1 Peter 2:11-12: Sojourners and Exiles

1 Peter 2:11-12: Sojourners and Exiles

We’ve been working our way passage by passage through the book of 1 Peter, and today the next passage we come to is 1 Peter 2:11-12. It says,

11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. 12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. 

May God bless the reading of his Word.

Let’s pray: Father, we find it written that “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Help us to view your word that way this morning—not merely as an interesting subject for study or as a helpful resource for various situations but as our very life. May we experience it as that, through the ministry of your Spirit. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.One of the most well-known characters from Marvel comic books and eventually from Marvel movies is the Hulk. Now, I have to admit that I’m certainly no expert on the Hulk. But from what I understand, there was a scientist named Bruce Banner who was accidentally exposed to high levels of gamma radiation and, because of that, now has an alter-ego of sorts known as the Hulk—a huge green monster with bulging muscles and a fierce temper. Basically, the way it works is that whenever Bruce Banner becomes angry or stressed out for whatever reason, he turns into the Hulk. And he does so whether he wants to or not. Even if he doesn’t want to become the Hulk, the Hulk just kind of takes over and goes on a rampage. And once that happens, it’s virtually impossible to stop him. 

And as I think about the Hulk, I can’t help but notice certain similarities to the way things work in real life within our own hearts. The Bible teaches that there’s a “beast” of sorts that lives within every human being. Ever since humanity’s rebellion against God that’s recorded in Genesis 3—an event that theologians call “the Fall”—every one of us is born with a heart that’s inclined toward sin and a nature that’s thoroughly rebellious. 

You know, a lot of people think we enter this world in a basically neutral state and are then led toward either good or evil by influences that are outside of us. But the Bible says that even though there are certainly many things that influence us from the outside, there’s something very significant influencing us from the inside—the sinful nature. It’s something we all possess from the moment we enter this world. That’s why you don’t have to teach your children how to lie or steal or manipulate. They already do all of those things very well without any training because of this sinful nature we all possess. 

And it stays with us. Even though we often learn to conceal our sinful nature and express our sinful desires in more socially acceptable ways, there’s still a monster within us that’s thoroughly corrupt and capable of horrendous things. Much like the Hulk, this sinful nature often just kind of takes over and gives us a desire for sin that overrides all other desires.

Now, when someone becomes a Christian, things change radically. First of all, through Jesus, we’re forgiven of our sins and declared righteous in God’s sight. That’s because Jesus took the penalty for our sins when he died on the cross. He endured the punishment we deserved. As a result, whenever we put our trust in Jesus and look to him to be our Savior, we experience full forgiveness of every sin we’ve ever committed or ever will commit. 

Yet that’s not all—because, in addition to forgiving our sins, Jesus also transforms our hearts. The Bible describes it as him removing our old sinful heart and replacing it with a new godly heart. As a result, we’re now a new person with new desires, new priorities, and a totally new perspective on life. Sin is no longer dominant within us. Instead, we’re now led not by sin but by the Holy Spirit. 

However, that being said, anyone who’s been a Christian for just about any length of time knows from their own personal experience that that’s unfortunately not all there is to it. Because, even as Christians, we still have sinful desires at times that lead us to commit sins. The sinful nature is no longer dominant, but it’s still there to some degree. I like to call it the “ghost” of our old self. The Bible says that our old self has died. To use a biblical phrase, it’s been crucified with Christ. And yet, the ghost of our old sinful nature still lingers within our hearts. 

And turning our attention now to our main passage of 1 Peter 2:11-12, that’s the reality we see Peter addressing. Looking first at verse 11, he writes, “Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.” Now, there are several things in that verse that require explanation, but consider that phrase “the passions of the flesh.” In this context, “the flesh” is synonymous with what we’ve been calling the sinful nature. According to Peter, the “passions”—or desires—of our old sinful self are still a very real force to be reckoned with. Even though we’re Christians and Jesus has changed our hearts in a radical way, we still battle these “passions of the flesh.”

