How Then Shall We Respond?

How Then Shall We Respond?

I Peter 3:8-17

Context:

Original audience is Christians who are scattered abroad in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia (areas in modern-day Turkey)

Author is Peter the Apostle and close friend of Jesus

Written about 64-65 AD, when persecution of Christians by Nero (Roman emperor) was imminent.

To this point in the letter he has written about:

The glorious hope and inheritance that is believers’ because of the salvation we have in Christ (1:1-12)

The way we ought to live as hopeful and obedient children (1:13-25)

Our identity and actions as a people who are built on the Cornerstone of Christ (2:1-12)

Righteous submission to authority as an act of obedience to God (2:13-25)

Godly mindsets for husbands and wives toward one another (3:1-7)

8 Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. 9 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. 10 For “Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; 11 let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. 12 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.” 13 Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15 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, 16 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.

Outline of these verses:

Disposition towards one another and the promise of blessing (v. 8-12)

Response to persecutors (v. 13-17)

Begins our section with “Finally, all of you”

Moving from a discussion of authority and submission, servants and masters, and husbands and wives to summarize his directives for all believers

8 Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. 9 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.

Walk through each of these things - as we do, notice that these are straightforward imperatives.

These aren’t optional suggestions to try on for size. Peter is telling believers how their lives should look in light of all the glorious realities that he laid out already. There are (5) things we need to have:

Unity of mind - a word used only by Peter here.

Also rendered “be harmonious,” be “like-minded” or “single-minded,” “have unity of spirit,” and be of “one mind.”

Singularity of aim and purpose (Robert Tuck)

A unity with other believers - for how could believers, who have been given new hearts and the mind of Christ be like-minded or have “unity of mind” with unbelievers. (II Cor 6:14-15)

What unites believers?

Generally speaking, many things can unite us- we are members of the one body of Christ, united by the one Spirit who saves and sanctifies us.

In this passage, humility is the mind, or mindset,, that we must have in common.

See how the list concludes with a “humble mind.”

Piper: “So Peter gives a list of five things that Christians are to have, and the list begins with a unified mindset, and it ends with a humble mindset. My understanding is that the humble mindset defines what the unified mindset is supposed to be: be unified in the humble mindset that all Christians should have.”

In Philippians 2, the “sam” or “one” mind that Paul calls those believers to have is also humility.

Philippians 2:1-9 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,[a] 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,[b] 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant,[c] being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

As we’ve said often, unity is not uniformity - that we all think exactly same way about the same things.

On the core issues, we must think the same - e.g. the Gospel, the authority of Scripture, etc.

But if total uniformity in all possible areas were the case, no harmony or humility would be needed - all would be exactly the same.

But since we are not all the same in every way, harmony and humility is needed between believers.

Virtue #2 (still in v. 8)

Sympathy - also used only by Peter here

Sympathy is real concern for someone experiencing something hard or difficult

There’s nothing special to explain here - when a brother or sister in Christ is experiencing something difficult (big or small!), the proper response of the Christian to their fellow believer is a sincere concern for them.

Brotherly love - straightforward again. The affection you have for other Christians ought be like that for your own family - because they are.

Peter tells them in an earlier portion of the letter that our eternal, unfading, imperishable hope propels us towards sincere brotherly love and earnest love.

1:22-23 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, 23 since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;

When your eternity is secure and glorious you can lay it all on the line now for the sake of others. No need to accumulate power and prestige for yourself at others’ expense - we have everything in Christ, so we are free to love sacrificially and radically on our way to a glorious inheritance and pursue the true good of those around us.

Tender heart - or be compassionate, or sympathetic.

Eph 4:3 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

A composite Greek word literally meaning good in your guts - the point is to be “well-disposed to each other in your deeps” (Piper)

For men especially - this typically runs against what culture says will make you manly - but Christ calls you to this. Will you submit yourself to that and pursue it?

A humble mind - compound Greek word that only appears here

“the oldest manuscripts read, ‘humble-minded.’ It is slightly different from “humble,” in that it marks a conscious effort to be truly humble…” JFB commentary

Connected to the “unity of mind” we must have among ourselves in first part of the verse

Remember again how Paul connects humility and unity of mind in Philippians 2, as we just discussed.

