In every age, Christians have needed encouragement as they faced the demands of faithful, courageous living in hostile environments. Christians in our age are faced not so much with overt persecution as with modern, aggressive paganism that chips away at Christian values. The threat is real and intense; Christians are pressured to compromise and to conform to their cultures. In these situations, the words of 1 Peter take on renewed force and meaning.

From Rome, Peter wrote to Christians in Asia Minor who were facing persecution. The persecution would become more intense, so Peter sought to encourage and assure his Christian friends. He encouraged them to suffer in a way that would witness to Christ and his grace. Then Peter assured his readers that their salvation and eternal inheritance were certain. He exhorted them to live a distinctively Christian life-style in their pagan surroundings. Peter declared that the God of all grace would restore, establish, strengthen, and settle those beleaguered Christians.