We represent Jesus well in our relationships with others when we respond to being wronged the right way...

This week, we are looking at a section of a letter that has been preserved and recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible called the book of 1 Peter. Yesterday, we began to look at 1 Peter 3:8-12, where we discovered that living as part of God’s kingdom community should lead to a life that represents Jesus well in our relationships with others.

And in 1 Peter 3:8-12, we are going to see Peter reveal for us two different ways that we represent Jesus well in our relationships with others. First, in verse 8, we saw Peter reveal for us the reality that we represent Jesus well in our relationships with others when we live in genuine and authentic community with one another as a church.

As followers of Jesus we represent Jesus well as a church when we are living in genuine and authentic community with one another that is marked by unity. As followers of Jesus we represent Jesus well as a church when we are living in genuine and authentic community with one another that is marked by an understanding of one another. As followers of Jesus we represent Jesus well as a church when we are living in genuine and authentic community with one another that is marked by a mutual, brotherly and sisterly love for one another.

As followers of Jesus we represent Jesus well as a church when we are living in genuine and authentic community with one another that is marked by compassion for one another. And as followers of Jesus we represent Jesus well as a church when we are living in genuine and authentic community with one another that is marked by humility toward one another.

We asked the question “Do these characteristics mark the church you attend? Would people who explore faith here at your church say that these are the traits that mark your church? Would people in the community say these things about your church if they were asked about the church?

Is your church marked by unity? An understanding of one another? A mutual, brotherly or sisterly love for one another? A compassion for others? A humility towards others? Because, as Peter points out in this verse, as followers of Jesus we represent Jesus well in our relationships with others when we live in genuine and authentic community with one another as a church.

Today we will see Peter make a subtle transition, from addressing how followers of Jesus should live in relationship with one another as part of the church, to addressing how followers of Jesus should respond when we are wronged by others who are outside the church. We see this subtle shift in 1 Peter 3:9. Let’s look at it together:

not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing.

Now to fully understand what Peter is communicating in this verse, we first need to understand the culture to which Peter was writing these verses to. You see, in the Greco-Roman culture of the first century, a person’s honor was of ultimate value and virtue. A person’s honor was to be defended at all times and a person always sought to enhance their honor, often at the expense of others.

Sociologists and historians refer to this phenomenon as being an honor shame culture. So when a person’s honor was questioned or challenged, the cultural expectation would be that one would retaliate, in kind, in order to defend one’s honor and reputation and in order to bring shame to another’s honor and reputation. So, in the culture that these early followers of Jesus lived in, a common occurrence would be instances that were referred to as honor challenges.

In honor challenges, one person would attempt to challenge another’s honor so as to increase their honor as they shamed the other person. The outcomes of these honor challenges would establish a sort of societal pecking order when it came to status within the culture. Now, to respond to one’s honor being challenged by not retaliating, by not responding in kind, would be viewed as most unusual by the culture around them and would give them pause.

However, that is exactly what Peter commanded these early followers of Jesus to do here. Instead of retaliating when wronged; instead of responding in kind when wronged, Peter commanded these early followers of Jesus to give a blessing instead. When Peter uses this phrase, he was calling early followers of Jesus to pray sincerely for the person that wronged them in a way that asked God to bestow divine favor upon them.

Peter was calling these early followers of Jesus, and followers of Jesus throughout history, to respond to being wronged by praying that God would intervene in that person’s life in a way that extended His divine favor upon them so that they would come to know Him. Peter then provided the reason why they were to respond to such a way to being wronged by stating “for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing”.

With this phrase, Peter is revealing the reality that God chose and drew these early followers of Jesus to the place where they experienced the blessings that come as a result of experiencing the forgiveness of sin and the relationship with God that they were created for though Jesus life, death, and resurrection so that they may be used by God in a way that reveals and reflects Jesus in how they respond to being wronged by others.

You see, just as we discovered a few weeks ago in 1 Peter 2:23, Jesus opened a new and better way that breaks the escalation of conflict and provides an example for us to follow as followers of Jesus. Once again, Peter is reminding followers of Jesus throughout history that part of following Jesus is to respond to the suffering and wrong that occurs in our lives in a way that is an apologetic for the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel by doing the right thing in the face of opposition and suffering for doing the right thing.

And it is here that we see Peter reveal for us the reality that we represent Jesus well in our relationships with others when we respond to being wronged the right way. As followers of Jesus, we respond to being wronged the right way when we refuse to respond in kind. And as followers of Jesus, we respond to being wronged the right way when we ask God to extend favor to the one who wronged us.

As followers of Jesus, we are to ask God to extend favor to the one who wronged us in response to the life that Jesus called us to live as part of God’s kingdom community. You see, we are called as followers of Jesus to follow the example of Jesus by blessing those who insult and wrong us. We are called to respond to being wronged in such a way because our inheritance of the blessings that come as a part of God’s kingdom community are freely given to us as we live out our identity in that community. And as Peter points out, our inheritance of the blessings that come as a part of God’s kingdom community enable and empower us to seek God’s favor on others, even those who do wrong to us.

Now right about now you might be pushing back against everything I have just said. Maybe you are thinking to yourself “Well Dave If you only knew my situation; if you only knew how I have been wronged, you would not be saying what you just said to me. If you only knew how I have been wronged, you would understand why I think it is okay to retaliate and respond in kind to what has been done to me.  If you only knew how I have been wronged, you would understand why I am not going to ask God to extend favor to the person who has wronged me.”

If those thoughts, questions, and objections, are running through your mind, I just want to let you know that those are fair objections. And we see how Peter responded to those objections in what he says next.

Friday we will see what Peter has to say next…