“And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:” (1 Peter 1:17, KJV).

In this single sentence Peter gathers up the whole posture of the Christian life in the world: intimacy with God, reverence before God, and a serious pilgrimage under God’s searching eye. The verse begins with a gentle “And if,” not to cast doubt on whether believers truly call upon God, but to press the implication of what they already do. To “call on the Father” is the language of prayer and dependence, the cry of children who have been brought near. In the verses just before, Peter has spoken of believers being “begotten… unto a lively hope” and of their faith being tried and purified; he has also said, “Be ye holy; for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:15–16, KJV). So when he says “if ye call on the Father,” he is reminding them that their relationship to God is not distant or merely formal. God is truly “the Father,” and Christians address Him as such.

Yet Peter immediately sets fatherhood alongside judgment: this Father “without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work.” The tenderness of “Father” is not meant to make the believer casual; rather, it makes the believer attentive, because the One who adopts is also the One who evaluates. “Without respect of persons” declares God’s impartiality. He is not swayed by status, nationality, wealth, reputation, or outward appearance. In the setting of 1 Peter, where the letter is addressed to “strangers scattered” (1 Peter 1:1, KJV), this has special force. These believers live as outsiders in society, some likely despised or overlooked; Peter assures them that God’s judgment is not biased in favor of earthly power. At the same time, the phrase also warns that religious privilege and correct labels cannot substitute for a life shaped by obedience. God does not grade by pedigree. He judges “according to every man’s work,” meaning that the reality of one’s life will be taken seriously. In the immediate context Peter has already emphasized that faith is genuine and precious, but the “work” language here underscores that faith does not float above conduct; it produces a way of living that can be seen, tested, and weighed. The verse does not teach that salvation is earned by works, because the chapter will soon ground their redemption not in silver or gold but in “the precious blood of Christ” (1 Peter 1:19, KJV). Rather, it teaches that the Father’s impartial judgment makes holiness an urgent matter for those who claim Him as Father.

Then Peter draws the practical conclusion: “pass the time of your sojourning here in fear.” The word “sojourning” is rich with meaning. It portrays believers as temporary residents, pilgrims who belong to another country. This fits the letter’s opening address to “strangers,” and it matches Peter’s broader aim: to teach Christians how to live faithfully in a world that is not their final home. The time language—“pass the time”—gives the verse a sober, measured feel. Life is a stretch of days allotted, a season that will end; it is not an endless present in which choices do not matter. By calling it “your sojourning here,” Peter points to a contrast between “here” and the homeland to come, between the present age and the inheritance “reserved in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:4, KJV). The believer’s life is thus a journey under watchful divine regard.

The “fear” Peter commands is not the dread of a slave who expects rejection at any moment, but the reverent awe of a child who knows the Father is holy and the Father judges truly. It is fear as worshipful seriousness, an inward posture that refuses to treat God lightly. It includes humility, vigilance over one’s conduct, and a continual awareness that God sees past appearances. This fear is especially fitting in a chapter that has already highlighted the costliness of redemption. When Peter later says they were not redeemed with corruptible things but with Christ’s blood, he supplies the deepest reason for this fear: if God has acted in such holiness and love to redeem, then the redeemed ought not drift into careless living. The symbolism of “sojourning” also implies vulnerability; travelers need guidance and protection, and they must keep their bearings. The fear of the Lord becomes a kind of spiritual steadiness that keeps a pilgrim from being absorbed by the values of the place through which he passes.

The significance of 1 Peter 1:17, taken as a whole, is that it holds together two truths Christians often separate: God’s fatherly nearness and God’s impartial holiness. It teaches that prayerful address to God as “Father” is inseparable from a life marked by reverence. It reminds scattered and pressured believers that their circumstances do not define them; they are sojourners, and the final evaluation comes from an unbiased Judge who is also their Father. And it places the everyday choices of the believer’s journey in a solemn light: the Christian life is lived before the face of God, under His searching judgment, with a reverent fear that does not cancel love but purifies it, and does not cancel assurance but guards it from presumption.