1 PETER 2:11-252009 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: 1 Peter 2:11-25

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2009. Here we are in 1 Peter chapter 2, finishing up the chapter. And Peter now goes on to give some really interesting

difficult instruction. And it's not difficult to understand. These are not complicated things, nor are they things that we've never heard before. But they are difficult to apply, and they're things I believe that God wants to really challenge us with. As we left off in chapter 2 last week,

Peter had been telling us about our place in Christ. He was telling us about who our God is and what He's accomplished for us. But there in verse 9 and 10, he was telling us about the privileged place that we have in Him. That in Jesus Christ, we are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and we're God's own special people. He has called us out of darkness and into His marvelous light.

God has given us this incredible place in His kingdom, this incredible place in Him where we find salvation, where now we've obtained mercy and God does not deal with us according to our sin. As Peter goes on now, he's piggybacking on that thought. He's talked about our position in Christ. Now he goes on to explain that because of who we are in Christ and because of the place that God has given to us,

Well, there's a certain way that we are to live and there's a certain responsibility. We have this awesome privilege of being God's children, being his own special people. And along with that privilege comes the responsibility now to demonstrate that by the way that we live.

And so there's four things today I want to share with you from 1 Peter 2, verses 11 through 25. Four things that I believe God is speaking to us that we might demonstrate to the world around us that God is real, that He loves us and He loves all the world, and that He sent His only begotten Son to die on the cross for us.

The first point we see from Peter this morning is that we are to be sojourners. Be a sojourner, Peter says in verses 11 and 12. Look at verse 11. He says, Peter now calls us. We are beloved. We have this privileged place.

We're the body of Christ. We have this special honor of being God's children. He says, I beg you. I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims. He calls us to be sojourners and pilgrims. Now, a sojourner is someone who is a stranger or foreigner. One definition puts it this way. It's one who lives in a place without the right of citizenship.

It's someone who lives somewhere, they're dwelling somewhere, but they don't have the rights of a citizen. They're not citizens there, they're foreigners or strangers. And Peter calls us to live this way, as sojourners and pilgrims, as foreigners, as strangers, as those who do not have the right of citizenship.

Now the Bible is very clear that as believers in Jesus Christ, there has been a change to our citizenship. That our citizenship is no longer to this world, but we are citizens of a heavenly kingdom. Our citizenship is in heaven, and so we are dwelling here on this earth as foreigners.

where our citizenship is not here. We are in the world, and that we live here, but we're not of the world. We do not belong to the world. In fact, you could look at it this way. It's like going camping.

You know, when you go camping, you go out there and you dwell in a tent and you're roughing it there out in the wilderness. That's really how we are living today. This is not our home. Our real home is a mansion that God has prepared for us in heaven.

And right now we're just rough in it. We're dwelling in tents. We're living out here in the wilderness. But this is not our home. That's what Peter is saying. We are to live this way that we are sojourners. We're strangers. We're pilgrims in this earth. And as strangers, as foreigners to this planet, he says, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul. Since we're

Not native to this land any longer. Since we are foreigners here, well, our lives are to be different than the world around us. Our lives are to stand out. We're not to be the same way that we once were, nor are we to be the same way as the rest of the world is.

And one of the ways that we're to be different, Peter says, is that we're to abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul. We're to be different by not participating in fleshly lusts. When Peter talks about fleshly lusts, he's talking about those cravings and desires of our sinful nature.

Our physical nature is sinful. It's part of the curse. It's something that we will wrestle with for the rest of our lives. There's a war that takes place, Peter says. It's a war against the soul. The fleshly nature, well, it's been crucified with Christ, Paul said in Galatians 2, and yet it still seeks dominion over us.

Our sinful nature still desires to master us and to cause us to be obedient to it and fulfill its cravings and desires. But there's something significant here that I think we need to consider for a moment.

As Peter says, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul. It's worthy to consider that there is a war that is going on. There is a war against the soul of our fleshly lusts. And it's significant because at one time, we were slaves to sin. We were bound in slavery to our fleshly lusts. There was no battle. We were slaves to it. But now...