And the main idea Peter’s seeking to communicate in these verses is that God's people should live out their heavenly identity by abstaining from fleshly passions and keeping their conduct honorable. If you’re taking notes, feel free to write that down as the main idea. God's people should live out their heavenly identity by abstaining from fleshly passions and keeping their conduct honorable. Essentially, they need to pursue holiness. 

And there are three reasons Peter gives his readers for why they need to do this. We’ll look at these one by one. The first is related to their identity, the second is related to their souls, and the third is related to their witness. 

Their Identity

So first, their identity. Peter reminds his readers in verse 11 that they need to “abstain from the passions of the flesh” because of their identity as “sojourners and exiles.” And that’s true of every Christian. Christians are “sojourners and exiles” in the sense that we live in a land that’s not our home. We’re just passing through this world on our way to heaven. That’s where we belong and where our true home is. As the Apostle Paul reminds us in Philippians 3:20, “[O]ur citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” Even though most of us in this room might in some sense be considered citizens of the United States or whatever other country we’re from, our truest and highest citizenship isn’t any earthly citizenship but rather a heavenly citizenship. We’re first and foremost citizens of heaven. 

In addition to that, the term “exiles” is a reference to Israel being exiled in the Old Testament. Peter’s deliberately using the imagery of Israel’s exile in the Old Testament to speak of the present condition of Christians in the New Testament. According to Peter, just like the Israelites were in exile for a period of time in Babylon, those of us who are Christians are likewise in a kind of exile. We’re citizens of heaven, yet here we are in this present world. 

So, because our ultimate citizenship is in heaven, we’re called to live heavenly lives. That’s Peter’s point in verse 11. The way we live in this present world should reflect our identity as citizens of the next. You know, when someone from the United States travels to another country—especially a non-Western country—it’s usually pretty obvious that they’re not from the country their visiting. Like if someone from the United States travels to Thailand, let’s say, the people of Thailand are immediately going to recognize that they’re not from Thailand. That’s because the person from the United States dresses differently, speaks a different language, and adheres to different customs—even during their visit to Thailand. 

In a similar manner, those of us who are Christians aren’t from this world but are instead citizens of heaven. Therefore, our lives should be patterned around the culture and customs of heaven rather than the culture and customs of this fallen world. This means that we’re called to pursue integrity in the midst of a culture where deception is rampant. We’re called to pursue purity in the midst of a culture that’s forgotten how to blush. We’re called to pursue sacrificial love in the midst of a culture where people are typically all about themselves. In a word, we’re called to be distinct from the world around us. 

Their Souls 

So, that’s one reason Peter tells his readers to “abstain from the passions of the flesh”—because of their identity. In addition, he also tells them to do so for the sake of their souls. Still looking at verse 11, Peter writes, “Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.” This means that, whether we like it or not, we’re in the midst of a war. 

Kind of like in World War II when Japan attacked the United States at Pearl Harbor. Up until then, the United States was trying very hard not to get involved in the war that had engulfed most of the rest of the world. But when we were attacked on American soil, we really had no choice in the matter. We were effectively at war—whether we liked it or not. There was no use denying it. Instead, the only real option was to start fighting back with as many resources as we could mobilize. 

Similarly, as Christians, whether we like it or not, we’re in a war with “the passions of the flesh.” And these sinful passions won’t be satisfied until they’ve conquered us and destroyed us completely. That’s what sin is out to do. It won’t accept a partial victory or agree to make a treaty with us once it’s gained a little bit of territory. Instead, it’s intent on eventually destroying us. Of course, sin doesn’t do this all at once. It’s always a process—much like a cancer that might start in one part of the body but eventually spreads to more and more parts of the body until it eventually kills the person. So, even though sin might start small, don’t let it fool you. Sin inevitably grows and spreads and eventually brings death. 

James 1:14-15 describes the process. It says, 14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. So, the process starts with temptation and ends with death. In addition, James 5:19-20 says, 19 My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, 20 let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. Again, the inevitable result of sinful wandering is death. 

