Perhaps you can picture the scene. Here comes that great outdoorsman, Esau, returning from the hunt. Though this time having caught nothing, he enters the kitchen where that momma’s boy Jacob is preparing some supper. Esau is famished and pleads with Jacob to give him some of the stew he is fixing. He tells Jacob that he will do anything if Jacob will only give him a bowl of stew. “Anything?” Jacob asks as the wheels in his head begin to turn. “Anything,” Esau replies. So Jacob tells his brother the price, “Give me your right of inheritance as the first born.” So Esau tells him that it didn’t matter to him because he was going to die of hunger anyway. Now Esau wasn’t so bad off that he didn’t have any other options. You must realize what Esau gave up in exchange for a bowl of soup. Giving up the right of inheritance as the firstborn for a bowl of soup would be tantamount to you giving up a scholarship to Oxford in exchange for a pair of designer blue jeans. This is the kind of extreme we are talking about. And so in a moment’s passion for food Esau repudiates everything valuable to him. Fleshly lusts brought about Esau’s defeat.
Let’s think next about King David. He is relaxing one spring morning. He is relaxing because he didn’t feel like going out to battle with his troops. After all, if he wanted to relax, he could do so because he was the king (he could have but that’s not what he should have). But then as he looked over Jerusalem from his roof, his eyes glanced upon Bathsheba. Unfortunately, one passion led to another and King David was caught in the midst of a series of sins, from adultery to murder. And this all came about because he had a desire to relax when he should have been doing something else.
As we proceed closer to the brink of war, as a nation, we don’t need to see a battle occuring on TV to recognize how horrible war is. The reason that we don’t need to wait to see a war and its deadly effects is because there is a war being waged within us each day. And if we fail to recognize this ongoing war then we will become a casualty in the fray. Before we know it we will be knocked down by a spiritual fusillade of the flesh’s powerful artillery.
I am sure that you have all seen fleshly lusts (or desires) working in your life and in the lives of those around you. You see them in operation when you want your coworker’s job, or your neighbor’s new car. Perhaps you have experienced this warfare with the flesh when you have that desire to kick back in front of the TV when you know that you should be praying. Or you might have noticed this battle when you had that desire to become more comfortable and not work as hard as you should. Really these fleshly lusts are any desire that would turn our focus from God and doing His will.
These are fleshly lusts from which Peter tells us in this passage that we should abstain. When Peter says to abstain from fleshly lusts he has both the inward and outward manifestations of this in mind. Peter wants his readers to get rid of these lusts inwardly, but he also wants them to express the reality of this victory outwardly by a lifestyle that is morally excellent. He is concerned not only about the inward desires being conquered but also about the outward behavior being altered. With this as his intention, Peter’s key idea in this passage is “You must abstain from fleshly lusts.” In this section of Scripture Peter gives us two reasons why we should abstain from fleshly lusts.
1. Fleshly lusts war against the soul
The first reason that Peter gives us to abstain from fleshly lusts is that fleshly lusts wage war against the soul. These fleshly desires Peter contrasts with God’s desires. In chapter 4 verse 2, Peter states that we are to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts (or desires) of men but for the will of God. Those who think that our old worldly desires go away when we become Christians are deluded because the Scripture gives no such indication. As a matter of fact when you become a Christian the battle really just begins. In verse 11, Peter notes two characteristics that describe this ongoing warfare between fleshly desires and us.
A. They are the enemy
The first characteristic that describes this ongoing warfare between fleshly desires and us is that they are the enemy. Peter calls us aliens and strangers (on earth) and as aliens and strangers we are enemies with worldly desires. The words that Peter uses here relate to our condition in relation to fleshly lusts. Peter refers to us as aliens and strangers. An alien was one who was considered as living among resident citizens without having citizen rights. He is one who is living in a strange place. The title of stranger refers to one who is living on earth as an exile. What Peter is saying here is that we don’t belong to this earth. As Christians, this is not our permanent residence. Our citizenship is established in heaven. For this reason we are at war with those lusts, which are denizens of earth. The inhabitants of earth, that is fleshly lusts, have declared war against us as citizens of heaven. This is the reality of what is going on inside us.
We see this warfare going on externally between the children of the devil and the children of God. We see in the Scripture the attack of Cain upon Abel in Genesis 4, the attack of Ishmael against Isaac that Paul describes in Galatians 4, where he says, “he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit.” Since we see this battle occurring externally should we be so surprised if it occurs inwardly between that which is of heaven (our new nature) and that which is of the devil (our sin nature)?
