1 Peter 3:8-15
8 Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. 9Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. 10 For
“Whoever desires to love life
and see good days,
let him keep 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 prayer.
But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
13 Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.
In the name of Jesus. Amen.
It should come as no surprise, but the Bible cares about how you treat other people. God has called you to peace. He wants you to be united, compassionate, kind, and tenderhearted to other people. Even when, and especially when, they are not kind or tenderhearted to you.
And this is not just some abstract thing where you have to figure out who deserves your kindness. This is text is specifically about how Christians are to treat one another. Peter is writing to a group of churches, so this text is about how Christians are to interact and deal with one another. Now, yes, of course, Jesus commands us to love our neighbor as ourselves. We need to do that too. But this text, this unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, tender heart, humble mind, not repaying evil for evil or reviling for reviling, all of this is what Christians are to do and how they are to act toward other Christians.
And I need to be clear here: Yes, be good to everyone you meet. But the New Testament repeatedly would have us focus our time and attention of being good and kind and generous to our fellow believers. Galatians 6:10 puts it as plainly as possible, “So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.” How Christians treat each other is one of the ways that those outside the church become curious about what makes us different (see Act. 2:42-47). Christians showing love to other Christians is, in fact, a very important component of evangelism.
Christian, you have a biblical responsibility to be kind to one another. You know how many people baulk at the idea of coming to church. So often, people will say, “I don’t want to go to church because those Christians are so….” and you can fill in the blank ‘hypocritical’ or ‘fake’ or ‘selfish’ or ‘weird’ or ‘self-absorbed.’ And a lot of times, Christians will even say that about their brothers and sisters in Christ. Sadly, those criticisms are too often accurate, but the God does not want it to be this way.
Maybe you have been to a church where they have a sign over the exit doors that says, “You are now entering the mission field.” That can be a good reminder. However, don’t forget that you have a mission field sitting all around you, right here in this sanctuary and some watching online. Yes, share Jesus with the people you meet. That is a mission field, but according to Scripture, you are to prioritize being kind and sympathetic and tender hearted towards your brothers and sisters here.
Whatever frustrating traits your brothers and sisters in Christ have, they’re not hurdles or impediments to Christian love – they are the occasion for you to display and exhibit that love and friendship towards them. No, Christians aren’t perfect. But how are you going to be patient and kind and tenderhearted towards others not returning evil for evil if the people at church were already perfect?
When a fellow Christian is being unkind or not speaking very friendly to you, that isn’t the time to get frustrated and drift away. That is the time for you to realize, “Ah ha! God is giving me an opportunity to show Christian love toward that person like the Bible instructs me. Here’s a chance for me to be kind and forgiving.”
Sometimes we have the temptation to think that this is much more glamorous or difficult then it needs to be or than God intends it to be, but this is very basic stuff. Notice how simple these things are. Have sympathy. Show brotherly love. Be tenderhearted. And have a humble mind. All of these are things that you simply do when you are around other people and having a normal conversation. You listen. You hear how people’s week has gone. You learn what’s going on in their lives. To do all of this, you simply need to be around other Christians.
So, may I suggest that you come a bit early to church or stay a little bit after the service and talk with others. Now, it’s not as though we are trying to hold you hostage here. You don’t need to spend hours and hours here before or after the service every week. But, if you have a tendency to come right as the service is starting or to quickly slip out to your car after the service, make a small change. Plan on spending just a few minutes here talking with your spiritual family. Hear about their vacation, their dog, their garden, what’s going on with them at work. Rejoice with them when things are going well and sympathize with them when they tell you about their troubles and stresses.
One of the worst impediments to showing this love and sharing this peace that you are called to is that we sinners like play a game that I’ll just call, “Betcha I’ve got it worse.” I’ve seen people play it, and I’m guilty of playing it myself. Someone comes to us and tells us how bad things are with their family or their job or their stress level, and we jump in and try to one up them. “You think that’s bad, one time…” Stop it! Just listen.
Or, maybe, you like to play doctor and solve all the world’s problems. You don’t need to do that. Sure, maybe you do have some experience in a similar situation and can give fantastic advice. But if you aren’t absolutely positive they are looking for advice, all you have to do is ask them, “Can I offer you a suggestion?” Otherwise, just do what this text wants you to do and have sympathy. It is as simple as saying, “I’m sorry you are going through this. I’ll be praying for you.” Then, actually pray for them that week and follow up when you see that person again. Tell them how you have been praying and ask how you can continue to pray for them and their situation.
And bless them. Say to them, “In the name of Jesus, God bless you.” Doing those little things – talking with others, listening, sympathizing, blessing – all of those things will make it much easier to be kind to others when they haven’t been kind to you so that you don’t repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling.
I’m going to change gears here for just a minute to highlight how important this is: God doesn’t short us, He isn’t skimpy, when He gives us His grace in Christ. God is superabundant in the ways He delivers His grace. God has sent His only Son to die and rise again for you. God has given you His Word which gives you faith (Ro. 1:16, 10:17). God has poured out His grace in the waters of your Baptism. Christ gives you His body and blood for the forgiveness of your sins in the Lord’s Supper. And God still wasn’t done; He delivers His forgiveness to you each time you hear the Absolution. We know all of those are the ways God delivers His grace to us.
But here’s the point. God also wants to give you His grace through the mutual consolation that comes when you have fellowship with your brothers and sisters in Christ (Ro. 1:12). Remember, Jesus promises (Mt. 18:20), “For where two or three are gathered in My name, there am I among them.” Think of that! The same Jesus who died and rose again is right there with you and your fellow believer to bless you and those around you.
I know that doing this is a little more difficult while we are social distancing and all of that. It might mean making a phone call or shooting off a quick message to let others know that you are there for and care about them. But doing these things for your brothers and sisters here will go a long way for you, for them, and for our community.
People are hurting, and they need to find the comfort and peace that only Christ can give. Christian, you have been given that peace. Share that peace with your brothers and sisters here, so they and you can be refreshed and strengthened each time you come here. And when you are encouraged with that peace, you can go back out into the world and share that peace with others. Amen.
The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Out of that conversation came creation, and most importantly, out of that conversation came the creation of humanity. We get to hear that conversation in Gen. 1:26 where the Triune God says, “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness.” It was so, and it was good – very good.
One of the most amazing things is that God even gives His prophets a seat and a voice in this council. You remember when God was going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, and Abraham speaks up and gets God to agree to not destroy the cities if ten righteous people are found there (Gen. 18:22-33). Or, when God is going to destroy the Israelites for making the golden calf, Moses speaks up in the council and says, “God, if You go down and destroy them, the Egyptians will say that You only brought them out of slavery to destroy them.” And God relents of the disaster He had said He would bring on the people (Gen. 32:1-14).
Now, Jesus has ascended to the right hand of the Father. Today, your Savior is talking with the Father, your Creator, and with the Holy Spirit, your Sanctifier. And do you know what they are talking about? They are talking about you and the cross. They are talking about how Jesus won your salvation there. How His blood shed there made a place in heaven for you forever. And the Holy Spirit is there, translating your prayers and interceding for you with groanings too deep for words (Ro. 8:26). The Holy Spirit whispers into your ear that you are an adopted child of God and heir with Christ. And you respond by crying, “Abba, Father” (Ro. 8:12-17).
Pastorsamwise 
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