Participants: Tom Shepherd & Deyvy Rodriguez
Series Code: PBOTB
Program Code: PBOTB00011A
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00:22 Hello, I'd like to welcome you
00:23 once again to "Books of the Book." 00:25 How do you get along with someone you don't like 00:27 or who doesn't like you rather? 00:30 Throughout this series, we're focusing 00:31 on the Epistles of Peter 00:33 and digging deeper into his teachings. 00:35 I'd like to introduce you to Dr. Tom Shepherd 00:37 who's come all the way from Andrews University 00:39 to join us in this study. 00:41 So, Dr. Shepherd, how do you get along 00:43 with someone who's not nice to you? 00:45 Well, that's a great question and our passage talking about 00:49 this is in the Book of 1 Peter 3:8-12. 00:53 So we want to read that passage first 00:55 so that we can get an idea. 00:57 "Finally, all of you be of one mind, 00:59 having compassion for one another, 01:01 love as brothers, be tenderhearted, 01:03 be courteous, not returning evil for evil 01:07 or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, 01:10 knowing that you were called to this, 01:13 that you may inherit a blessing. 01:15 For 'He who would love life and see good days, 01:20 and let him refrain his tongue from evil, 01:22 and his lips from speaking deceit. 01:24 Let him turn away from evil and do good, 01:26 let him seek peace and pursue it. 01:29 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous 01:31 and His ears are open to their prayers, 01:34 but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil." 01:38 Mm-hmm. All right. 01:40 That's very clear. Yes. 01:42 It's a great passage. 01:44 Now, it's kind of interesting though 01:46 because the passage begins with the word finally. 01:52 And he's only about half way through the book. 01:55 So people they say, 01:58 "Why in the world does he say finally, that we started?" 02:02 Well, it's seen by some commentators 02:04 as the ending of this section of the book. 02:08 So it can also be seen though as parallel to the next section 02:12 and so it's kind of transitional in nature. 02:16 What is the meaning here in the list in verse 8 he gives? 02:22 Well, let's look at verse 8 again. 02:24 Let's read verse 8 again 02:25 because he has quite a few things that he quotes, 02:27 you know, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, all at once. 02:30 It says, "Finally, all of you be of one mind, 02:32 having compassion for one another, 02:34 love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous." 02:38 There's actually a set of five terms 02:42 that are listed here, okay. 02:43 They are to be like minded, to have sympathy, 02:48 to have true friendship or true brotherly love, 02:53 to have compassion, and to be humble minded. 02:58 Now four of the five terms 03:01 are found only here in the New Testament. 03:04 So it's kind of surprising. 03:07 But they express ideas 03:08 that are routed in the teachings of Jesus, okay. 03:12 And they have very strong parallels 03:14 to the Book of Romans Chapter 12 as well. 03:17 The words come in the form of a chiasm. 03:21 Now a chiasm is--the name chiasm comes from the Greek letter, 03:25 Chia, which is like an X, all right. 03:29 So when you have a chiasm, 03:32 things start and then they move towards a central point 03:36 and then they move back out again from that central point. 03:39 This is a very common way in the Old Testament 03:42 and in the New Testament, too, very Hebraic way of thinking 03:45 where you put the most important point 03:48 right in the middle, all right. 03:50 So if you look at these phrases, 03:52 you'll notice that the very first one, 03:54 remember there's five of them, 03:55 so which one's gonna be the important, middle one? 03:59 Number three. 04:00 All right, so you look at the very first one says 04:02 to be like minded and the last one says 04:06 to be humble minded, okay. 04:08 So two mindsets, humble minded and like minded. 04:11 The second concept is sympathy 04:15 and the fourth concept is compassion. 04:19 Sympathy and compassion, they go hand in hand together. 04:22 Well, so then what is this great middle term? 04:24 It is the word Philadelphia. 04:27 The word brotherly kindness or we might say, true friendship 04:32 which is at the heart of the Christians relationship 04:35 to other people around them. 04:37 But there's not only this interesting 04:40 focus on true friendship and true kindness, 04:44 but at the-- the very last thing 04:47 that's mentioned of the five characteristics is humility, 04:52 to be humble minded. 04:54 Now remember this was an honor-shame society, 04:59 so you strove for things that gave you honor 05:04 and you avoided things that gave you shame. 