The First Letter of Peter- 14
Pastor Marty Wednesday, February 25, 2026 at 3:23PM Subtitle: Our Witness before the World- Part 6
1 Peter 3:8-12. This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on Sunday, February 22, 2026.
Peter has been looking at specific relationships that Christians would have in those days. In each one, he gives specific instructions. Today’s passage sums all of this up.
Let’s look at our passage.
All of you should be of one mind (v. 8-12)
Peter uses a phrase that is generally translated as “to sum up” or “finally.” Having reached the end of the relationships he wanted to address specifically, Peter now gives advice on how, as believers in Jesus, we ought to approach our relationships regardless of whether or not we are in the strong or the weak position. This would include our relationships with other believers and those who are unbelievers. However, unbelievers are not going to be hearing Peter’s instructions much less adhering to them.
The first thing we run into is to be “harmonious” (NASB). The word is literally “same-minded” and has the sense of operating from the same thinking. Though it is not specifically stated in this verse, it is the mind of Christ and the example that came from it that Peter has in mind (see 2:21-25). To further support this, Peter will use some phrases in this section that were used earlier regarding Jesus. Thus, it is particularly the mind of Christ that we are to have.
Our approach in our relationships needs to start with the question, “What would Jesus have me do?” “Jesus, how can I be a boss, an employee, a husband, a wife, etc. that is following your mind?”
Paul says it this way in Philippians 2:5, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus…” Relationships are better when both parties are thinking like Jesus. We should be focused on the purposes of God rather than on the purposes of our natural desires.
To be clear, we are not talking about trying to be a good boss as defined by lazy employees, nor are we trying to be a good employee as defined by harsh employers who expect all of your time, even when you are off the clock. It is defined by Jesus and the trusted Word that we have written down for us in Scripture.
I can have the mind of Christ even when the other person doesn’t. God will help us to be a witness for Jesus to them by how we act and respond. No matter what people may do to get ahead of you and push you down, we can entrust ourselves to God. Will they get away with it? It may look like it to us, but they haven’t gotten away with it. God is our defense and reward.
Let’s be clear. What Jesus experienced was bad. You too will go through things that are not right. It is not that God wants these bad things to happen to us but that He promises to work them to the good for us and others. This is what it means to have the mind of Christ. It means that we cease using the sin of others to justify our own sin. Rather, we choose to honor the righteousness of God in the situation and entrust our future into His hands.
Peter continues with a list that describes what it means to have the mind of Christ. “Having compassion for one another” involves being able to identify with the suffering of another person. It touches us deeply. The opposite would be to have a hard and insensitive approach to others.
He then mentions “loving as brothers.” This refers to the familial love that we should have for one another. This is best understood within the family of believers. Of course, familial love has lots of ups and downs, especially in our spiritual infancy. Brothers will get on each other’s nerves, step on each other’s toes. Yet we are family. You don’t kick people out of the family. You work to reconcile. Thus, spiritual parents are important. Mature believers have a duty to help immature believers embrace the righteous path of asking for forgiveness and giving forgiveness. Yet, in the end, our Heavenly Father will ultimately hold us to the reality of learning to love our brothers and sisters.
We are to be “tender-hearted.” Similar to compassion, this has the idea of having deep feelings toward one another. Our love should come from the depths of our heart.
With the last description, we have a manuscript issue. Some of the early manuscripts have “humble in spirit” and others have “friendly.” We won’t go into the details of all of that. I think we can agree that both could be attached to this list without inserting error. Whether Peter meant humility or friendliness, I would say that they are both good. The humble person approaches others without arrogance or thinking of yourself as more important than others.
Peter then moves to a couple of negative issues, i.e., things from which to refrain. He uses the wording about Jesus from 2:22-23. Jesus did not respond with evil for evil, nor did he revile those who reviled him. We mentioned back then that reviling has the sense of strong verbal abuse to it. We are quickly becoming a society that is treating verbal abuse as more and more acceptable. A Christian must refrain from this activity, even if the other person is abusing us.
In fact, even Christians can have misunderstandings or see things differently from one another. We are to restrain ourselves from the natural inclinations of our flesh and take hold of the same mind that Christ had when he restrained himself.
