“Church in the World vs World in the Church”
1 Peter 3:8-12
Pastor John Bright
1 Peter3 “8 Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; 9 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. 10 For
“He who would love life
And see good days,
Let him refrain his tongue from evil,
And his lips from speaking deceit.
11 Let him turn away from evil and do good;
Let him seek peace and pursue it.
12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
And His ears are open to their prayers;
But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
If (when?) you begin to study God’s Word, there are some questions that need to be answered. Some of these deal with context, like I was talking about last week. One aspect of context is this: ‘Who is that message written for?” A good Study Bible can help with this. btw – Bible Study on your own is one of the Spiritual Disciplines that leads to growth in Sanctification.
&&&&&&&&&&&&
Let’s answer this context question first – what is Peter talking to the folks about?
There are four options back then and today for these exhortations/encouragements:
• How we treat each other in the church
• How folks in the world treat each other
• How folks in the world treat us
• How we treat folks in the world
Jesus Followers in the house churches of Asia Minor were openly persecuted. We live a world/culture that is openly hostile to our Judeo-Christian Faith. This is a different context than when we grew up in a culture that was mostly open to Christianity. When did it change?
I want to share a personal theory of mine. The big change came in the 1960s when there was a huge shift in the culture. Prior to that, it was easier to manage the dividing line at the front door of the church. We could step out into the world from the church and it was comfortable for most Jesus Followers. When the culture shifted – hippies, sexual revolution, psychedelic drugs, and our soldiers were the bad guys – all those shifting lines made Jesus Followers uncomfortable when they stepped out into the world. Most of the mainline churches came up with this remedy – bring the world into the church. This led to the birth of renewal movements in our Methodist denomination that tried to warn the larger church about drifting away from God’s Word. I guess most of us know how that all ended. ?
Peter is showing them and us a way to navigate being “in the world, but not of the world.”
Life Inside the Church, v. 8
“8 Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous;”
Peter is speaking to all the Jesus Followers, not just a few like in the verses on submission. He is giving them clear directions on how we treat each other in the church. At first glance, that should be easy, right? Should be, if everyone in the church was easy to get along with and never rubbed folks the wrong way. What? Too much honesty? We have talked about not having to look too far to find folks that are hard to love. We have also talked about being of one mind back in Philippians 2:2 “fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.” Back then, I asked you to consider the image of the church as a boat with folks all rowing. When everyone is heading in the same direction, all rowing together, that’s when the church can move forward. If some folks row this way and others row that way, the church will flounder and even fail.
We are called to be compassionate. What does that look like? Think about last week when we moved around to find a couple of people and prayed for each other. One of the great passages in our Bibles on compassion is found in Hebrews 4:14-16 “14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” If we can sympathize with the weakness of another and offer that person grace instead of judgement, we will be so different from the world that our congregation will be like a lighthouse in the storm. You can’t even imagine how many folks need to experience that kind of compassion!
So far, Peter has included an exhortation to love our sisters and brothers in the church in every chapter: 1 Peter 1:22 “love one another fervently with a pure heart,” and 1 Peter 2:17 “Love the brotherhood.” Do you struggle with loving? If so, be assured that you can’t give to others what you have not received from God. Make sure you have accepted the free gift of Salvation. Then, pray for God to help you receive the love that is already being poured out for you. (Romans 5:5) Make a firm decision that you will not be satisfied until your heart is full of love. Then, share that love with your family, your church and even the world. What folks will see is you being tenderhearted and courteous.
One practical way all these directions are practiced is when new folks visit our church. Last week, I was assured by a couple of folks that have been visiting for several weeks that this congregation is WELCOMING AND FRIENDLY to visitors. Good job! I have served churches where we had to work on that, but you are already doing it. Good job! It is my prayer that continues when we have visitors that don’t look like us and have a bunch of noisy kids. 😊
Life in the World v. 9
“9 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.”
In the Amplified version we get some more insight into this verse – “9 and never return evil for evil or insult for insult avoid scolding, berating, and any kind of abuse], but on the contrary, give a blessing pray for one another’s well-being, contentment, and protection]; for you have been called for this very purpose, that you might inherit a blessing from God that brings well-being, happiness, and protection].”
I want to return to that phrase I mentioned earlier - being “in the world, but not of the world.” We take this phrase from part of Jesus’ prayer in the Upper Room: John 17:11 & 16 “11 Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world,… 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.” We have an example of this kind of living in the world – Jesus himself. In the Gospels, we can read of Jesus living the way He told us to live.
Matthew 5:38-48 “38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. 40 If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. 41 And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. 42 Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? 48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.”
This puts a tremendous burden on you and me. Could this be the cross of Christ we are called to carry every day? (Matthew 16:24) You know, that’s the cross we have to take up if we want to be a Disciple of Jesus and not just a Jesus Follower. What am I trying to say? Here’s the burden - we are called to live in the world and treat the folks out there that are hostile to our beliefs the exact same way we treat each other in here. Give them the love God pours into our hearts. Show them compassion. When they curse us, we respond by being tenderhearted. Have you ever considered what kind of pain and heartache folks carry around every day? That burden makes them strike out at us because “hurt people, hurt people.” If the way of the world is to strike back with insults and demand “an eye for an eye”, then we will shine like the lighthouse pointing folks to Jesus.
