How to Retaliate Like Jesus | 1 Peter 3:8-17
Series: A Living Hope in a Dying World
Title: How to retaliate like Jesus
Scripture: 1 Peter 3:8-17 NIV
John 14:6
1 Peter 2:2-3
James 1:2-4
Matthew 5:11-12
1 Peter 3:18
Bottom line: Jesus calls us to retaliate with blessing.
SERMON OUTLINE
NOTES
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
OUTLINES
MAIN REFERENCES USED
SERMON OUTLINE
Introduction
An arm of our Milky Way Galaxy over the La Silla Observatory in northern Chile. The terms Milky Way and galaxy come from the Latin via lactea, or "the road of milk," derivative of the more ancient Greek term galaxias kyklos, or "milky circle." A luminou reminder that Jesus is "the Way" and His Word is like pure milk (John 14:6; 1 Peter 2:2-3)
In 1807, John Newton, best known as composer of the hymn ‘Amazing Grace’, encapsulated the amazing grace of God in some of his last words as he lay dying. He declared: ‘I am a great sinner but Christ is a great Saviour.’
Jesus was insulted, persecuted and slandered by his enemies.
How did Jesus retaliate?
He didn’t. Per ChatGPT: “No, Jesus is often portrayed as teaching non-retaliation and forgiveness. In the biblical narrative, particularly in the New Testament, Jesus is characterized as promoting love for enemies and responding to hostility with patience and compassion. The idea is rooted in teachings such as "turn the other cheek" and "love your enemies," emphasizing a non-retaliatory and forgiving approach.”
Retaliation refers to the act of responding to an injury or harm with a corresponding injury or harm. It often involves seeking revenge or reprisal against someone who has wronged or harmed you.
When I googled questions people are asking about retaliation, I learned at least 2 things:
People don’t know what the word means. (They’re asking a lot)
People are asking a lot about retaliation as it relates to the work place.
How did Jesus retaliate?
He retaliated the opposite to how the world retaliates:
He forgave.
He turned the other cheek.
He blessed responding to evil with good.
Let’s look at the passage in detail and see all that Jesus had to say about how to live out our living hope in this dying world that tempts us to retaliate with evil.
Outline (based on the Outline Bible)
1 PETER 3—Peter talks about appropriate conduct for believers in light of what Christ has done for us.
LAST WEEK
I. THE CONDUCT OF BELIEVERS (3:1-17)
A. Responsibilities of wives (3:1-6)
1. Peter's exhortation (3:1-5)
a. Concerning their behavior (3:1-2): Wives should depend upon their lives more than their lips in witnessing to unsaved husbands.
b. Concerning their beauty (3:3-5): Inner beauty is far more important than outer beauty.
2. Peter's example (36): He uses Sarah of the Old Testament as a role model.
B. Responsibilities of husbands (3:7)
1. What they are to do (3:7a): Husbands must be considerate of their wives and respect them.
2. Why they are to do it (3:7b): If they fail here, their prayers will not be answered.
THIS WEEK
C. Responsibilities of all (3:8-17)
1. Live in loving harmony (3:8).
2. Reward both good and evil with good (3:9-14).
3. Worship Christ as Lord, and always be ready to explain your faith (3:15).
4. Be ready to defend your faith (3:16-17).
Conclusion
Bottom Line:
Q. What do I want them to know?
A. How God expects you to live as a Christian tempted by retaliation.
Q. Why do I want them to know it?
A. Because Christ Jesus died so that you could respond to injustice as Jesus did.
Q. What do I want them to do about it?
A. Respond to insult, persecution and slander with blessing.
Q. Why do I want them to do it?
A. Because he commands it, models it, and empowers us to do it.
Q. How can they begin to do this?
A. 1. Trust Christ Jesus today. Repent and believe.
Forgive those who’ve wronged you.
Apologize to those you’ve wronged. Make things right as much as possible.
Live a holy, good, life blessing others as you’ve been blessed. Return good for good and for evil.
Embrace the unjust, undeserved suffering that comes your way.
Do life with followers of Jesus Christ as described in v. 8-12.
Be prepared to answer.
Read your bible every day. Pray about what you read. Obey what you read.
LOL: Listen, Obey, Lead others to do the same; SOAP.
