Now who will harm you if you become imitators of that which is good?
Parallel Translations
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Now who will harm you if you become imitators of that which is good?
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Moreover who is it that will harme you yf ye folowe that which is good?
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And who is it that will harme you, if ye follow that which is good?
Cross-references (10)
Passages linked to 1 Peter 3:13 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Proverbs 16:7 When a man’s ways please Yahweh, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.
- Romans 8:28 We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:15 See that no one returns evil for evil to anyone, but always follow after that which is good for one another and for all.
- 3 John 1:11 Beloved, don’t imitate that which is evil, but that which is good. He who does good is of God. He who does evil hasn’t seen God.
- Psalms 38:20 They who render evil for good are also adversaries to me, because I follow what is good.
- Proverbs 15:9 The way of the wicked is an abomination to Yahweh, but he loves him who follows after righteousness.
- Romans 13:3 For rulers are not a terror to the good work, but to the evil. Do you desire to have no fear of the authority? Do that which is good, and you will have praise from the authority,
- 1 Corinthians 14:1 Follow after love and earnestly desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.
- 1 Timothy 5:10 being approved by good works, if she has brought up children, if she has been hospitable to strangers, if she has washed the saints’ feet, if she has relieved the afflicted, and if she has diligently followed every good work.
- Ephesians 5:1 Be therefore imitators of God, as beloved children.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (19 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 13 Who is he that will harm you He…
13 Who is he that will harm you He further confirms the previous sentence by an argument drawn from common experience. For it happens for the most part, that the ungodly disturb us, or are provoked by us, or that we do not labor to do them good as it behoves us; for they who seek to do good, do even soften minds which are otherwise hard as iron. This very thing is mentioned by Plato in his first book on the Republic, “Injustice,” he says, “causes seditions and hatreds and fightings one with another; but justice, concord and friendship.” However, though this commonly happens, yet it is not always the case; for the children of God, how much soever they may strive to pacify the ungodly by kindness, and shew themselves kind towards all, are yet often assailed undeservedly by many.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain The second argument: when the wicked are provoked, they…
The second argument: when the wicked are provoked, they are more wayward: therefore they must rather be overcome with good turns: And if they cannot be gotten by that means also, yet notwithstanding we shall be blessed, if we suffer for righteousness’ sake.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 13 And who is he that will harm you,…
13 And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?
Ver. 13. And who is he that will, &c.] Natural conscience cannot but do homage to the image of God stamped upon the natures and works of the godly; as we see in the carriage of Nebuchadnezzar and Darius toward Daniel. I have known some (saith Mr Bolton) the first occasion of whose conversion was the observation of their stoutness under wrongs and oppressions, whom they have purposely persecuted with extremest hate and malice.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain And who is he that will harm you? i.e.…
And who is he that will harm you? i.e. none or few will harm you, as being convinced and overcome by your good deeds, whereby even they are many times mollified and melted that are of themselves most wicked and hard-hearted, 1Sa 24:16,17.
If ye be followers of that which is good; either followers of God, who doth good to the evil and unkind; but then it should be rendered, followers of him who is good, or rather, followers of those things that are good: q.d. If you be diligent in doing good to others, none will have the heart to do you hurt.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And who is he that will harm you,.... Or…
And who is he that will harm you,.... Or "can harm you". God will not; for his eyes are upon the righteous, to protect and defend them, and, his ears are open to their cries, to avenge them; he is on their side, and he is the only lawgiver that is able to save, and to destroy. Christ will not; for when he came the first time, it was not to condemn, but to save; and when he comes a second time, though he will rule the wicked with a rod of iron, and dash them in pieces as a potter's vessel; yet his people, who are his jewels, he will spare, as a man spares his only son. Good angels will not; these rejoice at the conversion, and in the salvation of sinful men, encamp about the saints, and are ministering spirits to them: nor the devil; though he would devour, he cannot; for greater is he that is in the saints, than he that is in the world: nor can sin; for though it wars against them, it shall not have the dominion over them; and though it often breaks in upon their peace and comfort, it cannot damn and destroy their souls: nor the law; for though it pronounces guilty, and curses those that are under it, and are of the works of it, yet since Christ has fulfilled it for his people, by obeying its precepts, and bearing its penalty, the curse, it lies not against them, nor can it inflict any punishment on them: nor the men of the world; who hate and persecute the saints; these can do them no real harm; they cannot hurt their grace, which shines the brighter, being tried and proved in the furnace of affliction; they cannot destroy their peace and comfort by all the trouble they give them; all the harm they can do them is to their bodies; they can do none to their souls; and even all the evil things they do to their bodies work together for their good; and they must be very wicked men that will do harm in any respect to such as behave well in states, cities, towns, or neighbourhoods:
if ye be followers of that which is good; of God, who is essentially, originally, and infinitely good, and does good to all his creatures, by imitating him in holiness and righteousness, in kindness, mercy, and beneficence; and of Christ, the good Shepherd, following him in the exercise of grace, as of humility, love, patience, &c. and in the discharge of duty; and of good men, the apostles of Christ, the first churches, faithful ministers, and all such who through faith and patience have inherited the promises, and that both in doctrine and practice; and of all good things, whatever is true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and of good report, particularly righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, and meekness. Some copies, as the Alexandrian, and others, read, "zealots", or "zealous of good"; of good works, as in Tit 2:14 and so the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Ethiopic versions.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Who is he that will harm you - None…
Who is he that will harm you - None can.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 13. Who is he that will harm you]…
Verse 13. Who is he that will harm you] Is it possible that a man can be wretched who has God for his friend? "All the devices which the devil or wicked men work against such must be brought to naught, and by the providence of his goodness be dispersed."
