Living Righteous in a Hostile World: Submission within the Body of Christ (Part 1)

Take your Bibles this morning and open them to 1 Peter chapter 3.

! That's the next place we're going to be in our study of this book, this letter. And find verse 8, chapter 3 and verse 8.

And I'm going to read the entire paragraph, but we're not going to look at all of it this morning. And the paragraph would include verses 8 all the way through verse 12.

So listen as I read. You can read along or read silently along in your copy of God's Word. Finally, Peter says, finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another, love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous.

Not returning evil for evil, reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, blessing. Knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing.

For he who would love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit.

Let him return or turn away from evil and do good. Let him speak peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are open to their prayers.

But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil. All right. So there is the passage. And to remind us again of Peter's theme here in this section of the letter, I want to keep that always before you.

Peter, his Christian audience is suffering, suffering under extreme persecution, not unlike what many of God's people are suffering in many parts of our world.

And they're suffering because, of course, their faith, their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And they are living right in the midst of a very hostile world, a world that is hostile toward biblical Christianity.

And they are true believers. And they're paying a dear price for their commitment to Christ and to following Christ.

And in this section of his letter, Peter tells them how they are to live righteous in the midst of their hostile world. He not only tells them, but he tells us as well. And again, the way to do it, according to Peter, is through submission.

Submission. Very clear. First, submission within the context of civil authority. Second, submission within the context of secular service.

How we might be able to identify it. For them, it would be slavery. For us, it would be as employees. And also, third, submission within the context of marriage.

Wives to their own husbands and husbands to their own wives. And now, submission, because it takes submission to do what Peter is going to teach us to do here in just a moment.

Submission within the context of the local church body. We might call it the Society of the Saints in Christ. The Assembly of the Firstborn.

That's how the Bible describes us in another place. The community of the believers in Jesus. Followers of Jesus Christ. Or the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. However you might want to describe us.

We could just say the church. The church. That's who we are. And Peter writes here in verse 8. First, he says, finally. And that gives us the context. That means that the subject is still submission.

And then he says, all of you. All of you. He's speaking to all of his readers. That gives us the audience. Peter's readers.

The church. And the Holy Spirit, of course. Inspiring Peter write what he wrote. The letter belongs to us as well. And so he's writing to the church. To all of us.

That are gathered here today. In ancient architecture. There is a thing called the keystone. The stone, of course. And it's a wedge-shaped stone.

And it is placed at the apex of an arch. And you can kind of picture that in your minds, I'm sure. I can. I can see that kind of ancient arch. The stones that are stacked on top of one another.

And slowly coming to the top and to the middle. And then there's that wedge-shaped stone right there at the top in the middle. The keystone. And the keystone locks all the stones together.

And it allows that arch not only to bear its own weight as it's locked together. But also the weight of whatever may be constructed on top of the arch. And we can kind of picture that, can't we?

Now, in literature. Not architecture. But literature. Writers sometimes use what we could call a keystone. But we don't call it that, technically.

It goes by another name. Well, various names. But typically. The thesis. Or thesis statement. In a paragraph. A thesis sentence.

And in English grammar. The, quote, keystone. Or the thesis. Typically. Generally. Almost always. And it's recommended that it appear at the beginning of the paragraph.

And if you've done any writing, you know that. And certainly if you are a reader, you have recognized that. Know anything about grammar. The thesis starts. We start at the beginning. And then everything else in the paragraph is subordinate to the thesis.

And is supportive of that thesis in the paragraph that appears at the beginning there of the paragraph. Now, in Greek literature, though, including the New Testament, it quite regularly will appear at the middle of the paragraph.

Sometimes even at the end of it. That's what makes sermon preparation a little bit difficult for preachers. If they're trying to identify what's the main idea here in this paragraph or portion of Scripture.

Sometimes it's hard to find it. Because we're used to looking for it at the beginning. But it very rarely works that way in Greek literature. And so it makes it difficult.

Now, the keystone, then, for this particular passage or paragraph in Peter's letter appears in the middle. Right smack dab in the middle.

And it is an incredible statement. Incredible one. Especially when you consider Peter's audience. And you consider that they are enduring extreme persecution in their lives.

And that's their experience every single day of their lives. And we find the keystone, that phrase, right at the middle. And it's in verse 10. And it is this phrase.

Would you look at it there? It might be variously translated in your version of the Bible. But here is how it is in mine. He who would love life.

