A Look at 1 and 2 Peter: Introduction to 1 Peter

“Baptism…now saves you…” (1 Peter 3:21): this is the climax of 1 Peter, a letter by the apostle with the same first name written to congregations in Asia Minor. Peter’s goal was to strengthen the faith of believers in the face of oncoming persecution; persecution he was probably already feeling at the hands of Emperor Nero in Rome. His letter is awash in the language of baptism, reminding his readers they are, “born again to a living hope in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3).