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Join Peter Englert, a pastor, and Dr. Ron Hall, professor and pastor, as they delve into the book of 1 Peter. This book helps readers cope with suffering in an antagonistic world by offering hope in Jesus. Whether you're exploring faith or a long-time follower of Jesus, read through the book of 1 Peter on your own or with a group of friends with insights to better understand this book of the Bible.
1 Peter 3:8-22
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Peter Englert: [00:00:00] Welcome to the Reading First Peter podcast. I am your co-host, Peter Engler, and I am here with Dr. Ron Hall. Ron, we have another great passage to go through a lot, so let's just jump in. Sound good.
Ron Hall: Go for it.
Peter Englert: One Peter three, eight through 22, and it says this. Finally, all of you be like-minded. Be sympathetic, love one another.
Be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil. Or insult. With insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing. Because to this you are called so that you may inherit a blessing For whoever would love life and see, good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech.
They must turn from evil and do good. They must seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to tho their prayer. But the face of the [00:01:00] Lord is against those who do evil. Who is gonna harm you if you are eager to do good, but even if you would, should suffer for what is right.
You are blessed. Do not fear their threats. Do not be threatened, threatened, or frightened, but in your hearts, revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have, but do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience so that those who speak maliciously against you.
Your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. For it is better if it is. God's will to suffer for doing good than for doing evil for Christ. Also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body, but made alive in the spirit.
After being made alive, he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits. To those who were disobedient long ago, and when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the arc was being built and it only a few [00:02:00] people ate in all or saved through water, and the water symbolizes baptism, that now saves you also not the removal of dirt from the body, but the pledge of a clear conscience towards God.
It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ who has gone into heaven and is at God's right hand with angels, authorities, and powers and submission to him. That is very loaded, my friend. Where would you, where would you like to start?
Ron Hall: Well, let's first of all to the backdrop of the letter. We're dealing with a suffering church. Persecution is breaking out all around them. And Peter is trying to give them instructions as to how they're going to respond to that suffering. So therefore, this passage is going to burrow down into that. And it's also going to tell them what is their response to that suffering, out the Christian life and an antagonistic world. so that's what parks it, [00:03:00] and it lands on Psalm 34. really deals with those behavioral issues.
Peter Englert: Hmm. Well that was a nice tight little bow. So before we jump into maybe the hard sayings, and again, we're not, we, you could do 10 hours of podcasts in some of those hard sayings. What I find interesting about this passage is. Peter starts the passage very practically, like boots on the ground, things you can apply, like do the right thing, even if you suffer.
Have a word, you know, be prepared in season for the hope that you have. Then he closes. Very interesting theologically. So as we read this passage, how do you think about that rhythm of, um, a little bit more practical and applying all the way to deep and theological applying to our lives?
Ron Hall: [00:04:00] Well, theology should be practical, and this is dealing with the conduct. What type of behavior do we have? loaded theology, of course, is the presentation of the gospel, but how is that impacting our daily life? lives. So in verse eight, it's dealing with those behavioral issues. It bleeds over from what we dealt with last time in the idea of submission. So when you get into the verse 10, it's the direct quotes out of Psalm 34. Uh, if you would love life and see good days, then keep your tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech, turn from evil and do good. It's all of this behavior that comes out of it. So it's really what we would call a living theology or a practical theology out the reality of the Christian life.
Peter Englert: Mm. So let, let's jump there because one Peter three 18 [00:05:00] is very reminiscent to one Peter one, three, uh, of the gospel. And so just unpack that. What do you think Peter's trying to communicate about the gospel in this, in this section that might be a little nuance from one Peter one, three.
Ron Hall: Yeah. Well, the one three that we've been born again into a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. That inheritance we have in him. And then verse 18 describes for us exactly what the gospel is. Christ dies for our sins once for all, and look at the language the righteous for the unrighteous. So Christ was the righteous one. We are unrighteous and for what reason to bring you to God, it really has the flavor of Ephesians chapter two. We were a far off, but we've been brought near by the blood of Christ. Same images that are used throughout the New Testament of what it truly means to be a Christian. we [00:06:00] understand that Christianity has to be with a relationship with Christ. And how is that achieved? The righteous for the unrighteous. He dies once and for all. Same language is used in Hebrews letter of the image of Christ Died once for all. So you can run all kinds of parallels. And if any of you have a Bible that's a study bible, it should key for you a variety of references for this very passage. And he was put to death in his body, but made alive in the spirit. that's the gospel and uh, in a very concise form in one verse.