There's been a change. Paul says in 2 Corinthians, that if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things are gone. Behold, all things become new. There's been a transformation that has taken place. We've been set free from the bondage to sin and death. And so now we have a choice. And we, being set free, have the opportunity to abstain.

There's a war that's going on, but that's a good indication. It means that there has been a change. There's been a transformation. The battle is fierce. It's very difficult at times to abstain from the fleshly lusts which war against the soul. But as sojourners, as foreigners in this place, Peter says, you and I were to abstain. We're to stop living in sin.

We're to keep ourselves from those things of the sinful nature. Not only that, but he goes on in verse 12. He says, So,

One part of it is we're to abstain from fleshly lusts, but the other part is that we're to have honorable conduct among the Gentiles or among the unbelievers. As we live in this world, as there's the people around us and our families and our workplaces and our schools and wherever we might go, we are to have our conduct honorable. Now, it does not mean that

They will always say that our conduct is honorable or that they will agree that our conduct is honorable, but that our conduct is to be honorable.

You see, Peter goes on to say that when they speak against you as evildoers, people are still going to come against you even when your conduct is honorable. But the important thing here, the point that he's making is that we are to conduct ourselves honorably, that we're not to be sneaky, that we're not to be doing things that are not right and being disobedient to God or being disobedient to, as Peter will go on to explain, the government or other authorities in our lives.

We are to live our lives in such a way that it's honorable, that it's noteworthy, that it's noble. But Peter says, you're a sojourner, you're a foreigner. Understand, this is the way that you're called to live, but don't expect to be accepted by the world. He says, they will speak against you as evildoers. There's going to be opposition, just as Jesus said, look, if you were of the world, the world would love you.

But you're not of the world. I've called you out of the world, Jesus said. And just as I'm not of the world and the world hates me, the world is going to hate you, Jesus told his disciples.

In the same way, we are not of the world. We're sojourners. We are pilgrims. We're strangers and foreigners here. And so we're to abstain from the lust of the flesh and we're to live our lives in an honorable way, but also to understand and expect and know that people will speak against us as evildoers. As if we were thieves and murderers, people will come against us. But we're to live honorably.

Not that they would speak against us truthfully and rightly because we are doing things that are not right, but that even though we are honorable, even though we are being obedient to God, they are speaking against us. But Peter goes on. He says, Here's what Peter is saying.

The day of visitation is coming. The day of visitation is the return of Jesus Christ. Every person, every human being will stand before God. Every person will give an account of their life. They will stand before God. And Peter is saying, look, when it comes to the world around you, you need to, for their sake,

abstain from fleshly lusts and conduct yourself in an honorable way that they in the day of visitation when they stand before God will glorify God because of the good works that they observed in your life

They've watched your life. They've seen the good works. They've seen that your conduct was honorable. And even though they spoke against you as if you're an evildoer, they saw the good works. They saw the evidence. They saw and they heard God's voice through your life. And they will glorify God in the day of visitation when they stand before God. They will glorify God. They will recognize that He is the King of kings and Lord of lords.

God says that several times throughout the scriptures. Romans chapter 14 verse 11. God says, As I live, every knee shall bow to me and every tongue shall confess to God. Everyone will bow to God. Everyone will confess, will agree, you are God. Everyone will.

Peter says, you to live your life as a sojourner, as a pilgrim, as a stranger and a foreigner, because the world around you is going to stand before God, and God wants to use your life right now as a testimony to them. First of all, that they might have the opportunity to repent. That those who become believers by your testimony will glorify God in the day of visitation because of the work that He did in you and through you.

But even those who refuse to believe, even those who are unbelievers to the day of their death, they will glorify God by confessing that you were a witness to them. They will glorify God in the day that they stand before Him, testifying, recognizing, God, you were speaking to me. Even though I refused and I rebelled and I didn't want to listen and I didn't want to submit to you as God, I observed the good works in their life.

and i knew you were speaking to me but i refuse to hear you and i are to consider the world around us because we are a witness to them we are a testimony to them of the reality of god and the reality of salvation in jesus christ when i was working for paychecks the payroll company i

was sent by them every once in a while back to the corporate office in New York. And Paychex had a dress code policy that you had to follow when you're in the office.