And see good days. There it is. What an incredible statement. What a statement for Peter's first audience.

Those enduring persecution. But also for us. Today. And listen. This is who Peter was addressing in his letter. And this, by way of the Holy Spirit.

Inspiration of the Holy Spirit. This is who Peter is addressing today. In this letter. This is a description of true believers in the Lord Jesus Christ.

And it's this description. Those who would. That is, those who desire to love life. And see good days.

That's who we are. Or should be. Can be. That's who we are individually. As followers of Christ. As born again Christians.

And this is who we should be. As a church. And more specifically. And more to the context.

Of Peter's writing here. This portion of his letter. That's what he's referring to. He's referring to all of us. The church. Those who love life.

Or should. And should desire to. And strive toward. Loving life. And seeing good days. That is what should describe us as a church. This church. Our church.

And this is what every member of this wonderful church. Should be working toward. Every one of us. Have this responsibility. If we want.

To be a healthy church. One that can be used by God. To accomplish all that he's called us to.

And enjoy. Our fellowship together. And our worship together. Then we should be. Those who individually. Are always. Working toward.

Loving life. And seeing good days. Now. That's a great statement. But how is it done? How is it done?

And so that's. Why I would say. That this keystone. In. To all Peter says. In this passage. Relates to everything. He says before it.

And after it. The word for. Helps us to understand that. In verse 10. Amen. And so in a sense. Peter's saying. All of you. Verse 8. Meaning. Church. If I could just paraphrase.

Say. Church. If you want to love life. And see good days. And you do. Don't you? Amen. I know. I can count on at least one. Over here.

But all the rest of you. Are feeling the same way. Right? You're just saying yes. On the inside. All right. That's what we want. Church. If you want to. Love life.

The life of your church. And see. Good days. If you want. That to be your experience. Regardless of the wickedness. That may be raging.

All around us. And it is in our world. And even. Sometimes. Wickedness. That is raging. In the midst of us. If you want to love life.

And see good days. Then apply. These instructions. That Peter gives us. To your life. To the life. To the life of your church. Now.

We. Can divide. Peter's instructions here. In this paragraph. Into three parts. And. We're going to see. Part number one. Today. And the other two. Next week.

If. The Lord gives us. Next week. The first one. Is this. There are specific. Instructions. Concerning. The character.

Of the church. That. That's what this is. In verses. Eight. And on into the first part. Of verse nine. Peter is describing.

For us. Or giving us. Instructions. Rather. Admonitions. Concerning. The character. Of the church. And what that. Character.

Should consist of. And. The character. Of the church. Should be marked. By. Six. Traits. That's what we're going to look at. This morning. That's why I'm just taking.

Point number one. Today. Okay. There's six traits. Laid out for us. Not described. Peter just. List. Them. For us. And yet.

The. Meaning. Of the word. And other. Supporting. Passages. In the bible. Help us. To understand. What he is saying. But there are six of them. Six traits. And. Every.

One of us. Every one of us. From this pulpit. Out there. To. The pews. Every. One of us. Every member. Of this church. Should be working.

Toward. These six things. They're kind of like. These six strings. On a guitar. I don't know how many. We have here.

Who play a guitar. Probably not many. I don't know. But you know. You pick up a guitar. And even if you don't know. How to play the thing. And I don't. You can at least. Strum one chord.

Right. Just pick it up. And go. Like that. And you have a chord. That is. Of course. If the strings. Are tuned. Guitars.

Get out of tune. Don't they. And so. You've got to pick up. That guitar. And if you know how. Then you tune. Each one of the six strings. And then. When you have them. Tuned. To their proper tone. Then you can strum it.

And you have harmony. If you don't have. Each of the strings. Tuned. Then you have what? A terrible sound. Whatever. Term you want to use.

Certainly. Discord. In that sense. And so. These six. Traits. That mark. The character. Of the church. They need to be all in tune.

They need to be all present. And we are to be. Working toward that. By God's. Grace. And through. Prayer. And certain. Our own. Participation. Effort.

To get all six of these. In our church. Number one. The church. Should be marked. By. Unity.

Unity. That's number one. That's number one. In more ways. Than just simply. It's the first one. On the list. In fact.

I could argue. And will not take time. To do that. This morning. I could argue. That the. Concept. Of unity. Runs through. All of the traits. But the first one.