The great Puritan theologian John Owen put it this way: “Sin always aims at the utmost; every time it rises up to tempt or entice, [if it’s allowed to] have its own course, it would go out to the utmost sin in that kind. Every unclean thought or glance would be adultery if it could; every covetous desire would be oppression, every thought of unbelief would be atheism, [if allowed to grow]…. Every [sinful desire, if it has its way] would come to the height of villainy: it is like the grave that is never satisfied.”

So, hopefully we can all take Owen’s warning to heart. Sin wants to kill us and won’t be satisfied until it does. And because the sinful nature within us never rests, neither can we. As John Owen also said, very famously, “Be killing sin or it will be killing you.”

Their Witness

Then, finally, Peter urges his readers to pursue holiness not only in light of their identity and not only for the sake of their souls but also, number three, for the sake of their witness. Moving forward in our main passage, Peter tells his readers in verse 12, “Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.” Now, in most contexts, the word “Gentiles” is an ethnic designation that simply refers to people who aren’t Jews. Anyone who isn’t a Jew is, by definition, a Gentile. Yet, in this context, the word “Gentile” isn’t an ethnic designation but a spiritual one. It refers to those who aren’t Christians. This is consistent with the numerous comparisons Peter’s been making in his letter between Israel in the Old Testament and Christians in the New Testament. So, Peter tells his Christian readers to keep their conduct among non-Christians honorable. 

And the result, Peter says, is that, even though they may still “speak against you as evildoers, they may [nevertheless] see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.” So, Peter acknowledges that, despite our best efforts to conduct ourselves in an honorable way in society, there will still be some who accuse us of doing evil. 

And we can certainly see that today, can’t we? For example, how often have you heard it said that Christians are bigots for believing that God’s plan for human flourishing calls for heterosexual marriage rather than any kind of homosexual relationship? No matter how much we try to demonstrate love and care for those living an LGBT lifestyle, we’re nevertheless accused of bigotry for believing what the Bible teaches about God’s plan for human relationships. Or consider the issue of abortion. How many times have you heard it implied that those who support the pro-life position are on a malicious campaign to limit women’s rights or deny women access to healthcare? So, not a whole lot has changed in this area in the past 2,000 years. Even our efforts to pursue goodness and righteousness in society are often twisted around and made out to be acts of evil. No matter what we do, there will always be some who find a way to, in Peter’s words, “speak against [us] as evildoers.”

By the way, the reason they do this is, first of all, because they love sin and don’t want anything to hinder them from sinning. Not only that, they also feel a measure of guilt for their sin because God’s given them a conscience. And they don’t want anything to stir their conscience and remind them of their guilt. They’d rather speak against Christians as evildoers so that they can dismiss what we say and not be confronted with their own guilt. 

However, we do find some encouragement in verse 12—actually, significant encouragement. If we try to keep our conduct among non-Christians honorable, even the very people who speak against us as evildoers will nevertheless see our good deeds. They won’t be able to help but take notice of the ways in which we demonstrate genuine love and care for the people around us. 

As a result, some of them will, as Peter says, “glorify God on the day of visitation.” Now, there’s some debate about what the “day of visitation” refers to. It could refer to the day when God visits these non-Christians with salvation—that is, the day of their conversion when they become Christians. Or it could refer to the “day” when Jesus returns—with the implication that these people have already become Christians at some point prior to that day and are therefore in a position to “glorify God” on that “day of visitation.” Yet, regardless of how we interpret that phase, we’re basically led to the same conclusion. The “good deeds” in which Christians engage eventually prove persuasive even among many of those who, at one time, accused them of being evildoers. As a result, many of these non-Christians eventually become Christians and “glorify God” for saving them. 

It's also worth noting that, in saying this, Peter seems to be drawing from what Jesus said in Matthew 5:16 when he told his disciples, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Again, it’s our “good works” that prove persuasive among those who are far from God and that eventually lead them to “give glory” to God as Christians. 

