TO INHERIT A BLESSING

Passage: 1 Peter 3:8-12

Key verse: 9

NIV

Suffering for Doing Good

8 Finally, all of you, be like-minded,(A) be sympathetic, love one another,(B) be compassionate and humble.(C) 9 Do not repay evil with evil(D) or insult with insult.(E) On the contrary, repay evil with blessing,(F) because to this(G) you were called(H) so that you may inherit a blessing.(I) 10 For,

“Whoever would love life
    and see good days
must keep their tongue from evil
    and their lips from deceitful speech.
11 They must turn from evil and do good;
    they must seek peace and pursue it.
12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
    and his ears are attentive to their prayer,
but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”[a](J)

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Footnotes
  1. 1 Peter 3:12 Psalm 34:12-16
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

Suffering for Righteousness' Sake

8 Finally, all of you, (A)have unity of mind, sympathy, (B)brotherly love, (C)a tender heart, and (D)a humble mind. 9 (E)Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, (F)bless, for (G)to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. 10 For

(H)“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.”

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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway

1. Live in harmony with one another (8-9)

God wants his people to be a blessing. So our lives must reflect the compassion and humility of Jesus. We should live in harmony with others and love others, as Jesus commanded. A Christian should not hold a grudge in his heart. The words we say should come from a heart ruled by Christ. We should bless others and make peace with them, not make quick, sarcastic retorts that hurt. We must learn to bless others, so that we may inherit God's blessing.

2. The eyes of the Lord are on us (1

-12)

Peter quotes Psalm 34 to explain further why we must repay insults with blessing. If we love life and want to see good days, we should be careful about how we use our tongues. We must keep away from lies and deceit. We must turn from evil and do good. We must seek peace and pursue it. We must live before God, for his eyes are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer.

Prayer: Lord, purify my heart. Help me to live in your presence and glorify you with my tongue.

One Word: Bless others; inherit a blessing