Just A-Passin' Through--1 Peter 2:11-12 (1 Peter Series)

            Here in our neck of the woods, we live not far from where the old Santa Fe Trail used to cut across the prairie. I did a little research on the trail this week, and I discovered that a number of travel diaries from that time mentioned a popular spot for crossing the Arkansas River that is located just south of where the Ingalls Feed Yard is today.

            Many people crisscrossed back and forth through this area, but today, apart from some ruts in the ground and some towns located where trading posts had been, we don’t see a lot of evidence that they were ever here. One major reason is that our area was not their destination. They came through, but they were just passing through; they were travelers, with their eyes and their dreams fixed somewhere else.

            Today, the Apostle Peter is going to challenge us to consider how we think about ourselves in this present phase of life in a fallen world. Do we live as if this present phase of life is permanent, or do we see ourselves as travelers – just passing through this present time heading onward and upward to a better home? Your answer to that question will make a profound difference in the way that you live your life.

            In 2:4-10, we learned some important things about the way that God sees us. He sees us as objects for honor because of our faith in Jesus Christ. He sees us as members of a holy and royal priesthood, members of a chosen race and a holy nation, a people for his own possession who are called out and called upon to proclaim his excellencies. Now, in 2:11-12, we’re going to receive a strong challenge concerning the way that we see ourselves.

1. What I Am—A Sojourner and Exile

            Notice the tenderness and passion in the first words of verse 11: “Beloved, I urge you.” Peter is writing with the same love and urgency that you might use in speaking to your children about something that’s very important. What is so important to Peter? First of all, that we realize what we are in this phase of life – sojourners and exiles.

            A sojourner is someone who is only in a place for a short time. He doesn’t go to a lot of trouble to settle in, because he’s not planning to stay there forever. An exile is someone who is living outside of his homeland, and often times, he is doing so against his will.

            The nuance in that word gives us an interesting and provocative way to think about our lives in this present phase. It may be appropriate and healthy for us to think of each day of life right now as a day in which we are living here against our will; in other words, that we would really rather not be here, but in our true homeland, which is heaven.

            Remember how the Apostle Paul said in Philippians 1 that “to die is gain.” It is gain – it is better than, it is superior to continuing to live in this fallen world. In that same chapter, he also said that “[his] desire was to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.” So perhaps when we wake up every morning, our very first response should be to say, with a very heavy sigh, “Oh – I’m still here! I was really hoping I’d be home by now!”

            Perhaps you remember taking trips with your family when you were a child. Sometimes when you were in the car and really anxious to get home, your parents might’ve said, “Just go to sleep for a while, and by the time you wake up we’ll be home.” Sometimes you would try that but you would wake up too soon; you would wake up while you were still on the road. Do you remember what that felt like? Do you remember how disappointing that was?

            If I truly am a sojourner and exile in this world, perhaps I should feel a little bit of that disappointment each day that I wake up here. Let’s call it a holy discontent over the fact that we have to wait one more day to see Jesus. Perhaps that should be our first response every morning, but as Paul also taught us in Philippians 1, that thought can and should be quickly overtaken by the realization that we have so many opportunities to do good in the name of Christ while we are still here. So that disappointment shouldn’t be with us all the time, but if we never feel it, then perhaps we need to reconsider what it means to be a sojourner and exile in this phase of life.

            Now if I view myself as a sojourner and exile here in this world, my lifestyle should reflect that, shouldn’t it? My lifestyle should be different than that of those who do live as if this fallen world is their home, those who have settled down and gotten comfortable with the values of this fallen world and its goals, dreams, and pursuits.

            So here we come to a moment for some very sobering reflection. What does my lifestyle truly reveal? Do I live as someone who has not made this fallen world his home? Think of yourself as being on trial defending the claim that you do live as a sojourner and exile here in this world. Let’s call some witnesses, and think for yourself of what these witnesses might have to say about your claim:

·         What does your calendar have to say about it? Do you spend your time on exactly the same things as those who are at home in this fallen world?

·         What does your storage room have to say about it? What kind of stuff are you carting through this life, and how much of it? If you literally had to take all of your personal possessions with you on a trip, would you look like someone who’s just passing through or someone who’s looking to settle down for a good long while?

·         What does your budget have to say about it? Do you spend your money mostly on things that only relate to this phase of life, or do you spend your money mostly on things that will yield dividends in the next life?

            I want to ask you to give all of these questions some serious thought and reflection over the next few days and weeks. Ask God to help you accurately assess whether you’re living like an exile or whether you’re making yourself at home in this world. We need His help for that kind of reflection because it is so easy for us to fool ourselves and become blinded to the true nature of our lifestyles. So please – do not just set this question aside quickly and easily and go about your merry way. Ask yourself – am I truly living like an exile or am I making myself at home in this fallen and temporary world?