Humility is to mark believers

Ephesians 4:2

Philippians 2:3

Colossians 3:12

I Peter 5:5

God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble

A composite definition from various dictionaries: A feeling or attitude or disposition that recognizes that you have no special significance over others, a modest view of one’s own station or rank; the opposite of pride.

The Christian community - even this very church here - ought to marked by a group of people who have modest views of themselves and have no feelings of superiority over others.

Connecting to last week’s call to worship - with humility comes teachability (Psalm 34:2)

We could stop right here and have enough to meditate on for a month. These attributes, these virtues and character qualities, run so contrary to our own flesh and to the unsaved world around us, that we must constantly be at work to cultivate these things in ourselves.

Notice that these are not merely behaviors, but attitudes and mindsets. This is who we are supposed to be, not merely how we are supposed to act.

Is it even possible that we could be like this? What about when we fight and struggle and never seem to make progress?

II Peter 1:3-9

3 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to[c] his own glory and excellence,[d] 4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. 5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue,[e] and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8 For if these qualities[f] are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.

So is it possible to grow in humility, and harmony, and sympathy and tenderheartedness and brotherly love? Yes - you can mature in these qualities. As the Lord sanctifies you, the fruit of the Spirit will multiply in and characterize your life as a believer. He has given us everything we need for godliness, and has cleansed us from our former sins.

As you look into the mirror of Scripture (remember James?) and see deficiencies in yourself, take heart - the call is not to lift yourself up by your own spiritual bootstraps, modifying your behavior by your own strength so that you become acceptable to God. Rather, as we strive by the strength that he gives us, and we make every effort to wage war against our flesh, the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, will equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Continuing on in our passage

9 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. 10 For “Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; 11 let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. 12 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.”

Shifting now to the Christian response to persecution and slander.

This sounds just like Paul:

Romans 12:17-18 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

I Cor 4:12 …When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; 13 when slandered, we entreat…

And both Paul and Peter (who was there…) sound like Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount - as they should, since their charge was to teach us to obey everything Christ commanded.

Luke 6:27-28 “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.”

It’s a fundamental reality of the Christian life that we are to be uniquely and persuasively peacemakers - curbing our natural impulse to exchange evil for evil, and instead blessing and praying for those who would hate us, living at peace with everyone whom we can, even at great cost to ourselves.

What is wrapped up in the idea of blessing someone?

Piper: “It’s words with a heart behind them…. If I’m going to bless you, that means I will your good…. I want good to come to you. And I put it into some words…. All kinds of different words…. So blessing comes from a disposition of I want your well-being….”

Macarthur: “...find ways to serve him…pray for his salvation or spiritual progress…express thankfulness for him…speak well of him… desire his well-being…”

Look again at v.9

9 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.

“This” in v. 9 that we are called to is the life of unjust suffering and blessing in return - it’s a part of what makes us who we are as disciples of Christ.

Piper: “If you want to know your calling in life, here it is in two texts of 1 Peter (2:21 and 3:9)—to endure unjust suffering patiently and to bless those who do you evil and revile you. That's our calling.”

And if we do this, in accordance with our calling, we will receive blessing from the Lord.

V. 10 (quoting from Psalm 34) “For ‘Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; 11 let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. 12 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.’”

I believe Peter’s understanding of the “life and good days” here refers to eternal life

Some argue he is referring to the present - I agree with those who see a future reality in mind

See 1:4 and the future “inheritance”

Our “life” and “days” now on earth in this age are filled with promises of suffering and persecution in Peter’s mind - see rest of letter.

Either way, Peter is not introducing a new concept - the Lord has always blessed and heard and rewarded the humble and the peacemakers. He has always been opposed to evildoers, and been for the righteous. And if the Lord blesses those, and hears their prayers and sees them who are pursuing peace and righteousness, then that gives them the strength to bless their revilers in return.

But if you are following the flow of the verse closely, you must ask: If you don’t bless others, can you not receive the blessing of God? (again understanding blessing in this context as future eternal life) Is your salvation contingent on the blessings you extend to others?

