Sunday June 15, 2008

What War?
1 Peter 2:11-12

I. Introduction

(Begin by explaining the picture of a Christian standing with his arms extending and a naïve look on his face with missiles, bombs, rifles, bazookas, spears, etc. all heading towards him as he utters, “What war?”)

Now you may think I am going to talk about the war in Iraq, and while that would not be a bad subject, I am talking about the war that is being waged right now over your soul.

“Dear friends, I warn you as ‘temporary residents and foreigners’ to keep away from worldly desires that wage
war against your very souls. 12 Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he
judges the world.” (1 Peter 2:11-12, NLT)

II. What War?

Do you realize that there is a war going on right here in this room? Right now the things of this world seek to distract
or blind you from truly hearing the message.

What are you thinking about – right now?

We cannot be naïve about the constant battle that is raging all around us.

“Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone
to devour. 9 Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith.” (1 Peter 5:8-9, NLT)

Listen, the war is as real as the war in Iraq, and the casualties and suffering of this war are even greater than the suffering
that has resulted from that one.

Listen to Paul talk about this war in the letter he wrote to the Romans: “But there is another power within me that
is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. 24 Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? 25 Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God's law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.” (Romans 7:23-25, NLT)

Listen again to Paul as he writes to the Galatians: “So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires
of the sinful nature. 17 For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is
contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.”
(Galatians 5:16-17, NIV)

There is a great conflict going on between your sinful nature (worldly desires) and your soul.

Let’s look again at our passage in 1 Peter: “Dear friends, I warn you as ‘temporary residents and foreigners’ to
keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls.” (verse 11)

First, Peter is warning us. In other words, we are to take this word of exhortation seriously!

He is warning us to keep away from worldly desires.

He says we are to keep away from worldly desires – this means that we keep them at a distance. Don’t even go near them!

The last thing I want to be is a legalistic person, but I also do not want to be a compromising Christian. For me this
is a great tension.

How do I live a holy life, or as Peter says “live properly” (verse 12) without falling into the trap of judging my and others’ relationship with God based solely on behavior?

I think the key to this potential problem lies in my motives, and Peter provides two appropriate motives in these verses.

To put it simply, however, if I have a sincere love for God, my behavior will be affected and it will not result in me
passing judgment on others, but having compassion for them.

Why should I abstain, keep at a distance, flee from worldly desires?

   1. Because they wage war against our relationship with God!

“For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature.
They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.” (Galatians 5:17)

And what do we mean by worldly desires?

“The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and
witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Galatians 5:19-21, NIV)

Dear friends, like Peter, I lovingly warn you that these things will ruin not only any sense of closeness with God, but may
ruin your very life!

You cannot engage in these things, call yourself a Christian, and then throw your hands up in the air and say “what war?”
as your life crumbles all around you!

Please hear me – there is another option!

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and
self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”
(Galatians 5:22-25, NIV)

But there is another reason to stay away from worldly desires and to keep in step with the Spirit.

   2. How we live affects our testimony to those around us.

The Message Bible translates verse 12 of 1 Peter this way, “Live an exemplary life among the natives so that
your actions will refute their prejudices. Then they'll be won over to God's side and be there to join in the
celebration when he arrives.”

Our culture today has many prejudices against Christians and Christianity. Our actions will either reinforce people’s prejudices or they may win them over to God’s side.

These two verses are the basis for the next series of exhortations where Peter goes on to talk about how we should live out our lives in relationship to our government (2:13-17); in the midst of suffering (2:18-25); and with our families (3:1-7).

The bottom line, however, is that God wants us to live with our hearts focused on Him, our behavior centered on love
and obedience, and our lifestyle above reproach in the sight of non-Christians.

Perhaps “they'll be won over to God's side and be there to join in the celebration when he arrives.”

In the summer of 1805, a number of Indian chiefs and warriors met in council at Buffalo Creek, New York to hear a presentation of the Christian message by a Mr. Cram from the Boston Missionary Society. After the sermon, a response
was given by Red Jacket one of the leading chiefs. Among other things, the chief said:

"Brother, we are told that you have been preaching to the white people in this place. These people are our neighbors.
We are acquainted with them. We will wait a little while and see what effect your preaching has upon them. If we find it
does them good, makes them honest and less disposed to cheat Indians, we will then consider again what you have said."

(from The Bible Exposition Commentary. Copyright © 1989 by Chariot Victor Publishing, and imprint of Cook Communication Ministries. All rights reserved. Used by permission.)

III. Application

So how do we actually “keep away from worldly desires that wage war against our very souls” and “live
properly among [our] unbelieving neighbors”?

First, we must understand the nature of the battle.

“We are human, but we don't wage war as humans do. 4 We use God's mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. 5 We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.”
(2 Corinthians 10:3-6, NLT)

It is a spiritual battle for our minds that can only be won as we rely upon God’s mighty weapons.

Second, we need to know what weapons God has given us to use.

I deeply appreciate how The Message translates Ephesians 6 where Paul talks to us about the weapons we have
to fight in this war:

“So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to
use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no afternoon athletic contest
that we'll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels. Be prepared. You're up against far more than you can handle on your own.
Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it's all over but the shouting you'll still
be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You'll need them throughout your life. God's Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other's spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.” (Ephesians 6:11-18, The Message)

Finally, we must discipline ourselves (learn how) to walk in the Spirit.

“So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.” (Galatians 5:16, NIV)

In summing everything up we could say, “Live holy lives in the midst of secular chaos, and believe God to impact the
lives of all you come in contact with for His glory.”