"8To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; 9 not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing."
Good Morning my beloved,
Welcome to worship this Lord's day! We're
so glad to have all of you here with us today. We continue to pray for
those of you who are facing persecution for your faith in Christ. We respectfully ask that all of you would also pray with and for one another. We are so grateful for those of you who have been sharing the ministry website with all of your family and friends. Your faithfulness to share God's Word with others has brought about tremendous results. Where will God's Word be heard today? We pray that God's Word will continue to reach those who desperately need to hear it.
Everyone wants to love life, to get all that they possibly can out of life. I believe that this passage is a marvelous renewed hope of living and loving the good life. There is an Italian saying "La Dolce Vita," it means the sweet life or the good life. Today, in our society it means pursuing a life of self gratification, the good life by means of money, cars and houses, drugs and alcohol, entertainment
and of course, the body beautiful. The sad reality is, that life falls short of lasting goodness, a life that truly satisfies the heart.
Love and its virtues are a recurring theme throughout Peter’s letters. The development of virtues enable us to inherit blessings and find life and
peace. These virtues keep us useful and productive in our Christian
walk, and they keep us in fellowship with God and His people. They open
up to the life of blessing which God desires for us to enjoy.
Someone once said, there are two ways of being united, one is by being frozen together,
and the other is by being melted together. Christians, however, need to be
united in brotherly love. As Christians, if we fail to live in harmony and love as Christ loved, we miss the favor and blessing of God. Living in harmony is living with the blessing of God on our lives. People, who truly live in harmony, understand its meaning, a pleasing interaction!
The English poet, Charles Swinburne, summed up the emptiness of trying to love life and find its goodness in the wrong places. "From too much love of living, from hope and fear set free, we thank with
brief thanksgiving whatever gods may be that no life lives forever,
that dead men rise up never." What a sad, cynical approach to life. It reminds me of the life of Solomon, who said in
Ecclesiastes 2:17, "So I hated life, for the work which had been done under the sun was grievous to me; because everything is futility and striving after wind." Here is a man who thought the good life was contained in things, he tried and did it all and in the end, he hated life.
Let us pray
Heavenly Father,
Father, we give You thanks for Your Word for us today. What a great reminder for us, that truly living the good life, begins on the inside. Lord, we pray that You would refresh our hearts, and restore Your church with the right attitude. Help us to be faithful, so that we would be known as Your children because we act like You. Lord, remind how we gave You evil and You gave us grace. Help us, so that we do the same to others. Remind us, that no matter how badly others treat us, it pales in comparison with the way that we have treated You. Forgive us O' Lord.
Thank You for showing us that if we truly love others, we will find fulfillment in them and not in material objects. Help us to realize that whatever comes to us from this life, only disappoints and that which comes to us by Your good and gracious hand, can never disappoint us. May we receive it humbly, knowing that we are undeserving and unworthy of all that You give us, we didn't earn it, it was only by Your great grace. May we equally bless those around us. All for Your glory and for Christ's sake
In Jesus' name we pray
Amen
Today's Message: Renewing Hope
Open your Bibles with me to 1 Peter chapter 3. Today, in our ongoing study of 1 Peter chapter 3, we come to a very a rich and wonderful portion of the Word. Though we will be looking only at verses 8 and 9, this section actually runs from verse 8 through verse 12. Here Peter reminds us that the good life is not attached to what you possess but how you approach life. He says in order to live the good life, you have to have the right attitude. It's the attitude in which you bring to life.
I invite you to follow along with me as I read to set the text in our minds, while we prepare our hearts for what the Spirit of God is saying to each of us. Listen for the voice of our Lord.
I Peter 3:8-9.
"To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; not
returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing
instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit
a blessing."
In verse 8, Peter tells us that living the good life starts with the right attitude. "To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit." Peter is saying that every Christian is going to find life rich and rewarding, he will live and love life, if he follows those things. If he is conciliatory, if he is peacemaking, if he is sympathetic to the pain of others, if he is tender, compassionate, kind, merciful, serving others with love and he does it all with humility, he will live and love the good life. Because the good life isn't what you possess, it's the attitude that you bring to life. That's the point.
Then, in verse 9, he says there is more than just having the right attitude, it's having the right response.
"not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing."
Here, Peter is saying no matter how badly you're treated, don't retaliate. No matter what comes your way, the right response is no retaliation. In other words, not returning evil for evil. Whether you're being treated unjustly, whether you're being abused or being persecuted, you must abstain from revenge. It is a term in the present participle, it is an imperative command.
The word evil here is an adjective, it is the Greek word "kakós," it's not just a bad act, it's an inherent badness, a bad disposition. When you are treated badly by someone with an ingrained bad disposition, Peter says don't retaliate.
In The Sermon on the Mount in
Matthew 5:38-39, Jesus said "
You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also."
He goes on to say in verses 40-48 , "If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.
"You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect."
In other words, in doing these things, someone may notice and say "He acts like God. He must belong to God."
The apostle Paul builds on Jesus teaching, in Romans chapter 12 verse 14, he says "Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse." Then, in verses 17-21, he says "Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. “But
if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a
drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."
And in I Thessalonians 5, he says "See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people." He's talking about evil intent. So, he says don't retaliate ever! Instead, seek what is good. Good for one another and for all people. Don't seek vengeance. Leave that to God.