Yes - and no. It’s important that we understand the difference between cause and results of salvation in the believer.

Schreiner “Peter was not promising good days in this world since persecution and troubles

are to be expected… He was providing a motivation for believers to

bless those who persecute them and to live in a way that pursues peace. They are to refrain

from speaking evil and from guile so that they will obtain the eschatological reward, eternal

life itself. We must insist again that such a theology is not works righteousness, nor does it

compromise the theme that salvation is by grace. Peter believed that those who have received

new life from God will live transformed lives and that such lives provide evidence (necessary

evidence!) that they have been converted. Michaels rightly says that the blessing ‘is not

earned by the performance of good works, it nevertheless belongs to those who demonstrate

good works.’ To sum up, the good behavior enjoined in 2:11–3:7 is crucial for

experiencing the eschatological inheritance of 1:3–9.”

Piper “All of [your salvation is] by God’s initiative, you didn’t earn that. He just did that for you. He brought you to that. He brought you out of deadness into life. And so all of that is still true when he says, “And now you will inherit a blessing. You will have a blessing if you bless people.” No contradiction there. There is a way that people walk who are born again, but it’s the new birth. It’s the union of a person with Jesus Christ that is the foundation of all their blessing of others.

They don’t bless others in order to get saved. They got saved by the new birth through great mercy as God united them to Christ. And now in the spirit and with new inclinations, they are prone to bless others and show mercy and thus give evidence that they are heirs of God.

And my point is that evidence is necessary, not optional, which is why you can say you go to hell without it, without saying you earned heaven with it. [Do you] get that? It’s necessary, but it’s not the decisive cause. The decisive cause brought it into being.”

In Matthew 7, Jesus talks about judging trees by their fruit. In this passage, your blessing of others is the fruit that proves the tree to be a good tree at all. It does not make it a good tree, but proves that it is. If there is no good fruit, then the tree is no good.

KEY POINT: What is not being said is that the blessing of others earns us the right to the inheritance - he’s already said in the opening verses of the letter (1:3) that God caused us to be born again. Once we hadn’t received mercy, but now we have (2:10). But if you never bless others and show them mercy, you cannot expect to receive mercy, because a good tree would have borne good fruit.

Piper “Therefore when Peter says that blessing those who insult us is our divine calling, and that this calling is a condition of inheriting our future blessing, he's not saying that we earn our future blessing with meritorious works; he is saying you must truly be born again; you must put your hope and your faith so genuinely in that blessing that the quality of that gracious blessing is absorbed from the future into the present and shows in your life.”

Let’s talk motivation again for a minute.

Piper “There is only one basic reason why we disobey the commands of Jesus: it’s because we don’t have heartfelt confidence that obeying will bring more blessing than disobeying. We do not hope fully in God’s promise…

Peter, following Jesus, is not ashamed to motivate obedience to hard commands — like not returning evil for evil — with the promise of greater joy. “Bless those who revile you . . . that you may obtain a blessing!” Do you want to enjoy everlasting life? Turn away from evil! Joy for all eternity awaits you! Is that not reward enough to avoid the pleasures of vengeance now?...

The only way to have the power to follow Christ in the costly way of love is to be filled with hope, with strong confidence that, if we lose our life doing his will, we will find it again and be richly rewarded forever.”

Did you catch that? It’s ok, even good, to look to a future, glorious inheritance that awaits you as motivation to do the right thing. It’s not divine bribery or simply selfishness on our part to find eternity with God in a new creation, blessed beyond imagination, as an incentive to be obedient now.

RESPONDING TO PERSECUTORS (v. 13-17)

13 Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15 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, 16 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.

Flows from v. 12 - if the Lord is for the righteous (“his eyes are on them”), and against those who do evil, then “who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good?”

Answer - many people! Obviously, because he told us we’ll be reviled and paid evil.

Don’t take it as “no one is going to harm you for doing good - who would do that?”

Rather, who (as in what kind of person) is going to harm (as in really damage) you for doing good?

Not God - he is for you.

So then, you might face harm for doing good, but it will be from men. And if that’s the case, then what can they really, or ultimately, do to you?

