Scattered! 1 Peter 1:3-7

August 10, 2024 Greg McNichols

The full video of this teaching is available at the bottom of this post and this link.

SCATTERED

Persecution for following Jesus had driven them out of their homes in Jerusalem. They had been torn away from everything familiar—like roots yanked from the earth. Their once-solid reputations? Shattered. Now, they walked with the weight of slander on their shoulders, every glance filled with suspicion. The label of "Christian" wasn't just a religious identifier—it marked them as troublemakers in the eyes of society. And perhaps most painful of all, some of their own family members had turned their backs on them.

They were tired and worn down. And the future? Hope was just a trickle.

Now, miles and months from home, the following scene played out around the cities of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. They gathered in small, borrowed houses, candle shadows flickering on the walls. The world outside those walls was anything but safe. Then, someone rose to their feet, holding the scroll sent to them by the Apostle Peter. Just seeing the letter in their midst felt like a friend's reassuring hand on their shoulder. Peter's written words now fill the room, "All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation" (1 Peter 1:3). The reader's voice was gentle, but the hope it carried was strong enough to stir their weary hearts.

"And we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay" (1 Peter 1:4).

For these scattered believers, inheritance was the land, the home, the vineyards, the olive groves—all the things their ancestors had built, tended, and passed down with care. And now, all of it was gone, left behind when they scattered for safety. What they managed to carry with them—precious coins, jewelry, a family keepsake—was now hidden away in the cracks and corners of their new, uncertain lives, always at risk of being stolen or lost, always vulnerable to the elements, to decay, to time itself.

But here, in Peter's words, was the assurance of something that couldn't be touched by exile, seized by enemies, or eroded by time. And it wasn't just any inheritance; it was theirs, kept safe in heaven, out of reach of the corruption and decay of this world.

And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see” 1 Peter 1:5.

Protection? In a world that had become one long string of dangers, betrayals, and losses, the idea that God was their shield—right here, right now—"Yes, please!". Peter was reminding them that the most important thing, their salvation, was being actively guarded right now by God Himself. Despite everything they had lost, they were already holding onto an eternal hope, a future that was theirs, no matter what.

“So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.” 1 peter 1:6-7

But what if your life isn’t marked by the same trials as others? What if you’ve managed to avoid the hardship, the persecution? What does that say about your faith? What might be happening in the quiet corners of your heart, in the places where fear whispers louder than conviction?

NOT SCATTERED

Imagine this with me: How many followers of Jesus were still in Jerusalem? Were there any? There probably were many—who loved how the temple rituals grounded them, the joy of sharing meals and stories with their Jewish friends. As for the feasts? Those were the best—rich with tradition, full of life, where faith felt like a celebration. They were part of a community that made them feel alive, connected, like they were exactly where they were meant to be.

But when Christians began losing their jobs, when the label "troublemaker" stuck, and harassment became a regular part of life, these believers—quietly, carefully—began to pull back. They decided their faith in Jesus was something to be kept private, something that didn't need to be on display.

They never risked their jobs, never lost their homes, never faced the harrassment that drove out the others.

But here’s the thing—these believers, the ones who kept their faith tucked away, hidden just enough to avoid the heat and stay in Jerusalem—they were going to miss out on Peter’s letter. That letter, full of hope and the words they needed to hear, wouldn’t reach them. Because Peter’s letter? It was sent to the scattered, to those who had been uprooted, who had felt the sting of loss and the bite of persecution.

They were also going to miss out on the chance to strengthen their faith in the fire and discover the unshakeable joy that comes from suffering with Jesus, not just for Him. There’s a unique kind of joy that only comes when you’ve walked through the valley, when you’ve felt the weight of the cross, when you’ve stood shoulder to shoulder with Christ in the midst of the storm. It’s a joy that transforms suffering into something sacred, something that binds you closer to the heart of God—and each other. They might have kept their jobs, their homes, their reputations—but at what cost?

