1 & 2 Peter Book Study নমুনা

Tread Lightly

A sense of estrangement permeates the book of 1 Peter. It addresses its readers as exiles and aliens, people who don’t fully belong in the place where they live. Ethnicity and geography were factors, no doubt. Even more significant is how communities centred on gospel grace are at odds with the culture in which they live.

It’s not easy when a person’s religion comes into conflict with social expectations. It makes them stand out, unable to pass incognito. But Christians should not give unnecessary cause for offence. “Act uprightly” is the message of this chapter. Be good citizens. Don’t break laws and cause trouble. Trouble will come, but don’t invite it by misbehaving.

Instead, let your conduct be an example of goodness. Tread lightly. Walk circumspectly. “The arc of the moral universe may be long, but it bends towards justice,” said Martin Luther King. Righteousness is its own reward. In due course, the persecutors will get their comeuppance. It’s a message of hope.

Yet the writer is mightily concerned about blameless conduct, not wanting the Christian community to be justifiably accused of anti-social behaviour. In order for that to happen, he urges believers “not to surrender to those desires that fight against you” (1 Peter 2:11). He doesn’t itemize suspect desires, but I can well imagine that the allure of lust and liquor are among them, as well as gossip, envy, and status-seeking.

He goes so far as to encourage slaves to obey even bad masters. He connects the experience of unwarranted stigma and mob injustice to the example of Jesus, the very model of the suffering servant. It takes special eyes to see and ears to hear how subversive and effective that strategy can be. It’s a sign of better days ahead.

Respond in Prayer

O God, it’s easy to repay evil with evil, to feel hard done by and to lash out in like manner. You counsel a better way, O God. Teach me to love the things that strengthen me; to shun those that wage war against my soul. Enable me to pass on your mercy. For Jesus’ sake, Amen.

Doug Koop