Introduction
Peter's Belief
How do you respond when society ridicules or rejects you because of your Christianity? What do you do when a facet of biblical belief is scrutinized, critiqued, and mocked? What feelings and impulses take over in moments like these?
Peter was a man who'd experienced more than his fair share of rejection for his identification with Jesus and Jesus' Scriptures. As he traveled his home country and the world telling people about Jesus, it had become clear to Peter that the gospel would offend and stumble wherever it was proclaimed. So Peter began strengthening himself for this reality. He pressed into his new church family. He learned how to respond (and how not to respond) to the hostility he would experience for being a Christ-follower. And he prayed for those who were hostile and agitated at his preaching. In doing all this, Peter discovered the truth of Jesus' promise that those who lose their lives for Jesus and his gospel will find their lives (Mark 8:35).
Peter's Text
But Peter was not content to have his own internal playbook for dealing with society's rejection. He knew that hostility for the faith would follow the church until the end of time. So Peter did something beautiful for us, for the church: he searched the Bible for a Scripture that would lay out the steps required when responding to hostility for our faith. And he found the perfect passage -- Psalm 34:12-16. He quoted it in the letter we are reading right now. It is in the second half of our passage today (10-12). It contains all the steps Peter had learned through the Spirit's leading in those early years. In it, Peter could see (1) the need for developing an alternate society (the church) and what that society should look and feel like. (2) He could see an alternate response to the hostility -- how not to respond, followed by the way to respond. (3) And he could see an alternate source of blessing in the passage, a promise that God takes care of his people when they respond to persecution the right way. Let's read the whole passage together.
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.”
Normal Reactions To Hostility From Society
Everything Peter just wrote and quoted from Psalm 34 is not our natural pattern. As I've said during our study of 1 Peter, the church often responds to being marginalized by society with anger, fear, or cowardice. When responding in self-obsessed anger, the church aggressively fights in a way that's reminiscent of what the world has done to them. When it responds in fear, the church often flees from society and barely interacts with it any longer. When it responds in cowardice, the church cares so much about the opinions of the unbelieving world that it changes its own convictions and doctrines until they become inoffensive and unrecognizable.
It is easy to see all three responses in our modern time. And, though I hate to generalize, it does seem each response is most typical in particular age groups. Many older Christians can remember a time when Christianity was not widely ridiculed or seen as an evil that must be eradicated, so, in their grief, they fight for what was. Many middle-aged Christians are in the throes of raising children and establishing themselves, so they become tempted to run from the society and culture to start their own, thinking that isolation will lead to faithfulness. And many younger Christians believe modern convictions are better because they are newer and, since they want to be accepted, they struggle to envision a Christian life on the fringes of society. Their lack of experience or study can make them susceptible to basic arguments like "love is love" or "Christianity did bad things in the past," so they sometimes buckle and conform to society. These are generalizations, of course, but it is good for each generation to be conscious of the temptations they might more acutely experience.
Peter, though, isn't interested in any of these natural forms of response. He proposes a new way, all with the help of Psalm 34. Let's consider them today:
Help #1: Form An Alternate Society (8, 10)
The first help Peter shows us in this passage is that we must form an alternate society. Even though we cannot (and should not) entirely withdraw from our culture and community, we can prioritize a society within the larger society. Peter thought of this by looking at Psalm 34:12, which he quoted in verse 10:
10 "For 'Whoever desires to love life and see good days...'"
In the midst of hostility, Peter wanted to love life and see good days (10). But how can this happen while being rejected? Don't you have to fight or flee or conform? How can you love your life and see good days while simultaneously being rejected by your society? Peter's answer to that is in our first verse:
8 "Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind."
To Peter, one of the best ways to deal with a hostile world is to prioritize an alternate society, to pour yourself into the new community of the church. And the church Peter envisioned was beautiful, one that had unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, tender hearts, and humble minds. This kind of community is refreshing when living in a chaotic, angry, tumultuous, canceling, sensitive, polarized, violent, confused, upside-down world.
When I used to run ultra-marathons, the aid stations were some of the best parts of the race. As you ran and ran through the wilderness, often separated from everyone else and beaten down by fatigue and the elements, an aid station would come along every five or six miles. It was filled with nice people, refreshing drinks, and good food. Sometimes a particularly beat-up racer would spend a few minutes sitting down and getting restored. You could massage out a cramp, bandage up a blister, or bring down your body temperature before going back out to the race.
It seems Peter saw the church this way. He didn't want church members to come out of a harsh society just to find another harsh society in the church. Instead of a society preaching a thousand contradictory meanings of life, Peter saw the church pursuing God together with a unified mind. Instead of a society that chews you up and spits you out, quickly assessing and ridiculing and rejecting you without any dialogue or nuance or conversation, Peter saw the church operating with compassionate sympathy for one another. Instead of a society that advances the cause of one at the expense of another, Peter envisioned the church living out brotherly love. Instead of a society that is caustic and cruel and demanding, Peter envisioned the church loving and living with tender hearts. And instead of a society filled with boasting and self-exaltation, hustling for attention in an attention economy, Peter envisioned the church as living with a humble mind.
