Called To Bless And Not Curse

I Peter 3:8-18

Holding one’s tongue is not easy.  In fact, it is often quite difficult to do, as I can frequently attest to!  When someone serves us with a nasty or hurtful comment, how we love to answer them back with something equally as biting.  If someone does something wrong to us, we are quick to think up something that we can do back to them.  It seems only natural.  She told lies to damage my reputation, what can I do back to her, to equally harm her?  He destroyed something of mine, let me think of something equally damaging to do to him!  Those are thoughts that quickly come to our minds when we’ve been hurt.  As we look at another passage from the epistle that the Apostle Peter wrote to believers, we’ll see how God instructs us to act in these situations.

The early Church was still in its infancy, only a few decades old, when Peter wrote his letter to fellow believers.  Right from the first days, believers suffered persecution.  They were frequently attacked from both the Jewish people and also by Gentiles, along with the Roman government.  Like everyone else, Christians don’t like to be attacked, either physically with bodily harm, by someone’s words, or by damage to their property or belongings.  The temptation to lash back at them is always there, as that is human nature.   However, Peter tells us to follow a different way, follow the words and example of Jesus.

The Scriptures here instructs us as believers to be examples, and pursue peace and unity, not bringing disruption or disharmony with others (vs. 8).  Christians should be united with one another, “like-minded”, not fighting among each other.  Instead of thinking of ways to get back at others who have harmed us, we should show harmony, sympathy, love, compassion, and humility to each other.

As we read in verse 9, when someone reviles us, instead of returning the same conduct, God wants us to think of a way to do them good, and to pray for them.  Throughout Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, He instructed His followers to pay back the evil they receive by doing good to our enemies, praying for them, and bestowing blessings rather than retaliation and curses (Matthew 5:44).

Peter continues on in our passage (vs. 10-12), by bringing a quote from Psalm 34:12-16.  In order to have a fulfilled life, we need to be humble, and show a loving attitude to everyone, giving a non-vindictive response to revilers.  A Christian’s speech should be pure and honest, while we pursue peace.  Our motives for what we do should be right, showing a disdain for sin.  A life free from any unconfessed sins, and one lived for the Lord, will produce a good conscience, putting to shame those who might attack us (vs. 16).  We may not be able to stop people from talking bad about us, but we can stop supplying them with ammunition by keeping our conduct above reproach.

Sometimes we are called upon to suffer for well-doing.  Jesus is our example of suffering unjustly (vs. 17-18).  He was sinless, and was the substitutionary atonement for our sins.  He suffered death once - once for all.  His death did not need to be repeated over and over again, like the Jewish Old Testament sacrifices.  His death paid the penalty for our sins, once for all.

In the middle of our passage today, Peter brings up a point that Christians today should take note of, and that is for us to always be ready to give a defense to any who ask what we believe, and why we believe it (vs. 15).  People in Peter’s day might have asked believers what they believed, and why, and they might ask the same of us today.  A defense is an answer, a logical reasoning and explanation, given calmly and with meekness.  As Christians, we should understand our faith and what we believe.  We should be able to articulate our beliefs thoughtfully, reasonably, and biblically to others.

How would you answer, if someone asked why you are a Christian?  People should notice that we are different in a good way.  We should be able to explain what we believe in, and why.  We should show them what Jesus has done for us, what He can do for them.