The Gospel: How the Gospel Changes Our Relationship with the World
October 18, 2020
In the early 90’s one of my favorite musical artists was Michael W. Smith. He is a Christian artist, but at that time he had a crossover single that became quite popular. The song was called “A Place in This World.” It was popular because everyone could relate to it. We all want to find a place in the world – a place where we can fit in, a place where we’re accepted and a place where we can feel at home. But in order to feel at home in this world, we are constantly being tempted to compromise what we believe, what we value and how we are called to live as God’s people in this world.
I feel it. There’s a growing hostility in our country toward people of faith. Our values were on trial before our very eyes this past week with the confirmation hearings for Amy Coney Barrett. It’s as if our culture wants to silence our faith, restrict our rights and marginalize our influence in the world today. So, yes, there’s a good reason if you struggling to feel at home in our world today. And the reason is this: this world is not our home.
In fact, if you were with us last Sunday, we learned that God sees you differently than the rest of the people in the world. Peter spelled out our contrasting nature with the world by saying: But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.
In other words, the moment you received Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord, God transferred you out of the realm of darkness, and brought you into the kingdom of His Son – the kingdom of light. So then, we are different from the world in that we are God’s Holy People. And we are different than the world because we are now a spiritual race – His chosen people. And we are different from the world, because now we belong to Him as His treasured possession.
So then, if you’re not feeling all that home in the world today that’s ok. Because God changed your relationship with the world the very moment He rescued out of this world. So as a result, not feeling at home in this world, well that is our normal. In fact, that’s what we’re going to look at today from 1 Peter 2:11-12. For it is here, that God’s Word reveals how the gospel changes our relationship with the world, and why, if you follow Jesus, you will never really feel at home in this world. So, if you’ve found 1 Peter 2:11-12, let’s look at the first reason why you will never truly feel at home in this world, and that is this:
We Don’t Belong to this World Look at verse 11 with me. Peter makes this plain by saying: “Beloved, as aliens and strangers in the world, abstain from the passions of the flesh that war against your soul.” Again, Peter appeals to our new identity in Christ as God’s beloved, as His treasured possession, to remind us of why we don’t fit into this world. This is God’s favorite expression for us as His children. We are the beloved. This is the Father’s special term of endearment He applies to His Son Jesus, first heard at Jesus’ baptism, when the Father said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” This is the term used to remind us that WE DON’T BELONG to this world – WE BELONG TO THE FATHER. We belong to the Father who loves us with an ever lasting love. We belong to the Father who is always for us and never against us. WE BELOGN TO THE FATHER WHO is always thinking of you, who is always seeking what is best for you and will never stop loving you. For He proved His love for you when He gave His only Son Jesus to die in place of you.
That’s why we don’t belong to the world and will never be at home in the world, because we belong to God and our home is with Him.
Now to make his point even clearer, Peter calls us aliens and strangers in this world. These are two very telling terms. The first term, alien, speaks of a person who lives in a foreign country with no rights as a citizen. The second, stranger, defines one as a temporary resident in a place that’s not his permanent home. So Peter puts these terms together to remind us that we will never be at home in this world, because we are just passing through – this world is not our home.
I understand these designations very well, since our family lived as temporary residents in Canada under my Visitor’s Visa for 8 years, when I pastored there. We were literally aliens and strangers in a foreign land. And every year I had to reapply for my Visitors Visa in order to remain in Canada. It was a funny status. I could work as a Pastor. But Becky was not allowed to work. We could own a home, but we were not allowed to vote. We did have to pay taxes, but we were considered aliens. So I was constantly reminded that although the government allowed me to live in Canada, Canada was not my home. And as much as I tried to fit into Canadian culture, there was always someone around who made it their business to remind me that I was not one of them. And can I say this? That was a great experience, because now, even though I am an American citizen, I get it when Peter says this world is not our home. We are strangers and aliens here, because we belong to a heavenly country – the kingdom of heaven.
