1 Peter 3:14 Commentary and Bible Study

If you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, ‘happy are ye.’ Why is that? Because you know, there is blessing for you. If you are persecuted, you will be compensated but, more than that, you will be used, you will make an impression. The English martyrs at the time of the Reformation were used of God to turn the hearts of the people, and the people’s sympathy and revulsion at their leadership transformed the face of the Reformation as it went on. So will it be with us, if we suffer – not for wrong doing of course, but for Christ’s sake – we can be happy that we are counted to take insults and difficulties for him, and we know that he will ultimately use this in the life of some, or even many people.In some circumstances the minds of unbelievers can be so filled with malice towards the cause of Christ that, even though they are faced with the solid testimony of the good works of his people, they are determined to find a reason to hate them. They are prepared to abandon all fair mindedness and to search for grounds to accuse which they know privately have more to do with prejudice than anything else. They cannot admit this because they know that unjustified malice would be an evil thing, and so they justify their malice. The church therefore sometimes finds itself facing inexplicable and irrational ill treatment which it is unable to fully understand. The stated reason for ill-treatment makes no sense, and yet their enemies are energetic in their hostility. The real cause may well be the offence of the gospel, a wounded conscience which wants to hit back. Peter adds ‘and do not be afraid of their terror, neither be troubled’, an allusion to Isaiah 8:12-13. Threats bring terror when we believe that power lies with our enemies to carry them out without hindrance, and that their malice will be poured out full measure without restraint. This is certainly the impression that they want to give, for they would overwhelm us with despair even before they strike a blow against us. But by faith the believer knows that this is not the case, for even though the enemies of the church appear to have a monopoly of power, and even though the church for the most part consists of those who lack authority and lack friends in high places, yet he sees the unseen hand of God supporting him. He knows God’s amazing capacity to reverse setbacks, and to bring good out of evil. God allows the unbelieving world to succeed in eliminating the church to the point where it is convinced that its victory is assured, and yet he steps in to change everything. So, Peter does not mean that Christians should believe that nothing substantial will ever be done to them, but that even though they are cast down God will raise them up again.