Faithful Living in a Hateful Environment (1 Peter 1.1–2)

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, writes a letter to Christians living in various provinces who are facing persecution. He encourages them to live in such a way that their good deeds will lead others to glorify God. Peter affirms his authorship of the letter and addresses some doubts raised by scholars. He describes the recipients as exiles and foreigners, highlighting their marginalized social status. The recipients come from diverse backgrounds, including Jews, Gentiles, slaves, and masters. Peter emphasizes the need for submission and endurance in the face of persecution. However, some aspects of the letter may not directly apply to our modern context, such as the instructions given to slaves. Overall, Peter's letter urges Christians to remain faithful and live in a way that reflects Christ, even in difficult circumstances. So let's read then page 1047, or Peter chapter 1. Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to God's elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkle with His blood, may His grace and peace be yours in abundance. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith, of great worth and goal, which perishes even though refined by fire, may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen Him, you have love, you love Him. And even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls. Concerning this salvation, the prophets who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, were to search intently and with greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when He predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things. This is the Word of God. Amen. Well, we are beginning a new series, but before I would like that we bow our heads and pray. Dear Lord, thank you for this opportunity you give us to meditate in your Word and to study it and to be challenged by it. Help us, Lord. Amen. So, last week we finished our study of the Gospel of John by examining the exchange that took place between our Lord Jesus and the Apostle Peter, right? I don't know if you remember that. It was at the beach in the Sea of Galilee. It was a very moving passage. The Apostle Peter was very vulnerable on this occasion because just a few weeks ago, before, he was betraying the Lord by denying Him. On this occasion, however, it was a little different. On this occasion, He is with the Lord. Things change after the resurrection of the Lord. Jesus' resurrection proved that our Lord was no ordinary man, but the Lord and Savior of the universe. Now, last week, as we examined that story, and as we meditated on this breakfast that Jesus had with His disciples, we took a lot of time to ponder on that exchange between Peter and the Lord. And it was very important because the Lord was ready to restore Peter, to give him another chance. In His grace, the Lord not only restored Peter, but He also gave him an important task. I hope you recall, the Lord commanded Peter three times with the following words, Feed my lambs. Take care of my sheep. Feed my sheep. And this encounter, this restoration is so important because it is after this, and empowered by the Holy Spirit, that we find Peter courageously feeding the Lord's lambs, shepherding and taking care of his sheep. And with the power of the Holy Spirit, Peter did this until his last breath. He faithfully followed the Lord by serving the Lord's sheep. Because of the way John finished his gospel with Peter's restoration and subsequent commission, I thought that it would be very profitable for us to study one of the epistles the Apostle Peter wrote to precisely obey Jesus in feeding and taking care of the Lord's sheep. There was a good connection there to this new series. So today we will begin then our study, as I have already said, of this first epistle, the Apostle Peter wrote to various churches that were dispersed throughout the Roman Empire. I really don't know how long we will be in this book. I promise you it will not be less than a year. But I do know that the message contained in this epistle is of great importance for us, particularly in the times such as the ones we are living. Now, I must admit that 1 Peter is not one of the most popular books of the New Testament, particularly in our Western American society context. If in passing you ask people what their favorite book of the Bible is, most will answer, well, Psalms, Proverbs, Philippians. Everybody likes Philippians. I do. 1 John and the love of God. If you talk a little bit more of a doctrinal aspect or a counter-cultural aspect, they'll go to Matthew, to the Sermon on the Mount. If you qualify favorite with the adjective theological, that is if you ask the question what is your favorite theological book of the Bible, then people might say Romans or Hebrews or Ephesians. Still, if you qualify favorite with the adjective practical, they will say James, Proverbs. Very seldom, however, if at all, will people say 1 Peter. It is hard to say what exactly prevents people from ranking 1 Peter high on their priority list. I have some hunches that you would probably hear today. Peter covers topics that are very unpopular in American society. And not only unpopular, it goes against to the typical political beliefs of a lot of Christians and a lot of people. So it's a little offensive and a nuisance of a book in that sense. Perhaps the topic of suffering that underlines the book and the call to embrace suffering as part of God's design. Nobody likes to suffer, not in