But they also had a dress code policy that you had to follow when you were traveling. And so as they flew you back to New York for those six hours and the times in between when you're waiting for your plane and stuff like that, there was a dress code. You were to be dressed in business attire. You were to wear slacks and dress shoes and a button-up shirt and a tie. And you were to be fully dressed as if you were going to be a professional in the office that day.

And boy, did we hate that. I mean, how many of you want to wear a dress pants and a dress shirt and a tie on a plane, you know, flying across the country, sitting through airports? I mean, it's the most uncomfortable way to fly. You want to be in comfortable clothes and relax and be able to kick off your shoes. But they had a very specific policy. When you travel, this is the way that you are to be dressed.

And the reasoning behind it was so that when you were sitting next to someone on a plane, well, you begin to talk to them and they talk back and you share with them where you work. And now you become a representative of paychecks they would share. And so they want you to dress appropriately and to give a good impression and to build up the company in that way. We hated it, but that's what they told us to do. In a similar fashion, God is here calling us.

He says, look, you represent me. And so as long as you're here, you're a stranger, you're a foreigner, this is not your home. This is not where you will end up. This is temporary. But during your time here, be a good representative of me. Conduct yourselves honorably. Abstain from the fleshly lusts which war against the soul, that by your good works I may speak to the world around you.

And so we're to conduct ourselves honorably as sojourners. How do we do that? Well, Peter will go on to explain to us that we do that primarily by submitting to authority. We conduct ourselves honorably by submitting to authority. Specifically, he'll share with us first, submitting to governing authority. Look at verse 13.

He says,

Here, Peter says we are to submit to governing authority. Notice the word therefore. He says, look, since you're sojourners, since you're pilgrims, since you're strangers and foreigners here and you represent God and people around you are going to have to stand before God one day and they're going to glorify God because of the good works that they observed in your life. Therefore, you are to submit yourself to every ordinance of man.

This word submit, it means to arrange under, to subject yourself, or to yield to. I don't think we need to spend a good long time on trying to define the word submit. I don't think we struggle with the definition of the word submit. I think we all have a pretty good understanding of what submission is. The difficult thing is not defining it, but living it, putting it in practice, allowing it to impact our life.

We are to yield to, submit to, subject ourselves to, Peter says, every ordinance of man. But notice what he says right after that. He says, for the Lord's sake. We're to do it for his sake because now we represent him. Because now we are God's ambassadors appealing to the world around us. Be reconciled to God for the Lord's sake to honor him.

to lift up His name, to keep His name in honor and reverence to the world around us. For His sake, we are to submit to every ordinance of man. He says to every ordinance of man and He gives some examples, whether it's the king,

The supreme authority in the land, or whether it's governors, other authorities that have been established underneath the king, or those who have been sent to punish those who do evil, or those who have been sent to praise those who do good. Whatever the authority, however it was established, he says we are to submit ourselves to every ordinance of man, to all of those governing authorities. As Peter was writing this,

He was writing it from within the Roman Empire. That was the world power of the day. It was not a good empire. There was not good kings. They were not godly kings. They were not spiritual rulers. And yet Peter says, submit yourself to every ordinance of man. You see, it doesn't matter. We're not talking about, you know, if the person you voted for is president, then you apply this verse and say,

If the person you didn't vote for is president, then you can disregard this verse. If someone who's a good king or a godly king is on the throne, someone who is in authority, who is righteous and does what is right in God's sight, then you can apply it. But if someone is not righteous, well, then you don't have to apply it. No, what Peter says under this Roman Empire, he says, submit yourselves to every ordinance of man.

And so whether it's the president, whether it be state authorities or federal authorities or police officers or judges, we are to submit ourselves because we're foreigners for the Lord's sake, because we represent him and for the world around us, because they will stand before God. We are to submit ourselves to every ordinance of man. Now, I want to have you turn to a passage with me and I'll have you turn to another passage a little bit later.

The reason why I'm having you turn to these passages is because I think it's very important that we, with our own eyes, see that this truly is what the Bible teaches, so that we can't try to talk ourselves out of it or justify our behavior with some off-the-wall reasoning. Turn with me, please, to Romans chapter 13. We need to come square in the face with the reality that this is what the Bible teaches. Romans chapter 13.

