You can listen to this sermon, and all our NPBC sermons, at https://www.npbc.org.au/podcasts/media
NORTH PINE BAPTIST CHURCH
Sunday 27th July 2025
1 Peter 2:11-12
“Right Conduct: Doing Good”.
Our current preaching focus at NPBC is that we are making our way through the book of 1 Peter. We are about halfway through chapter 2. Up to this point Peter has mostly been focussing on the spiritual identity that becomes ours when we confess our need for the personal and powerful work of Jesus in our lives.
In 1 Peter 1:2 we have read that we
2 … have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with His blood.
God has foreknowledge which enabled God to know how to bring His chosen ones to Himself. God fore-knew that Jesus would need to come giving His life.
Dying on the cross.
Shedding His blood.
Jesus paying the price of sin so that the sanctifying work … the work that makes us clean before God … Jesus pays it all.
It is personal. It is powerful.
We have also read in 1 Peter 1:21 that
21 It is through Jesus that they can come to believe in God, who raised Jesus from the dead and glorified Him, and that is why they are able to have faith and hope in God.
Through Jesus God used His power … the resurrection power … to resurrect our spiritually dead life.
The same power that conquered the grave and defeated death is the power that lives in us when we put our faith and hope in God.
It is personal. It is powerful.
Last week we read 1 Peter 2:9 which gave us the assurance that we are
9 … a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession. Our knowledge of this identity drives us to want to declare the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into His wonderful light.
We are not rubble. We are honoured as precious by Jesus who makes us God’s special possession. As a result of the work of Jesus God looks at us with compassion and mercy and says, “you are mine”.
It is personal. It is powerful.
Not just personal for us. But personal to God.
Through this saving work God says -
You are mine. You are loved. You are precious.
So precious that I gave my Son … He went to the cross … so that you may by My children.
The message of the cross
… the message of Jesus.
… the Good News declared through all the Scripture.
… it is a powerful message that needs to be personally accepted.
The spiritual identity that Peter describes in so many different ways will not be ours until we have confessed our need for the personal and powerful work of Jesus in our lives.
Eternal salvation … being resurrected when Jesus returns … it is only because of the identity that Jesus gives us because we have confessed the need for His work on our lives. Everything else that takes place in our walk with Jesus stands on that foundation.
With that clarity in place let’s read the text which is our focus for this morning.
1 Peter 2:11-12
11 Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. 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.
We stand on the foundation of Jesus – yet we also continue to have a need to be reminded
… to continually be urged on
… to abstain from sinful desires.
We stand on the foundation of Jesus – yet we are also continually called to live a good life.
Living such a good life that
… when the pagans try to accuse us of wrong.
… and, in this case, they will be false and slanderous accusations.
… in this case they will be accusations based on hostility, or gossip, or malicious motives, or manipulation.
Even in this situation, our lives are so good that, when the pagans experience the impact of our good, some of them will become Christians themselves.
And the testimony of these pagans-who-are-now-Christians will be
I saw the good deeds of Christian X. And, even though I falsely accused them, their good deeds were of such a calibre that witnessing those deeds first hand put me onto a journey of faith transformation.
Their good deeds were so exceptional … so superior … of such a high quality … that their good Christian living was the seed which began the spiritual journey which resulted in me confessing my need for the personal and powerful work of Jesus in my life.
Stop and think about what Peter is saying here.
Peter is saying that every believer
… who has confessed their need for the personal and powerful work of Jesus in our lives.
… these believers are called to live good Christian lives of such a high calibre that, just by seeing that good life alone, it will plant seeds of Christian transformation in pagans who, at this moment, are so far from God they are making false and slanderous accusations about how wrong we really are.
Behind this calling is the reality that God loves the pagans. God loves those who currently don’t know Him – but God wants them to come to repentance.
And it is our “good” life that God uses to help in that process of repentance.
I wonder how many of us are listening to what this calling is placing upon us and you are thinking, “Well I’m in trouble”.
I’m in trouble because there are plenty of accusations that a pagan can make about my life which are not false and slanderous … they are true and accurate.
Maybe you’re thinking, “I’m in trouble”
Because if any pagan saw me yesterday when I got stuck at that traffic light
… three cycles it took.
… three!! to get through that intersection.
If the pagans saw me yesterday. The accusations would be flying, but there were no good deeds involved.
Maybe you’re thinking, “I’m in trouble”.
Because my pagan neighbour heard quite clearly what I said to my husband who had taken my sewing scissors – and used them to cut some paper.
I know my pagan neighbour is thinking about the good.
“It is so good that I don’t live in that house” – that is what he is thinking.
No-one is glorifying God.
Maybe you’re thinking, “I’m in trouble”
Because the pagans who heard those words that come out of my mouth when
… even though I used the stud finder – which is meant to find studs.
… even though I used the stud finder that screw still went through the plaster and into nothing.
If a pagan saw that moment. Yeh – they’re not glorifying God.
Or maybe you’re thinking, “I’m in trouble”
Because there are all those the pagan shop assistants who knows how big my credit card bill is … and they know I can’t help but indulge in regular bouts of retail therapy.
I’m pretty sure they are not thinking, “Oooh that’s good I’m glorifying God for that.”