Is clearly. Unity. Peter says. All of you. What? Be of one mind. That's how it's translated. In the King. King James. New King James.

Be. Of one mind. And the word here. Is. Homophrone. Now. You might recognize. The first part of that. And so. It's a compound word.

And so. It means. Literally. Same. As homo. Same. Mind. Or. Think. Literally.

Frown. A. Frowness. Same. Think. Or. One. Mind. As. Find it here. In my version. Or.

It might be. Translated. Like. Minded. That's. The idea. Same. Mind. Same. Think. Like. Mind. That is. What. Ought. To. Describe. Or. Ought.

To. Be. The mark. Of. The body. Of. Christ. Same. Thing. Same. Mind. Now. In case. You're. Misunderstanding. Or. In case. You're. Wondering. This. Does.

This. Mean. That. We. Must. Agree. On. Every. Single. Thing. Everything. Not. Necessarily. Does. Mean.

That. Somehow. We. Just. All. Think. The. Same. Way. Absolutely. Strictly. Narrowly. Every. One. Of. Us. Think. Exactly. The.

Same. Way. That's. Not. What. It. Means. No. We're. Going. To. Have. Differences. Aren't. We. I don't. Have. To. Tell. You. That. Do. Anytime. People.

And. No. Matter. What. The. Organization. Is. Called. No. Matter. What. Context. They're. Going. To. Be. Differences. Of. Opinion. About. Things. And. In. The. Church. They're. Going. To. Be. Those. Differences. Concerning. Peripheral.

Matters. And. The. Point. Here. Is. Not. That. We. All. Simply. Like. Little. Carving. Copies. Think. Exactly. The. Same. Way. About.

Every. Single. Thing. That's. Not. The. Idea. Here. The. Point. Here. Is. To. Be. Constantly. Seeking. The. Same. Mind. We're.

Working. Toward. That. And. At. Every. Juncture. At. Every. Point. Of. Of. Of. Consideration. Or. Decision. Or. Whatever. May. Be. We. Are. Striving. Together.

To. Be. One. Mind. And. How. Do. Do. Do. By. Striving. To. Have. The. Mind. Of. Christ.

That's. How. We're. To. Understand. Constantly. Seeking. The. Mind. Of. Christ. That. Is. If. We. Are. Going. To. Be. Governed. By. The. Mind. Of. Christ. And. We. Must. Be. And.

We're. A. Congregational. Type. Of. Church. That. Is. In. Our. Policy. But. The. Only. Way. That. Congregationalism. Works. Is. If. Every. Member. Of. The. Church. Is. Number. One.

Born. Again. But. Number. Two. That. Every. Member. Of. The. Church. Truly. Genuinely. Desires. To. Have. The. Mind. Of. Christ. And. If. All. Of. Us. Will. Desire. To. Have.

The. Mind. Of. Christ. On.

The. One. Hand. Think. This. Well. On. The. Other. Hand. I. Think. This. Now. We're. That. Way. But. Not. Jesus. One. Mind. And. We're. To. Have. That. Mind. The. Mind. Of. Christ.

And. So. If. We're. Governed. By. The. Mind. Of. Christ. Then. Our. Differences. And. We're. Going. To. Have. Those. Will. Not. Divide. Us. Or.

Destroy. Us. Or. Tear. Down. Rather. Our. Differences. Will. Enrich. Us. That's. The. Beauty. Of. This. Of.

This. Particular. Mark. Of. The. Church. This. Unity. It's. Moving. Toward. Always. Desiring. To. Be. Of. One. Mind. And. That. We. Have. The. Mind. Of. Christ.

And. When. There. Are. Differences. Of. Opinion. Or. Perspectives. On. Peripheral. Matters. That. That. That. Come. Together. Then. Those. Things. Will. Not.

Destroy. Us. They. Will. Edify. Us. Not. Divide. Us. But. Bring. Us. Together. And. Unify. Us. And. They. Will. Not. Tear. Down. But. They. Will. Enrich.

Us. Now. Unity. Is. The. Responsibility. Of. Every. Member. Of. The. Church. For.

It. To. Work. For. This. To. Be. What. Marks. Us. Must. Be. Everyone's. Responsibility. Unity.

And. Harmony. In. The. Local. Body. In. The. Church. Is. The. Responsibility. Of. The. Pastor. Too. Because. I'm. A. Member. Of. This. Church.

And. I'm. Also. Placed. Here. As. A. Leader. An. Overseer. And. It. Is. My. Responsibility. To. Foster.

