學像基督
彼得前書三章8至17節
8總而言之，你們都要同心，彼此體恤，相愛如弟兄，存慈憐謙卑的心。
9不以惡報惡，以辱罵還辱罵，倒要祝福；因你們是為此蒙召，好叫你們承受福氣。
10因為經上說：人若愛生命，願享美福，須要禁止舌頭不出惡言，嘴唇不說詭詐的話；
11也要離惡行善，尋求和睦，一心追趕。
12因為，主的眼看顧義人；主的耳聽他們的祈禱。惟有行惡的人，主向他們變臉。
13你們若是熱心行善，有誰害你們呢？
14你們就是為義受苦，也是有福的。不要怕人的威嚇（的威嚇：或譯所怕的），也不要驚慌；
15只要心裡尊主基督為聖。有人問你們心中盼望的緣由，就要常作準備，以溫柔、敬畏的心回答各人；
16存著無虧的良心，叫你們在何事上被毀謗，就在何事上可以叫那誣賴你們在基督裡有好品行的人自覺羞愧。
17神的旨意若是叫你們因行善受苦，總強如因行惡受苦。
信息分享
彼得繼續教導信徒如何在世俗之中為基督而活；他在第8節提醒信徒要和睦共處、要存慈憐的心、要有愛心和謙卑的心。
最重要的，是信徒之間要有合一的心。米亞博士(Dr.F.B.Meyer)曾說：「我們眾人同蒙基督的愛，同蒙基督的血所買贖，同藉聖靈重生，同屬一個身體。我們有相同的盼望和恐懼。我們的能力源自同一泉源。我們互為肢體，同屬一家。」
反躬自問，我們離這理想甚遠，我們必須急起直追，追求更完全的合一。我們要藉著彼此相愛的心，讓世人看見我們是屬於基督的。
彼得也教導我們要存慈憐的心。這不單要求我們在別人痛失摯愛親人時，只向他說一句「節哀順變」；反之，我們必須「與喜樂的人一同喜樂，與哀哭的人一同哀哭」。
要與傷心的人一同哀哭，並不是太難；反之，當眼見別人成功而與要他一同喜樂，有時卻不易做到。這時，我們的內心會很容易出現嫉妒。但聖經卻教導信徒要謹記，神在每個人的生命中都定下了不同的計劃，所以，我們要為到別人所得到的祝福，與他一同喜樂和感恩。
無論我們作甚麼，都要見證我們是屬基督的。當我們的表現有別於世人，有些人便會好奇地查問。故此，我們應該常作準備，當遇到有人詢問我們的時候，我們便可以坦誠地回答說：「因為我是基督徒，所以，我希望我能活像基督。」
當然，要做到十全十美是不可能的；我們實在很容易軟弱跌倒。但不要忘記，我們乃是神所疼愛的兒女，祂願意隨時扶持我們、赦免我們，使我們再次站立起來，繼續為祂作見證。有這樣一位愛我們的神，我們實在是太幸福了！
SIGNS OF A CHRISTLIKE LIFE
1 Peter 3: 8-17
8 Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous;
9 not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing.
10 For “ He who would love life
And see good days,Let him refrain his tongue from evil,And his lips from speaking deceit.
11 Let him turn away from evil and do good;
Let him seek peace and pursue it.
12 For the eyes of the LORD are on the righteous,And His ears are open to their prayers;But the face of the LORD is against those who do evil.”
13 And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good?
14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. “And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.”
15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;
16 having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed.
17 For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.
Message
This is still part of Peter's instruction on how to live for Christ in a non-Christian world. Notice in verse 8 he speaks of harmony, sympathy, love and humility.
First of all, there is a oneness among Christians which is absolutely wonderful. Dr F. B. Meyer said, 'We are all loved with the same love, bought by the same blood, born by the same Spirit, members of the same body. We have the same hopes and fears. We all depend on the same strength and we are all bound for the same home.'
We ought to show this oneness much more than we do. The world should see we belong to Christ by our love for each other.
Peter also says we should be sympathetic with each other. This is more than just saying 'we're sorry' when someone's loved dies. We need to 'rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep'.
Sometimes it is easier to weep with friends in their sadness than it is to rejoice with them over their success. Jealously can so often raise its ugly head. But the Christian should be happy for those who succeed, remembering that it is Christ who plans their lives and ours.
It ought to be plain for all to see that we belong to Christ. Sometimes people will ask us why we act as we do. When this happens we need to be ready to give them a clear answer, 'I am a Christian and I want to live like Christ'.
It isn't easy to 'be on top' all the time, is it? We often fail, but God still loves us as his children. He is ready to forgive and to help us back onto our feet again. Don't we have a wonderful God?