If ye be followers, &c.] Εαν Του Αγαθου μιμηται γενησθε· If ye be imitators of the good One, i.e. of God. Ὁ Αγαθος, the good One, is one of God's prime epithets, see Mt 19:17, and Satan is distinguished by the reverse, ὁ πονηρος, the EVIL one, Mt 13:19, where see the notes. Instead of μιμηται, followers, or rather imitators, ζηλωται, zealous of what is good, is the reading of ABC, fifteen others, both the Syriac, Erpen's Arabic, the Coptic, AEthiopic, Armenian and Vulgate, with some of the fathers. This is a very probable reading, and Griesbach has placed it in the margin as a candidate for the place of that in the text.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain And who is he that will harm you, if…
And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? - This question is meant to imply, that as a general thing they need apprehend no evil if they lead an upright and benevolent life. The idea is, that God would in general protect them, though the next verse shows that the apostle did not mean to teach that there would be absolute security, for it is implied there that they might be called to suffer for righteousness” sake. While it is true that the Saviour was persecuted by wicked people, though his life was wholly spent in doing good; while it is true that the apostles were put to death, though following his example; and while it is true that good people have often suffered persecution, though laboring only to do good, still it is true as a general thing that a life of integrity and benevolence conduces to safety, even in a wicked world. People who are upright and pure; who live to do good to others who are characteristically benevolent and who are imitators of God - are those who usually pass life in most tranquillity and security, and are often safe when nothing else would give security but confidence in their integrity. A man of a holy and pure life may, under the protection of God, rely on that character to carry him safely through the world and to bring him at last to an honored grave. Or should he be calumniated when living, and his sun set under a cloud, still his name will be vindicated, and justice will ultimately be done to him when he is dead. The world ultimately judges right respecting character, and renders “honor to whom honor is due.” Compare Psa 37:3-6.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain who . . . will harm you--This fearless confidence…
who . . . will harm you--This fearless confidence in God's protection from harm, Christ, the Head, in His sufferings realized; so His members.
if ye be--Greek, "if ye have become."
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followers--The oldest manuscripts read "emulous," "zealous of" (Tit 2:14).
good--The contrast in Greek is, "Who will do you evil, if ye be zealous of good?"
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain III. THE BEARING PROPER FOR CHRISTIANS UNDER PERSECUTION, 1Pe_3:13…
III. THE BEARING PROPER FOR CHRISTIANS UNDER PERSECUTION, 1Pe_3:13 to 1Pe_5:14.
1. The blessedness of sufferers for righteousness, 1Pe_3:13-14.
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13. Who… harm you—The general experience of the world is, that good and benevolent men need anticipate no injury from the malice and violence of the wicked. “Justice,” says Plato, “causes concord and friendship.” Yet there are exceptions, as the next verse allows and experience proves. The word μιμηται, imitators, is used in six other places in the New Testament, and in every instance is connected with a person who is to be followed, or imitated. It should be so here; and we would then read, if ye be imitators of him that is good, namely, of the Lord Jesus Christ. The authority, however, is strong for ζηλωται, zealots, which Tregelles, Alford, and Wordsworth adopt.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 13. And who is he that will harm you]…
13. And who is he that will harm you] The quotation ceases and the Apostle adds the question, the answer to which seems to him a necessary inference from it. The form of the question reminds us of that of Rom_8:33-35, still more perhaps, of Isa_50:9, where the LXX. version gives for “condemn the very word which is here rendered “harm.” It is not without interest to note that the same word is used of Herod’s vexing the Church in Act_12:1. St Peter had learnt, in his endurance of the sufferings that then fell on him, that the persecutor has no real power to harm.
if ye be followers of that which is good] The better MSS. give the word (zelôtai) which is commonly rendered “zealous for,” as in Act_21:20; Act_22:3. As a word in frequent use among devout Jews, (as e.g. in the name of the Apostle Simon Zelotes,) it has a special force as addressed to the Church of the Circumcision. “Be zealous,” he seems to say to them, “not as Pharisees and Scribes are zealous, as you yourselves were wont to be, for the Law as a moral and ceremonial Code, but for that which is absolutely good.” The received reading, “followers,” or better, imitators, probably originated in the Greek word for “good” being taken as masculine, and, as so taken, referred to Christ. In that case, “followers” suggested itself as a fitter word (as in 1Co_4:16; Eph_5:1; 1Th_1:6) than “zealots.”
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (13) And who is he that shall harm you?—There…
(13) And who is he that shall harm you?—There is always a ring of scornful assurance in an interrogative introduced by “and:” “And who, pray?”
If ye be followers.—Rather, if ye make yourselves zealots. The phrase looks on into the future; not merely “if at present ye be.” And the word which means “follower” (i.e., imitator) is here a false reading for zelotes, the name by which St. Peter’s lesser namesake among the Apostles was known, probably because of his enthusiastic attachment to the old or to the new Law. The same zelotes is found in Tit_2:14 and elsewhere. The translation, “of Him which is good,” is perfectly possible, but does not quite so well suit the context. Some writers (Leighton among them) take the verse to mean, or at least to include, that when men see the goodness and loving-kindness of our lives they will not be disposed to hurt us. This thought is, however, foreign to the passage. It means that men and devils may try their worst, as they did on Christ, and cannot harm us.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain And who is he that will harm you? The…
And who is he that will harm you? The apostle, as he began his quotation from Psalm 34, without marks of citation, so adds at once his inference from it in the form of a question. The conjunction "and" connects the question with the quotation. If God"s eye is over the righteous, and his ear open to their prayers, who shall harm them? St. Peter does not mean Who will have the heart to harm you? He knew the temper of Jews and heathens; he knew also the Savior"s prophecies of coming persecution too well to say that. The words remind us of the Septuagint rendering ofriov Isa_50:9, Ku bohqhsei moi tiv kakwsei me; None can do real harm to the Lord"s people; they may persecute them, but he will make all things work together for their good. If ye be followers of that which is good; rather, if ye become zealous of that which is good, with the oldest manuscripts. The Authorized Version adopts the reading mimhtai, followers or imitators, which is not so well supported. The genitive tou ajgaqou admits the masculine translation, "of him that is good," but it is probably neuter in this place (comp. ver. 11). With the masculine rendering, comp.." Act_22:3, "and was zealous toward God (zhlwthrcwn tou Qeou)
HOMILIES BY A. MACLAREN Ver. 13.
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The armor of righteousness.
