1 Peter 3:16

Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ. HAVING A GOOD CONSCIENCE - the spring of readiness to give account of our hope. Hope and flood conscience go together, Acts 24:15. Profession without practice has no weight. But those who have a food conscience can afford to give an account of their hope 'with meekness.' WHEREAS - (1 Peter 2:12.) FALSELY ACCUSE, [ epeereazontes (G1908)] - malice shown in deeds as well as words; "despitefully use," Matth...

16_With meekness _This is a most necessary admonition; for unless our minds are endued with meekness, contentions will immediately break forth. And meekness is set in opposition to pride and vain ostentation, and also to excessive zeal. To this he justly adds _fear; _for where reverence for God prevails, it tames all the ferocity of our minds, and it will especially cause us to speak calmly of God’s mysteries. For contentious disputes arise from this, because many think less honourably than they ought of the greatness of divine wisdom, and are carried away by profane audacity. If, then, we would render approved of God the confession of our faith, all boasting must be put aside, all contention must be relinquished. _Having a good conscience _What we say without a corresponding life has but little weight; hence he joins to confession a good conscience. For we see that many are sufficiently...

14-22 We sanctify God before others, when our conduct invites and encourages them to glorify and honour him. What was the ground and reason of their hope? We should be able to defend our religion with meekness, in the fear of God. There is no room for any other fears where this great fear is; it disturbs not. The conscience is good, when it does its office well. That person is in a sad condition on whom sin and suffering meet: sin makes suffering extreme, comfortless, and destructive. Surely it is better to suffer for well-doing than for evil-doing, whatever our natural impatience at times may suggest. The example of Christ is an argument for patience under sufferings. In the case of our Lord's suffering, he that knew no sin, suffered instead of those who knew no righteousness. The blessed end and design of our Lord's sufferings were, to reconcile us to God, and to bring us to eternal g...

Verse 16. _HAVING A GOOD CONSCIENCE_] The testimony of God in your own soul, that in simplicity and godly sincerity you have your conversation in the world. See on the term _conscience_ at the end of Hebrews. _WHEREAS THEY SPEAK EVIL OF YOU_] See the same sentiment in 1 Peter 2:11, and the note there....

HAVING A GOOD CONSCIENCE - That is, a conscience that does not accuse you of having done wrong. Whatever may be the accusations of your enemies, so live that you may be at all times conscious of uprightness. Whatever you suffer, see that you do not suffer the pangs inflicted by a guilty conscience, the anguish of remorse. On the meaning of the word “conscience,” see the notes at Romans 2:15. The word properly means the judgment of the mind respecting right and wrong; or the judgment which the mind passes on the immorality of its own actions, when it instantly approves or condemns them. There is always a feeling of obligation connected with operations of conscience, which precedes, attends, and follows our actions. “Conscience is first occupied in ascertaining our duty, before we proceed to action; then in judging of our actions when performed.” A “good conscience”

EXPOSITIONS 1 PETER 3:1 LIKEWISE, YE WIVES. St. Peter has spoken of the duties of servants: why does he omit those of masters? There must have been Christian masters in Asia Minor, as is plain from Ephesians 6:9; Colossians 4:1. But we notice that St. Paul, though he has a few words for masters, addresses slaves at much greater length. Probably Christian masters were comparatively few, while large numbers of slaves had embraced the religion which could do so much to comfort and elevate the oppressed. Again, the immediate purpose of the apostle is to inculcate submission to authority; therefore, having enforced upon Christian servants the example of their Lord, he proce

HAVING A GOOD CONSCIENCE,.... Meaning not the faculty of the conscience itself, which is naturally evil, and defiled with sin, and is only made good by the sanctification of the Spirit, and the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus, by which the heart is sprinkled from it, and that itself purged from dead works; but a life and conversation according to the dictates of such a conscience, in the uprightness and sincerity of it, and by the grace of God, and according to the Gospel, and whereby the doctrines of it are adorned; for, as besides internal sanctification of God, or a fearing of him, and believing in him with the heart, there must be a profession of him with the mouth, and a reason of faith and hope given verbally, when there is an occasion for it; so to both must be added a conscientious discharge of duty, both to God and men, which is one way of defending and recommending the doctrin...

1 Peter 3:1. _Likewise, ye wives be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives; while they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear._ Could any men be won to Christ without the Word? Yes, it was even so in the apostle's day. When they refused to attend the little Christian meetings that were being held, and so could not hear what was there said, yet, at home, they saw the change that the gospel of Christ had wrought in their wives, and they said, «She is quite different from what she used to be. Certainly, she is a far better wife than any heathen woman is; there must be something in the religion which can make such a change as that.» In this way, without the Word, many of them were won to Christ by the godly conversation of their wives....

1 PETER 3:16 katalalei/sqe {A} Although the shorter reading katalalei/sqe is supported chiefly by Egyptian (Alexandrian) witnesses, including î72 B Y 614 copsa Clement, it is to be preferred on transcriptional grounds, for recollection of the writer’s earlier statement evn w|- katalalou/sin u`mw/n w`j kakopoiw/n ( 1 Peter 2:12) undoubtedly prompted copyists to modify the shorter reading by adding w`j kakopoiw/n (syrh with * copbo?) or by altering the person of the verb and adding u`mw/n (vg arm (Speculum...

IV. THE COMFORT IN THE MIDST OF TRIALS AND SUFFERING CHAPTER 3:10-4:19 _ 1. The comfort in suffering (1 Peter 3:10)_ 2. Few saved as illustrated by Noah's preaching (1 Peter 3:18) 3. The new life in its transforming power (1 Peter 4:1) 4. Suffering and glory (1 Peter 4:12) 1 Peter 3:10 The words which stand in the beginning of this section are quoted from Psalms 34:12. It is interesting to note that the Spirit of