The first epistle of Peter was written to strengthen Christians during a time of extraordinary persecution that was going to get worse. Such times are trying times for the faithful. The pressure to find relief is tremendous. Under such pressure there is the ever present temptation to either retaliate or capitulate.
In chapter two, Peter seeks to fortify them against either of these reactions. To fortify his readers against retaliation, he reminds them of the attitude of Jesus under the horrible suffering he endured at the hand of his persecutors, yet without retaliating (verses 21-25). To fortify against capitulation, he reminds them of who they were and what they had in Christ Jesus (verses 4-10). They would forfeit all this if they gave in to the pressure and capitulated.

All who live godly in every age are persecuted to some degree (2 Tim. 2:12). It may not always be in the form or to the degree as that spoken of by Peter, but real none the less. We too have to guard against retaliation and capitulation. We will discuss in this article only one of these – capitulation. We will look closely at the words of Peter to remind us who we are so we can strengthen our resolve not to surrender to the pressures of our times.

We need to remember who we are whether persecuted or not. In high school, we had a sports rivalry with a school not far away. One football game ended with a free-for-all fight. The next week our principal called the whole school into assembly and lectured us on how to behave as we represent our school at such events and closed his lecture with, “Just don’t forget who you are.”

While in a gospel meeting in a neighboring state, my attention was called to the philandering ways of the local preacher. I felt compelled to talk to him about it and did in his office at the church building. He said, “I have a weakness. When I get away for here, I sometimes forget that I am a preacher.” I told him, “The problem is not that so much that you forget that you are a preacher, you are forgetting that you are a Christian.”

While we must not forget at anytime who we are as Christians, there are times when we especially need to remember who we are:

1. When we are provoked by persecution and injustice.
2. When we have a strong desire to conform to the world.
3. When we’re discouraged by problems among Christians.
4. When we see false religion’s greatly outdoing us in numerical growth.
5. While we are belittled by the “wise of this world.”

We cannot remember who we are unless we know who we are in the first place. Just who are we, according to Peter in our text?

We Are God’s Chosen Special People.

“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 marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.” (1 Peter 2:9-10 NKJV).

Without Christ we were nobody (“not a people”), now we’re someone special. We are now living stones in God’s house, chosen and precious. (Verses 4, 5). We are also royal priests in God's kingdom. (Verse 9, cf. Revelation 1:5-7). We are a people after his own possession, his own special, peculiar people bought by the blood of Christ. (Cf. Acts 20:28).

We are not a “self-made people.” We are who we are because we have obtained mercy. (Verse 10; 1 Corinthians 15:10). We are to “proclaim the praises of him” (verse 9) and not ourselves because we are his workmanship and not our own (Ephesians 2:8-10).

We Are God’s Light in the World.

“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:” (1 Peter 2:9 KJV).
We shine as lights in the midst of spiritual and moral darkness in the world of millions of people whose minds are controlled by the influence of the “god of this world.” (Philippians 2:15). Both individual disciples and congregations of our Lord are to shine as lights in the midst of a crooked nation. (Cf. Matthew 5:13-16; Revelation 1:20).

We are the light that the world needs but not necessarily what it wants. (Cf. John 3:19-21). A good influence and a good reputation are not necessarily the same. Generally speaking a good reputation is what people think of us. In a world that loves darkness rather than light we may not be able to enjoy a good reputation. But we can have a tremendous influence by our example and teaching that radiates light in the midst of all the darkness around us. If we don’t influence the world for good in this way, who will? The world as a whole will not appreciate us (John 15:19; 17:14), but those who have come to love the light will appreciate us.
We’re God’s Heirs to Heaven.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,” (1 Peter 1:3-4 KJV).

This means we are children of God and joint heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17). We become children of God by faith when we put on Christ in baptism (Galatians 3:26-27).

Though we have not yet received that inheritance reserved for us in heaven, we are already citizens of heaven. (Philippians 3:20-21). As such we are strangers and pilgrims in a foreign land waiting for our deliverance to the homeland. In the meantime as representatives of our homeland we display the values we have learned from our Father in heaven. It is much like a patriotic American living on foreign soil. He is careful to be true to his American heritage while away from home and counts the days until he can return to his home.

As heirs of God, we “we will by no means be put to shame.” We will receive our inheritance if we remain faithful to him. “Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, ‘Behold, I lay in Zion A chief cornerstone, elect, precious, And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.’” (1 Peter 2:6 NKJV).
Knowing who we are, how can we become discouraged enough to quit? How can we allow those who would oppose us to cause us to drop our heads as though we were some kind of inferior creatures upon the earth? Or like we had something of which to be ashamed? While we must never lift up our heads out of vanity and pride, there’s no reason for us to have an inferior complex about being a Christian. We can in all humility recognize and demonstrate all that we are by the grace of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. There’s certainly no reason for us to cut and run when we are faced with persecution or opposition. We are God’s children. We can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens us. We’ve been elevated to “heavenly places” in him where we enjoy all spiritual blessings. (Ephesians 1:3). We have been taken from not being a people to being the people of God – citizens in his own holy nation.

In view of all this, how can one resist being born again and becoming one of God’s own special people?

“Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, because ‘All flesh is as grass, And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, And its flower falls away, But the word of the LORD endures forever.’ Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you. (1 Peter 1:22-25 NKJV).

So, then wherever we go and in whose presence we ever find ourselves let’s always remember who we are and why we’re here as the Lord’s own special people.