I. Overview

The balance with which 1 Peter describes Christian grace offers a rich theological and practical resource for the church in general and the Wesleyan tradition in particular. God’s grace changes people and distinguishes them as holy. This holiness is both “spiritual” and “social.” That is, holiness embraces both personal integrity before God and public responsibility. Grace creates and then sustains an earnest Christianity that models Christlike love in the real world. Grace equips believers for facing the rigors of following Jesus in a hostile world with confidence and joy as they anticipate the final revelation of Christ’s glory. In such terms as these 1 Peter describes (for Wesleyans and non-Wesleyans alike) the sort of holiness without which “no one will see the Lord” (Heb 12:14).