{"id":228,"date":"2013-06-26T21:13:27","date_gmt":"2013-06-26T20:13:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pbthomas.com\/blog\/?p=228"},"modified":"2013-06-26T21:13:27","modified_gmt":"2013-06-26T20:13:27","slug":"be-holy-studies-in-1-peter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/pbthomas.com\/blog\/?p=228","title":{"rendered":"Be Holy – Studies in 1 Peter"},"content":{"rendered":"

The traditional view (which I find convincing) is that this letter was written or dictated by the Apostle Peter himself around 62-63 AD. At this time Christians in Rome were facing fierce persecution under Emperor Nero, although the letter is addressed generally to all believers scattered around the world.
\n1.\tPraise God for a living hope\t\t\t\t1 Peter 1:1-12
\n2.\tBe holy, because I am holy \t\t\t\t1 Peter 1:13-2:12
\n3.\tChrist\u2019s example of submission\t\t\t1 Peter 2:13-2:25
\n4.\tWives and husbands\t\t\t\t\t1 Peter 3:1-7
\n5.\tSuffering for doing good or for being a Christian\t1 Peter 3:8-22, 4:12-19
\n6.\tLiving for God\t\t\t\t\t1 Peter 4:1-11, 5:1-14<\/p>\n

1.\tPraise God for a living hope\t\t\t\t1 Peter 1:1-12
\nOur first study brings together many of the great themes of Christian living \u2013 hope, faith, love, joy and heaven! These words should usually fill us with \u201can inexpressible and glorious joy\u201d and lead on to praise. But do be sensitive to the needs of members of the group who may be recently bereaved or be going through difficult times.
\n1.\tWhat do your group think heaven is going to be like? Are they looking forward to heaven?<\/p>\n

2.\tRead 1 Peter 1:1-12, then verses 3-5 again. Usually we receive an inheritance when another person dies. Our Christian inheritance comes from the death of Christ, but we come into our inheritance when WE die! What do we learn about that inheritance when Peter says that it \u201ccan never perish, spoil or fade\u2014kept in heaven for you\u201d?<\/p>\n

3.\t Read 1 Peter 1:5-7. The promise of heaven has always been especially precious to believers who have very little in this world, for example slaves and persecuted Christians. How much is our hope of heaven a daily reality and source of comfort to us? Can it be true that the hope of heaven means much less to people whose lives are safe and comfortable?
\nYou may wish to quote a BBC science report: \u201cIn Roman times the average life span in Britain was just 22 (mainly because of the appalling rate of infant mortality), by 1800 it was 40 years, 1900 around the late 40s and today it hovers around the mid-to-late 70s.\u201d <\/p>\n

4.\tRead 1 Peter 1:8-9. Peter speaks about \u201can inexpressible and glorious joy\u201d. Is that kind of joy part of our Christian experience? How is it expressed? If not, why not?<\/p>\n

5.\tOur \u201chappy certainty\u201d of heaven comes from our faith. How does faith give us hope? What does this passage teach us about faith? (Especially verses 5 and 7-9 and also 1:21.)
\nIt is fair to say that Peter sees faith particularly in the context of our relationship with Christ, in acts of believing and trusting in Him. Not surprisingly, this is close to the idea of faith we find in Matthew Mark and Luke, and contrasts with ideas of faith in Paul, James or Hebrews. <\/p>\n

6.\tDiscuss 1 Peter 1;1-2, or use these verses as a basis for a time of meditation and prayer, reading them phrase by phrase. What does it mean to us as Christians to know that we are:
\n\u201cGod\u2019s elect\u201d ? \u201cstrangers in the world\u201d ? \u201cchosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father\u201d ? \u201cthrough the sanctifying work of the Spirit\u201d ? \u201cfor obedience to Jesus Christ\u201d ? \u201cand sprinkling by his blood\u201d ?<\/p>\n

2.\tBe holy, because I am holy \t\t\t\t1 Peter 1:13-2:12<\/p>\n

1.\tWhat does the word, \u201choly\u201d mean to members of the group? Is \u201choliness\u201d good or bad? Why do you think we don\u2019t hear too much talk of \u201choliness\u201d nowadays?<\/p>\n

2.\tWhat does the word, \u201choly\u201d mean to the world around who are not believers? In their eyes, is \u201cbeing holy\u201d a good or a bad thing?<\/p>\n

3.\tRead 1 Peter 1:13:-2:12. What does the apostle Peter understand \u201choliness\u201d to mean?
\nThe following verses are particularly relevant.
\n13 Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; \u2026
\n14, do not conform to the evil desires you had
\n15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do \u2026
\n17 live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear. \u2026
\n22 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. \u2026
\n2:1 Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. 2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation \u2026
\n9 declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. \u2026
\n11 Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.
\n12 Live such good lives among the pagans <\/p>\n

4.\tSuggest some PRACTICAL ways in which the ideas you found in answer to question 3 are (or should be) expressed in your everyday living.<\/p>\n

