knowing that you were redeemed, not with corruptible things, with silver or gold, from the useless way of life handed down from your fathers,
As the death of the Passover lamb liberated the Israelites from physical bondage in Egypt, so the death of Jesus Christ frees us from the spiritual bondage of sin (cf. Exodus 12:5). In speaking of redemption Peter always emphasized our freedom from a previously sinful lifestyle to live a changed life here and now. [Note: Douglas W. Kennard, "Peterine Redemption: Its Meaning and Extent," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 30:4 (December 1987):399-405.] Jesus Christ’s life, represented by the blood, is of infinitely greater value than any mere metal, as precious as that metal may be (cf. Acts 3:6; Acts 8:20). "Futile" means vain or powerless, and it suggests that many of Peter’s readers were indeed Gentiles. We would normally expect this in view of where they lived (1 Peter 1:1). This word better describes the lifestyle of an unsaved Gentile than that of an unsaved Jew (cf. 1 Peter 1:14).