Test our faith through persecution

(Audio: Spanish)

SUMMARY: The apostle Peter writes to a Church in the midst of persecution, addressing their suffering and offering them a living hope through their faith in Jesus Christ. He reminds them that their inheritance is indestructible, uncontaminated, and unfading, reserved for them in heaven. He assures them that they are protected by the power of God through faith until the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, which is a reason for great joy. Peter compares the Church to gold, saying that their trials are like being burned to remove impurities and make them purer and more valuable.

The speaker discusses the idea of being like gold that is refined through suffering and tests, but still remains genuine. They talk about how the early Christian church faced persecution and how we may face it in the future, but our faith and the gold within us will remain strong. The speaker emphasizes the importance of having joy and hope in our faith, even in difficult times. They encourage listeners to remember that our inheritance in Christ is eternal and cannot be taken away.

The apostle Peter is inspired very peculiarly at this time when he writes, and Peter is writing to a Church that is in the midst of persecution. And it is interesting how Peter addresses them and what his first Letter contains, to some people who are being persecuted. And while we in the 21st century, in the city of Boston, have not experienced this kind of physical persecution as the early Church did, we do have our own persecutions and trials of our own.

And Peter begins by saying in verse number 3, and I'm going to read from the International Version: "Praise God, the people are being persecuted." Many of their contemporaries are killing them, and Paul begins with a salutation.