Can you identify with these guys, the recipients of Peter’s 2 letters, who were
Like so many college students who weary of being mocked by their professors for being Bible-believing Christians, husbands who are mocked for not looking at porn or partying with their buddies, wives who forego a professional career to stay at home and be a wife and mother, singles who are the butt of jokes at the office for waiting until marriage to have sex, and net surfers who can’t stomach one more nasty blog or negative news story about their faith and church, their resolve was tried. They responded in one of four ways:
1) Some were enticed by the liberal route of compromise. They wanted to cut out—or at least explain away—the parts of the Bible that they were being criticized for believing. In our day, this would be most typified by the mainline liberal Christian denominations with pastors who endorse all religions and spiritualities under the oversight of unsaved bishops who appreciate their tolerance, pluralism, and minds so open that their brains fall out. This is one of the central issues in 2 Peter.
2) Some were compelled to privatize their faith. Sure, in private they would pray to and worship Jesus. But in public they would shut their mouths and keep their faith to themselves so as to not be considered the weirdo for Jesus on the block.
3) Some were considering junking their faith altogether. They were tired of being the butt of jokes in the press and on the late-night talk shows and wearied of being the Jesus freaks. Why? Because most people simply do not like being the
oddball, misfit, and outcast—especially those who are young and want to be cool and those who are old with privileged social positions to uphold.
4) Still others were attracted to the fighting posture of fundamentalism. They were preparing to separate from the culture, set up their own subculture, defend themselves, and talk trash about the non-Christians who were criticizing them, all in
the name of a culture war.
Trials come to all Christians. Trials come without warning. Trials do not necessarily come one at a time, and sometimes it feels like we’re at war on every front for the simple reason that we are. Trials can repeat, which means that just because you’ve lived through it does not mean that it is over. Trials range in severity and duration from momentary annoyance to lifelong anguish. Still, as Peter will show us, every trial is either from God’s hand or through God’s hand. Thus, if we embrace trials as an opportunity from God, they can and do result in his glory and our good.
How we respond to each trial is a witness to whether or not we are Christians, and how closely we are walking with Jesus. Furthermore, for Christians, each trial that we face is a witness to the genuineness of our faith, to reassure us that God has saved us, and to reveal to others the difference that salvation makes. Peter’s own words serve as a matchless closing exhortation, which is the purpose of this entire series. In 1 Peter 5:12 he says, “I have written briefly to you, exhorting
and declaring that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it.”
taken from the Trials series study guide from Mars Hill Church, which you can get under downloads from this page.
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