this country. Nevertheless, we cannot deny the paramount importance of this epistle for our lives. Even though Peter might not be number one on most people's favorite list of books, its importance for our lives cannot be overemphasized. In fact, one scholar has rightly said that the case could be made that if one were to be shipwrecked on a desert island and allowed to have only one of the New Testament letters as a companion, then 1 Peter would be the ideal choice. So rich in its teaching, so warm its spirit, and so comforting its message in a hostile environment. I agree with I. Howard Marshall. He's an English scholar. One of my heroes, to be honest, of the faith. And I believe that 1 Peter is the ideal choice of a book for our church in this particular time. Hence, in what remains of my time, which is not much, I will use the salutation, and that's right, because really there is not much to preach about a greeting. Sometimes people make big sermons of words. I have cautioned you before to be careful not to fall in those exegetical fallacies. A word doesn't mean anything unless it has a context. Words, I've mentioned last week, saying by a famous linguist, first, who said, you shall know the meaning of a word by the neighbors he is surrounded by, or by the neighbors he's surrounded with. And it's the same in the Bible. We've got to be very careful. But I will, as we look at this salutation, because Peter does introduce several things there, I will share a broad overview of the epistle, emphasizing the central message of the entire letter, which is summarized in chapter 2, verse 12. And this is what it says, "...Live such good lives among the pagans, that though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us." As you can tell from this verse, the theme of the epistle concerns the situation of Christians and their responsibility to Christ in a society that is hostile to them. This is the heart of Peter, and we will be coming back to this theme. So, with this in mind, therefore, this is my challenge to you this morning, drawing from the theme of Peter. Live in such a way that those who oppose Christ end up worshiping Him. That is actually the message of Peter. Live in such a way that those who oppose Christ end up worshiping God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit. This injunction captures the overall message of 1 Peter, and defines what it is that we are called to do as Christians. Now, without any more introductions, then, let's talk about the man behind the book. As you can see from the very first clause, the writer of the epistle identifies himself as Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ. Those of us who are familiar with the Gospels know that Jesus had only one disciple whose name was Peter. In fact, it is the Lord Himself who gave him that name. Because, as you may remember, Peter's original name was Simon. It is the Lord who gave him the name Peter, perhaps reflecting on his character, a rock, a stone. Now, normally, it would not be necessary for me to talk about the author of the epistle, because, as the very first clause shows, the writer is Peter, the leader of Jesus' original twelve disciples. However, a few years ago, a debate began and continues to this day among scholars, and a number of scholars have denied this assertion that Peter wrote this epistle. These academics state that the writer of 1 Peter is someone who is appropriating Peter's identity to give authority to this letter. In other words, they argue that this epistle is pseudonymous and not authentic of the apostle. Those who deny that the apostle wrote this epistle do it on the basis of at least three things. And I am giving this as information so you are aware when you read the literature. First, they argue that since the epistle shows a good command of the Greek language, it is impossible that an ignorant fisherman could have written it. The appeal is often made to Acts 4.13 where it says, when they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that this man had been with Jesus. The argument is that Peter was unschooled, ignorant, and thus he could not have written with such high Greek style. The second reason to deny Petrine authorship, that is, that Peter wrote it, is that the epistle allegedly describes worldwide persecution which took place in the later part of the first century and even later in the second century which was many years after Peter's death. So, the scholars conclude Peter could not have written this epistle because he had already died. The third reason given by scholars is that it is unlikely that Peter would write to Gentile churches that were evangelized by Paul without even mentioning Paul. I don't have the time to respond to each of these arguments so I'll be very brief. In response to these churches, the first thing I must state is that the burden of proof is for those who deny Petrine authorship. As it stands, the letter clearly states that Peter is its writer. And if somebody is going to deny that statement, they have to provide very convincing evidence. I don't have to provide that much evidence because I'm taking the text as it stands. That doesn't mean we don't have to deal with the charges. So, that's what we will do at this moment. As for the first charge, it is hard for people who only speak one language to gauge and to appreciate the degree to which bilingualism can flourish in other communities. Now, I don't mean to be offensive, okay? But these charges that Peter could not have written such good Greek come usually