Introduction to 1 Peter

Peter writes this first Epistle from Rome during a time of great persecution.  The Emperor, Nero, had more than likely set fire to the city of Rome because of his great desire to build new edifices.  However, the political backlash for doing this would have been disastrous so he blamed the Christians for setting these fires and then started a huge campaign to exterminate Christians all over the Roman Empire.  Peter would eventually be killed in this persecution but he writes to believers who have been chased from their homes and are being falsely accused in order to help them deal with this situation in a manner pleasing to the Lord.  Peter exhorts his readers to remember their experience of salvation in the past.  He then calls them to walk in a manner pleasing to the Lord in the present.  He concludes by pointing them towards their hope in the future.  All believers in every generation must seek to live in their present circumstances with one eye looking back at what Christ has done and with the other eye looking forward to what Christ will do.

BE FOCUSED ON YOUR SALVATION: In Christ we have been born again to a living hope that is secure in heaven for all who believe.  While we are on earth we will face persecutions but this is only a further proof of the work of Christ in our lives. This reality of salvation in the midst of suffering is what was predicted by the Old Testament prophets and what was experienced by the Lord Jesus.  This recognition of our position in Christ should spur us on to live a life of holiness before God and man.  Suffering must never be an excuse of sinfulness; rather it should be an incentive to holiness.  One day we will stand before our Lord who gave His own blood for our sin.  So now we must focus on the precious gift of salvation He has given us and live a life of love for one another, purity before God and obedience to the Scripture.  The pains and pleasures of this life will all fade away but God’s Word and those who trust Him stand forever.  As believers, saved by faith in Christ, we are called to put off or former ways and put on a life that is guided by God’s Word.  Jesus must be the foundation on which we build our lives.  He has saved us so that we too might be a part of His spiritual building and serve as His representative here on earth.  Many on earth have rejected Christ and therefore will reject us; but we belong to the Lord and are called to rejoice in our salvation, proclaim Christ’s glorious works on our behalf and live in a manner worthy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

BE FAITHFUL IN THE MIDST OF SUFFERING: Times of suffering can facilitate a mentality of excuse making or the rationalization of sin.  Peter makes sure that his readers do not slip into that trap.  He makes it clear that as believers we are to be submissive to the governmental authorities even if they are persecuting us.  They have been established by God and are to be honored as such as a means of testifying to the transformation Christ has made in our lives.  Just because they are sinning against us; does not mean that we are authorized to sin against them.  We are also to be submissive to abusive masters in the case of slavery or also a work atmosphere.  It pleases God when we endure suffering unjustly because it is what Jesus did while on earth and it is what He calls us to do.  When others inflict suffering upon us we are not to retaliate or treat them in kind.  God wants us to remember how our sins were pardoned through the unjust suffering of Jesus.  Wives are called to be submissive to their husbands even if they are unbelievers so that they might be won to Christ.  Husbands are to honor their wives and treat them with gentleness so as to keep their lines of communication open in times of prayer.  God calls us to bless those who persecute us, love those who hate us and refrain from using our words to speak evil of those who harm us.  God will take care of those who suffer for righteousness sake but He will resist those who use their suffering as an excuse for sin.

EXPERIENCE FUTURE SANCTIFICATION: God has an amazing way of using our sufferings and hardships to make us more like His Son Jesus Christ.  We must allow God to perform this work in our hearts so that we can become who He would have us be.  If we allow this work to be accomplished in our hearts we will be able to answer criticisms with a clear conscience and even others will come to our defense because of our reputation.  The purpose of Christ’s sufferings was to make us holy and pure before God and to set us free from the power of sin that formerly enslaved us.  God is patiently working to make us holy and uses many means to accomplish this task.  Our sufferings are meant to help us to turn our backs on sin.  We are no longer to follow the lusts of our flesh and former lives.  The world may speak evil of us because of this but they will answer to God for this.  In the end all of us will stand before God to give an account for our lives.  So in light of this judgment, we must simply love one another, serve one another and speak well of one another so that God might be glorified in our lives.  Trails should not take us by surprise but they should make us realize that God is working in our hearts.  We must live in light of the coming judgment and we must stand firm in Him entrust our lives and eternal destinies to Him.  Biblical leaders are called to care for the people God has entrusted to them with tender love and humility.  We are to let all of our anxieties rest on the Lord.  However, we must be aware of Satan’s attempts to destroy us and resist all kinds of temptations that he will throw in our direction.  Our sufferings are the common experience of believers who are being sanctified by God all over the world.  God wants to use them to make us more like Him and to bring honor and glory to His name.