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1 Peter 3:16–17
“. . . 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.”
Not all believers in Jesus are called to be professional apologists who devote their careers to formulating arguments for the Christian faith and engaging in public debate regarding Christianity. As we have seen in 1 Peter 3:15, however, all Christians must be prepared to give an answer for the hope that is within us when we are asked why a person should believe in Christ. We need to have ready at least some basic reasons that faith in Christ is a rational act. Happily, good resources on apologetics—the defense of the faith—are widely available today, so it is easier than ever to prepare ourselves to give reasons for the hope that is within us.
As important as having ready a basic intellectual defense of the faith is the manner in which we present this defense. We must answer critics of the faith “with gentleness and respect” (v. 15). Peter’s instruction here practically applies the truth that “a soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger” (Prov. 15:1). It is easy for us to develop intellectual pride the more that we consider the reasons for our faith, and this pride can manifest itself in condescension toward others, impatience, and other sins. People are accountable for their rejection of the truth, but we want to make sure that if they reject the truth, they are actually rejecting the truth and not rejecting us because we are rude and haughty.
Peter develops this point in 1 Peter 3:16 by encouraging us to have such a good conscience that those who slander us may be put to shame. Presenting a defense of the faith with gentleness and respect does not guarantee that the unbeliever will come to faith or even treat us more kindly, but slanderous charges against us will not stick in the eyes of fair-minded people if we are kind, patient, and godly. Moreover, on the last day, if not before, those who attack us even though we do good will be shown to have been utter fools. John Calvin notes in his commentary that if our adversaries can allege nothing against us but that we follow Christ, they will finally be ashamed of their wickedness, for our good conduct will disprove their false allegations.
All this is to say that our willingness to suffer at the hands of others is pleasing to God only if they are coming after us because they hate our righteousness. There is no credit for our suffering when we suffer because of our own bad behavior (1 Peter 3:17; see 2:20). If we suffer for doing evil, we are getting what we deserve.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
John Calvin comments on today’s passage that “the defense of the tongue will avail but little, except the life corresponds with it.” We cannot guarantee that people will listen to us charitably if our manner of life is consistent with the faith we profess. We can almost certainly guarantee, however, that no one will take our words seriously if our life is significantly out of step with what we claim to believe.
For further study
- Genesis 39
- Acts 6:8–15
- 1 Thess. 4:9–12
- 1 Peter 2:15
The bible in a year
- 1 Chronicles 3–5
- John 8:12–38