Peter Englert: Well, and I think something that's interesting is when the first Century Church in the early hundreds and two hundreds, um, they read this passage as if martyrdom was like the highest form of spirituality. And I, I think, I think that that's important to understand. 'cause if you read this passage [00:07:00] on the surface, that's.
That's kind of what it's hinting at, but I don't think that that's the end result or the goal. And so I think it's important because there's so much of this passage that is very related to the original readers that we're somewhat disconnected and I, I think we would be more connected to the people that read this passage.
After Constantine, um, ruled over the Roman Empire and made Christianity the official religion, you can kind of see as you've pointed out the antagonist world and why suffering number one looks like Jesus. But that's why it was so valued in the early church.
Ron Hall: Yeah, but it's, it's a reflection of going back to the first century. What was the gospel?
Peter Englert: Hmm.
Ron Hall: So we'd have this same message over and over again. It's called the Apostolic teaching, there were characteristics Peter gave them repeatedly in the book of Acts. When he [00:08:00] gave the apostolic processors a death, burial, resurrection, ascension of Christ, and here you have these repeated themes. The Peter on the day of Pentecost is the same Peter here. And all of those years later driving home the same message, 30 years later, it's just the same. This is what the gospel looks like now that is going to have to impact how they're going to respond to the suffering that is all around them. And so Peter solidifies them. Do you want to go ahead and jump into verses uh, 14 and 15?
Peter Englert: Yeah, let's do it.
Ron Hall: Well, this is so powerful because they were with fear from the persecution they were facing, and Peter tells them how to go ahead and face that fear. So verse 13, who's gonna harm you if you are eager to do what is good? Verse 14. But even if you should suffer for what is right, [00:09:00] you are blessed. We wanna make sure we're suffering for the right things not for the dumb, stupid, idiotic things that we can all do. Some things that we call perse, uh, Christian persecution are not persecution at all. Be like a person repeatedly showing up late for work and then being chastised for it and saying, well, I, I'm being persecuted because I'm a Christian, or not doing their fair share of the work and other people saying, you're not carrying the load, making excuses for what's going wrong.
That's not what this is talking about. This is focusing in on is our behavior in keeping with the Christian life and then living it out. So we're suffering for doing what is right and, and then we're blessed. So verse 15, but in your heart, set apart Christ as Lord. Notice it's Lord. That means boss. means the [00:10:00] supreme one. one who is in charge of our lives and giving the direction that we're supposed to follow set apart Christ as Lord in your heart. So why you can be given an answer to everyone who asks you the reason of the hope that is within you. Now, I don't know how many in our audience have heard the word apologetics before. I don't like that particular word because it makes it sound like we're apologizing for something that's not what it's about. It's about a defense of the faith. So we have an entire, uh, study within the biblical field called apologetics. How do I give an answer for what I believe? We're not apologizing. We're giving an answer to people for the reason that a hope is within us. And then Peter goes on to saying, you're not doing it in a an aggressive, antagonistic way. You're doing it by the way that you live.
Peter Englert: Hmm. That's [00:11:00] counter-cultural for us. We, we have our rights, we have empowerment. You know, we want to advocate for ourselves. And it's fascinating because I think we've all been in moments that. Um, not maybe to the degree of that are life or death, but that you do the right thing and you get the wrong result.
And it's interesting to me that people do notice, and obviously we have to believe that God notices. So there's a lot of wisdom for us that I think it's hard. This is not an easy passage to live out.
Ron Hall: No. And that's the reality of set apart Christ as Lord in your heart. We, it's, it's called the Lordship of Christ. him rule and reign. And often we wanna make choices for ourselves. And then we can say we're being persecuted for him when it's not for him at all. Let Christ be [00:12:00] Lord. Let him rule and reign so that we are responding out of the hope that we have. 'cause you look at the verse after verse 16, keeping a clear conscience, and then that whole idea of a clear conscience as reinforced down in verse 21. So we have to make sure we're doing it with the right attitude, the right response. again back to living the Christian life in an antagonistic world. How do we do it when we're being bombarded? We're being pulverized by the evil that's all around us. you've, we don't have to think far, look far for the evil that's all around us. That's transpiring. So how am I gonna respond? doesn't want us to do it in a brazen way. He wants us to do it with a clear conscience before God. And then it goes back to this idea of behavior, Christian behavior.
