1 Peter 3:13-17– Sanctify God in Your Heart

Lesson 13 -- Written by Marcia McCance

1. What it says:

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."

13  And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good?

14  But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. "And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled."

15  But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;

16 ¶  having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed.

17  For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.

2. What it means:

12  For the eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their prayers;

A father’s eyes and smiling face are on his children when he sees them being obedient to him, and kind to others.  The eyes of a good father observe and watch over his children. When he is satisfied with them he is also pleased to listen when they desire to speak to Him. Good fathers, give good gifts to their good children. In this same way the eyes of the LORD are on the righteous.

Who are “the righteous?”

2Co 5:21  For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

His ears are open to the prayers of the righteous – those who have put their faith in Jesus and are walking by the Spirit.

What did Peter tell the husbands about prayer in verse seven?                                                                                                                             

 If we are not walking uprightly in the Spirit of Christ, then the answers to our prayers will be slow in coming, too. But if we walk in the Spirit of Christ, loving God, and His people, God looks on us with pleasure, and His ears are open to our prayers.

But the face of the LORD is against those who do evil."

Do you recall a time in your childhood when you (or a brother or sister) had done something really wrong and your father (or someone else in authority over you) was displeased and about to punish you?  Describe that face:                                                

                                                

 The firm set of the mouth and jaw, the penetrating look of the eyes, displeasure was written all over that face -- a “face that is set against those who do evil.” That face had a plan and intentions and knew exactly how to deal with “this little problem.”

Ps 34:16  The face of the LORD is against those who do evil, To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.

Peter has contrasted “the righteous” and “those who do evil.”  He’s not talking about the sins that we may commit from time to time for which the Holy Spirit convicts us and we repent. He is talking about a “way of life.”  The righteous are those who walk with the Lord as a habit – they practice their faith in Jesus.  “Those who do evil” are those who have “evil” as a “way of life.”

13  And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good?

And the answer is:

The custom of the world is actually a system of “pay-backs” – they will do to you, what you have done to them -- giving evil for evil, and reviling for reviling – if you are doing good, they usually seek to do you good, also – but not always. In the world, everything is relative – relative to their own perception of things, how they think and how they feel. They are just as likely to persecute you, because you are different. Are we not relieved that God does not change because God is not "relative." God is absolute!!  As He was in the past, He still is and will ever be.

Lu 6:33 "And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.

14  But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed.

What does “suffer for righteousness sake” mean?

             

What does Peter mean? How are you still blessed?

Mt 5:10-12 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. "Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

This is Peter’s “so what!?”  So you did something nice for that guy, and he stole your geraniums. So what? God has given you eternal life!!  So you gave your last twenty to a homeless woman and she snuck away with your lunch, too. So what? You have Christ as your Savior and Friend! So you shared Jesus with a friend, and now she won’t talk to you! So what? You are headed for a wedding not a funeral!! You are blessed!!  Count your blessings!

"And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled."

What is a threat?

What does it mean to be “troubled?”

What is the antonym to “troubled?”

If Peter is telling us not to fear their threats, and not to be troubled – what is he telling us to be?

Peter is quoting scripture again:

Isa 8:11-13  For the LORD spoke thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying: "Do not say, ‘A conspiracy,’ Concerning all that this people call a conspiracy, Nor be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled. The LORD of hosts, Him you shall hallow; Let Him be your fear, And let Him be your dread.

This verse points out very clearly that God does not want us to focus our attention on the threats of men nor to fear them – and we are not to copy their ways. He very pointedly states that we are to “let God be our fear and let Him be our dread.” This says to me that the Lord wants our eyes to be on Him, just as His eyes are on us!  He is the sovereign Creator and if He is our Protector, why would we need to fear men who cannot change our destination? Don’t be afraid of them.  Don’t let your heart be troubled.  Trust the Lord who is the Commander of the armies of heaven!! Don’t put your eyes on “them,” put your eyes on HIM! “

15  But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts,

What does “sanctify” mean?

Sanctify – bless, consecrate, make holy, make sacred, purify, approve (Antonym: desecrate)                                                      

God is already holy and sanctified in Himself. What does it mean for us to Sanctify God in our hearts? And how do we do this?

It means that we must bless God in our hearts. We acknowledge His holiness in our hearts. When we think of God we think of Him as pure, and holy, and sacred, high and mighty and everlasting – it's almost like our "approval" of God – though He does not need our approval.  Not like the rest of the world that does not know Him, and does not love Him, and even mocks Him. We are to love the Lord our God with all our hearts. We are to sanctify God in our hearts.

and always be ready to give a defense

What is a “defense?”

