8 To conclude: you must all have the
same attitude and the same feelings; love one another, and be kind and humble
with one another.
9 Do not pay back
evil with evil or cursing with cursing; instead, pay back with a blessing,
because a blessing is what God promised to give you when he called you.
10 As
the scripture says, "Whoever wants to enjoy life and wish to see good times, you must keep from speaking evil and stop telling lies.
11 You must turn away from evil and do good; you
must strive for peace with all your heart.
12 For the Lord watches over the righteous and
listens to their prayers; but he opposes those who do evil."
13 Who will harm you if you are
eager to do what is good?
14 But
even if you should suffer for doing what is right, how happy you are! Do not be
afraid of anyone, and do not worry.
15 But have reverence for Christ in your hearts, and honor him as Lord. Be ready at
all times to answer anyone who asks you to explain the hope you have in you,
16 but do it with gentleness and respect.
Keep your conscience clear, so that when you are insulted, those who speak evil
of your good conduct as followers of Christ will become ashamed of what they
say.
17 For it is better to suffer for
doing good, if this should be God's will, than for doing evil.
18 For Christ died for sins
once and for all, a good man on behalf of sinners, in order to lead you to God.
He was put to death physically, but made alive spiritually,
19 and in his spiritual existence he went and preached to
the imprisoned spirits.
20 These
were the spirits of those who had not obeyed God when he waited patiently during
the days that Noah was building his boat. The few people in the boat—eight in
all—were saved by the water,
21 which
was a symbol pointing to baptism, which now saves you. It is not the washing off
of bodily dirt, but the promise made to God from a good conscience. It saves you
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
22 who has gone to heaven and is at the right side of God,
ruling over all angels and heavenly authorities and powers.
No comments:
Post a Comment