He made it clear that these things in the remaining part of the chapter apply to "ALL". He admonished them in verse 8, to:
(1) "All" be of one mind
(2) "All" have compassion
(3) "All" to love as brethren
(4) "All" be tenderhearted and humble in mind
Again in this passage, he is addressing everyone as he shows us the different kinds of relationships we face in the Christian life.
For example, let us look at-
I. OUR RELATIONSHIP TO SIN
Look at verses 11-12. We read, "Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it. For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil."
We, as Christians, are to have a different attitude toward sin than the LOST WORLD.
What kind of attitude should we have? Look at Verse 11. We are to “Eschew evil”. The word “Eschew” is the Greek word, “Ekklino” which means to shun, to avoid, to decline.
We are to “Eschew evil” for two reasons.
A. BECAUSE SIN DESTROYS
Have you ever seen anyone that played with snakes? If you are a sensible person, your first thought is this, “WHY ARE THEY PLAYING WITH SOMETHING AS DANGEROUS and DEADLY AS A SNAKE?”
This is the kind of reaction we Christians should have with sin.
God tells us that as Christians, our eyes to sin have been opened and we should develop a hatred for sin, BECAUSE WE RECOGNIZE SIN WILL DESTROY!
Illus: Samson played with Delilah, but Delilah was not playing with Samson.
Many children may think that parents sit down with a piece of paper and make lists of all the things that they can imagine their children shouldn’t do, just to make their lives as miserable as they can make them. But the only reason these loving parents tell their children not to do certain things is because they love them. They know that there are things out there that can bring misery and death to their lives.
For example, a loving dad tells his son, "Do not put your finger in that electric light socket!" Why? Because that dad knows what will happen if they do such a thing, and they do not want their child hurt. This dad is saying this, not to make this child’s life miserable, but to keep him from becoming miserable.
When God created man He did not just randomly decide certain things would or would not be sin.
When God tells us not to do something, it is because in His wisdom, He knows it will hurt us or even shorten our lives.
SIN DESTROYS. It destroys happiness and lives.
Illus: We should avoid sin just as we would avoid someone with a contagious, deadly disease.
But another reason we should "Eschew evil" is-
B. BECAUSE SIN DISPLEASES
Look at verse 12b, we read, “... but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil."
God hates sin, but He loves righteousness.
The Word of God says, “...the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers...”
Did you know, I can’t do one good deed without God seeing it?
Illus: Every time one of His children does a good deed He is like a proud father; His face lights up with joy.
On the other hand, when we do something evil, God sees it, and the Bible says, “...the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.”
Peter also tells us that when we disobey God, He will not hear our prayers. He hears the prayers of the obedient, “…and his ears are open unto their prayers.”
Our relationship to sin is that we "shun" it like a plague, because we know that it DESTROYS and it DISPLEASES God the Father.
This should be our relationship with sin. We should strive to stay away from it as far as possible. But let us look at-
II. OUR RELATIONSHIP TO OUR ENEMIES
Look at verses 13-14. We read, "And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy. are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled."
People display two kinds of reactions to a righteous life.
A. SOME ADMIRE THE CHRISTIAN LIFE
The Bible says in verse 13, "And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?"
There are people around us who know they are displeasing God the Father. They have nothing but admiration for those who joyfully serve the Lord.
Illus: One Christian man has two grown sons. One of the sons faithfully serves the Lord. The other lives for himself and the world. He has no room in his life for God. However, this rebellious man made this statement about his Christian brother, "My brother has shown me one thing: you can be a Christian and have a good time serving the Lord."
Yes, some admire people who are putting God first in their lives. Look at verse 13. We read, "And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?"
Some have nothing but ADMIRATION for those who are serving the Lord.
B. SOME DESPISE THOSE WHO LIVE GODLY IN CHRIST JESUS.
Look at Verse 14. We read, "But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled.”
WHY DO PEOPLE DESPISE THE GODLY? Because when we faithfully serve the Lord, it causes some things to happen in people’s lives, such as:
(1) IT BRINGS GUILT TO THE UNRIGHTEOUS
Wives, who have lost husbands and want their husbands saved, ought to attend all the worship services as faithfully as they possibly can.
Why? For several reasons:
• As Christians they need to be in church
• If they stay home, the husbands will not even think about the Lord. But every time the wife goes to worship the Lord, the thought crosses the husband's mind that he should be setting a better example, and he should be going himself.
If the wife compromises and stays home, more than likely God will not have a chance to deal with his heart because his wife is home with him. But when she is at church, he is more inclined to feel convicted of his sins.
But let me give you a word of warning here. When God begins to work in his heart and deal with him about his sins, sometimes husbands get as mean as a rattle snake!”
But as the wife suffers for the cause of Christ, Peter says, "But and if ye suffer for righteousness sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled."
Some people despise those who live righteous lives, because IT BRINGS CONVICTION TO THE UNRIGHTEOUS.
But also-
(2) IT BRINGS BLESSINGS TO THE RIGHTEOUS
When a man faithfully serves God, he will have God's blessings. The man who spends his life serving Satan will die in regret. The sinner eventually will realize that God's Word is true, that Satan is a thief, and that he stole every blessing God had for him.