What they are thinking is, “Keep coming back because you are good for my profit margins.”
Or maybe you’re thinking, “I’m in trouble” especially if a pagan were to stumble over my web browser history.
Which doesn’t happen as easily now because “incognito” mode has become my favourite location for me.
But maybe some of you are thinking if my browser history was made known to a pagan “I’m in trouble”. Because that pagan would have no other choice but to shake their head and say “that’s not good at all.”
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.
I wonder how many of us read these words and, in a very short space of time, are very aware that
… the number of times we have slanderously and falsely and maliciously been accused by pagans as a result of the high calibre of our good life.
… verses the number of times we have been correctly, and truly accused by pagans because of our less than good life.
When we think about that ratio.
We don’t need the pagans to accuse us – because we are more than capable of accusing ourselves.
Reinforced in our guilt because we know we haven’t been consistent.
Walking in shame because good deeds are a heap of dirty rags thrown into the corner.
Putting on masks and pretend, and pretence, all the while having fears and the doubts.
Is that you?
Maybe not right now.
But you know that moment. That spiritual space where you are so aware of the failings … the far from good … the accusation that is completely valid … when no-one will even think to glorify God on the basis of what they have seen.
If that is you … us.
… let’s stop and ask ourselves a faith question.
Does Jesus
… Jesus who personally and powerfully came into our lives to give us salvation.
Does Jesus want us to be people who sit in a spiritual place of shame, guilt, personal accusation, doubt, and constant mask adjusting?
… …
If there is no response ask the question again.
Does Jesus want us to be people who sit in a spiritual place of shame, guilt, personal accusation, doubt, and constant mask adjusting?
No?
No!!
Some of us are a bit more confident. Some less so.
Some sense the answer is no.
The answer is definitely “No”.
When Jesus personally and powerfully came into our lives to give us salvation Jesus did that because He doesn’t want us to continue to be people who sit in a spiritual place of shame, guilt, personal accusation, doubt, and constant mask adjusting.
Shame. Guilt. Personal accusation. Doubt. Constant mask adjusting.
That isn’t the identity of those who confess the personal and powerful work of Jesus who came to personally and powerfully give salvation.
Remember what Peter has been telling us.
We are chosen and sanctified.
Through Jesus we are given hope and faith.
We are honoured as precious.
Once not a people but now the people of God.
That is our identity.
And even as Peter is talking about living a good Christian life – he does so on the foundation of our identity.
Let’s go back to 1 Peter 2:11-12
11 Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. 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.
The words you want to specifically focus on are foreigners and exiles
Right from the very first verse Peter has been using this language.
1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia
1 Peter 1:1
Foreigners.
Exiles.
It is a description which calls us to live differently to the pagan world – that we don’t just fit in.
But it is more than that. Foreigners. Exiles.
These are descriptions of our identity and status.
Which also makes it a description of our new relationship to sin.
In this world that has fallen into sin … we are foreigners and exiles because our sins are forgiven.
In this world that walks in spiritual darkness … we are foreigners and exiles because we walk in the light.
The god of this age – we might call him “the devil” or “satan” – to him we are foreigners and exiles because we are children of the one true God.
Before the call to abstain from sinful desires – we are already foreigners and exiles.
Before the war that is being waged against our souls – we are already foreigners and exiles.
Before we step out of our homes and walk into the pagan world seeking to live such good lives among the pagans – we are already foreigners and exiles.
I urge you, says Peter
… as foreigners and exiles
… that whatever comes next
… don’t forget the foundation you are foreigners and exiles first.
So – when we continually work to abstain from sin.
… to back away from.
… to hold at a distance.
… to keep clear of.
Or when we are not so successful and
… we move towards sin.
… and we bring sin in close.
… and we make a bee-line for sin.
Which ever way it goes we have the continued assurance that Jesus is personally and powerfully with us. And our dance with sin is not going to make Him break up with us. The temptation of sin will not have victory.
And when the war against our soul is being waged – it is a war we fight with the full assurance that Jesus has personally and powerfully come into our lives.
So, no matter how the war unfolds.
Victory over sin has already been guaranteed.
Which means we go into the battle against sin knowing we can’t be defeated.
War torn maybe … but not defeated.
War weary maybe … but not defeated.
Maybe even a casualty of war … but not defeated.
Not defeated because of our identity.
And when we go into this world seek to “do good” and live “good lives”. We do this with the confidence that Jesus will be personally and powerfully with us.
And it may well be that the pagans can rightly accuse us of doing wrong.
But it will also be that our good Christian lives are of such a calibre that just by seeing that good life alone, it will plant seeds of Christian transformation in pagans who, at this moment, are so far from God they are making false and slanderous accusations about how wrong we really are.
In this calling there will be victory.
How can we be sure?
Because we have confessed that Jesus has personally and powerfully worked in our lives.
And that personal and powerful work has already secured the victory for every single spiritual foreigner and exile. As we live for Jesus we do so in the confidence of the victory that has already been guaranteed. Where we have that daily trust and confidence in the personal powerful work of Jesus knowing that Jesus will do what Jesus does best.
And what Jesus does best is to bring glory to God.
A glory that will be enacted through us foreigners and exiles who are “living good” and “doing good” in this pagan world.
Prayer
