I am not a debater. I will not argue with non-believers. I will not shy away from expressing my beliefs, but I won’t battle with unbelievers over them. Looks like Peter agrees with me (hah!). I am a witness, not the Prosecuting Attorney or the Judge. As a witness, I tell what I know, what I have seen and what I have experienced. I do not go beyond that.

Here is the Video link:

Dealing with a Hostile World

Audio links are to the right, as usual.

Here is the transcript from today’s episode:

3:8-17 Dealing with Unbelievers

Peter is transitioning from how Christians deal with fellow Christians; (i.e. slaves and masters,  husbands and wives), to how believers are to deal with the hostile world we live in.

Summary of how we are to deal with each other:

8 Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. 

Summary of how we are to deal with those outside the Body of Christ:

9 Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. 

What does it mean to “bless” our enemies? It means “to speak well [of someone].” The word includes friendly disposition toward one’s enemies, but it goes beyond this to active prayer and intercession.

Peter quotes Psalm 34:12-16

10 For,“Whoever would love life
    and see good days
must keep their tongue from evil
    and their lips from deceitful speech.

What we speak and how we speak puts our relationship with God on display to the world around us.

11 They must turn from evil and do good;
    they must seek peace and pursue it.

12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
    and his ears are attentive to their prayer,
but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

13 Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? 

Paul says in Romans 8 “If God is for us, who can be against us?”. Verse 13 is Peter agreeing with Paul. Yes, of COURSE we will suffer harm at the hands of God’s enemies in this life. But our sufferings HERE are nothing compared to the joy we will experience THERE in the Presence of the One Who died for us.

14 But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats[b]; do not be frightened.”[c] 15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. 

Verses 14b-15 are built on Isa 8:12b-13, where the prophet admonishes the godly in Israel not to fear the impending invasion as do the unbelievers. Instead, godly reverence is to be their concern (cf. Mt 10:28). Thus Peter admonishes his readers not to be afraid of other people but acknowledge “Christ as Lord.”

In Matthew 10:28, Jesus said

“Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”

When the center of a person’s life is rightly related to God, he or she is able to respond properly to all that life throws at them.

Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. 

One of the distinguishing marks of Christians is their possession of “hope”. Christian hope is so real and distinctive that non-Christians are puzzled about it and ask for a “reason”. 

Christians should respond with care. “Gentleness” is the quality that trusts God to do the work of changing attitudes i.e. speak the truth, do not engage in arguments for the truth. “respect” is respect for God. The “clear conscience” relates to the liberty and boldness that come from living before God in purity.

In other words, out of respect for God, trusting in His ability to change hearts, minds, and attitudes, do not engage in arguing – state the truth gently, letting the other party respond however they want to.

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

“doing evil” – equated with arguing and debating with unbelievers. Also for “fighting fire with fire”. I am reminded of something my father told me once… “Never wrestle with a pig. You will both get muddy, but the pig loves it.”

I have discovered as I have moved into the senior citizen part of society that I am less and less interested in arguing or debating the claims of Christ with the unbelievers around me. The few times I have been with someone who was trying to bait me into a debate concerning Biblical matters saw me stating what I believed gently and then extricating myself from that discussion. I have never once argued anyone into the Kingdom. I have, though, on occasion been involved in gentle discussions that resulted in the other party eventually coming to faith in God. I do not have an apologist’s demeanor, nor do I have the patience to wade through and decipher an opponent’s arguments against Christ. I believe that God is the Changer of hearts and minds, not me. I believe that a person’s salvation is a supernatural event – not a natural event predicated on any intellectual prowess I might present in the moment.

Don’t get me wrong – I am not speaking against apologetics, nor am I speaking against my understanding of the apologist’s principles that, for me, serve to buttress my faith, NOT as ammo to use against my non-Christian foes. I am merely saying that I am not an apologist. When confronted with the sneers and ridicule of the unbeliever, I will either simply state my case or sometimes say nothing at all in the face of their bluster.

In His Grip,

Paige C. Garwood M.Ed; MFA