I Peter 3:13-14 says "And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled;". Peter asks the question, "who is he that will harm you"? If you look at the context of the scripture, we find that Peter shows us, toward the end of Chapter 2, the example that we have been given in Jesus Christ. We come in to Chapter 3 and see that God gives this example for wives, then husbands, then for "all" to follow. We then see a contrast of Christianity. We see that there are those who "do good" and those who "do evil".
With that in mind, we get back to Peter's question. "Who is he that will harm you?"
I believe the scripture teaches us that God gives us a level of protection. That doesn't mean that we have an absolute security because verse 15 says that we suffer. But it does mean that man really can't harm us. They may hurt my body or inflict some kind of pain but they can't touch my spirit. They can't control how I react to what they have done. How I handle the storm of suffering is up to me. I can choose to do that which is "good" and trust the Lord with the situation or I can do that which is "evil" and seek vengeance.
If we suffer because of our own sin, then we can put the blame on no man. If God chastens us, it is because we need it. The only person that we can point the finger at is our self. Our sin can bring suffering, but never for righteousness sake.
The other side of suffering is that which is for righteousness sake. This kind of suffering never comes for doing evil but for doing good. God says that this kind of suffering is "thankworthy". God says that this kind of suffering will make you "happy". A man that has suffered for doing that which pleases God is never truly hurt. He is indeed a happy man. I've never seen a happy man with a frown on his face or a murmuring spirit. Who then can harm you but you!
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