This is a promise in the shape of a question, which makes the affirmation stronger, not weaker. It is the question of triumphant faith, a trumpet-blast of confident defiance of all foes, like the wonderful series of similar challenges in the Epistle to the Romans, (Rom_8:31-35) or that in Isaiah, (Isa_1:9) the Septuagint Version of which is evidently the basis of our text. We have probably here a consideration additional to that preceding, in order to confirm the conclusion of the blessedness of holiness. The apostle has been quoting, with evident delight in the flowing periods, the assurance of the psalm, that God"s watchful eye is upon the righteous. Here he as it were says and, besides, it is the general experience of the world lovers of good get good from men. As Christ said, "Sinners also love those that love them.
I THE SORT OF MEN THAT GENERALLY GO UNHARMED. The Revised Version reads "zealous" instead of "followers," and probably is right in the substitution. If "followers," or more literally, "imitators," were retained, it would be most natural to translate "him who is" instead of "that which is" good. But the antithesis with the previous verse ("them that do coil") and with the word translated "harm," which is from the same root as that rendered "evil," makes the neuter more probable. If, then, we take "zealous for that which is good" as the description of the kind of men to whom the promise implied in our text is made, we may say that it is not the actual possession of purity and virtue which draws men"s affections, so much as a certain enthusiasm for goodness and aspiration after it. It is possible to be good in a very disagreeable fashion to be pure as the eternal snows on the Alps, and cold and forbidding as they. And it is possible to have the whiteness of even an austere morality lit up with a rosy gleam of ardor and emotion which shall make it lovely as that same snow as it blushes in the rising sun. The morality which casts, for the most part, a shield around its possessor is "morality touched by emotion," in which good is evidently loved as well as practiced, and practiced because it is loved. It is precisely there that so much goodness presents an unlovely face to the world. The doer does net seem to find delight in it himself, and so the onlookers have little in him. If our practice of purity be obviously reluctant and constrained it will net dispose men to look on us with respect or favor. We must be "zealous of good" if we are to claim the benefit of this promise. And it is extremely improbable that such zeal or enthusiastic emotion shall be continuously cherished towards a mere neuter abstract that which is good. A living Person is needed to evoke it. If the abstract "good" be the personal God our Father; if it be incarnated in Jesus Christ our Brother who loves us, and to whom as their conscious and responsive Object our hearts may turn; then there may be such zeal, but scarcely if we have to be zealous only for that cold and vague impersonal idea goodness. It is very hard to keep up enthusiasm for anything ending in "ness." Men must have a person to love, and their desire after purity is deepened and changed into a more ardent earnestness when "that which is good" takes human form and becomes "him who is good, the perfect Christ, the Image of God, the only Good." All earnest seeking after moral excellence leads the seeker at last to Jesus Christ, and the merchantman"s quest for many goodly pearls ends in the finding of one entire and perfect chrysolite in which all fragmentary preciousnesses are sphered.
II THE SAFETY OF THESE ENTHUSIASTS FOR THE GOOD. There is an antithesis in the original which is lost in our versions, but may be represented by some such rendering, "Who is he that will do bad things to you, if you be zealous of the good?" That principle thus forcibly put, by the triumphant challenge of the question and by this sharp antithesis, may be illustrated by several considerations which are linked together in such a way that each comes into play where the preceding ceases or fails.
1. The first of these is that, as a rule, a character of obvious single-minded enthusiasm for goodness conciliates. Men are not so bad but that there is a place in their hearts and consciences which can be touched by goodness, especially if it is accompanied with that self-forgetfulness and consciousness of imperfection which zeal for goodness will always bring. When good men are disliked it is very often not for their goodness but for some accompaniment of it which would be better away, such as their want of tact or of sympathy, their apparent sense of superiority, or the like. But even if men are not won to love purity, or even to be at ease in the presence of good men, they will very seldom go so far as to put dislike into action and do harm to one who does good to them. The traveler without a revolver is safest. Fire at the gaping crowd on the banks, and they will overwhelm you. Meet them with a smile and a handful of gifts, and you will almost always make friends. Gentleness and patience, sympathy and love, clear a path for their possessors. It is not vinegar, as the old legend has it, which will split the rocks. "When a man"s ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him." Of course, this is not true without exception, as the whole history of good men shows, and as Peter goes on to admit. Sometimes, righteousness excites men"s enmity, and, when it fails, then the second consideration comes in.
2. That is, that God will protect those who for righteousness" sake suffer. The grand promises which Peter has been quoting from the thirty-fourth psalm come into play. A tacit comparison is suggested between the good man"s enemies and his defenses. "The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous," and that being so, though deadly foes prowl round him with their cruel eyes gleaming like a lion greedy of his prey, the question of our text rings out the same assurance as Paul"s proud challenge, "If God be for us, who can be against us?" Many a time the persecutor has had. to confess that just as he seemed to have the prey in his power
The man sprang to his feet, Stood erect, caught at God"s skirts and prayed! So I was afraid.
The man whom an angel had brought out of prison when the morning of his martyrdom was dawning might well preach that God would take care of his children even when man"s wrath was hottest.
3. But that Divine protection is not always granted. Peter had indeed experienced deliverance at the eleventh hour, but his Lord had told, him that one day the putting off of his tabernacle was to come by violence; and more, one of the apostles had already trod that brief and bloody path of martyrdom which he knew lay before him and before many of those to whom his writings would come. What, in such extreme cases, should be the worth of such a saying? Is it not grimly contradicted by the scaffold and the fire? No; for even if these two outer walls of defense are carried by the enemy, and men"s malice is not softened but rather embittered by goodness, and God"s love does not see fit to shield us from the blow, the inner line of fortification remains impregnable. In the utmost extremity of outward suffering, ay, even from the midst of the fire, the Christian may ring out the triumphant words of our text; for no real harm can touch us if we be zealous of that which is good. The evil in the evil will be averted. The bitter will be changed into sweet, as in the old legend the shower of burning coals became a shower of rubies. The poison will be wiped from the arrow. The loving heart that cleaves to Christ and desires most to be united to him will not count that an evil which brings it nearer its home and its joy, nor think the wildest storm a calamity which blows it to Christ"s breast. The same events may be quite different in their character to different men. Two men may be drowned in one shipwreck. To the one it may be the opening of the door of his Father"s house to the weary pilgrim and the very crown of God"s mercies. To the other it may be misery and truly a sinking in a boundless sea of death. All depends on our relation to God, who is the Source of all good. If we love him in Christ, and are seeking as our highest aim amid the illusory and fleeting good of earth to press closer to him, then he will deliver us from all real evil; and "who is he that will harm you, if ye be zealous of that which is good?" "All things work together for good to them who love God. A.M.
