Historical

Encouragement for Suffering Christians

1 From Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ.

To God’s chosen people who are away from their homes. You are scattered all around Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. ² God the Father planned long ago to choose you by making you his holy people. Making you holy is the Spirit’s work. God wanted you to obey him and to be made clean by the blood of the death of Jesus Christ. Grace and peace be yours more and more.

A Living Hope

³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God has great mercy, and because of his mercy he gave us a new life. He gave us a living hope because Jesus Christ rose from death. ⁴ Now we hope for the blessings God has for his children. These blessings are kept for you in heaven. They cannot be destroyed or be spoiled or lose their beauty. ⁵ God’s power protects you through your faith, and it keeps you safe until your salvation comes. That salvation is ready to be given to you at the end of time. ⁶ This makes you very happy. But now for a short time different kinds of troubles may make you sad. ⁷ These troubles come to prove that your faith is pure. This purity of faith is worth more than gold. Gold can be proved to be pure by fire, but gold can be destroyed. But the purity of your faith will bring you praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ comes again. ⁸ You have not seen Christ, but still you love him. You cannot see him now, but you believe in him. You are filled with a joy that cannot be explained. And that joy is full of glory. ⁹ Your faith has a goal, to save your souls. And you are receiving that goal—your salvation.

¹⁰ The prophets searched carefully and tried to learn about this salvation. They spoke about the grace that was coming to you. ¹¹ The Spirit of Christ was in the prophets. And the Spirit was telling about the sufferings that would happen to Christ and about the glory that would come after those sufferings. The prophets tried to learn about what the Spirit was showing them. They tried to learn when those things would happen and what the world would be like at that time. ¹² It was shown to them that their service was not for themselves. It was for you. They were serving you when they told about the truths you have now heard. The men who preached the Good News to you told you those things. They did it with the help of the Holy Spirit that was sent from heaven. These are truths that even the angels want very much to know about.

A Call to Holy Living

¹³ So prepare your minds for service and have self-control. All your hope should be for the gift of grace that will be yours when Jesus Christ comes again. ¹⁴ In the past you did not understand, so you did the evil things you wanted. But now you are children of God who obey. So do not live as you lived in the past. ¹⁵ But be holy in all that you do, just as God is holy. God is the One who called you. ¹⁶ It is written in the Scriptures: “You must be holy, because I am holy.”^[a]

¹⁷ You pray to God and call him Father. And this Father judges each man’s work equally. So while you are here on earth, you should live with respect for God. ¹⁸ You know that in the past you were living in a worthless way. You got that way of living from the people who lived before you. But you were saved from that useless life. You were bought, but not with something that ruins like gold or silver. ¹⁹ You were bought with the precious blood of the death of Christ, who was like a pure and perfect lamb. ²⁰ Christ was chosen before the world was made. But he was shown to the world in these last times for you. ²¹ You believe in God through Christ. God raised Christ from death and gave him glory. So your faith and your hope are in God.

²² Now you have made yourselves pure by obeying the truth. Now you can have true love for your brothers. So love each other deeply with all your heart. ²³ You have been born again. This new life did not come from something that dies, but from something that cannot die. You were born again through God’s living message that continues forever. ²⁴ The Scripture says,

And this is the word that was preached to you.

Jesus Is the Living Stone

2 So then, get rid of all evil and all lying. Do not be a hypocrite. Do not be jealous or speak evil of others. Put all these things out of your life. ² As newborn babies want milk, you should want the pure and simple teaching. By it you can mature in your salvation. ³ For you have already examined and seen how good the Lord is.

⁴ The Lord Jesus is the “stone”^[b] that lives. The people of the world did not want this stone. But he was the stone God chose. To God he was worth much. So come to him. ⁵ You also are like living stones. Let yourselves be used to build a spiritual temple—to be holy priests who offer spiritual sacrifices to God. He will accept those sacrifices through Jesus Christ. ⁶ The Scripture says:

⁷ This stone is worth much to you who believe. But to the people who do not believe, he is

⁸ To people who do not believe, he is

They stumble because they do not obey what God says. This is what God planned to happen to them.

