1 & 2 Peter Book Study ნიმუში

Keep a Clear Conscience

If you're a Christian, you are called to high standards of conduct. This demands a refined conscience and a keen sense of appropriate behaviour. The lists of do’s and don’ts do not spring from rigid rule-making, but rather from the importance of relational harmony. “All of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble” (1 Peter 3:8).

Not everyone is eager for harmony, of course, and the early Christians who received these instructions were particularly hard done by. How does Peter advise them to respond to the hard times, difficult people, opposition, antagonism and unfairness foisted on them?

He did not say to strike back, to return in kind. To the contrary, he urges Christian believers to model a better way. “The best criticism of the bad is the practice of the better” (Richard Rohr). Maintain unity in your community. Have empathy for those around you. Be loving to all—friend and foe, social superior and inferior, men and women, rich and poor, one and all.

As Christian believers, we are to go about our business peacefully and joyfully, ready to explain ourselves when asked—without being jerks about it.

We do well to let the winsome righteousness of our ways stand in welcome contrast to the corrupt behaviour of our tormentors. They are the ones who should—who will—feel the shame. Let their own willful waywardness lead to their downfall. Or perhaps they might even turn it around. That is the redeeming part of the living hope Jesus’ followers lay claim to—divine forgiveness; complete restoration.

Gentleness and reverence are to be the hallmarks of Christian conduct and community, even when persecution and suffering are their lot (1 Peter 3:16-17). We are to cultivate tender hearts and humble minds and to trust that God’s perfect justice will sort things out in the end.

Respond in Prayer

O God, when someone does me wrong, help me to respond in a way that honours your command to love. Help me to forgive, as you are willing to forgive me. Help me to be positive and joyful, not bad-mannered and vindictive. Preserve me from my fragile ego. For Jesus’ sake, Amen.

Doug Koop