1 Peter 2:11-12 "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. (NKJV)
In our last post we ended with thinking about who we are that we are a chosen people, that we belong to God, a child of the King of kings and Lord of lords. Now Peter in verse 11 is reminding us again that we are God's dearly beloved children. "Beloved" here is from one Greek word Ἀγαπητοί, Agapētoi, used of God's divine love. Peter is reminding them that they are dearly loved-ones of God.
Peter here is strongly exhorting those who are loved by God, as strangers and pilgrims of the earth we are to abstain from fleshly lusts Notice he is reminding us again as he did in chapter one, that we are strangers in this world that this is just our temporary home and that we are living amongst the unsaved who are constantly watching us. 1 Peter 2:11 goes on to say that we are to abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul. The Greek is so expressive it is exciting to read. The verb tense of the word abstain is in the present infinitive meaning it is a continuous or repeated action. So we are to repeatedly abstain from fleshly lusts which war a campaign against our soul or whole being. My friend, our real battle is not with people around us, but with passions within us. My friends, it is a constant warfare and we must be on our guard. In this real spiritual battle a demonic strategy is to attack believers at their weakest points. Christians are to abstain from sinful desires not only for their own spiritual well-being but also in order to maintain an effective testimony before unbelievers.
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