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“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….For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the Just for the unjust” (1 Peter 3:13-14, 18).
In our verses today we have two sides of the Christian life. We are told to be “ready to every good work” (Titus 3:1), and this means doing good to others whenever we have the chance. No one will harm us for doing that, for this world likes those who are ready to help. For the same reason they were quite happy for the Lord Jesus to feed the hungry, heal the sick, and raise dead people to life again.
However, we may suffer “for righteousness’ sake,” as the next verse reminds us. This is because doing what is right brings in God’s claims. Sometimes we must refuse to do something because it is not right, or we may do something because it is right, and in both cases the world may not like it. We may remind people that they are sinners before God, and they will not like to hear that. We may refuse to get involved in the affairs of this world, or join its organizations, clubs, etc., and they will not like that either. But then we are walking in the same steps as the Lord Jesus, for He also suffered for righteousness’ sake, all the way to Calvary’s cross.
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