NOTE: I’ve put my sermon notes in here just as I preached them, so the BOLD and the Underlined are emphasis I make while I’m preaching the sermon. You can also view the bold and underlined as key focal points of the sermon as well. Finally the // marks together typically mean a shift in thought or they are transitioning to a question.
*1 Peter 3:8-12-“8 Finally, all of you be like-minded and sympathetic, love one another, and be compassionate and humble,[b] 9 not paying back evil for evil or insult for insult but, on the contrary, giving a blessing, since you were called for this, so that you may inherit a blessing.
*When Peter says “not paying back evil for evil” this hearkens back to Romans 12:7 where Paul said, “Do not repay anyone evil for evil.” In 1 Thessalonians 5:15 Paul says the same thing, “15 See to it that no one repays evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good for one another and for all.” Paul again in 1 Corinthians 4:12-13 says, “When we are reviled, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; 13 when we are slandered, we respond graciously.” Jesus Himself told us in Luke 6:27-28, “27 “But I say to you who listen: Love your enemies, do what is good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” Peter himself said about Jesus Christ on this said, “21 For you were called to this, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. 22 He did not commit sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth;[r] 23 when he was insulted, he did not insult in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten but entrusted himself to the one who judges justly.”
*EXAMPLE: I want you to think about people in your life who may simply GET ON YOUR NERVES? Or people who simply IRRITATE you in some way…they’re not THREATENING your life or trying to KILL you…they simply BOTHER you in some way: WHAT IS YOUR RESPONSE to the people in your life who IRRITATE you or GET ON YOUR NERVES? Are those people who IRRITATE you or GET ON YOUR NERVES people who are doing “evil” towards you? Are they “insulting” you? Would you consider them an ENEMY? LIKELY NOT! But what is our typical response: We WANT to treat them AS WE WOULD AN EVIL PERSON! Or we WANT to treat them as someone who has INSULTED US, yet this is not the case at all. SO, if we are to treat those who GENUINELY do “EVIL” towards us with LOVE AND COMPASSION, THEN HOW MUCH MORE SHOULD WE SHOW LOVE AND COMPASSION TOWARDS THOSE WHO SIMPLY “GET ON OUR NERVES” or “IRRITATE” is in some way? Our BAR of what we call “EVIL” or “INSULT” is so LOW that we want to call those people “ENEMIES” when they are LIKELY the people who LOVE US THE MOST! If I can show KINDNESS and COMPASSION and LOVE towards my enemies, THEN SURELY I CAN SHOW KINDESS & COMPASSION & LOVE TOWARDS THOSE WHO ARE NOT MY ENEMIES AND NEVER WILL BE MY ENEMY?? We simply don’t have the PATIENCE and LOVE of Jesus Christ in us to LOVE as we should. WE HAVE SUCH A LONG WAY TO GO IN OUR SANCTIFICATION!
*What is Peter’s DIRECT RESPONSE to someone who is ACTUALLY our enemy (if we even HAVE one!)? Peter says that we are to “GIVE A BLESSING” to that person. When Peter says that we are to give a “BLESSING” to someone mistreating us, he is saying that we are to “ask God to show His favor and grace upon those who have conferred injury” upon us in some way (Schreiner). // Can I just say that the HUMILTY and the KINDESS and the LOVE and the GRACE required to “give a blessing” to someone who has done us EVIL is simply STARTLING! Peter says that we are “CALLED” to give a “BLESSING,” meaning that part of what it MEANS to be a Christian is to “BLESS” others. I PERSONALLY see that, within my OWN SANCTIFICATION that I have SUCH A LONG WAY TO GO because my “GUT INSTINCT,” frankly, is to FIGHT! But what does PROVERBS tell us? Proverbs 25:15 says, “a soft word BREAKS A BONE.” Proverbs 20:3 says, “Avoiding a fight is a mark of honor; only fools insist on quarreling.” Proverbs 17:14 says, “The beginning of strife is like letting out water, so quit before the quarrel breaks out.” Ephesians 4:31-32 says, “31 Let all bitterness, anger and wrath, shouting and slander be removed from you, along with all malice. 32 And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you[n] in Christ.” Galatians 5:19-24, “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” Proverbs 19:11 says, “11 A person’s insight gives him patience, and his virtue is to overlook an offense.”
