1 Peter 2:11-12
First Christian Church, Owensville, IN
May 24, 2020
Below is only a skeleton outline of main points, Scriptures and quotations of the message presented via Facebook Live on May 24, 2020.
(Abbreviations for Bible translations that may be quoted: ESV = English Standard Version; NLT = New Living Translation; CSB = Christian Standard Bible; GW = God’s Word; Amplified Bible = AMP; KJV = King James Version; New King James Version = NKJV; The Message = MSG; KNT = Kingdom New Testament)
• Tomorrow is Memorial Day, a day primarily for the purpose of remembering the men and women who died honorably serving our country.
• If you have ever served in the military, you know that when you separate from service, you want to receive an Honorable Discharge. You do not want to receive a Dishonorable Discharge or a Less Than Honorable Discharge. You want to be recognized for honorably serving during your term of enlistment.
• God wants His children to serve Him honorably as well. How we go about that is what the apostle Peter addresses, or begins to address in 2:11-12.
• Everything God calls us to do in 1 Peter flows out of the hope of our eternal salvation (1:3-13) and our identity as God’s children (2:4-10)
• In 2:4-10, Peter says, “This is who we are if we are in Christ!”
• In verses 11 -12, he tells us “This is what you do based on who you are! This is how you offer spiritual sacrifices to God!”
• So verses 11-12 serve as an introduction as to how Christians are to conduct ourselves toward the institutions of the state, work, marriage & family and church.
1 Peter 2:11-12: Beloved, I urge you to abstain from the passions of the flesh, 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 (ESV).
• “beloved, I urge you”: “Dearly and divinely loved people of God, I’m begging you to pay attention to what follows!”
• John 14:15: “If you love me, you will obey my commandments. (GW)
Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles…
• Visitors who tarry in a foreign country for a time before moving on to their homeland.
• Christians are temporary residents of the earthly communities they live in. Why?
• Philippians 3:20: We, however, are citizens of heaven. We look forward to the Lord Jesus Christ coming from heaven as our Savior.(GW)
• We are strangers; true citizenship is in heaven.
• Abstain = keep a distance from the passions of the flesh!
• Peter says practice some moral distancing!
• I’m begging you not to practice the desires that motivate unsaved people which is how we use to live before we were made new in Christ:
• Romans 6:11-12: 11 So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus. 12 Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires…(NLT)
• Galatians 5:19-21: 19 Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, moral impurity, promiscuity, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, 21 envy, drunkenness, carousing, and anything similar. I am warning you about these things—as I warned you before—that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. (CSB)
• Listen, the standards of our native land—the kingdom of heaven/God, the new heaven and earth—are superior to this foreign land we temporarily call home.
• Our real battle is not with people around us, but with fleshly desires that tempt us.
…which wage war against your soul.
• …wage war…= Satan launches a planned expedition with a destructive objective toward your very person.
• Ephesians 6:16: … take the Christian faith as your shield. With it you can put out all the flaming arrows of the evil one. (NLT)
• What are these flaming arrows? Temptations from sinful thinking! Satan tempting your thought life.
• That’s why we need the indwelling Holy Spirit’s power and a willingness to yield to the Holy Spirit and obey.
• God wants us to refuse to adopt the culture around us; we lived in it long enough before we submitted our lives to Jesus Christ.
• 1 Peter 1:14, 18: 14As obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires of your former ignorance….18 For you know that you were redeemed from your empty way of life inherited from your ancestors…(CSB)
• 1 Peter 4:3: You spent enough time in the past doing what unbelievers like to do. You were promiscuous, had sinful desires, got drunk, went to wild parties, and took part in the forbidden worship of false gods.
• So, what is the alternative to abstaining from living like an unbeliever, a pagan/heathen?
12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable…
• Gentiles = “Pagans” = non-Christians or unbelievers, heathens.
