1 Peter 3:8-22.
1 Peter 3.8-22
Suffering for Doing Right
"Finally, all of you should agree and have concern and love for each
other. You should also be kind and humble. Don't be hateful and
insult people just because they are hateful and insult you. Instead,
treat everyone with kindness. You are God's chosen ones, and he will
bless you. The Scriptures say, "Do you really love life? Do you want
to be happy? Then stop saying cruel things and quit telling lies. Give
up your evil ways and do right, as you find and follow the road that
leads to peace. The Lord watches over everyone who obeys him, and he
listens to their prayers. But he opposes everyone who does evil." Can
anyone really harm you for being eager to do good deeds? Even if you
have to suffer for doing good things, God will bless you. So stop
being afraid and don't worry about what people might do. Honor Christ
and let him be the Lord of your life. Always be ready to give an
answer when someone asks you about your hope. Give a kind and
respectful answer and keep your conscience clear. This way you will
make people ashamed for saying bad things about your good conduct as a
follower of Christ. You are better off to obey God and suffer for
doing right than to suffer for doing wrong. Christ died once for our
sins. An innocent person died for those who are guilty. Christ did
this to bring you to God, when his body was put to death and his
spirit was made alive. Christ then preached to the spirits that were
being kept in prison. They had disobeyed God while Noah was building
the boat, but God had been patient with them. Eight people went into
that boat and were brought safely through the flood. Those flood
waters were like baptism that now saves you. But baptism is more than
just washing your body. It means turning to God with a clear
conscience, because Jesus Christ was raised from death. Christ is now
in heaven, where he sits at the right side of God. All angels,
authorities, and powers are under his control."
God bless you.
Suffering for Doing Right
"Finally, all of you should agree and have concern and love for each
other. You should also be kind and humble. Don't be hateful and
insult people just because they are hateful and insult you. Instead,
treat everyone with kindness. You are God's chosen ones, and he will
bless you. The Scriptures say, "Do you really love life? Do you want
to be happy? Then stop saying cruel things and quit telling lies. Give
up your evil ways and do right, as you find and follow the road that
leads to peace. The Lord watches over everyone who obeys him, and he
listens to their prayers. But he opposes everyone who does evil." Can
anyone really harm you for being eager to do good deeds? Even if you
have to suffer for doing good things, God will bless you. So stop
being afraid and don't worry about what people might do. Honor Christ
and let him be the Lord of your life. Always be ready to give an
answer when someone asks you about your hope. Give a kind and
respectful answer and keep your conscience clear. This way you will
make people ashamed for saying bad things about your good conduct as a
follower of Christ. You are better off to obey God and suffer for
doing right than to suffer for doing wrong. Christ died once for our
sins. An innocent person died for those who are guilty. Christ did
this to bring you to God, when his body was put to death and his
spirit was made alive. Christ then preached to the spirits that were
being kept in prison. They had disobeyed God while Noah was building
the boat, but God had been patient with them. Eight people went into
that boat and were brought safely through the flood. Those flood
waters were like baptism that now saves you. But baptism is more than
just washing your body. It means turning to God with a clear
conscience, because Jesus Christ was raised from death. Christ is now
in heaven, where he sits at the right side of God. All angels,
authorities, and powers are under his control."
God bless you.
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