Message to the Seniors of First Baptist Church of Echo
1 Peter 2:11-12
Daniel R. Crull
May 23, 2004 Morning Service
“Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles, to abstain from fleshly desires, which wage war against your soul. 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.”
Peter, here, addresses his heartfelt remarks to believers. He is speaking to those people who are the beloved, children of the Living God. It is with this in mind when he writes these words, and I think they are best summed up in one commentators words: “The world takes its notions of God, most of all, from the people who say that they belong to God's family. They read us a great deal more than they read the Bible. They see us; they only hear about Jesus Christ.”
In this portion of first Peter, the apostle, while reminding the believers that they are the “beloved” children of God, also reminds them that they are sojourners and exiles. As Paul said in Ephesians 2:19, they are no longer strangers and aliens to God, but are friends of the Living God. We are, however, strangers and aliens to the world. The words Peter (and Paul) use refer to people who are travelers, merely temporary residents, who while they live amongst the population, they do not share citizenship with them, their citizenship is somewhere else, and they are just passing through (as ours is in heaven, Phil. 3:20). This is very much the image of who Abraham was, a sojourner, living in a land that was not his own, but looking toward a better country, as Hebrews 11:15-16 says, “If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared for them a city.”
We must keep this in mind always. While we are in this world, we are not defined by this world. Our life does not consist in what this world says it should, but in whom God has made us. We are citizens of the greatest kingdom in the entire universe and we are to be that “chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that [we] might proclaim the excellencies of Him who called [us] out of darkness and into His marvelous light” as Peter said in verse nine. A holy nation is one set apart, different from the world, and this is what we are. We are not to be indistinguishable from the world. I've often said, “if it looks like the world, talks like the world, acts like the world, thinks like the world…then chances are, it's of the world.” We are called to be different. Some of you are saying, “hey, good…that's me,” or some might be saying, “that's you!” But we are different from the world because we have received mercy, we have been adopted as children of God. This means the world no longer is the deciding factor of what we think, or how we dress, or how we speak to one another, or what TV we watch. Or if you are looking to Oprah for answers on how to raise your family, or to Dr. Phil for how to save your marriage, you're looking in the wrong place. The world no longer tells us what to do, but God does, and everything becomes a question of “what will glorify God in my life?”
It is with this radical change that we can begin to look at what Peter is really trying to say. There are two major issues1 at hand in the Scripture, two issues that the world is not concerned with. You will not find too much of what the world has addressing these infinitely important subjects, which are: the salvation of the soul, and the glorification of God. Oh we might find a Reader's Digest article that tells us how to live healthy and happy, but not how to live to the glory of God.
The first issue, the salvation of the soul, is in verse eleven; the second is in verse twelve. In the first, Peter is “urging” us to “abstain from fleshly desires, which wage war against the soul.” These fleshly desires are waging war, and the image Peter uses is one of a long sustained war, not just a skirmish or a short battle, but a long, drawn out war. But Peter's advice to alleviate the casualties of this war is to abstain from those “worldly desires, or lusts.” But why abstain? And how does abstinence from these “fleshly desires” help us.
First of all, we should heed the words of John in 1 John 2:15-17, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world-the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions-is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.” Quite simply, the desires of the flesh are opposed to God, and are passing away. If I had just read John's words without knowing they were written hundreds of years ago, I would be sure that he was writing to Christians in America. “Desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions…” Are these not defining characteristics of American culture? We use sexually charged images to sell just about any product on earth, and it is these products we take such pride in. We have to have the latest gadget, or the newest cell phone that takes pictures and videos, and microwaves your lunch and whatever else they do now. The newest car has to be our, and it has to be the biggest SUV on the road, with the biggest engine available (can you say HEMI?). Although with gas prices as they are now, some have seen the wisdom in more economical modes of transportation. Or maybe it's a big diamond ring, because “diamonds are forever” right? NO, they are passing away as well. The American dream has taken root in our culture, and has worked its way into the church. We've started to see blessings from God in material things instead of in a hope of things not seen. We believe we can be Christians, and continue to live the same way we did before God changed our lives. And we are mistaken. “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions (desires) of your former ignorance, but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,” as Peter said in chapter one. Our old ways are ignorance.
And it is from those passions, or desires, from our former ignorance that we must abstain. But why should we abstain? Obviously, because they wage war against our soul. They cause us to desire things that God does not want for His children. Desiring fleshly things, things enticing to the eyes, like material possessions, or fame, money, or whatever it may be wage war against our soul, because we are seeking to find satisfaction in those things when they cannot provide them. We even go to God and ask Him to provide these things, that we might have a more “abundant life,” when all the while God is saying “Be content in Me, and it won't matter whether you have these things or not.” Satisfaction, contention, in God IS abundant life! If we would be satisfied in Who God is, instead of what God can provide, we would find ourselves much more at peace, we would find that we are satisfied. There is always a better cell phone and a faster shinier car out there, or a faster computer, or a new pop psychology method to help you out, or a new diet (which always change, funny how so many people are worried about their weight but not about starving children in Africa). There's always a new tip to get-rich-quick-with-no-risk-and-no-strings-attached, or even yet another infomercial offering the BEST cooking knives EVER! But these things all change, and are always being replaced by something better, but God's glory never fades, and there is nothing better. Our satisfaction is found not in things, but in hope of “an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:4).
We are commanded to abstain from these worldly things not because God wants to withhold some pleasure from our lives, but because He offer's something infinitely better; something that cannot be there if those worldly things are present; that is, Himself. God doesn't want us to withhold things from our lives, and then leave a void, He fills it, because He is the only thing that can fill it, and when He does, He does so to the point of overflowing. There is nothing in this world that God created that can give you more pleasure or satisfaction than the Creator Himself; and this is by design.