You can read the full passage, verses 1 through 7, on your own time, but let's just look at verse 1 and 2. Romans chapter 13, verse 1, it says, Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.

Therefore, whoever resists the authority, resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. Take a look at what Paul says. Again, writing under the Roman Empire, he says, Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. You see, this is what the Bible teaches. We are to be submitted to governing authority. But Paul goes a little bit further. He says, look, there is no authority except from God.

No authority exists except for what God has established and allowed. He says the authorities that exist are appointed by God. And so we are to recognize and understand that authority exists because God has established it.

And those authorities are from God. And so he then makes the conclusion, therefore, whoever resists the authority, resists the ordinance of God. If you resist, if you disobey, if you fight against authority, you are fighting against God and bring upon yourself the judgment that is a result of fighting against God. Paul makes it very clear, along with Peter, again, there's no escaping this.

We are to submit to governing authority. Let's go back to 1 Peter 2 and read verse 15. It says, Peter says, this is the will of God.

This is the will of God. You ever ask anybody, how do I know what God's will is in my life? Well, here's one place you can know this is God's will. When someone asks you, you can share with them. This is one place you can know without question. This is the will of God that you submit to governing authority. So that as you submit, as you are doing good, you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men.

The people who are talking and they're foolish and they don't know anything. By your being obedient and submitting to governing authority, you put to silence their talk. He says, look, you're free, but not to use your liberty as a cloak for vice. Some people do that. It's unfortunate. We're free in Christ. Again, going back to we're free. There's been a transformation. That's why there's this war that takes place.

between our fleshly lusts and us and the fleshly lusts war against our soul because God has set us free and we no longer have to submit ourselves to the lust of the flesh. But some Christians use liberty as a cloak, as a mask to subject themselves back to those old masters and to find themselves in the vice of

of sin. Jesus said, "Whoever sins is a slave of sin." And so we're free, but not to use our liberty as a cloak for vice, but he says as bond servants of God. We're slaves of God, not to be slaves of sin any longer, but now we are free. We get to make the choice to be God's slaves, to be His servants, to be devoted and wholly committed to Him. This is the will of God, that as we are wholly committed to Him,

We are submitted to governing authorities. You're free to be a bondservant of God, and you're free to submit to the authorities that have been established over us. As God's representative, you and I are to do good. This is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men. Consider with me for just a moment. What do you think the impact would be if all of us as Christians...

obeyed traffic laws what would the impact be just think about imagine for a moment people talking amongst themselves or wondering why the person in front of them came to a complete stop at the stop sign people wondering why is there all these people doing the speed limit why is there these people that that are obeying the traffic laws could you imagine the cops getting together

I was going to say the donut shop, but now I see them at Panera all the time. So they're over at Panera. They're hanging out together. They're saying, you know, I can't remember the last time I pulled over a Christian. Every once in a while, someone makes a bad error of judgment. They make a mistake. But it's very rare, they might be saying. Can you imagine the impact that would have? This is what Peter is saying. Think about the world around you.

Think about those that you're living before. They're going to stand before God one day and you're to live your life in such a way that they see your good works, that they glorify God in that day and testify, yes, they lived righteously and I saw it and I knew God you were speaking to me even though I refused to believe. I remember...

I think it was my dad, he was sharing a story about one time when he was driving and he had someone with him and he was sharing the gospel with him and talking about the Harvest Crusade that was coming up. And as they're having the conversation, in the midst of the conversation, this car, they're on the freeway, this car cuts them off, blaring the horn, then gives them some fancy sign language out the window. And...

My dad's here having this conversation. This car cuts him off. There's this commotion and they're right in front of them. And the car that just cut him off is the Harvest Crusade bumper sticker. It's not an uncommon testimony, is it? We see it. We don't live before the world considering that they are going to stand before God and we're to live in such a way that they would testify of our good works, that God was speaking to them through us. And you say, well, that's why I don't put stickers on my car.

But I say, where do you see that in here? I don't see that. That's not what it says. Submit yourself to governing authorities, except for when you have no identifying marks on your car. This is how we're to live. Now, we're just talking about traffic laws. Let's talk about tax law. No, let's not. We are to submit ourselves, Peter says, to every ordinance of man.

