93 - A Living Hope

1 Peter 1:1 - 2:12

Asia Minor

Unlike Paul's letters which were usually written to a specific church dealing with specific problems, this letter attributed to Peter is addressed to "the exiles in Dispersion" in five parts of Asia Minor.  It appears the primary problem was the sense of being exiled from their community -- they were very much a minority,  holding to a foreign religion in the Greco-Roman culture, and therefore very suspect by their neighbors.

So part of the purpose of the letter is to help the Christians there build their sense of uniqueness, to help them understand the hope that is in them, and to give advice on how to interact with those around them.

Interestingly, as the author calls on the primarily Gentile church members to live holy lives he uses Hebrew scripture references:

Instead, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; 16 for it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy." (1Peter 1:15-16)

The LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 2 Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them: You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy. (Lev 19:1)

And then the author points to the basics of Christian ethics:

Now that you have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth so that you have genuine mutual love, love one another deeply from the heart. (1Peter 1:22)

Frequently in these epistles we see the young churches being encouraged to stay true to the faith in a time of persecution.  But often what we face is not so much persecution as temptation to follow the culture of acquisitiveness and (supposed) power.  I wonder if the same guidelines help us withstand temptation as much as persecution?