What Peter enjoins us to realize about this conflict is that we are to have our focus set upon the fact that we do not belong here and we should live as if this is the case. George Schultz, who was the Secretary of State under President Reagan, would ask his newly appointed ambassadors to point out their country on a globe in his office so they would show that they had at least some rudimentary knowledge of where they were going. When former Senate majority leader, Mike Mansfield, was appointed ambassador to Japan, Schultz asked Mansfield to show him his country. Mansfield spun the globe around until it came to the United States. He pointed to it and said, “This is my country!”
Peter reminds us that we must never forget that heaven is our country. Though we are currently dwelling in a foreign land, heaven is our real home. We mustn’t get too comfortable in picking up the customs of the natives or else when we get to heaven we will find that we were preparing for the place. As believers in Jesus Christ, our home is heaven and we must resist the temptation to give in to these fleshly lusts that cause us to seek the world’s way and not ours.
We are going to experience great battles (spiritual battles with our flesh) in reading our Bibles, in praying, in praising the Lord, in getting to church. As you decide to obey the Lord by reading His Word, there is going to be a great inward struggle until you learn to abstain from fleshly lusts on an ongoing basis. They don’t go away when you decide to do right. You need to be consistently putting into practice to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Whenever we say, I can read the Bible later, I can pray later, I can praise God later when I could perfectly well do it now we are losing the battle to fleshly lusts. Let me just get in a half an hour of TV or let me check my email first, let me just close my eyes for a minute. Or even more severely, when we go back to old ways of thinking or living. When we cave into our desires for alcohol or tobacco or step back into immorality. These are the enemies that the flesh uses to wage war against our souls.
These desires attack by appealing to the pleasure of the flesh. Peter uses a term (wage war) that makes reference to a planned military expedition. It is not something that happens by chance. These fleshly lusts have calculated this movement of war against us.
The Carthaginian general Hannibal went on his first military campaign with his father at the age of 9. At that time he vowed his eternal hatred for Rome, the bitter rival of Carthage. His hatred for Rome was so intense that at the age of 28 as Commander-in-Chief of the army he marched 40,000 troops over the Alps to attack Rome. Such a well orchestrated plan was carried out successfully because of Hannibal’s great hatred for the people of Rome. In the same way these fleshly lusts have vowed their eternal hatred for your soul and will stop at nothing in their planned military expedition to destroy your life.
B. They target the soul
The second characteristic that describes this ongoing warfare between fleshly desires and us is that they target the soul. These fleshly lusts raised up in our sinful nature are concerned about only one objective. That objective is the soul. The soul is your inner person, everything that you truly are. These lusts attempt to use everything in their power to take their prime objective. They know that if they can have control of your soul that they have control over you because the soul of which Peter speaks is the real you. The soul is who you are and what you do. It is you. If they have your soul then they have you.
Perhaps you remember seeing the tomahawk missile’s effectiveness during the Persian Gulf war. That accuracy was due to its focusing on only one objective. Every system and subsystem, every routine and subroutine with the tomahawk computer maintained that missile on its objective until it completed its mission with devastating results. In the same way these fleshly lusts are devastating because they focus on only one target.
Peter describes these lusts as if they were alive. In a sense it is true. These desires are your propensity (inclination) toward sin. Though as a Christian our sin nature has been crucified with Christ these desires still attack us with all the ferocity of war itself.
And Peter wants us to consider them as the enemy. Would you let an army invade your country and destroy your household and family and not react to that? Wouldn’t you take up arms to protect your family? For this reason we must not let these fleshly lusts invade and destroy your soul. Keep in mind that they are your enemy. You cannot live in peaceful coexistence with them. They cannot be your friendly neighbors because they have nothing but evil intentions for you.
2. Abstaining from fleshly lusts will bring glory to God
The second reason that Peter gives us to abstain from fleshly lusts is that abstaining from fleshly lusts will bring glory to God. Peter now describes for us the positive side of abstaining from fleshly lusts. When we rely on God’s power to overcome fleshly lusts He receives honor for it. God receives honor for it because there is a progression of events that takes place in the life of the unbeliever when a believer abstains from fleshly lusts. And Peter outlines this progression in verse 12. We see three aspects in the progression of events by which we bring glory to God
A. Observation of our good works
The first aspect in the progression of events by which we bring glory to God is the observation of our good works. Peter says, “Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may on account of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation. Peter says that as they observe our good deeds they will glorify God.
