Endurance for the Journey: 1 Peter 3:9-14
- Jacob Hansen
- May 1
- 6 min read
In 1914, Ernest Shackleton attempted an expedition to be the first team to cross Antarctica. In order to recruit men for the expedition, he put an ad in the newspaper. It read,
It’s hard to imagine that such an ad would draw men to his expedition. Nonetheless, Shackleton knew what he was doing. Having made the journey to Antarctica before, he knew the hardships, the risks, and the serious possibility of failure that his men would need to accept. He knew that he did not want men who were seeking comfort, fame, or even immediate success. And if he recruited according to those things, when the journey became difficult, the possibility of their mutiny was likely, and they would abandon him. Only by seeking something greater than immediate comfort, fame, and success would there be any real endurance to make the journey.
When we consider our own Christian life, it is worth considering what motivates our journey. Are we seeking comfort? Are we looking for a return on our investment in this life? Are we looking for visible success? The fact is, like Shackleton’s men, we are facing a difficult journey and if we are seeking those things, we are very unlikely to endure as God has called us to endure in this life.
The Difficult Journey of the Christian Life
The Lord has called us to some difficult things in the past few chapters of 1 Peter, including calls to ‘keep your behavior excellent’ among unbelievers (2:12) and to ‘submit yourselves’ to governments (2:13-14), to employers (2:18), and to husbands (3:1) even when they are unjust, unfair, and ungodly. Peter sums these areas of obedience up in 1 Peter 3:9, writing, ‘Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless.’ We are called to remain steadfast in these areas of obedience, not giving in to evil and reviling when the going gets tough but, instead, living to bless. This is a product of our Christian obedience in the world; to live to be a blessing to them. To bless in our communities, to bless our workplaces, and to bless our marriages—over the long haul and even when it is difficult.
The Promise at the End of the Journey
Peter continues in verse 9, calling us to bless, ‘that you may obtain a blessing.’ On the surface this looks like a conditional promise; that if we do what is right, the Lord will ensure that we get back what is right from those things we are in submission to. For example, if I bless the government by submitting to it, I will be rewarded with a government that exists to bless me. If I bless my employer, I will get an employer that seeks my good. And if a wife blesses her husband, she will get a husband that leads her in the Lord. But this is not what Peter means.
Peter demonstrates this by referencing Psalm 34, which calls us to keep our tongue from evil, our lips from speaking deceit, and so on. All things that surround Peter’s argument to bless those around us. But the purpose for this is not in receiving a blessing from the world, but to trust the Lord for his blessing. Psalm 34 is centered upon the Lord’s orientation to his people. ‘Whoever desires to love life and see good days’ does these things, not to get from the world but because of the Lord. Peter is suggesting that the Lord is watching and that he blesses those who are his and rejects those who are against him.
It is important that we not view this as an if/then statement that we can earn God’s blessing through our behavior. That, if we do these things, we will purchase the eternal blessing of God in his favor on us. What Peter does mean is that we prove that we have been blessed by God—that when we obey the Lord in this world, we demonstrate our faith in him and prove that his eternal blessing is ours. This is what Psalm 34 is driving at. As it concludes in verse 22, ‘The Lord redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.’ Because the Lord is our refuge, we live in obedience. We live this way not to become a Christian, but because we are Christians—because we believe the eternal blessing of God.
And so, as a result of living in obedience to the Lord, we prove that we believe the promises of God in the gospel. We prove that we are not living for a ‘gospel’ in this world—that is, the good news of a great government, a fulfilling job, and a perfect marriage. Aspirations for those things are wonderful and even healthy things to desire and pursue in their place. But they are not a replacement for the true gospel because they are certainly not the promises fulfilled by Christ in his gospel. By living in obedience in submission in these areas, even when it is difficult and leads to suffering, we prove that our hope is in the Lord and his provision beyond what our eyes can see in this world. We cast our anchor deep into eternity and God’s promises for us there and that future hope effects what we do here.
The Hazards on the Journey
Verses 13-14 drive this truth home. Verse 13 says, ‘Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good?’ Well, the truth is, governments, employers, husbands, and more can harm us if we are zealous for what is good. If we submit, in our zeal for what is good, we can lose everything in this life, including our very lives. Peter is not ignorant of that fact. After all, he is ministering under the reign of Emperor Nero. Nero’s treachery against Christians was well known in the first century and even lives in infamy to this day. Peter has seen this and will even go on to experience it vividly and personally when, according to Christian tradition, he is crucified under the ruthlessness of Nero. How can Peter ask who there is to harm us if we are zealous for what is good with such an oppressive government breathing down his neck? This question from Peter only serves to prove that his emphasis is on a greater and more enduring blessing. One that is from the Lord in eternity and not on what we stand to gain in this life from governments, jobs, and marriages.
Verse 14 continues, ‘But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed.’ We endure in this life, even when we suffer for obedience, by faith in the eternal promise of God. Our hope rests in the sure hands of the God who holds our inheritance—one that is, ‘imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.’ (1 Peter 1:3-5) This hope, through faith, is where our endurance is built. It is by God’s grace that it is received and kept. If we want to fuel the journey that God has called us to in this Christian life, it is by continuing to believe the eternal blessing of God in his gospel.
Questions for Personal Reflection and Application:
1. Do the challenges of the call of the Christian life, (as listed in the last paragraph of page 1) give you trepidation about enduring well on your Christian journey? Which, in particular, do you find the most difficult in your own life? How does the gospel give you hope when you fail in these areas? How does it give you confidence to move forward?
2. Do you believe Peter when asks, ‘who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good?’ What makes that so difficult to believe?
3. What do you think it would take for you to embrace Peter’s view of blessing in verse 14? How can you help those Christians around you to grow to endure by believing this? How can you help your children and grandchildren grow in this way?