Also, in both of these verses, notice the emphasis on Christians not only avoiding various sins but also engaging in good works. Jesus talks about non-Christians seeing our “good works,” and Peter speaks of them seeing our “good deeds.” This is a great reminder for us that living a holy life isn’t just about what we don’t do but is also about what we do do. In Peter’s words, it’s not just about us “abstain[ing] from the passions of the flesh” but is also about us actually devoting ourselves to “good deeds.”

So, don’t just oppose abortion—also do whatever you can to help women in positions of vulnerability. Don’t just maintain that the LGBT lifestyle is wrong—consider inviting a gay couple over to your house for dinner. And of course, the list is almost endless of other ways we can do good and demonstrate love toward the people around us. Perhaps a good goal for us would be to become more known in society for the good things we do than we are for the bad things we avoid. 

And according to Peter, all of this gives us a platform for sharing the gospel and give us credibility in doing so. You know, there are plenty of things that change over time and that vary from culture to culture, but one thing that remains the same is that the power of our gospel witness is based in large part on the distinctiveness of our lives. 

And I know that’s certainly been my experience personally. Just thinking through the people who have come to the Lord through my gospel witness—or at least through a series of events that involved my gospel witness—I can’t think of a single person who didn’t later tell me that part of the reason they came to faith was because of something in my life that made an impression on them and that they found desirable. Of course, I’m obviously far from perfect and have said things and done things at times that unfortunately haven’t been a very good gospel witness. But what a blessing that God still uses us even with all of our failures and shortcomings as we at least strive to live in a way that pleases him. Conclusion

So, those are the three reasons Peter gives for encouraging his readers to pursue holiness. He encourages them to do so in light of their identity, for the sake of their souls, and for the sake of their witness. And hopefully these are an encouragement for us as well to “abstain from the passions of the flesh” and ultimately be victorious over the sins that are a frequent struggle for us. 

Yet, as we seek to do this, it can also be helpful to understand some practical principles obtaining this victory. So, with a portion of the time we have left, I’d like to very briefly share a few of those principles—five of them, to be exact. 

Five principles for obtaining victory over sin. Hopefully these will help us carry out Peter’s exhortation in our main passage.

First, walk in the power of the Holy Spirit. In Galatians 5:16, Paul writes, “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” Paul also writes in Romans 8:13 that it’s “by the Spirit” that we “put to death the [sinful] deeds of the body.” If we attempt to obtain victory over sin in our own strength or through our own abilities, we’ll fail time after time. And any apparent success we do manage to obtain will be both temporary and superficial. 

In fact, as John MacArthur insightfully observes, “Trying to kill sin and behave morally through personal strength and efforts…is the foundation of all the false religion in the world.” So, trying to overcome sin in our own strength isn’t just unwise—it’s unchristian. So, in our fight against sin, the first thing for us to remember is that it’s only by the Holy Spirit’s power that any true victory is possible. And walking in the Holy Spirit’s power involves recognizing that reality and being very conscious of it as we engage in this epic battle. 

In addition, a second principle is to flee from temptation. Get as far away from it as you possibly can. Maintaining any unnecessary proximity to temptation is like playing with fire. It’s only a matter of time until you get burned—and perhaps badly burned. So, flee from temptation just as Joseph fled from Potiphar’s wife in Genesis 39 when she tried to seduce him. This also involves proactively removing certain things from our lives if they’ve been temptations for us in the past. In Matthew 5:29-30, Jesus even suggests that we gouge out our eye and cut off our hand if necessary in order to avoid anything that would cause us to sin. Of course, he’s using hyperbole there and not suggesting that we literally take a knife and go to work on ourselves. Yet the radical nature of his teaching still stands.  

Perhaps, for Christians today, that might look like getting rid of your smartphone and getting a flip phone if pornography is a frequent struggle for you. I know that sounds radical, but Jesus calls us to be radical. And following Jesus’s teaching would certainly also include lesser measures that aren't even all that radical, such as someone who’s tempted to abuse alcohol not keeping alcohol in their fridge or a couple who’s dating not spending time together alone in places where bad things can happen. 