The word that Peter uses here translated “observe” refers to one who watches as a spectator. What Peter wants us to understand from this is that the world is watching and gazing intently at the Christian world. You say that you have the answer, the solution for their problems and they want to see if it’s true. Ghandi said that he would have become a Christian if it hadn’t been for some Christians he had known.
When you declare that you are a Christian to the watching world you will be held to a higher standard than the average person. They know that something should be different about you (though they don’t understand why) and they will look for you to slip up.
B. Conviction due to their bad language
The second aspect in the progression of events by which we bring glory to God is the conviction due to their bad language. When people begin to see that we are different they then begin to slander us. Because of your new lifestyle in Christ others begin to become conscious of their sin. So to take the pressure of the Holy Spirit conviction in their lives they begin to malign you. That is what Peter says here. “Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers . . .” 1 Peter 3:16 makes this more clear. “Keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame.”
The thief on the cross is a good illustration of what Peter is describing here. Mark details in his gospel that both thieves blasphemed Christ. But Luke describes that one thief slandered Him and one called on Christ to save him. What happened was that both thieves did begin to revile Christ. When the one thief saw Christ forgive his tormentors and pray for them he became convicted in his heart, repented of his sin and called on Christ to save him. His slander at Christ’s good deeds caused the thief to come under deep conviction.
C. Salvation through God’s visitation
The third aspect in the progression of events by which we bring glory to God is salvation through God’s visitation. This is what Peter says at the end of the verse. These people will glorify God in the day of visitation.
First we have to understand what Peter means by the day of visitation. The word could possibly be used to speak of Christ’s return in judgment, which would mean that God would glorify Himself through condemning those who slander Christians. Or Peter is describing this “day of visitation” as being the day these people come to accept Christ as their Savior (a day in which He visits them with salvation). We will be able to see that Peter is talking about salvation and not condemnation of these slanderers as we look at other verses of Scripture.
But before we look at these Scriptures let me note that what God is doing in this passage is bringing glory to Himself by turning what begins as evil (that is slander) into the means by which He brings these people to trust in Him and thereby bring glory to Himself.
The first passage we want to look at is Acts 15:14. I think this is an especially helpful passage because here Luke records Peter’s own summation of his statement of Gentile salvation at the Jerusalem council. This allows us to see Peter’s mindset in the use of this word. Acts 15:14 reads as follows (KJV) “Simeon (or Peter) has declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for His Name.” So here we see this same word visit (translated “concerned Himself with” in the NASB) and it is used in the context of Gentile salvation. Luke uses this word, “visitation” or “visiting” also in his gospel. In Luke 1, Zachariah prophesies about his son, John the Baptist and his place in redemption history. In verse 68, he says, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people.” Here again the idea of God’s visitation results in redemption (or salvation) for people.
So we can conclude that what is being described in 1 Peter 2:12 is the salvation of these individuals who had come under conviction from their own evil response to the morally excellent life of believers.
From this second section where we see that abstaining from fleshly lusts brings glory to God there are two consequences of not abstaining from fleshly lusts. If you continue to live in a manner displeasing to God, if you continue in your fleshly desires you will bring shame to God (as someone who names the name of Christ). People will look at your life as not matching up to your words. And secondly you will cause those who would otherwise, through your life, see their need to come to Christ be prevented from doing so because of your pretense.
If we are abstaining from fleshly lusts and living as a Christian before the world we should expect to have people slander us. But if we respond in a loving way to those who do so we will find that they will glorify God when they come to Christ.
The time is too short to play Christian. We need to be serious about reading the Word of God and crying to God to pour out His grace upon us and change us. No man made, psychology driven, legalistic adaptations of Christianity will work to change us. God has given us the Spirit of God and the Word of God to do His work, so allow them to work in your life. We cannot afford to live lackadaisically in a world where so many are perishing without the gospel every day.
If we are not willing to wage war against these fleshly desires through the power of Christ then we will simply not see people come to Christ through our personal ministry to them. If we are not allowing God to change us inwardly and then outwardly through the Word of God and the Spirit of God then do not blaspheme the name of God by your conduct and your weak declaration of your Christianity.
As Peter urged those whom he addressed, so I urge you this morning, seek the Lord and pray, as the psalmist did, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.” Abstain from fleshly desires that seek to arrest your soul and take it captive.