Over the next 5 weeks, we are going to look at the book of 1 Peter, one chapter each week. I encourage you to read each chapter on your own because I won’t be able to share everything here. In 1 Peter 1, we see that Peter is writing to churches, so his audience is people who are already following Jesus. He is writing to them during a time when they are facing persecution from Rome. His audience is facing slander and ridicule for their faith, so much of this book is about how to endure suffering.

Chapter 1 starts with Peter addressing the believers as “aliens” to remind them that this is not their true home, but they are citizens in heaven. It is good that we hold onto this as well because it gives us eternal perspective. Everything we experience on earth is temporary; it’s heaven that is eternal. He also reminds believers that we have been born again, through the resurrection of Jesus, and will receive an inheritance in heaven.

When we face trials, when we experience suffering, we can remember the glory that is coming. Waiting expectantly for that inheritance helps us persevere in our suffering. The trials we face can be used to refine our faith if we let them. Just as gold goes through the fire so all the impurities can be brought out, our faith is tested so the impurities in us are brought out. Verse 7 says the proof of our faith will “result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

In the middle of a trial, it is not easy to keep hoping in Jesus. We get discouraged, we grow weary, or we start to get angry. We must stand firm in the hope of Jesus. The enemy will try to use our circumstances to take our eyes of Jesus, but he is always with us and he is all-powerful. Because of him, we can have joy and confidence knowing that we will be okay. When he comes again, he will come in glory and we will receive the inheritance and fulfillment of our salvation. That is what we put our hope in.

Verse 13 starts with “therefore.” I had a pastor tell me years ago that anytime we see a “therefore,” we need to figure out what it’s there for. So, verses 1-12 remind us that we belong to Jesus, that he has given us a new life, that trials we face refine our faith, and that the hope of our salvation can help us endure suffering. Keeping that all in mind, Peter tells us, “Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

Knowing who we are in Jesus, knowing we will face trials, knowing our faith will be refined, and knowing Jesus remains our hope, we then need to be ready. We need to prepare now for Jesus’ return. This is not about a passive belief in Jesus, it is an active belief, one that transforms our lives. Our commitment to Jesus should change the way we live.

Peter goes on to say that we can’t go back to our old ways, we need to pursue holiness. It’s one thing to give into lusts and temptations when we don’t have the knowledge of Jesus’ holiness, but as his followers, we know better now. As God’s children, we need to be obedient to His commands. He is holy and will lead us to be holy.

In the moments when we fall back into sin, God of course forgives us however, He is still responsible and just. His forgiveness and grace does not mean we get to go on living disobediently. We will still need to give an account for our actions. Besides, Jesus did not pay for our sins just so we could go back to them. His sacrifice was not meaningless and it wasn’t with something perishable, like money.

We have been saved “with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ” (1 Peter 19). Jesus, pure and sinless, gave his life, his body and his blood, for us. He paid for our sins by enduring suffering. Let us not take that sacrifice for granted. His death and resurrection freed us from sin and death. We get to live out that freedom, but not so we can go on sinning. We live in freedom by living in his love and sharing it with others who don’t know his love yet.

**Jesus, pure and sinless, gave his life, his body and his blood, for us. He paid for our sins by enduring suffering. Let us not take that sacrifice for granted.**

Peter says in the last few verses of the chapter that we ought to fervently love one another now that we are following the truth. We have a new life in Jesus, our old life is gone. Our old ways lead to death, but because we are made new through God’s Word, we have eternal life. “But the Word of the Lord endures forever” (v. 25).

In 1 Peter 1, we are reminded that we belong to Jesus and that through his sacrifice, we are made new. As his followers, we are going to face suffering, but it will refine our faith and he will always help us endure. He is our living hope and we can trust that he is victorious and that his glory, which we will get to share in, is coming. With our new lives, we ought to pursue obedience and holiness. We do not want to take advantage of Jesus’ sacrifice but live a life that brings others to him so they too can experience his hope and freedom.

Are you living according to your old life or your new life that Jesus has given you? Do you need to be reminded of the hope we have in Jesus? Have you been experiencing trials and suffering? My hope is that you are encouraged by the presence and power of Jesus. He is victorious and because he is within us, through the Holy Spirit, his victory is within us. No matter what you’re facing, no matter what you’ve done, you can find hope in Jesus. He will help us live according to our new lives because we are all Holy in Progress.

With love,

Erica

1 Peter 1

Humility

Holy in Progress