Read 1 Kings 17, Amos 3, and 1 Peter 3.
This devotional is about 1 Peter 3.
First Peter 3 opens with instructions to wives (vv. 1-6), husbands (v. 7), and all believers in general (vv. 8-9). The commands in these sections are designed to set believers apart from non-Christians. For instance, wives who will “submit yourselves” (v. 1a) and live lives of “purity and reverence” (v.2) will be noticeably different than wives who don’t know the Lord.
Likewise, men who are “considerate” as they live with their wives and “treat them with respect” as verse 7 says will stand out from unredeemed men. And, a church full of people who, as verse 8 describes, are “…like-minded…, sympathetic,” who “love one another,” “are compassionate and humble” will be an unusual group in a lost and sinful world.
These commands describe how the Christian life is to be lived in marriage and in general. There are no surprises in these verses for those of us who have read the New Testament. But, for people who live a secular, non-Christian life, these commands describe people and lives that are unknown and impossible.
But, verses 10-12 give an unexpected reason why believers should obey the commands of verses 1-9. Verses 10-12 quote from Psalm 34:12-16 and they tell us that we should do the commands given in this chapter in 1 Peter 3 because we desire to “love life and see good days” (v. 10) and have God’s “ears attentive to our prayers” (v. 12b). This quotation from Psalm 34 sure sounds like Peter is saying that wives should submit to their husbands and husbands should be considerate with their wives because God will reward them for doing that.
In other words, Peter seems to be saying in verses 10-12 that we can earn God’s favor. But, the consistent witness of scripture is that we cannot earn God’s favor but, instead, deserve his disfavor because of our sins. So what is Peter teaching here?
First, we need to look deeper into this chapter to get the most complete picture of what it teaches. Verse 18 says, “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.” Jesus is the “righteous” one who “suffered for sins,” and we are the “unrighteous” ones. So, this is the gospel message. Your good works do not and cannot create favor with God; so God created favor for you by becoming, in the person of Christ, a man who died for your sins and rose again. The final phrase of verse 18, “to bring you to God,” tells us the goal of Christ’s death and resurrection. That goal was the salvation of our souls and a restoration of a good relationship between us and our Creator.
So, verses 10-12 are not telling us that if we are good people, God will save us, listen to our prayers, and treat us well. We can rule that interpretation out. But, if they aren’t saying that, what exactly are these verses saying? They are saying that salvation changes you and that salvation causes you to live a righteous life. How to do sinners “keep their tongue[s] from evil… their lips from deceitful speech…” and so on as verses 10c-11 say? How does a sinner become the kind of wife described in verses 1-6, the kind of husband described in verse 7, and the kind of Christian described in verses 8-9?
Because salvation changes you. It is Christ who suffered for sins to bring you to God (v. 18). But, after bringing people to God, the grace of God teaches them to “keep their tongue from evil” (v. 10c), “turn from evil and do good” (v. 11a), and “seek peace and pursue it” (v. 11b).
God’s saving grace is transformative! It changes how husbands and wives relate to each other, and how all believers relate to other people–Christians (v. 8) and non-Christians (vv. 9, 13-17) alike. So, how is your growing faith in Christ making you more like Christ in the way that you treat your spouse? How is your maturity as a Christian leading you to relate in more Christ-like ways to other Christians in our church and to Christians and non-Christians alike in our community, and in your family and workplace?
If you are struggling in one of these areas to act in Christlike ways toward others, take some time now and re-commit that area to the Lord in your life. Ask God to help you by grace to be more Christlike toward the person or persons you are struggling to love and serve.