they almost inevitably will, the provocation must not come from the Christian side: [18] be at peace with all men if possible, so far as that depends on you. The limits of possibility contemplated are, of course, the higher demands of the Christian conscience. The difficulty of keeping such a precept under the conditions of the first century is evident. Similar injunctions are given with even greater emphasis in the First Epistle of Peter, written after severe persecution had broken out. The leaders