I have told you for several weeks that part of context in these verses is that the world is watching us. They will notice if we treat them the way they treat us and each other. Why do we think they have a choice? The world will follow the ways of the world – that’s just how it works. We have a choice – every day – to be a Follower of Jesus or follow the ways of the world. Guess who else is watching?
God is Watching, v. 10-12
“10 For
“He who would love life
And see good days,
Let him refrain his tongue from evil,
And his lips from speaking deceit.
11 Let him turn away from evil and do good;
Let him seek peace and pursue it.
12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
And His ears are open to their prayers;
But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
Peter chose to use these verses from Psalm 34. He could have used any of the hundreds of places in the Old Testament that reveal the truth of God watching over us. We all learn this as children. There is an old story about two little boys, ages 8 and 10, who were always getting into trouble. Their parents knew that, if any mischief occurred in their town, their sons were probably involved.
They boys' mother heard that a pastor in town had been successful in disciplining children, so she asked if he would speak with her boys. The pastor wanted to see them individually. The mother sent her 8-year-old first.
The pastor, a huge man with a booming voice, sat the younger boy down and asked him sternly, "Where is God?" They boy's mouth dropped open, but he made no response, sitting there with his mouth hanging open, wide-eyed. So, the pastor repeated the question in an even sterner tone, "Where is God!!?" Again, the boy made no attempt to answer. So, the pastor raised his voice even more and shook his finger in the boy's face and shouted, "WHERE IS GOD!?"
The boy screamed and bolted from the room, ran all the way home and dove into his closet, slamming the door behind him. When his older brother found him in the closet, he asked, "What happened?" The younger brother, gasping for breath, replied, "We are in BIG trouble this time, dude. God is missing - and they think WE did it!" 😊
I imagine you already know that the pastor was trying to get the boy to understand God was watching every time he and his brother were doing something bad. Do I need to ask you the same question this morning? Do I need to look you in the eye and raise my voice? Hey, I know that most of you are not 8-years-old. But… are you mature enough in your faith to guard your mouth from all evil speaking – like gossip – that James warned the church about? Do you realize the pain you cause when you demand a pound of flesh for your pain and suffering? These are questions for your prayer closet. Amen.
Homework:
• Look up all the Bible verses on your teaching sheet. There is an old saying: “You have been blessed to be a blessing.” Is there anyone you have chosen not to bless?
• Is there a difference between your Sunday morning self and your weekday self? We have been called hypocrites far too long. Would you see it as a burden to treat folks outside the church in the same way you treat the folks inside the church?
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
TEACHING SHEET
“Church in the World vs World in the Church”
1 Peter 3:8-12
Pastor John Bright
There are four options back then and today for these exhortations/encouragements:
• How we treat each other in the church
• How folks in the world treat each other
• How folks in the world treat us
• How we treat folks in the world
Life Inside the Church, v. 8
Philippians 2:2
We are called to be compassionate. What does that look like? Hebrews 4:14-16
1 Peter 1:22 & 1 Peter 2:17 Do you struggle with loving? If so, be assured that you can’t give to others what you have not received from God.
• Make sure you have accepted the free gift of Salvation.
• Then, pray for God to help you receive the love that is already being poured out for you. (Romans 5:5)
• Make a firm decision that you will not be satisfied until your heart is full of love.
• Then, share that love with your family, your church and even the world. What folks will see is you being tenderhearted and courteous.
Life in the World v. 9
Amplified Version– “9 and never return evil for evil or insult for insult [avoid scolding, berating, and any kind of abuse], but on the contrary, give a blessing [pray for one another’s well-being, contentment, and protection]; for you have been called for this very purpose, that you might inherit a blessing [from God that brings well-being, happiness, and protection].”
We are to be in the world, but not of the world. John 17:11 & 16 We have an example of this kind of living in the world – Jesus himself. In the Gospels, we can read of Jesus living the way He told us to live.
Matthew 5:38-48
This puts a tremendous burden on you and me. Could this be the cross of Christ we are called to carry every day? (Matthew 16:24) We are called to live in the world and treat the folks out there that are hostile to our beliefs the exact same way we treat each other in here. Give them the love God pours into our hearts. Show them compassion. When they curse us, we respond by being tenderhearted.
God is Watching, v. 10-12
He sees and hears it all!
Are you mature enough in your faith to guard your mouth from all evil speaking – like gossip – that James warned the church about?
Do you realize the pain you cause when you demand a pound of flesh for your pain and suffering?
These are questions for your prayer closet.
Homework:
• Look up all the Bible verses on your teaching sheet. There is an old saying: “You have been blessed to be a blessing.” Is there anyone you have chosen not to bless?
• Is there a difference between your Sunday morning self and your weekday self? We have been called hypocrites far too long. Would you see it as a burden to treat folks outside the church in the same way you treat the folks in-side the church?
