“Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul.”
as sojourners and pilgrims
Peter challenges Christians of Asia Minor to live the Christian life. He makes his appeal on how we view ourselves in this world. He wants us to view ourselves as “sojourners and pilgrims.” This world is not our home. We are just passing through. Our home is heaven.
“Sojourners” - those who settle alongside non-Christians. This word comes from two words: alongside and house. It means to have one’s home alongside of. This is a person who lives in a foreign country where he has no citizenship rights. His home is somewhere else. He is an alien.
The word “pilgrims” comes from three words: alongside, upon and pagan. This is someone who lives alongside pagans. He stays temporarily in a place that is not home. He is different from a pagan. Christians hold different values than those around them. Christians live on earth temporarily.
Christians are not citizens of earth. We are citizens of heaven. We simply sojourn on earth. We are pilgrims passing through a foreign country.
“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself” (Philippians 3:20-21).
Because we are citizens of heaven, we should live like citizens of heaven. God wants us to act in this world like we would act while visiting a foreign country. Whenever I travel in foreign countries, I carry my passport. My passport gives basic information about me: “Name: Grant C. Richison. Birthplace: Detroit Michigan. Birth date: ??!!” I go to foreign countries on a mission – to advance the cause of Christ. God has placed you where you are to represent your home – heaven.
Before we became Christians we were strangers to Christ (
Ephesians 2:19 ). We were strangers to God and to heaven. We had little inclination toward God. We didn’t care about God. Now that we have become Christians we are strangers down here (Psalms 119:19 ). We have friends and relatives over there. Each year we have more friends over there. Some of us have more friends over there than we have here.Note the order - strangers and pilgrims. Invariably we quote these words backwards – pilgrims and strangers. However, we cannot be a pilgrim until we take our place as a stranger down here. Every day we are one day closer to home.
Principle:
Christian fit into a different scheme and hold different values than the world.
Application:
We will not be here forever. We are not earth-bound. Why hold to this life so tightly? One day we must go. We can’t take it with us. We should hold things of this life loosely. Success and money will not make a big impression in heaven.
Are you homesick for heaven? Christians do not fit into the scheme of things down here. The world tries to force us into its mold. They do not like to be reminded that there are higher standards. We reject their values. We reject their philosophy of life. We march to a different drum beat than the non-Christian. We are going in a different direction. Ths is not our permanent residence. We are just passing through. We are heaven-born and heaven-bound.
God leaves us on earth to be light and salt. We are here to influence others for Christ. We do not want to go to heaven alone. We want to take others with us: father, mother, brother, sister, friends. The Lord might just as well take us to heaven now if we are not going to take others with us.
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