As representatives of God, considering that the world around us is going to stand before God and that we are to live our lives as foreigners, as strangers, and that we live our lives in such a way that they observe our good works, that as they stand before God, they're able to glorify God. Whether they believed or not, they'll say, you were speaking to me through those people. Verse 17, he says, honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king.

So the context is we are to be sojourners. We're to be strangers, foreigners here, and to live our lives in such a way that we have honorable conduct, that the world around us may glorify God. Well, that's not the only authority that we're called to submit to. We have our conduct honorable also by submitting ourselves

To employ your authority. Look at verse 18. He says, This verse is one that I think we could read it a hundred more times. And it still have impact on...

He gives us some very hard things to do here. The servant-master relationship of Peter's day is much like the employee-employer relationship of today. I would say that in Peter's day it was even more difficult than it is for us today, especially with all of the workers' comp laws and those types of things, the protection that have been established for employees today.

But the point here is that we carry over the principles that the Bible teaches about servants and masters to employees and employers because this is the way that God has called us to live. And so he says, servants, employees, be submissive to your masters with all fear.

This word submissive means to arrange under, to subject yourself, and to yield to. Same word as before. Again, I don't think we have a problem with the definition. We have a problem with the application. This is where we need to work. This is where God wants to speak to our hearts. Governing authority is from God, but so is employer authority. It's from God. You don't believe me? Again, just so you can see it with your own eyes, turn with me please to Colossians chapter 3.

We need to recognize this indeed is what the Bible teaches. This is the way that we're called to live. Colossians chapter 3 verse 22, Paul says, bond servants, employees, obey in all things your masters or bosses or supervisors according to the flesh, not with eye service as men pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God. And whatever you do,

Do it heartily as to the Lord and not to men. We'll stop there. Here's what Paul says. Employee, you are to be obedient to your boss. Those who are your bosses and supervisors according to the flesh, you're to be obedient to them. Not with eye service. So not only when they're looking, not only when they're paying attention, not only when they're going to find out about what you've been doing, but you are to be obedient to them whether they're looking or not, whether they'll ever find out or not,

You're not to be a men pleaser, but you're to, in sincerity of heart, obey them. You're to be submissive. You're to do what they've asked you to do. He says in verse 24, and whatever you do, everything that you do, do it heartily with all of your heart, he says, as to the Lord and not to men. Peter says we're to submit to our masters.

Paul says we're to obey our masters, but also to do it as to the Lord and not to men. We are to submit to our bosses and supervisors as to the Lord. We're to be obedient to them as unto the Lord. We're to work heartily as unto the Lord. Now again, the minor exception is

It's rare, but just to throw it out there, hey, if they call us to do, if they ask us to do anything that is unbiblical, that is sinful, then we're to obey God rather than man. Okay, throw that out now. That being said, what your boss tells you to do is what Jesus is telling you to do. That's what the Bible is teaching. We are to be submissive to our masters with all fear. But Peter takes it even a step further. He says, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh. It's a little bit easier to, you know,

be obedient and be faithful when you really like the people that you're working for. Hey, when they're gentle, they're nice. But how many times have we justified our workplace actions or attitudes by talking about some deficiency that we perceive in our boss or supervisor? They're mean, they're unreasonable, they're an idiot, whatever we may say.

And we use that to try to excuse ourselves from our disobedience, our attitudes that are not right. He says, look, you are to be submissive to your masters, whether they're good and gentle or whether they're harsh. If your boss is nice and you get along great with them, be submissive. If your boss is a jerk and treats you mean and is unfair, you're to be submissive. Verse 19, for this is commendable.

Peter says, look, this is commendable. If you suffer wrongfully...

Because you're doing what's right and you're doing what's good. Hey, that's commendable. That's something that honors God. It's commendable before God. And if you're seeking to please God, well, you'll be pleasing him. If you suffer wrong or suffer wrongfully, even though you've been doing what is right. But he says, if you're beaten for your own faults, what credit is that to you if you take it patiently? What credit is that to you if you are disciplined for yourself?

Your disobedience and you take it well. Is that valuable? Is that admirable? Do your co-workers gather around, admire how you're able to be disciplined and written up for the things that you've done wrong and why you take it so well? That's not honorable. It's not admirable. It's not something that is befitting someone who represents God.