5.\tWhat motives does Peter suggest we should have for being holy? Which of these do members of the group find most helpful in our quest for holiness?
\nThe following verses are particularly relevant.
\n13 set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. \u2026
\n16 for it is written: \u201cBe holy, because I am holy.\u201d \u2026
\n17 Since you call on a Father who judges each man\u2019s work impartially,
\n18 For you know 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 forefathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. \u2026
\n23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.
\n 2:2 so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. \u2026
\n5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. \u2026
\n9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. \u2026
\n12 they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.<\/p>\n

6.\tUse one or more of these sections as a basis for meditation and prayer:-
\n1 Peter 1:16; 1 Peter 1:18-21; 1 Peter 2:5; 1 Peter 2:9-10.<\/p>\n

3.\tChrist\u2019s example of submission\t\t\t1 Peter 2:13-25<\/p>\n

This passage can take you in different directions. As ever, dip into both or focus on one as suits your group best. Note \u2013 in study 5 we will be spending a whole evening (or two) considering the practical issue of \u201csuffering for doing good, or for being a Christian\u201d from chapters 3 and 4. This passage provides the ethical and theological background for what Peter later teaches on that subject.
\n1.\tBegin by reading 1 Peter 2:13-25. Ask the group, which for them is the most striking verse? Which would be the hardest verse to obey? (N.B. The first readers were facing persecution!)<\/p>\n

2.\tRead verses 13 and 18-19 again. They are characteristic of the Early Church\u2019s attitude to all authority. What is the difference between submission and complete obedience? <\/p>\n

3.\tRead also Romans 13:1-6. Paul commands the same submission to authorities. Are these commands about submission and enduring suffering in Romans and 1 Peter universal, applying to all situations, or do we have reason to think they only applied at that time?<\/p>\n

4.\tDo we feel God would put any limits on our submission to authorities? Can we suggest examples where meekness and submission might NOT be the correct course of action?
\n(e.g. South Africa and apartheid? Christians under Hitler?)<\/p>\n

5.\tHow could Christians justify a decision to disobey these commands of submission (as Christians in South Africa did)? See the notes below for one possible approach. <\/p>\n

6.\tRead 1 Peter 2:21-25. What does this tell us about Christ\u2019s death on the cross? <\/p>\n

7.\tPeter seems to be saying, \u201cChrist suffered without complaining \u2013 so Christians should always do the same.\u201d Many modern preachers say instead \u201cChrist suffered, so we don\u2019t have to!\u201d \u201cWe can live in the victory of the resurrection, not the suffering of the cross.\u201d Who is right?<\/p>\n

8.\tTen years ago Steve Chalke challenged the classic evangelical understanding of the cross as \u201cpenal substitution\u201d. He described the idea that Christ was suffering on the cross in our place to pay the penalty we should have paid for our sin as \u201ccosmic child abuse\u201d.
\nRead Isaiah 53:4-12. Peter quotes verse 9 and clearly bases his understanding of Christ\u2019s death on this whole prophecy. Read also 1 Peter 1: 18-19 and also 3:18. What do these verses in 1 Peter and Isaiah 53 teach us about the way that the cross brings us salvation?
\n(Answer: at least as far as 1 Peter is concerned, penal substitution is the right understanding!)<\/p>\n

COMMENT ON THE ETHICAL QUESTION of submission to every authority
\nIf you missed it you might want to catch up on my sermon \u201cShould the church always obey the state? Romans 13\u201d online at http:\/\/pbthomas.com\/blog\/?p=184 Ask me for a paper copy if you prefer.
\nThe universal principles in 1 Peter 2:13, 18-19 and in Romans 13:1-7 are not tied to their original context. They always apply. But these universal principles can be outweighed in some circumstances, either by the command to love one\u2019s neighbour or the need to fight for justice for the oppressed, just as it may sometimes be morally acceptable to tell a lie if that is the only way to save an innocent person\u2019s life. These are examples of \u201ccanonical tension\u201d where one part of the Bible over-rides another.
\n\u201cThe apparently universal Christian conviction that at least some governments must be opposed … is surely better explained as a case of the \u201clesser evil\u201d, where there is a conflict of principles, each in itself good, and divinely sanctioned. To resist government is bad in itself, but the alternative may be worse. … The same \u201cconscience\u201d which requires our submission to government … may also cause us to defy a particular government\u2019s edicts to the point of advocating its overthrow.\u201d (R.T.France)
\n4.\tWives and husbands\t\t\t\t\t\t 1 Peter 3:1-7
\n1.\tAsk the group, \u201cThe Bible says wives should submit to their husbands. Does that still apply today? Or should husband and wife be completely equal in their relationship?\u201d<\/p>\n

2.\tRead 1 Peter 3:1-7. Read verses 1-2 again. What should \u201cWives be submissive to your husbands\u201d mean in practice in Christian marriages today? Look at 1 Peter 2:21-25. Peter suggests that wives should submit \u201cin the same way\u201d as Christ submitted to His Father\u2019s will and to the unjust actions of His executioners. How might this be worked out in marriage?<\/p>\n

