1 and 2 Peter

Addressed to persecuted believers, Peter’s first letter encourages them with the knowledge that it is possible to live victoriously in the midst of hostility—just as Christ did. He exhorts them to live a holy life, in order to evangelize the world through their faithfulness. In his second epistle, Peter warns against more subtle dangers from within the church—false teachers and errant doctrine. He also emphasizes the importance of scriptural knowledge, for only in understanding true doctrine will heresies be known and immoral behavior exposed.