Years ago, J.I. Packer wrote a seminal book that continues to influence and shape evangelical thinking in positive ways. It is, of course, the book Knowing God.
In one section of the book, Packer warns about contemporary preaching, teaching, and evangelizing that gives people the false impression that the Christian life is a life without conflict or difficulty.
Packer warns that, in our zeal to tell people how they can have victory over sin, death, and hell, we may unwittingly paint an inaccurate picture of the Christian life:
It is possible…to play down the rougher side of the Christian life—the daily chastening, the endless war with sin and Satan, the periodic walk in darkness [so] as to give the impression that normal Christian living is a perfect bed of roses, a state of affairs in which everything in the garden is lovely all the time, and problems no longer exist—or, if they come, they have only to be taken to the throne of grace, and they will melt away at once. This is to suggest that the world, the flesh, and the devil, will give a man no serious trouble once he is a Christian; nor will his circumstances and personal relationships ever be a problem to himself. Such suggestions are mischievous, however, because they are false.”
J. I. Packer, Knowing God (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1973, page 222).
Indeed. Truth is, we live in a hostile world, a world plagued by a virus called sin. The New Testament teaches consistently that adversity, difficulty, and persecution are the norm of the Christian experience.
If we fail to teach this truth to new believers and, if we fail to remind those who are believers already, then we will fail to produce strong, mature, truth-knowing and truth-living Christians.
Last time in our verse-by-verse studies of 1 Peter, we looked at our purpose in life. Peter reminds us that our major reason for living is to proclaim the praises of the One who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9). We are always witnessing to those around us through our worship and our words.
This evangelistic emphasis continues into the following verses. In verses 11 and 12 , Peter introduces a new section of material about “living out” the Christian life for the glory of God:
Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, (1 Peter 2:11)
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. (1 Peter 2:12)
There are no fewer than three actions in these verses that every Christian should take. Today’s post addresses just the first action.
There’s something here that Christians must remember. And what is that? We must remember this:
This World Is Not Our Home
It’s so easy to forget this! I’ll bet few of us got up this morning expecting today to be our last day. Sounds morbid, right? It’s so easy to think that we’re just going to go on living day after day after day in this world.
We work, we eat, we sleep, we buy houses, we buy cars, we have savings, we invest. We plan for the future when we will retire from our jobs, recline in our chairs, and play with our toys.
But Peter reminds us that we are temporary residents of this world:
Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims (verse 11)
Peter has said this before. Do you remember where? He used one of these words in the opening of this letter, verse 1, “To the ‘pilgrims.’” (1 Peter 1:1) To those who are sojourning through this temporary home called the world. He alluded to this fact again in verse 17 of chapter 1 where he says, “Conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear.” (1 Peter 1:17)
When I was a parole officer, I had a lot of clients who referred to their residence as the place where they “stayed.” I’d ask them, “Where do you live?” They’d reply, “I stay with my auntie,” or whomever. At the time, I couldn’t help but wonder if they spoke this way because they moved so frequently.
But in another sense, this phrase aptly describes the Christian experience. Our home is where we stay. We will not be there forever. And we will not be there forever because we will not be here forever. This world is not our home. We are “sojourners and pilgrims.”
I don’t know who said it first, but the adage bears repeating: “We are only guests in this world.” Do you think of your existence this way? Try thinking that way this week: “I am only a guest here.” Try thinking that way next time you go to work, spend an evening, or make a purchase.
When we are traveling somewhere, we pack our bags as lightly as possible. We take only the essentials. We say, “Look, I’m only going to be there a few days so I don’t need a lot of stuff.”
What if we lived our entire lives this way?
When we remember that we are “sojourners and pilgrims,” we are less likely to indulge in what Peter calls the “fleshly lusts which war against the soul.”
…abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, (verse 11)
We battle in this hostile world. We battle the “fleshly lusts which war against [our] soul.” What are the “fleshly lusts” or “fleshly desires” that war against our souls? The Apostle Paul spoke of the same kind of thing in Galatians 5:
Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness,
idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies,
envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19-21)
These are a few of the fleshly lusts which war against our soul, but there are others. In fact, it is safe to say that any desire that competes for Christ is a wrong desire.
Any desire we have (even good desires!) that competes for our desire for Christ, is a wrong desire.
Maybe this encourages some of us. After all, Christians are not exempt from a “tug of the flesh.” Just because you have the Holy Spirit within you doesn’t mean you won’t battle temptation and wrong desires. There’s nothing strange about you. It’s a fact:
Christians battle.
The word, “abstain” in verse 11 means “to hold oneself constantly back from.” The grammar is, “Continually” do this; constantly hold yourself back from; continually abstain.
Continually fight the desires that war against your soul, desires that compete for your desire and love for Christ.
This may be why Peter addresses Christians with the term “Beloved.” That word reminds Christians that they are, indeed, beloved of God. It’s not that Peter is saying Christians are his (Peter’s) beloved, but rather His (God’s) beloved.
This truth recalls our previous study of verses 9-10: “His own special people,” the “people of God” (1 Peter 2:9-10).
Christian, God possess you! God loves you!
He has saved you–you, who have “tasted of the Lord that He is good” (1 Peter 2:3). Remember that He is your chief desire, your supreme love, and most cherished treasure. Remembering this will help you “abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul” as you sojourn on in this temporary world.
Remember this world is not your home.
What About You?
- How often do you think of this world as a temporary dwelling place? How would thinking this way each day shape your daily activities and pursuits?
- What “fleshly lusts” war against your soul? What specifically do you need to confess before God and repent of this moment?
- Have you “tasted of the Lord that He is good?” Are you a follower of Christ?
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