Christians In A Hostile World: A Study Of 1 Peter

Copyright © 2022 by Beyond Ordinary Women Ministries

Cover image used under license from Shutterstock.com.

Introduction

For decades many leaders of the American church have stoked fear in our churches, describing the culture as our enemy and encouraging Christians to fight by any means possible.

There’s no doubt that biblical values don’t align with secular worldviews, but we seem to be getting our methods of battle in this “war” from secular society, not the Bible. I wonder if God isn’t more concerned with our reactions than what’s going on in the rest of the culture. After all, Peter tells us here in 1 Peter that judgment begins with the household of God (1 Peter 4:17, NASB).

In Peter’s letter we find Christians facing a much stronger threat than we do now. They were a true minority experiencing real suffering for being Christians, something we haven’t experienced. Of course, we have stories which are hyped by people looking for a bigger audience, but if they were added all together, there’s not much loss of freedom. In some cases our own ungodliness has created the hostility.

So if Peter’s letter is written to those who suffered more than we have, perhaps we can learn from his message how to face a less hostile culture with grace. It’s time to think hard about how to apply biblical answers in our secular culture.

Kay Daigle

October 2022

Appreciation

I’m also once again grateful for Irish Kinney and Evelyn Babcock whose input on the consistency of the message and their eye for detail have been essential to the editing process of this and all my studies.

Thanks also to Deborah Herring for creating the cover.

Bible Translations Quoted

The Scriptures quoted are from the NET Bible® https://netbible.org. Copyright ©1996, 2019 used with permission from Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used with permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible® (designated NASB). Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.