“Who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is
good? But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are
blessed. And do not fear their intimidation, and do not be troubled, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your
hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give
an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; and keep
a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who
revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame. For it is better, if
God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for
doing what is wrong.” (1 Peter 3:13–17, NASB95)
There is a general principle among men that if you do good
you will suffer no harm as a result, but if you do harm you should expect no
good consequence in response. This is a basic premise of our criminal judicial
system. Those who obey the law have nothing to fear from the law, but those who
break the law should expect to suffer the consequence of their transgressions.
The problem with a general principle is that it is not an absolute. This is
particularly true when the laws of man conflict with the laws of God, and man
is forced to choose between them. It is also true when the predominant faith of
a region conflicts with the individual faith of a smaller group of people.
Today in our world we have countless examples of both. We see the persecution
that happens in predominantly Muslim countries where Christians are being
tortured, arrested, raped, and even put to death. We even see persecution in
our own country when in the one-sided name of “anti-discrimination” business
owners are being sued and even losing all that they own because they choose to
stand for their Christian faith and values.
Peter encourages us to do right when right even when right
is not easy, popular, or maybe even approved. Generally speaking in doing right things
will go well with us. But even if they don’t, we should never let escaping
persecution be an excuse for cutting a right corner. Our God will bless His
people. We may not see it in tangible ways, but He has His ways of making His
blessing incredibly evident. Peter makes the bold statement, “But even if you
should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed.” I love the tense
of the blessing. It is a present condition. Sure, we have a future hope, but we
never have to wait to know that we are presently pleasing to God and in receipt
of His constant watch care and blessing. We can know His peace in the midst of
turmoil. We can know His approval in the face of the world’s chastisement. We
can know that we are right with God when everything around us seems to be going
wrong.
The Greek word used here is “makarios,” and it is the same
word that Jesus used in His beatitudes of Matthew chapter 5, where there is a
continual focus on the blessedness of the individual who responds properly in
the face of various trials.
““Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom
of heaven. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. “Blessed
are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. “Blessed are those who hunger
and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. “Blessed are the
merciful, for they shall receive mercy. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for
they shall see God. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons
of God. “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of
righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when
people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against
you because of Me. “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great;
for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew
5:3–12, NASB95)
Jesus ended His words with, “Rejoice and be glad, for your
reward in heaven is great….” Blessing is not found in the abundance of things
or in being lauded by man. Real blessing comes from God, and He is incredibly
generous to those who seek Him and walk according to His ways.
Peter tells us not to be intimidated by man, but to sanctify
Christ as Lord in our hearts. “Sanctify” is the same Greek word “hagiois” that
we have looked at repeatedly in this letter. We are set apart as God’s holy
ones because of Christ, and we are to continually recognize Christ as our Lord.
There is no human power that can even step on the scale in comparison. Christ,
the Son was present in creation and all things that exist came into being by
Him, and, as we read in Colossians, it is Him who holds all things together.
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all
creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth,
visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or
authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before
all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body,
the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself
will come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father’s good
pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all
things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through
Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.” (Colossians 1:15–20,
NASB95)
He is Lord and we are to be continually mindful of this
truth when people try to puff themselves up. We have no reason to be
intimidated or to be troubled. Things might be troubling and our hearts might
be heavy over the wrongness of them, but all things are under the sovereign
authority of our God, and He will work His good. “These things I have spoken to
you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but
take courage; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33, NASB95)
Knowing His firm hand, we know that we are made to stand. We
are to take our courage in Him, and because of Him we can give an answer to
others concerning the hope that we have. When someone comments on how we are
walking through something, possibly adding that they don’t know if they could,
we have the opportunity to speak of about Christ. We don’t have to get riled up
at the injustice, but we can in good conscience with His peace speak boldly
about the assurance we have in Him in the face of the injustice. We can work
for right, but we aren’t to get exasperated and lose hope when right does not
seem to prevail. Our hope is in our Lord and not the success of our plans of
the consequence of our actions. Therefore, it is better to suffer for doing
right before Him than to suffer for wrong. We may gain the pleasure of man when
we seek to please man, but man is not our judge neither are man’s ways our
perfect guide.
When the world is lashing out around us and maybe even at
us, our confidence in God will be even more evident when we don’t return insult
for insult or evil for evil (v. 9), but with internal peace respond with grace
as we stand on His truth. We are to evidence our hope through our gentleness
and reverence of response as we keep our conscience clear before God and man.
They may say lots of things, revile us for our stand, and lash out at us in
response, but what really matters is the hope we have in Christ and the certain
knowledge that we are doing things His way no matter what man might do. In this
we know that we are approved by Him and are truly, truly blessed.
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