Pray
NOTES
“After a particular Sunday morning worship service, a member of St. Andrew’s greeted me. When he shook my hand, he held on and said, “Pastor, my daughter is in the Air Force, and she is being deployed to the Middle East.” He began to tremble, and tears rolled down his cheeks. It was a poignant moment. I sensed the fear and concern he had for his daughter. He was expressing what every parent feels when a son or daughter is called into the midst of warfare. He said to me, “Please pray for my daughter,” and I said, “Yes, of course.” At St. Andrew’s, we have lists of people for whom we regularly pray, but this particular encounter was so urgent that I could not go to sleep that week without first pleading for his daughter before the Lord. It weighed on me because he had communicated the intensity of his feelings.To have sympathy is pathos, or passion that is shared”
Excerpt From
1-2 Peter - An Expositional Commentary
R.C. Sproul
This material may be protected by copyright.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Discovery Bible Study process:
Retell the story in your own words.
Discovery the story
What does this story tell me about God?
What does this story tell me about people?
If this is really God’s word, what changes would I have to make in my life?
Who am I going to tell about this?
Final Questions (optional or in place of above)
What is God saying to you right now?
What are you going to do about it?
Find our sermons, podcasts, discussion questions and notes at https://www.gracetoday.net/podcast
OUTLINES
OUTLINE Bible 1 PETER 3—Peter talks about appropriate conduct for believers in light of what Christ has done for us.
I. THE CONDUCT OF BELIEVERS (3:1-17)
A. Responsibilities of wives (3:1-6) LAST WEEK
1. Peter's exhortation (3:1-5)
a. Concerning their behavior (3:1-2): Wives should depend upon their lives more than their lips in witnessing to unsaved husbands.
b. Concerning their beauty (3:3-5): Inner beauty is far more important than outer beauty.
2. Peter's example (36): He uses Sarah of the Old Testament as a role model.
B. Responsibilities of husbands (3:7)
1. What they are to do (3:7a): Husbands must be considerate of their wives and respect them.
2. Why they are to do it (3:7b): If they fail here, their prayers will not be answered.
C. Responsibilities of all (3:8-17) THIS WEEK
1. Live in loving harmony (3:8).
2. Reward both good and evil with good (3:9-14).
3. Worship Christ as Lord, and always be ready to explain your faith (3:15).
4. Be ready to defend your faith (3:16-17).
NEXT WEEK
II. THE CHRIST OF BELIEVERS (3:18-22): Peter describes a fourfold ministry accomplished by the Savior.
A. His death (3:18)
1. The permanence (3:18a): He died for our sins once and for all.
2. The purpose (3:18b): He died to reconcile sinners to God.
B. His journey to the spirit world (3:19-20)
1. The transgression (3:19): Jesus preached against the sins of these evil spirits.
2. The time (3:20): They committed their wickedness in the days of Noah.
C. His resurrection (3:21)
1. The salvation (3:21 a): Jesus' resurrection guarantees our redemption.
2. The symbol (3:21b): Water baptism.
D. His ascension and exaltation (3:22)
Clowney’s Outline
7. The blessing of living with Christian suffering (1 Peter 3:8-22)
Response to suffering in a life of blessing (3:8-12)
Called to a life of blessing
Called to bless in response to cursing
Called to bless as heirs of blessing
The blessed witness of suffering fro righteousness (3:13-22)
The opportunity for witness in word (3:13-15)
The opportunity for witness in life (3:16-17)
The victory of Christ’s suffering (3:18-22)
Helms’ Outline
Encouragement to Continue
I. The Need for Encouragement (1 Peter 3:8-17)
A. The Encouraging Phrase: Called to be a blessing
B. The Ideal Biblical Reference: Psalm 34
C. The Precise Words: Fear and Blessing
Fear
Blessing
II. Encouragement in Christ’s Victory (1 Peter 3:18-22)
A. Detectives in search of meaning
B. More clues from the surrounding context
A particular word: Subject
A special relationship: Jesus
An encouraging conclusion to our pursuit
MAIN REFERENCES USED
“1 - 2 Peter and Jude,” by David Helm, Preaching the Word Commentary, Edited by Kent Hughes
“1 & 2 Peter ” by RC Sproul
“1 & 2 Peter and Jude” by Thomas Schreiner
“The Message of 1 Peter” by Edmund Clowney
“Look at the Book” by John Piper
“The Visual Word,” Patrick Schreiner
“1 Peter: A living hope in Christ”, Jen Wilkin Bible study
“The Bible Knowledge Commentary” by Walvoord, Zuck (BKC)
“The Bible Exposition Commentary” by Warren Wiersbe (BEC)
Outline Bible, D Willmington
NIV Study Bible (NIVSB) https://www.biblica.com/resources/scholar-notes/niv-study-bible/
ESV Study Bible (ESVSB) https://www.esv.org
“The Bible in One Year 2023 with Nicky Gumbel” bible reading plan on YouVersion app
ChatGPT https://openai.com/blog/chatgpt