📖Scripture:
“Beloved, I urge you as foreigners and exiles to abstain from the desires of the flesh, which war against your soul. Conduct yourselves with such honor among the pagans that, though they slander you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us.” – 1 Peter 2:11–12
🔎Examination:
The American Church has long been selling counterfeit good. And people have been buying it up because the one they follow, Satan, their father, masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their actions. In contrast, the Apostle Peter’s words to the ELECT are tender and urgent divine revelation: “Beloved, I urge you…” — not as a distant apostle issuing orders, but as a shepherd pleading with God’s elect to live as what they truly are: foreigners and exiles. Sunday’s sermon reminded us: Peter’s not giving us a metaphor for humility. He’s reminding us of our identity. Our baptism is our identification — death to self, crucified with Christ. Therefore, it doesn’t merely inform duty; it compels it.
That GOSPEL truth shatters the counterfeit culture of the American church today. If we truly are foreigners and exiles, this world is not our home, its customs are not our pattern, and its cravings are not our master. The “desires of the flesh,” Peter says, wage war against the soul. The Greek term conveys the sense of an ongoing campaign—not a single skirmish. Just as Islam is not content to coexist with any other culture… fleshly desire is not content to coexist with holiness; it is militant against it.
“Abstain,” Peter commands—not negotiate, not tame, not excuse. The sermon put it bluntly: Scripture doesn’t say to give fleshly desires a good talking-to… we’re commanded: RID YOURSELVES… ABSTAIN FROM… the desires of the flesh. Why? Because they war against your soul! That’s not legalism; it’s liberation via obedience. Every false gospel of the age says freedom means following impulses... no consequences... no accountability. The Gospel of Christ says freedom means denying self and crucifying fleshly desires. Peter’s call is not relativistic moralism — it’s resurrection realism. Those who have been raised with Christ are no longer slaves to sin. Victory in the battle is proof of the redeemed life, not the absence of grace.
Then Peter moves from the inner to the outer life: “Conduct yourselves with such honor among the pagans…” The sermon brought this to life by unpacking the word kalos — not relative “niceness,” but objective, God-defined goodness. If it’s something pagans can do, then it’s not good, because it can’t inspire anyone to embrace what is truly lovely, beautiful, and praiseworthy — which is Christ.
The purpose of the world’s concept of “good deeds” is self-glorification. The purpose of the saint’s good conduct is divine glorification. “Though they slander you as evildoers,” Peter says, “they may see your good deeds and glorify God.” The effect of holy conduct is not self-defense; it’s evangelism. God alone controls when “the day He visits” comes. Therefore, whether pagans respond in regeneration or rejection, God is glorified, and our obedience bears witness.
When the Church, the Bride of Christ, forgets she is in exile, she seeks culture's acceptance instead of God's holiness. The sermon lamented this: The American church has become a sellout institution that denies the authority and sufficiency of Christ… enticing people with the teachings of demons. That’s not hyperbole; that’s realism from the revelation of God’s WORD. We are called to live in such contrast to the darkness that our conduct is a visible proclamation: Christ is risen!
To be “foreigners and exiles” is not to retreat from society but to represent another Kingdom within it. We abstain from fleshy desires not to earn God’s favor but to display His transforming grace. Our holiness is not self-protection — it’s divine proclamation. Every abstained temptation preaches that Christ isn’t just better… He is the ultimate. Every act of honor among pagans declares that His Kingdom is at hand and His authority is absolute.
🤺Action:
Search your loyalties – “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith.” (2 Cor 13:5) Are your reactions shaped more by your political party, ethnicity, culture, national identity, or your resurrection identity in Christ?
Test your desires – “Consider your ways.” (Hag 1:5) Which appetites dominate your time, personal thoughts, interests, wishes, and goals? Repent and abstain from what wars against your soul.
Assess your witness – “Test all things.” (1 Thess 5:21) Do pagans see your life as kalos — the objective goodness that points to Christ, or has your faith been reduced to random acts of subjective kindness and cultural morality that merely blends in?
Submit your motives – “Search me, O God.” (Ps 139:23–24) Are your good deeds bold and courageous for the GOSPEL and aimed at God’s glory, or are they good based on human standards for man’s acceptance and the praise of culture?
🧠Reflection:
The world will always strive to produce counterfeit Christianity. Pagans will always see true disciples/followers of King Jesus as “strange” and “alien.” Those who worship the world called our Savior “possessed.” Even Jesus' biological family, including his mother, Mary, was embarrassed by His words and ministry, so they went out to take custody of Him, saying, “He is out of His mind.” But the saints know the truth: we are “strange” and “alien” simply because we refuse to conform to the pattern of this world, submit to its philosophies, and give in to the teachings of demons; we are set apart. The call to abstain from fleshly desires and to live honorably among pagans is not a burden — it’s a blessing of our new identity/baptism in Christ.
When slander and sufferings come, remember Peter’s words: it’s by doing good that you “silence the ignorance of foolish men.” Our good conduct is holy warfare, our steadfast obedience is the battle plan, and our living as foreigners is evidence that Heaven is our current and forever home.
As the sermon said, the elect in Christ are no longer citizens of the world… the things that once ensnared fools no longer define us. Live like today. Let our conduct preach the excellencies of Christ Jesus our Lord, who has brought us out of darkness and into His marvelous light!
We're not selling counterfeits; we're not selling anything. We're living such good lives among the pagans that, though they slander you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us.
Click the following link for a short video version of today's post:
Blessings and love,
Kevin M. Kelley
Pastor
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