A Christian living in the busy and traffic congested area of Southern California tells the story of putting a fish emblem on the back of his Volkswagen. He said, “It cost me 39 cents and roughly 45 seconds to advertise myself as a Christian on the freeways of Southern California.” Years later he admitted, “Behaving like a Christian on those freeways took a lot more out of me!”[1] That story reminds us what we all know: people pay attention to what Christians say but also to how they act.
In our past few articles we’ve learned about evangelism from Peter who has told us to have Jesus in our hearts (1 Pet 3:15a) and how to have good answers to explain our faith (1 Pet 3:15b). Now Peter tells us about the good conduct we must have as Christians, “and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame” (1 Peter 3:16, NASB).[2] In this verse Peter tells us that we give a description of Jesus with our behavior.
In this verse Peter tells us about our goal, “keep a good conscience.” The “conscience” is what is affected by our sin and produces guilt, shame, and doubt. While we might act out sin and do evil now, it usually is our conscious that convicts us of our wrong later.
However, when we live a life free of ongoing and unconfessed sin and follow the commands of God, we enjoy a good conscience (Acts 24:16; 2 Cor 1:12; 4:2). In the context of Peter’s letter written to believers in suffering, he tells his readers to have a good conscience knowing the suffering was not caused by them.
In this verse Peter also tells us about our purpose, “so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame.” A good defense is backed up by a good life. When Jesus changes your life and you tell people about that change, it’s often hard for people to argue if they’ve seen how Jesus has changed your life.
When we act righteously in the midst of unjust suffering, it puts others to shame, not us. When they slander us and do bad things to us, yet we still have a kind and loving attitude, it puts others in a bad light. In effect, they are shamed for their bad behavior because we have good behavior.
Peter teaches us that to evangelize others we must regularly maintain a Spirit-led walk with God. This is not a perfect walk, but a walk focused on God’s will and attempting to follow God’s will.
I love the Pickles comic where Earl is heading outside with BBQ tongs, and his wife asks him what he’s doing. Earl then describes how he’s going to pick up the litter in the park because there’s so much of it, and he thinks it’s disgraceful. Earl explains, “I’ve decided to make it my mission to clean it up.” As he walks out the door his wife Opal hollers, “How about starting with those dirty clothes of yours all over our bedroom.”[3] That comic reminds us that a Spirit-led walk usually begins with us.
We all understand how things sometimes don’t match up. Someone we know is a legalist might try to describe the grace of God, but we know what they say and how they act are not congruent. Or maybe a person we know dislikes us tries to tell us about how Christ loves everyone, even though we know that person does not love us. Those messages are hard to hear because what the person says does not line up with the person’s behavior.
The sixteenth century reformer John Calvin once wrote, “What we say without a corresponding life has but little weight.”[4] When we defend the gospel we must also live the gospel. As we share our faith with others we must also maintain a spirit-led walk with God. This is not a perfect walk with God, but a walk in which we try to be kind, careful, and Christ-like.
Let’s return back to what that Southern California man was saying about putting that fish emblem on his car. He says, and I think you’ll agree, that “nonbelievers don’t pay much attention to what we wear or what we display on our cars. They observe how we behave.”[5]
Instead of putting that fish emblem on our cars let’s put it on the steering wheel to remind us how we are supposed to behave while we drive that car. Perhaps we drive it so well that someone would remark, “That person must be a believer in Jesus Christ!”
As believers in Christ hoping to share our faith with others, we must remember that our walk talks. We must, as Peter instructs, maintain a Spirit-led walk with God if we hope to guide others to God.
—
Christopher L. Scott is a pastor and author of the book, Walking Straight When Life Goes Sideways: Essential Christian Truths for Enduring Life’s Trials (Wipf and Stock). He provides hundreds of free articles, videos, and Bible study resources at his website ChristopherLynnScott.com.
[1] Charles Swindoll, John, Swindoll’s Living Insights New Testament Commentary, vol. 4 (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House, 2014), 271.
[2] Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible, Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission.
[3] Brian Crane, “Pickles,” Columbia Basin Herald, November 7, 2022.
[4] John Calvin and John Owen, Commentaries on the Catholic Epistles (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2010), 110.
[5] Charles Swindoll, John, Swindoll’s Living Insights New Testament Commentary, vol. 4 (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House, 2014), 271.