The Subculture Message in 1st Peter

The 1st epistle of Peter is addressed to the "pilgrims of the Dispersion" (1:1) and the author later addresses his readers as "pilgrims and sojourners" (2:11).

PILGRIMS are strangers who are just passing through somewhere. Perhaps on their way to a holy place. The idea is that none of us as Christians can ever be totally at home in this world. We are pilgrims passing through.

SOJOURNERS are people who are living for a time as aliens in a strange country. Abraham is the first sojourner mentioned in the Bible (GEN 12:10).  Again, the idea is that, as Christians, we are strangers in this world.  We can never be comfortable here.  The apostle John says "Do not love the world or the things in the world..." (1 JN 2:15)

That doesn't mean that we hide away in terror lest we become corrupted. We have a redemptive purpose to fulfil in the world. We might be strangers here but we're not here by accident.

So what does Peter say about a Christian subculture?

2:9,10 "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvellous light, who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy."
The Christian Church is not meant to be some elaborate man-made hierarchy but a people group. Just as the Jews (to whom many people believe Peter was addressing his first epistle) were recognisable as a people group wherever they might happen to be, so we as Christians are a distinctive people.

1:17 "And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear;"
A godly, reverent attitude is to mark the lives of Christians. In a later verse, Peter talks about how we should live before the "Gentiles" (those who don't put their faith in Jesus) but here he is talking about our attitude of life before God the Father. It's about our way of life, not about religious belief systems.

2:12 "Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honourable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation."
This is culture with a purpose. Not like the "aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers". (1:18) Christians were never intended to merge into the surrounding culture. The biblical imperative has always been that Christians must stand out from the surrounding society. Therefore, even though the word is not used, Peter is advocating a subculture mentality.

2:13-14 "Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good."
The Christian subculture should be demonstrating a radical attitude of respect and submission to government and civil authority. However, in recent times we have seen Christians raving against the government of the day and becoming involved in subversive activity. Certainly, in democratic nations, Christians have the same right as anyone else to use normal political processes but all the New Testament writers would agree that we should give honour and respect to those in authority. See v17. Also Romans 13:1-7.

2:20 "For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God."
Peter was saying, in effect: "Okay, you guys, listen a minute! When people mistreat you, I know how desperately you want to fight back. You want to be strong and assertive and fight for your rights. But we're followers of Jesus and fighting back wasn't the way He taught us to do it." As Christians, this should be our culture. It's all about living to please God, not ourselves.

3:1-4 "Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives, when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear. Do not let your adornment be merely outward - arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel - rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God."
This is the most blatantly cultural passage in an epistle filled with cultural language. Few things go to the heart of any culture more than its attitude about beauty, especially the beauty of its women. Peter scorns the outward trappings of beauty (the word "merely" is not found in the original Greek) and calls on the female members of the Christian community to concentrate on inner beauty. To him, a gentle and quiet spirit were far more appropriate for Christian women than the gaudy, aggressive fashions of the day. Not that this was just Peter's will being imposed on the Christian community. The strong emphasis on moral purity in the early church would also have required that women should dress modestly and unpretentiously.

3:7 "Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honour to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered."
Some people read this verse and all they can see is the phrase "weaker vessel". Modern feminists should not dismiss this very positive verse about women because of a single phrase that has come to us from a very different time and place. Jesus and the apostles did not enslave women. On the contrary, they honoured them and recognised that they were equal heirs of the grace of God.

3:9 "Not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing."
Another example of culture with a purpose. The previous verse insists on courtesy and love. This verse demands a manner of speech based on blessing. Once again, this is radical in the extreme, in the first century as much as in ours. It's not natural to return a good word to those who would slander you or publicly ridicule you.

4:3,4 "For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles - when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries. In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you."
Sounds like modern-day Australia! The social gap between the Christian subculture and the surrounding culture is huge. Imagine the following comment at a typical Aussie "booze-up". "Nah! Joe doesn't like parties. He belongs to that Christian mob. They don't get drunk and they never sleep around..." Unfortunately, the culture gap is not always as great as it should be but our behaviour must be determined by our identity. If we are Christians, we must live the Christian lifestyle. (Which, by the way, is more enjoyable anyway. The things we turn our backs on are not all they're cracked up to be!)

4:8 "And above all things have fervent love for one another, for "love will cover a multitude of sins"."
Jesus clearly said that love was the proof of discipleship. They'll know we are Christians by our love for each other. (John 13:35) This is the prime directive of the Christian subculture. Everything must be done in love. The Christian community is undergirded by love. Or at least it should be!

4:17 "For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?"
Paul said that it was wrong for Christians to sue each other (1 Corinthians 6:1-7) and Peter would have agreed. Part of his vision for the Christian community was that they would effectively handle their own legal disputes. There ought to be enough wisdom in the Church to settle disputes amicably, especially when both parties are brothers or sisters in Christ. Legal procedures, like attitudes to beauty, go to the heart of culture. Note, however, that Peter was not giving the Church the right to judge unbelievers. Christianity functions best as a subculture and, throughout history, has fallen into corruption whenever it has been the dominant culture.

5:5 "Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble." "
In the world today, there are many cultures where respect for elders is paramount. Sadly, I'm not sure that it can generally be said of the Christian community. Humility and submission are appropriate attitudes for all Christians but especially for the young.

The final verse of 1st Peter says: "Greet one another with a kiss of love."
This is yet another cultural instruction but, in this case, one that we probably should not expect to carry over into our day. The kiss today is so charged with sexual connotations that it hard to imagine it ever being restored as a cultural feature of the Christian community.