Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good?  But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed.  Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 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, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.  For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.

1 Peter 3:13-17

As we’ve seen in this series of articles, divine instruction and guidance about how to respond to trials and persecution is a major theme of 1 Peter.  The apostle spent much of chapter 2 and all of chapter 3 thus far exhorting Christians to react to wrongdoing with godly love and forbearance.

In that light, verse 13’s question is intriguing.  If we are zealous for what is good, who is there to harm us?  The implication seems to be that harm would naturally come upon us if we are zealous for what is bad instead of being passionate about what is good.  Granted, it is true that the faithful are still in fact persecuted by the ungodly even while doing good; in fact, oftentimes the persecution is specifically because we do good in that we follow God instead of sin (3:14a, 16-17; cf. Matt. 5:10-12; John 3:19-20; 2 Tim. 3:12).  However, Peter seems to see that it’s possible for Christians to be passionate about the wrong things, and thus suffer harm as a result.

Everything in Scripture is there for a reason (Prov. 30:5a), so there’s a reason God inspired Peter to instruct us to “not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless” (3:9a) and, while quoting Psalm 34:12-16, urge us to “keep (our) tongue from evil and (our) lips from speaking deceit” while “turn(ing) away from evil and do(ing) good” (3:10b-11a).  There’s a reason he called on husbands to treat their wives right (3:7) and wives to respect and submit to even ungodly husbands (3:1-6).  There’s a reason he called on Christian slaves to respect and be subject to even masters who treated them unjustly (2:18-25), and urged Christians persecuted by Nero to still submit and honor him rather than rise up in revolution (2:13-17).  There’s a reason he told Christians to abstain from worldly passions and keep their behavior excellent even among the ungodly who slandered them (2:11-12).  Could that reason be that some Christians in the first century needed to be reminded that reacting to sinful treatment by treating others sinfully is not what Christ wants from them?  Why else give these directives?

From this perspective, the commands of 1 Peter 3:13-17 – as well as those within the previous passages cited above – take on new relevancy for Christians today.  Christians, if you are being mistreated, reviled, mocked, and persecuted…then let it be “for righteousness’ sake” (3:14).  Don’t let it be because you responded to evil with words and actions which God would also consider evil.  Don’t be afraid or “troubled” (tarasso, stirred up, agitated) by the ungodliness you see around you (3:14b) so that you respond by constantly complaining about it or agitating others by insulting and arguing hotly with them as one tends to do when one’s passions are stirred up (cf. Phil. 2:14-16).  Instead, choose to share the good news of salvation in Christ with others and prepare yourself to gently and respectfully explain why you have hope in Him when asked (3:15b).  That’s what Paul did when he got upset by the ungodliness around him (Acts 17:16-34).  This is how one truly honors Christ and treats Him in a holy manner (3:15a). Sure, we may still be slandered and reviled…but by reacting to it with “good behavior in Christ,” we put our persecutors to shame while keeping our conscience clean (3:16).

If it is “God’s will” that we “suffer,” then let our suffering be “for doing good,” not “for doing evil” (3:17).  That is “God’s will” too.

— Jon