We abstain also because it protects us from false charges made against us, as we will see in a few minutes, and keeps God's name holy, as we do not bring dishonor to our Father's name by being “unruly children.” We abstain from worldly things because if we love the world, or the things in it, the love of the Father is not in us.
It is from here that we move along to the second major issue at hand, which is the glorification of God. This issue has at its base, the condition of our conduct. You may notice here, a pattern. Peter is interested first in making sure our minds are set properly on the right thing, which is God, before he addresses the way we act. Right actions are products of right thoughts. Some might say, but what about all those people who do “good” deeds, and live “rightly” but are lost? There minds are not set on God, but they are doing good things right? Romans 14:23 says that “whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.” The answer is that what they do is good and right only according to our human standards, not God's. God requires our minds and our desires to be fixed on Him, otherwise our actions are meaningless. This is the same order Paul follows in Romans 12:1-2, a favorite, as he lays out that we are to “ present your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” So if we are to act properly (i.e. discern what is good and acceptable) then we must first be transformed by the renewal of our minds. God is most concerned with the intentions of our hearts, this is the whole teaching of the Sermon on the Mount, that God wants our minds and hearts set in the right place, and if they are not, then no matter how good we look on the outside, no matter how closely we follow the law, it will all be in vain (Pharisees) if we are not renewed in our minds, having been reborn, and changed from the inside out, made into a new creation.
So as God begins to change our desires (sanctification) to desire Himself over all else, we have the privilege of working this out in our own lives. We get to put into action what God has so richly blessed us with. It is in this that we are to keep our conduct among the Gentiles as honorable. That is, to live as Christ lived, above reproach, in a manner worthy of the gospel. If you ever wondered how exactly you go about living like Christ lived, Peter tells us, we set our desires, our passions on God, and seek only His glory in all that we do. This is what Jesus did. He was a humble servant, giving all for His Father's glory, even giving His life. And we too must likewise live as though every part of our lives, whether what to wear to school, or what to watch on TV, or what music to listen to, or what job to take, or where to go to college, or whether to do missions over sea, or whatever the question may be, be addressed with reference to God's glory. Just as I said before, the question is, “what will glorify God in my life?” Too often we get bogged down asking “is this sin?” “is this right?” “can I get by with this?” when what we are really doing is asking “where is the line?” because we want to be able to get as close to it as possible. If our questioning starts with reference to God's glory, I think the answers will come much faster, and with much more clarity.
We keep our conduct honorable so that when evil men bring charges against us, as Satan brought charge against Job, they will have no argument, and they will as verse 15 says, “be put to silence,” because we will be living “upright” lives. All their charges against us will be false because we live honorable lives, above reproach. Just as the charges against Christ were false, made up by men seeking to destroy Him, so too will be charges against His people. They made up charges against Christ to malign His name. In the same way people will make up charges against Christians now in order to defame God's holy name. But don't take it personal, but remember Christ's words in John 15:18-19 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore, the world hates you.”
By our honorable conduct, people will see our good deeds, and glorify God on the day of visitation. They will either glorify Him on the day of visitation when He visits them for salvation, by putting His Spirit upon them, and causing them to be reborn, or they will glorify Him on the day of visitation of judgment. But we live rightly, that God may, in all situations, be glorified. 1 Peter 2:15 says, “For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish men.” And as he said in chapter one verses fourteen through fifteen we once lived in that ignorance. So God's purpose is that His children have their minds set on Him, living rightly, not being conformed to what we were, we silence those who are where we once were, in hopes that they might glorify God by their obedience as well.
If you want to know how to be Christ to someone, it is quite simply this: live in obedience. Live a life that shows that your main concern in all you do is the glory of God, and let your actions speak louder than your words. Romans 10:17 says that faith comes by hearing, but lost people won't hear us if our lives don't match what we preach. Our witness is first in our conduct, how we behave, and then in what we say.
"During World War II, missionaries Herb and Ruth Clingen and their young son spent three years in a Japanese prison camp in the Philippines. In his diary Herb recorded that their captors murdered, tortured, and starved to death many of their fellow prisoners. The camp commandant, Konishi, was hated and feared more than the others. Herb writes, "Konishi found an inventive way to abuse us even more. He increased the food ration but gave us palay--unhusked rice. Eating the rice with its razor-sharp outer shell would cause intestinal bleeding that would kill us in hours. We had no tools to remove the husks, and doing the job manually--by pounding the grain or rolling it with a heavy stick--consumed more calories than the rice would supply. It was a death sentence for all internees" (Herb and Ruth Clingen.
Before death could claim their lives, however, General Douglas MacArthur and his forces liberated them from captivity. That very day Konishi had planned to gun down all the remaining prisoners. Years later Herb and Ruth "learned that Konishi had been found working as a grounds keeper at a Manila golf course. He was put on trial for his war crimes and hanged. Before his execution he professed conversion to Christianity, saying he had been deeply affected by the testimony of the Christian missionaries he had persecuted". When God graciously visited Konishi with salvation, that one-time torturer remembered the godly behavior of missionaries he once persecuted. Their example became the unspoken means of Konishi's salvation."2
So seniors, and all believers, my encouragement to you this morning is to abstain from worldly desires, and knowing that your satisfaction and joy can come only fully and completely in God, live honorably, and preach the gospel with all that you are, not just your mouth. Do not be ensnared by the lure of the world which claims to offer pleasure and satisfaction. Do not be deceived into thinking that the world's priorities should be ours as well. Let our priority be God, and our inheritance that is in heaven, not on some American dream, or another false idea of hope. Instead let us all be pictures of the holy God we serve, to a lost and dying world, that ultimately, we might in all we do, bring glory to God, for this is our purpose, and this is our hope: live as Christ.
1. John Piper
2. John MacArthur