from American scholars. Well, it comes also from some German and from different people. But usually these are people that only speak one language. I don't mean to offend you, but unless you are bilingual, you don't understand this. It's rather boastful and prideful to think that Peter, because he was a fisherman, he could not have a good command of Greek. I am bilingual. I didn't grow up in a bilingual family, but more or less in a bilingual culture. And I think my dominance of Spanish is better than English. But I can assure you, I can write in English. I do. And, you know, I don't come from a well-dove aristocratic family. I had a very simple, humbly, humble beginning with a grandfather who did anything he could get his hands on to provide for his family, carpentry, selling, making ham, you name it. I think even at one time in school, my nickname was Sausage because that's what my grandfather was selling. It's okay, I'll take it. You know, so, not only that, Peter actually grew up in a bilingual culture. He spoke Aramaic, and he was a Jew. He was not uneducated because every Jew had to go to the synagogue, and that was school, where they learned Hebrew as well. But on top of that, he was a fisherman. Now, what's the relevance of this? Well, being a fisherman, very likely he did business in Greek. In fact, there is very convincing research that shows that the interaction in areas with ports, such as Galilee, took place with the lingua franca, which was Greek. Peter had to learn Greek if he was going to survive making business, just like most of us Peruvians had to learn English if we're going to have any opportunity in the work environment. You don't have to worry about that. Everybody speaks English here. But in Peru, if I didn't speak English, I didn't get a job. So, there's no reason to think that Peter could not write well in Greek. Moreover, even though the Greek of 1 Peter is good, it is not as impressive as the Greek of Hebrews. Or look, these are exaggerations that scholars make. It is a relatively standard Greek. Yes, it has some complex structures that actually show a little bit of his Aramaic influence. As for the second charge, even though Peter, even though an underlying theme of the epistle is suffering under a hostile world, this suffering does not need to be seen as worldwide or as the official persecution of the Roman Empire. The evidence of the epistle points out to widespread hostile reactions to Christians. That's true. But not to organized state-inspired persecution. Yes, I believe that at the end of his life, Peter was killed by Nero. But this was yet beginning. It's not statewide. Now, in regard to the third charge, there is nothing strange in Peter writing to gentile communities. And to be honest, from the communities mentioned in our text, Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, the only one that we recognize as having received a letter from Paul is Galatia. So, from these words, there is nothing unusual. Not only that, let us not forget that Peter was the first apostle who brought the gospel to the gentiles. Acts chapter 10, Cornelius. So, there is no reason to think that Peter is not the writer. As I said, the burden of proof is on them. The evidence against Petrine authorship is not that conclusive. So, it is best to take the text as it stands. The apostle Peter is the writer of this epistle. Now, let us talk about the recipients of the book. And this is a very important part. According to our text, Peter writes, "...to God's elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia." From these words, we know that the recipients of this letter lived in these provinces. There were local churches in these areas. And the letter was, therefore, a circular one that had to be read by all of these churches. All of these provinces of the Roman Empire were located in the area we now know as Turkey. Yes, there are no Christians there anymore, right? Not that many, anyways. Yeah, this is the area. From other information of a later date, we know that this general area was perhaps more prone to attacks on Christians than other areas. However, it is important, as I said a few minutes ago, to keep in mind that during the time Peter wrote, the persecution was not yet state-organized. Rather, what Christians had to fear was more in the nature of social ostracism, unfriendly acts by neighbors, pressure on Christian wives by pagan husbands, masters taking it out on Christian slaves, and other actions of that kind. The recipients of the letters are described, and this is important, as exiles scattered throughout these provinces. Later in the epistle, in chapter 2, verse 11, Peter again refers to them as foreigners and exiles. And this is another reason why I don't think 1 Peter is popular among Western societies, especially Americans. Interpreters often take these words, that is, foreigners and exiles, in a spiritual sense rather than in a literal sense. I have no doubt that Peter is encouraging his readers to see themselves as foreigners in this world in the sense that their citizenship is in heaven. However, the spiritual understanding of foreigners and exiles is a corollary of the fact that they are indeed foreigners and strangers in the places they are living. Believe it or not, these Christians are a group of socially marginalized people who were indeed resident aliens and temporary residents. Now, I am not stating a political view here. I have to be very clear, okay? But I have to be honest with the text. These Christians were literally socially