I Peter 3:10-12
(A Bible Study Led
by Dr. Larry Reynolds)
September 12, 2013
1. 1 Peter 3:10-12 is a natural progression from the previous two
verses. We have seen that in verses 8-9
Peter lists six qualities that should be in the lives of all believers. Now, in verses 10-12, to underscore the
importance of these qualities, Peter directs us to a passage in the Old
Testament. Verses 10-12 are a quote from
Psalm 34:12-14. That says to me that the
instructions in these verses are so important that God saw to it that they were
included in the Bible twice! And it is
vitally important to our well-being that we understand and follow what is being
said in this part of God’s Word.
2.
The older I get the
more precious (and limited!) I realize life is.
As James said, our time in this world is like a vapor. We are here and then we are gone. And the closer I come to the end of my time
in this world, whenever it may be, the more I want to get out of this
life. These verses tell us how to do
that.
3.
That is essentially
the meaning of the first phrase of verse 10 - “Let him who means to love life
and see good days…” In other
words, if you want to get the most out of life, here is how to do it. It is my conviction that God want us to have
the best life possible. Jesus said in
John 10:10, “…I come that you might have life and have it abundantly…” Following this introductory statement, these
verses tell us two things we need to do to get the most out of life.
I.
To
get the most out of life, we should watch how we talk
1. Verse
10 tells us that we are to “refrain [our] tongues from evil and [our]
lips from guile.”...that is, we are not to speak in such a way that
others are injured, beaten down, hurt by what we say...
2. In
the book James, Faith that Works Kent Hughes lists four types of speech
which are harmful to others...the first word on his list is--
--gossip
- This is something we have made so many jokes about that I fear don't take it
seriously enough...need understand a careless, thoughtless word about another
person can cause great harm...gossip not just telling something which is
untrue; it is telling something which doesn't need to be told...before say
anything about any person, need ask ourselves, "Is what I'm about to
say going to help or hurt the person involved? Does it really need to be said
or is it better left unsaid?"...second word on his list is...
--innuendo
- Kent Hughes calls this the cousin of gossip...tells of first mate on ship who
was angry at captain for writing beside his name in the ship's log, "First
mate drunk today"... so when captain wasn't looking made his own
entry into log... wrote, "Captain is sober today"...that’s
innuendo...sometimes, not what we say but what we don't say which becomes
destructive ...that raised eyebrow or awkward silence or quizzical look can be
just as damaging as mis-spoken word...third type of harmful speech on his list
is...
--false
flattery - Someone has said, "Gossip is saying behind a person's
back what you would never say to his or her face; flattery is saying to a
person's face what you would never say behind his or her back." (John
Blanchard)...the Scripture in numerous places warns of the danger of false
flattery...Prov. 28:26b - "...a flattering mouth works ruin."...Jude
describes ungodly people with this graphic phrase - "...they speak
arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage."...that
doesn't mean we should not compliment others...means we shouldn't do so in an
insincere way with impure motives...fourth type of harmful speech identified by
Kent Hughes is...
--destructive
criticism - Some people seem to delight in pointing out mistakes and
shortcomings of others...while they seldom praise, they are quick to
criticize...few people have been completely free from the sting of destructive
criticism...and few people have been free from the guilt of directing such
criticism toward others...need to understand if we are characterized by
negative, critical spirit toward others, good indication that we're really not
satisfied with our own lives...
3. And
to Kent Hughes’ list of harmful types of speech, I would add two other words...
--profanity
- The wide-spread use and acceptance of what once was labeled “gutter language”
is an obvious outward sign of the moral decay which has infected our culture...
language which at one time was unthinkable has now become commonplace in
movies, lyrics to popular songs, and even television...for Christians to use
such language reflects poorly on the Lord we serve and for us to talk that way
is both disrespectful and harmful to those around us...
--lying
- Of all people, God’s people should speak the truth... the Bible teaches that
Satan is the father of lies and that Jesus is the truth...we are explicitly
instructed in Scripture, “Do not lie to one another...”
[Colossians 3:9]...most lies are told in an attempt to minimize or cover-up
some problem but invariably they end up making the problem worse and hurting
people more...
4. If
we are going to follow the instruction of I Peter 3:10 to “refrain [our]
tongues from evil and [our] lips from speaking guile...” then our
speech must not be characterized by gossip, innuendo, false flattery,
destructive criticism, profanity, or lying...
1. Dr.
Curtis Vaughan, one of my seminary professors, tells a story about a little
girl who had her arms wrapped around her father’s neck...the girl’s mother
noticed that she was looking over her father’s shoulder sticking her tongue out
at her brother...the mother said, “Take your arms from around your
father’s neck. You cannot love your
father and at the same time stick your tongue out at his son.”
2. And
if we really love God our love for Him will be demonstrated in how we speak to
and about others...we should watch how we talk because God is watching us...
II. To get the most out of life, we should
watch how we walk
1. Look
at what verse 11 tells us...”And let him turn away from evil and do good;
let him seek peace and pursue it.”...if you look carefully at that
statement you will see our walk as Christians should involve two things...
·
First, we are to make good choices - We
are to choose reject evil (that’s what the phrase “turn away”
means) and we are to choose to do good instead.
The basic idea behind the statement about “turning away from evil
and doing good” is that we are to have the right priorities, the right
values in life. We are to invest our
lives in things that matter, things that are eternal, things that will not pass
away. And in a culture like ours, a
culture which tends to value things over people, that is often difficult to do.
I
don’t know the original author of the following quote, but I think it is well
said. Someone has pointed out that when
we stand before God…
“God
won’t ask ---, but He will ask ---
--what
kind of car you drove...how many people you drove who didn’t have
transportation.
--the
square footage of your house...how many people you welcomed into your home.
--how
many material possessions you had...if they dictated your life.
--how
many promotions you received...how you promoted others.
--what
you did to help yourself...what you did to help others.
--how
many friends you had...how many people to whom you were a true friend.
--in
what neighborhood you lived...how your treated your neighbors.
God’s
people should make good choices in life.
That is one thing it means to watch how we walk.
·
Secondly, we are to live in harmony with
others - The last part of v.11 says we are to “...seek peace and
pursue it...” This is a reminder—
--to
be peace makers not trouble makers...
--to
bring people together rather than driving them apart...
--to
be a calming influence on those around us rather than stirring people up to
conflict and strife...
At
least three times in the New Testament we are commanded to “…live in peace…” with one another. One of those commands comes directly from
Jesus, Himself (see Mark 9:50).
CONCLUSION
As
I began to study these verses this week, found the words of that little
children’s song running through my mind...among other things the song says:
“Be
careful little mouth what you say. Be
careful little mouth what you say. For the Father up above is looking down in
love, so be careful little mouth what you say.
“Be
careful little hands what you do...
“Be
careful little feet where you go...
In
this passage the Bible tells us that God is watching...look at the first part
of v.12...”For the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous...”