That's not having our conduct honorable. Do you think God says, "Alright, way to go, enduring that discipline for being late three days in a row. Way to represent me!" Is that what God says? No, He doesn't say that. What does God say? "Be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh." We're to do good. We're to do what's right. We're to be submitted. And again, we're not of the world. We will suffer. There will be persecution. There will be opposition.

And we're to take it patiently, he says, because that's commendable before God. Look, if you're oppressed, if they come against you because of your faith, if they come against you because, well, maybe not because of anything that you do, but because of the testimony that you have, you're to take it patiently. That's commendable before God. That's pleasing to God. Take it patiently. That means to suffer for a long time. Handle it well. Suffer for a long time.

Even though you're doing good. It's unjust. It's unfair. Yes, I know. Take it patiently. Many times it just takes a little bit of unfairness and we're up in arms. Throwing a fit. Having a cow. Calling up human resources. I can't believe my boss said this and this. Take it patiently. Listen, you do what's right. You do what God's called you to do. You submit yourself. And if you suffer wrongfully, suffer wrongfully. Endure it patiently. Because you're God's representative. And that's commendable to God.

Why? Because we're sojourners. We're pilgrims. This isn't permanent. We're just visiting. We're just on vacation. We're out here roughing it in the wilderness. It's just temporary. And we have a very specific role in this temporary living arrangement. We're to live our lives honorably so that the world around us gets to see the testimony of a true and living God that He can transform and change lives.

So we're to be sojourners. We're to submit to governing authority. We're to submit to employer authority. And finally, we're to suffer like Christ. Look at verse 21. He says, He says, Did you know that to this you were called? Did you know that to this you were called?

You were called to suffer wrongfully and to take it patiently because that's the example that Christ set for us. He says, look, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that you should follow in his steps. Here's the thing to which you've been called. You've been called to suffer, to follow in his steps. You see, this is why the Christian life cannot be faked and it can't be lived out on our own strength.

The Christian life is the kind of life that can only be lived by the power of the Holy Spirit with complete dependence upon God and a radical commitment to follow Him. There's no wishy-washiness. There's no lukewarmness. You can't do that and live the life that God has called us to live. It doesn't work. It only works as we are sold out unto Him, completely surrendered and submitted to God.

Because what we've been called to is to suffer like Christ. He says, look, he's left us an example. I love this word example because it gives this vivid picture for me. The word example, it means a writing copy, which includes all the letters of the alphabet. Okay, go back to grade school for a moment. Maybe it's easier for you if you have kids to picture when they're learning to write. And you remember the paper that you get?

And it has the letter A. And then it has a space right next to it for you to draw out the letter A. And it's all dotted, right? And you've got to kind of follow the pattern. That's what this is. That's what this word example is. He says, look, you've been given Jesus. He's our example. He's the letter on the page. And what we're to do is to just follow the lines, duplicate that letter. Live like he lived is what we're called to do. And we've been given the whole alphabet.

The whole life of Jesus we have as an example for us that we can set up before us and we can say, "Okay, here's how to deal with this situation. Here's how to deal with this kind of person. Here's how to handle this. Here's the way that I'm to live. And I can now take my life and try to draw the same line and have the same curve and dot the i the same way and live my life the way that Jesus lived."

this is to what I've been called. Christ suffered for us. He left us an example. He showed us the model. He gave us the alphabet. This is how you're to do. And he says that you should follow in his steps. I'm not going to turn there.

You can later. Luke chapter 9 verse 23. Jesus says, This is what we're called to do. This is what you've been called to. Self-denial. Suffering wrongfully. Following the example of Jesus Christ. That's what we've been called to. Because you see,

The reward for the Christian life is not in this life. There is reward here and we're blessed and God's good. It's awesome. But the end result is not here. We're sojourners. We're strangers. Our home is in eternity. I think maybe we should come up with like a plaque or like a bumper sticker that we can put on our door and say, you know, my other home is a mansion in heaven. Just to remind ourselves, this is not it. This isn't where we belong. We're strangers here. We're sojourners. We're here.