05:08 Well, humility was not the way of honor, you see. 05:14 And so it's very interesting that the New Testament 05:19 and the Lord Jesus and His apostles 05:22 as seen here emphasize this idea of humility. 05:29 Again it's this topsy-turvy view of values. 05:33 It's being conscious of God's values 05:36 rather than conscious of what the world, 05:39 you know, wants you to follow. 05:41 Let's look at verse 9. 05:42 Peter doesn't stop there because in verse 9 05:44 he describes opposing relationships. 05:47 Yes, got to get along with the rascal. 05:48 How to get along with the rascal? 05:51 Okay, let's read verse 9 again. 05:54 "Not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, 05:57 but on the contrary blessing, 05:59 knowing that you were called to this, 06:01 that you may inherit a blessing." 06:06 Yeah, this refers likely to relationships with outsiders, 06:11 people outside the Christian church. 06:13 And it's amazing how much 06:17 actually Peter focuses on relationships 06:21 that you would have with people who are not within the church. 06:27 When we talk about church life, 06:28 we tend to focus our attention inward a whole lot. 06:33 Sometimes we speak of it as in reach, 06:36 but we fail too many times to have 06:40 linkages with people outside the church. 06:44 And Peter is filled with this 06:46 where you're having relationships with these people. 06:48 Now, of course, the relationship here 06:51 that's being described is not a friendly one, is it? 06:54 It's a contrary one, somebody who is reviling you 06:58 and they are saying nasty things about you. 07:01 This is very parallel to 07:03 what the Apostle Paul says in the Book of Romans. 07:06 So we want to turn over 07:07 to Romans Chapter 12 and read verses 14-21. 07:14 Romans 12:14-21. 07:17 It's interesting how parallel it is which might suggest 07:22 that it was a common enough experience of Christians 07:26 that you would have these similar kind of experiences. 07:30 Romans 12:14-21. 07:32 "Bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse. 07:36 Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. 07:39 Be of the same mind toward one another. 07:41 Do not set your mind on high things, 07:43 but associate with the humble. 07:45 Do not be wise in your own opinion. 07:48 Repay no one evil for evil. 07:50 Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. 07:54 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, 07:57 live peaceably with all men. 07:59 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, 08:02 but rather give place to wrath, for it is written, 08:05 'Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,' says the Lord. 08:08 Therefore, if your enemy is hungry, feed him, 08:12 if he is thirsty, give him a drink. 08:15 For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head. 08:20 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." 08:26 So basically don't take revenge. 08:28 Don't take revenge. 08:29 Be peacemakers what he's saying. 08:31 Yes, and a bit more than that. 08:34 It's interesting how it's so parallel 08:36 to what Peter has to say almost like the reading 08:39 from the same page and we'll notice 08:41 what this same page is that they're reading from in a moment 08:45 but there is this very strong emphasis on not repaying people 08:52 when they do you wrong. Mm-hmm. 08:54 Now most of us in life have somewhere along the line, 08:57 some experience where somebody mistreats us. 09:01 And it's hard to take. 09:05 It's hard to accept the natural human reaction 09:08 when you've done wrong is to be angry and to hit back. 09:15 Just the natural thing, I mean. 09:17 When you talk to two little kids and you're breaking up a fight, 09:20 you'd say, "Well, what happened here?" 09:22 "Well, he started it," you know. 09:24 "He hit me first," is what they'll say, you know. 09:27 And so I hit him back, you know. 09:29 Just tit for tat. 09:30 I mean, we see this in world politics as well. 09:33 How can you break the cycle of violence and vengeance? 09:38 You see that's the question. 09:40 Well, the Apostle Paul says-- 09:44 he quotes this scripture and says 09:45 that "You're not supposed to avenge yourself, 09:48 but you are to leave things to the wrath of God. 09:53 For it is written, 'vengeance is mine, 09:55 I will repay it, says the Lord.'" 09:57 Now some people get the idea 10:00 that the wrath of God is some kind of evil characteristic 10:03 and that, you know, some backward sort of view of God, 10:07 because God is love, you can't speak of his wrath. 10:11 Actually, God's wrath is His holy hatred of sin. 10:14 There's nothing ugly about it. 10:16 There's nothing impure about it. 10:17 It's good and it's righteous. 10:20 And God is the one 10:21 who will set all accounts straight. 