1 Peter 3

Bottom line

Live good lives!

Opening Line

Would you consider yourself to be a good person?

Introduction

In a recent poll, it was found that 81% of people polled felt that humanity was good, 75% of the people surveyed believed that they were a good person. In fact, in the very same study, 46% of the people surveyed thought that they were better then everyone else they knew. Interestingly, in the same study, 12% of people said they don’t think in terms of right and wrong. Well then you are helpful for this study.

Then I found another survey that said only 33% of Canandians believe that they can trust other people. 81% believe that humanity is good, but only 33% believe that you can trust others. I didn’t do the math prior to this morning but I think there’s too many numbers there.

So this study tells us that if you are having coffee with someone, and you asked them if they thought of themselves as a good person, there’s a pretty good chance that they are going to say yes. This should come as no surprise as the base line for most of modern psychology is that people are good. You are taught that as the core of your being, you are a good person.

Main Point

If this is true, then why to bad things happen? More importantly, why does the bible keep telling its readers to be good?

Why it matters

This is one of the major points where Scripture and society disagree. Scripture says that you are born with a sin nature, and that at your core you will do what is wrong and rebellious before God. This really shouldn’t surprise any of us. If you have ever had to deal with children, you see the sin nature on full display. You don’t have to teach your kids to hit or bite or to be possessive and selfish. I haven’t met anyone that has actively tried to teach their kids how to lie, yet they seem to figure it out.

Then, you become a believer in Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit of God comes and dwells within you. From that moment on, you know that you are supposed to live a different life. Your compass of right and wrong gets fixed. Yet there is always that temptation to fall back into your old ways of life.

This is what Peter has been addressing all through this letter, and in chapter 3, he is going continue encouraging the church to live good lives and why you need to do it.

Scripture

1 Peter 3:1–6 NLT

In the same way, you wives must accept the authority of your husbands. Then, even if some refuse to obey the Good News, your godly lives will speak to them without any words. They will be won over by observing your pure and reverent lives. Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God. This is how the holy women of old made themselves beautiful. They put their trust in God and accepted the authority of their husbands. For instance, Sarah obeyed her husband, Abraham, and called him her master. You are her daughters when you do what is right without fear of what your husbands might do.

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It should come as no surprise that in the midst of a letter addressing the struggles of living a life of faith, Peter wants to address marriage. When the pressure is on and you are going through challenges in life, your marriage will either be strengthened through the storm, or collapse under the strain. Unfortunately, in our world today, we are seeing a lot of the latter!

So Peter begins with addressing the wives. If you are here and not married, listen up. One day you may be married, and what this passage is talking about is easier to put into practice now then after your married. The big idea here is ladies, prioritize living a godly life. When Peter is talking about living a quiet life, he is encouraging you to not be a nag. If you are in a situation where you are a believer of Jesus and your spouse isn’t, nagging him to shape up is not going to work. In fact, it will probably create some resistence. All the ladies who have been married for a long time know what I’m talking about. In fact, Solomon says in Proverbs that it is better to live in poverty then with a nagging wife. Instead, what Peter is encouraging you to do is to live out your faith, and trust that the example you set will be used by God to change your husbands life. Even if, ladies, you are married to a believer, same principle applies. If you make your walk with Jesus a priority and it starts to have an impact, your husband will notice and be inspired to step up. It is not your responsibility to be the spiritual leader of your home, but sometimes you need to take the lead spiritually. Sometimes you need to take the first step, and trust that the whole Spirit will use your example to inspire him.

1 Peter 3:7 NLT

In the same way, you husbands must give honor to your wives. Treat your wife with understanding as you live together. She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God’s gift of new life. Treat her as you should so your prayers will not be hindered.

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Now you may be wondering why the men only get one verse and the ladies get 6. It is because living with a man is difficult and Peter knew you needed more help with it, ok. He is a guy, and he knows how difficult he makes it for his wife, so he just wanted to give you ladies a little more encouragement.

