In Scripture, hope means the promise of salvation for those who have accepted God and His Son's death and resurrection.Christians who possess this hope and live as though then possess it will learn godly submission, holy living, and harmony with other believers. These qualities will prepare them for what Peter pains in his epistle as inevitable?suffering and persecution. Though Peter is writing to warn a people who would soon be under the tyranny of a heathen Roman emperor, some level of suffering will always be part of the believers' journey. A time is soon coming when living the "comfortable" Christian life will be far more costly than the life willing to give up all.