Christian zeal.
Zeal is a habit of feeling and purpose. It supposes that a certain cause, a certain end of action, is apprehended by the understanding and approved by the judgment. As the etymology of the word implies, this quality is one characterized by warmth, fervor, ardor, in the pursuit of the object approved. It manifests itself in effort, in endurance, in perseverance. Zeal is in itself neither good nor bad; but it is always powerful, giving efficiency to toil, and an impetus to the cause which calls it into activity. In a bad project zeal does harm, for it assists in diffusing error and immorality. In a holy enterprise zeal does good; no great and worthy cause was ever brought to success and victory without zealous labors. There are cases in which abundant zeal compensates slender abilities and mean position. Yet it is possible for zeal to outrun judgment and discretion.
I OF WHAT DOES CHRISTIAN ZEAL CONSIST?
1. Its spring, its source, is grateful love and ardent consecration to God as revealed in Jesus Christ. Here no fanaticism is possible. There is the best reason and ground for such emotions; the danger is in the direction of indifference and coldness. Interest in Divine truth cannot be too keen; consecration to Divine service cannot be too complete.
2. Its tokens and evidences are these earnestness in devotion, in praise and prayer, both public and private; earnestness in the discharge of daily duty, however secular, yet sanctified by the Christian motive and spirit; earnestness in discouraging and repressing all sin; earnestness in exerting social influence for the spread of truth and righteousness.
II WHY SHOULD CHRISTIANS BE ZEALOUS?
1. The Scriptures expressly enjoin and encourage zeal. "Be zealous!" is the admonition the ascended Savior addresses to his Church. "It is good always to be zealously affected in a good cause," is the assertion of an apostle.
2. Our Lord Christ was supremely zealous, He was "clothed with zeal as with a cloak." In his conduct was a fulfillment of the words, "The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up." Zealous in love, he loved to the end; zealous in labor, he finished the work given him to do.
3. The best and most useful men have been zealous. This is true of the apostles, of the great thinkers and scholars of the Church, of the Reformers, of leaders in benevolent effort and missionary enterprise.
4. The presence or absence of zeal affects the character beneficially or injuriously. Its absence is accompanied by spiritual declension; its presence promotes the true prosperity of the Church and the advance of the gospel; and these in turn react upon the individual character and further its higher development and everlasting well-being. J.R.T.
Vers. 13-18 (part).
Suffering for righteousness.
I THE FACT THAT GOOD MEN SUFFER, FOR THEIR GOODNESS, FROM THEIR FELLOW-MEN. Though Peter used the word "if," it was not because such suffering was unlikely or infrequent, but because it was not universal, and because the reflections on which he had been dwelling seemed calculated to make such suffering impossible.
1. For it might seem as though the promised guardianship of God would have ensured the security of good men. But no.
2. Or it might have seemed that an upright benevolent life would have evoked nothing but kindness and gratitude from one"s fellow-men. But no. "Who is he that will harm you?" read in the lurid light of persecution, cannot mean, "Who is he that will have the Will to harm you?" However mysterious it may be, it is an unquestioned and unquestionable fact that men suffer for righteousness" sake. It was so from Daniel to Peter, from Moses to Paul. If you would follow the Church"s history," it has been too truly said, "it is by the track of her blood.
II THE INSPIRED DIRECTION FOR MEN IN SUCH WRONGFUL SUFFERING. "Fear not their fear;" that is, the fear their threats seek to awaken. "Sanctify in your hearts Christ as Lord;" give him the shrine of worship. "Ready always to give a reason." Be, in Newman"s sense, ready with an "apologia." "Having a good conscience;" that is, one keenly alive and free from reproach. "That they may put to shame them that revile." Wear the silver shield of innocent lives, so be "defenders of the faith.
III THE LOFTY PRIVILEGE OF THOSE WHO SUFFER FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS" SAKE. "Blessed are ye." Here, again, as often in this Epistle, is an echo of the sermon on the mount. All the Beatitudes pledge you blessing. "Better, if the will of God should so will, suffer for well-doing," etc. God wills suffering. God wills suffering for well-doing. But there is no element of reproach in that, not to say of remorse. Suffering is of service, and it is "better" the suffering (which all need) should not come from our sin. "For Christ also suffered for sins, the Righteous for the unrighteous." Fellowship with him is ensured.
IV THE IMPOSSIBILITY OF MEN WHO SUFFER IN THIS SPIRIT BEING REALLY INJURED. "And who is he that can harm you?" Canon Mason says this form of inquiry, beginning "and," has always in it a ring of scornful assurance. Here is the "charm" for Christians to wear a good conscience." Then to all wrongful treatment of malign men you can say,
Strike! you cannot harm. Strike! you may embarrass my circumstances, undermine my health, maim my limbs, rob me of reputation, take away my life; but strike! you cannot harm me. Such a man Can the darkening universe defy To quench his immortality, Or shake his faith in God.
U.R.T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain And who is he that will harm you?
1Pe_3:13
And who is he that will harm you?