Many who are living in sin become very angry when the righteous put restraints on their sinful activities.
Illus: In July of 2000, all of the video poker machines were removed from the state of South Carolina. These machines were robbing poor families of their entire income. Christians got together and put pressure on the legislature, and they had them removed from the State.
This made a lot of sinful people angry. Their anger was revealed in the local newspapers in the editorial section, where they wrote all kinds of unkind letters about God and God’s people.
Often, people like this make life difficult for those who take a stand for what the Bible teaches, and who have God's blessings. The Word of God says, “...ye suffer for righteousness' sake...”
We have looked at OUR RELATIONSHIP TO SIN, and OUR RELATIONSHIP TO OUR ENEMIES, but let us also look at-
III. OUR RELATIONSHIP TO THE WORLD
Look at verses 15-17. We read, "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ. For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.”
Peter is telling us to live a dedicated Christian life because it:
A. PROVIDES OPPORTUNITIES FOR WITNESSING
Notice, the Bible says in verse 15, “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is you with meekness and fear.”
God is to have a very special place in our hearts. Look at the word "sanctify" in verse 15. That means our hearts and our lives are used for God and God only.
For example, the organ in our church is "sanctified." It is set apart to be used for the purpose of bringing glory to God. It is not used for the Lord on Sunday, and then used for playing worldly music the rest of the week.
This building is "sanctified." It has been set aside for the Lord's service. We do not worship God here on Sunday, and then have dances or bingo other days of the week.
When we live for God seven days a week, the world can see by watching how we live, of the "hope” that is within us.
And notice, our lives should reveal so strongly that Christ has a special place in our life that they will ask us of the “hope” that is within us.
The dedicated Christian life will provide opportunities for witnessing. But also the dedicated Christian life will-
(B) PROVIDES US WITH A CLEAN CONSCIENCE
Look at verse 16. We read, “Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.”
When a man does not live right, his conscience bothers him.
The reason so many are on drugs and alcohol today, is because they are so miserable.
The reason many are running to the psychiatrist is because their conscience is eating them alive!
We all know Christians who are not living in obedience to God's Word, and they know they are not living right, and the lost world knows they are not living right.
An undedicated life will provide a life of misery with a guilty conscience.
The dedicated Christian life PROVIDES OPPORTUNITIES FOR WITNESSING, PROVIDES US WITH A CLEAN CONSCIENCE, and it …
(C) PROVIDES OPPORTUNITIES TO SUFFER FOR “WELL DOING.”
None of us are going to make it through this life without a certain amount of suffering. It is better that we suffer for DOING WELL, than to suffer because we DID EVIL.
Look at verse 17. We read, “For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.”
When we live a dedicated Christian life, our life provides us the opportunity for people to see the “Hope” that we have in Christ, and gives them an opportunity to see Christ in our life.
IV. OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH CHRIST
Look at Verses 18-22. We read, “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.”
In our relationship with Christ, we understand He suffered, and we understand clearly why He suffered. He spoke to us about OUR SUFFERING for the cause of Christ, but now He speaks about CHRIST’S SUFFERING FOR US.
Look at verse 18, we read, "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit."
In the Old Testament we see that the sacrifice for sin had to be made over and over again. But Peter wanted to make it clear that the Lord is not going to die over and over again. He has ONCE SUFFERED FOR SINS. Why? “... that he might bring us to God...”
He did more than just die for us. Look at verse 18. We read that He was, “...quickened by the Spirit."
WHY WAS HE BROUGHT TO LIFE AGAIN?
Look at verse 19. We read, "By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison.”
There are several teachings here that we need to consider. Some believed that when it speaks of Him preaching unto the spirits in prison:
(1) That these are the fallen angels that had rebelled against Him and were thrust out of heaven. Between His death and resurrection Christ visited these angels to announce HIS victory and their doom.
(2) That these were the people who rejected Noah’s preaching. They get that from verse 20, where we read, “Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a-preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.”
Men like Dr. J. Vernon McGee do not believe that Christ literally went down to Sheol and preached to them, but thinks He preached to them through Noah. He preached for 120 years to those who rejected Noah’s message. That is, “When once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah.” Their spirits were in prison.
Paul speaks of this in Eph. 4:8, where he tells us that, “…He led captivity captive...” It is also likely that at this time He emptied the paradise section of Hades, and took the believers to heaven.
In 1 Peter 3:20-21, Peter alludes to Noah's situation. He made a statement that we have to be careful to interpret rightly. That is in the days of Noah, “... eight souls were saved by water." Peter, in no way was implying we are saved by water baptism as some teach. He is saying that we are saved because of what it symbolizes.
Baptism is an illustration of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ Jesus. Because of His death, burial, and resurrection, we can be saved and have a relationship with Christ!
Our relationship to Christ is this: He is the Savior and we are the sinners.
Conclusion: In this passage we learned of:
I. OUR RELATIONSHIP TO SIN
II. OUR RELATIONSHIP TO OUR ENEMIES
III. OUR RELATIONSHIP TO THE WORLD
IV. OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH CHRIST
