1 Peter 3:8-17 A Family Resemblance

Peter moves from talking about people in very particular circumstances, servants, husbands, wives, authorities, back to talking about all believers generally. Peter is teaching us how people saved by Christ ought to resemble Christ. This affects both how we treat people within the Church and the way we answer questions about our Faith to the world.

1 Peter 3:8-17 [8] Finally, all of you, have unity of mind [spirit], sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart [compassionate], and a humble mind. [9] Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. [10] For

“Whoever desires to love life

and see good days,

let him keep his tongue from evil

and his lips from speaking deceit;

[11] let him turn away from evil and do good;

let him seek peace and pursue it.

[12] For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,

and his ears are open to their prayer.

But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

1. Family Traits: resembling Christ (v. 8-12)

2. The Heart that cannot be Harmed: Shielded by a Holy Hope (v.13-17).

How do you know someone is part of a family?

Family Traits, may be physical traits, habits, attitudes, or accents. Some traits we are born with, any parents frequently answer oh they were born loving music, or quiet, or whatever personality givens the Lord shaped them to have. But other like what genre you listen to are often inherited from a parent. SO certainly we all are a combination of how God created us, and yes are fallenness, given sin struggles, we are family patterns, and habits, but at the end of the day usually there are traits that set us apart as a member of a family, or as is sometimes the case, a member of a region of the country…A particular sub-culture.

vv. 8-12 Says there are Family Traits for those who belong to the Kingdom of God. The Family of Christ, to the Church. Let’s unpack positively what those are and negatively what those are NOT in vv. 8-12. Together these traits will be key to fulfill our call to a life of blessing others.

Look in v. 8. 5 Traits that form A United and Humble Mind that has + Sympathy, love, tenderness, and humility (v.8)

A united humble mind -is lowering ourselves off our high pedestal. Philippians says this is a willingness to consider others before yourself. This is the mind of Christ that unites us in the Holy Spirit. And 1 Cor. 2:16 promises that We HAVE the mind of Christ.

We are humble because Christ was humble. We love because God first loved us, we offer sympathy and tenderness because that is our God and that is Christ’s response to both sufferers, sinners, and his disciples.

We have A sympathetic tenderness. We care when brothers and sisters suffer. We feel for and are responsive to others sufferings..

Now, this is not simply empathy that is willing to abandon all conviction, and be easily manipulated by the squeaky wheel. This isn’t consensus community where we only do something if everyone feels good about it. Christians can and must act with conviction, flowing from the authoritative and sufficient word of God.

And given how opposed Christian morals are to society, occasionally our stance must cause discomfort. In others. We must be willing to cross “the pain threshold of societal shame, the being unashamed of the gospel, unashamed of christ, and unashamed of the bibles teaching.

All communities have guidelines for what sympathy is beneficial and what sympathy is nursing harmful sin patterns.

So sympathy towards suffering. Sympathy towards the suffering caused by sin, but not sympathy that shelters sin. we do not harbor sin in our sympathy.

In general, there is a willingness to as Peter David’s says, “to care deeply about fellow-Christians so that the suffering of one becomes the suffering of the other. Christians are emotionally involved with each other.”

Even if emotions shouldn’t be the deciding driver. Sympathy is in the context of unity of mind and love. But not just any love this actually isn’t agape love. It is Philadelphia love. Not the city. But as its named the city of brotherly love aspirationally. With brotherly love, we can say “seeks the others highest good ultimately.”But there is true and warm-affection

I use the word affection sometimes to say like a warm emotion, but more permanent and less fleeting.

affection is a permanent bent of the mind, formed by the presence of an object. a settled good will, love or zealous attachment; as, the affection of a parent for his child. – Webster 1828

Dan Doriani helpfully says of this love that. Romans 12:10