⁹ But you are chosen people. You are the King’s priests. You are a holy nation. You are a nation that belongs to God alone. God chose you to tell about the wonderful things he has done. He called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. ¹⁰ At one time you were not God’s people. But now you are his people. In the past you had never received mercy. But now you have received God’s mercy.

Live for God

¹¹ Dear friends, you are like visitors and strangers in this world. So I beg you to stay away from the evil things your bodies want to do. These things fight against your soul. ¹² People who do not believe are living all around you. They might say that you are doing wrong. So live good lives. Then they will see the good things you do, and they will give glory to God on the day when Christ comes again.

Obey Every Human Authority

¹³ Obey the people who have authority in this world. Do this for the Lord. Obey the king, who is the highest authority. ¹⁴ And obey the leaders who are sent by the king. They are sent to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right. ¹⁵ So when you do good, you stop foolish people from saying stupid things about you. This is what God wants. ¹⁶ Live as free men. But do not use your freedom as an excuse to do evil. Live as servants of God. ¹⁷ Show respect for all people. Love the brothers and sisters of God’s family. Respect God. Honor the king.

Follow Christ’s Example

¹⁸ Slaves, accept the authority of your masters. Do this with all respect. You should obey masters who are good and kind, and you should obey masters who are bad. ¹⁹ A person might have to suffer even when he has done nothing wrong. But if he thinks of God and bears the pain, this pleases God. ²⁰ If you are punished for doing wrong, there is no reason to praise you for bearing punishment. But if you suffer for doing good, and you are patient, then that pleases God. ²¹ That is what you were called to do. Christ suffered for you. He gave you an example to follow. So you should do as he did.

²³ People insulted Christ, but he did not insult them in return. Christ suffered, but he did not threaten. He let God take care of him. God is the One who judges rightly. ²⁴ Christ carried our sins in his body on the cross. He did this so that we would stop living for sin and start living for what is right. And we are healed because of his wounds. ²⁵ You were like sheep that went the wrong way. But now you have come back to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

Wives and Husbands

3 In the same way, you wives should accept the authority of your husbands. Then, if some husbands have not obeyed God’s teaching, they will be persuaded to believe. You will not need to say a word to them. They will be persuaded by the way their wives live. ² Your husbands will see the pure lives that you live with your respect for God. ³ It is not fancy hair, gold jewelry, or fine clothes that should make you beautiful. ⁴ No, your beauty should come from within you—the beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit. This beauty will never disappear, and it is worth very much to God. ⁵ It was the same with the holy women who lived long ago and followed God. They made themselves beautiful in this way. They accepted the authority of their husbands. ⁶ Sarah obeyed Abraham, her husband, and called him her master. And you women are true children of Sarah if you always do what is right and are not afraid.

⁷ In the same way, you husbands should live with your wives in an understanding way. You should show respect to them. They are weaker than you. But God gives them the same blessing that he gives you—the grace that gives true life. Do this so that nothing will stop your prayers.

Suffering for Doing Right

⁸ Finally, all of you should live together in peace. Try to understand each other. Love each other as brothers. Be kind and humble. ⁹ Do not do wrong to a person to pay him back for doing wrong to you. Or do not insult someone to pay him back for insulting you. But ask God to bless that person. Do this, because you yourselves were called to receive a blessing. ¹⁰ The Scripture says,

¹³ If you are always trying to do good, no one can really hurt you. ¹⁴ But you may suffer for doing right. Even if that happens, you are blessed.

Always be ready to answer everyone who asks you to explain about the hope you have. ¹⁶ But answer in a gentle way and with respect. Always feel that you are doing right. Then, those who speak evil of your good life in Christ will be made ashamed. ¹⁷ It is better to suffer for doing good than for doing wrong. Yes, it is better, if that is what God wants. ¹⁸ Christ himself died for you. And that one death paid for your sins. He was not guilty, but he died for those who are guilty. He did this to bring you all to God. His body was killed, but he was made alive in the spirit. ¹⁹ And in the spirit he went and preached to the spirits in prison. ²⁰ These were the spirits who refused to obey God long ago in the time of Noah. God was waiting patiently for them while Noah was building the boat. Only a few people—eight in all—were saved by water. ²¹ That water is like baptism that now saves you—not the washing of dirt from the body, but the promise made to God from a good heart. And this is because Jesus Christ was raised from death. ²² Now Jesus has gone into heaven and is at God’s right side. He rules over angels, authorities, and powers.

