Benefits of a Holy Life (1 Pet. 2:11-12)

This sermon was preached on 10/7/11

Peter has described for Christians something of the great dignity that had been given to them by God (1 Pet. 2:9-10). Of course, privileges carry responsibilities and the responsibility that Peter now stresses is that of holiness of life. Yet he does not present holiness as if it was a chore without any positive aspects, which sadly is the way many think of holiness. Instead Peter says that it is a way of living that has great benefits.

Brotherly affection

The first detail to notice is the brotherly love that Peter shows here by his use of the word ‘beloved’. This expression is remarkable because many of the ones to whom he was writing were Gentiles – and Peter was a Jew. The point of this distinction is not merely that of different racial identities; in addition, Peter at one time had a spiritual dimension to the racial distinction because he had regarded Gentiles as separated from God. Yet here he is using this most endearing word to describe his affections for his readers. What had caused this dramatic change?

The simple answer to the question is that Jesus Christ had changed him. Over thirty years previously, near the River Jordan, Peter had first met Jesus Christ. Since then Peter had been discovering the capabilities and riches of his Saviour. The Lord Jesus had forgiven Peter all his sins because of what happened at the cross. At that first meeting Peter had no idea of the changed life he would experience. From then on, he lived a supernatural life, one that flowed out of his renewed heart. Of course, he had his failures, but he was a new man possessing the fruit of the Spirit. One aspect of that fruit is brotherly love.

Peter refers to brotherly love several times in this letter (1:22; 2:17; 4:8; 5:9). It was obviously a priority with him and he wanted it to remain a priority for his readers. Given the stress that he puts on brotherly love in connection to witness, it is obvious that Peter was fully aware of the exhortation of Jesus in John 13:35: ‘By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.’ So how does Peter show brotherly love?

One way in which Peter does this is by using common terminology but giving it a new meaning. He calls them sojourners and exiles. Normally to be given such a description would be a depressing reminder of what a person had lost. But with Peter these words do not stress what they have lost. Instead they highlight a very bright future. A sojourner is a person always on the move, but what matters is the direction in which he is going. Peter’s readers were on the move and getting closer to heaven each day. An exile is a person who has a homeland, so also in this description Peter is reminding his readers of heaven.

The best brotherly action that we can do is remind our fellow family members about heaven. After all, it is the place to which we are going, it is the place where our Father is, where our Elder Brother is, where all the family will one day be, and where our estates are. We are not orphans as we live day by day; instead we are heirs currently in exile but travelling to our homeland.

Brotherly admonition

Yet like any good brother who speaks to his family members who are about to make a journey, Peter warns his brothers about dangers that lie ahead. These dangers he describes as the passions of the flesh. What does he mean by that description?

I would suggest that he is saying that the biggest danger they face on the journey of life is found in things they once did – the passions of the flesh. What he means by the flesh is the desires that those without the Spirit will have. He has already referred to several of these passions in 1:14 and mentions some outworkings of them in 4:3: ‘living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry.’ Of course, we are not to limit the sins of the flesh to physical activities. Within this category are also included wrong attitudes such as pride and selfishness. Any sin that each of us has is a sin of the flesh.

Peter calls on his brothers to abstain from such practices. He means that we should keep well away from them. In giving this advice, he recognises that all Christians, including those who have lived devoted lives, face the continual danger of reverting to these ways of living. The only way to ensure that will not happen is to permanently keep away from such practices.

Peter also reminds his readers that such ways of living are not neutral. Instead he says that they are out to defeat, harm and slay his readers. He likens them to soldiers making war against our souls. If I saw some soldiers running down the street determined to harm me, I would not walk out to greet them. Instead I would head in the opposite direction.

Peter’s warning is very important. We will be damaged in our souls if we participate in any degree with the passion of the flesh. As we know, a wound in our body can take a long time to heal and sometimes it leaves a permanent mark. Sadly an equivalent experience can be known in a spiritual sense. There are believers who have to live with the consequences of wrong involvement as Christians in sinful activities even although their misdemeanour has been forgiven by God.

We have all heard the illustration of the rich man whose child had to be taken to school each day. He advertised for coachmen. When he interviewed them, he asked them how close they could take the carriage to a steep precipice on the roadside. One said that he could take the carriage within three feet of the precipice and another said he could take it within two feet of the edge. The man that was given the job had said that he would keep as far from the edge as possible. It is spiritually dangerous to play with sin and it may be spiritually disastrous for some.

Of course, Peter knew what it was like to live according to the desires of the flesh. His playing with self-confidence is recorded in the Gospels. He ended up denying his Master and I suspect Peter shuddered every time he recalled it. On another occasion, in Antioch, he engaged in the sin of men-pleasing and was publicly rebuked by Paul for allowing such an action.

When we say these things, we should not assume that the only reason they are recorded is to tell us about Peter’s personal weaknesses. We are told about these failings because they show us how the desires of the flesh war against the soul. In fact, if we are in such a situation we will only get relief by doing what Peter did – by having a personal meeting with Jesus, as he did on the resurrection day.

So Peter is not giving a mere theoretical warning. Instead he writes as one who knows the pain of dabbling with the desires of the flesh. He is not the only one in the Bible. Think of David, the man after God’s own heart, and the awful sins he committed because he gave in to the desires of the flesh.

Brotherly anticipation

Instead Peter wants his readers to live honourable lives, which he describes as good deeds. We can describe this as lifestyle evangelism. What are good deeds? They are the opposite of bad deeds. Bad deeds are the activities of those who disobey God and good deeds are the activities of those who obey God. An honourable life is one that is marked by love to God and his requirements. It is likely that Peter has in mind the command of Jesus in Matthew 5:16: ‘In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.’

Peter warns his readers that at times the people among whom they lived would not understand why they lived in such a way. The Gentiles could see that the lifestyle of the Christians was different from all other ways of life and therefore deduced that there was something unsocial and threatening about it. We are returning to that situation in our society. There are many features of life which society regards as appropriate but which we know are wrong. Nevertheless it is inevitable that society will deduce that we are ones who are wrong because we do not live according to the same acceptable standards as they do.

Yet Peter indicates that the Lord can use the lives of his people in the way that he chooses to convert some people. Sometimes the initial stage in the conversion of a person is intrigue about the kind of life lived by his or her Christian neighbour or work colleague.

It is inevitable that people will see how we live. Our responsibility is to ensure that they see a life of obedience to God’s commandments. Most onlookers will think that such a lifestyle is wrong, yet when God brings his grace to some he will do so by drawing attention to the holy life of his people. That is one way in which we can be used by God.

Peter’s words should also create optimism within us because he says a day of visitation will come. The visitation may be small or it may be large, and he does not say anything about its size. Instead he stresses that sooner or later that it will come and sinners will experience his grace. The important aspect is that our lives should be of such a quality that onlookers will not be able to use our lack of holiness as a reason to dismiss the grace that God shows on the day of visitation.