Living Your Christian Life in a War Zone
I Peter 2:11,12
Dave Neighbors (a doctor in our church) was working in the emergency room last week when a man came running in and jumped on Dave’s back. The man started shouting, “One, two, three, four…” The security men pulled the guy off and started dragging him away and the man shouted to Dave, “I thought you said I could count on you?”
“Erma Bombeck’s Rule of Medicine: Never go to a doctor whose office plants have died”
The issue is credibility.
The passage is really vs. 11-20 because vs. 13-20 elaborate on what vs. 11,12 talk about. The key is vs. 15 -- Our lives must be lives that silence critics. How to get a hearing in a lost society. How can we gain enough respect so that people will listen to us?
Ruth Graham (Billy Graham’s wife) said, “Real saints are people who make it easy to believe in Jesus.”
Credibility. There should be nothing in our lives, public or private, that would give anyone a reason to attack Jesus or the Gospel. These two verses deal with exactly that—private piety and public piety.
Private Piety vs. 11
Internal, personal piety is prerequisite to public piety. The Pharisees had outward piety. Matthew 23:25-27 talk about how they looked on the outside, but were inwardly corrupt. We all know people like this—other people! We all know people who are different on Sunday than they are the rest of the week. We all know OTHER PEOPLE who are hypocrites!!!! Peter says, private piety is first it is primary; it is paramount. If you don’t have private piety, your public piety will be fake—it will be acting and shallow.
Notice that it says we need to abstain from fleshly lusts BECAUSE there is a war to fight. It is a war against the sinful, fleshly lusts that come with living in this body on this earth. This is not limited to lusting for sexual things. Fleshly lusts are what Galatians 5:19 talks about (and that includes sexual immorality…and then goes further). Cf. I Peter 4:2
The reality of sin remains with us until we die. There is a continual struggle in all of us between good and evil. We all live in the reality of Romans 7 every day. Peter says that these fleshly desires wage war against the soul. If you are a Christian, you are living in a war zone.
God says, “You body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. Don’t sin. Live holy lives. I’m holy and my children
should be holy.”
Your body says, “But I like sin. Sin makes me feel good. Sin helps me get my way. How am I supposed
to get ahead? How am I supposed to be popular?”
My spiritual life says, “I shouldn’t sin. Those things are not going to help me be a stronger Christian.”
But your sin nature says, “It’s not that bad. You can sin just a little and it won’t matter. Compromise
isn’t wrong. How are you supposed to be a witness if you don’t run around with those people.
Go ahead. You can always ask for forgiveness later…you deserve better than this. You deserve
to be happy.
That’s the war that goes on in our lives.
Have you ever seen the pictures of our service people serving in Iraq and seen them wear their bullet-proof vests and helmets and realize that it is 100degrees outside and they have to wear those things? It’s because they realized that they were in the middle of a battle zone. At any time, the enemy at any time could launch mortar rounds from four or five miles away, any time of the day or night. The only way to be safe was to constantly be ready for an attack. I have heard it said that in the beginning of our presence in Iraq, the rules of engagement were, “Don’t shoot unless someone is shooting at you.” The Marines could see the insurgents come right up in their jeeps and trucks to the fence outside the Marine base, armed with machine guns and grenades. But the Marines couldn’t shoot unless the insurgents shot first. But after a few weeks, the rules were changed: If anyone or anything comes near the fence for any reason, shoot it! Once our Marines changed their rules, the insurgents didn’t come near the fence anymore. That’s how life is in a war zone. You can’t take any chances.
People, we are at war and the real battle is not on the outside; it’s on the inside. Paul deals with this issue in Romans 6:1-2 where he said, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?”
Peter tells us that every believer is at war with the desires of the flesh that drag us down. All sin starts in the mind. You HAVE to be on guard. You have to be dressed for battle in the armor of God: The helmet of salvation, the sword of the Bible, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of truth and the shield of faith. You have to be vigilant so it doesn’t catch you by surprise. If you can win the battle on the inside, you can win the battle on the outside.
“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men , teaching us that, denying (or repudiating) ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age” (Titus 2:11,12). Worldly lusts are what I John 2 describes as the lust of the eyes the lust of the flesh and the pride of life. The things that take our eyes off living self-controlled, righteously and godly. Sex, money, power, materialism, food, entertainment, tv, sports—if any of those things get in the way of living righteously, godly and under self-control, we need to repudiate them. Worldly lusts are anything belonging to this world and not heaven. Someone said that it describes things you can’t take to heaven with you!
Paul is showing us that living godly lives with the kind of character this calls for cannot be done without self-denial or the repudiation of the kind of life-style that is contrary to the character of God and the nature of the salvation He has given us in Christ. Plainly put, we must learn to say no to that which is contrary to a people who are God’s special redeemed possession. By the power of the indwelling Spirit of God or the Spirit-controlled life and the Christian’s new position in Christ, the old life is to be put to death that the new might take its place.
