Monthly Archive for September, 1997

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1 Peter 3:11

Published on September 20, 1997 in 1 Peter. 0 Comments
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“Let him turn away from evil and do good; Let him seek peace and pursue it.”

 

Instead of retaliating against people who persecute them, a true Christian seeks and pursues peace. By orienting to God’s plan the Christian can have victory over low living. 
 
Let him turn away from evil
 
Here is the second “Let him” – “Let him turn away from evil.” 
 
“Turn away” comes from two words: from and to turn connoting to cease doing something. The idea is to cease, to stop, to avoid or shun, to turn aside. This implies that the person who turns away will engage in some alternative. That alternative here is to turn to God’s plan for them. This Christian turns aside at the approach of evil and then turns toward God’s plan. Rather than retaliate against those who demean him, this Christian seeks peace (v.10).
 
“From evil” – Evil here is the evil of broken relationships (context). “From evil” means from the ultimate source of evil. This evil comes out of our lust pattern. There is no place in the plan of God for Christians to operate in their lust patterns. To shun evil here means to confess sin and turn from it.
 
Romans uses this term for turning away from division–makers in 16: 17
 
 “Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them.”
 
PRINCIPLE: We should make a clean-cut break with the pattern of breaking relationships by confession of that sin.
 
APPLICATION: Do you “avoid” evil? Let us suppose a girl is on a date with some bore. She becomes tired of the conversation and goes to the power room with her girlfriend to complain about her date. She complains that he is fat headed, a lemon for a date. If you have spent 5 hours with a man you can’t stand, you know what it means to “shun” evil! In her mind he does not exist. He is there physically but he is not in her mind. 
 
Job hated evil (Job 1). He gave evil a wide berth. He hated sin. 
 
Ps. 97: 10 “You who love the Lord, hate evil! He preserves the souls of His saints; He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked.”
 
Heb 1: 9 “You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness;
Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions.”
 
 II Tim 2: 19 “Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: ‘The Lord knows those who are His,’ and, ‘Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity’.”
 
Make a clean cut break with sin. 
I Peter 4: 1 “Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.”
This is more than living in the will of God. This is living to the will of God. The will of God is our career.  This is our central concern.  His will is our passion. 
 
Orientation to the will of God lifts you to a higher spiritual plane so that you do not lower yourself to mundane, verbal feuds. Running feuds may be legitimate for non-Christians or carnal Christians but not for the spiritual Christian.  Carnal Christians do not know how to live with a central purpose in view.  People who come into the experience of the Spirit-filled life know better. They live on the higher plane of spiritual maturity. 
 
Why do you downgrade other Christians now that you have grown in the Lord? We say that new Christians have not grown in the Lord and that is why they are loose with their tongue. If you have been a Christian for 5 years, why have you not grown in those years? New Christians will eventually outgrow their immaturity but have you come to a plateau and are not growing? Immaturity judges people. God will judge us by what we say about people in small group meetings and around the dinner table. 
 
Do you enjoy sticking a verbal knife in the back of some people? Will you not receive the same in return? 
 
Gal. 5: 15 “But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another!” The word “consumed” means gulp down. Imagine Christians gulping down one another!
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1 Peter 3:10d

Published on September 19, 1997 in 1 Peter. 0 Comments
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“For ‘He who would love life
And see good days,
Let him refrain his tongue from evil,
And his lips from speaking deceit.’”
 
 
And his lips from speaking deceit
 
Our “lips” are our speaking apparatus. 
 
“Deceit” – bait, snare, craft, cunning. This term was used for bait for fish. Thus this word conveys any cunning contrivance for deceiving or catching someone. 
 
This is the second phrase dealing with sin of the tongue. The first phrase “let him refrain his tongue from evil” destroys the person. This second category is a phony relationship. It is not a true relationship. Behind both categories, attitude lurks as the source of these sins. 
 
Ultimately attitudes express themselves in the sins of the tongue. Attitude sins are at the root of malicious talk. Hatred manifests itself through the tongue. These sins are incompatible with God’s plan for our lives. 
 
