1 Peter 2:11-20
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Fitting In.
Fitting In.
Every human being like to fit.
I remember from my high school and college days. It seemed like the people who hung out together normally dressed very similarly.
In fact, some people were known by the way that they dressed.
You could categorize them based upon what they were wearing.
I thought that would have ended after high school, but it continued through college to even today.
Here is how I know this-
To this day, when I invite someone to church, one of the first questions that they ask about our church is not: Well what book of the Bible are you preaching through? What kind of songs do you sing? Do you sing with a piano? The first question after what time does it start is normally-- What do I need to wear?
So in response to that question, I used to say, “Wear whatever you want. It really doesn’t matter.”
But now, I will say something like, I generally wear a nice shirt and an overcoat, but most of the men, wear jeans or khakis with polos, and most of the women dress nice. A few dresses. Jeans, nice shirt whatever. We are more laid back.
I tell them that now, I get more specific, not because I expect them to wear the same thing that most of do. I tell them that, because quite frankly, they are asking so that they will feel comfortable walking in to our church wearing what most of the other people are wearing.
No body wants to show up and stick out among the crowd.
We like to blend in.
No one wants to show up to a social event wearing a suit or a nice dress, when every one else is dressed casual.
On the other hand, no one wants to show up to an event dressed casual, where every one else is dressed up.
If I am honest, and if you are honest, there have been times when all of us showed up somewhere and we felt out of place because of what we were wearing.
We don’t like that. Most of us would rather just leave, than be uncomfortable. We don’t want to stick out, where everyone would notice us.
I say all that to say this-
As Christians in our daily life and practice, it seems at times, we have adopted this social mindset when it comes to living as a believer in the world.
What I mean by that is that at times, we seek to blend in to the world. But that mindset and that desire is contrary to what God expects of us as believers.
In this passage today, we are going to see that we ought to stand out and stick out in the world. We ought not fit in to the world.
Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul.
In verse 11, He starts off here by calling them my favorite word for believers- Beloved.
Indeed they are beloved.
They may feel the pain and trouble of life: persecution, separation from their homes by the love of Christ, but hopefully they understand and know from what Peter has just written, that they are loved by God.
At times, I think we associate God’s love with our current circumstances. We tend to gauge his love by how good or bad our lives are at the moment.
But that is nowhere in the vicinity of the ball park of how we should understand God’s love.
In fact, He has just spent the last several verses explaining the depth of His love for these people who are currently under persecution. They are in the middle of hard times.
And I don‘t want you to forget what he has just told them. Its been a while since we have been In 1 Peter so I want to remind you of what Peter just told them:
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
And based upon what God has said about His bride, he says “Beloved” and the people have good reason to believe it.
But now, Peter is going to appeal to these people who are loved by God on how they are to live in the world.
Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul.
He urges them, He begs them. This is not a suggestion. This is not an idea worthy of consideration. The apostle Peter, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit is urging them to do somethings.
1. Recognize that they are aliens and strangers.
1. Recognize that they are aliens and strangers.
Christians, we are not at home in the world that we live. This place is not our home.
In fact, this whole book of 1 Peter is addressing us as strangers and aliens in the world.
So what this means is:
We live longing for something better, something more, somewhere pure, somewhere unhindered by the stain of sin on the world. Like Abraham, We long for the city whose builder and maker is God.
We long to be in the presence of God because in the presence of God, there is no sin. The perfection of His holiness drives out every hint of sin. It cannot stand in His presence.
Church, We long for heaven and our final home with God.
This should be the mindset of all Christians. We are not at home.
Personally, I think this is a concept more easily grasped by those who do not live in one of the most prosperous nations of the world.
I think We have a particular challenge with this.
We have become so comfortable living in this world, that many of us never long for the next. In the words of the great theologian Kenny Chesney, “Everybody wants to go to heaven, nobody want to go now.“
We tend to think we can make our own heaven here if we just work hard enough, but the reality is that everything we see here is fading It will end. Our health will fail. Our looks will fade. Our minds become less sharp. Our money becomes worth less and less.