THE FEAR OF PUBLIC SPEAKING

Hang in here with me for a minute as we make what might at first feel like an awkward or out-of-place transition. But if you stick with me, I believe you’ll find a direct application for the immediate weeks ahead. Ready?

How many of you, just hearing the words “public speaking,” feel that cold dread settle in, the kind that makes you say, “Not me. Never”? You’ve turned down every opportunity, every invitation, because the idea of standing in front of people and speaking seems as terrifying as stepping off a cliff. At the mere suggestion of speaking in public, does your chest tighten and your mind scream, “No way!”? The fear of stumbling, of freezing, of being utterly exposed is just too much. You have no intention of ever being judged on your public speaking.

Glossophobia isn’t really about the stage or the crowd. At its root? It’s the fear of being ostracized. Because in the back of our minds, there’s that whisper: “If they don’t accept you, you’re out. You’re cut off.” And that? That’s the real fear. Not just stumbling over words or your mind going blank, but being pushed to the margins, disconnected, isolated. The fear of speaking publicly is really the fear of being shut out of the social group you care about.

Do you see where I'm going with this? If you never take the opportunity to speak publicly, you'll never have to deal with the fears of doing so. In the same way, the less-than-committed, cultural followers of Jesus in first-century Jerusalem were never going to be at risk of facing trials due to following Jesus. Their faith wasn't strong enough to risk the backlash, the harassment and the isolation that came with truly following Him.

Are you starting to connect the dots? Are you beginning to see where this teaching is taking us? Not quite? Alright, let’s take it a little further with some direct and personal questions.

ARE YOU AT RISK OF BEING SCATTERED?

Do you really need the message of Peter in his two letters? Or is reading them just a chance to nod along, celebrating doctrines you already hold dear? All that talk about harassment, job loss, getting booted from your social circle at work or school—does that even hit close to home? Did your life and faith last month look more like those followers of Jesus who stayed comfortable in Jerusalem, never forced to flee? Or do you find yourself more in step with the scattered ones throughout Asia Minor, those who were thirsty for Peter’s words—people who knew what it meant to be ostracized, to stand on the outside of Rome’s popular culture, clinging to the hope those letters carried?

We want to be able to identify with those scattered believers to whom Peter was writing. Why? Because here in post-Christian America, it's becoming clear that Christians are facing a different kind of exile. Popular culture? Woke culture? Academia? In their eyes, the teachings of Jesus aren't just outdated—they're seen as a threat. Dangerous, even. And that's precisely where we find ourselves, standing on the outside.

That's the challenge of this teaching: to recognize that you'll only risk being ostracized and identifying with "the scattered" if you live your faith in Jesus out loud.

The idea that there’s objective truth? That morality is based on the character of God and the teachings of Jesus? That’s not just unpopular; it’s seen as a threat. But here’s the challenge: instead of shying away from this reality, what if we embraced it? Because following Jesus has always been countercultural—in first-century Rome and in twenty-first-century America. The question is, are we willing to be that kind of Christian in a world that’s desperate for something real, something unshakable—the Gospel of Jesus and His body, the church?

As we spend the next six weeks walking through these letters of Peter, may our lives each week become more and more in need of the message he wrote to those scattered Christians. Because each week, as we live our faith more clearly, more boldly, and more out loud, we will find ourselves in the very place Peter’s words were meant to reach—on the fringes, standing apart, maybe even feeling the sting of rejection. But that’s where we grow. That’s where our faith is refined.

So, let’s embrace the challenge to live in such a way that Peter’s letters don’t just resonate with us—they are essential to us. Let’s choose to stand out, to be different, to follow Jesus no matter the cost, knowing that the same hope that sustained those early believers is the same hope that will carry us through whatever comes our way. Ultimately, it’s not about blending in to avoid spiritual harassment—it’s about being faithful to Jesus and authentic to the people around us who need to be introduced to Him through us!