marginalized people who were resident aliens and temporary residents, and who, because of their faith as well as their social and immigrant status, are being rejected, ostracized, and persecuted. Perhaps, as I said, this is the reason why Peter is not so popular among Western readers, Western Christians. From the elements we read in the text, we know that the recipients are a mixed group of people, both ethnically and socially. There were Jews among them, as well as Gentiles from different ethnic backgrounds, and there were slaves as well as masters. There were also mixed marriages. That is, one of the spouses was Christian while the other was pagan. Now, destructions given to wives seem to indicate that there were more women in the church than men. Shame on you men, this has been always the reality of the church. In fact, it looks like their husbands were antagonistic to the faith. As I said, not much has changed in our days. Now, by no means were these churches homogeneous. Now, why do I point all of these things out? Well, understanding all of these social features of the church's demographics will help us better understand the text of 1 Peter, and more importantly, it will challenge us to rethink some wrong conceptions we have as we approach people that are different than us, both ethnically and socially. There's a couple of important major differences between Peter's original readers and us, however, that we need to point out. The first one is perhaps that they were a minority group in their societies, and I don't mean only a spiritual minority because sometimes we do feel that way, but also a social minority. I point this out because sometimes we're very simplistic in the way we apply the text to our lives. Yes, there are many things in 1 Peter that directly apply for our lives, and we will do our best on a weekly basis to apply the Word of God to our lives, but the reality is that there are other things that we as Westerners would never completely understand unless, of course, our situation changes drastically. For example, when Peter, in chapter 2, verse 18, instructs slaves to, in reverent fear of God, submit themselves to their masters, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh, we could say that is a mode of application that you should respect your bosses in your workplace. We could say that. However, the reality is that there is no comparison between your situation and that of slaves in the Roman Empire. You have rights and laws that protect you. You have the ability to sue your boss and the company you work for. A slave had no rights, not even over his wife. She was the property of his master, and if the master wanted to take her as his mistress, which happened all the time, he could do it, and he was protected and encouraged by the law. So, don't ever think that because you're having a bad day at work with your boss, your situation is the same than that of Peter. Yes, the Bible is relevant for all of us, and there are principles, but let us be real. Not everything in 1 Peter we can live up to or apply in the same degree that these people did, but we're going to do the best we can. The second important difference is that they were, as a matter of fact, resident aliens in the context of the first century. We're not. We are citizens of this country, and more importantly, in a more developed period. Not even I am a resident alien. I have my passport to prove it to you. I am a U.S. American citizen. Yeah, I know. I did it the other way, okay? Not even I can totally identify with them. Resident aliens in the past were very similar to what we call refugees today, what the Jews were when they were cast out from Germany and Europe in World War II. Unless you have been a refugee in another country and have experienced all of the difficulties that come with it, you cannot really understand what Peter means when he calls his readers exiles and strangers. Yes, I know that we talk a lot about being foreigners in this world and that we wait for heaven, but the truth of the matter is that we are not excited for heaven. Why would we want to go to heaven if we're quite comfortable here with our wealth and our social status? Why? I know we talk about wanting to be with Jesus in His presence, but do we really mean it? These believers had no choice. They really, really, really wanted to be with Jesus. Their situation as foreigners is not optimal. Their circumstances as aliens are challenging. Oh, they dream of the day when they will be with their Savior in heaven. It is not a hypothetical situation or just a wishful thinking. The situation is detrimental. They can't bear anymore of this. They want to be with Jesus. I am not sure that we dream in the same degree they did. Nevertheless, even though, as I said, our situation and cultural context is not the same, there is much we can learn from this epistle, and there are so many things we can do in obedience to God's Word, even if we don't measure up. And we are going to try on a weekly basis. I encourage you to come prepare. And this brings me to my last point, and I want to finish this sermon, so I would kindly ask for five extra minutes, which is about the message of the book. As I said at the beginning, the main theme of the book is captured in chapter 2, 12. Live such good lives among the pagans that though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us. And that's the title of today's sermon, Faithful Living in a Hateful Environment. As is evident from this verse, the message of 1 Peter is that those who have followed