Albert Barnes Commentary 1 Peter 2:12

"having your behavior seemly among the Gentiles; that, wherein they speak against you as evil-doers, they may by your good works, which they behold, glorify God in the day of visitation." — 1 Peter 2:12 (ASV)

Having your conversation honest. Your conduct. (See Barnes on Philippians 1:27).

That is, lead upright and consistent lives. (Compare with Barnes on Philippians 4:8).

Among the Gentiles. The heathen by whom you are surrounded, and who will certainly observe your conduct. (See Barnes on 1 Thessalonians 4:12, That ye may walk honestly towards them that are without. Compare to Romans 13:13).

That, whereas they speak against you as evil doers. This is a marginal reading, wherein. In Greek, en w—in what. This phrase can refer either to time, meaning that at the very time when they speak against you in this manner they may be silenced by seeing your upright lives; or it can mean in respect to which—that is, that in respect to the very matters for which they reproach you, they may see by your meek and upright conduct that there is really no ground for reproach.

Wetstein adopts the former interpretation, but the precise meaning intended is not very important. Bloomfield supposes it to mean inasmuch as, or whereas. Whichever interpretation is adopted, the sentiment is correct: it should be true that at the very time when the enemies of religion reproach us, they should see that we are motivated by Christian principles, and that in the very matter for which we are reproached, we are conscientious and honest.

They may, by your good works, which they shall behold. In Greek, this means "which they shall closely or narrowly inspect." The meaning is that upon a close and narrow examination, they may see that you are motivated by upright principles and ultimately be disposed to do you justice. It is to be remembered that the heathen were very little acquainted with the nature of Christianity; and it is known that in the early ages they charged Christians with the most abominable vices, and even accused them of practices at which human nature revolts.

Peter's meaning is that while people charged these things against Christians, whether from ignorance or malice, Christians ought to live in such a way that a more full acquaintance with them, and a closer inspection of their conduct, would disarm their accusers' prejudices and show that the charges were entirely unfounded.

The truth taught here is that our conduct as Christians should be such as to bear the strictest scrutiny; such that the closest examination will lead our enemies to the conviction that we are upright and honest. This may be done by every Christian; this his religion solemnly requires him to do.

Glorify God. Honour God; that is, that they may be convinced by your conduct of the pure and holy nature of that religion which he has revealed, and be led also to love and worship him. (See Barnes on Matthew 5:16).

In the day of visitation. Many different opinions have been held regarding the meaning of this phrase. Some refer it to the day of judgment, some to times of persecution, some to the destruction of Jerusalem, and some to the time when the gospel was preached among the Gentiles, as a period when God visited them with mercy.

The word "visitation" (Greek, episkoph) means the act of visiting or being visited for any purpose, usually with the notion of inspecting conduct, inflicting punishment, or conferring favours. (Compare to Matthew 25:36, 43; Luke 1:68, 78; 7:16; 19:44).

In the sense of visiting for the purpose of punishing, the word is often used in the Septuagint for the Hebrew word pakad. However, there is no instance in which the word is so used in the New Testament, unless it is in the verse before us. The "visitation" referred to here is undoubtedly that of God. The reference is to some time when he would make a "visitation" to men for some purpose, and when the fact that the Gentiles had narrowly inspected the conduct of Christians would lead them to honour him.

The only question is to what kind of visitation the apostle referred. The prevailing use of the word in the New Testament would seem to lead us to suppose that the "visitation" referred to was designed to confer favours rather than to inflict punishment. Indeed, the word seems to have somewhat of a technical character and to have been familiarly used by Christians to denote God's coming to men to bless them, to pour out his Spirit upon them, and to revive religion.

This seems to me to be its meaning here. If so, the sense is that when God appeared among men to accompany the preaching of the gospel with saving power, the result of the observed conduct of Christians would be to lead those around them to honour him by giving up their hearts to him. That is, their consistent lives would be the means of the revival and extension of true religion.

And is it not always so? Is not the pure and holy walk of Christians an occasion of his bending his footsteps down to earth to bless dying sinners and to scatter spiritual blessings with a liberal hand? (Compare with Barnes on 1 Corinthians 14:24 and 1 Corinthians 14:25).