Lips can lie. Our mouths can mask themselves in virtue. 
 
PRINCIPLE: The deception of the tongue is the manifestation of evil from within.
 
APPLICATION: Physically, the tongue is an index of our physical condition. The doctor looks at our tongue when we go to see him. Spiritually, the tongue is an indication of our spiritual condition. It expresses the evil that is inside.
 
Mt. 12: 34 “Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
 
Lk 6: 45 “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”
 
James 1: 26 “If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless.”
 
When we deceive others there is no true relationship there. Constant deceit means constant illusion in a relationship. The relationship is not what it appears to be. People whose lips are free from speaking deceit, tell the truth. Some times the truth hurts but nevertheless you tell the truth. When we do not tell the truth, the relationship is no relationship no matter how much jive it appears to have. 
 
A person who sees “good days” will not operate with duplicity. Two-faced people say one thing to your face and another thing behind your back. This is a favorite indoor sport for some Christians.

 

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1 Peter 3:10c

Published on September 18, 1997 in 1 Peter. 0 Comments
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“For ‘He who would love life
And see good days,
Let him refrain his tongue from evil,
And his lips from speaking deceit.’”
 
 
Let him refrain his tongue from evil,
 
“Refrain” means to cease, desist, make an end or stop. Christians who fills their minds with hurt, anger or bitterness will manifest those attitudes in his tongue. Sins of the tongue will come to fore. The only way to deal with this is to “desist.”
 
“From” – source. God does not want us to operate from the source of our evil attitudes. Gossip comes from the source of our evil attitudes. 
 
“Evil” – base or morally mean. 
 
PRINCIPLE: The mouth is an indication of our spiritual condition.
 
APPLICATION: The tongue ruins many lives:
 
James 3: 5 “Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell.”
 
Refraining our tongues from evil means that we are to get a good grip on our tongue. When God saves a soul he saves the tongue as well. Do you have a converted tongue? 
 
Does your sharp tongue hurt those closest to you? Is your mouth unkind? People come to a place of maturity when they come to realize that most of what they say about someone will come back to them. 
 
We need to learn to “refrain” our tongue from evil. How many times do we have to put our foot into our mouths before we learn this lesson? We cause more hurt with our mouths than anything else.
 
Ps 141: 3        “Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth;
Keep watch over the door of my lips.”
 
If a Christian is to see good days he must refrain from something. Is that evil word on the tip of your tongue? Are you about ready to give someone a piece of your mind? A heart free from anything base is able to control the tongue.   
 
Prov. 4: 24 “Put away from you a deceitful mouth,
And put perverse lips far from you.”
 
Prov. 21: 23 “Whoever guards his mouth and tongue
Keeps his soul from troubles.” 
 
Ephesians 4: 29 “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.”
 
Col 4: 6 “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.”
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1 Peter 3:10b

Published on September 17, 1997 in 1 Peter. 0 Comments
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“For ‘He who would love life
And see good days,
Let him refrain his tongue from evil,
And his lips from speaking deceit.’”
 
 
And see good days,
 
“Good” is intrinsic value. Christians can live each day with intrinsic value by making every day a day that can produce something that honors God. When the Christian sees God’s grace in his life and sees how God works out the situations in his life, he will refrain his tongue from downing other people.
 
“See” – we will never arrive at “good days” as long as we indulge in sins of the tongue. We will not have a good day if we sin with our tongue.
 
PRINCIPLE: The Christian can have life at its best.
 
APPLICATION: Gossip, maligning and judging people cause “bad days.” Do you impugn motives of other people? You do not know whether it is true or not but you think it is true so you “share” it with someone. This violates a “good life.”
 
We have a phrase today called “The Happy Hour.” This hour is happy to our society simply because it dulls the dead feelings of the stark life we live. There is a big difference between “the happy hour” and “good days.” 
 
There are not many Christians today who see “good days.” Disappointed, disillusioned and disenchanted, they turn to their own resources. They run on the treadmill of meaninglessness. They will see no good days with this belief system. They will not see God’s viewpoint. They only see human viewpoint. These Christians lose the thrill of sins forgiven. They are dull to the divine operating assets of the Christian life. They have little interest in spiritual things. They simply seek human success by using God as a gimmick to accomplish their humanistic ends. 
 
