NOT AT HOME IN THIS WORLD!
Imagine walking through a busy
shopping mall with loud music and people carrying big shopping bags full of
merchandise. You see greed in people’s eyes, coveting and wanting to buy the
latest and trendiest fashion clothing or electronic gadgets, often on credit.
You are somehow turned off by all that glitter, glamor, and people hoarding
things. You feel sad and not at home in that shopping mall. Some of you may
feel that way; why do you feel that way?
I feel overwhelmed and out of place
when I go to a shopping mall. You may think I am strange, and maybe I am when
shopping. Not only with shopping, but I also carry values and live by Biblical
principles that differ from those of my extended family, friends, and
colleagues.
A tourist once traveled
through the area where the famed late 19th-century Rabbi Hofetz
Chaim lived. Being a great admirer of the Rabbi, he inquired whether he could
visit him at his home. He soon got a reply that he was welcome to visit anytime.
The young tourist thereafter arrived at the Rabbi’s home with much excitement.
Upon reaching the simple one-roomed
house, he was asked to enter. Upon entering, to his amazement, he saw only a
table, a lamp, and a cot, besides many books, inside the house. Surprised by
what he saw, the tourist asked, “Rabbi, where is the rest of your furniture?”
Rabbi Chaim calmly replied, “Where is yours?” Puzzled by the Rabbi’s response,
the tourist replied, “My furniture? But I’m only a visitor here.” The wise Rabbi
then replied, “So am I.”
The Rabbi’s statement and his value
system are counter-cultural. In a consumer society where people think they must
own everything they see on the TV in the market, a Rabbi simplified life,
realizing that he was just a tourist in the land. This Rabbi emulated the
simple and sober lifestyle of his Jewish ancestors. In I Peter 2:11-12, the
Apostle Peter has a message for every born-again Christian everywhere: that we
are Not At Home In This World. We are to live like foreigners and exiles
passing through this World to our Eternal Home called Heaven.
Background
to the First Letter Of Peter
Peter’s first letter
addressed the Jewish believers scattered among the five Roman provinces. The
occasion was persecution in the area, and the letter tries to encourage and
equip believers for the difficult times ahead. Though there was no empire-wide
persecution of the believers until Decius (A.D. 249-51), the local ones could
be severe. One of the worst persecutions known to have struck the early church
took place early in the second century in Bithynia, one of the provinces in
which I Peter was written.
This was how Peter opened his letter.
“Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, I Peter 1:1, “To God’s
elect, exiles (aliens, NASB, foreigners, NLT), scattered throughout
the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.”
NIV. The status of the Jewish believers at that time was one of resident
aliens. They were away from their homeland. They lived among people whose
customs and rituals were strange and different to them and vice versa.
I. God’s
People Are Foreigners and Exiles In This
World.
At the beginning of his letter,
Peter establishes the current status of all God’s people or the Elect of all
times: they are foreigners and exiles in this World. If you are a born-again
Christian who belongs to God’s Kingdom, you feel out of place, and people may
perceive you as strange and, at times, even hate you because of your Christian
convictions and lifestyle.
This status of being foreigners and
exiles is not a new phenomenon. This theme runs through the whole Bible. If you
look through the OT, God’s chosen people, the nation of Israel, lived in pagan
lands on their way to God’s promised land, Canaan, for them and their
descendants. As they lived as foreigners and strangers, God gave them specific
instructions. Deu 4:5-9 “See, I have taught you decrees and laws as the Lord my
God commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to
take possession of it.
Observe them carefully, for this
will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all
these decrees and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding
people.” What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way
the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him? And what other nation is
so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am
setting before you today? Peter urges believers of all times to live as
foreigners and strangers in this World. What would that entail?
II.
Waging War Against Our Sinful Desires.
I Peter 2:11-12, “Dear friends, I
urge you as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires which wage
war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans (your unbelieving
neighbors) NLT that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your
good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.”
The exact status that applied to
ancient Israel and the first-century Jewish believers applies to us today. We,
too, are foreigners and exiles in this World. As they were warned not to follow
the pagan gods or learn the ways of the nations they were passing through,
similarly, we are not to blend in with the ungodly society and follow its ways.
Peter’s warning for us today is to
abstain from sinful desires which wage war against our souls. Since deceiving
Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, our arch-enemy has declared war against
human souls. Satan’s primary weapon against human beings, mainly God’s
children, is one simple three-letter word: SIN. If he could get God’s people to
live sinful lives, he would win the war. What provision did God make for his
believers to succeed? The Holy Spirit!
The
Holy Spirit aids us in waging war against our sinful desires. We will learn about
the Holy Spirit’s work in believers’ lives later. For now, we should know that we
can only abstain from sinful desires and win the war not by our human will but
by the Power of the Holy Spirit.
III.
Not At Home In This World
As foreigners, exiles, or
sojourners, we are not at home in this World. A true believer in Christ must
not be at home in this World. If you feel at home, in other words, you live
like just everybody else, which means you have compromised your faith, perhaps
not even born again. Why do we feel
that we are not at home in this World? Because this is what Jesus said of us.
John 17:16, “They are not of the World any more than I am of the World.” As
believers, we should never forget that we belong to Jesus and that this World
is not our home. Peter urged his believers to abstain from sinful desires and
live good lives in this ungodly society.
According to Psalm 14:3, “All have
turned away, all have become corrupt; no one does good, not even one.” If all
have become corrupt, how can anyone be good and do good? Peter’s call to live a
good life is not directed at everyone but at those who are saved, born-again
Christians. We don’t do good works to be saved, but we do good works because we
are saved. What does this good life consist of in this ungodly society? We can
only be and do good as the Holy Spirit empowers us. Goodness is part of the
fruit of the Holy Spirit.
A spirit-filled Christian is
equipped to lead a good life. A good person loves the Lord and loves his
neighbor as he loves himself. Living a good life is living with integrity and
honesty in all our dealings. A good
person selflessly acts on behalf of others. Their speech is seasoned with salt.
They avoid lying and ill-will toward others; instead, they speak the truth in
love. They love their spouses if they are married, and if they have children, raise
them in the fear of God.
A good person is generous and kind to the poor, widows, and orphans. They are compassionate and kind to foreigners and strangers. To summarize, a good life is centered on Christ and His love. When we do good to others, people will glory God by seeing our good works on the day He visits us. May the Holy Spirit help us be and do all the good we can to others until Christ returns.