As a result of the temporary nature of things in this life, There ought to be a homesickness among Christians.
(This past week, I was in Nashville, TN, representing our church as a messenger at the SBC. About 20,000 people met in the Music City Center to make decisions as a convention of churches. It was my first convention. But I’ll just say, Nashville is a cool city. Great food, big buildings, everything was really nice, but the longer I was there, the more I longed to be back in Ketchuptown. I was there as a stranger and alien. Here, This is home. Regardless of how nice the hotel or house or city is that you stay in, there really is no place like home. The longer I was there, the more I wanted to be home).
In the same way, the longer we remain in this sin cursed world. The more we should long for a place where there is no sin.
So the first thing Peter urges them to do is live as strangers and aliens.
The Second exhortation is this:
2. Abstain from fleshly lusts.
2. Abstain from fleshly lusts.
Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul.
He says here that there are some things of which the Christian has no business mingling, entertaining, indulging in, namely fleshly lusts.
I think these are the same things as the “deeds of the flesh” mentioned in Galatians 5:19-21 by Paul.
Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Peter says these things, “wage war against the soul.”
They literally are fighting against your soul’s health.
He urges them to abstain from these things.
We must abstain from these things as well.
Like their culture was, our culture offers plenty of opportunities to indulge our fleshly desires.
And many people in our culture live their lives pursuing these fleshly desires.
Read the list from Galatians 5 again.
That sounds a lot like our culture today.
And too many Christians have adopted the mindset that they can indulge these things while also holding onto their faith.
They adopt what is called syncretism where they think they can have what the world offers and at the same time hold on to Christ and what he offers.
This is why you have people who believe they can live a lifestyle of sin and still call themselves believers.
We have people who believe they can merge the American culture with Christianity.
American culture preaches indulgence in fleshly desires, in fact the American dream is all about exalting yourself, filling your life with all kinds of pleasure, and keep it growing.
Its been said the desire American culture and most Americans in general can be summed up this way:
Get all you can. Can all you get. Sit on the Can.
And there is an attempt to merge with Christianity that commands us to abstain from fleshly desires. To not build up your kingdom here, but rather we are to work toward the kingdom there.
You can’t merge the two. In fact, this verse to indulge the flesh is to wage war against the soul.
We either follow the god of this world and the culture, or we follow the Bible and abstain from fleshly lust.
We live as strangers and aliens.
And while we are here, but
We abstain from fleshly desires that wage war against the soul
3. We live excellent in front of the world.
3. We live excellent in front of the world.
Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.
Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles.
Gentiles here meaning nations or the world.
Jesus essentially said the same thing.
“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden;
“Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
Meaning that we are to be salt and light.
As the world looks on they should see our behavior as Christians and know that we are a different kind of people.
That we are not living for the earthly pleasures of the world, but rather we are living for something better.
Don’t misunderstand what Peter or Jesus is saying there.
They are not saying that we are live to please the world.
Living excellently among the world does NOT mean that we do, say , or act, in a a way that the world would approve by its own standard.
In fact our greatest desire and concern should not be the world and what they see. Rather it should be that God sees.
To live excellently is to live holy in the sight of God.
In other words, we live to please God, and let the world observe that.
And the goal is that they would observe and glorify God.
As aliens we ought to look different and those who are at home in the world, would observe that we are living for something more.
4. We are to Submit to the God ordained authorities over us as we Honor God above all.
4. We are to Submit to the God ordained authorities over us as we Honor God above all.
Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men. Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God. Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king.
In other words, Christians are to be the best citizens. We are to obey the governing authorities.
We are to obey the king over us. I know that at times that is tougher to hear, because we may or may not agree with what the authority over us says.
But Peter doesn’t give a qualification here for if we like the ruler in authority.
Essentially what he is saying here is that- We are to obey the governing authorities, so along as what they ask us to do would not require us to disobey God. That is our duty as Christians.