Changed Lives

4 Christ suffered while he was in his body. So you should strengthen yourselves with the same way of thinking Christ had. The person who has suffered in his body is finished with sin. ² Strengthen yourselves so that you will live your lives here on earth doing what God wants, not doing the evil things that people want. ³ In the past you wasted too much time doing what the non-believers like to do. You lived for the body and evil desires. You were getting drunk, you had wild and drunken parties, and you did wrong by worshiping idols. ⁴ Non-believers think it is strange that you do not do the many wild and wasteful things that they do. And so they insult you. ⁵ But they will have to explain about what they have done. They must explain to God who is ready to judge the living and the dead. ⁶ The Good News was preached to those who are now dead. By their dying, they were judged like all men. But the Good News was preached to them so that they could live in the spirit as God lives.

Use God’s Gifts Wisely

⁷ The time is near when all things will end. So keep your minds clear, and control yourselves. Then you will be able to pray. ⁸ Most importantly, love each other deeply. Love has a way of not looking at others’ sins. ⁹ Open your homes to each other, without complaining. ¹⁰ Each of you received a spiritual gift. God has shown you his grace in giving you different gifts. And you are like servants who are responsible for using God’s gifts. So be good servants and use your gifts to serve each other. ¹¹ Anyone who speaks should speak words from God. The person who serves should serve with the strength that God gives. You should do these things so that in everything God will be praised through Jesus Christ. Power and glory belong to him forever and ever. Amen.

Suffering As a Christian

¹² My friends, do not be surprised at the painful things you are now suffering. These things are testing your faith. So do not think that something strange is happening to you. ¹³ But you should be happy that you are sharing in Christ’s sufferings. You will be happy and full of joy when Christ comes again in glory. ¹⁴ When people insult you because you follow Christ, then you are blessed. You are blessed because the glorious Spirit, the Spirit of God, is with you. ¹⁵ Do not suffer for murder, theft, or any other crime, nor because you trouble other people. ¹⁶ But if you suffer because you are a Christian, then do not be ashamed. You should praise God because you wear that name. ¹⁷ It is time for judgment to begin, and it will begin with God’s family. If that judging begins with us, what will happen to those people who do not obey the Good News of God?

¹⁹ So then those who suffer as God wants them to should trust their souls to him. God is the One who made them, and they can trust him. So they should continue to do what is right.

The Flock of God

5 Now I have something to say to the elders in your group. I am also an elder. I myself have seen Christ’s sufferings. And I will share in the glory that will be shown to us. I beg you to ² take care of God’s flock, his people, that you are responsible for. Watch over it because you want to, not because you are forced to do it. That is how God wants it. Do it because you are happy to serve, not because you want money. ³ Do not be like a ruler over people you are responsible for. Be good examples to them. ⁴ Then when Christ, the Head Shepherd, comes, you will get a crown. This crown will be glorious, and it will never lose its beauty.

⁵ In the same way, younger men should be willing to be under older men. And all of you should be very humble with each other.

⁶ So be humble under God’s powerful hand. Then he will lift you up when the right time comes. ⁷ Give all your worries to him, because he cares for you.

⁸ Control yourselves and be careful! The devil is your enemy. And he goes around like a roaring lion looking for someone to eat. ⁹ Refuse to give in to the devil. Stand strong in your faith. You know that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are having the same sufferings you have.

¹⁰ Yes, you will suffer for a short time. But after that, God will make everything right. He will make you strong. He will support you and keep you from falling. He is the God who gives all grace. He called you to share in his glory in Christ. That glory will continue forever. ¹¹ All power is his forever and ever. Amen.

Final Greetings

¹² I wrote this short letter with the help of Silas. I know that he is a faithful brother in Christ. I wrote to comfort and encourage you. I wanted to tell you that this is the true grace of God. Stand strong in that grace.

¹³ The church in Babylon sends you greetings. They were chosen the same as you. Mark, my son in Christ, also greets you. ¹⁴ Give each other a kiss of Christian love when you meet.

Peace to all of you who are in Christ.