1 Peter 3:8-17: Zealous For Good

I. Base Text: 1 Peter 3:8-17

II. Understanding the Text
   A. Background
      1. 1 Peter 1: great encouragement based in rebirth through 
         resurrection and hope of salvation; value of salvation; 
         imperatives to holiness, love
      2. 1 Peter 2: sustained by God's message; Christians as 
         Temple, spiritual Israel; honorable conduct before all 
         people; call to suffer for doing right, as Christ has set 
         forth as an example
      3. 1 Peter 3:1-7: Wives to submit to husbands, focus on 
         internal adornment of quiet, gentle spirit; husbands to 
         honor wives, live in understanding way with them
   B. Summation of Conduct (1 Peter 3:8-9)
      1. Peter transitions from speaking about servants, husbands,
         and wives, speaking of "the completion" or "finally"
      2. He then sets forth the important attributes of a Christian
      3. Unity of mind (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:10, Philippians 2:1-2)
      4. Sympathy (cf. Philippians 2:1-2)
      5. Brotherly love (cf. 1 Peter 1:22-25, 2 Peter 1:5-7)
      6. A tender heart (cf. Ephesians 4:32)
      7. A humble mind (cf. 2 Corinthians 10:5)
      8. Not repaying evil for evil, reviling for reviling 
         (1 Peter 2:18-25, Matthew 5:39-48, Luke 6:27-36, 
         Romans 12:17-21)
      9. Rather to bless, having been called to be a blessing to 
         obtain blessing (cf. Romans 12:14)
      10. A succinct layout of the essential attributes of a 
          Christian-- one who loves fellow man, seeks his benefit 
          at all times, is willing to suffer injury and/or loss 
          without causing injury in return
   C. Value of Doing Good (1 Peter 3:10-12)
      1. Peter demonstrates the truth regarding the blessing by 
         quoting Psalm 34:12-16
      2. Same essential message as Peter in 1 Peter 2-3 so far
      3. Peter may likely be developing his theme from this 
         passage, at least in part
      4. Tongue to be kept from evil, do not do evil but do good; 
         seek and pursue peace
      5. Eyes of God on righteous, turned toward their prayer; 
         face against those who do evil
      6. All of this used to explain, justify what has been seen 
         in 1 Peter 1:22-2:2, 2:11-3:9
   D. No Fear if Zealous For Good (1 Peter 3:13-17)
      1. Peter then returns to his main theme as developed over 
         past full chapter (1 Peter 2:11-3:12)
      2. Who will harm you if zealous for what is good?
      3. Could be seen as comparable question to Paul's statement 
         that there is no law against fruit of Spirit 
         (Galatians 2:22-24)
      4. Perhaps may indicate that even if men will harm you, God 
         will preserve you (cf. Matthew 10:28)
      5. If nothing else, verse 14 certainly trending toward 
         latter-- no real reason to fear if you are doing good, 
         and one's soul should not be troubled
      6. Instead, Christ to be sanctified as holy in the heart, 
         and, as His disciple, prepared to make defense for hope; 
         done with gentleness and respect
      7. We should have good consciences so those who slander are 
         put to shame (cf. 1 Peter 2:11-12, 18-19)
      8. Principle already demonstrated consistently: better to 
         suffer for doing good if necessary than to suffer for 
         doing evil (cf. 1 Peter 2:18-20)

III. Application
   A. The Christian Life
      1. Peter provides a handy summary of the way to live in 
         1 Peter 3:8-9
      2. A humble mind and tender heart-- essential foundations 
         for other attributes
      3. Brotherly love, unity of mind, sympathy-- allows for 
         working together with others, desire to be of value and 
         benefit to others
      4. Not doing any evil or reviling, even when suffering, 
         instead, to bless!
      5. These all manifest in Jesus, essential if we are going to
         be Jesus' disciples
      6. Not easy attributes to develop!
   B. Zealous for Good
      1. Peter makes it clear that we ought not just do good, but
         to be zealous for it (1 Peter 3:13)
      2. As followers of Christ, we must have passion for living 
         as His servants
      3. We must passionately seek after the benefit of others
      4. A testament to the transformed life-- if our lives have 
         been transformed!
   C. The Defense
      1. 1 Peter 3:15
      2. Important message-- we must be able to communicate to 
         another why we believe as we do, why we have the hope we 
         have
      3. That defense to be given in the proper way, with 
         gentleness and respect
      4. Not arrogantly, or dismissive and caustic regarding other
         views
      5. If one tries to use the Devil's tools to defend the truth,
         the Devil wins!
      6. Our defense not just to demonstrate truth of Gospel but 
         to persuade others to share in that hope!
      7. If we win the argument but lose the soul in the process, 
         have we really won?
      8. As verse 16 shows, the defense of the faith not just oral,
         but also practical
      9. Our conscience should be good and our deeds testify to 
         the message we speak
      10. The right words and the wrong behavior are perceived as 
          hypocrisy!
      11. We must have the right message with the right behavior 
          if we are going to properly promote God's Word in our 
          lives!

IV. Conclusion
   A. We have seen 1 Peter 3:8-17
      1. The proper attributes of a Christian: love, sympathy, 
         humility, unity, blessing in all circumstances
      2. Thus we must do if we want to maintain God's favor
      3. No fear or trouble if we are zealous for good and do good
      4. We must provide a defense for our hope in word and deed
   B. Let us therefore be zealous for good and to actively promote
      God's purposes in our lives in word and deed!
   C. Invitation/songbook