Peter concludes his letter to his beloved brothers and sisters in Christ to endure the humiliations that come with suffering knowing a day is coming when God will make all things right.

Wise leadership is a blessing from the LORD especially during times of stress and calamity. Peter calls upon the elders of the churches of Asia Minor to shepherd their church families as they suffer persecution for being Christians.

Persecution is here in the United States and by all indicators, it will increase in frequency and intensity. This is hard for Christians in America because of the support Christianity has enjoyed historically. Those days are gone. We need to learn how to think about and respond to Christian suffering from Peter’s instructions to his suffering audience.

How are we to understand this? We’re prone to think Peter was saying that the end of the world was near. With the resurrection, ascension and exaltation of Jesus (3:22) God’s plan of salvation here on earth entered its final stage that will culminate in the second coming of Jesus. This may well be what Peter had in mind when he made this statement. The point being that in light of the fact that we’re in the home stretch, we should be about these three things that follow.

Pagans of the first century viewed Christians as killjoys who lived gloomy lives devoid of pleasure. The pleasures from which Christians of the first century typically abstained earned Christians the reputation of being haters of humanity and traitors to the Roman way of life.

Peter is writing Christians, both Jews and Gentiles, who were expelled from the vicinity of the city of Rome and resettled in remote parts of Asia Minor which is modern day Turkey. They are foreigners living in hostile communities.

Peter wrote to Christians expelled from Rome and resettled in remote parts of Asia Minor. They were foreigners living in hostile communities. Even in a hostile setting like that of Peter’s readers, believers can live in such a way as to get along peacefully with their neighbors. Being honest, being respectful, working hard and doing good work go a long way towards garnering good will from one’s neighbors.

When faced with unjust insult and evil, Peter’s readers must decide whether to respond in kind out of the old nature and perpetuate strife or to demonstrate the power of God’s grace through radically new conduct.