Unity. And. Harmony. Within. The. Body. Of. Christ. It's. The. Responsibility. Of. Every. Staff. Member. Of. This. Church. To.

Seek. Unity. To. Seek. Peace. To. Seek. Harmony. Not. Contention. Or. Conflict. Or. Division.

But. Unity. Unity. And. Harmony. By. The. Way. In. This. Church. Is. The. Primary. Task. Of. Our. Elders. Here. It. Is.

Their. Job. To. Lead. In. That. Way. To. Lead. Toward. That. End. Where. There. Is. Unity. And. Peace. And. Harmony. Now.

Listen. To me. I. Want. To. Qualify. Something. Here. We're. Not. Talking. About. Unity. At. Any. Cost. That's. Not. The. Idea. Here. I mean.

It's. Not. Unity. At. The. Cost. Of. Sound. Doctrine. Don't. Just. Come. Together. And. Say. Well. You know. I. Believe. This. Way. About. About. This. Doctrine. And. And. So. And. And. Over. Here. Believes. This. Way.

And. This. One. Over. Here. Believes. This. Way. And. They. Are. Come. In. Conflict. One. Another. So. Let's. Get. A. Meeting. Have. Doctrine.

So. That. We. Can. Have. Unity. You know. You don't. Have. Unity. At. The. Cost. Of. Sound. Doctrine. You. Also. Unity. Is. Not. Always. The. Same. As.

Consensus. I. For. One. Believe. It. Is. A. Good. Idea. To. Lead. And. To. Seek. Consensus. In.

Some. Are. In. Some. Matters. But. Unity. Is. Not. The. Same. As. Consensus. Margaret. Thatcher. I. Believe. It. Was. Who. Wisely. Said. Consensus.

Is. The. Absence. Of. Leadership. God. Has. Placed. Leaders. In. This. Church. Who. Need.

To. Lead. And. If. They. Will. Lead. With. The. Mind. Of. Christ. Then. We. Ought. To. Follow. As.

It. Was. Not. A. Matter. Of. Consensus. Is. A. Matter. Of. Leadership. And. The. End. Result. Is. Unity. It. Is. Harmony. All. Right. So. Number. One. It's. Unity. Number.

Two. The. Church. According. To. Peter's. List. Here. Should. Be. Marked. By. Sympathy. Sympathy. That's. The. Word. I've. Chosen. Even. Though. In. My. Version.

Of. The. Bible. It. Says. Having. Compassion. On. One. Another. Compassion. Perhaps. Yours. Says. Compassion. But. Perhaps. Your. Version. Says. Sympathy. And.

Really. That. Is. A. Very. Correct. Word. To. Use. Here. Most. All. Versions. Of. The. Bible. Other. Than. King. James. The. New. King. James. Will. Translate. This. Sympathy. Or. Sympathetic.

I. Believe. In. The. English. Standard. Version. And. You. Just. Need. To. Know. That. This. Is. A. A. Word. The. English. Word. Comes. Right. Out. Of. The. Greek. Text. It's. A. Transliteration.

As. They. Call. It. Technically. Because. The. Word. Is. Sympathase. You. Can. See. How. That. Sounds. Like. Sympathy. Sympathase. But.

The. Meaning. Of. Word. Is. To. Share. The. Same. Feeling. That's. The. Literal. Lexical. Definition. Of. The. Word. Sympathase. To. Share.

The. Same. Feeling. And. That's. Why. I said. A moment. Ago. That. Unity. Is. The. Idea. Throughout. And. That's. The. Idea. Right. Here. So. On. The. One. Hand. We're. To. Have. The. The. Mind.

With. One. Another. And. It's. The. Mind. Of. Christ. And. We're. To. Have. The. Same. Feeling. Same. Feeling. For. One. Another. Now. The. Opposite. Of. Course. Would. Be.

Unsympathetic. You. Say. I'm. No. Dummy. I. Know. That. The. Opposite. Of. Sympathy. Is. Unsympathetic. Or. It. Means. Indifference. Have. An. Indifference. For.

But. That's. Their. Problem. That's. Not. Mine. Is. To. Be. Indifferent. About. That. Or. Or. To. Have. No. Grace. And. No. Mercy. Toward. Others. Paul. Said.

