“Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation” (1 Peter 2:11-12). Fleshly lusts are strong desires for what is against the will of God. The lusts of the flesh and the lusts of the eyes are of the world, and they include but are not limited to the works of the flesh listed in Galatians 5:19-21. To abstain means to keep oneself from, to withhold oneself from participation. One who abstains does not tinker or dabble in a little of it; he completely keeps himself from the thing. Many are unwilling to abstain from alcohol, drugs, sexual sin, covetousness, as well as other worldly lusts. But the Christian must abstain, and three reasons for abstaining are contained in this passage that are just as relevant now as they were then.
First, the Christian must abstain from fleshly lusts because of who he is. The Christian is a sojourner and pilgrim. A sojourner dwells temporarily in a place as a stranger; a pilgrim is one who comes from a foreign country. Sojourners and pilgrims have a native country and are on a journey to that true, permanent homeland. Strangers and pilgrims do not feel at home in their temporary dwelling place because the ways of their temporary dwelling place are diametrically opposed to the ways of their true homeland to which they belong. The way of Christ is diametrically opposed to the ways of the world – the lusts of the flesh. It is not fitting for Christians as pilgrims and sojourners to adopt and participate in the fleshly lusts of the world. Christians have a duty as pilgrims and sojourners to follow and represent the ways of their kingdom and their king. This is simply who Christians are.
Second, the Christian must abstain from fleshly lusts because of what fleshly lusts do against oneself. Fleshly lusts “war against the soul.” The Christian is in a spiritual battle for the destiny of his own soul. Fleshly lusts will spiritually undo and destroy the Christian. The battlefield is littered with saints now spiritually dead because of participating in fleshly lusts. The fruit of partaking in the lusts of the flesh is eternal death.
Third, the Christian must abstain from fleshly lusts because of what abstaining accomplishes for others. Honorable conduct involves abstinence from the lusts of the flesh. Good works coupled with such conduct has the power to lead the evildoer away from his evil and to the glorifying of God. So abstaining from fleshly lusts is not only part of maintaining your own salvation in Christ but is crucial in leading others to Christ to the glory of God.
Saving faith obeys God whether all the why’s and the wherefores are answered. But in this passage, the Holy Spirit gives us three good reasons why saints must abstain from fleshly lusts, and the reasons are expectedly virtuous and praise-worthy: Because of who saints are, because of what fleshly lusts do against oneself, and because of what abstaining accomplishes in the lives of others to the glory of God. “Abstain from fleshly lusts”!
-Larry Jones