The life God wants for His people-
1 Peter 3:8-12

Introduction: As recipients of the grace of the gospel and missionaries to our unbelieving culture, Peter calls us to a life that would match and strengthen our proclamation of Jesus Christ. 2:11-3:7 is about how to live as a missionary for Jesus before the government, the workplace, and in the home. And in v. 8-12, he concludes with a summary of gospel qualities that should accompany your missional life.

BIG IDEA 7 marks of the life that God wants for His people.
Because of the gospel, we can...
1. Think in a likeminded manner
Finally, all of you, have unity of mind- The gospel changes us so we can focus less on what makes us different and more on what makes us similar (John 17; Rom 12:16; 15:5; 1 Cor 1:10).

2. Feel for each other
sympathy- When one suffers, we all suffers. When one rejoices, we all rejoice (1 Cor12:26). We carry one another’s burden’s together (Gal 6:2).

3. Love one another “family style”
brotherly love- Some of you have a huge heart to love non-believers but a very short fuse when it comes to loving believers.

4. Break for the broken
a tender heart-
2 things a tender heart is not:
1. Critical
2. Indifferent

5. Humble ourselves
and a humble mind- C.J. Mahaney author of Humility, which I highly recommend, gave this definition: “humility is honestly assessing ourselves in light of God’s holiness and our sinfulness.”
You foster a pattern of pursuing humility on repeat in your life and that disposition will foster the growth of abundant gospel fruit in your life. Show me a Christian with no gospel fruit, and I’ll show you a person not pursuing humility.

6. Refuse to retaliate
Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling,
Why? Peter’s already let us in to this in 2:23: Because Christ is our example who “when he was reviled, he did not revile in return, when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.” We just can’t get away from this. The same language is used in Rom 12:17, 1 Thess 5:15; 1 Cor 4:12. And all of this is rooted in the teaching of Jesus himself in Luke 6:28-29.

7. Respond with grace
but on the contrary bless,
What does it mean Biblically to bless someone?
1. Speaking well of someone (Luke 1:42).
2. Love them (Matt 5:44).
3. Pray for their well being (spiritually) (Matt 5:44).

Why we bless and the how we bless go together. Why?
1. For to this you were called- you were called to this when God, as Peter said, called you out of darkness and into his marvelous light (2:9).
2. That you may obtain a blessing-
For whoever desires to love life and see good days let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.