The Book of 1 Peter: Christian living

154 Pages·2013·0.77 MB·English

The Book of 1 Peter: Christian living
INTRODUCTION:
The book of 1st Peter is a General Epistle or Apostolic Letter written
to all believers in general. Its purpose was to encourage sufering
Christians and to call them to personal holiness. Peter addresses
the issue that believers are to live a life of personal holiness as God’s
people, even during times of sufering and persecution. He teaches
that all Christians are to expect sufering; it is normal and Scriptural
for Christians to sufer persecution, even imprisonment and death. He
explains that our salvation in Christ is secure because He took our sins
on the cross and, by His wounds we are healed (2:24). He also explains
that in living holy lives a believer is to, worship Christ as the Lord of his
life and be ready to explain his faith to anyone who asks (3:15). Think
about it; in the midst of persecution and the pain that comes with it, a
Christian should still submit to Christ as Lord; and be assured that all
his/her wounds are healed in Christ; in the same situation, Christians
should not shy of from explaining their faith to anyone who asks.
Peter also expounds that as a believer one should not be surprised
when persecution comes upon them, but they should be alert for
Satan is continuously looking for someone to devour (5:8). In addition,
if a believer does sufer persecution, he/she should glorify God and
entrust his/her soul to Him. THINK ABOUT IT: Is there any painful
situation that you faced that made you not to submit to Christ as Lord,
doubt his promise and ability to heal all your pain or even stopped you
from sharing Christ with others?
Peter’s words were relevant to Christians in the early church who faced
the frst persecution of the Church that took place under Nero, the
sixth emperor of Rome. Just to give a few examples of what Christians
faced; in one instance Nero ordered that the city of Rome should be
set on fre, an order that was executed by his ofcers, guards, and
servants. But when Nero, found out that his conduct was greatly
blamed, he was determined to lay the blame upon the Christians in
order to excuse himself. Nero also had some Christians sewed up in
skins of wild beasts, and they were then hunted/attacked by dogs until
they died; others were dressed in shirts made stif with wax and set on
fre in his gardens, in order to illuminate them. This persecution was
general throughout the whole Roman Empire; but it rather increased
than diminished the spirit of Christianity. In the course of it, St. Paul
and St. Peter were martyred.
Reading through the internet on ‘top ten Christian persecution stories
of 2011’, I was captured by the experience of Christian leaders in Laos;
eight Christian leaders in Boukham village, Savannakhet Province, were
arrested on Dec. 16 2011 after they had gathered 200 church members
for a Christmas celebration. Human Rights Watch for Lao Religious
Freedom reported that the leaders had secured permission for the
event from Boukham’s village chief, but village security forces entered
the site and marched the eight leaders to the Boukham government
headquarters, where they were detained without being charged. Four
of the detainees were placed in handcufs and wooden stocks, while
the other four were left unrestrained. While they were held without
formal charges, it is quite clear that they were arrested for gathering
people for worship.
Lao Evangelical Church representatives on Dec. 18 2011 managed
to negotiate the release of one of the detainees held in stocks, after
paying a fne to the village chief. The chief later ordered the other four
unrestrained detainees to be placed in stocks as well. Boukham village
authorities later moved six of the detained Christians to an animal
pen, blocked visits from family members and banned direct delivery
of food. The other detainee was released temporarily to attend a
government training session but was then held with the others – all
seven in wooden stocks. When last seen, the health of one of the
detained leaders had deteriorated; because he sufers from a kidney
ailment. The legs of six of the detainees were swollen and infected,
according to the Human Rights watch. Family members feared that the
authorities would employ starvation tactics in order to force the six to
give up their faith.
In the recent past our nation has experienced a series of terror attacks
directed to Christians both in open air crusades and even during
Sunday worship in church. This has led to the death of many Christians
including innocent Sunday school children, and many others have
been left with wounds, scars and deformities that they will live with for
the rest of their life. It is possible for one of the victims to feel like, if I
had not gone to church or attended that meeting this would not have
happened to me. They could also ask God, where were you when all
this was being planned? These experiences have also brought about
changes in how security is handled in church today; everyone has to
go through security checks.
These experiences drawn from the early church to the present day
clearly tell us that we must be equipped just incase we also meet
persecution as followers of Christ. The Book of 1st Peter, serves as the
best lesson from which we can learn from, and I therefore encourage
you to take this journey for the next ten weeks with the assurance that
the word of God will speak to you on Christian living in the face of
persecution.
The main aim is to ensure that in the midst of pain or persecution:-
1. You will still worship Christ as Lord over your life
2. You will look to him for grace and healing on the pain you
will have experienced.
3. You will still witness to others about Christ both by word
and conduct.
How to use the study guide:
Topic of the weekly studies: There is a specifc topic related to the
content of study for each week
The study follows this structure: Scripture, Observation,
Interpretation, Application, Summary, Scripture memory and
Prayer; these diferent parts of the study will be done in fve days of
the week. The study material is designed in the form of a book study
with the aim that you will learn and develop the habit to study daily
in your quiet time. Therefore, as you follow through the structure you
will be guided to ask yourself the following questions: What does the
passage actually say, what meaning was intended by the writer to the
audience? How did the passage apply to the original readers and how
does the passage apply to me?
