The second of the catholic or universal letters which we shall study is addressed to 'God's chosen people scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia' (I Peter I: I). According to the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, the translation reads 'To the exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia', The area referred to was Asia Minor or present-day Turkey.

From Acts 13 and 14 we know how Paul and Barnabas established churches in the southern part of the province of Galatia; according to Acts 16 :6-8 Paul and Silas travelled in other parts of Asia Minor but did not preach there although this does not mean that the Gospel was not taken there by others. Early in the second century A.D. the Roman governor of Bithynia, Pliny, wrote letters to the Roman emperor Trajan, speaking of the influence which Christianity had gained over his province.

The Greek word translated as 'exiles' in the R.S.V. or as 'people (who are) scattered' in the Good News Bible, emphasizes the transitory nature of the Christian's life in this world. The Christians in Asia Minor are exiles in a spiritual sense, scattered among people who are hostile to the Gospel. They are waiting until they are called by God 'to share his eternal glory in union with Christ' (I Peter 5: 10). That these Christians are mainly Gentiles is indicated in 4:3-4 and 2: 10. 'You have spent enough time in the past doing what the heathen like to do ... And now the heathen are surprised when you do not join them in the same wild and reckless living ... At one time you were not God's people but now you are his people.'

That the readers are facing hostility or even persecution from those around them, because of the Gospel, is indicated in passages such as 1 :6-7, 3: 14-17, 4: I and 12-16, 5 :9-10. Throughout the letter, the writer is concerned that pure living should be seen in the lives of the readers who 'were chosen according to the purpose of God the Father and were made a holy people by his Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be purified by his blood' (l: 2). There is detailed teaching about how those who have been made a holy people should live in a holy way in their daily lives, in the face of the hostility that surrounds them. A holy people must always be ready for the return of Jesus Christ. 'When the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the glorious crown which will never lose its brightness' (5:4). There are a number of references to the awaited end of the present age and the Day of God's coming, for which God's chosen people must prepare themselves. 'The end of all things is near. You must be self-controlled and alert, able to pray' (4:7).

The importance and consequences of baptism are stressed. The teaching of the letter as a whole is what could be expected in the instruction of those who had asked for baptism or who had just been baptized. In a hostile pagan situation, acceptance of Christian baptism could be a very dangerous step. The convert had to be clear about the meaning of baptism through which he became a member of God's people but because of which he might then be persecuted by those who opposed the Gospel.

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