Why should we bless our enemies as instructed in 1 Peter 3:9?
1 Peter 3:9
ESV - 9 Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.
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Asked July 22 2017
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Tony Osuya
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Tim Maas
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In this passage, Peter is merely echoing or re-stating an earlier instruction of Jesus, as found in Matthew 5:43-48 and Luke 6:27-36. The reason Jesus gave for this instruction is that those who follow Christ are to aspire (with the essential help of the Holy Spirit) to the same perfect mercy that God shows in giving blessings both to people whom others (from a human perspective) consider "good" or "just" and those who are considered "bad" or "unjust" (aside from the fact that, apart from faith in Christ, all humans stand deservedly condemned in God's eyes because of sin). As Peter (in the verse cited) and Jesus (in Luke 6:35) also said, those who follow these instructions will be blessed or rewarded by God (if not temporally, then eternally). Also, what greater "blessing" could God give to our enemies than to bring them also to a saving knowledge of Christ (as He did with Paul, for example)? That is truly something worth praying for.
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