Instead of returning evil for evil and reviling for reviling, we are to return a blessing to them. This a clear allusion to the words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5:44. “Love your enemies and bless those who curse us, pray for those who spitefully use you…”
Yes, this may seem unfair, but unless the other person repents, they will be in a world of hurt in the Judgment. Don’t let the tragedy of another person’s spiritual destruction pull you down into that destruction as well.
So how can I bless someone who is “cursing” me? Ultimately, we are seeking to be a good thing in their life, whether they see it as that or not. We should start by praying for them. “Lord, I know that you don’t like what they are doing. I pray that you help me to speak your words, draw them away from their sin and towards you.” If done well, we can be a good thing in their life by warning them of the judgment that hangs over their actions. Lastly, we can find something that is tangible to do for them. In all of this, we need to ask for the wisdom and leading of the Holy Spirit.
We cannot do this in a fake and superficial way. It must be real and sacrificial. It must come from the heart of God.
Peter mentions that those who do this “will inherit a blessing.” He basically says, “If you want to inherit a blessing, then live your life in such a way as to be a blessing to others.”
There is a certain inheritance in this life. It is up to us how much like Jesus we want to be and therefore the ways He will bless us in this life. Yet our full inheritance will not come until the Resurrection. Any blessing in this life is only a bitter-sweet foretaste of something that will have all the bitterness removed in the future! To dwell with God and His goodness for eternity in immortal, imperishable, bodies is a great inheritance indeed!
Peter then quotes Psalm 34:12-16. He is essentially showing us that Scripture backs up what he has been saying.
This psalm was written by David when he pretended to be insane in front of the Philistine king in order to save his life. What was David doing in the Philistine territory? King Saul of Israel accused David of disloyalty and sought to kill him. This eventually drove David out of Israel into the enemy’s territory. This isn’t just about people, but about the devil and his angels too.
It was the fear of the Lord and the desire to be blessed by God that helped David to restrain himself. Yes, David was not as good as Jesus, but he would be an example from the Old Testament that they could remember. More than an example, the words of David (the lessons that he discovered in this time) are instructive to us going through something similar.
This section challenges those who want the truth. Do you desire life, to love and see good days? If you do, then you must restrain yourself from doing evil and choose to do good, seeking and pursuing peace with others. Why? God is watching all that happens. He will ultimately judge our actions in these things.
God’s eyes are depicted as being towards the righteous. This is a reference to being favorable to Him. He is watching us and hearing our prayers in order to “attend” to them. However, the face of God is against those who do evil.
David simply trusted God. Saul’s evil actions meant to kill David. They even pushed David into dangerous territory. It would be easy for David to justify evil actions toward Saul. However, David had the mind of Christ (at least in this situation). David knew that he could not kill Saul and remain guiltless. God had raised up and anointed Saul, and therefore, God would remove Saul in a way that David could remain pure (see 1 Samuel 26:8-12).
It is difficult to trust God and wait upon Him. God is far more gracious than we would be. King Saul didn’t deserve all the grace that God gave him, but David recognized that God would eventually deal with him.
This brings up a powerful question in all of our relationships. God is watching me and the other person. The way we treat one another is making a case to God for good or for bad. We are choosing to be on the side of the righteous or on the side of the wicked.
It is better for us to do what is right (even if the evil continues to be poured out on us) and receive the blessing of God, then to come under the curse and judgment of God. We all need His grace. God’s delay of judgment with the wicked is a grace to them. They may even yet repent.
Perhaps you repented at one point and chose to follow Jesus. That is great! Yet repentance needs to be a present attitude with you and me. We are continually ready to judge when God is not. It is not just the external enemies who threaten to pull us away from Christ. It is the internal enemy of our own sinful nature that really threatens to pull us down.
Can we simply be a repenting people who sacrifice themselves in order to pursue peace with others? Can I serve the purpose of God in the situation rather than the purpose of me?
Others may think that you are foolish, but it is never foolish to stand with Jesus and live out his righteousness. Of course, we can only do this by the help of the Holy Spirit, through keeping our faith in the mind of Christ, and when we entrust ourselves to the truth that God is our vindication. Our greatest times of witnessing to the greatness of Christ is when we lay down our desires and pick up his. This is when the world truly sees Jesus in us!