In. Romans. 12. 15. Rejoice. With. Those. Who. Rejoice. And. Weep. With. Those. Who. Weep. That's. Pretty. Good. Pretty. Good. Words. And. By. The.

Way. Let me. Ask. You. Something. Which. Is. Harder. For. You. To. Weep. With. Those. Who. Weep. Or. Rejoice. With. Those. Who. Rejoice. You.

Think. About. That. A. Minute. Or. As. As. Paul. Put. It. In. Another. Place. He. Said. If. One. Member. Is. Honored. All.

The. Members. Rejoice. With. It. Or. With. Him. Or. Her. Sometimes. It.

Is. Harder. For. Us. To. Just. Rejoice. When. Someone. Else. Is. Honored. Or. When. Someone. Else. Excels. Or. When. Someone. Else. Is. Rejoicing. Over. Great. Thing. That. Ought. Not. Be. That. Way. But. Sometimes.

In. Our. Humanness. And. Our. Fleshliness. Have. Hard. Time. Rejoicing. With. Those. Who. I quoted.

Part. Of. This. Just. A moment. Ago. He said. In. First. Corinthians. Chapter. Twelve. Verses. Twenty. Five. And. Twenty. Six. He said. These. Words. Now. Listen. To. Them. Very. Carefully. He said. There. Should. Be.

No. Schism. That's. The. Word. Here. In. New. King. James. Or. Division. There. Should. Be. No. Division. No. Discord. Could. Be. Same.

Care. There's. Our. Word. Appears. In. First. Peter. Three. There's. Our. Word. Same. Care. For. One. Another. But. Have. The. Same. Care.

For. One. Another. And. If. One. Member. Suffers. All. The. Members. Suffer. With. It. And. Likewise. If. One. Member. Is. Honored. Then. All.

The. Members. Rejoice. With. It. That's. How. We're. To. Be. Here. This. What. Ought. To. Mark. Our. Church. In. Any. Church. This. Kind. Of. Sympathy.

Having. The. Same. Feeling. Toward. One. Another. Let. Let. Me. Illustrate. It. This. Way. If. You. Are. Doing. A. Little. Carpentry. Work. And. I've. Done. Some. Of. That. Over. The. You. Have. To.

Many. Of. You. And. You're. Swinging. That. Hammer. At. The. Nail. And. You. Miss. The. Nail. And. Guess. What. You. Hit. Your. Thumb. You. Ever. Have. That. Happen. To. You. Never. You're. Lying.

There. Will. Be. An. Invitation. At. The. End. Of. The. Service. Just. For. You. And. You. Might. Also. Confess. What. My.

Thumb. Has. A. Pain. Is. That. What. You. Say. Or. Do. You. Say. I. Have. A. Pain. In.

My. Thumb. You. See. The. Difference. Big. Difference. And. If. A. Member. Of. This. Body. Has.

A. Pain. Or. Problem. Or. Weakness. Or. Point. Failure. Or.

Some. Tragedy. Some. Point. Suffering. A. Loss. Whatever. Maybe. You. Just. Fill. In. The. Blank. Do. You. Say. You. Have. A. Problem.

Or. Do. You. Say. I. Have. A. Problem. Because. We're. Part. Of. The. Body. Same. Body. We.

Have. Problem. We. Have. A. Hurt. We. Have. A. Pain. We. Have. A. We. We. Have. A. Failure. We.

Have. Point. Of. Suffering. Whatever. It. May. Be. You. See. This. The. Idea. We. Are. To. Have. The. Mind. Of. Christ. We. To. Be. Mark. By. Unity. One. Mind. But. We. Are. Also.

To. Have. The. Sympathy. Of. Christ. Because. Our. Same. Feeling. Is. The. Feeling. Of. Christ. We. Don't. Detach. This. From. The. Lord.

Not. With. The. Mind. In. The. Point. Of. Unity. And. Not. With. The. Feeling. Or. With. The. Heart. In. The. Sense. Of. Sympathy. Who.

Does. What? He. Sympathizes. I. Really. Prefer. The. King. James. He. Touched. By. The. Feeling. Of. Our.

Infirmities. Our. Weaknesses. And. That. Leads. To. The. Next. Characteristic. The. Church. Should. Be. Marked. By. Unity. And. Sympathy. And. Third.

By. Family. By. Family. Love. As. Brothers. Love. As. Brothers. And. The. Phrase. Comes. From.

