Context
The Petrine author writes of his addressees undergoing “various trials” (1 Peter 1:6), being “tested by fire” (1:7), maligned “as evildoers” (2:12) and suffering “for doing good” (3:17). Based on such internal evidence, biblical scholar John Elliott summarizes the addressees’ situation as one marked by undeserved suffering.
A number of verses in the epistle contain possible clues about the reasons Christians experienced opposition. Exhortations to live blameless lives (2:15; 3:9, 13, 16) may suggest that the Christian addressees were accused of immoral behavior, and exhortations to civil obedience (2:13-17) perhaps imply that they were accused of disloyalty to governing powers.
However, scholars differ on the nature of persecution inflicted on the addressees of 1 Peter. Some read the epistle to be describing persecution in the form of social discrimination, while some read them to be official persecution.
Read more about this topic: First Epistle Of Peter
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