To Peter, the church could be that place of refreshment. It could help a rejected people love life and see good days -- but only if it looked like this. All these attributes make the church a safe space for believers to endure the hardships of society. At times, it is rough out there, and we need the comforting presence of other believers.
Familial Tone
I might not be stating all this strongly enough. Many of the words Peter used have familial overtones. He told us to love like siblings. The sympathy he mentioned is the kind of compassion Roman society displayed within their families. In other words, to Peter and Jesus and the rest of the New Testament, the church is a spiritual family. And in times of distress, family members need each other even more than normal. I believe we are in a time of distress because the church has lost favor with and in the larger society. We need our church society more than ever these days, but only if it is as Peter described.
So let's pursue these attitudes and attributes together. Let's have unity of mind. Let's each pursue God and encourage each other to do the same. Let's "live in harmony with one another" (Romans 12:16). Let's "stand firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel" (Philippians 1:27).
Let's also have sympathy. Let's "rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep" (Romans 12:15). Because "if one member suffers, all suffer together" (1 Corinthians 12:26).
Let's also have brotherly love. Jesus said, "By this, all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:35). Let's do the action of love with the trust that feelings might follow. Let's love like brothers should: unconditionally and with loyalty. Let's love each other because we are blood relatives, brought together by the blood of Christ.
Let's also have tender hearts. Our Master was always full of compassion for the crowds, for the sick, and for prodigals. He told us to have compassion like the good Samaritan who stopped to serve the beaten up and bloodied on the roadside.
And let's come at this with humble minds. To be humble was not popular in Roman society, and I don't think it's popular in ours. At the very least, braggarts can also get ahead in our time. But let's have the "mind of Christ" who humbled himself by becoming "obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross" (Philippians 2:5, 8).
A church family with these five elements can withstand the pressures of our time. Even when things are bad, people in a community like this will feel life is good. They will, as the psalmist said, love life and see good days.
Help #2: An Alternate Response (9-11)
The Negative Command
Beyond cultivating and prioritizing an alternate society, we can also find help for society's rejection by responding to it in a completely different way. Peter describes this alternate response with a negative and positive command. Something we should not do, followed by something we should do.
For what we should not do, Peter said:
9 "Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling..."
He got this from Psalm 34:13-14, which he quoted in verse 10. The psalmist thought the person who wanted to love life and have good days should:
10 "...let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; 11 let him turn away from evil and do good..."
The Natural Man vs. The Spiritual Man
To return evil with more evil or insults with more insults is only natural. If we are honest, it feels impossible not to go there. Even when we swear to ourselves that "if we can't say anything nice, we won't say anything at all," we find our impulse to self-defend and lash out in response is strong. James said, "No man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison" (James 3:8). We know it to be true. And, in our modern times, we've discovered it extends to our keyboards. So. Hard. To. Not. Respond.
But while it is natural to respond to evil and insults with more evil and insults, it is not the way of Christ. Fortunately, faith in Jesus and his gospel causes someone to be born again. The old passes away. We become new creatures with new natures (1 Corinthians 5:17). And, though we still battle the old impulses, if we walk in the Spirit, we will not fulfill those old desires (Galatians 5:16). If we feed our spiritual person, we will become strong to respond without hostility.
Governmental Authorities
Before I move on to the positive command, I want to point some nuance to this interpretation. Peter's words obviously flowed from Jesus' teaching to turn the other cheek and refuse to resist the one who is evil (Matthew 5:38-42). Sometimes words like these cause consternation for Christians who are in government positions. But Jesus and Peter's admonitions do not cancel out the responsibility of the government to punish evildoers. This is not returning evil for evil, but just for evil. It is personal retaliation Peter and Jesus warned against. Like Jesus, we are not here to defend ourselves. But, also like Jesus, we might be used to defend others.
The Positive Command
So the negative command is that we should not return evil and insults with more evil and insults. What should we do instead? Peter said:
9b but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called,
This exhortation to bless came from Psalm 34:14, which he quoted in verse 11:
11b let him seek peace and pursue it.
What Does It Mean To Bless?
But what does it mean to seek peace by returning evil and insults with blessings? Peter said, "On the contrary, bless, for to this you were called" (9). What does it mean to bless? And why is this our calling?
The word "bless" can be used in two ways. The literal meaning of this word is to speak well of someone. Here, it would mean speaking well of an enemy. The spiritual meaning of the word is to invoke or pray for God to bless your enemy.
Peter defined blessing as seeking peace and pursuing it with your adversaries. Jesus defined blessing this way:
Luke 6:27–28 (ESV) — 27 “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.
So it seems Peter means we should respond to hostility for the gospel with loving intercession for those who are hostile toward us. Like Jesus, we should say, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34).