We are to be prepared to defend or explain our belief in Jesus. We don’t have to get caught up in arguments but we do need to be able to state why we, personally, believe in Jesus as our Savior – why we put our trust in Him – or what difference Christ has made in our lives.  This takes thinking ahead -- preparation.  Do you recall a few lessons ago that we talked about how God had called us out of darkness into His marvelous light? We wrote down in two short sentences what darkness He had called us out of, and what changed for us when we came into His marvelous light. That is part of your “defense” or your testimony.

What darkness were you called out of?

                                                                                                                                                         

Now that you are in His marvelous light, what is different for you?

                                                                                                                                                                  

to everyone who asks you a reason

To whom are we to give our reasons?

for the hope that is in you,

What “hope” is Peter talking about?

                                            

Acts 2:26-28  Therefore my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad; Moreover my flesh also will rest in hope. For You will not leave my soul in Hades, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make me full of joy in Your presence.’

Ac 24:15-16  "I have hope in God, which they themselves also accept, that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust. "This being so, I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men.

Ro 12:12  rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer;

with meekness and fear;

We are not to be argumentative, but to share our testimony of hope with meekness, which is gentleness, and fear. Fear of what?

                                                                                                       

When I read the following commentary, I knew I could not say it any better. Please read the following”

Jamieson Fausset and Brown Commentary: 15. sanctify—hallow; honor as holy, enshrining Him in your hearts. So in the Lord’s Prayer, #Mt 6:9. God’s holiness is thus glorified in our hearts as the dwelling-place of His Spirit.

the Lord God—The oldest manuscripts read "Christ." Translate, "Sanctify Christ as Lord."

and—Greek, "but," or "moreover." Besides this inward sanctification of God in the heart, be also ready always to give, etc.

answer—an apologetic answer defending your faith.

to every man that asketh you—The last words limit the universality of the "always"; not to a roller, but to everyone among the heathen who inquires honestly.

a reason—a reasonable account. This refutes … dogma, "I believe it, because the Church believes it." Credulity is believing without evidence; faith is believing on evidence. There is no repose for reason itself but in faith. This verse does not impose an obligation to bring forward a learned proof and logical defense of revelation. But as believers deny themselves, crucify the world, and brave persecution, they must be buoyed up by some strong "hope"; men of the world, having no such hope themselves, are moved by curiosity to ask the secret of this hope; the believer must be ready to give an experimental account "how this hope arose in him, what it contains, and on what it rests" [STEIGER].

with—The oldest manuscripts read, "but with." Be ready, but with "meekness." Not pertly and arrogantly.

meekness—(#1Pe 3:4). The most effective way; not self-sufficient impetuosity.

fear—due respect towards man, and reverence towards God, remembering His cause does not need man’s hot temper to uphold it.

16 ¶  having a good conscience,

What does it mean to have a good conscience?

that when they defame you as evildoers,

What does “defame” mean?

What does “defame you as evildoers” mean?

those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed.

What does “revile” mean?

What are they reviling?

What will happen to them?

17  For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.

Describe  what is meant by “suffering for doing good”                                                                                                                  

                 

Describe what is meant by “suffering for doing evil”                                                                                                                  

                  

Which one of these does Peter say is “better.” Why would he say that?

What part does the “will of God” play in this?

                                                          

3. What I learned from this study:

(Believe, Trust, Conform)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    ­

Read again: 1 Peter 3:13-17, at the top of this study – and in another translation

Definitions and Synonyms:

1.      Credulity—gullibility (the tendency to believe something too readily), naivete, innocence

2.      Defame – insult, slander, libel, denigrate, deprecate, disparage, offend, tell lies about

3.      Defense – argument, justification, explanation, excuse, account, reason, description, vindication, plea, apology (apologetics), clarification, details, (Antonym: accusation)

4.      Heathen – unbelievers (a term that unbelievers feel is insulting -- not much used, today)

5.      Righteous – virtuous, moral, good, just, blameless, upright, honorable, honest, respectable, decent (Antonym: sinful)

6.      Roller – breaker, wave – (apparently a slang term from the time period, meaning perhaps: mocker)

7.      Sake -- the ground or reason by which something is or is not done, by reason of, on account of, because of, for this reason, therefore, on this account; (In His name and for His purpose)

8.      Sanctify – bless, consecrate, make holy, make sacred, purify, approve (Antonym: desecrate)

9.      Threat – warning, menace, intimidation, danger, risk, hazard, peril

10.  Troubled – anxious, concerned, bothered, worried, disturbed, distressed, uneasy, unsettled, awkward (Antonym: calm, easy)