"Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul." (1 Peter 2:11)
Here in verse 11, Peter addresses in two different ways to begin to live out loud. In verse 11, he focuses on a negative more corrective instruction. We will see tomorrow in verse 12 the positive. He shifts here in this verse from our identity to our responsibility. You can see his passion for what he is about to say in the first few words, “Beloved, I urge you,” He implores them, those of whom are the object of God’s love. He starts here, because we must begin with the fact that we are recipients of God’s love fleshed out through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. That in itself should be enough, so he begins with reminding them again of God’s love. He does this 8 times in both of his letters. Then, he goes right back to remind them of who they are, “aliens and strangers” that because of God’s love they are in enemy territory. And because we are on enemy turf, we are being watched. Consider all that is going on today in the realm of immigration reform. Many of us look on with suspicion (and prejudice) on those who are aliens, whether illegally or legally. Aliens have no rights in the land where they live. Strangers are only temporary residents.
He then goes in to the first command that we see in these verses. Everything he is about to say leans on what he has just told them. His command is “to abstain.” The word literally means to “hold oneself constantly back from.” This is the verb, however, we must have an object of the verb, or in other words, “what are we to abstain from?” “fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul.”
What are fleshly lusts? NIV translates the words “sinful desires,” ESV “passions of the flesh” basically they are selfish natural appetites. It is what comes natural to us. Fleshly lusts is what rushes to fill the void when God is left out. It is when we experience temptation to satisfy bodily desires in ways contrary to God's will. Fleshly lusts are human desires which stem from our depravity and seek fulfillment outside the boundaries of righteousness. They simply cannot be overcome by human effort and asceticism. They are only overcome by the power of the indwelling Spirit as we “walk in the Spirit.”
Here in verse 11, Peter addresses in two different ways to begin to live out loud. In verse 11, he focuses on a negative more corrective instruction. We will see tomorrow in verse 12 the positive. He shifts here in this verse from our identity to our responsibility. You can see his passion for what he is about to say in the first few words, “Beloved, I urge you,” He implores them, those of whom are the object of God’s love. He starts here, because we must begin with the fact that we are recipients of God’s love fleshed out through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. That in itself should be enough, so he begins with reminding them again of God’s love. He does this 8 times in both of his letters. Then, he goes right back to remind them of who they are, “aliens and strangers” that because of God’s love they are in enemy territory. And because we are on enemy turf, we are being watched. Consider all that is going on today in the realm of immigration reform. Many of us look on with suspicion (and prejudice) on those who are aliens, whether illegally or legally. Aliens have no rights in the land where they live. Strangers are only temporary residents.
He then goes in to the first command that we see in these verses. Everything he is about to say leans on what he has just told them. His command is “to abstain.” The word literally means to “hold oneself constantly back from.” This is the verb, however, we must have an object of the verb, or in other words, “what are we to abstain from?” “fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul.”
What are fleshly lusts? NIV translates the words “sinful desires,” ESV “passions of the flesh” basically they are selfish natural appetites. It is what comes natural to us. Fleshly lusts is what rushes to fill the void when God is left out. It is when we experience temptation to satisfy bodily desires in ways contrary to God's will. Fleshly lusts are human desires which stem from our depravity and seek fulfillment outside the boundaries of righteousness. They simply cannot be overcome by human effort and asceticism. They are only overcome by the power of the indwelling Spirit as we “walk in the Spirit.”
For more information of what these can include look at Galatians 5:19-21, & 1 Peter 4:3. These are the things, regardless of which ones we struggle with in particular, that will constantly wage war against us, and in that we can never become complacent. These are the things that we are drawn to when God is not at the center of our focus. This is an intentional act of the enemy. He will kick you when you are down, tempt you when you are most vulnerable. As a matter of fact, one of the most important reasons for maintaining fellowship with the body is so that when we are down, we can pick one another up. But instead, we choose to do it on our own, keep our sins secret, and not air our dirty laundry. Peter describes the enemy later in his letter as a lion who prowls around seeking on whom he can devour. (1 Pet. 5:8) When lions on the pride land hunt they seek those prey which are wounded or weak and separated from the herd. Don't be so naive to think that this doesn't happen in the spiritual realm as well.
Fleshly lusts seek to attract our affections and attention to this temporary world rather than to our true eternal “home.” Abstaining from fleshly lusts compliments our condition as aliens and strangers, who are “just passing through” this world. Are you losing this or winning this war? Living out loud happens as a result from the yelling of our character on the inside that has rejected or held oneself constantly back from.
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