To me the Bible is not God, but it is God’s voice, and I do not hear it without awe.
The Word A Sword, Volume 34, Sermon #2010 - Hebrews 4:12
Charles Spurgeon
Clearly, 1 Peter does not paint a naive picture of the Christian life, full of fun and flowers. To the contrary, some sort of suffering—whether official persecution or simply social pressure—is considered normative (1 Pet 4:12).
