1 Peter 3:12 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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1 Peter 3:12

Comments

How can we expect him to answer our prayers, if he is offended by our dishonesty and our deceit? Far from being indifferent to the way we live, it is a matter of the utmost concern to him. Out of this perishing world God is bringing treasures of lasting value in the form of redeemed men and women. He looks on every human being and distinguishes between his children and those who remain in the world. His electing love calls us and washes us and justifies us from our guilt, but there should always be an unmistakable mark of distinction in the righteous conduct of his saints.Peter assures the righteous that their prayers will not be in vain for they are heard by one who loves them and who has their good at heart. How can he fail to give them what is needful for their eternal welfare? If God has already paid the ultimate price in giving his Son, how can he afterwards refuse the much smaller matter of helping them in their needs? There is nothing which so fills us with confidence in our asking as the knowledge that we are heard sympathetically and that God is willing to answer us. Of course, God will answer his people; it is Satan who presents him as reluctant to respond. God answers our prayers because he wants us to know the joy of answered prayer and to have that joy produce thankfulness and greater reliance on him in the future. He is not hiding from his people or unwilling to grant evidence of his care, but he wants prayer to be genuine and full of confidence and for us to depend on his provision. This is true whether we currently feel it or not. God does not grow tired in his work of fatherly care, or turn his attention to other things as we do. He is with us even when we feel deserted, because, having adopted us as his own, he can never forsake us. He gives them his active attention; he designs every situation in order to teach them unique and personal lessons, so that we should expect to profit spiritually from every event in life. On the other hand, ‘the face of the Lord is against the wicked.’ This is a terrible word for the wicked to hear, and yet they dismiss the thought from their minds and tell themselves that they lack nothing. The truth however is that if God is against them, then nothing works to their advantage, even the things that seem to be profitable to them. Any advance they appear to make will be reversed on the day of judgment, and their accumulated riches on earth will be stripped away again, and they will lose even their own souls. God’s face is the starting point of his favour, for he deals with all on the basis of honesty and straightforwardness. He gives no favours of lasting value to those whom he does not first pardon and justify, and we can receive no benefits from him unless we obtain his approval in advance. Peter is not just talking about the unconverted. His warning is given to those who call themselves Christians also. Do we want a good life? Do we want a life full of service to God, a life that stores up treasure in heaven?

Application

You are in the constant sight of God. He will sustain you. He will make a way for you to go through; he is a perfect Father. He sees what happens to you; he takes account of it. He blesses and strengthens you, and takes delight in your response. His ears are open to our prayers. Do we believe this? If we do, we will be ready to apply this standard. His frown is against evil, and he can contain them if he chooses. Because we know that his eye is ever upon us, and because we know that they are not without sin, we come daily to our heavenly Father confessing our sins. To our encouragement, however, we know that we are not what we were and that a new principle of obedience and a love of righteousness has been put within us, and for this we give thanks to God. Our obedience is given strong encouragement. The believer instinctively cries to God for help because there is no one on earth who is willing or able to provide the sort of help that he needs. He passes by all earthly forms of help to go straight to the highest authority and ask directly from the King of kings for his intervention in earth’s affairs. In doing this, he of course affirms his belief that nothing is too hard for the Lord who has all power in heaven and on earth. He brings every trial to God for resolution, trials which he realises are beyond the capacity of any created power to address.

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1 Peter 3:12 Commentary and Bible Study