First Peter 3:10-12
To See Good Days And Have The Privilege Of Prayer
I. Introduction:
A. Christians are to be aware, diligent, and wise knowing the days are evil (Ephesians 5:14-17).
- We know the earth is not full of good people (I John 5:19).
- At some point reality sets in (Ecclesiastes 6:11-12, Ecclesiastes 7:14, Ecclesiastes 11:8, and II Timothy 3:13).
- Think about what was said regarding the wealthy (Ecclesiastes 5:18-19 and I Timothy 6:17).
- Righteousness doesn’t have to be accompanied with misery (Psalms 32:11, Romans 5:11, and Galatians 5:22-23).
II. Body: I Peter 3:10-12; cf. Psalms 34:12-16
A. You can love life (Ecclesiastes 3:12-13).
- There is the life that now is and that which is to come (I Timothy 4:8).
- Certainly, the faithful look forward to eternal life (II Peter 3:10-14).
- Looking forward to eternal life doesn’t mean you have to be miserable now (Ecclesiastes 8:15).
- Use this world without abusing such (I Corinthians 7:31).
- As Christians, we have a new life in Christ that we can live in this world (Romans 6:4 and II Corinthians 5:17).
- Even of old, with Israel, their lives could have been good on this earth and even prolonged had they obeyed God (Deuteronomy 30:20 and Proverbs 3:1-8).
- You don’t want to be so focused on the bad that you sound like Job (Job 7:7).
- You can even take the bad and look at it from a different perspective (Luke 6:22-23).
- Using wisdom (Psalms 39:1-2, Proverbs 15:2, and Colossians 4:5-6).
- Understanding the danger of the tongue (Proverbs 10:19).
- Speaking no guile [craft; deceit], like Jesus (I Peter 2:22).
- Not just for immediate reasons, but eternal consequences (John 5:28-29).
- Doing good, not in our eyes, but according to the Lord’s will (II Timothy 3:14-17).
- Division is inevitable (Matthew 10:34-39 and Luke 12:51-53).
- As Jesus told the disciples, there is no peace in this world (John 16:33).
- We know where peace is and why (I Corinthians 14:33).
- Sometimes, because of this world, the only peace we can find aside from the assembly is from within (Isaiah 26:3 and Philippians 4:6-8).
- We should take note that this verse is not saying God only sees the righteous (Proverbs 15:3 and Isaiah 59:1-3).
- It is more about whom He looks upon favorably as the whole verse points out (Psalms 66:18-19, Proverbs 28:9, and John 9:31).
III. Conclusion: Our Next Study; I Peter 3:13-17