Why Should we live a Godly Life?
1 Peter 2:11-12
Introduction
We live in a day and time when the flesh or the sinful nature is exalted and evil desires are honored. In our day and time a person’s value or worth and image are so often determined by how they posses, by how much money they have, how much power they have, how many vacations they can go on, how famous they become, so often a young single man’s image in built on how many women he can go to bed with.
We live in a day and time when the murder of innocent babies is a norm and perfectly legal. We live in a day and time where homosexuality is looked at as a normal relationship. Where lying to simply climb the ladder of success is okay, no matter how many people you destroy in the process.
I wish I could stand up here and say this is the way of life in the world only; however some of these attitudes have infiltrated the church as well. We view success in the church by how many people attend our services, or how many people come to Sunday school. Many pastors or asked to resign because church lay leaders think that the pastor is a failure because there are so many empty pews, or because baptism numbers are lower than they were in the past.
We tend to compromise on our biblical stands because we are afraid to offend the lost world. It saddens me when church leaders refuse to call sin what it is sin. When church leaders call homosexuality just an alternative life style. When church leaders say that abortion is not our problem, women have a right to choose, well what about that innocent babies right to life.
Today from this passage of scripture the apostle Peter will outline for us in a very passionate plea to live a Godly life, and from this passage will see three reasons why we should live a Godly life.
Read Scriptures: 1 Peter 2:11-12
I. We Should live a Godly life because, we are aliens and strangers on earth.
Vs. 11 “Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.”
This has become a kind of a sub theme for this book, we have seen this topic come up a few times already as we have been going through this book, the fact that as believers we are only strangers or aliens living in this world.
The use of the word alien in this passage gives us a more temporary idea than a stranger. The word alien means that we are staying for just a little while, but not long enough to lease a house.
The point is as a believer I am only passing through earth on my way to home in heaven. I am to live with my thoughts on home.
It is kind of like last weekend when lynn and Hunter and I were out of town, our thoughts were not focused on where we were, we were more or less focused on home and what was going on here.
As we live out our lives here on this earth our minds and hearts are always on heaven which is our permanent home. This means that we don’t get caught up or entangled with the world and its lifestyle and custom, we do not practice these lifestyles but we practice the lifestyle of heaven.
The word stranger literally means someone who lives alongside or is exiled, but his home is somewhere else. What Peter is saying to us is live your life as a believer with the understanding that you are only an alien or a stranger, meaning your only here for a short time, you are a resident but not a citizen your real home is in heaven so live to please the Lord Jesus is Christ.
II. We Should live a Godly life because, sin war against our souls.
Vs. 11 “Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.”
Every person who lives long enough to reach the age of accountability, meaning that age when you consciously know right from wrong, knows what the desires of the sinful nature is like.
The flesh or our sinful desire is strong and very difficult to control on our own, and it never lets up its assault. What are the acts of the sinful nature or the flesh, they are laid out for us in the book of Galatians 5:19-21 “Sexual immorality, impurity, debauchery (filthiness, or indecency), Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, orgies.
These sinful desires war against our soul. The flesh is so strong that actually keeps us from doing what we know is right. How many times as believers we have had an urge from the flesh and we were not were we should have been spiritually to combat that urge and we gave in and overate, became angry, began smoking, got drunk, did evil things, lusted, became prideful, cursed, acted selfishly, committed immorality, cheated, lied, or stole.
The point is this the flesh is so strong that it often keeps us from doing what is right. The only hope of ever controlling the flesh is to walk in the Spirit of God in His presence and Power.
2 Corinthians 10:4 “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.”
We are told very strongly to “abstain from sinful desires which war against the soul.” We should run from them because they can do unbelievable harm and damage to the soul. Sinful desires enslave us, no matter what the desires are, desire for drugs enslaves, desire for alcohol enslaves, desire for cigarettes enslaves, desire for sex enslaves, desire for pornography enslaves, desire for position and power enslaves, desire for money enslaves.
Get the picture, the more we follow these sinful desires the less freedom and liberty we have, we become slaves to what we set our hearts and minds upon.
Desires disturb and often destroy the peace and security, assurance and confidence of the soul. It does the very opposite of what Jesus wants for the life of the believer, Jesus has come to set us free from all those things that enslave us, and when we give into the sinful nature we giving ourselves back over to bondage.
That is why the wording is so strong we must abstain from the fleshly lust because they war against the soul.
III. We Should live a Godly life because, an unbelieving world is watching.
Vs. 12 “Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.”
This is what the apostle Peter is building up to in these two verses, we should live Godly lives because the unbelieving world is watching our every move.
The word “good” in this verse means a life that is honorable, righteous, pure, lovely, decent, excellent, upright and noble. We live a life that is above accusation, because the world will accuse, that is Satan’s main job is to accuse us as true believers. So as believers we should never add fuel to the fire. Don’t give Satan a foothold.
Peter says something interesting “They may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” We are to live good lives, holy and pure because unbelievers are watching and in turn some will give there lives to Christ as well, we are to be living examples of God’s word.
Conclusion
Peter laid out three reasons why we should be living Godly lives, because we are only living here temporarily our true home is in heaven, because giving in to the sinful nature robs us of our peace of mind and soul, and because a lost and dying world is watching how we live. When was the last time someone accused you of being a Christian, because it was evident by the way you lived, by the way you acted and talked.
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