1 Peter 3:16
16 Having [echo] a good [agathos] conscience [suneidesis];
that [hina], whereas [en] [hos] they speak evil [katalaleo] of you [humon], as [hos] of evildoers [kakopoios],
they may be ashamed [kataischuno] that falsely
accuse [epereazo] your [humon] good [agathos] conversation
[anastrophe] in [en] Christ [Christos]. KJV-Interlinear
16 and keep a good conscience so
that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good
behavior in Christ may be put to shame. NASB
A good conscience, is
one that is clear of all that is phony, insincere, or hypocritical. A good conscience is one, which is backed up
by credible scruples, principles, a pattern of life that supports, or is evidence
of, the principles that you profess to live by.
It is not enough to be
sincere in your opinions or beliefs.It
is not enough to say all the right things to fit the convenience or opportunity
of the moment. Anyone can make promises,
or offer apologizes, or make appearances. It is quite another thing to back up those
comments with credible actions in ones life.
Your objective in the
spiritual life, is to advance to a level of understanding such that your life
fits the guidelines prescribed by God.
We all falter from time
to time, but the important thing is that we recover our spiritual stability and
move on from our failures.
None of us are
perfect.And there will be folks out
there who will happily remind us of our flaws, especially any past failures you
might have.People are unforgiving, in
general.
Forgiveness means to
forget.To forget just as though the
deed had never occurred.
When God forgives, He
wipes the sin out completely. He blots the sin out in such a way that is may as
well have never occurred.Unfortunately,
people do not do this.
And so, Peter teaches
us to pursue our spiritual life no matter what confrontations we might run
into.People will hate you. People will gossip against you. People will try to discredit you. But your best reaction to this is to keep on,
keeping on in your spiritual life.
In so doing, you will advance
yourself in your spiritual life, advance yourself in the eyes of God, and as for
those who will try to ruin you, they will be discredited in due course. They may never acknowledge it until they
reach heaven (assuming that they are believers), but discredited they will be,
sooner or later.
And you will be
vindicated by virtue of the fact of your spiritual advancement, by virtue of
your spiritual production (established by a consistent life in fellowship), and
by virtue of the fact of your blessings you will receive in heaven.
Do not let the world
get you down.Even if you have been
wrong in your life, even if you have failed miserably during your life, even if
you have been a thorough jerk at some point in your life.
Then change yourself in
doctrine, and keep with doctrine.Your
objective is not to convince others.
That may be impossible.But your
objective is to gain Gods recognition by means of your consistent and
legitimate spiritual life, and by your maintaining a steady (despite any
stumbles from time to time) and consistent pattern of life, in your spiritual
life, which proves the actual content of your soul.
What others think of
you is of no consequence.They cannot
evaluate and they cannot bless.Only God
can do that, and only Gods opinion counts.
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