Hope In Exile | Responding to Pain – 1 Peter 3:8-12
Jesus Christ came to love those who hated Him. We, similarly as exiles in our modern culture can show love to those who strike up because God loved us first.
Peter makes it abundantly clear that the situations in which followers of Christ will find themselves will not always be the most ideal of situations. Spouses might not be follow God. Masters would be abusive to those in their care. The Christian should not be surprised or shocked when these things come. Yet, the temptation to respond in a like manner to the abuses of the world should be wholly ignored. If someone is following Jesus Christ, then they follow Jesus Christ during the most tumultuous and difficult times. The church in Asia Minor would be ostracized from society, kept at arms length, and experience the full weight of being in exile. Their true identity would remain steadfast, though; they are chosen children of God, being united with Jesus Christ.
In the face of persecution, the follower of Christ is called to remain steadfast and to do good. The heart of the person responding to persecution to not become embittered and decay from the evil done to someone. Jesus Christ came to love those who hated Him. We, similarly as exiles in our modern culture can show love to those who strike up because God loved us first. As little Christians and representatives of Christ, we, by the Spirit within in, can respond to being exiles by knowing that we are above all chosen by the King of Kings. The God who rules and reigns over all eternity has secured our inheritance on our behalf and greets us into His arms for all eternity. We can live as people of the elect doing what is good and right rather than people of exile doing what is evil and wrong.
Doing Good Rather Than Evil
On the heels of the discussing submission to authorities, Peter emphasizes the condition of their heart, rather than seeking justice or retribution. For the church in Asia Minor, Peter never denied that the mistreatment would be occurring, in fact he acknowledged the truth of it. Yet, to follow God is to “have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.” (1 Peter 3:8, ESV). By worldly standards, none of these would have been proper responses to experiencing an authority not being obedient to Christ. However, the our inheritance in Jesus Christ, having been secured before the foundations of the earth, we can respond with the love and grace that God has given to us.
The call of the Christian is to do good in the face of evil. When we repay what we have received, we become no better than those that we rebel against. As evil is paid back with evil, everyone sufferings and evil is proliferated among the nation. Yet, when our minds are set on the things of God, we declare the greatness of God knowing that our future is secured in the hands of Jesus Christ. For each of the characteristics that Peter lists, involves a humbling of the self. The old person who lives in his flesh, cannot be allowed to persist in a person who is following Jesus Christ. Furthermore, persecution is not persecution if the person doing it has committed evils, even if those evils are in response to other evils.
Our response to persecution, pain, and our ability to do good in the face of evil is built on Christ’s love towards those who stood against Him. At the height of our sin, God took on flesh in Jesus Christ, becoming man and bore the cost of our sin and shame. He died on the cross for the sins of mankind as the first step towards reconciliation between God and man. Jesus responded to an infinite transgression with love and grace to those who offended the most. Likewise, we too, as followers of Christ and as His witnesses to all the world, should respond similarly. The love that Jesus gives to us allows us to give that same love to others even in the face of mistreatment. We can respond according to the goodness of God empowered by the overpowering love of Christ to move within us and through us as we stand in the confidence of our inheritance in Jesus Christ.
- What are the qualities of the heart that Peter says we should respond with and how would you define them?
The Lord Upholds The Righteous During Affliction
Peter goes on to quote Psalm 34:12-16 as he discusses the endurance through affliction. As David fled from King Saul, in 1 Samuel 21, knowing that the jealousy of Saul had overtaken him, David penned these words of Psalm 34. The persecution he unjustly faced from King Saul had been enough to threaten his life so that he would feign insanity in order to escape possible capture. The situation for David felt remarkably bleak as he fled his home, his friends, his safety, and everything he knew in order to survive, living in cultures foreign and hostile to Him.
For David, though, while the circumstances would be difficult and painful, maintaining his right standing with God had been paramount to his survival. The world could take everything He held dear, but it could not take away God or his standing. Facing the difficult times, David still had faith that the eyes of God were upon Him. Furthermore, not in a judgmental way but in a way of comfort and constant guiding presence for David. He could endure and keep his way pure during the most difficult of circumstances because David knew that God remained steadfast with those who follow Him. We know that David’s steadfastness of character impacted King Saul and even the countries around them as a witness to the goodness of God.
Trials and difficulties should not be the things that causes us to abandon our faith but the foundation of what we lean on during them. Our simplistic fleshly response to persecution is to respond in like kind. Yet, in the face of persecution our love for God should shine the brightest as we extend grace to those who do us wrong. God does not abandon His people and His presence will always be with those who continue to abide in Him. The stress of the world is no sufficient reason to abandon the truth of pursuing Jesus Christ. We cannot give up our sanctification because life is difficult. All of this in faith, knowing that God will deliver us out of our affliction. David concludes Psalm 34 with the following “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken. Affliction will slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be condemned. The Lord redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned. (Psalm 34:19-22, ESV) As we face the persecution of the wicked, we find our refuge in the Lord, knowing that the hand of God is mightier than anything we face. He sustains us and upholds us to our benefit and for His glory.
- How does the situation in which David found himself compare with the situation that the Christians in Asia Minor found themselves in?
Discussion Questions
- What is the difference between how the world responds to suffering and how Peter instructs the church as to how they should respond?
- How does Peter tie the story of David in 1 Samuel 21 with the relationship of the church in Asia Minor to the world around them?
- Why are we tempted to repay evil with evil? What motivates us to think this way?
- How does Jesus act as our representation and example of how we should respond?
- What did Jesus do for us and how does this help us to treat the surrounding culture in a manner similar to how Christ treated us?
- Why is the response of the Christian important? What happened when we faithfully reflect the glory of God in our response?
About The Author
Daniel Burton is the founder of The Gospel Outpost. He is passionate about discipleship and seeing people grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ. To find out more about him, check out his Author Page.