In verse 9, Peter then takes it a step further, moving from the physical to the verbal realm. "Not returning evil for evil or insult for insult." He says not only are you not to commit retaliatory acts but nor are you to retaliate with your tongue. It's the Greek noun "loidoría," it means railing or speaking evil. If you're going to live the good life, if you're going to love life, that's an intolerant thing to do, to speak evil toward someone.
We've got to admit, that's often difficult isn't it? It's a typical human response, to strike back. When someone says something hurtful, cruel or cutting, we want to get even, to lash out back at them. So, Peter says if you really want to live a life that is meaningful, if you really want to love life, don't do that. Instead, deal with it with the right attitude and having the right response.
Peter said in
chapter 2 verse 23, "And while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting
Himself to Him who judges righteously." There were times when He spoke in truth of judgment but He never reacted in anger. The Bible makes it very clear, because Christ is our example, since He is the pattern which we are to follow, we are never to to do that.
In
I Corinthians 4:12-13, Paul says that "
when we are reviled, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure; when we are slandered, we try to conciliate; we have become as the scum of the world, the dregs of all things, even until now."
If you want to be a happy person, living a happy life, when you are mistreated, when you are reviled, when you are falsely accused, bless the person who does it. Tell them how much you appreciate them. Thank them for being so concerned about you. I find it amazing what effect that has on people, because it convicts them about their own attitudes. Now, understand, that will not always be the case. However, either way, we are not to retaliate.
You know, there are a lot of people in the world today who are just mean spirited. They say very hurtful things to people. Tragically, there are just as many professed Christians who have mean mouths, who have very vengeful tongues. They verbally cast evil at those who for some reason get to them. These are all very unhappy people! And, certainly, none of them are true Christians.
And, the Bible tells us to stay away from those people, not to associate with them. In fact, Paul says in
I Corinthians 5:9-11, "
I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world. But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler—not even to eat with such a one."
He goes on to say in verses 12-13, "For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? But those who are outside, God judges. Remove the wicked man from among yourselves."
The right response then for a believer being persecuted, for a believer being treated in a unjust or hostile way, it to love your enemies. Giving them blessing instead. I understand that it's not always easy to do, it's not easy to receive such a command, when someone given you evil, but that's the right response. The Word of God says, it's the right thing to do!
When someone gives you evil, don't give him evil back. Instead love him, unconditionally. That's the first way to bless someone. The next way to bless them, is to pray for them. May I suggest praying for their salvation. The word bless is the Greek verb "eulogéō," from which we get the English word eulogy.
The next thing is to bless God for them. When we bless God, we give Him thanks. I know this may seem a bit odd. But think of it this way, God is just us an opportunity to display His character through us. And, we should bless Him and thank Him for that opportunity, because God is using us for His purposes and plans. And that, is a great privilege, to be used by God.
Not only that, but find some way to speak highly of them, returning praise for their pain.
So Beloved, when someone persecutes you or insults you or treats you in an unjust and an unfair manner, what you want to do, first of all, is love them unconditionally as expressed in some humble act of service. Secondly, pray for their salvation, or if they're saved, then pray for their spiritual growth and progress. Thirdly, express your thankfulness for them. And fourthly, speak well of them.
If I would like to add another way to bless them, if I may. And that is, to perform an act of service. Desire their well being. In other words, forgive them. That's a one word, an all-encompassing term. Forgive them with unselfish, gracious, merciful love.
We see that in Christ, Who is our example. If Jesus, Who was sinless, who was perfect could forgive sinners, how much more then should we who are unworthy sinners be able to forgive others? We should have no other response.
And I believe that Peter makes that abundantly clear at the end of verse 9, "For you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing."
I cringe when I see so-called Christians screaming at others and creating conflict. We are not to create conflict. That is an unbearable reproach to the name of Jesus Christ! We are to known for our love, the world should see us as unity in action. Christians should be known as peacemakers in the world. We should be known not as indifferent to the world, not as the critic of
the world, not as those who damn people, but as sensitive to the pain
and the plight of the lost. In a tender hearted way, toward their great needs.
As one who has offended God, one who is unworthy, yet received the unmerited, undeserved, gift of forgiveness of God, we of all people, should be anxious to offer that same forgiveness to others. An unregenerate would never offer undeserved forgiveness to someone, he would naturally retaliate. Because he has never received God's forgiveness. We are called out of the world, set apart, for the purposes of God.
In Closing..
It’s not enough for us just to deny self or to turn from evil. We must actively do good and pursue peace with others. Though we cannot be aggressive in pursuing peace, we cannot be indifferent or passive about it either. We are to take the initiative, to do all we can to restore peace in strained relationships.
I know we often do not want to spend the time and/or energy whether physically or emotionally, so we do not actively pursue reconciliation. We sort of figure that time will heal the situation. But if we have offended someone or if someone has offended us in such a way that hinders our ability to have a relationship with them, then we need to find the time and make the energy to resolve it.
That does not mean we are to confront every offense, but if it affects the relationship with that person, we need to do all that we can to clear things up and set things right. A Christian is not to be self-willed, demanding his own way, speaking badly and judging those who don’t go along with him.
He is committed to growing in obedience to God’s Word. He knows the difference between biblical absolutes, which must not be compromised, he loves and accepts others, as Christ loves and accepts them. Where there are differences, he demonstrates Christ's example, praying for them and allows them time to grow and mature.
May it be so..
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
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