A. Single. Word. In. The. Greek. Text. Philadelphia. City. Of. Brotherly. Love. And. We've. Heard. All. That. And. Know. All. That. And. We. Even. Have. Heard.

Many. Sermons. Refer. To. The. Word. Phileo. Love. You know. Remember. There. Are. Three. Words. In. The. Greek. That. Can. Be.

Translated. Love. There. Is. Agape. And. Phileo. And. Eros. Though. Eros. Doesn't. Appear. In. The. Testament. We.

We've. Heard. About. Phileo. And. We. Understand. That. Means. Love. And. We. May. Even. Know. That. It. Means. A. Certain. Kind. Of. Love. But. The. Other. Part. Of. The. Word. Is. Very. Significant.

And. It. Is. The. Word. Adelphos. And. It. Means. Literally. From. The. Same. Womb. Isn't. That. Interesting. You. Understand.

Philadelphia. Means. Brother. Love. Or. Brotherly. Love. The. City. Of. Brotherly. Love. And. So. We. Kind. Of. Have. A. Clue. On. That. But. It. It. Much. More. Than. Just. Brother. We're.

Talking. But. We. Love.

And. We. Have. A. Love. And. Affection. For. One. Another. A. Kind. Of. Love. And. Affection. That. Belongs. In. The. Family. Because. We. Have. A. Common. Spiritual. Father. Don't. We. We.

Brothers. And. Sisters. In. Christ. We. Have. A. Common. Father. Spiritual. Father. We. Have. A. Common. Spiritual. Birth. We. Have. A. Common. Spiritual. Life. In.

Christ. We. We. Brothers. And. Sisters. In. Christ. And. So. That's. Pretty. Clear. Isn't. Now. Phileo. Is. Somewhat.

Different. Than. Agape. Or. Agapao. Somewhat. Different. Agape. Is. What. God. Produces.

In. The. Christian. As. Part. Of. The. Fruit. Of. The. Spirit. It. Divine. Love. There. Isn't. Anybody. On. This. Planet. Who. Can. Express.

Agape. Love. In. The. Truest. Sense. Of. It. Other. Than. Born. Again. Christians. Because. It's. Part. Of. The. Fruit. Of. The. Spirit. But.

Phileo. On. The. Other. Hand. Is. Strictly. A. Choice. It's. An. Act. Of. Will. Now.

To. Be. Sure. Agape. There's. An. Element. Of. The. Will. Involved. There. But. Strictly. Phileo. Is. A. Choice. It.

Is. A. Point. Of. Obedience. Peter. Wrote. Earlier. In. This. Letter. And. We. Already. Looked. At. This. Passage. Many. Months. Ago. But. He. Said.

In. First. Peter. One. Twenty. Two. Since. You. Have. Purified. Your. Souls. In. Obeying. The. Truth. Through. The. Spirit. In. Sincere.

Love. Of. The. Brethren. Or. Unhypocritical. Love. Of. The. Brethren. William.

Barclay. Wrote. The. Simplest. Test. Of. The. Reality. Of. The. Christianity. Of. A. Man. Or. A. Church. Is. Whether. Or. Not. It. Makes. Them. Love.

Their. Brothers. And. Sisters. In. Christ. True. Mark. Now. You're. Reminded. Right. Off. Of. Someone. Much. More. Important. Than. William. Barclay. And.

A. Man. Who. Would. Write. How. If.

You. Love. One. Another. Boy. True. Mark. Of. The. Church. Unity. Sympathy. Family. Number. Four. The. Church. Should. Be. Marked.

By. Sensitivity. Sensitivity. And. The. Word. Here. Or. Is. Translated. Here. Be. Tender. Hearted. Be. Tender. Hearted. Now.

The. Root. Word. That. Peter. Chose. Here. Really. Now. Say. Is. Very. Crude. The. Word. Is. Very. Crude. And.

In a sense. In a sense. According to our own sensibilities. It's a very crude. Word. You say. I. Don't understand what you mean. Well. The. Word. Could. Be. Translated. And. Is. In some other places.

In the Bible. Translated. Bowels. That's. Crude. Or. How about this one. Intestines. I mean.

I don't even like to say that word. Intestines. That. The root word here that Peter chose. Is. Translated. In. We might. Use the word.

Guts. Yeah. Or. How about this. Luke. In. Acts. Chapter 1. Verse 18. He described what happened when Judas body.

Fell. From. Where. He. Hung himself. After. He betrayed Jesus. Jesus. And he described it this way. Falling. Headlong. He burst. Open. In the middle.