Men, married or unmarried, listen up. Honor your wives. To give someone honor is to give them the respect and esteem that they deserve. Honor them as your partner in life and as a gift from God.

Treat your wife with understanding. Don’t just give up on understanding where they are coming from or knowing their perspective. Learn about them constantly. As you married guys know, your wife is not the same person you married. They have changed in amazing ways that need to be celebrated and understood.

When Peter says weaker, he simply stating that generally the women were physically weaker then the men and the husbands were not to use that to their advantage. Instead, remember that they are equal children in the family of God. I use this children of God language intentionally because of where Peter ends this verse. Treat your wife as you should so that your prayers will not be hindered. There are two aspects to this. 1) there is nothing more distracting in your prayer life then friction in your marriage. 2) if you are mistreating one of God’s daughters, do you think He is going to be attentive to your prayers? Would you be attentive to the requests of someone mistreating one of your daughters?

I’m going to jump down a bit here and circle back

1 Peter 3:13–17 NLT

Now, who will want to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don’t worry or be afraid of their threats. Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ. Remember, it is better to suffer for doing good, if that is what God wants, than to suffer for doing wrong!

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But again, Peter brings up this idea of living such a good life that if someone tried to accuse you of doing wrong, they would be put to shame because of the good you are doing. So what does it mean to live a good life. And right in the middle of chapter, Peter gives us the answer.

1 Peter 3:8–12 NLT

Finally, all of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude. Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will grant you his blessing. For the Scriptures say, “If you want to enjoy life and see many happy days, keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies. Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it. The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right, and his ears are open to their prayers. But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil.”

Transition to Application

What Peter says is that it isn’t about what you know, but what you do that counts. If more information was the solution to the world’s problems, the West should be completely problem free because we’ve never had so much access to information. However, it seems that the more information we have, the more problems we have.

It is because it isn’t what you know, it is how you put it into practice. Peter says you need to be sympathetic towards each other, loving, tender and humble. You don’t retaliate, but bless when the insults come. Keep your tongue from evil, stop lying, do good, and search for and maintain peace.

Main To Do

Verse 15 is really significant.

1 Peter 3:15 NLT

Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.

Is Jesus the Lord of your life? I mean, every part of your life? Is He Lord of your finances? Is He Lord of your family? Is He Lord of your possessions? Because the reality is that either Jesus is Lord of it all, or He isn’t Lord at all. If Jesus is the Lord of your life, it can’t be limited to what happens at church or when you open your Bible for devotions. He is either Lord of all or He is not Lord at all. Because whatever you are withholding from Him will soon trump whatever you have surrendered to Him.

So start everyday by declaring, “Jesus, you are Lord of my life.” The first couple days, you might not notice a difference, but eventually that thought begins to roll around in your head. If Jesus is Lord of my life, would I make that joke? Would I make that purchase? How would He handle this if He was in my shoes?

To help you remember this, I am going to post a picture to Facebook and Instagram that I want you to save to your phone and make your lock screen. Then everytime you open your phone, there it is. Jesus is Lord of my life. In fact, when you download it, make a comment on the post so I know you did it.

If you don’t have social media, I will also try to put it to the app in such a way you can put it on your phone.

Why it matters

The more you make this declaration, the more you will believe it and it will impact your whole approach to life.

If you don’t, then there’s a pretty good chance that Jesus isn’t Lord of your life. If that statement offends you, then I would say you need to do a heart check. You won’t be offended by that statement if Jesus is Lord of your life, and you won’t be offended if He’s not. You will only be offended if you are trying to pretend that He is Lord when He really isn’t.

Closing Line

Worship Jesus as the Lord of your life, and be ready to share about your faith if someone asks. One will lead to the other.

Ask the Pastor

Discussion Questions

1. Read Chapter 3 at your table. What stands out from the chapter or message to you?

2. What areas of life do you struggle with surrendering to the Lordship of Jesus? Why?

3. Have you ever suffered for doing good? What was the good you did, and why did it have a negative response?