Tuesday, October 13 –
In our continued reading thru the New Testament, we are in
Peter’s first letter to the Christians who were dispersed over the Roman
Empire, and who were facing persecution for their faith. We continue our reading in 1 Peter 3:8 – 4:6.
Please come back when you’ve finished the reading.
Peter has no illusions that the life of Christ is easy. In fact, he is
constantly reminding us that growth in Christ takes perseverance and faith,
mixed in equal measure. As we look at
our reading, we see a summary of the process of maturity –
Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy,
brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. 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. For ‘Whoever desires to love life
and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking
deceit; let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue
it. 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’” (3:8-12).
Christian maturity is growth that calls us to a life of
blessing. Having talked about humble
submission in various areas where it might not be welcomed, he now points us
towards basic ways in which Christ Jesus served as an example. None of these acts can come from a fleshly
will. They are only possible through
God’s enabling grace and the work of the Holy Spirit. All of them are based on the same humility he
had called for previously. The process
is mind to heart and back to mind. We
must think about what we must be – an intentional choice, that leads us then to
the heart, how we live it out in “sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart,
and a humble mind.” A life of
blessing is purposeful, intentional, and consistency is required, but not easy,
for it must be thoughtfully out. If we
do not live this out purposefully, we will fail. He ends this with a quote from Psalm 34, which
quite possibly is a prayer in the early church’s liturgy.
What is it about people who want to live with virtues of
Christ-likeness that creates a reaction of disdain? In the verses that follow Peter reminds us
that people will react, but we can act differently even if opposed –
“Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what
is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will
be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts
honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone
who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with
gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are
slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.
For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will,
than for doing evil” (3:13-17).
Did you see that the life of blessing doesn’t stop because
of opposition? They could be blessed
even if opposed. The life of a believer
is not a popularity event. If we are
equipped with the truth of the Gospel it will not often be welcomed, still, there is no reason to become combative.
We are to “be prepared”, able to know the truth, and share it “with
gentleness and respect”. If we speak
the truth in love with anyone, we can have that “clear conscience” he
speaks of. The first question and the
last sentence match. While your walk
with Christ may be good, we ought not to think that when the Gospel is shared,
it will be not be opposed. Peter had
heard Jesus say, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot
kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both body and soul
in hell” (Matthew 10:28). We all
want to be liked by others, and so it’s sobering to think our faith in the
Gospel of Christ Jesus would cause some to react with “slander”. Peter remembers well when he chose the path
of least resistance and denied Jesus in front of others. If we’re honest we’ve all had that experience
at one time or another. As Peter writes
these words, the Roman governing authorities were making it more and more
difficult, and at times painful, for a Christian to declare their faith
openly. The underlying theme is that our
humility does not lead to weakness, but a quiet, gentle boldness that is
unafraid.
In contrast to the suffering and fear that some Christians
were experiencing, Peter recalls Jesus’ own suffering on our behalf –
“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous
for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the
flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to
the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God’s
patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which
a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water.
Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of
dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the
resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the
right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected
to him” (3:18-22).
Interpretations, speculation, mystery abound in Peter’s
references to Jesus’ death and what happened after he died. The main point is the plain point – Jesus
died in a once and for all way, for our sins, in order that we might be given
the righteousness of Christ and be brought to God. He took our place, and we received the
benefit of it all. It was his
resurrection that brought triumph after suffering. What he says about Jesus’ proclaiming the
Gospel to “spirits in prison” is not something he explains, and it seems odd to
us. There are several interpretations
about what Jesus did, and I don’t have the time in this short devotional to
rehearse them. Speculation is that verses
19 – 21 may have been early church creedal statements. Stepping back from what is confusing, we
still see that the overall theme is that Christ’s redemption was made complete,
and in baptism, we remember and commit ourselves to public faith in Christ. Christ Jesus has triumphed and his ascension
and seat at God’s right hand affirm God’s pleasure and sovereignty in what
Christ Jesus accomplished.
The chapter division, once again, doesn’t help us to see the
link between what he is writing and what follows. “Since” in 4:1, reminds us that what follows
is a direct result of what he had just written.
“Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm
yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh
has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh
no longer for human passions but for the will of God” (4:1-2).
In light of the truth of all that Christ has accomplished,
Peter now begins to tell us some of the practical results. We know from the
section before that their suffering was real, and the tension was high. So, he tells them to be prepared – “arm
yourselves” as things will probably get worse. The life of Christ in the believer – us –
changes life’s values and rules. We are
“sojourners”, people on the way, and our lives are lived for Christ, no matter
what the consequences might be. Our
union with Christ is spiritual, but lived out practically –
“For the time that is past suffices for doing what the
Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies,
drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. With respect to this they are
surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they
malign you; but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living
and the dead. For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who
are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live
in the spirit the way God does” (4:3-6).
Romans were notorious for their drunken, sexual,
orgies. They were not above the pale of
anything normal and the temptation to get sucked into the behavior was
constant. He had just reminded us that
our lives in Christ changed our values and our behavior. We are not “to live… in the flesh…for
human passions, but [instead] for the will of God” (4:2). Salvation in Christ is freedom from the
driving forces of our sinful human nature.
We are not surprised that in our culture today, music, movie, videos are
becoming more and more reflective of debauchery in a world that has lost its
soul. The western world speaks of sexual
freedom, freedom of speech and expression; while all the while becoming more
and more enslaved to their lowest nature.
Christ Jesus stands as a witness that God judges sin. Paul had written to the Romans, “all have
sinned and fall short of the glory of God” – all! The Gospel was proclaimed (preached) even to
those souls who had died without it yet realized (4:6). If the early believers wondered about their
friends who died before Christ came back – as it was in the case of the
Thessalonians that Paul had written to – then Peter affirms to them that though
dead in the flesh, they will be made alive in the Spirit.
There is nothing easy about taking the stance of a believer
who lives by the values of the Gospel.
There’s nothing easy about proclaiming that “all have sinned” and
therefore “all are in need of Jesus Christ” as their Savior and Lord. Don’t be surprised by people’s ignorance of
the Gospel, or even their initial response to it. God is at work in us, through us, because of
us He will carry the Gospel to a world that desperately needs to receive it.
Peace
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