And all his. Entrails. Gushed out. I mean. That's gross. I don't even like that word.

But that's the word here. That Peter chose. Here in 1st Peter chapter 3. Verse 8. That's how he did it. Now how do we get tender hearted out of that?

I mean. Think about it. How do you move from guts. Or. Intestines. To tender hearted. I mean.

Come on. How do you connect that? Well. Really. It's not that hard to figure out. When you think about it. And it may have been explained to you this way. We're talking here. Peter's talking about feelings.

Feelings. He's talking about emotions. Feelings and emotions. That come. From down deep. Inside of us. And they affect our organs. You know what I've got.

We experience it every day. We have physical kind of reactions. Down inside here. You know. In our guts. That's why we. Use the phrase. Gut feeling.

You know. I've just got a gut feeling about this. I mean. You feel it. Down inside here. Or. Other types of expressions. And so. The word. Appears.

In the Bible. To refer. To Jesus. Matter of fact. In fact. Eleven times. In the Bible. This word. Is used. To refer to Jesus.

This. Feeling. That comes. From deep. Down inside. Almost a. A kind of. A churning. Inside of you. Refers to Jesus. And for example. And this is my favorite one.

In Matthew 9. Verse 36. But when he saw the multitudes. You're familiar with this passage. When he saw the multitudes. He was.

Moved. With compassion. That's. That's the word. Moved. With compassion. For them.

Because they were weary. And scattered. Like sheep. Having. No shepherd. Have. Jesus. Experienced.

That kind of emotion. For the people around him. And even. For those. Who were. Outside. In the sense.

Of. Unbelievers. And we can certainly have. This kind of. And express. And experience. This kind of emotion. For one another. We're talking about.

The character. Of the church. Church. If. You want. To love life. The life. Of your church. And.

See. Good days. Then. Strive. To make. These things. The mark. Of your life. And collectively. The mark. Of the life. Of our church. Unity.

Sympathy. Family. Sensitivity. Number five. Humility. Humility. This is a very important one. It says in the New King James.

And I believe it is also there in the King James. Be courteous. Be courteous. Now I hope you don't misunderstand me.

And I risk being misunderstood. I want you to know I believe the Bible from cover to cover. And I believe in the inerrant word of God. But. Not all the versions.

Are absolutely the same. And correct in their translations. Now there's. There. There. There's. There's no. There are no mistakes. Lead us astray in points of doctrine.

But. Be courteous. Is not. The most accepted translation. Now hear me out here. Okay. Throw any stones.

Talk to me afterward. If you. Think I'm just really off the beam here. But. Be courteous. Is not. Attested to. By the most reliable.

Greek manuscripts. We have. Literally thousands. And thousands of them. Some complete. Some. Just little fragments. And all of these.

Scholars have taken. To. Produce. The scripture. The written scripture. And God has. Guided in that. And preserved that. And so there is. No error.

In what God is. Saying to us. In. In his word. But the King James. And the new King James. Use the. Textus. Receptus. A family of translations.

Or. Or manuscripts. And. There is. What's called. A textual variant. There. Means. Other manuscripts. Don't have the same word. It's a similar word. But not quite the same.

And the better manuscripts. Have the word. That means. Humble. Minded. If you have. A new American standard. English standard.

Or by standard. I doubt. Any of you have. That one here. Maybe even the NIV. Would have something. Similar to that. Humble minded. And that is. The idea here.

Essentially. It is. The attitude. That. Was expressed. By Paul. In. Philippians. Chapter 2. Verse 3. Did you listen to it. Very carefully. Familiar passage.

Paul said. Do. Nothing. From. Selfishness. Self-centeredness. Or. Empty.

Conceit. Or. Vain. Conceit. Or. Pride. Or. Worthless. Pride. Don't do anything. Not anything. He's speaking to the church. Don't do anything.

Do nothing. Nothing. From. Selfishness. From. Empty. Conceit. But. Do. Everything. Those words aren't in the text.

But it's implied. Do. Everything. That means. Worship. Sing in the choir. Lead the music. Preach. Teach.

Serve. Tithe. Do. Everything. With. Humility. Of. Mind. That's our word right here. And then he goes on.

He says. Regard one another. As more important. Than yourselves. That's humility. That is.

Count. Others. More important. Than yourselves. See. Listen. Humility. Humility. Is. A primary. Christian. Christian.

