1 Peter Blog 1

There is some debate on the authorship of 1 Peter, but many scholars say that the apostle Peter wrote it. In fact early Church tradition gives authorship to Peter by the 2nd century (Keener 705). Most scholars date it to “the last quarter of the 1st century” (Senior 2181). Craig S. Keener says that “First Peter implies an atmosphere of severe repression, but not the official court prosecution of Trajan’s time” (706) which helps to set the date that 1 Peter was written. According to Donald Senior, Rome is where the letter was written (Senior 2181) and it was written for the Christians in the northern part of Asia Minor and included both Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians. The genre is a general letter that encouraged Christians who were dealing with being outcasts because they were seen as atheists and cannibals, who were incestuous (Keener 707).
“In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith—being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him, and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” 1 Peter 1: 6-9
It is not anything that a human does that redeems them to God apart from accepting Christ. I really like the translation in The Message Bible which says,
I know how great this makes you feel, even though you have to put up with every kind of aggravation in the meantime. Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine. When Jesus wraps this all up, it's your faith, not your gold, that God will have on display as evidence of his victory. You never saw him, yet you love him. You still don't see him, yet you trust him—with laughter and singing. Because you kept on believing, you'll get what you're looking forward to: total salvation.
Our faith becomes God’s glory! Our faith is also what makes us seen as righteous before God. Yet, it is not the choosing of faith that saves us because that is still righteousness based on works, but rather it is us having faith that God “reckons to us as righteousness” just as He did with Abraham’s belief.

WORKS CITED

Keener, Craig S. “1 Peter,” Pages 705-722 in The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament. Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1993.

Senior, Donald. “The First Letter of Peter.” Pages 2181-2182 in The New Interpreter’s Study Bible with the Apocrypha. Edited by Walter J. Harrelson et al. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2003.