10:23 So Paul says, "Leave that to God." 10:27 He just states though vengeance is too heavy 10:30 of a weight for us to carry, 10:33 so we must give it to Him. 10:35 And let Him be in charge of." 10:36 That is the same kind of idea that Peter says. 10:40 He says, "When somebody does you wrong, 10:43 don't repay them evil. 10:45 Don't give reviling for reviling." 10:48 We're reminded of 1 Peter 2. 10:50 He says, "But on the contrary, bless, 10:52 for to this you were called that you may obtain a blessing." 10:59 I remember the experience in life and my wife and, well, 11:03 my wife and I had, but it was mainly 11:04 an experience that related to me. 11:07 I won't say who it was, where it was, or when it was. 11:11 So it's one of those interesting experiences in life 11:15 though that you kind of never forget. 11:18 I was in charge of taking some people 11:20 around to homes for meals. 11:25 I had two high officials with me. 11:29 And I was scheduled to go to a particular home. 11:31 I was away from home with these officials 11:33 and I was supposed to go to these people's home. 11:36 And they had been asked to provide lunch, okay. 11:42 Unfortunately, I had offended this family. 11:44 I had done something wrong and I think I'd blown it, 11:48 I'd done something wrong. 11:51 But I was scheduled to take 11:53 these people to lunch at their house. 11:55 So I came to the door, I knocked on the door 11:59 and the wife came to the door 12:01 and she said to me as I was standing there 12:05 with these kind of-- these two officials behind me. 12:07 She said, "Well, I have food for them, 12:09 but I don't have anything for you." 12:11 Hmm. Awful feeling. 12:14 It was a very awkward moment. 12:16 Yeah, it did hurt pretty bad 12:19 and the two officials didn't quite hear that 12:21 and they walked in the door 12:22 and one of them turned to me and said, 12:23 "Well, Tom, where are you going to eat?" 12:25 And I said, "I don't know." 12:27 And there was another little awkward moment there. 12:29 The door closed and I was without lunch. 12:33 I drove away and found some lunch, 12:36 some place and, you know, 12:38 that was kind of a tough experience, 12:40 so one or two of those officials 12:42 talked with me later about this anyways. 12:45 But the time passed and, eventually, 12:51 I still remember this, this family came to the town 12:56 where I lived and it was Sabbath and we were at church. 13:00 And after church here they were sitting in their car. 13:05 And I said to my wife, 13:07 "We should invite them over for lunch." 13:09 She said, "Sure, go ahead invite them." 13:11 So I went over to the car. 13:13 The window was rolled down on the wife's side 13:17 and I kind of leaned at the window 13:18 and I said, "You guys have a place to eat lunch? 13:21 Why don't you come and eat lunch at our house?" 13:26 Well, they declined. 13:28 But we are friends to this day. 13:32 I bet they were very shocked to hear that invitation. 13:34 They probably expected you to turn away, 13:38 walk away-- I don't know. 13:39 Or to say some-- anything. 13:42 You know, I'm not some righteous dude here 13:45 because I had something wrong 13:47 that had offended them in the first place 13:49 and they had responded. 13:52 But the Lord helped to heal a wound 13:56 when--as it says here, "Don't repay evil for evil." 14:00 Don't keep the cycle going. 14:03 You know, if you've made a mistake apologize for it 14:07 and if you have the opportunity 14:11 to break the cycle of violence, 14:13 that's what he's talking about here. 14:15 Break the cycle and start people on the right path. 14:20 The way to get along with a rascal is to surprise him 14:23 with grace to do something that will really get to you. 14:29 You know, Paul says that 14:30 "You're going to heap coals of fire on his head." 14:33 Now some people say, "Uh-ha, that's my revenge. 14:36 I'll be nice to him and he'll get my revenge too." 14:40 Be kind to him. 14:41 No, no, no, no, no, no, the coals of fire are from God. 14:44 These are conscience now speaking to them and saying, 14:49 "You know, you shouldn't have done what you did. 14:52 You should go and make that right. 14:54 You should be friends with them." 14:56 It really breaks through the barriers of hatred. 15:02 When you react with kindness, 15:05 when people expect you to be mean and unsettling 15:10 and that just has a wonderful way of changing relationships. 15:16 And it's similar to the wise words of King Solomon. 15:18 He said, "A soft answer turns away wrath." 15:22 Doesn't it? Indeed. 15:24 Well, this is very interesting study. 15:26 I think there've been times in my life 15:28 where some people have not been nice to me. 15:30 And unfortunately, I have not been nice to others, 15:34 but I'm thankful that there can be 15:37 some encouraging words in the scriptures. 15:40 Stay with us friends as we return to 15:42 "Books of the Book." |
Revised 2014-12-17