1 Peter 4:12-19

One of Peter’s primary purposes in his letter is to help his readers navigate the tension that comes from being both “in Christ” and “in culture.”

Culture is constantly writing what psychologists call social scripts: scripts telling us how to think and feel and act in any conceivable situation. The problem is that some of these social scripts do not honor God. What do we do when Christ calls us to live holy lives as aliens and strangers in this world, but culture continually says, “Stick to the script”?

As sinful and destructive social scripts intensify and dominate our culture, the danger is that we would look at culture, despair, and lose our joy. Peter’s text is instructive for us. In 1 Peter 4:12-19, we learn that suffering should not rob us of our joy. Furthermore, Peter tells us how we can find the strength to go on day after day by finding our joy in Christ, not in culture.

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