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The harmed and the unhatched
The primary sense of these words is this: A mans best safeguard is benevolence; if we are ourselves inoffensive in our behaviour, others will be less likely to injure us; in proportion as we are anxious to do good, we shall be less likely to suffer evil. It is true, indeed, that the main scope of the argument is to show the manifold blessings which even in this world attend on the righteous. We are taught that he who will love life, and see good days, is to refrain his tongue from evil, etc. We are taught to eschew evil and do good: to seek peace and ensue it. And why? Because Gods favour is thus secured to us, and mans enmity in a great measure disarmed. For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, etc. The believers were to suffer; but they could take no harm. Who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? Wonderful question! in its very calmness and simplicity. Who shall harm you? What, when the whole world was leagued in a malignant confederacy against them! Who shall harm you? What, when there was everything to harm them! Ignominy, torture, famine, the sword, dishonoured life or violent death. Neither, again, did they affect insensibility under their sufferings. How, then, were they sustained? They were sustained by Gods holy Spirit, and by a reliance on their Masters infallible promises, and by an undoubting confidence in the life to come. Such is the application of the text with reference to the time at which it was written, and the circumstances of the first promulgators of the blessed gospel of Christ Jesus. With respect, again, to ourselves, it is far more directly true that no one will harm us, if we be followers of that which is good. I do not mean that there no longer remains any opposition whatever between the spirit of Christianity and the spirit of the world. But I believe that these adversaries, be they who they may, will not be able to do him any essential injury. I believe, also, that a steady and consistent godliness will go far ultimately to convert enemies into approvers, and rob all opposition of its sting. But, again, if we may trace an intimate connection between holiness and happiness, between physical and spiritual advantage-not invariably, perhaps, as to outward circumstances, because such a law, if altogether universal, might foster mistaken notions of Gods providence, while it would be incompatible with a state of probation-the converse proposition, or the inseparable union of vice and wretchedness, of impiety and fatal damage both to body and soul, must be still more obvious to every man. We might well alter the text, and ask, Who is he that can do us any benefit, if we be not followers of that which is good? If you are followers of that which is evil, you harm yourselves to the uttermost, and render even your temporal felicity an impossible thing. You may possess all the elements of felicity; but you so vitiate them that they become powerful only for your destruction. The noblest gifts of nature and of fortune you turn absolutely into curses for yourselves. For, take any endowment which Gods loving kindness may bestow, and see what becomes of it in the hands of the wicked. Is it health, and a vigorous constitution, and the prospect of long life? These advantages are transmuted into instruments of perdition, by inducing a more entire neglect of the concerns of eternity. Is it strength of will, energy, and decision of character? That decision only plunges men into crime with a more headlong zeal, with a more desperate recklessness. Is it acuteness of perception and an abundant measure of intellectual capacity? Alas, this superiority of understanding serves to make men more subtle in confounding truth and falsehood, in perverting right and wrong, in beguiling and destroying themselves with their own frightful sophistries. Is it beauty of person? Yet, ah! who has not had opportunity of seeing that personal beauty without religious principle is the most dreadful of all snares, the most terribly fatal of all possessions? Is it wealth, and station, and influence? Yet these things without holiness only enable men to spread mischief and profligacy around them, and dig for their own souls a deeper place in the pit of hell. The scorpion lash is made of our own vices. That which harms us is sin; they who harm us are those who would debauch our principles, and corrupt our moral feelings, and teach us to take right for wrong and wrong for right, good for evil and evil for good. Finally, then, as to all others, if you pretend to care for the happiness of mankind, labour strenuously for their spiritual improvement. As to your family and those about you, aim not so much to make them clever or accomplished, as to make them religious and upright. (J. S. Boone, M. A.)
The safety of the righteous man from injury and harm
I. The following of that which is good is the ready way to preserve us from violence and hurt, because this inoffensive and religious deportment commands the respect and love of those who are not enemies to piety and virtue.
II. The following of that which is good, the habitual practice of religion and charity, will shelter us against harm and wrong, because it entitles to those promises, whereby God has assured His servants, that so far as shall be suitable to His glorious designs in governing the world, and gracious purposes towards them, He will protect them against the malice of those who intend or attempt their hurt (2Ch_16:9; Psa_91:1-4; Psa_121:5-7; Isa_25:1; Isa_52:4; Isa_54:14; Isa_45:17; Pro_16:7).
1. God sometimes accomplishes His promises of protection to His servants by changing the hearts and dispositions of their bitterest enemies, so that they become favourers and friends (Pro_21:1). Esau (Gen_32:7; Gen_32:11); Egyptians (Exo_11:3).
2. God preserves the honest followers of that which is good from harm, by so chaining up and overawing the malice of their enemies, that however their inward hatred remain, yet they do not manifest it by outward injuries (Gen_31:42; Exo_34:24).
3. As the enemies of the righteous are often constrained to conceal their malice; so, when God thinks it fit to interpose His power, He screens the righteous from the most furious assaults of their open hatred and wrath, Red Sea; Saul and David; Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; Mordecai.
III. The following of that which is good, though it does not always mollify the hearers, nor manacle the hands of men, yet it does that which is much better, viz., it turns the greatest injuries of their most deadly enemies to their profit and advantage. This effect it produces sometimes in their temporal, but always in their spiritual and eternal interests (Rom_8:28). Conclusion:
1. We are informed from the truth already cleared, of the most certain, the most innocent method of securing ourselves and our interests against oppression and wrong, viz., the sincere following of that which is good (Isa_32:17; Isa_23:18; Isa_33:16; Pro_18:10).
2. Seeing God has taken the followers of that which is good under His protection, this should fill their hearts with joy and courage, and banish from them sinful and disquieting sadness and fear, even when their enemies are most powerful (Isa_26:1; Psa_5:11-12; Psa_27:1-3).
3. The consolation which this doctrine yields to the sincerely good is much enhanced while he considers that the greatest injuries are turned by the sovereign providence and grace of God to their benefit, sometimes in their temporal, and always in their spiritual and eternal interests.
4. Since the safety of our persons and interests from oppression lies chiefly in the following of that which is good, it should endear unto us religion and virtue, and powerfully dissuade us from ungodliness and vice.
5. Since the harming of those who are the followers of that which is good is so unreasonable in itself, and such a perfect contradiction unto God, who is the great Patron of holiness, this should make men both ashamed and afraid to be guilty thereof.
6. Though they who, after serious examination of their ways, see their own uprightness, need not suspect the same because of those evils they meet with from the world, yet persecution, as all other afflictions do, fairly invites us to search and try our heart and behaviour, that so we may know, whether or not by our turning aside from that which is good, we have provoked God to expose us to the spite and violence of men. (David Ranken.)
