It isn’t enough for us to simply get up every morning and trudge through each day neither is itĪdvisable to paste a smile on our faces and ignore troubles. Peter’s encouragement to his Christian readers is one of perseverance in faith. Most of us are probably somewhere in between. How do you react when suffering comes? Many crumble at the mere thought of another pain or trial. Too often in those most difficult moments of our lives, confusion reigns whileĬontentment wanes questions arise while prayer subsides. We struggle with frustration, anger, and uncertainty when trials strange and unexpected land on our doorsteps. Unjust or unforeseen suffering is one of the great problems that grips the hearts of people today. By rooting their perseverance in the person and work of Christ, believers can always cling to hope in the midst of suffering. Life in the midst of trials and tribulations. Jesus becomes the focal point for ordering one’s This would include submission to authority-even unjust authority-in the government, in the home, and in the workplace. TheĪpostle called Christians to “sanctify Christ as Lord” in their hearts, that believers might live and act as Jesus desires during their short time here on earth (1 Peter 3:14–18). Peter therefore pointed his readers in the best possible direction, to Jesus Himself. More than any other man who walked the earth, Jesus modeled that lifestyle. Living in close proximity to Jesus Christ for more than three years had provided the apostle Peter the best possible example of what it looked like to live in holiness amid a hostile world. Peter maintained that this was the kind of true perseverance that God expects from His people. To is similar to Job’s, a man who suffered despite his righteousness. The endurance Peter called these believers In this way, 1 Peter might be called the Job of the New Testament, providing encouragement for the true believer to continue on in the way that Jesus has laid out for all His followers. Why is First Peter so important?įirst Peter focuses on the importance of believers bearing up under unjust suffering yet continuing to live well (1 Peter 2:20). Based on the numerous references to suffering and persecution in this letter, Peter likely wrote in AD 64, just as the persecution of Christians under Nero was ramping up.
While the fact is not recorded in the Bible, Peter has long been thought to have spent his final years serving the church in Rome. He used the name of the ancient Mesopotamian city as a stand-in for Rome, the modern city that, like Babylon, gave itself over to idol worship and false gods. First Peter 5:13 indicates that Peter sent greetings from the local church-calling it “Babylon”-but it’s most likely that the apostle was writing in a common metaphor there. At the time he wrote, Peter had not yet been arrested, an event that would lead to his martyrdom around AD 66–68. In this letter, Peter spoke much about persecution, which anticipated the persecution he and other Christians would endure in the final years of Nero’s reign.
The apostle addressed the letter’s recipients as “aliens” (1:1), a word indicating that Peter was speaking not just to Jews or just to Gentiles but to Christians who were living their lives in such a way that they would have stood out as aliens among the surrounding culture. Peter wrote to a group of people that probably included both Jews and Gentiles.
He wrote this letter to a group of Christians scattered throughout the northern areas of Asia Minor, where he may have previously preached the gospel. The first word of this epistle, Peter, identifies the author, who called himself “an apostle of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:1).
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