to see days that are meaningful, beneficial, and not empty then . . . When David wrote the Psalm 34 and Peter wrote this letter, they were not thinking of sun shinny days, happy, easy days – but a life that is full of purpose and meaning.

The sword of Damocles

This does not mean that God’s people will not suffer, but as they seek to be a blessing to others, they will have a life that they love and the days will be good because they are filled with purpose. Jesus called this an abundant life, John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

Most of what Peter is focusing on in these verses is what it means to live in Christian community. “Christena Cleveland, a Christina social psychologist, identifies forces that keep Christians from experiencing the kind of community that the NT describes. She says, “the act of adopting a common identity that supersedes all other identities is a daunting one, even painful one.”[6]

To join a church is to identify as that group of people – you not only agree with them in doctrine and purpose, but you also see them as part of your family (and for some it is thier only family). We are not designed by God to live alone and isolated – we need community, specifically the church to have the abundant life described by Jesus, Paul, and Peter.

Conclusion

“It’s just a common practice to leave your doors open. I never lock my car doors in my personal vehicle,” Erica Gillis, a research technician at the Churchill Northern Studies Centre, told AFP.

She explained that this custom is partly due to the polar bear threat, but also because Churchill is a remote, isolated community not accessible by road. “There aren’t many roads other than the main street,” Gillis added. There is an estimated population of 935 polar bears in the western Hudson Bay area, where Churchill sits. As a response to the frequent bear visits, the town established a polar bear alert program. A team tranquilizes the animals if they enter town and takes them to a polar bear holding center, known by locals as the polar bear jail.

Thanks to the program, the Manitoba town has not had a bear-related fatality since the early 1980s. A tight knit group of people, all looking out for one another, intentionally making provision for one another’s refuge and safety. My car is your car. In this village, in this community, we protect and care for one another.

In our wild and unruly world where all manner of “bears” are seemingly out to get us, the church is called to be that village where the doors of refuge are always unlocked, waiting to welcome us in to help us stand against the lurking dangers.

“Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others, (Philippians 2:4, ESV).

“Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor,” (1 Corinthians 10:24, ESV).

“Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God,” (Hebrews 13:16, ESV).

Polar Bear Alert Program

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[1] R.C.H. Lenski, The Interpretation of 1 and 2 Epistles of Peter, and three Epistles of John, and the Epistles of Jude (Minneapolis, Minnesota; Augsburg Publishing House, 1966) 147.

[2] Leonhard Goppelt, A Commentary on 1 Peter (Grand Rapids, Michigan; William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1993) 233.

[3] Alvin J. Schmidt, Under the Influence, How Christianity Transformed Civilization (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Zondervan Publishing, 2001) 153.

[4] Dennis R. Edwards, The Story of God Bible Commentary, 1 Peter (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Zondervan Publishing, 2017) 143.

[5] Lanski, 144.

[6] Edwards, 147.