It is amazing how many Christians have little interest in spiritual things. Christians in this condition begin to question the reality of Christianity. No wonder! Other judge themselves and say, “Maybe I am a phony. Maybe I have never truly become a Christian.” No doubt many of these people never came to Christ in the first place. They drop out of church because the void violates their view of Christianity. Monkeys like to be with monkeys, cows like to be with cows and vibrant Christians love to be with vibrant Christians. 
 
A person that keeps his tongue from reviling and speaking evil of others will “see good days.” Christians who watch their tongue live peaceable lives. 
 
Do you enjoy life at its best? Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. Be honest in your character. Noble attitudes produce noble living. This makes life worth living. We will see “good days” – days that are worthwhile and beneficial to self and others.
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1 Peter 3:10

Published on September 16, 1997 in 1 Peter. 0 Comments
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"For ‘He who would love life
And see good days,
Let him refrain his tongue from evil,
And his lips from speaking deceit.’”
 
 
For ‘He who would love life
 
Verses 10-12 are a quotation from Psalm 34:12-14. Let us look at the historic coloring of Psalm 34. This passage deals with one of the darkest times of David’s life. David sought by Saul fled into territory of the Philistines. David was a threat to the Philistines because he defeated them in war. The Philistines brought him before their king, Achish. They would have killed him if it were not for the fact that he played insane. It was against Philistine culture to kill the insane. David left to the cave of Adullam in the wilderness of Judah. His friends joined him. He played the role of phony. Note the last phrase of this verse “And his lips from speaking deceit.” David’s method of deception became the subject of Psalm 34. He got nothing but misery for this. 
 
“Love life” – there is a vast difference between living life to the full and mere existence.
 
PRINCIPLE: God expects Christians to live life to the full.
 
APPLICATION: Some Christians need a reminder that it is no sin to “love life.” This is how God created us. God provides for every situation in life. Life will have its reverses but we can still love life in the midst of reverses. 
 
Jesus came to give spiritual life (John 14:6) and abundant living (John 10:10). Jesus delivers us from ourselves. If we live for self we will never “love life” to the full. Are you cynical and disillusioned with life? Do you anticipate each day? If you do not, this may be an indication of a spiritual problem. It is possible for a Christian to lose the quality of his life. Jesus can make our lives meaningful by living for God’s glory and man’s good.
 
Some people are disillusioned with life because they are not Christians. By going through life without Jesus Christ people live for themselves and waste their lives. Jesus came to give us a purposeful life. Otherwise we will go to old age sitting around waiting for the undertaker. 
 
Most people have nothing to look forward to beyond the grave. They feel shortchanged and they are. Most people work, sleep and play. That is the full orb of their living. Life is a treadmill for them. Like a work horse, they plod through life. They die of boredom. They wish they could escape their dead lives. They have no high purpose for which they live. As soon as they get out of work they stop at the bar to dull their feelings.
 
Throw yourself at the foot of the cross before you throw yourself at the foot of a train. Life with a capital “L” begins at Calvary (by believing that Jesus died for your sins). 
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1 Peter 3:9f

Published on September 15, 1997 in 1 Peter. 0 Comments
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“Not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing.”
 
 
that you may inherit a blessing
 
“That” – result clause. The result of blessing those who revile us is that we receive a blessing. 
 
“Inherit” – actually inherits, obtain by inheritance. Some people can receive an inheritance but receive nothing in that inheritance. God gives content in his inheritance. We must do something to obtain this blessing – operate on God’s viewpoint about retaliation. 
 
 “Blessing” means to speak well of someone. This is not the blessing of privilege. God called us to inherit his blessing. This should encourage us in turn to bless others. God calls on us to bless others because he blessed us by his call. 
 
PRINCIPLE: God blesses those who bless others.
 
APPLICATION: God blesses us on the basis of his own character not on our character. This puts all in the same boat because our blessing precludes merit. God does not bless us because of our good he blesses us because of his good. He blesses us because of who he is and what he has done for us. Blessing, therefore, depends on the character of God. 
 