Peter Englert: So I, I got in trouble with you because I, um, I gave you the hard passage last time, and, [00:13:00] uh, you, you let me know it. I, I do wanna touch on verse 21 and 22 in the sense of. What we do know. Um, so the first thing that I think is important as you apply this theology and what Peter's trying to teach is the first century teaches with pictures and descriptions and illusions.
And so I, I think it's important that. With Noah's story there, that's an illusion and a reminder of God's promise with the rainbow that God would never destroy the earth. There's definite pictures, you know, throughout scripture of Noah's story of salvation. So I, I think that that's really important. And then I also think that this picture of water and baptism is connected to that.
Now, again, we're not gonna go into what all of this means, but I, I think that. In the context of doing what is right in the context of the the beautiful [00:14:00] gospel that a savior that suffered and died for you and gave you salvation and resurrection in life, you can begin to see a few of the ties that Peter's making with Noah and baptism of what God is doing.
So without jumping in too much of the controversy, I think that if you keep your mind there with the whole theme of this passage, it helps you understand a little bit of where he is going.
Ron Hall: Yeah. Well, when he says the idea of water baptism, that now saves you. He's not trying to say that water baptism literally saves you. 'cause he uses the word a symbol. So as Noah, of course, preaching righteousness for 120 years, the arc is built and then the floods came, and then eight of them are saved. As noted in this passage back in Genesis, those people are kept safe. And Peter is then saying, in a sense, baptism now saves you symbolically. when we accept [00:15:00] Christ, we are water baptized. We identify with Christ and his death as burial, as resurrection, and his ascension, which is the gospel that's being referred to in verse 18, uh, and throughout the flow of this passage. So, so Peter is using an Old Testament imagery and illustration as to what the gospel looks like for believers today. It becomes a pledge of a clear conscience. So when you're following the Lord in water baptism, which we trust those listening have done so and have not, it's something they should be doing following the Lord in obedience of water baptism, it's that identification again.
We are not literally, uh, death, burial and resurrection at this time, but symbolically, when we go under the water, we're burying the old self and we're raised in, in newness of life.
Peter Englert: I think it's also important to point out, um, there's certain countries that [00:16:00] are, uh, antagonistic to Christianity and to get baptized in those countries is actually sentenced to death. Those countries would be more like who Peter's writing to. And so I think even as we have this conversation about water baptism, the theology of it, um.
We're not talking about the baptism that we experience in America at the churches we go to where, you know, there's hundreds of people clapping and celebrating this public proclamation, which is beautiful. There was definitely more at stake for people that are getting baptized. Those, um, the exiles as they talked about in first Peter, that I think it's important that if you don't listen and hear that you're probably gonna miss what Peter's trying to say.
Ron Hall: Uh, and, and that's so important to identify with, so strangers and aliens in the world. Going back to chapter two, back to chapter one, the idea that we are aliens reinforced in [00:17:00] scripture. So we're a separated people, and so identification with Christ and his death, burial and resurrection is really the proof that you're a Christian. Muslims do not even take you seriously for being a Christian. Until you're water baptized, you are just a, an inquirer. You are out of curiosity, seeking out. But once you get water baptism, you have, uh, water baptized, you have sealed the deal, and that's where it crossed the line with Muslims.
Peter Englert: So I actually think we did a pretty good job of explaining that. Let's, um, that that's a good place to kind of transition. So as you think about really applying this to our life, and again, I, uh. Always with you. It's always hard to kind of explain. Theology is really practical. The first half was really practical, so we're, we're trying to, uh, just apply it.
How would you apply First Peter three, eight to 22? What direction would you wanna head as you read this passage?
Ron Hall: Um, I [00:18:00] wanna land on
Peter Englert: Mm-hmm.
Ron Hall: again. Set apart Christ as Lord in your hearts. What does that look like in my life? That I'm allowing Christ to be on the seat of the core of my being, not, not the heart, not the pericardial sac that's, uh, pumping our blood through us. But you, the heart for this culture was the core of your being. That that sense of who you really are, let Christ be the one that is Lord there. And that requires a daily submission of our lives. And we're not always good with that because we get up and start our day and we wanna take control. pastor that we have is really big on being, uh, we meet the day with the word rather than the world. 'cause if we are doing ne news feeds, if we are looking to social media before we've ever looked at scripture. Now we are diverting the attention in the wrong place. So [00:19:00] his ideas, what we start the day with is what's going to impact how the day ends. So if we start the day with the reality of the gospel, the word that we can end that with the fruit of that rather than our social media, our newsfeed, our money, uh, checking your portfolio, those types of things. So what does the Lordship of Christ look like practically in your life? The decisions that you're making are made in submission to Christ. You're looking to him to direct and motivate those decisions you make. I made that decision when I got up on the side of the bed today and what did I do? And I sat on the edge of the bed and I went ahead and I, I did a devotional and, uh, in working through the Gospel of Mark and, uh, that was my focus, thinking about the disciples. Start out the day with his lordship in mind rather than the world.