The godly protected
It may justly be asked whether this is consistent either with experience or with other passages of Scripture, seeing that piety appears to have practically no power in subduing enmity or destroying its injuriousness. We cannot deny that in a great variety of cases, religion, so far from disarming hostility and securing goodwill, exposes a man to insult and persecution. The man may not be altogether a follower of that which is good; there is much even in the best which requires to be amended, and which must be disapproved of by a heart-searching God. Now you will have gathered from these observations, with regard to the apparent non-fulfilment of the promise of our text, that it is attributable to a defective performance. In the question before us St. Peter unequivocally intimates that where such is the experience there must have been some deviation from the strict path of duty. And we would therefore contend for the literal truth of the words of our text, notwithstanding all which may elsewhere be said of the persecutions attendant on righteousness. And first we observe, that it is in the power of God, without visible interference with the fixed order of things, to bring about such results as seem good to His wisdom. It is not needful that He should suspend any known laws or work by any strange processes. He can effect whatsoever He wishes to accomplish by touching some secret spring, or putting some hidden force into action, while all along there shall be nothing apparent but the ordinary operations of effects and causes. This may be specially true with regard to the human heart; on which, beyond all doubt, God can mysteriously work, and yet give no outward signs of supernatural agency. If God have the human heart thus entirely at His disposal, He may evidently cause it to lay aside lust, and may turn its affections into a different channel, without anything of violence, and without open restraint to its designs and its desires. The wicked man may not be converted to righteousness; there may not pass on him that great spiritual change which would necessarily lead him to give friendship where before he had given hatred; and nevertheless there may be a soothing of the irritated feelings, a dethronement of his anger, and even a substitution of something like favour for dislike, of which perhaps he cannot himself give account. The cases are far from uncommon, in which God thus secretly diverts or disarms enmity. It is just the same with countries or communities as with individuals. In the case of the Israelites, their history is little more than a practical demonstration of the truth of our text. At any point of their history, if you find the nation endangered by enemies, you infer at once that there has been disobedience and idolatry; whilst, on the other hand, if you find them living in conformity with Gods laws, you may conclude, without further examination, that the national condition was prosperous and flourishing. We would not indeed overlook the peculiarities of the Jewish Dispensation; therefore we do not take what happened to the Israelites as precisely the model of what may be expected by ourselves. But we know that God acts on general principles, and we therefore believe that the high road to national prosperity, under one dispensation, must, in the main, be also the high road to it under any other. Let the laws of a nation be laws framed in the spirit of the Bible; laws which discountenance vice in its every form and patronise piety; let the upholding of Christianity be proposed by rulers and pursued by people as the great end to which all others should be postponed; let there be at all times a public recognition of the supremacy of God, and the paramount importance of obedience to His statutes, and of His inalienable right to the homage, the love, and the services of His creatures, and we may affirm of this nation that it is a follower of that which is good, just as might anyone be a follower who is adorning in all things the doctrines of the Saviour. Yea, and if a nation did this, we believe that it would as much insure itself prosperity as did the Jews when obeying the laws which were given to them by Moses. May it not be that the enmity of the world is allowed to injure and harm the righteous man, just because he has been remiss in the duties of righteousness; because there has been some portion of conformity to the present evil world, or some undue attachment to a perishable good? And let it, too, be learned, from the words under review, that there cannot be a greater delusion than the thinking to produce or preserve peace with men by means which must hazard the favour of God. Think not to avert danger except by braving it. Do all you can to please men, except by displeasing God. And be sure that the attempt to secure human favour at the expense of Divine will always issue in the loss of both. The traitor to his God becomes, sooner or later, the scorn of his fellow men. Remember, for your consolation, that in this, as in every other respect, God hath made your interest at one with your duty, so that Divine favour shall be the best security for human. And there are more hurtful enemies than angry relations and unprincipled opponents. A mans foes may be those of his own household-ay! of his own heart-the lusts, the passions, the desires of corrupt nature. These are the enemies with which the Christian has the hardest struggle, and through which he is exposed to the greatest danger. But if he be a follower of that which is good; if he be sincere in his wishes and earnest in his efforts to be holy even as God is holy, he will gradually be enabled to keep those enemies in check, and find that grace has the mastery of nature. Those who speak most of the strength of their passions are often those who take least pains to resist them. In fact they make that strength an excuse for submission, whereas God would put bands on that strength if they were honest and desired to overcome. There approaches another enemy-one emphatically described as the last enemy-death. Can this enemy be stayed from doing harm to the Christian? Why, it is beautiful to observe how Christians, who have felt a dread of death, have found their anxiety depart as the foe drew nigh. They have been followers of that which is good, striving to cast all their care upon God, believing that He careth for them. Therefore, as death approached it appeared less harmful, and they who feared him most, but whom the fear only made more fervent in prayer, are enabled to look him calmly in the face, and even cheerfully resign themselves to his embrace as to that of a friend. (H. Melvill, B. D.)
The advantage of imitating the good
There is something in a meek and holy carriage that is apt, in part, to free a man from many mischiefs which the ungodly are exposed to. It will be somewhat strange to rage against the innocent.
I. The carriage, followers of that which is good; the Greek word is imitators. The Word of God contains our copy in its perfection, and so the imitation of good, in the complete rule of it, is the regulating of our ways by the word. But even there we find, besides general rules, the particular tracks of life of divers eminently holy persons, that we may know holiness not to be an idle imaginary thing, but that men have really been holy; though not altogether sinless, yet holy and spiritual in some good measure; have shined as lights amidst a perverse generation. Why may we not then aspire to be holy as they were, and attain to it? Would you advance in all grace? Study Christ much, and you will find not only the pattern in Him, but strength and skill from Him to follow it.
II. The advantage, Who is he that will harm you? In the life of a godly man, taken together in the whole frame of it, there is a grave beauty or comeliness, which oftentimes forces some kind of reverence and respect to it even in ungodly minds. Though a natural man cannot love them spiritually, as graces of the Spirit of God, yet he may have and usually hath a natural esteem of some kind of virtues which are in a Christian, and are not, in their right nature, to be found in any other, though a moralist may have somewhat like them. Meekness, and patience, and charity, and fidelity-these and other suchlike graces do make a Christian life so inoffensive and calm, that, except where the matter of their God or religion is made the crime, malice itself can scarcely tell where to fasten its teeth or lay its hold; it hath nothing to pull by, though it would; yea, oftentimes, for want of work or occasions, it will fall asleep for a while. Whereas ungodliness and iniquity, sometimes by breaking out into notorious crimes, draws out the sword of civil justice, and where it rises not so high, yet it involves men in frequent contentions and quarrels. (Abp. Leighton.)