Not only duty. But. But virtue. Humility. In fact. The Bible says. In two places. God resists. The proud. But he gives.

More. Grace. To the humble. Humility. Now there are two. Suggestions. I would give to you. Very quickly. On how to do this. How we ought to do this.

And can do this. That is. Have. Humility. That is. To regard. One another. As more important. More significant. Than ourselves. How do we do it? Number one.

Constantly. Be aware. Of your. Utter. Dependence. Upon God. That you don't have. A measure of independence. From God. Maybe a measure.

More than the next person. Or that person. Or whomever. We are all. Utterly. Dependent. Upon God. I tell you. That removes all pride. And it doesn't.

Create any kind of. Elitism. In the church. We're all. In that same boat. We are utterly. Dependent. Upon God. And number two. Constantly. Be aware. That of yourself.

You are nothing. And can do. Nothing. Of eternal value. I'm sorry. It's just the case. That's the case. Jesus said. Apart from me.

Without me. You can do nothing. No. One more. Quickly. Number six. The character of the church. Should be marked by.

Charity. Charity. And this. Comes to us. In the first part. Of verse nine. Now the word. Is not there. But I'm describing it.

In that way. Charity. Peter says. Not returning. Or not repaying. Or not giving back. Evil.

For evil. Or reviling. For reviling. That is. Insult. For insult. But on the contrary.

Blessing. So. Don't give back. Don't return. Don't repay. Evil. For evil. That's. That's activity.

That's. An action. And by the way. The word evil. Is not just talking about. The act itself. But the whole way. Of thinking. The whole. Heart. Is a heart issue. Don't return.

Evil. For evil. That's action. And. Insult. For insult. That's the tongue. Don't do any of those things. Rather. Blessing.

That's how. That's what we're to repay. Blessing. Blessing. Two things. To consider here. And then we'll. Revisit this verse.

Next week. Because it ties into what. Peter says next. First of all. As Christians. We can live. On one of. Three.

Levels. Number one. The hellish. Level. What's the hellish. Level. In regard to what. Peter's talking about here. It is that we can.

Repay. Evil. For good. That's the hellish. Level. And I'm telling you. Dear people. That Christians. Can act that way. We can live.

On that level. Not for very long. I don't think God. Will let us. Get away with it. But it does happen. Within the body. Of Christ. Sadly. Where evil. Is returned. Repaid. For good.

That's the hellish. Level. Or number two. The earthly. Level. And this is very simple. Very base. Very. Very. Earthy. And it is that we. We repay good.

For good. And evil. For evil. I mean. This isn't rocket science. I know that's an old expression. This isn't complicated. We can see that. We just simply reciprocate. Whatever is given to us.

We give it back. And so if good comes. Then we give good back. And if evil comes. We give evil back. If curse comes. We give. We give curse back. We just simply reciprocate.

Whatever. Someone gives to us. And that's the earthly level. I'd say it's pretty close. To the hellish level. Really. Third. We can live on the heavenly level.

And this is what. Peter's talking about. We repay good for evil. Blessing for curse. Good.

For bad. That's what we can do. And we can be. Just like Jesus. In that. Do you remember. That passage.

We studied. So. Long. Ago. In chapter 2. Where. It says. For to this. You were called.

Because Christ. Also. Suffered. For us. Leaving us. An example. That you should follow. His steps. And what is the example. Who committed.

No sin. No was deceit. Found in his mouth. Who. When he was. Insulted. Did not insult. In return. When he suffered.

He did not. Threaten. Retaliation. But committed. Himself. To him. Who judges. Righteously. Who. Himself.

Bore our sins. You talk about. The supreme. Blessing. As a repayment. For curse. He. He. He. Bore. Our sins.

In his own body. On. The cross. That's the example. Of Christ. That's it. And that is what Peter.

Is getting at here. The second thing. That we ought to notice. In closing. That we've. Repaid blessing. For curse. In several ways.

Number one. By loving. Unconditionally. Number two. By praying. By loving them.

By praying for them. By giving. To them. Instead of. Returning evil. And. And.

Any. Any. Spiteful words. Or. Anything like that. We. Give. To them. Those who hurt us. We give. Thanking them.

By forgiving them. Supremely. So these are the. Character marks. Of a healthy church. A productive church.

One that. Desires. To love life. And to see. Good days. That's what I want. That's what you want.

Thank you.