1 Peter 2:11 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.

NIV: Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul.

NASB: Beloved, I urge you as foreigners and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts, which wage war against the soul.

CSB: Dear friends, I urge you as strangers and exiles to abstain from sinful desires that wage war against the soul.

NLT: Dear friends, I warn you as 'temporary residents and foreigners' to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls.

KJV: Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;

NKJV: Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul,

How should God's people live? How should those who are, in Christ, a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation (1 Peter 2:9) live from day to day on this side of eternity? Peter answers that question in this verse while revealing two crucial truths about what it means to live as a Christian.

First, calling his readers friends, Peter also calls them foreigners, sojourners, aliens, strangers, or exiles, depending on the translation being read. He means for them to stop thinking of themselves as locals, but as people who aren't from around here. The transformation God has made in Christians through Christ is so extensive, so complete, that our home town has changed. What used to be normal for us is now foreign. We no longer fit naturally into the thinking and practices of the world around us. And we must not try to fit it; we'll be going home soon.

But, Peter admits, this can be difficult. Our body wants to sin in the way that comes so naturally to humans, to those who are at home here. Peter has made it clear that we have been saved from the penalty for our sin in Christ. And we have been freed from the authority of sin; we have the ability to choose not to sin now, in the power of God's Holy Spirit.

In other words, we have not lost the "want" to sin. Even knowing its destructive power, the "want" to sin continues to attack our soul. Peter is not saying that we risk losing the salvation God has given us. He is saying that we are in a battle to make choices appropriate to our status as God's people. So he urges us to engage the battle. Don't give in. As saved, holy people in Christ, we ought to "just say no" to the desire to sin.

1 Peter 2:1–12 describes the spiritual house God is building. Jesus is the perfect foundation stone God has chosen for the house. Those who trust in Him are also living stones used to build the house. In addition, we individually serve as both the priests and the spiritual sacrifices, our lives offered to the builder. Thus we must live good lives, as strangers in the world preparing to go home to be with our Father, engaged in battle against our desire to sin.

Peter gets specific about what it means to live as God’s set-apart people. Christ is the foundation stone of the spiritual house God is building. We must engage in battle with our selfishness and desire to sin. This includes submitting to human authorities, no matter how evil or harsh. It means enduring suffering, as Christ did for our sake when He died on the cross. Our role is not to fight a physical war for justice here; we will be going home soon.

First Peter 1 described the glorious reality of our present and future as God’s children, by His grace and through our faith in Jesus. He called us a holy people redeemed by God for new purposes. That means believers must live differently than those in the world around us. In this chapter, Peter narrows down exactly what it means to lead a holy life, including doing battle with our own desire to sin. This also means suffering under human authorities, even unjust ones.

Some 30 years after the resurrection of Jesus, Christians are facing greater persecution for their faith. How should they respond? How should we respond to suffering today? The apostle Peter writes this letter both to comfort believers and to encourage them to stay strong. He urges them to put all their hope in their perfect future with Christ, and to obey and trust Him in the present, even in their suffering. Christ suffered greatly; now the Christ-followers have the opportunity to follow Him even in this, showing His grace and power in their hopefulness, obedience, and faith.