Peter Englert: And I, I think what I'd add to that [00:20:00] is there, there's just a lot of. Aspects that I think are super practical. Um, so I think of repaying evil with evil. Um, I don't think we would directly say I'm gonna repay evil with evil, but we have certain individuals, some of us are passive aggressive and others of us are aggressive.
Aggressive. And I think building off of what you're saying about revere God in your heart and the lordship of Jesus, I think it begins to say. Am I responding to this person out of revenge? Am I responding outta this person because I need to win? Am I giving less of my best? Whether it's at a job, whether it's at home, um, because.
Um, I feel slighted and I think again, what Paul, what Peter does really well is he gives the negative and the positive.
Ron Hall: Yeah.
Peter Englert: and even this idea of yes, give a reason for the hope that you [00:21:00] have. It's tied to living like Jesus, but do this with gentleness and respect and so our lives and the way we respond to people in entering the suffering of Jesus for the right reasons.
Are they marked by gentleness and respect? I think it just causes us to pause and how are we reacting as opposed to responding, and even just leading us to say, how would Jesus respond in this situation?
Ron Hall: And, and what I like about that verse 15 is people asking us, and, and ditto with what you said, people asking us of the reason that a hope was within us. So what is it in our behavior that makes it different? person I led to Christ years ago. Um, she said, I wanna know what makes you tick. And I was going through a time where it felt like God turned out the lights on my life, but she was seeing Christ in me. She, there was a reflection of him, so she said, I wanna know what [00:22:00] makes you tick. I told her, do you have a Bible at home? She said, yes, I guess. Go read the gospel of John. And the next day she came back. I, I, I, I stopped at chapter three. That's what I want in my life. course, you know, for God so love the world and uh, she came to Christ and here she is, you know, serving the Lord. People need to see something within us, so they ask us of the reason of the hope that is within us. That doesn't mean we aren't going to be vocal with our apolo or apologetic or reason. We need to state why we believe that there, you know, there's one God and there's the Father, son, holy Spirit, the integrity of the Bible. But if we're not living it out, it means absolutely nothing to us. I'm dealing with an individual who's really resentful against Christians. He's so busy finding fault with other Christians that he's failing to see what has to happen in his own life. So I said, let your life be a reflection,
Peter Englert: Hmm.
Ron Hall: takes.
Peter Englert: You know, it's [00:23:00] fascinating. I, I think previous generations, and I saw this, I think it was through Barna, somebody's probably gonna quote me on this, but previous generations were asking the question, is Christianity true? And some people love to sum up Gen Z's question about Christianity. Does it work?
So I think sometimes we look at verse 15 and we're trying to prove is Christianity true?
Ron Hall: Yeah.
Peter Englert: And really in this passage, Peter's saying Christianity does work and it's working in the lives of making an eternal difference following a savior who suffered and following a savior that does resurrect things.
And so I think even listening to what you're saying, it's, it's not just, is it true, it's, does Christianity work?
Ron Hall: Well, here's a word that I think, uh, captures it. It's the word incarnational, and we're not used to using that in our contemporary vocabulary. So Christ was incarnate. The son of [00:24:00] God became the son of man. So when we say incarnational, it's what's becoming a part of our lives. So the Christian faith is meant to be incarnational. When Christ is set apart as Lord in my heart and I'm allowing him to live through me, then people are going to be inquiring what is it that makes you tick? And you'll be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks The reason of the hope that is within you. it's, it's not looking to pick fights with people. It's looking to live out the life for them to see there's something different in us.
Peter Englert: Hmm. Ron, that's a great place to close. Why don't you close us in prayer and then we'll get going from there.
Ron Hall: Well, Lord, we are talking about this hope that's, that confident expectation that entire letter, uh, Peter writes, gives us. Right from chapter one and verse three, we've been born again by a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. here [00:25:00] we've worked through it in chapter two and in chapter three, and that we set our Christ as Lord in our hearts to give an answer to everyone, to ask us a reason of the hope that is within us. Let us be a good expression of that and living out the reality of the Christian life so that people will wanna taste and see that the Lord is good Jesus' name. Amen.
Peter Englert: Thank you so much for joining us.