Nothing permanent or eternal - remember, we have a living hope (1:3), an imperishable, unfading, and undefiled inheritance (1:4), salvation of our souls (1:9), ransom from our former futile ways (1:18), a new birth of imperishable seed (1:23), and are now a “chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that we may proclaim the excellencies of him who called us out of darkness into his marvelous light” as people who have received mercy (2:9-10)

As a Christian, you can expect to be led into a path of suffering as you follow Christ, and you are called to this path and to respond in such a way that we model to our persecutors what Christ was like in his suffering.

Jesus in Matthew 10:24-30

24 “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant[f] above his master. 25 It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign[g] those of his household. 26 “So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 27 What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. 28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.[h] 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?[i] And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

How can this be? How can we endure harm, and be reviled, and not revile in return? How could one possibly seek for peace, and “have no fear of them, nor be troubled”? How do we not threaten, but bless instead?

V. 15 - because in our hearts we honor Christ the Lord as holy.

There is a deeply-rooted, worldview-shaping, mindset-defining reality that we embrace so deeply that it makes us the kind of people who can endure suffering without fear or reviling

Christ our Lord is holy - him we fear and he is our sanctuary

Reference to Isaiah 8:12-14

12 “Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. 13 But the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. 14 And he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel,

LORD of hosts in Isaiah 8 is Yahweh, and Peter used Christ as Lord (kurios in Greek) interchangeably.

A tremendous argument for the deity of Christ can be made here - not the main point for today, but know that Peter can take a text clearly referring to Yahweh and apply it to Jesus without any qualifiers or even an explanation. He just does and assumes that his readers will be okay with it. This is common in the NT.

It’s only when we see Christ as supreme in every way in our hearts that we can endure suffering like him, in the way he did. We have to be fundamentally motivated and anchored by something much deeper and much greater than our own self-interest or self-preservation.

When we have this kind of a hope in us (v. 15), it will be evident and we will be asked for the reason that we hold to it.

…always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you…

Our hope is made known to others as we respond to suffering and persecution with steady, untroubled fearlessness.

And then, we give a defense of our hope.

Can you do this? Can you explain to someone the reason why you have a hope in you that responds so unconventionally to injustice and suffering?

If we don’t understand our hope fully, and we can’t explain it to those who ask us for a reason for it, we become defensive and prickly because we don’t like being pressed for answers that we don’t have. And that’s on us. Insecurity breeds unapproachability.

So you must be ready to give a defense.

V. 15… yet do it with gentleness and respect…

The way to give this defense, or answer (NIV), is with gentleness and respect.

Gentleness - strength under control

Not with name calling, or dismissiveness, or caricatures of the “other side.”

STOP AND THINK:

Gentleness and respect is not to be understood in opposition to strength and conviction.

We must “hold fast” to the confession of our hope (Hebrews 10:23) and to what is good (Romans 12:9)

We must abhor what is evil (Romans 12:9)

We must “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong” (I Cor 16:13)

Elders must rebuke those who “contradict” sound doctrine (Titus 1:9)

We must “have nothing to do with” unrelentingly devise people (Titus 3:10)

We “destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God” (II Cor 10:5)

And so on…

The mature believer understands that the Christian is not either firm in their convictions and standing strong against what is evil in the world around us or gentle and loving and respectful and kind. We are both, in a way that requires wisdom, careful thinking, clear convictions about what is non-negotiable, and “giving thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all” (Romans 12:17).

In our current moment, many Christians have swung towards either harsh, mocking, dismissive, belittling language about the godless unbelievers around us, or they refuse to say anything that might be perceived as unloving or unkind or judgemental.

There is a better, harder, slower, more mature way - the way of deep convictions, moral clarity, firmness and even sternness, and gentle, respectful, respectable words.

Two quick words of pastoral advice

Not saying everyone must be an apologetics expert, but get out in front of this in your own life. Don’t wait until you’re asked questions that you can’t answer to think deeply about why you believe what you do.

