1 Peter 3:13-14 Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? 14 But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened.”
 
PETER has been instructing the churches throughout Asia Minor. He is a pastor, a minister of God’s gospel, to help these new believers understand how to live into their new faith each day. God has set them apart to inherit his blessing of eternal life. Peter explains throughout his letter how each Christian is to live a new life in Jesus Christ.
   Now he begins to encourage them to stand in faith amid the threat of persecution. As he has urged them to pursue peace, he extends that with instruction to live well amid people who oppose their faith. As they live into Jesus’ teachings, they could suffer for what is right. What are they to do?
   Peter urges them to remember you are blessed. He teaches them to focus on the ways God has given each believer the joy of being a child of God. But, still, this is very difficult when fear of persecution can dominate one’s mind.  
   That’s why Peter encourages them, “Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened.” This is the Lord God’s encouragement spoken first in Isaiah 8:12-14a “Do not call conspiracy everything that these people call conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. 13 The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread, 14 and he will be a sanctuary.”  
   Peter was not merely speaking words. He knew the challenge to faithful living amid continual opposition. This was his life. And one thing we seldom consider is that Peter was married. He certainly experienced the real challenges of a loving husband who needed to protect his wife from those who opposed Jesus and opposed him. She was at risk because she was a Christian and married to one of the church’s leaders.
   Peter, then was teaching from his own experiences standing against opposition. The only thing to do amid persecution is to remain faithful to Jesus. In that faith we are to consider the extraordinary, eternal blessing of Jesus calling us “brother” and “sister” – to be a child of the living God.
   Countless people throughout the ages and millions around the world today live under such threats to their safety because Jesus is their Lord. Their faithful testimony amid the persecution is that they have kept their eyes on God’s blessings.
   What do you do when people object to Jesus and even ridicule your faith? Do you remain silent and hope they’ll go away? Or do you stand in the sanctuary of your faith? Do you know God has called you to stand for him because he, the holy one, is standing with you? He has hung on a cross, so you will have an enduring faith throughout your life. No one can take your eternal blessing. Be eager and joyful to do good for Jesus.
 

1 Peter 3:10-12 For, “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech. 11 He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it. 12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
 
DO you love life? There are probably several ways to answer this question. We may simply love being alive. Or we may love the people around us and things we get to do. We may love seeing the world or just enjoying our home. We may love life because God has blessed us with a good family, work and home.
   Peter helps us answer the question with some instruction from Psalm 34:12-16. In brief, you will love life if you: Keep your tongue from evil. Keep your lips from lies. Do good. Seek peace. Pursue peace. The first three could summarize much of God’s law. But what does it mean to seek peace and pursue peace?
   Another way to say this is to seek peace and maintain it (New Living Testament). The history of the world and the specific history of the Bible record conflict upon conflict. It begins with the conflict between Cain and Abel in Genesis 4. Conflict then escalates to a people so hateful and murderous God destroyed them in the Great Flood. Still, after the Flood, the human heart remained corrupt and warlike against one another. Tribes and nations have brutalized each other. Even generals and leaders have been called “great” because they were good at killing the enemy.
   Then Jesus seemed to encourage conflict when he said, “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” (Matthew 10:34) Then he further spoke of division among families. Where’s the peace?   
   All conflict in the Bible originates in man’s decision to reject God. That’s Jesus’ point. He came to earth to reveal God’s peace in the obedience to God’s righteous Savior. There is a clear choice. Those who receive Jesus will have peace. Those who reject him will never have peace.
   To seek peace is to seek the inheritance of God’s blessing – the gift of his character. To maintain peace is to live into his character. Peter urged the church to be determined peacemakers. Remember Jesus also taught, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.”  (Matthew 5:9) Seeking and maintaining peace is pursuing God. You decide that following Jesus is the sure way to love life.   
   

1 Peter 3:8-9 Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. 9 Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.
 
