1 Peter 2:11–12 (ESV) — 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.
NOTE: This continues
the thoughts in chapter one that this world is not our home. Our reward is in
heaven. That is our SURE hope. It is a
similar thought to the writer of Hebrews. We are not to seek the pleasures (and
passions) of this world. Those things war against our soul. What does it mean
to war? Those things fight against us in intense spiritual warfare. And as in a
war, we lose ground, we retreat, we fall back as we lose battles. The key is to
use our weapons, such as our sword, which is the word of God, which chapter one
also discussed, calling it the imperishable seed.
A second note is
verse 12's call to keep the conduct among the Gentiles honorable, suggesting
two possibilities. One, the letter is primarily written to Jewish believers. Or
two, the letter is written to both Jew and Gentile believers, but the reference
to Gentiles is really a reference to the unbelieving world. The second thought
fits within the context of the rest of the verse because it is unlikely the
Gentile believers would be calling their brothers and sisters, evildoers. No,
that is how the world views us. The world, in their twisted way of thinking,
believe religion is the root of all evils in the world, a point without any
logical basis, but it is what they want to believe. We need to challenge that
thinking with good deeds. Someday they will be forced to review their beliefs,
and we want to be part of the process that leads them to faith.
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