• It is clear that God doesn’t call us to become recluses, to isolate ourselves from non-believers, but live among them and practice excellent behavior as we bear the witness of Christ to them!
• Remember, whatever you as an individual Christian do with your life is what the church is doing! How you live is how the church lives! You are a living stone within the spiritual temple structure, the church of the living God!
• Philippians 1:27: Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. (NLT)
• Ask ourselves: Are my Facebook posts honorable or course or envious? Is my speech clean or filthy? Am I truthful? Do I dress modestly or too revealing? Am I respectful or disrespectful toward others? Do I have a good work ethic? Am I honest in my business dealings? Am I generous or stingy? Am I considerate of others or more concerned about myself?
• What does it means to live a holy life in the business world, as a factory worker, as a farmer, as teachers, truck drivers, sociologists, physicians, preaching ministers, salesmen and saleswomen, barbers and stylists, etc.
• But why is honorable conduct so important?
…so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds…
• Why would faithful Christians be accused of being “evildoers”?
• Throughout NT, criticisms are leveled against Christians by nonbelievers—accused of taking away business; of being atheists for not having idols, etc. and Peter is about to address some areas that they could be criticized:
• Undermining government authorities (2:13-17).
• Accused of failing to submit to their masters (2:18-25).
• Christian wives might be accused of rebelling against non-Christian husbands (3:1-6).
• History tells us that Christians were accused of being cannibals because they “ate” the body and blood of Jesus.
• Today, Christians are falsely accused of all kinds of things. (Unfortunately, some accusation are true because our lifestyles don’t agree with our profession of faith in Jesus.)
• Listen, Christians. It often doesn’t matter how calm, loving and empathetic you may be toward someone living a sinful lifestyle, if you disagree with their lifestyle there will probably be a backlash against you!
• But, we have to be faithful and patient because…
…when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds…
• “see” means a close, ongoing examination.
• Day after day we are to hold up an attractive lifestyle of good behavior! God says to live a lovely, attractive lifestyle!
• “The most convincing defense is the silent integrity of our character, not how vociferously we deny the charges.” —Chuck Swindoll
• Our deeds are what clean out people’s ears so they’ll listen to what we have to say about their needs for a Savior.
”In the summer of 1805, a number of Indian chiefs and warriors met in council at Buffalo Creek, New York, to hear a presentation of the Christian message by a Mr. Cram from the Boston Missionary Society. After the sermon, a response was given by Red Jacket, one of the leading chiefs. Among other things, the chief said…
“Brother, we are told that you have been preaching to the white people in this place. The people are our neighbors. We are acquainted with them. We will wait a little while and see what effect your preaching has upon them. If we find it does them good, makes them honest and less disposed to cheat Indians, we will then consider again what you have said.”—Warren Wiersbe, Be Hopeful, p. 57:
“The best argument for Christianity is a real Christian: and therefore, whether we like it or not, every Christian is an advertisement for Christianity. By his life and words he either commends Christianity to others, or he makes others thinks less of Christianity. Commending Christianity is part of our ‘priestly job.’” –Gareth L. Reece, Peter and Jude: A Commentary, p. 50
.. they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.
• “day of visitation” is, I think, a reference to Judgment Day, the day of the Second Coming of Jesus.
• If what we profess to believe matches how we live, then people are more apt to submit to Jesus Christ as Lord—“and glorify God when Jesus returns because they’ve already born again and are living for Him!
• Jesus said, Matthew 5:16: “In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” (NIV84)
The Point: Live honorably for the sake of the salvation of the lost!
• As we offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God, we also perform the evangelistic/missionary work of making reproducing disciples!
• Scott McKnight wrote that Peter’s essential message is “Live holy lives in the midst of secular chaos, and let God take care of the results” (p. 135).
Please write down your answers to these questions:
• What does God want me to accept and cherish from today’s passage?
• What does God want me to put into practice or obey from today’s passage?
• With whom does God want me to share this passage or His story?