WHEN God called you to faith, he gave you a gift – an inheritance of eternal life. As you live in the power of his Spirit, God has also given to you an inheritance of his character to guide your life now. In this way God has blessed you. He has bestowed on you his character. When you bless others, you share the gift. You offer them such godly traits as love, joy, peace and kindness God has given you.  
   Peter gives five elements of God’s character to help the church live into its eternal inheritance:  To live in harmony, to be sympathetic, to love as brothers and sisters, to be compassionate and humble and to reject evil and insults. Jesus has shown us how.
   Jesus’ incarnation is a powerful example of Christian harmony. Jesus gave up his glory, so he could reveal the fullness of God’s blessings to mankind. The cross is the bridge that crosses sin’s dividing chasm between mankind and God. We will live in harmony with one another when we cross that bridge to be unified with Jesus. We will then put aside divisive claims to superiority or privilege. In Christ, we are one in Spirit, called to serve each other as Jesus served us.    
   Jesus sympathized with our weaknesses. He was compassionate to heal the sick and free those captive to demons. He took time to feed the thousands and heal the lame and lepers. He wept over death and sympathized with the broken. When we have such sympathy and compassion to care for people in their times of trial, we will bless them with God’s care. We each have some challenge in our lives. A listening ear, a gentle hug, a timely phone call or card and a faithful prayer will do much to bless another with compassion and sympathy.
   Then Peter calls us to a very radical blessing: repay evil with blessing, How can we offer God’s character to evil people? Again we look to Jesus. Through his ministry and his victory over death, he has blessed us who were born evil. We are God’s enemies until the Spirit opens our minds to call Jesus, “Savior.” To bless someone who is evil to us is to speak kindly with patience, humility, love and forgiveness. These are God’s ways to turn your heart to his good. These must be our ways to turn evil hearts toward God. Obedience to such commands was one way the church overcame persecution to become accepted in the culture.
          When you demonstrate God’s character to others in the church and to the world, God will bless you with greater portions of his character. You will become more of God and less of yourself – more holy as he is holy.    

1 Peter 3:7 Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.
 
A Christian husband has a great responsibility to care for his wife. In the same way is Peter’s transition from his instructions to wives. Peter commands the unity and sanctity of the marriage covenant through the obedience, respect and submission of one to another.
   He instructs husbands to be considerate as you live with your wives. We can consider many ways to be considerate of another. But there is special regard a husband must give to his wife. He is to consider her as God’s gift to  him. In the first marriage, God brought Eve to the man. Genesis 2:22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. She was God’s gift to Adam. When you think of your wife as God’s gift to you, you will be thoughtful to attend to her heart. You will let her know you love her and are willing to stand beside her against any threats. You will not ridicule her or demean her, even in jest, because all words that do not build up will tear down. The bond between a husband and wife will be strengthened with a husband’s considerate words and actions.
    Husbands are to treat wives with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life. Peter uses “respect” a third time in this letter. And if we go back to 1 Thessalonians, we will see the apostle Paul’s use of the word to strengthen the church. Respect is a trait that certainly bears repeating. To respect is to love, honor and esteem. You could say those three are three are a cord of three strands is not quickly broken (Ecclesiastes 4:12) Respect is essential to bind Christian hearts into the unity of Christ. God wants the husband’s heart bound to the wife’s. The expression of respect with words and actions is one of God’s strong tools to unite a marriage into the one-flesh union he designed.
   Some women may not like being considered the weaker partner. But this term was designed to protect women. They are generally weaker physically. Women are subject to abuse. Peter told the husband to respect a wife’s physical abilities and limitations, so the husband would protect her.
   A Christian husband must also remember his wife is a co-heir of God’s gracious gift of life. What a joyous truth to know that God has called a husband and wife into his Kingdom. Together they are united with God forever. When a husband understands God’s deep love and grace for his wife, he should respond with a deeper love for his wife because Jesus died for her salvation.
   If a husband rejects these commands, God may reject his prayers. It’s true none of us are perfect, and we need to pray to seek God’s forgiveness and will. But a husband who willfully mistreats his wife will not have an effective relationship with God.
   Husbands, you will honor God when you respect your wife as God’s gift to you.