First Peter and Missional Living 1

August 24, 2007

Our church is currently reading and studying our way through the first letter of Peter. I have started a thread on our church website that i am going to reproduce here.

First Peter is a tremendous letter that, if we allow it, can have a tremendous impact on our thinking and actions in regard to our mission in the world. The letter is written to believers who are described by Peter as temporary residents of the dispersion. These believers seem to be asking the question, “How are we to respond to and live in this foreign society, as followers of Jesus?” It is a question that many of us have asked and struggled with as we have sought to bring Jesus to those who live in our vane and selfish society.

In his book, Exiles, Michael Frost says,

In our world today - post-Christendom and postmodern - we find ourselves a far cry from the simpler times during which Jesus lived. As exiles, trying to negotiate a way through the twenty first century, with Jesus as our guide and our dangerous example, we find ourselves up against challenges that we can’t imagine Jesus having to deal with. We stare vacantly at our WWJD wristbands, wondering just what Jesus would do when confronted with the befuddling complexities of contemporary culture. No wonder so many Christians opt to withdraw, to burrow deeper inside their warrens in the hope that they can avoid contamination from the onslaught of the post-Christendom West. Likewise, the temptation to give in and be swept along by the prevailing mores is perfectly understandable. Swimming always against the constantly shifting flow of culture is exhausting, and it’s not incomprehensible when Christians throw their hands up and just stop swimming.

There is no doubt that living as a Christian in our current society is difficult. It seems that around every corner is something that goes contrary to our faith. Constantly trying to swim against the flow of society is very tiresome and will cause us, as Michael Frost says, to throw up our hands and be swept off down stream.

As temporary residents, the people to whom the apostle Peter is writing, probably find themselves in a similar situation. It is a society that challenges their faith and their mission. And they wonder how the should address the the injustice, the immoral, the unloving, and the power that is in charge.

Michael Frost continues:

. . . abandoning ourselves to the current is hardly what Jesus did. Exiles, following his example, are forever seeking to forge another way forward. Neither hiding from nor embracing the values of contemporary society, they seek to thrive within their host culture without becoming slaves to it . . . Like Joseph in Egypt, Esther in Persia, or Daniel in Babylon, we are called to the ongoing and risky negotiation of engagement and resistence. Ans yet our decision to follow Christ implies that we will make a series of promises to our host empire. These promises include our declared intent to be people of love, justice, generosity, and hospitality. (p. 82)

It is because of the difficulty of following Christ in such a society that Peter reminds his readers of the new life they have been given and the ” inheritance that is imperishable, uncorrupted, and unfading kept in heaven” for them. Peter knows that following Christ is difficult when the pressures to conform are strong. Remember, it was Peter who denied Christ when Jesus was not very popular and was ready to be crucified.

So peter begins his letter reminding his readers that they have recieved a new life by the mercy of God. That even though things will be difficult there is an inheritance to look forward to. And also that the trials they are now facing will bring glory to God. So Peter begins to answer the question by reminding his readers of their salvation and God’s mercy. These are words we need to hear. Instead of focusing excessively on the trials of being exiles, we need to first understand that we have been saved by a merciful God trough Jesus Christ, the result of which is an inheritance as sons and daughters of God.

More to come . . .

Posted in 1 Peter, Missional Living, Scripture