Doing good, as security against injuries from men
I. The qualification supposed is, that we be followers of that which is good. But what is that? The apostle does not go about to define it, but appeals to every mans conscience to tell him what it is. It is not anything that is controverted, which some men call good and others evil, but that which is universally approved by heathens as well as Christians, that which is substantially good, and that which is unquestionably so. It is not zeal for lesser things, about the ritual and ceremonial part of religion, and a great strictness about the external parts of it, but a pursuit of the weightier things of the law, a care of the great duties of religion, mercy, and justice, and fidelity; those things wherein the kingdom of God consists-righteousness and peace.
II. The benefit and advantage which may reasonably be expected from it, and that is, security from the injuries of men: Who is he that will harm you? etc. The apostle doth not absolutely say none will do it, but he speaks of it as a thing so very unreasonable and so unlikely that it will not often happen. And this will appear-
1. If we consider the nature of virtue and goodness, which is apt to gain upon the affections of men, and secretly to win their love and esteem. True goodness is inwardly esteemed by bad men; it carries an awe and majesty with it, so that bad men are very often restrained from harming the good by that secret reverence which they bear to goodness.
2. If we consider the nature of man, even when it is very much depraved and corrupted. There is something that is apt to restrain bad men from injuring those that are remarkably good-a reverence for goodness, the fear of God, and of bringing down His vengeance upon their heads; and many times the fear of men, who, though they be not good themselves, cannot endure to see them oppressed, especially if they have found the real effects of their goodness in good offices done by them to themselves.
3. If we consider the providence of God, which is particularly concerned for the protection of innocency and goodness.
III. And yet we are not to understand this saying of the apostle, as declaring to us the constant and certain event of things without any exception. For good men are sometimes exposed to great injuries of which I shall give you an account in these following particulars-
1. Sonic that seem to be good are not sincerely so, and when they, by the just judgment of God, are punished for their hypocrisy, in the opinion of many goodness seems to suffer.
2. Some that are really good are very imperfectly so, have many flaws which do very much obscure their goodness; they are followers of that which is good, but they have an equal zeal for things which have no goodness in them, or so little that it is not worth all that bustle which they make about them, and will contend as earnestly for a doubtful opinion as for the articles of the faith which was once delivered to the saints, and will oppose a little ceremony with as much heat as the greatest immorality. In these cases it is not mens goodness which raiseth enmity against them, but their imprudent zeal and other infirmities which attend it.
3. The enmity of some men against goodness is so violent and implacable that no innocency can restrain their malice. Against these the providence of God is our best safeguard.
4. The last and chief exception is that of the cross, when the sufferings and persecutions of good men are necessary for the great ends of Gods glory, for the advancement of religion, and the example and salvation of others. (Abp. Tillotson.)
The practice of virtue the greatest security against our enemies
I. If a man be a follower of that which is good, tis probable no man will have any desire to harm him.
II. If we be followers of that which is good, tis certain no man, whatever his will be, shall have any power to do us any real harm.
1. The providence of God does in a peculiar manner watch over the righteous, to preserve them under all events.
2. The enemies of a righteous man cannot do him any real harm, because they cannot take from him anything wherein his true and proper happiness consists.
3. Whatever loss a good man sustains in the world upon the account of his concern for truth and virtue, shall be abundantly made good to him in that which is to come; and consequently tis so far from doing any real harm, that it ought rather to be accounted a gain than a loss. (S. Clarke, D. D.)
The protection of God
So long ago as the time of William Penn the efficacy of arbitration was demon strafed. He proposed to come to America without any weapons, and treat with the worst savages. Charles
II. scoffed at him and said, What: venture yourselves among the savages of North America! Why, man, what security have you that you will not be in their war kettle within two hours after setting your foot on their shores? The best security in the world, said William Penn. I doubt that, friend William, said the king. I have no idea of any security against these American cannibals but a regiment of good soldiers with their bayonets and muskets: and I tell you beforehand, with all my goodwill for you and your family, to whom I am under obligations, I will not send a single soldier with you. I want none of your soldiers, said William Penn. I depend upon something better. On what? asked the king. William Penn answered, On the Indians themselves, and their moral sense, and the protection of the Almighty God. And it is a fact in American history that for seventy years the red men kept that treaty, and it was not broken until the white men broke it.
Good still left unharmed
I have fallen into the hands of the publicans and sequestrators, and they have taken all from me. What now? let me look about me. They have left me the sun and moon, fire and water, a loving wife, and many friends to pity me, and some to relieve me, and I can still discourse; and, unless I list, they have not taken away my merry countenance, and my cheerful spirit, and a good conscience: they still have left me the providence of God, and all the promises of the gospel, and my religion, and my hopes of heaven, and my charity to them too: and still I sleep and digest; I eat and drink; I read and meditate; I can walk in my neighbours pleasant fields, and see the varieties of natural beauties, and delight in all that in which God delights, that is, in virtue and wisdom, in the whole creation, and in God Himself. (Bp. Jeremy Taylor.)
Followers of that which is good.-
Personal goodness
I. Its prospectiveness.
1. A desire for future good.
2. An expectation of future good.
II. Its sociality. It has a community of-
1. Paramount interest.
2. Leading aims.
III. Its reasonableness.
1. Our nature was made for goodness.
2. Christ came into the world to give us goodness.
3. God works to make us good.
4. The great struggle of our nature is to be good.
IV. Its reverence. Genuine religion is modest, devout, meek. (Homilist.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 13–17. Who is he that will harm you? If…
13–17. Who is he that will harm you? If you are zealous for good who can inflict real harm upon you? God is with you.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
William B. Godbey 1900 · Public Domain If you are a Christian you have Christ in…
ARGUMENT 15
SANCTIFY THE LORD CHRIST IN YOUR HEARTS
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If you are a Christian you have Christ in your heart. If you are not sanctified wholly, you have others there who rival and antagonize Him. This is your shame and His grief. It is your glorious privilege and inalienable duty to put everything out except Jesus and have him to reign in your heart without a rival. To sanctify means to purify. A purification is always effected by elimination. When you sanctify your growing crop, you take out all the weeds, brambles and filth, leaving the crop to encumber the ground alone.