And that leads us right into the third principle which is to be ruthless in slaying sin. Don’t give it a single inch. Don’t show it any mercy. Just a few moments ago, I referenced Romans 8:13 which talks about “put[ting] to death the [sinful] deeds of the body.” It doesn’t say to weaken sin or injure sin or simply gain an advantage over sin. It says to put sin to death. Don’t compromise, don’t hesitate. Go to whatever measures are necessary to kill sin before it kills you. 

Then a fourth principle is to feed godly desires within your heart. It’s simply a truth of nature that the more you feed something, the stronger it grows. Like if you have cattle, let’s say, and you want them to grow bigger and stronger, you have to make sure they have plenty of food. Conversely, if an animal is starved, it becomes weaker. Feeding something makes it stronger, while starving something makes it weaker. 

So, if we want to defeat the sins in our lives, we need to starve our old sinful nature and feed our new godly nature. And you can probably imagine the kinds of things that feeding our new nature involves: communing with God in prayer, immersing ourselves in the Bible, and spending time with like-minded Christians who will be an encouragement to us.  

Finally, a fifth principle is to cultivate affections for Jesus. Ultimately, the way we overcome sinful desires isn’t simply by gritting our teeth and trying harder but rather by gazing upon the glory of Jesus and allowing ourselves to become captivated by him. You see, the way it works is that, as our affections for Jesus are stirred, we come to delight in him and become so full of joy in him that sin no longer seems appealing. You know, when I’m full of a nice steak dinner, I’m no longer tempted to snack on stale potato chips. And when we’re full of joy and delight in Christ, we’re not tempted to fall into sin. 

So, all sin can ultimately be traced back to a failure to delight in Christ. That’s why we commit sins. Whenever we commit a sin, it’s because—in that moment—we’re not delighting in Christ. We’re sinning because we’re empty. So, if you want to overcome sin, set your mind on Christ. See him on the cross demonstrating his love for you, and let your heart be captivated by who he is and what he’s done.  

So, those are five principles I’ve found helpful and hope you do as well. However, even as try our best to live by these principles, there will inevitably be times when we stumble and fall. That’s just an unfortunate part of our lives on this side of heaven. So, how should we respond when we stumble and fall? What should we do? Should we wallow in our feelings of guilt or hide ourselves from God in shame or allow ourselves to sink down into the swamp of discouragement? Absolutely not. These things are exactly what Satan would want us to do, and yet they’re exactly what we mustn’t do. 

Instead, we need to run to Jesus. Even after we’ve strayed away from him and fallen into sin for what feels like the thousandth time, the arms of Jesus are wide open to us. He’s ready and waiting to receive us back to himself no matter how badly we’ve fallen or how often we’ve failed. 

As the Puritan author Richard Sibbes famously said, “There is more mercy in Christ than sin in us.” And to paraphrase another Puritan named Jeremiah Burroughs, “Didn’t Jesus begin to love you before you loved him—and will he not continue now? Didn’t he love you when you were his enemy and were brazenly rebelling against him without any remorse and were thoroughly sinful to the core of your being? So, will he not love you even more now that you’ve been redeemed and made new? Will he not love you even more as a saint than he ever did as a sinner?”

So, whenever you stumble and fall, go immediately to Jesus. As John writes in 1 John 2:1-2, 1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. So, whenever we sin, we have an Advocate—someone who’s on our side and in our corner and who has our own best interests at heart. His name is Jesus. And the reason Jesus is able to serve so effectively as our Advocate is because, as John says, he’s the “propitiation for our sins.” That means he’s the sacrifice that satisfies God the Father’s justice and appeases his righteous wrath against our sins. 

So, whenever we stumble and fall, the great comfort we have—and, indeed, the foundation of all true comfort—is looking to Jesus, our wonderful Advocate, who’s “the propitiation for our sins.” And as we’ve said, that’s important to do not only in the immediate aftermath of our sins but also continuously as a preventative measure that keeps us from sinning in the first place. It’s as we look upon Jesus and become ever more captivated by him that sin loses its appeal.