Regardless of whether or not the one in authority is a righteous leader.
In fact we know this because at the time Peter wrote this, Nero was the emperor of Rome.
David Helm says this:
“The extent and force of Peter’s words on this point only grow in stature when one considers that the emperor in Peter’s day was none other than Nero. Nero was the Roman ruler who led a great persecution against the Christians in the first century. In fact, historians tell us that it was under Nero that Peter was martyred.”
And yet, he tells them here they are to obey him.
Now to be clear again. We are to obey so long as the authority over us is not asking us to disobey God. There are times, when we will have to disobey the governing authority because ultimately Jesus Christ is our King and we answer finally to Him.
What is interesting here as well, is that Peter tells us what God has ordained the governing authorities to do.
They are to:
Punish the Evil Doers.
Praise those who do right.
Whenever they step outside of those boundaries, they are not honoring their God ordained office. Regardless, we are to be obedient citizens. It goes on to say-
For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men.
The Romans spoke ill of Christians during this time. Keep in mind, Christianity was new. They didn’t know what to believe about them. They saw them as trouble makers. The Jews hated them and spoke evil of them, so the Romans believed the Jews and treated the Christians harshly. Much like what happened with Jesus.
But if the Christians would honor the authorities, as they honored God above all, they would silence the critics as the governing authorities saw them as good citizens.
Peter summarizes what he has been saying in the next two verses.
Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God. Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king.
5. We are to submit to those whom we serve, regardless of how they treat us.
5. We are to submit to those whom we serve, regardless of how they treat us.
Servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are unreasonable. For this finds favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God a person bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly.
Peter here is ministering and writing during a time where people owned slaves and servants.
There were masters and servants.
Today, we have employers and employees.
but The principle here is the same regardless of the differing social structure of our day compared to theirs.
So we don’t get to toss this verse aside as if doesn’t matter. No it applies to our situation today as well.
Thankfully we don’t have slavery and our country, but we do have those who are our authority in our lives.
We have bosses, employers, children have teachers, etc, and the principle here is that we, as Christians, are to be submissive regardless of how we are treated.
Whether or not we are treated unreasonably or good and gentle, we have to respond in grace, and obedience.
There ought to be a difference in the way we respond to those in authority over us. I know at times we have people over us who are unreasonable, but God calls us to submit.
Now, he is not excusing us from ever being wrong.
There are times where we are treated harshly and may even be fired for something we do wrong.
He addresses that here in verse 20.
For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God.
If we are in the wrong, we haven’t submitted, and thereby we are punished for that, what good is that?
But if we do right, and are treated harshly, that finds favor with God.
John Macarthur says this-
“Christianity does not give the right to rebel against one’s superior in the social structure, no matter how unfair or harsh he may be. Favor with God is found when employee, treated unjustly, accepts his poor treatment with faith in God’s sovereign care, rather than responding in anger, hostility, discontent, pride, or rebellion.”
Peter gives us a blueprint for how we are to live in this world, and you should know, if we live this way, it is inevitable that we will stick out.
1. Recognize that they are aliens and strangers.
This is not our home. Because of that, there is no need to try and find fulfillment in the world.
2. Abstain from fleshly lusts.
3. We live excellent in front of the world.
We are to live God honoring lives as salt and light.
4. We are to Submit to the God ordained authorities over us as we Honor God above all.
5. We are to submit to those whom we serve, regardless of how they treat us.
At times, I don’t know about you, but I feel in the world like I did in Nashville this week. I don’t fit in here. We ought not fit in here. In fact its a problem if we do.
Let’s be believers who stick out.
Lights in darkness. Salt in a tasteless world.
Its Father’s Day today, and I believe God’s desire for Fathers here on this earth is that we would lead in this. That as Father’s we would lead our families in recognizing that we are strangers and aliens. That we would lead our families away from fleshly lusts. That we would lead in living excellently. That we would submit to the God ordained authorities placed over us.
Fathers we must lead our families to stick out.
Are you?