We share God’s blessing of grace when we “know” this. We cannot earn or deserve God’s blessing. Blessing depends on our knowledge of God and his provisions in grace for us. Understanding this grace blesses us. Retaliation deprives us of God’s blessing and we get in line for the woodshed.
 
The Christian who blesses others does so on the basis of his own blessing from God. This is why he can rise above retaliation. The maturity of his character transcends motley little resentments people may have toward him. God blesses him because of this. 
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1 Peter 3:9e

Published on September 14, 1997 in 1 Peter. 0 Comments
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“Not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing.”
 
 
knowing that you were called to this,
 
“Knowing” – It is important to know that God calls us to bless people who verbally abuse us. We base our behavior on the Bible. 
 
If we do not know what the Bible teaches about how to react to people, we will not behave right. What is proper for those without Christ is not necessarily proper for the Christian. It is a mistake to expect non-Christians to live with Christian ethics because they do not have the proper belief system for behavior. They do not have the indwelling Holy Spirit. They do have new life in Christ. 
 
“That” – purpose clause. God has a purpose in calling Christian to such a mode of operation. God calls us to be a blessing to non-Christians. 
 
“To this” – for this very purpose. The purpose of blessing those who verbally assault us is to represent our calling to non-Christians.
 
“Called” – at the point when we received Christ as Savior God called us to a different world view. God calls us to inherit a blessing and that we should be a blessing. God expects the Christian to be different from those without Christ. He wants us to be different from anyone a non-Christian has ever met. We are the best Christian some non-Christians know. We may be the only Christian that some people know. 
 
PRINCIPLE: God calls the Christian because of his salvation to live a mature life before those without Christ.
 
APPLICATION: Almost everyone is religious now days but how many true Christians have people met? They need to come into contact with people who do not give tit for a tat. They need to see mature reactions to verbal abuse. They need to observe how people can live above the low life of retaliation.  
 
Non-Christians may not be able to understand this initially but they will come to know that it is Christ who makes the difference in your life. They have little confidence in Christians who claims regeneration but their lives are no different than anyone else. 
 
The way we prove we have come to know God personally is our behavior. If we claim salvation but do not behave saved, no one will believe us. They will discount everything we say. Are we a blessing to our enemies? If not, we do not live up to our calling. 
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1 Peter 3:9d

Published on September 13, 1997 in 1 Peter. 1 Comment
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“Not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing.”
 
 
but on the contrary blessing,
 
“Contrary” means the opposite. God expects us to operate the very opposite way of how we would normally operate when it comes to people who orally assault us. 
 
“Blessing” – to speak well of, to praise, invoke a blessing upon, to cause someone to prosper, speak well of.  Are you willing to invoke a blessing upon your enemies? Are you a blessing to those who do you evil and even rail against you?
 
I Co 4: 12  “And we labor, working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure.”
 
PRINCIPLE: Blessing others is God’s method of communication even in the face of verbal abuse.
 
APPLICATION: After telling us what not to do, Peter turns to what we should do. After negating vengeance, he shows us how to respond to our detractors – give contrary blessing. Do them good. God expects us to take the guff but he wants us to go farther — he wants us to bless them. 
 
We do not extinguish fire with fire but with water. Likewise, we do not extinguish verbal abuse with verbal abuse but with blessing. We have a much higher chance to resolve the issue by taking the high road of maturity. Do you try to get even? This is hate and immaturity. 
 
Maturity returns blessings for railing –Mt. 5:44, "Love your enemies, bless those that curse you, do good to those that hate you, and pray for those that persecute you.” God calls us to do the difficult thing.  The source of giving blessing to others is the Holy Spirit (John 7:38). 
 
If someone is vindictive toward us, God wants us to think about how he has blessed us. We put it in the Lord’s hands (I Pet. 5:7). 
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1 Peter 3:9c

Published on September 12, 1997 in 1 Peter. 0 Comments
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“Not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing.”
 
 
or reviling for reviling,
 
The phrase “reviling for reviling” is more specific than “evil for evil.” “Evil” speaks of deeds. “Reviling” speaks of words. “Reviling” speaks evil to someone’s face, not behind their back. 
 