Day 1: SCRIPTURE:
Take 30 minutes to read the text provided in diferent versions of the
Bible, what is printed in the study is the NLT version. (Recommended
versions include: New International Version, Good News, The message
& New King James). The main aim of day 1 is to familiarize with the
content in the selected text for the week.
Day 2: OBSERVATION:
Take 30 minutes to read the text again; you will be guided to ask
yourself what can I see in the passage read in the diferent versions:
Get facts, through becoming a Bible investigator. Identify key words,
important terms, names, phrases and grammatical relationships etc.
Discover who are the people involved in the text, what is happening,
what is said, how do people respond, when does this happen, where
did this happen, and any other activity.
Day 3: INTERPRETATION:
Take 30 minutes to read the text again and go through the observations
made and ask yourself, what does this scripture mean? Understand
the context, study the content, make comparison with other texts,
study the culture then and make further consultation/research from
commentaries and other helpful resources.
Day 4: APPLICATION:
Take 30 minutes to read the text again, go through the observations
and interpretations made and fnd the relevance of the text to your life
and in today’s world and the actions one needs to take. Ensure that the
application is not taken out of context: Know what the text is saying to
you, relate the text to personal experience, meditate on the text and
practice what the text calls you to do.
The application will also include a personal summary that will follow a
specifc format INSPECT: Is there any:
1. Issue for me to take note of?
2. Need for me to surrender?
3. Sin for me to confess?
4. Promise for me to claim?
5. Example for me to follow?
6. Command for me to obey?
7. Truth for me to believe in?
Day 5: SUMMARY:
Take 30 minutes to read through the summary given that is in the form
of Bible exposition of the lessons of the week and relate it to the text
and what you have done in the past four days of study. The summary
is an explanation at the end of each week’s study that will elaborate
everything you have discovered e.g. the meaning of the key terms,
phrases, who was involved and any other detail in the observation
section. Note that, the summary should be the last thing you look at
after spending time throughout the week faithfully interrogating the
scriptures.
SCRIPTURE MEMORY:
There is one memory text for each week at the end of the weekly study
PRAYER:
Take time to pray over your life and what you have discovered in the
week during the study. Note that you are also supposed to take time for
prayer at the beginning and end of each days study during the week.
Also, research on Christians facing persecution all over the world that
you could pray for as a group for the ten weeks of study.
MEMORY CHALLENGE:
Each group member will be expected to identify a memory passage
that he/she will memorize. This should be one of the weekly passages
in the Book of 1st Peter. The challenge will be done at the end of the
ten weeks of study and gifts given to the person who is able to recite
the memory passage word perfect using the NLT Version of the Bible.
QUESTIONS:
The study is characterized with three kinds of questions: One is the
observation questions/informational questions. This requires you to
remember specifc facts in order to answer the remaining questions.
Two is the interpretation questions, this are analytical questions that
encourage you to attach meaning to the facts, thereby developing
concrete concepts or principles. Three is the application questions or
the personal questions which seek to guide you to refect the facts and
meaning to your personal life. This are the, what must I do questions.
Background information:
Author:
The author of the Book of 1st Peter identifes himself as Peter, Jesus
disciple (1Peter 1:1). He was one of the earliest believers in Jesus, and
like his brother Andrew, he was probably a disciple of John the Baptist,
till John directed them to Jesus (John 1:40-41). Jesus gave him the name
Cephas (Peter) meaning a rock (John 1:42). He was one of the believers
who left their normal occupation and became active followers of Jesus
(Mathew 4:18-22). And when Jesus selected the twelve disciples, Peter
was part of the list (Mathew 10:2).
Date:
This Book was probably written in the early AD 60s. This date is
supported by the fact that the letter seems to show familiarity with
Paul’s letters from prison such as Colossians and Ephesians. It was
the era of the Roman Emperor Nero who ruled from AD 54 to 68 and
persecution against Christians was increasing everywhere.
Purpose:
Peter wrote to warn the Christians not to be surprised or ashamed
when they meet persecution (1Peter 4:12, 16). But they were to bear
their sufering with patience even if it meant death. And they were
to also bear intelligent witness to their faith in Christ (1Peter 2:20-23;
3:14-15; 4:19). There hope was in Christ and what was sought was a
way to endure sufering. In the Book he also gives practical advice on
how to live out the Christian faith in a time of trial and sufering.
Te readers:
The letter is addressed to Christians north of the Tarsus Mountains in
present day Turkey. The order in which the fve Roman provinces are
named (Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, Bithynia), may well indicate
the route taken by the one carrying the letter.
Relevance to the present age:
Sufering is still present in the world we live in, and both Christians
and non Christians are victims of war, political instability, terror attacks,
natural calamities, tribal violence and many other kinds of Sufering.
This book is relevant to prepare Christians to live out their faith in this
turbulent world by helping them to understand that sufering should
not make them waver or weaken in their faith in Christ.
Table of content:
Week 1: Living with great expectations ................................................... 12
Week 2: Living in reverent fear .................................................................... 26
Week 3: Living stones .................................................................................... 39
Week 4: Living honorably ............................................................................. 52
Week 5: Living in respect to authority...................................................... 64
Week 6: Living lives that win others to Christ........................................ 75
Week 7: Living a good life............................................................................. 89
Week 8: Living for God................................................................................... 105
Week 9: Living cheerfully............................................................................... 121
Week 10: Living to receive the crown........................................................ 135
Bibliography: .................................................................................................... 152
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