Honor’s Walk

1 Peter 2:11–17 NKJV

11 Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, 12 having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation. 13 Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, 14 or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. 15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men—16 as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. 17 Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.

One of the things that much of our world is lacking in is honor.

We understand the principle.

We want to be honored—we want people to act honorably towards us. And yet, in today’s world it is challenging to live an honorable life, even if we want to.

Honor is a concept that we understand but until it takes on flesh through intentional action, it lacks real power and influence in our lives.

It is possible even to act in ways that appear to be honorable, or at least not wrong or dishonorable, but are not pleasing to God.

An example of this would be King David and how he handled the situation with Bathsheba and Uriah. He was the king. He was within the right of kings to take whomever he wanted. Bathsheba wanted to be with the king (2 Samuel 11.2). David offered a way for Uriah to save face and when he called the king out, David created a situation that would likely kill Uriah (2 Samuel 11.6-15). But when the Prophet Nathan confronted David (2 Samuel 12.7-9), he realized that he had sinned…but in his confession, it was against the LORD only that he sinned (Psalm 51.4).

King David was well within his “rights” as king…in the eyes of the people and of the world. One could even say that he was showing respect and a form of honor to Uriah by trying to help him save face (which was more than any other king would have done). But to God, this was dishonorable and deplorable behavior. To God, this was sin.

The Bible tells us that the days we live in are evil (Ephesians 5.16). And as a result, people will become increasingly selfish, greedy, proud, religious, and pursue pleasure instead of loving God. They will have a form of godliness and yet reject its power (2 Timothy 3.1-7).

We see this in the form of cancel culture.

We see this in the ethical and moral battles that are being waged in our school system over curriculum.

We see this in the increase of “nones”—those who choose no religious affiliation while still clinging to spirituality (2 Timothy 3.5).

We see this in the exodus of church goers who have not returned to gather with the saints (Hebrews 10.25).

In the face of increasing adversity and societal disconnect we need to continue to shine like a light and live for God (Matthew 5.14).

When we learn to walk out honor then God will be glorified, people will experience goodness, and we will receive the reward of our faith. When Christians rise up and walk in honor like Jesus did, the world will notice the difference. We won’t simply be telling them about Jesus, we will be showing them Jesus.

A Lack of Action

When it comes to behavior, following the world’s standard falls short of God’s. And simply knowing the right answer about how we should live honorably isn’t enough because people know the difference between talk and walk. And isolating ourselves and retreating will not work either because words without corresponding action are empty and lifeless (James 2.26).

We are encouraged in the Scriptures to pray for others, and especially for kings and those in authority, so that we can live a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. But when we do that and ignore the mission of God to reach the lost, we are missing the point and falling short (1 Timothy 2:1-4). Our words should lead to action.

When it comes to honor, we need to be intentional about showing honor and living honorably.

The same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead is working in us to empower us to follow His example (Romans 8.11-14). The world needs to see Christ followers who live in an active partnership with the grace and power of God because when they see our Christlike character, they see Him (cf. Colossians 1.27-29). They see the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5.22-23). They will know that God is true based on our love for each other (John 13.35).

Actively Showing Honor

Good works are the fruit of honorable lives. When we do good works, we show and make honor come alive.

If we are going to walk in honor, we must do good works and here are three directions that our good works flow.

Do Good Works Unto the Lord

1 Peter 2:11–12 NKJV

11 Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, 12 having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.

In our text, the word beloved—agapētos—is not speaking of Peter’s love for his congregation. This word is reminding the church that they are dearly loved ones of God (Wuest). They are God’s people. The ones He loves.

And notice what Peter is doing. He is begging them to live honorably in their behavior. He points out that this is hard because the fleshly lusts wage war down on our souls.

He ties that honorable conduct to good works that glorify God.

1 Corinthians 10:31 AMP

So then, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you may do, do all for the honor and glory of God.

There are two practical things that we can do to ensure that we are doing good works unto the Lord: we pause and present.

We pause and acknowledge God before we start (cf. Isaiah 17.10-11).

We present our works to God (Proverbs 16.3).

Illustration: Brother Lawrence: practicing God’s presence.

When we stop and acknowledge God we set ourselves to do that which glorifies Him (cf. Colossians 3.17). When we offer our works to God, He establishes our thoughts. He empowers and energizes the work through His Spirit.

If we want to live an honorable life and do good works, we need to pause and acknowledge God. We need to present our tasks, moments, and opportunities to the Lord as an offering. He will receive us and lead us and promote and prosper us.

Do Good Works for the Sake of Others

Good works towards others is for their blessing and meet their needs.

James 1:19–27 NKJV

19 So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; 20 for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. 21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. 22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. 26 If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless. 27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

The Apostle James considers pure and undefiled religion to be not words only but good works. It is meeting the poor and needy in their trouble and it is walking in holiness.

To do good works for the sake of others two things are helpful: pondering and positioning.

Notice that the Apostle started this text by telling us to be swift to hear and slow to speak and anger. To produce the righteousness of God, we need to listen and ponder the opportunity before us. If we are going to do good works (work that people would say are good) we need to stop and consider them and their needs.

Then, when we’ve considered what their needs are, we position ourselves by coming alongside them and serving them.

Jesus did this when He washed the disciple’s feet—He considered them and what they needed (not just a physical cleansing but a spiritual lesson) and positioned Himself accordingly (John 13.15).

Jesus taught about this when He spoke of saints feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and the incarcerated in His name. These actions all required people to be in position to act. And in so doing, their good works were not only done for the sake of the stranger, but Jesus took it as though they were done to Him (Matthew 25.31-40).

Matthew 5:16 NKJV

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

Ultimately, when we do good works for the sake of others we bring glory to God. We point people to Him. They interpret our actions and associate them with a loving God.

Do Good Works for Our Own Benefit

Finally, we do good works for our own benefit. We will be rewarded for the works we do in this life.

1 Corinthians 3:9–14 NKJV

9 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building. 10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. 11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. 14 If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward.

When it comes to good works for your own benefit you want to pursue and procure.

Pursue them. Look for chances and opportunities to do good works.

As you do so, you are procuring for yourself treasures in heaven (cf. Matthew 6.20).

Before you think this is too selfish consider that when God’s people are blessed, God is glorified. It speaks to His benevolence and goodness. It is His good pleasure to give us the kingdom (Luke 12.32).

God’s blessing—from peace in the storm to more than enough resources—point to His goodness and cause glory to come upon His name.

Conclusion

If we want to show people Jesus and the kingdom of God then we need to move past talking about honor and start living it.

We do good works unto the Lord by pausing and presenting our lives and works to Him.

We do good works for the sake of others by pondering their needs and positioning ourselves to help meet them.

We do good works for our own benefit by pursuing opportunities to do good and thus procuring for ourselves heavenly treasure.

In doing all these things, we will immediately begin to impact other people’s lives and sense the pleasure of God as we do so. Ultimately, showing honor through doing good works will bring glory to God and heavenly treasures for us.

When we steward our lives and actions in this way, we will one day hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant…enter into the joy of your lord” (cf. Matthew 25.21).