And in this time we're here, we've been called to suffer wrongfully, to follow the example of Christ, that we might be a testimony to the world around us. He said that you should follow in his steps. What are his steps? Well, let's look at them. Verse 22, step one is to be blameless. Verse 22 says, who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth. Jesus committed no sin. He left the example for us. We're to be blameless. You could take this back and say, look, we're to be in submission to authority.

Jesus was blameless. He was in submission to the authority of God, to the authority of the governing authority. He was in submission to those that God had placed in authority over him. He was blameless. In the same way, you and I are called to be blameless. Which abstain from the fleshly lusts which war against our soul. Step two, patiently endure. Verse 23. Who, when he was reviled, did not revile in return. When he suffered, he did not threaten, but committed himself to him who judges righteously.

So step one, we be blameless. We submit. We abstain. Step two, we patiently endure like he did. When he was reviled, when people spoke against him and were so angry at him, he didn't revile in return. He didn't come back and fight against them and yell back at them. What did he do? He said, Father, forgive them. When he suffered, he didn't threaten. He said, oh man, you just wait till I get off of this cross. You're going to get a beating.

You just wait till I resurrect. Three days, I'm coming for you, pal. He didn't say that. He didn't threaten. Instead, he committed himself to him who judges righteously. And you see, Stephen, when he was being put to death, he had this alphabet before him. He said, here's what Christ did. Okay, let me draw the same letter. Here they're putting me to death unjustly. It's not right. I'm suffering wrongfully. Stephen says the same thing Jesus said. Father, forgive them.

Forgive that. That's what we're called to do. Patiently endure. We're to suffer wrongfully and take it patiently. Step three, verse 24. That's what Jesus did. Now,

We do it slightly differently. We don't bear other people's sins. That's what Jesus did for us. He bore our sins, that we, having died to sin, might live for righteousness. Again, we've been set free. We have the opportunity now to get right with God, to follow God, to spend eternity with Him. By His stripes we've been healed. But following the same pattern, we live so that others may be saved. We're to conduct ourselves honorably as sojourners, as pilgrims, as strangers, as foreigners, that the world around us might testify that

Recognize that God has done a work in us, that he has transformed us, that his salvation is available to them. God speaks to other people through our lives, through our conduct. And he says one day they're going to stand before God in the day of visitation, and they're going to glorify God because of the good works that they observed in the life of believers.

Finally, in verse 25, he says, Peter's saying here in this passage, live your life in such a way that those who become believers by your testimony will glorify God because of his work in you and the good works that they observed, the testimony that you lived, but also that those who are not believers, who insist on rebelling against God,

Live your life in such a way that they too will glorify God, confessing that you were a witness to them. We can't write off people and say, "Ah, they're never going to get saved so I can treat them however I want." No, we're to live our lives in such a way that they will confess to God, "God, you were speaking to me through him, and I knew you were trying to reveal yourself to me through her, and I still refused." Every knee will bow, every tongue will confess, everyone will glorify God.

And He calls us to live our lives in such a way that God will be glorified because of the way that we lived in obedience to Him. Is that the life that you're living? Are you living as sojourners, foreigners in this place, that the world around you might see the testimony of God? Let's pray. Heavenly Father, I pray that You would help us. God, once again, these things are not difficult to comprehend. They're not complicated ideas. It's very simple, Lord.

And yet it's so difficult for us to live it out and for us to keep these things in our minds. Lord, we get so caught up in this life. But I pray, Lord, that you would help us to remember that we are sojourners. God, that we might conduct ourselves honorably for your sake. That we might honor you by the way that we live. That our lives might be a testimony to the world around us. That people might have the opportunity to receive you

and the forgiveness that you offer. And even if they don't, that when they stand before you, they will glorify you because of the lives that we lived. Lord, we seek to please you. We seek to glorify you. Help us to live accordingly. And God, if there's any who need to return to you, Lord, we are like sheep going astray without you. And it's only in you that we have life. I pray, Lord, that you would help them to return

To you, the good shepherd, the overseer of our souls, Lord, you gave yourself for us that we might have the opportunity to be forgiven. You bore our sins that we might become the righteousness of God in you, Jesus Christ. Lord, I pray that you would draw all those who need to be drawn unto you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.