Living A Life Of Peace

Introduction

Last week we began to look at the conclusion to the area of relationships. Relationships in respect to those inside the Church, and to those who are outside the Church. And from experience we know that as we demonstrate Christlike love toward other Christians this naturally spills over into our relationships to the wider world. 1 Peter 3:8 gives us principles so that the whole church can live be united, or live at peace. 1 Peter 3:9 is a cross over verse, and by that I mean that all who have the new birth are to be a blessing to others. We are a ‘tit-for-tat” people, but a turn the other cheek people, though this doesn’t mean that we roll over at every whim. The blessing we are to be is not dependent on how other people treat us, but our basis for living in this world is in God’s sovereign work on our behalf. Everything Peter has been commanding in his letter is really the HOW WE DEMONSTRATE OUR NEW BIRTH. People outside the Church may hear what we say, but just as important is that they see what we do. Our possession of Faith must match our profession of Faith. The outside world watches us with a critical eye, and will judge us based on whether our actions match what we declare. The most important thing we can do is live according to the Word of God. Psalm 1 tells us that if you desire God’s blessing, then delight in the law of the LORD and meditate on it day and night.

LET US PRAY

Please keep your bible open to 1 Peter 3:10-12

Verses 10-12 are a quote from Psalm 34:12-16a. This is a poem David wrote when he fled Israel, and had to pretend to be mad before the king of Gath. You may remember the event when David became famous by slaying the giant, Garry, no, George, that isn’t it, Goliath. Goliath came from the same city David ran to, when King Saul was chasing him. The city of Gath.

The Blessed Life

Good Day / Love life

1 Peter 3:10a, For “He who would love life And see good days. This sounds a lot like the prosperity gospel, doesn’t it? But, is Peter saying in this quote that all we have to do to live a healthy and wealthy life is to do the following things? That in order to live a comfortable life, free from poverty and illness, all you need to do is keep your mouth from the gutter, stay away from bad things, be a do-gooder, and pursue peace. The question then arises from this thinking, what does it mean to turn away from evil, and to do good? what kind of peace are we to pursue? Do we seek the same peace the world is after? If we follow this interpretation then we can make the text say whatever we want. If you are pursuing the kind of peace the world seeks, then you will be bitterly disappointed. There is no peace a part from God.

Peter has been telling us since the letter began that we Believers do not belong to this world. That we are elect exiles, sojourners, pilgrims. In 1 Peter 1:3-5 he encourages us to look at who we are in Christ, and what God has given us. In 1 Peter 2 we are told that we are a living stones and a spiritual house, a holy nation, and so on. All indicators that we do not belong to this current world, though we still have to reside in it. let’s go back to the text.

For “He who would love life And see good days in its original context was directed at a future time when God would bless David with the kingship of Israel. It was a life of material blessing that David wrote about. David went through all kinds of trials and adversities, but God always blessed him. Not once did Saul ever catch David. Not once did his enemies ever completely destroy him. God always bought him through each danger, and blessed him. If we want to be completely honest, we can say that God blessed David while going through the trials and tribulations. And we can expect the same God helps us in our times of need.

But within the whole letter of First Peter we see that Peter longs for Believers to look to their eternal home, where moth and rust do not destroy. In this respect, at the front of Peter’s mind is the idea of the eternal kingdom of God. However, this does not mean that God doesn’t bless us in this life. Some of the great men of faith in the Old Testament were blessed with material things as a result of their faith. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Job, David, and Solomon, to name a few. But being part of God’s family does not mean that you will be blessed with wealth and health. Jesus epitomized the righteous man, yet had nowhere to lay his head. Paul is one of the most blessed men in the New Testament, yet he too had nothing to call his own, except a few scrolls and the clothes on his back. Love of life and seeing good days has very little to do with comfortable living, lots of money, house, car, caravan, and great health. Much more important to God is faithful obedience. Being a good and faithful servant. A person who sweats the bible in every part of life; in the home, in the workplace, in the shops, in the car, while on the internet. In Peter’s mind, to love life and see good days means being in touch with the Creator and fostering a sense of His gracious hand at work in the world and our own lives, especially as hard times come into our path.

Evil Comes from the Heart

How does this happen? We were told in verses 8-9 but Peter repeats his message with the quote from the Psalms. Continuing in 1 Peter 3:10b, Let him refrain his tongue from evil, And his lips from speaking deceit. To love life and see good days we first must keep our mouths from speaking evil. When Isaiah was brought into God’s presence, in Isaiah 6, his first response was to pronounce doom upon his mouth. Isaiah’s response was “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The LORD of hosts.”

Though God calls us to use our mouths to proclaim His Gospel, sing His praises, and speak of His glory and honor, we use them in malice, deceit, and to slander others. In James 3:5-6, he says of the tongue, Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell, and a few verses on James says,(Jam. 3:8) But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the [image] of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. Jesus explains to His disciples in Matthew 15:19, out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man.” James response to this evil (Jam. 3:10-12), these things ought not to be so. Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh.

