Peter’s words to women are sublime.

He erases all agony, bolsters all resolve, and squelches all argument, leaving the suffering wife speechless, astonished.

If she is born again.

If not, she cannot “get it”. That’s the rub. It’s a sort of Catch-22 for those of us who do get it.

I intended only treating you to chapters 2 and 3. But I’ve realized the entire book applies and first I want to ask you: To whom was this letter written. The answer is in 1:1 – to God’s elect, strangers in the world, scattered, chosen by the Holy Spirit for obedience.  That is a synopsis of it, but I wanted to emphasize the parts I selected.

You see, Christians are strangers and scattered. We are not like other people, not glommed together, for some reason. I think it is to spread the truth better, as we see Christians did after the wave of persecution in Acts 8:1-3, where we see the horrors of Saul’s beginnings used by God to effect the spreading of His people, as He commanded in Genesis 1:28.

In fact, you could say God was doing the same thing at the Tower of Babel, too. (Genesis 11)

Jesus said many are called and few hear the call.

So–

When I see many hearing the call, and led by anyone but Jesus, I question who is calling.

Period.

The road to destruction has many on it; not so, the road to the life and peace that come from obedience.

Few are on it.

Even with Jesus, the multitudes dwindled, questioned His credentials, and left Him, once He spoke favorably of suffering. (John 6)

But Jesus, we know, was and still is, one piece with suffering.

And calls us to follow Him.

Also, we are called to obedience.  Almost all of 1 Peter is rather repetitious about obedience. You will not hear many sermons about obedience.

Of course.

We are called to other things, too.

And those things make funner sermons.

Ready for Part 3? Go here!