3.\tRead verse 7 again. What does it mean in practice for husbands to \u201cbe considerate\u201d to their wives and to \u201ctreat them with respect\u201d? Do we agree that wives are \u201cthe weaker partner\u201d?<\/p>\n

4.\tRead verses 3-6 again. Some churches interpret this as a prohibition on Christian women wearing jewellery, \u201cfine clothes\u201d and even make up. Is that understanding correct?<\/p>\n

The key to understanding this passage is to work out whether the instructions Peter gives were only for that time and that culture, or whether they are universal for Christians in all times in all cultures. There is nothing in the passage to suggest it is tied only to that culture, and the example of Christ\u2019s submission applies to suffering today (see next week). Is there any reason this should not apply? <\/p>\n

5. Suffering\t\t (a) 1 Peter 3:8-22 and\/or (b) 1 Peter 4:12-19<\/p>\n

Following on from study 3, 1 Peter also looks at suffering from a different angle. You could focus on one passage and its corresponding questions (a) or (b) or cover both, or take two weeks if you prefer.
\nIf doing both I would probably tackle the questions in order 1(a) 2(a) 3(a) (4a) 1(b) 2(b) 3(b) 4(b) 5.<\/p>\n

1.\t(a) On \u201csuffering for doing good\u201d, read 1 Peter 3:8-18 OR
\n(b) On \u201csuffering for being a Christian\u201d, read 1 Peter 4:12-19.<\/p>\n

2.\tIf looking at passage (a) Ask the group if they themselves have ever experienced unjust punishment?
\nIf looking at passage (b) Ask the group if they themselves have ever suffered for being Christians?<\/p>\n

3.\tIf looking at passage (a) What examples of unjust punishment can we think of in the world today?
\nIf looking at passage (b) What examples of suffering for the Christian faith today can we think of?<\/p>\n

4.\tFor both passages (a) & (b) What encouragement does Peter give here for times when we suffer? What practical advice does he give? Should we expect such suffering to be rare, or normal, for Christians? <\/p>\n

5.\tConsider again, what does the example of Christ\u2019s suffering in 1 Peter 2:18-25 teach us for our lives today?<\/p>\n

You will probably want to avoid discussing 1 Peter 3:19-22. Some people use it to argue that God is so loving that He will offer a \u201csecond chance\u201d to repent after death for any who reject Him in this life. This passage about Christ \u201cpreaching\u201d to \u201cspirits in prison\u201d (1 Peter 3:18-20) does not offer any hope of a second chance for men. It clearly refers to Christ\u2019s proclamation of His victory to imprisoned evil spirits (c.f. 2 Peter 2:4 and Jude 6) not to evangelism amongst people who have died.
\n6. Living for God\t\t\t\t\t\t1 Peter 4:1-11, 5:1-14<\/p>\n

Once again these passages cover a range of issues. Feel free to take an overview, or to focus on just one or two points.<\/p>\n

1.\tThe following question was posed at a meeting I was at recently. \u201cHow have you grown in your faith in the last year? What things which you would have done without thinking about them a year or two years ago will you not do now because you have come to realise they are sin?\u201d DISCUSS \uf04a<\/p>\n

2.\tRead 1 Peter 4:1-11. The lives of Christians in North Springfield today are not that different from the lives of the people around. We are not surrounded by pagans living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry but rather by \u201chappy successful secularists\u201d. So just what does this passage have to say to US about living for God? How should our lives stand out as different from those of our neighbours?<\/p>\n

3.\tRead 1 Peter 5:1-5. What does Peter teach us here about the responsibilities and qualifications for being an Elder (minister or church leader)? How in practice should the Elders give a lead? (Hints: shepherds of the flock \u2026 overseers \u2026 eager to serve \u2026 not lording it over \u2026 as examples.)<\/p>\n

4.\tIn contrast the \u201cyoung men\u201d are called to \u201cbe submissive\u201d. What kind of relationship should exist between Minister \/ Church leaders, and members of the church? You may also like to look at Hebrews 13:7 and 17, and 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13. Do commands like\u201cobey your leaders and submit to their authority\u201d and respect \u2026 those who are over you in the Lord\u201d still have a place in the church today? Have we neglected the value of \u201coverseeing\u201d and \u201cadmonishing\u201d in the process of Christian growth and holiness?<\/p>\n

5.\tRead 1 Peter 5:5-11. We have lots of practice at casting our anxiety on the Lord, but what does it actually mean to \u201chumble yourselves, therefore, under God\u2019s mighty hand\u201d? <\/p>\n

6.\tUse 1 Peter 5:6-11 as a framework for meditation or prayer. Read the verses one at a time with one to two minutes silence between each verse. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The traditional view (which I find convincing) is that this letter was written or dictated by the Apostle Peter himself around 62-63 AD. At…<\/span><\/p>\n

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