13. “Who is he who shall harm you if you may be zealous of good?” The Greek word zeelootes, “zealot,” means a red-hot enthusiast. You need never fear Holy Ghost fire. Keep all you have and take all you can get.
15. “Always ready for an apology to every one asking you a reason for the hope that is within you, but with meekness and fear.” You see from this Scripture that we are always to have our testimony at tongue’s end, ever ready to give our experience and corroborate it by the Word of God. However, our promptitude and fidelity in testimony should ever be adorned with the beautiful grace of Christian meekness, i.e., perfect humility, and accompanied by becoming reverence for Him whose cause we are permitted in our weakness and ignorance to represent. We should be careful to keep self out of sight in our testimony, lest the enemy revive the old self life, zealously rendering prominent the Giver of our experience and conferring all possible honor on His blessed name.
16. “Having a good conscience in order that whatsoever you are calumniated those traducing your good deportment in Christ may be ashamed.” Amid all the vilifications, abuses and persecutions, which our enemies can heap on us, we may rest assured that God will bring glory and victory out of all.
William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain The Christians as followers and defenders of good:
The Christians as followers and defenders of good:
v. 13. And who is he that will harm you if ye be followers of that which is good?
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v. 14. But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye; and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled,
v. 15. but sanctify the Lord God in your hearts; and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear;
v. 16. having a good conscience, that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evil-doers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.
The Christians may sometimes have to bear evil for a season, but in reality all things work together for good to them: Who will do you wrong if you are zealous for that which is good? If the Christians at all times are zealous for that which is right and good, if they have a veritable passion for that which has the approval of the Lord, then nothing can really work lasting harm in their case, for they are under God’s care and protection. The only things which really will hurt us, in time and in eternity, are disobedience, deviation from God’s Word. But no enemy can take away from us the true, eternal blessings: God’s grace and mercy, forgiveness of sins, righteousness, peace with God, joy in the Holy Ghost.
And should God permit some evil to strike us, the apostle again has a word of comfort: And even if you should suffer on account of righteousness, yet you are blessed. That is true enough, he means to say, it does happen that the malice of your enemies will reach a point where the very fact of your leading a blameless life will act as a spur to their hostile attitude, increase their bitterness, and make them all the more determined to harm you, to cause you suffering. But what of that? In the very midst of such sufferings the Christians are to be congratulated, for the blessing of the Lord rests upon them, and they are truly happy, Mat 5:10-11. It follows, then: But their fear do not fear, neither be disturbed; but the Lord Christ sanctify in your hearts, always ready with a reply to everyone who demands an account of you concerning the hope which is in you. It appears throughout the discussion that the conduct of the Christians in persecutions is not a matter of indifference, but is carefully regulated by the will of the Lord. This the apostle shows in a passage from the Old Testament, Isa 8:12-13. The enemies of Christ and of the believers will often resort to threats, in order to create fear in the hearts of the Christians, backing them up by such acts of meanness as to make life almost unbearable in certain instances. And yet the Christians should not let themselves be disturbed or filled with fear. It is true, their enemies can do much harm, they can even, with God’s permission, take the life of the believers, Mat 10:28, but they must fall back in helpless anger before their inability to harm the soul, so long as the Christians cling to their allegiance, so long as they sanctify, hallow, Christ in their hearts as their Lord and Master, put their trust in Him and wait for Him to repay at His time. In the meantime they will also not overlook the necessity of confessing their Lord, of being ready with a proper reply for any one that may demand an account of them concerning the hope of their faith. This does not mean that every frivolous scoffer may make the Christians the butt of his untimely jokes; for that would be throwing pearls before the swine. What the Lord wants us to do is to be ready with an exposition of our hope of salvation and particularly of our expectation of the second coming of Christ in the case of every person that shows a real interest in the Christian doctrine as we profess it. Whether this be a genuine searching for the truth or a mere curiosity, it may pave the way for a proclamation of the Gospel that may save a soul. Such a testimony concerning Christ, as the apostle writes, must always be made in meekness and in fear. All personal bitterness must be put aside, a holy reverence for the Word of God must fill the heart, for it is the honor of the Lord which is at stake.
There is one more factor that must not be missing at the time when such a confession is made: Having a good conscience, so that, in their very slander of you as of evil-doers, those that slander your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. Christians that are obliged to rise in defense of the Christian truths have particular need of being careful in their entire conduct, lest there be something in their life which will give their opponents a reason to scorn all instruction which they might be able to give. So clean, so beyond reproach the lives of the believers should be at all times that such as still presume to speak evil of them will find themselves without foundation for their statements and will thus heap shame and disgrace upon themselves, a fact which may again result to the advantage of the Christian religion.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Connecting Statement:
Connecting Statement:
Peter continues teaching the believers how to live Christian lives.
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Who is the one who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good?
Peter asks this question to emphasize that it is unlikely that someone would harm them if they do good things. AT: "No one will harm you if you do good things." (See: Rhetorical Question)
suffer because of righteousness
You can translate this with a verbal phrase. AT: "suffer because you do what is right" (See: Abstract Nouns)
you are blessed
This can be stated in active form. AT: "God will bless you" (See: Active or Passive)
Do not fear what they fear. Do not be troubled
These two phrases share similar meanings and emphasize that believers should not be afraid of those who persecute them. AT: "Do not be afraid of what people might do to you" (See: Parallelism)
what they fear
Here the word "they" refers to anyone who might try to harm those to whom Peter is writing.
translationWords
good
suffer
righteous
bless
fear
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 3:13-17 This short paragraph emphasizes the Christian response to…
3:13-17 This short paragraph emphasizes the Christian response to suffering—following Christ’s example (3:18).
3:13 Generally speaking, no one will want to harm someone who is doing good, but sometimes Christians do suffer even when they do good (3:14; see 1:6; 4:12-19).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.