This is a genius exhortation because it makes practical sense. Believers want as many people as possible to know Jesus. Peter said this already in his letter. He wanted people to see the church's good deeds, become open to the gospel, receive Jesus, and glorify God when Christ returns (1 Peter 2:12). One of the chief marks that a person needs Jesus is hostility because of Jesus. So when we are marginalized by someone because of our faith, it should be their desperate need for the gospel that stands out to us. Then, quietly, we should pray for them. We should ask God to bless them, primarily by opening their hearts to Christ.
This is such a massive development in Scripture. In the Old Testament era, many imprecatory prayers were uttered by God's people. An imprecatory prayer wants God's wrath, judgment, and discipline to fall upon the offender. But the gospel flips the script, and now God's people don't respond in an imprecatory manner -- but with blessing.
In the book of Acts, when Stephen was being killed by the religious leaders in Jerusalem because he confronted them with the gospel, he prayed, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them" (Acts 9:60). We should be thankful he responded as he did. Young Paul was there. Not yet a Christian, he consented to Stephen's death, and it's not hard to imagine he was haunted by Stephen's gracious response. It would not be long until Paul surrendered to Jesus. Many of us here today are likely Christians because of the force Paul became for the gospel in those early years. So we should be thankful for Stephen's response. He didn't self-preserve or self-defend. Had he responded that way, there would have been little impact. But he played the long game, and his response, because of Paul's eventual conversion, shaped the nations.
Help #3: An Alternate Source Of Blessing (9c, 12)
Let's conclude with one final help when living in an age where Christianity is pushed to the margins of society. Our first help is the alternative society of a healthy church. Our second help is an alternative response of loving intercession for those who hate the gospel. Our third help is an alternate source of blessing. Let me explain what I mean.
As I've been saying, Peter had Psalm 34 in mind. He thought the advice in it to pursue peace by blessing those who reject Jesus would lead to something. He said:
9 "...that you may obtain a blessing."
Peter thinks God will bless you if you respond to hostility with blessing. Why? Back to Psalm 34:15-16, which he quoted in verse 12:
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.”
God Sees And Hears
Who here would like to be blessed? Who would like their prayers heard? All of us, of course. But when society rejects you, it is hard to feel as if you are blessed.
Peter, though, thinks God will bless the Christian who responds to persecution in the same way Jesus responded to his persecution. When you respond to evil and insults by blessing those who mistreat you and insult you, God will take care of you. Peter says God sees and hears people like that and that he blesses them.
But the blessing God provides is far different from the way the blessed life is often pictured by our society. Peter's whole letter hints at this. It is filled with hints that we will suffer for the faith. Still, in the pain, there is a blessing from God.
An Alternate Source Of Blessing
For this God-authored blessing, Paul the Apostle's life serves as a great example. When Paul the apostle first believed in Jesus, it was a radical change. Formerly a man who hated Jesus, Jesus' message, and Jesus' people, Paul had to embrace a completely new manner of life. At first, he seems to have believed his life would not change all that much. He was internally convinced that he could convince his fellow countrymen, including other Pharisees, that Jesus was their long-awaited Messiah. He envisioned them accepting Jesus, and therefore accepting him. But when they did not, and when they began persecuting him just as he had persecuted other Christians, he had to change a few things.
First, Paul had to embrace his new Christian community. The church became an alternate society within which he would live. The relationships he would experience there became his most significant relationships.
Second, Paul had to learn a new way of reacting (and not reacting) to hostility and persecution. He adopted a completely different method of response to persecution. Wherever he went, the people who persecuted him became his mission field. He did not hate them but prayed for them to know Jesus. His main persecutors became his main target.
Third, Paul had to redefine his vision of the blessed life. He would no longer be widely received in his host culture. He would be rejected and ridiculed for Jesus, but he learned that God has his ways of blessing his people when they faithfully endure persecution.
This entire three-step process can often be found in the biography of Paul's life. For example, when he went to the Roman colony of Philippi to preach Jesus, he observed every step. First, after some initial preaching there, Paul and all the other Christians with him went to the house of the newest believer in town. There, they refreshed themselves in Christian fellowship and conversation. Second, when some of the locals brought erroneous charges against him and threw him into the local dungeon, Paul refused to respond in anger, but in the middle of the night, chained for his gospel preaching, he and his friend Silas began singing songs of blessing and worship to God. And, third, God responded by shaking the earth, breaking their chains, and setting them free. God's blessing came.
Conclusion
Brothers and sisters, there are many other coping mechanisms for the ill-treatment of society. They are often the exact opposite of our passage today. When the church responds to evil and insults in a way opposite to this passage, they will not form a beautiful alternate society, but one that mimics the shouting, divisive, and angry culture around them. When the church responds to evil and insults in a way opposite to this passage, they will not prayerfully and lovingly intercede for their enemies but angrily engage them. And when the church responds to evil and insults in a way opposite to this passage, it will not live in God's blessing, because, as Peter said, "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" (1 Peter 3:12).