Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. 

1 Peter 2:11

“This world is not my home…”  That’s true.

In this world we are “sojourners” (paroikos), defined by Thayer’s Greek Lexicon as “a stranger, foreigner, one who lives in a place without the right of citizenship.”  We are also “exiles” (parepidemos), defined by Thayer as “one who comes from a foreign country into a city or land to reside there by the side of the natives; hence, stranger; sojourning in a strange place, a foreigner.”  While in one sense this world is our home in that we were born into it and we have citizenship in the country in which we reside, from an eternal perspective we are in fact “just a-passin’ through” and our true citizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3:20).  We are in the world, but we must not be “of the world” (John 17:16).  We must “not love the world or the things in the world.  If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15).

Thus, Peter directs us out of sincere love and with deep urgency (“Beloved, I urge you”) to “abstain from the passions of the flesh” (cf. Rom. 12:2a).  Notice that he calls them “passions.”  We all have sins which repel us, things which we are never tempted to do…but we also have temptations to which we more easily can succumb because we care a lot about them or people or things associated with them.  We can get passionate about “the things in the world”…and, let’s face it, we do at times.  When we do to the detriment of putting God first, we sin.

To better define “the passions of the flesh,” consider “the works of the flesh” which keep us from inheriting the kingdom of God (Gal. 5:19-21).  We should not dismiss any of these sins.  When we arrogantly presume that we are above such things, we fall (cf. 1 Cor. 10:12).  Christians are not immune to “adultery” and “fornication.”  Additionally, can any of us say that our thoughts or actions have never strayed into “uncleanness” of any kind?  Our society considers dressing and acting with immodest “lewdness” to be the norm, and some in the church, both young and old, join them in this and think nothing of it.  If we consider things such as money, pleasure, recreation, our jobs, or our politics as more important than prayer, Bible study, or obeying the biblical commands of God in every aspect of our lives, how is that not “idolatry”?  “Sorcery” (pharmakeia) is literally all about using drugs, and “drunkenness” is the same thing; alcohol is a drug which alters the working of the brain just as marijuana or cocaine does.  Our society for years has glorified drinking, and now is beginning to glorify marijuana usage.  This influences some in the church just as it does in our culture.  Such sins, as well as the sins of “adultery, fornication, uncleanness, (and) lewdness” are commonly found in places where “revelries” (komos), i.e., drinking parties, take place…and some who wear the name of Christ participate in such debauchery.  And as far as “hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions… (and) envy” go, we know from personal observation or experience how easy it is for Christians to fall prey to such sins.  The existence of false teachers in some places within the brotherhood show how “dissensions” and “heresies” can find their way into our hearts.  Sadly, even “murder” has been done by some who wear the name of Christian…and let us not forget that God considers those who have “hatred” in their heart to be a murderer also (1 John 3:15).

Peter says that these “passions of the flesh” from which we must “abstain” have an adverse effect on our relationship with God in that they “wage war against (our) soul.”  It’s easy for us to forget that we are soldiers fighting a spiritual war every single day (2 Cor. 10:3-5).  If we let our guard down, if we get distracted by “the world or the things in the world,” then we will lose the war.  Let us never forget that.

— Jon