Jesus Christ, okay, this is the message, those who have followed Jesus Christ and who have welcomed Him as their Lord and Savior have the responsibility and the privilege to follow His example of glorifying God the Father, even in the most strenuous situation. Why? So that the detractors would one day also glorify God. That is the message of Peter. I'm going to read it again. Those who have followed Jesus Christ and who have welcomed Him as their Lord and Savior have the responsibility, but it's not just a responsibility, and the privilege to follow the example of our Lord Jesus, of glorifying God the Father, even when it meant to carry a cross, even in the most strenuous situations, so that the detractors would one day also glorify God. 1 Peter reminds me of the Roman soldier who just nailed Jesus on the cross, is standing on the cross, and after Jesus gives His last breath, He says, Indeed, this man is the Son of God. I think we will find Him in heaven. That is the reason why my challenge to you in the introduction was to live in such a way that those who oppose Christ end up worshiping Him. This is the challenge we get from this book. Now, how do we go about doing this? How do we try to live up to this challenge? Well, as we work our way into the epistle, we will discover that Peter is confident that his readers will respond to this challenge because of three realities in their lives, or to put it in another way, because of three things that characterize them. The first thing is that these believers have a clearly defined Christian identity. They have had a conversion experience, and they are truly gods. Salvation is not hypothetical in their case. It is a present and a future reality. Beginning in verse 2, Peter states that they have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father through the sanctifying work of the Spirit to be obedient to Jesus and sprinkle with His blood. Then in verses 3 and 4, he observes that in His great mercy, God has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoiled, or fade. Then farther down in the same chapter, Peter will remind his readers that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a land without blemish or defect. They had a clearly defined Christian identity. If we are going to obey Jesus, if we are going to live in such a way that those who oppose Christ end up worshiping Him, you have to have a relationship with Jesus. You have to believe the gospel. You have to have been changed by it first. Peter is also confident that his readers will be able to live faithful life in the midst of the most ardent fire because they have a determined corporate covenant affiliation. I said this during communion. I have a high view of the universal church and the local church. That is the reason why we haven't dropped Baptist from our name. One of those things that define Baptist, although you don't see it anymore in Baptist churches, is that we take church membership important. We're big about that. And because we believe it's warranted in Scripture. These believers belong to a local community. They are part of a body of redeemed believers who will strengthen and encourage them to live in a way that honors the Lord. We have a high view. We must have a high view of the universal and the local church. We believe that a Christian without a meaningful commitment to a local church is an aberration of a Christian. I'm not saying he's not a Christian. But if he is, it's an aberration of a Christian. It's a weird Christian. We believe that we need, if Christian, and that is if he doesn't have a local community, it's an aberration of a Christian, if Christian at all. And we believe this because that is precisely what the apostolic faith shows. This is exactly what Peter believed and taught to his readers. Of the church, Peter writes the following, But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into this wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God. Once you have not received mercy, but you have received mercy. The church is a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession. And what is the purpose of the church? Not just of individuals. To declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light. We are going to live in such a way that those who oppose Christ end up worshiping God only if we are connected to the local church because this is the reason why the church was created. Finally, Peter's readers will be able to honor the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. By the way, the Holy Spirit plays a major role in 1 Peter. And we'll be learning a lot from our Pentecostal brothers as we study 1 Peter. They are able to honor God in the midst of persecution because they have a hope-driven life orientation. That is, they live now in joyful expectation of the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. They know that their inheritance is kept in heaven, verse 4, and that their lives through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time, verse 5. That is why in chapter 1, verse 13, the apostle challenges them with the following words, Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at His coming. And it is because of this future hope that he can encourage them in 2.12 by saying, Live such good life among the pagans that though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us. I look forward to studying this book with you in the following weeks. In the meantime, let us make sure to live in such a way that those who oppose Christ end up worshiping Him.