So let me remind you with this election looming: we are aliens and strangers in this world. We belong to a spiritual kingdom that is far greater than any kingdom of this earth. We are just passing through. And the reason you sometimes don’t feel at home here, is that this world is not your home. That’s one way the gospel changes our relationship with the world. Here now is the next:
We are at War in This World: That’s why Peter says, “Beloved, as aliens and strangers in the world, abstain from the passions of the flesh that war against your soul.” One of the reasons we often struggle with feeling comfortable in this world, is that we are at war in the world with one of the most dominating forces in the world – our flesh. Our world is constantly seeking to persuade us to follow our passions, to indulge ourselves, to feed our cravings or satisfy our lusts. Abut Peter says here, that these passions of the flesh are constantly waging war with our souls.
Again, Peter gives us a very telling word picture here. When he uses this term “war” he’s not referring to an occasional battle with temptation. No, this term “war” was the word used for a planned military expedition against a military objective. So then, our selfish passions have one objective – to constantly make warfare against our souls, with the aim of capturing us and making us useless to God. But here’s the thing: our world is so good at exalting our flesh, telling us that satisfying your flesh is a good thing, that most of the time WE FORGET that we are in this battle – that we are at war with the flesh.
Which begs the question. What is the flesh? Simply put, it is the sin nature in us. Before coming to faith in Jesus, every single person is A Slave to the demands of their sin nature. It is the sin nature in us that makes us do those things we don’t want to do. The sin nature makes us say and do things we regret. It’s the sin nature that causes us to lash out and hurt loved ones. It’s the sin nature that makes us greedy and not trust in God to provide. It’s the sin nature that wants you to satisfy your sex drive outside of marriage. It’s the sin nature that wants you to walk over someone to get ahead. And it’s the sin nature wants to dominate you, control you and destroy your soul.
However, when you put your trust in Jesus Christ, Jesus breaks the power of sin in your life. For the moment you trust in Him, you are born again of the Spirit, and God gives you a new nature – a spiritual nature that is GREATER than the power of the flesh. But here’s the deal: even though you have a new spiritual nature, the old sinful nature doesn’t want to go down without a fight. It wants to usurp the power of Jesus in your life and regain dominance. It wants to run your new nature right out of town.
So that’s why Paul tells us we are to abstain from the sinful desires that war against our souls. Now that’s a word we never hear much from the world: “Just abstain.” “Don’t indulge yourself.“ “Don’t go for it.” Abstinence is the ultimate party pooper. Nobody wants to be a party pooper. No advertiser is saying, “Deny Yourself.”
So I want you to think with me about what it means to abstain from sinful desires. Think of abstaining as a spiritual practice. To abstain is a spiritual discipline. It begins by making a decisive act to “put away” ungodly desires. That’s what we see in Colossians 3:5-10; Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.
It then involves a daily practice of holding yourself back from whatever fleshly lust that’s trying to control you. It’s like going on a diet. Some of you can be pretty disciplined when it comes to diet, or exercise. But in order to make it worth the effort, you have to stay the course, every single day.
We need to understand that our place in the world is not to give in to the marketers every time they say, “have it your way.”
We need to understand that anything that feeds the flesh has the power to render us ineffective for God.
And we need to understand that we cannot live the new life of the Spirit if we are always indulging ourselves with things that leave no room for God.
Perhaps you’ve been stuck in your faith, going nowhere, having no impact. Maybe it’s because you need to rediscover this spiritual discipline in your life. Don’t forget that you are in a battle for your soul. But remember YOU ARE NOT IN THIS FIGHT ALONE.
God’s Word calls us to do life together. He commands us to share one another’s burdens. He commands us to confess our sins to one another. He commands us to encourage one another daily so that none of us may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. That’s why He put us together in this thing called HIS Church. Doing a spiritual discipline like this takes the love, support, prayers and encouragement of brothers and sisters in Christ. None of us are immune from the battles of the flesh. You don’t turn 65 or 70 and those battles just go away. We need each other to help each other defeat the flesh everyday. Our world says indulge your self, but God says deny yourself. And you can do that a whole lot better with the help of brother or sister in the trenches with you.
