Does God's grace mean anything when life is hard? Is grace a church word that sounds nice in a sermon but doesn't apply to real life? The letter of 1 Peter teaches us about the meaning of grace in troubled times.

First Peter was addressed to Christians in an area of what is now Asia Minor (the country of Turkey). Peter makes several references in his letter to the suffering that his readers were enduring (1 Peter 1:6-7, 2:12, 2:19-24, 3:13-17, 4:1, 4:12-19, and 5:10). This repeated emphasis indicates the seriousness of the persecution they faced.

Peter wrote to encourage them during their trials, "testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it" (1 Peter 5:12). He uses the word "grace" ten times in his letter: 1 Peter 1:2, 1:10, 1:13, 2:19, 2:20, 3:7, 4:10, 5:5, 5:10, and 5:12 (English translations may not render the word "grace" every time, but it is the same word in Greek). The frequency of the word in this short letter shows how important grace is to its message. Peter says that Christians can stand firm in "the true grace of God," even during trials.

We usually think of grace as God's unmerited favor by which he saves us in Christ. It is that, but it is also more. Grace is God's power that will see his people through real life on earth, even if life involves suffering and having to make hard choices about being distinct from the world. Encountering trial does not mean that God's grace is absent. Instead, grace is the way God has provided for his people to make it through hard times.

In some parts of the world today, Christians face severe persecution. In the United States, we are not being imprisoned or having our possessions seized because of our faith; but we definitely face troubled times. Followers of Jesus Christ are often singled out for ridicule. The notion of the separation of church and state is being applied to exclude all mention of God in the public arena. We are aliens and strangers in a culture that honors immorality and scoffs at godliness.

Because we are called to live as a people set apart for God in an ungodly world, 1 Peter says much that we need to hear. As we study it, we see how God's grace will help us in the troubled times we face.

1. Read the passages listed in the lesson that describe the persecution these Christians were going through. How would you describe the situation they were facing?

 

 

2. How do you think you would handle the kind of persecution that the recipients of Peter's letter faced?

 

 

3. Read the verses listed in the lesson that use the word "grace." What do you learn about grace from these passages?

 

 

4. What does "grace" mean to you?

 

 

5. What do you expect from God: that he will remove all difficulties from your life, or that he will see you through the difficulties you face? How will you be disappointed if you expect to have no difficulties?

 

 

6. What forms of persecution might you face in school, on a college campus, in your family, or from society?

 

 

7. How have you seen God's grace at work, even during troubled times?