1 Peter 3:13-22

13 Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good?14 But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.” 15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. 17 For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. 18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. 19 After being made alive, he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits—20 to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were savedthrough water, 21 and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.

Peter starts with the call to live life sold out for the Savior, by calling us to a life of worship not worry. Worship has to do with worth ship, How do you know what you are sold out for, where do you spend your time, talents and treasures?  Living your life sold out for the Savior means sharing and showing salvation. It’s here that Peter calls us to be a witness in both our words and our walk.

1. Share the Story

When it comes to sharing the story we have to:

• Speak about Sin

Which is a challenge in a culture that wants to call sin a choice. Today we live in a society that wants to skip over sin, rather than deal with rebellion we just reframe and rename it.

Do you know what a “euphemism” is? It comes from a Greek word which means “good speech.” It’s the idea of substituting a pleasant word for something not so pleasant. Like when a car dealer advertises a “pre-owned vehicle” instead of a used car. Unfortunately, our society has become quite adept at replacing the word “sin” with other softer expressions like struggles or slips ups, messes or mistakes. Instead of saying, “I sinned,” it’s easier to say, “I slipped.” Here are some common sin synonyms:

“Little white lie  (sin of lying)

“Living together” or “hooking up” (sin of fornication).

“Affair” (sin of adultery)

Simply restating the problem of sin by giving it a soft edge doesn’t make it go away. Scripture doesn’t sugar coat sin and neither should we. As Christians we are not called to be politically correct we are called to proclaim Christ. No matter what you want to call it somehow, somewhere, someone injected poison into the human heart, that’s why, even when we know the right thing to do, we go ahead and choose to do wrong. Deliberately and defiantly. No matter how hard society works to hide sin its horrors are everywhere. We want to blame it on guns, but we have to go much deeper and deal with the heart that’s attached to the hand that pulls the trigger. Cain killed Able with his hands but it was his heart that God called out and confronted.  Today we live in a sin soaked society, the world is a wreck, but it’s a mess because we ourselves are messed up. The problem is not “out there.” It’s “in us.” So why do we need to talk about sin, because it’s a sickness with serious consequences. Sin separates us from God and leads to death not delight. It may promise you pleasure but it will deliver pain. It’s a sickness that infects and effect everyone, Romans 3:23 All have sinned and fallen short. Have you admitted that you are a sinner or are you trying to deal with sin by dismissing it?

1 Peter 3:8-12

8 Finally, all of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude. 9 Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will grant you his blessing. 10 For the Scriptures say,

“If you want to enjoy life
    and see many happy days,
keep your tongue from speaking evil
    and your lips from telling lies.
11 Turn away from evil and do good.
    Search for peace, and work to maintain it.
12 The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right,
    and his ears are open to their prayers.
But the Lord turns his face
    against those who do evil.

Submit to seeking and speaking peace requires us to not only submit our sensibilities but also to:

2. Submit our speech

Your speech can serve to heal others or hurt them. The book of James teaches some tough lessons on the tongue. It tells us that we can use the tongue for evil or for edification. You can build up or belittle, your speech can sooth or sour. The tongue can alleviate or aggravate a problem. Are you going to speak peace or pain? You are either going to fill and follow God’ prescription for peace or perpetuate the pain. Peter calls us to pay attention to what we say, he calls us to pursue pure speech and not a potty mouth, yet many of us instead of dealing with the dirt want to dismiss it. Why is our speech so important, because the source of our speech is the heart, what you say springs from the heart. Not only does Peter talk about the putdowns and the potty mouth but he also talks to us about telling the truth. You are either going to tell the truth or live a lie. Why is dishonesty so destructive because it destroys the foundation of relationships trust. Words can built bridges or words can build walls. Are you going to train the tongue or turn it loose? How are you going to handle the hurts, you can respond with retribution and retaliate or you can choose reconciliation. You can have an attitude of attacking or anointing? So often in our relationships we make it about winning instead of obedience to the word, and when we do we end up focusing on our wounds and we use our words for war. If you want to be a blessing then you need to take time to train your tongue. Following God’s plan is a step of faith, if I submit to serving what if people take advantage of me? Scripture says God will sees and reward, why are we so fearful of walking by faith when we know God will be faithful? Now what will happens if we submit to self, and chose to get even, we will ruin our relationships. We say we not going to submit to God’s way because we are afraid it won’t work out and then chose a path that’s guaranteed to fail, who is the fool?  Here is the question that we need to ask what kind of legacy do we want to leave, one of love or lust, giving or grabbing, building up or belittling, are you going to bless others or bruise them?