God wants us to win this battle with the flesh, so that He can use your life to draw others to faith in Jesus. Perhaps you never thought of living a holy life was the thing God might use to bring people to Jesus. But God does. And that leads us to a third reason why we will never be at home in this world, and that is this:
We Are on Display to Our World: As we wrap this up today, look at verse 12, Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of being evil doers, when they observe our exemplary lives they will be won over to God’s side and join us in praising God. 1 Peter 2:12
Have you ever wondered why God wants you to battle against the forces in you that want you to be like everyone else in the world? Well, here’s the reason. God wants our lives to stand out so distinctly different from everyone else – so that when people observe our lives they will see another way to live. And when they see our holy lives they wont’ have to keep listening to the world telling them, “indulge yourself,” “you do you,” “you can have it all” in order to fit in. You see, God wants us to live such good lives, such different kinds of lives, so that people enslaved to the flesh see how we live, He can turn our detractors of Jesus into disciples of Jesus who will want to praise God with us!
What was happening with these first century Christians that Peter was writing to, is that the culture around them were mocking them and abusing them because they were no longer participating in the immoral practices of the day. That’s what Peter writes in 1 Peter 4:4, “They think it strange that you do not plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation, and they heap abuse on you.”
They think it’s strange that you will no longer get drunk with them. They think it’s strange you stop telling dirty jokes. They think it strange that you no longer want to sleep around. And they really think it’s strange that you want to live for Jesus now. And so they make fun of you, tells lies about you, and even try to destroy your reputation. That’s what was happening at the time Peter wrote this letter. People were coming to faith in Jesus and experiencing God’s grace, and God’s grace was teaching them to say no to ungodliness. But rather than accept their changes the people around them falsely accused them of being “evil doers.” And these charges labeled them as criminals. They wanted these new Christians to be locked up and removed from society, because they were making them to feel uncomfortable in their flesh indulging world. Has your life ever made an irreligious person feel uncomfortable?
Well, here’s the deal: God does not want us to withdraw from our immoral culture, just to withdraw from immoral practices. We are to stay in the world, but not be of the world. We are to interact with people who do not yet know God so they can see a different way of life, an alternative way of life – a holy life, a kind, merciful, gentle, loving and joyful life – the kingdom life. And when they see our holy lives, God’s Word says they can be won over to Jesus. Imagine that?
So our world is watching us. What are they looking for? They are looking to see if your faith is the genuine article. And when they observe us, they are watching us carefully. That’s the idea behind this word “observe.” To observe requires an ongoing, intense and prolonged scrutiny. It’s like what my friend Scott did when he was looking to buy a new car. He actually had a spread sheet of about thirty cars, and he was looking for all kinds of things before he made his choice. He looked at gas milage, handling ability, tires, comfort, maintenance costs, longevity. He scrutinized every make and model so he would get the best bang for his buck. I was in awe his scrutiny. But eventually one car rose above all the others and he went all in and purchased that car. That’s what unbelievers are doing when they look at us. They are looking for an excuse to accuse or for a reason to believe.
And that’s another reason why we will never feel at home in this world. For God has chosen to leave us here to show the world that there’s another world that’s so much better. We’ll never be at home in this world, because God has put us on display in this world to show our world there is an alternative way to live – the way of the kingdom.
So then, are you starting see why it’s so hard to feel at home in our world. This world is not our home. We are just passing through. But while we are here, we’re in a war in this world – sometimes that war is with our flesh – sometimes that war is with those who can’t understand us or are even hostile to us. But take heart, for God keeps us in this world, so He might win the world over through our changed lives.
We are God’s beloved. God has made us His holy people. We are now different from the world we live in. This world is not our home. But God has left us here to show the world that there is a better world where there is total acceptance and belonging – IT’S A WORLD WITH HIM! So may God help us be His holy people, so that when our friends and neighbors are watching us, they will see the genuine article, and be won over for Jesus.
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