A “reviling” is a verbal wrong, verbal abuse.  “Reviling” is verbal retaliation. To revile is to execute malice toward someone in a fierce, bitter manner. When we gossip or criticize someone as a pay back, this is a reviling. This is a reproach. 
 
PRINCIPLE: Verbal assault is not a proper method of Christian communication.
 
APPLICATION: God wants us to watch our mouth. We do not have to always stand up for our rights. Rights have become a panacea to our generation. Everything is measured by rights. If we enter quarreling and remonstrate angrily at someone because they were that way to us, we move off God’s will for us. 
 
I Pet. 2: 23 “Who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously.”
 
Do you use scathing or insulting speech as your method of communication? Do you retaliate in kind? Note David’s attitude Shimei. Shimei was a relative of Saul. David replaced Saul as king.  Shimei called David a man of Belial (the Devil). 
 
II Sam. 16:9 “Then Abishai the son of Zeruiah said to the king, ‘Why should this dead dog [Shimei] curse my lord the king? Please, let me go over and take off his head!’ 10But the king [David] said, ‘What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? So let him curse, because the Lord has said to him, ‘Curse David.’ Who then shall say, ‘Why have you done so?’ 11And David said to Abishai and all his servants, ‘See how my son who came from my own body seeks my life. How much more now may this Benjamite? Let him alone, and let him curse; for so the Lord has ordered him. 12 ‘It may be that the Lord will look on my affliction, and that the Lord will repay me with good for his cursing this day.’”
 
When Christians adopt a “pay back” attitude they step into God’s role. By taking vengeance in our own hands we play God. God reserves the right to take vengeance because he knows all the facts. We interfere with his justice when try to play his role. When the Christian takes upon himself the role of vengeance he interferes with God’s justice. God reserves the right of vengeance. 
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1 Peter 3:9b

Published on September 11, 1997 in 1 Peter. 0 Comments
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“Not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing.”

 

evil for evil
 
“Evil” is anything that is base or evil in character. 
 
God does not want us to return insult for insult.  Personal revenge is not in God’s plan for the believer:
 
Prov. 20: 22 “Do not say, “I will recompense evil”;
Wait for the Lord, and He will save you.”
 
Lk. 6: 27“But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you.”
 
Rom. 12: 17 “Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. 18If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. 19Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. 20Therefore
‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
If he is thirsty, give him a drink;
For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.’
21Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
 
I Th. 5: 15 “See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all.”
 
“For” carries the idea of means – in exchange for. Christians are not to give back an evil in exchange for an evil. Retaliation is not proper Christian methodology to resolve broken relationships. 
 
PRINCIPLE: Tit for tat is an immature approach to dealing with life.
 
APPLICATION: Tit for tat is an immature approach to dealing with life. A quick retort satisfies our surface emotion at the moment but does not deal with the essence of the problem. 
 
It is natural to return evil for evil. It is the easy response: “I’ll get even with you if its the last thing I do.” Yes, it may be the last thing we do. 
 
Retaliation makes two evils instead of one and may makes it worse. If we have a streak of retaliation in us, we need another perspective on Christianity. If we use recrimination as our method of dealing with problem people, we do not operate on God’s methodology for dealing with jerks. We operate out of a sour soul. 
 
An evil is an evil in the sight of God no matter what reason we may give for it.  It is a big order to operate in maturity. It is easy to be nice to people who are nice to us. We can freely shake hands with people who are friendly to us. It is much more difficult to shake hands with people you know knife you in the back verbally. 
 
If we render evil for evil this makes us no different from the non-Christian. If we render good for good that is man-like. If we render good for evil that is Christ-like, and rare. If we want to evaluate the progress of our spirituality, try putting on good for evil for size. 
 
What is your attitude toward people who criticize you? Can you still smile at them? Do you pray for them? Can you treat them as nicely as you treat your friends? When we do this we operate in true spirituality. 
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