Paul spends 11 chapters teaching the Romans doctrine. Then he comes to Romans 12 and says, you have to live that doctrine out in your lives. Romans 12:2 says, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” And then through the rest of the letter he is admonishing them to live a life that is pleasing to God, according to the correct doctrine they have been taught.
Here’s a good reason for Christians not to participate in ungodliness!
2 Tim. 2:16 "But shun profane and vain babblings, for they will increase unto more ungodliness ." Those things produce a desire for more of those things. We need to Battle those lusts because the health of our spiritual life is at stake. It is a battle against our souls. Satan wants to weaken our spiritual live s. Satan wants to make us feel defeated.
We must come to the place of Paul when he said, “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:24). It is not through mental discipline or any other human technique. It is the power of God that overcomes soul-kinks. Sure, we have to learn to say “NO” to those fleshly lusts. But we also need to realize that we can win no spiritual battle with human ability. As Paul goes on to say, “So then with the mind, I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh, the law of sin.” We must accept God’s technique and his provisions to overcome soul-kinks.
And that’s where God’s armor comes in. “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”
In order for Christians to make any impact on their world, they have to different form their world. In order for Christians to gain any respect from the world, they have to live inwardly godly lives—a life of private piety.
Public Piety vs. 12
We’ll spend more time with this next week when we study vs. 13-20. But for now, see what vs. 12 says:
Behavior refers to your everyday, regular social contacts with people. Your normal life.
Matthew 5:14,16 “You are the light of the world. ..let your light shine before men so that they will see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”
One translation of I Peter 2:12 says, “Live an exemplary life.” Another says, “Conduct yourselves honorably.” The NASB says, “Keep your behavior excellent.” The Greek text uses a word that means winsome, lovely, attractive or praiseworthy. Here is the principle: Live so that even unbelievers are impressed by your behavior.
Christians ought to be the most honest people on earth.
We ought to be the kindest people on earth.
We ought to be the most gracious people on earth.
We ought to be the most trustworthy.
Unfortunately, it’s often the opposite. I hear people say, “I’ll never do business with another Christian again” or “I’d rather hire an unbeliever.” What a shame when people turn to the world to do business because they are turned off by the way Christians act.
John MacArthur illustration: I remember when Sam Ericcson was in our church before he went to Washington to be involved in the Christian Legal Society. One day when Sam was working for a really large law firm in Los Angeles, he was having lunch with a group of attorneys in the city of Los Angeles. He was very active as an elder at our church already and it was his custom and habit to invite men to come to the church and hear the Word of God. And he said to one attorney that he had met, he said, "I would like you to come to my church with me, I'd like to you be my guest."
And the man said, "What church do you go to?"
He said, "I go to Grace Community Church out in the San Fernando Valley."
And the man hesitated for a moment and looked a bit shocked and then said, "I would never go to that church under any circumstances."
And Sam said to him, "Well what makes you say that, have you been there?"
He said, "I've never been there and I will never go."
And Sam said, "Well how can you make that kind of judgment about the church?"
He said, "It's very simple, the most crooked attorney I know of in this city goes to that church."
MacArthur says, “I remember how distressed I was when Sam told me that. So the following Sunday I got in the pulpit, told the story and said, "I don't know which one of you attorneys is that one, but I wish you'd get your act together or quit saying you belong to this church because the character of your life is making evangelism impossible."
The single greatest tool in evangelism is doing right.
Christians should back up their words with godly lives.
The bottom line to evangelism is not what we say but what we do. We have often heard the phrase “What you are speaks so loud that the world can’t hear what you say.” Another saying is “I’d rather see a sermon any day than hear one.” Hudson Taylor said: “If your father and mother, your sister and brother, if the very cat and dog in the house, are not happier for your being Christian, it is a question whether you really are.”
Colossians 4:5-6 (NIV) Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
PUBLIC PIETY: Christians in other countries understand this better than we do. I remember Clay and Bev Strom talking about living out in the jungle in Columbia. They had NO privacy. And this is not unique to Columbia. I have missionary friends in Papua New Guinea that say the same thing. It happens wherever life is more communal. Local people will often stand at the window and watch what goes on inside the house. Sometimes they will stand on the front porch, and sometimes they will even come into the house uninvited and make themselves at home. In America the same kind of watching takes place, but in a more discreet fashion. Usually you aren’t aware you’re being watched until much later. Years may pass and then you receive a letter telling you that someone knew you way back when, and your Christian example played a big part in their coming to Christ.
Titus 2:7,8 “In all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified, sound in speech which is beyond reproach, so that the opponent may be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us.”
It all goes back to vs. 15 Don’t do anything that will give the opponents of the gospel ammunition to shoot at the church, at Jesus Christ or at Christians. Live your life in such as way that it silences people who are just looking for an excuse to stay away from God.