If you think that the same defense that everyone has carried around in their pockets in the Bible-belt South for the last 50 years will do, it will not. The society around us is letting go of things that we had in common, and rapidly shedding years of “biblical values” in exchange for secularism, and you need to be ready for it or it will rock you.

Analogy time, borrowed from a previous pastor, always found it helpful.

To what might Christians be compared?

Think about a horse.

- Smooth and soft to the touch - they are inviting by their very nature

- You can pet a horse, you can even press in on it a little bit - it’s not prickly

- But when you push against it, it doesn’t move.

- It has a solid structure - not like a jellyfish that morphs and flexes and changes shape

- Can rightly be considered gentle - but not weak. In fact, it has great strength.

- Its strength is under control - that’s what makes it gentle.

- And, it can bear heavy burdens

What a perfect picture of what we are supposed to be like.

16 …having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.

Why do we need to maintain a good conscience? What is the connection between our consciences and our witness to or defense of the Gospel?

Having a good conscience means keeping our lives clean of sin - putting it to death regularly, and confessing it and repenting when we don’t.

If we don’t have a clean conscience, because our behavior hasn’t been “good in Christ” v.16, then we are open to being slandered for good reason - because we are hypocritical, or badly behaved.

Could mean put to shame in this life, as your good deeds prove in time that the insults you receive are undeserved, or put to shame in the final judgment, when the Lord vindicates the righteous. Either way, we understand that your opponent is only put to shame if the nasty things he says about you aren’t true - if they are, then your suffering may well be deserved and not for doing good.

If I’m a Canadian doctor and I lose my job because I won’t perform an abortion, that’s one thing, but if I lose it because I’m an abrasive greedy jerk, then I’m in no way suffering for doing good and my opponents are vindicated, not shamed. And that is of no benefit to the Gospel, nor does it honor Christ as holy.

Schreiner “...Peter knew human nature, realizing that even Christians may be apt to explain all suffering as an indication of their righteousness, when some of it may be deserved and come to them because of their sins.”

There is honor and blessing in suffering for doing good, should God bring that to you, but none in suffering deservedly for doing evil.

Pull back for a minute and reflect on these questions that we have raised together:

Is it important to me that I have unity of mind and harmony with other believers? Do I seek peace with them and pursue it? Or do I enjoy controversy and unnecessary distinctions and take pleasure in elevating myself above other believers for various unimportant reasons? Does the way that I talk about other Christians make my unbelieving neighbor want to be one?

Would other people, in describing me, use words like sympathetic, loving, tenderhearted, and humble? If not, do I see the need to repent of my insensitivity, coldness, abrasive attitude, and pride? Am I prepared to cry out to the Lord to sanctify me in these areas, even if it’s unpleasant?

Do I say damaging things to and about people who say damaging things about or to me? When was the last time I blessed or prayed for someone who was slandering me?

Am I zealous for what is good?

Am I ready to suffer for righteousness’ sake?

Is Christ so precious to me, so exalted and holy as my Lord, that I can face real suffering at the hands of another person without being afraid or troubled? Can I say with Paul that any afflictions I face now are “light and momentary” because I am convinced so deeply of the “eternal weight of glory” awaiting me that is “beyond all comparison”?

Am I prepared today to make a defense for the hope that is in me to anyone who asks, and do so with gentleness and respect, or will I struggle to explain the riches of my salvation and communicate it in a way that isn’t unnecessarily critical or abrasive? Can I explain it to a 3rd grader? A Mormon friend? A transgender student from Tennessee Tech? An aging grandparent?

“God is not honored by being trusted for no reason, and you are not honored by being trusted for no reason. That’s foolish. To trust somebody for no reason doesn’t make them look good. It makes you look stupid.” Piper

Am I ready to endure slander for the sake of Christ with a clear conscience and continue to exhibit good behavior when I’m relentlessly mocked for it? (fire crew)

Let’s close with something I said earlier:

As you look into the mirror of Scripture and see deficiencies in yourself, take heart - the call is not to lift yourself up by your own spiritual bootstraps, modifying your behavior by your own strength so that you are more acceptable to God. Rather, as we strive by the strength that he gives us, and we make every effort to wage war against our flesh, the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, will equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us[b] that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.