Your Witness Before Others

1 Peter 2:11 says, “Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul.” “Sojourners” and “pilgrims” enforces the idea that Christians are to be different from the people of this world. This world is not a Christian’s permanent home. It is temporary, and our true citizenship is in heaven. “Fleshly lusts” points to the fact that this world, empowered by the devil, tempts Christians through fleshly lusts. These are unwholesome desires that would have been natural to indulge before trusting Jesus as Savior and Lord. But, as long as we live in this world, we will continue to contend with the flesh. The temptation is to satisfy a normal, healthy appetite in an unholy way.
 
For example, God has given us a sexual drive, and yet he gives us a way to meet the appetite. He commends marriage between a husband and a wife where they can fulfill that sexual drive. Yet, here, Peter says to abstain from fleshly lusts, which seeks to indulge the flesh in unholy ways. He warns them if they do not abstain it will “war against the soul.” He is commending this abstinence for their own good. 
 
Adrian Rogers once said it this way, “Every time God says ‘Thou shalt not’ in Scripture, He is saying, ‘Don’t hurt yourself.’ Whenever God says in Scripture ‘Thou shalt,’ He is saying, ‘Help yourself to happiness.’”[1] It has been expressed this way: God condemns sin because it is bad for us. It’s not bad for us because God condemns it. Oftentimes we say to ourselves, “Well, God condemns it so I should avoid it,” but we ought to think deeper and say, “God condemns it because it's bad for me.” These statements simply convey the fact that God loves us enough to warn us away from hurting ourselves by our own poor choices.
 
Christians often tolerate habits in their lives which are weights to all that God wants to do through them. Hebrews 12:1 says, “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” If you have ever noticed track and field athletes, they are not wearing anything that would weigh them down or slow down their pace. This verse means there can be weights that hold us back. These are not necessarily sins. He refers to both “weights” and “sins” that “so easily ensnare us.” The New Living Translates it this way, “…let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.”
 
Some things in this world may look attractive and may appear that they can meet that appetite. However, it’s an unholy thing. It’s not as God designed. It’s not as God commands. It’s for our own good. God’s word of warning is to “abstain” from those things for our own good.
 
God is not opposed to your having fun. The Christian life should be exciting. However, when you live according to God’s standards, you will have fun and not feel guilty the next day. Peter is trying to say there are God-honoring ways to meet your needs, and there are unhealthy, fleshly ways which ultimately will not satisfy. Christians should avoid satisfying the flesh. There will be an inner battle. Your “soul” is your mind, will and emotions. For the sake of your own inner peace, don’t give in to those fleshly desires. A mature Christian understands the need to avoid certain behaviors and habits.
 
In 1 Corinthians 9:27, Paul says, "I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified." If it is not good for him, Paul will avoid it. He will discipline his life. God wants to build His church with mature believers who can live disciplined lives for His glory.
 
God wants His followers to influence this world for Him. 1 Peter 2:12 adds, “having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.” If Christians are connecting with the people of God, ministering according to who they are in Christ and disciplining their lives to reflect holiness, the fourth mark will be an ever-growing influence on society as a whole. 
 
1 Peter 2:9 states, “that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” The word "proclaim" literally means “to evangelize out” or “to advertise.” Our mission is to advertise God's beauty to the world around us. God wants us to proclaim in such a way that we may evangelize the glories of God to a watching world.
 
Peter is encouraging God’s people to live our lives in such a way that even when others may misunderstand or speak negatively about us, they will ultimately recognize our good deeds and praise God. Our actions speak louder than our words, and the way we live before others can either attract or repel people from Christ. We can preach the gospel with our words, but we also need to preach the gospel with our lives as well. You may have someone twist your biblical convictions or twist what you say in a negative way, but your life lived before them will shine through.
 
The end of verse 12 says they will “glorify God in the day of visitation”. This means when God visits a person in judgment, they will either say one of two statements. They may say, “This person’s words and conduct led me to Christ. I glorify God through the good works I saw in this person’s life.” Or, they may glorify God in the day of visitation though they shunned Christ in this life.
 
Philippians 2:9–11 (NKJV)
9Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,
10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,
11and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
 
The day of visitation, or of judgment, will be a time of reminder to them that they not only heard the gospel, they also saw the gospel lived out before them. If they rejected Christ in this life, they will be condemned.
 
Ruth Graham once said, "A saint is someone who makes it easier for someone to believe in Jesus.” We should ask ourselves if we, through our words and actions, are drawing people to Christ or keeping them from Christ. Our mission is to point people to Jesus, drawing people to Jesus and sharing the hope they can find in Jesus. God wants to use each of His people to build His Church and accomplish His mission in the world.
 
“Dead God, I pray my life reflects You to others. I pray that I would make it easy for someone to believe in You and love You. I love You, Lord. Help me be a witness for You. May I never be ashamed to follow You. Give me Your strength to live for You and point people to You. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

[1] https://x.com/lwfministries/status/1214361148306415617, accessed 8/8/2024.