Reject Evil/ Pursue Peace

If we are to love life and see good days we are told, also, to 1 Peter 3:11a, Let him turn away from evil and do good. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, by eating the forbidden fruit, they turned away from Him. They turned away from good and did evil. The result of sin is that everyone has turned away from God. Romans 3:12 tells us, “There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.” Every human has turned aside to their own way, and as a result, not one of us has ever sought after God. God is the only being in all of history to ever seek the salvation of sinners.

The act of salvation is by God’s grace alone. Those who have been given life through the death of Christ have the responsibility to separate ourselves from evil, done through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. Evil in its most general form is anything that opposes God’s standards. If the most important thing in your life is contrary to the good and holy purposes received in God’s Word, then turn away from it, resist its lure and false happiness.

The act of turning away from evil is hard enough when things are going well for us, but lets remember that Peter was writing to Believers who were being shunned by society, and persecuted by the authorities. We all have that knee jerk reaction against those who do us wrong. Peter is telling us that we are not to give in to the impulse, reject it, turn away from it and do good.

Like everything Peter also gives the cure. 1 Peter 3:11b, Let him seek peace and pursue it. With the same intensity and aggressiveness we have in turning away from evil, we are to seek and pursue peace. We get ourselves into trouble when we downgrade peace to having no backbone. This was the issue in Jeremiah’s day. False prophets were telling the people exactly what they wanted to hear. They were saying Jer. 6:14, ‘Peace, peace!’ When there is no peace. RC Sproul says, There is such a thing as false peace. At times we do not want to rock the boat or disturb the peace, but no one ever disturbed the peace more than the Prince of peace, whose very presence provokes spiritual warfare. We are to seek peace, but it is godly peace we are to pursue, not the peace of the flesh.

Jesus said in John 14:27, Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

So where can peace be found?

In the Bible. And in John 16:33 Jesus says to His disciples, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” True peace - the only peace worth seeking and pursuing with all your heart - comes from God. It is the peace of being fully convinced of the reality that your salvation is secure in Christ. We seek peace by going to the One who is Peace. We pursue peace by studying God’s Word, because it is in the pages of Holy Scripture we discover the God of Peace. And through the inward work of the Holy Spirit, as we read His Word, we begin to understand God’s peace, which is at odds to the world’s understanding of peace. The world tries to bring peace by conforming everyone to its ideal. But God’s Word tells us that peace only comes when we transform our lives into His image. That is true peace. that’s the peace we are to passionately pursue.

God’s Countenance

God’s Blessing

1 Peter 3:12a, For the eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their prayers. To be a Christian is to be under the tender watchful gaze of our heavenly Father. God told Israel in Deuteronomy 11:11-12, but the land which you cross over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water from the rain of heaven, a land for which the LORD your God cares; the eyes of the LORD your God are always on it, from the beginning of the year to the very end of the year. In 2 Chronicles 16:9, For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.” The Lord cares for His people, and so we are assured that His eyes are upon his people to lift us up and give us life, not to destroy us.

And His ears are open to their prayers. Believers who resist the urge to bite back at those who speak wickedly about them or to them, who turn away from evil and do good, are heard by God in their prayers. In other words if you are living the holy life God desires, and showing humility in submitting to all authority, God will take His fingers out of His ears and listen to you. It doesn’t say that God will give you your hearts desire, but that He will open His ears. If you want God to answer all your prayers then begin by praying according to His will. Still need help? See what kind of prayers Paul prayed for and asked His friends to pray for. He very rarely, if ever, asked for physical healing, or great health. Instead, he asks that he would be given the strength to carry out the orders God gave him.

Rather, blessed is the man who fears God and keeps His commandments.

God’s Judgement

Perhaps what I have to say now will leave a bad taste, but it is here in our text, so i will say it. 1 Peter 3:12b But the face of the LORD is against those who do evil.” How many times have we heard the story of a person who doesn’t believe in God, or the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and yet in a time of deep crisis they pray to God. This is the Bibles answer. Amos 5:20-22, Is not the day of the LORD darkness, and not light? Is it not very dark, with no brightness in it? “I hate, I despise your feast days, And I do not savor your sacred assemblies. Though you offer Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them, Nor will I regard your fattened peace offerings. God is one to be crossed, if you will not accept Him in this life, He will not accept you in the next. This is why we proclaim the Gospel from this pulpit. So His people may truly shine as reflections of Christ’s glory. And also, that His Name might be known among the lost of this world. That they too may have the blessing of God’s face shining upon them.

Conclusion

I will finish with a quote from Proverbs 3:5-8, which says,

5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart,

And lean not on your own understanding;

6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,

And He shall direct your paths.

7 Do not be wise in your own eyes;

Fear the LORD and depart from evil.

8 It will be health to your flesh,

And strength to your bones.

Pray