First Peter 2:11, 12

 

A privileged spiritual people of God still need to live responsibly and holy in their daily lives.

 

2:11

“beloved” begins a new subject.

 

“urge you” begins the exhortation and means “I exhort you, beg you, please”

 

“alien” means an alien who has his own permanent home alongside of those who are not aliens

 

“stranger” is a similar but different word.  It refers to a person who is in an area temporarily on a brief stay.

 

POINT:

1)      Do not withdraw or disengage from your daily life or from the world.

2)      Live by a standard of your home land and live by the culture of your home which                                                           is heaven or the kingdom of God.

 

“abstain” means to avoid, keep from something.  It is used in 1 Thes. 4:3

 

“desire” is unbridled impulses.  Used in Romans 1:24

See James 1:13-15 to understand the process:

1)      Desire comes from man

2)      Desire draws man out

3)      Man sees and takes the bait.

4)      When man takes the bait of desire, sin has been conceived and will grow

5)      Sin develops and produces death in man’s life.  Death can be physical, emotional, social,                                               financial, etc.  Death means to be separated.

 

“soul” refers to the whole person.

 

“war” is a military campaign

2 Corinthians 10:3-5

James 4:1-3

 

2:12

“live” refers to the steady, day by day life

 

“good” in “good lives” means goodness and refers to an outer beauty that strikes the eye

1)      Romans 8:19 the sons of God will be revealed in the future

2)      Today we are to manifest of true natures by living godly

3)      James 3:13-18

 

In 1:15 we are to live “holy lives”.  Here we are to live “good lives”. So, the holiness of God is                                       manifested in our “moral” and “good” lives.

 

“doing wrong” is a word that refers to an evildoer who is worthy of punishment

 

“see” means to observe for a long period of time and then to reflect on what you saw and come to a conclusion.

 

“visits” or “visitation” means to observe and inspect or to oversee. Or, the day of looking upon.

1)      in the NT it is used to refer to the day of blessing when God comes to you with salvation.

2)      Exodus 20: 4 God will visit the sins of the fathers into the 3rd and 4th generation.

3)      The day of visitation can mean one of three things:

a.       The day God offers salvation to an individual or a nation (Luke 19:44)

b.      The day God brings judgment onto a nation who rejected his salvation                                                               (James 5:8, which might refer to Jerusalem’s judgment that would come in 70 AD)

c.       The Day that Jesus returns to the earth to set up his kingdom (Matt. 5:18)