Now that Peter has reminded us what we are, he proceeds to tell us what we should do in light of that fact.

2. What I Am To Do

a. Abstain from the passions of the flesh

            The whole of verse 11 says [READ v. 11]. The Apostle Paul gives us a thorough list of the passions or desires of the flesh in Galatians 5:19-21, where he writes, “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these.” All of these desires are trying to stake a claim within our hearts in various ways, and notice how Peter describes their efforts – he states that they are waging war against our souls.

            One of the main reasons that we might remain vulnerable to temptations like this is that we do not appreciate the fact that we are in a state of warfare against our souls. We know that those behaviors that Paul listed are wrong and we hope to avoid them, but are we really doing battle against them? Are we really seeking to crush those desires whenever we see them attempting to gain more ground in our lives?

            Just imagine if an enemy were to openly declare war against the United States, yet we did not even go to a heightened state of alert. Would we not be vulnerable to attack? Would we not be foolish to dismiss the danger of someone declaring war against us?

            Then my friends, do not downplay Peter’s warning. Sinful desires are at war against you – the question now is are you at war against them? How do we wage this war? The first step is to maintain lines of communication with your commanding officer – the Lord Jesus Christ. Every soldier knows how important communication is inside a war zone. If a soldier on the battlefield is cut off from communication with his commanding officer, he is in a very dangerous and vulnerable position. He cannot communicate his needs, he cannot ask for help, he will have to make decisions from within the fog of war without the benefit of the big picture of the battlefield and the additional intelligence that his commanding officer has.

            Likewise, it is vital that you remain in communication with the Lord Jesus Christ. If you do not pray daily and seek wisdom from the Bible daily, you will be in a very weak position from which to do battle against your sinful desires. So make sure that you keep open and clear lines of communication with the Lord Jesus Christ through Bible study and prayer.

b. Keep your conduct among unbelievers honorable

            Since Peter has just reminded us that we are just passing through this present phase of life, we could possibly get the idea that it’s not all that important how we act during this present phase of life since it isn’t our true home and we’re not going to be here forever. Think about when you go on a vacation. Usually on vacation, you’re not overly concerned about how you look or how you act because you’re not going to be there forever. You’ll probably never see the people that you run into ever again, so you’re not overly concerned about looking nice or making friends.

            But according to verse 12, we would be wrong to think that way about this present phase of life. Here Peter writes [READ v. 12]. I don’t really have to remind you that increasingly in our own country, we are spoken against as evildoers. We will not embrace the popular idea today that homosexual behavior is okay, and for that reason many people have branded us as hateful bigots. They say we are actually doing evil or wrong by holding the conviction that we do.

            How does Peter call us to respond? By keeping our conduct honorable. We have to show people by our actions that their accusations are not true. We have to show people by the way that we live that we have good will toward everyone – even toward those with whom we disagree.

            I’m not sure if Peter had this exact thought in mind, but I think we have to change people’s minds by our conduct today because many people will no longer listen to our words. Many people have already decided for themselves that our beliefs are hateful and bigoted, so they won’t be very inclined to give our beliefs a fair hearing no matter how clearly and persuasively we express them.

            Clear and persuasive arguments for our beliefs are necessary, but I think more than anything, people are just going to have to see through our conduct that the way of Jesus truly is the way to abundant life – life that is characterized by peace of mind, hope, joy, and the kind of sacrificial love that Jesus himself has modeled for us. People are eventually going to realize that the fruit of an ungodly lifestyle is bitter and poisonous, so we need to be able to show them a stark difference through our lifestyles. We need to be able to show them that the fruit of a godly lifestyle is pleasant and sweet and desirable and satisfying.

            And let us not overlook the purpose that Peter mentions for all of this – that they may see our good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. That statement seems to be a description of unbelievers coming to faith in Jesus Christ because of the example they see in us. We have to remember that our desire for those who disagree with us should always be that they would come to faith in Jesus Christ.

            It is not easy to maintain that kind of mindset when people are throwing unfounded accusations against us. It’s much easier to grow angry and bitter toward them and to take a perverse delight when we see them face the inevitable consequences of sin. But we need instead to follow the example of Stephen from Acts 7. When his enemies were literally throwing rocks at him to kill him, he cried out and said, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”

            We must ask God to help us maintain a tender heart toward those who accuse us of being evildoers. Otherwise, our conduct toward them likely will not be honorable. It will likely be tainted with anger and pride and perhaps even thoughts of revenge. That kind of behavior is no different than their own, and thus it will have no power to draw them toward embracing Christ as their Savior.

            We are just passing through this life on our way toward a better home and a permanent one. But let us never forget that one of our goals for this journey is to bring as many people with us to that better home as we can. In that sense, we are not supposed to be only travelers through this world but trail guides, calling other people to follow along with us as we head toward the high country to find homes of peace and rest.