*Let’s look at this idea of “OVERLOOKING an offense” and not being a CONTENTIOUS person in light of eternity and in the light of our BRIEF lives on planet earth. // When you think about how short life is, is it really worth it to FIGHT PEOPLE ALL THE TIME, even IF they ARE fighting with you? I think, maybe, self-defense aside, if there is simply ENEMITY between you and another person, we have to ask this: “DO I REALLY WANT TO SPEND THE SHORT TIME I HAVE ON THIS PLANET FIGHTING THIS PERSON? DO I WANT TO EXPEND MY ENERGY, MY TIME, MY MONEY, MY RESOURCES, MY “ANXIETY” ON THIS PERSON, given that I’m only here A FEW SHORT YEARS?” Once we “SPEND” our time on something down here, THAT TIME WILL NEVER RETURN! TIME SPENT IS TIME GONE FOREVER on this earth. In Ephesians 5:15-18 Paul says, “15 Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk—not as unwise people but as wise— 16 making the most of the time,[d] because the days are evil. 17 So don’t be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.” It is POSSIBLE that there may be some JUST CAUSES to fight for; but as far as FIGHTING PEOPLE (which is OFTEN over PETTY stuff, in the light of the brevity of life), it just doesn’t SEEM TO ME a WISE USE of our VALUABLE TIME!
*ALSO, given the DESTRUCTIVE and HORRIFYING ETERNAL END of Unbelievers, if there is a CHANCE that my showing them LOVE MIGHT save their souls, then MIGHT it be WORTH IT to SHOW THEM LOVE ANYWAY? Wouldn’t loving them and showing them some grace and compassion be a WISE USE of our time, GIVEN THE UNBELIEVER’S ETERNAL DESTRUCTION? Wouldn’t showing them mercy and grace and love and kindness be CLOSER to “God’s Will” than the attitude “I’M GOING TO KILL THEM AND MAKE THEM PAY!!”?? The believer has “GRAVY AND ‘CHERRY ON TOP’” FOR ETERNITY…What IS our short life down here, even if 90 years of pain? It’s just a “SPEED BUMP” that will be FORGOTTEN within 1,000 years of serving God for eternity.
When Jesus Himself was reviled, Peter tells us earlier in his book that Jesus “entrusted himself to the one who judges justly.” Now, remember, the CONTEXT of Jesus’s trusting in God is the crucifixion…Jesus, through His suffering and death, “entrusted himself” to God. Now, the last time I’ve NOTICED, I’ve not seen ANYONE in this church get PHYSICALLY CRUCIFIED! In fact, I don’t know ANYONE who has ACTUALLY been PHYSICALLY crucified. Peter says that PART of the example that Jesus has left for us is this: If Jesus can entrust Himself to God during His crucifixion, THEN WE CAN ENTRUST OURSELVES TO GOD WHENEVER WE ARE GOING THROUGH DIFFICULTIES IN THIS LIFE AS WELL (like ones that OTHER PEOPLE cause us). Our commentator above says that a “GODLY LIFE is EVIDENCE of HOPING in God.” Do I FRET and WORRY and get SUPER-ANGRY when things don’t go my way? Or am I, INSTEAD, “entrusting” my life to God, EVEN WHEN IT HURTS OR WHEN I’M UNCOMFROTABLE? // AGAIN, this DOESN’T mean that I don’t ask GOOD questions or don’t attempt to UNDERSTAND someone else, and it DOESN’T mean that I stay in a place where I’m UNSAFE or abused, and it doesn’t mean that I don’t REBUKE someone that needs it; I think it is this: WHERE IS THE ROLE OF ACTIVELY TRUSTING IN GOD WHILE I AM UNDERGOING TRIALS, EVEN, DIFFICULTY IN RELATIONSHIPS IN MY OWN LIFE, ESPECIALLY THOSE I’D VIEW AS AN ENEMY?