Ready for Action
1 Peter 1:13-21
Why is God showing you this lesson?
Persecution can discourage even the strongest believer. Elijah, Jeremiah, and Paul, among others, each learned this painful truth (1 Kings 19:3-4; Jeremiah 17:15-18 and 18:18-23; 1 Corinthians 2:3; and Acts 18:6-11). Though all were great men of God, their experiences led them to show fear, run away, and even to pray for death.
The recipients of 1 Peter had endured persecution from their pagan neighbors and were quite discouraged. Mindful of the temptation to let persecution paralyze their faith, Peter writes to encourage them.
God’s purpose in showing you this lesson is to give clear guidance concerning how to respond when you face persecution. He does not want persecution to paralyze you. Instead, he wants you to be ready for action, knowing precisely what to do.
In 1 Peter 1:13-21, Peter gives his readers three commands. First, he calls them to set their hope completely on the grace that Christ will bring with him (1:13). The word “grace” refers to the eternal life that Christ will grant to believers at his second coming. Peter also describes the manner in which his readers should carry out this command with the metaphor, “Gird yourselves for action” (1:13). This expression denotes the ancient practice of lifting one’s long robes and tying them around himself that he might be ready to move quickly. The metaphor thus presents an image of one who is mentally ready and focused on his coming salvation.
Peter also commands them to live a life of holiness (1:15). This pursuit of holiness entails, as Schreiner explains, “conforming their lives to God’s very character.” It is God the Father, rather than the world, who serves as their ethical model for daily living.
Peter’s third command is that his readers live in reverent fear of God the Father (1:17), rather than their persecutors (3:14). The notion of showing “fear” toward God is foreign to many Christians today as some within American Christianity de-emphasize God’s holiness (1:15) and role as judge (1:17). However, showing the appropriate reverential awe is biblical (Proverbs 1:7; Matthew 10:28; 2 Corinthians 5:11; 7:1; Ephesians 5:21; 1 Peter 2:18; 3:2 [the wife should fear God, not her husband], 15).
How does this lesson connect to what God is doing in and around you?
If you are experiencing persecution now, do not let it paralyze your Christian faith. Instead, set your hope on your future salvation, strive to live in holiness, and show reverential fear toward God.
Bryant– Lessons by Michael Bryant, assistant professor of religion at Charleston Southern University. Bryant received a B.S. in history from Charleston Southern and a Ph.D. in New Testament from Southeastern Seminary.