The Battle for the Soul

OK. I want to flash back to last week for a few minutes.

1 Peter 2:9–10 CSB
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Regarding our relationship with God, we are:

• a chosen people/race
• a royal priesthood
• a holy nation
• God’s possession

For WHAT PURPOSE?

1 Peter 2:9 “… so that you may proclaim the praises of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

We acknowledged that all of us are called to evangelize. To tell others about the work of God in our lives and the good news of redemption through faith in Jesus.

The word evangelize scares most people in the church. However, outside the walls of the church it has been embraced. When Steve Jobs was running Apple they had a job title for their employees, “Apple Evangelist”. Someone who believes in the product and wants to tell others about it.

I am sure that ALL of us are evangelists for certain thing, right?

• our favorite sports team
• A really good restaurant
• certain brands of clothing or shoes?
• milk
• exercise
• healthy diet

Speaking of healthy diets… what if I started to tell you how much better I feel now that I am gluten free, caffeine free, and sugar free! And I encourage you to give it a try. I then go on to explain that you can lose weight, have more energy, go to the restroom less often… and I can assure you that it will change your life forever.  While I am telling you this, I am eating a glazed donut and drinking a cup of regular coffee.  You aren’t buying it, are you? Why not?

Because what I am doing is not the same as what I am saying. My actions and my words don’t match. I am obviously, in the area of gluten, sugar, and caffeine, NOT abstaining! So anything that I say about the value of avoiding those things is totally lost, isn’t it?

The message may be true, but if the messenger is phony the message is discredited. That is one of the main points that Peter wants us to understand from his letter.

1 Peter 2:9–12 NIV
9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

11 Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. 12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

Regarding our relationship with God, we are:

• a chosen people/race
• a royal priesthood
• a holy nation
• God’s possession

Regarding our relationship with the world, we are:

• foreigners & exiles

As we pick up in today’s verses, Peter reminds us that how we live among those who do not yet know Jesus is super important!

Peter uses from Greek wordplay to help get his point across, but it can get lost a bit in our English translations.

Last week we looked at the word “ethnos” which means nation or tribe. It is often translated as Gentile. Let me show you where Peter uses this word in 9-12:

1 Peter 2:9–12 “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy ἔθνος, a people for his possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 11 Dear friends, I urge you as strangers and exiles to abstain from sinful desires that wage war against the soul. 12 Conduct yourselves honorably among the ἔθνος, so that when they slander you as evildoers, they will observe your good works and will glorify God on the day he visits.”

You are a “set-apart nation”, so be careful how you live among “the nations”. Because of who you are in Christ, watch how you live among those that do not know him.

If we are going to declare the praises of the one who called us out of darkness and into the light, then we need to make sure that the way we live does not nullify the message.

So, how do we do that?

Abstain from sinful desires.

We live the way we live because the life we live is a gift from God meant to point others to God. That means we need to make the daily decision to honor God with the way we live.

1 Peter 2:11 CSB
11 Dear friends, I urge you as strangers and exiles to abstain from sinful desires that wage war against the soul.

The command is to abstain from sinful desires that wage war against the soul. Sinful desires. “Sin” is not a word that we use a lot outside of the church context. Though we joke about a dessert that is very sugary as being “sinfully sweet”.

I actually really like the entire reading of this passage from the Complete Jewish Bible. While certainly not the most literal, it is a solid thought-for-thought translation of these verses:

1 Peter 2:11–12 CJB
11 Dear friends, I urge you as aliens and temporary residents not to give in to the desires of your old nature, which keep warring against you; 12 but to live such good lives among the pagans that even though they now speak against you as evil-doers, they will, as a result of seeing your good actions, give glory to God on the Day of his coming.

Depending on your translation, this verse might read: “abstain from…”

• “the desires of your old nature” [CJB]
• “sinful desires” [CSB, NIV]
• “fleshly lusts” [NASB]
• “worldly desires” [NLT]
• “The passions of the flesh” [ESV]

Well, what are these sinful desires or these desires of the old nature?

Are they the 7 deadly sins?

1. Pride – Excessive belief in one’s own abilities, often leading to arrogance.
2. Envy – Jealousy towards others for their possessions, status, or abilities.
3. Wrath – Intense anger, often leading to thoughts of vengeance.
4. Sloth – Laziness or the failure to act when action is needed.
5. Greed – Excessive desire for material wealth or possessions.
6. Gluttony – Overindulgence, particularly in food or drink.
7. Lust – Intense or excessive desires, especially of a sexual nature.

This is certainly not a complete list of the ways we can sin! I am sure these, and many others, are what Peter had in mind when he wrote those words. DO NOT give in to these.

Peter says, abstain from “sinful” desires.

FIRST POINT I want to make a point here… not all desires are evil! Paul used this same word when he said,

Philippians 1:23 NIV
23 I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far;

Same word for desire is used in that verse, and it is certainly not a sinful thing to desire to be with Jesus!

The desires we are not to give in to are the “desires of our old nature” or “wordly desires” or “passions of the flesh” or “sinful desires”.

Desires that do not line up with God’s way of doing things. Desires, that IF FOLLOWED THROUGH ON would mock the name of our Father, who gave us our new name, and bring shame on the Kingdom.

SECOND POINT: there is a difference between a thought and a desire.

I cannot always control my thoughts. But I am able to control my desires. Thinking and desiring are not the same. When I have an evil thought I still ask for forgiveness from God, and he promises to forgive me. It needs to be cut off there.

BUT, when that evil thought becomes something I desire, it can lead me into sinful actions. Ultimately, it will “bring dishonor to the family”. (sorry, Mulan reference).

James 1:13–15 CSB
13 No one undergoing a trial should say, “I am being tempted by God,” since God is not tempted by evil, and he himself doesn’t tempt anyone. 14 But each person is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own evil desire. 15 Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death.

What vivid language! When an evil thought develops into an evil desire it gestates, develops and eventually takes on a life of its own. That is why we need to stop and pray and ask God to forgive us of those sinful thoughts and desires. The problem with sin is that it keeps growing and eventually leads to death.

Peter gives us sound advice – abstain: cut it off cold-turkey. Don’t flirt with it. Don’t give it any part of our life – cut it out like it was cancer. Why? Because these desires are part of a war – a battle for the soul:

1 Peter 2:11 CSB
11 Dear friends, I urge you as strangers and exiles to abstain from sinful desires that wage war against the soul.

The war of the Soul

What is this battle of the soul? Perhaps we need to start by defining what a “soul” is? We talked about this word earlier in this letter, “Psyche”. Peter uses it 5 times in this letter:

• 1 Peter 1:9 “because you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls [ ψυχή ].”
• 1 Peter 1:22 “Since you have purified yourselves [ ψυχή ] by your obedience to the truth, so that you show sincere brotherly love for each other, from a pure heart love one another constantly,”
• 1 Peter 2:11 “Dear friends, I urge you as strangers and exiles to abstain from sinful desires that wage war against the soul [ ψυχή ].
• 1 Peter 2:25 “For you were like sheep going astray, but you have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls [ ψυχή ].”
• 1 Peter 3:20 “who in the past were disobedient, when God patiently waited in the days of Noah while the ark was being prepared. In it a few—that is, eight people [ ψυχή ]—were saved through water.”

In the story of Noah, 8 souls were saved. In that sense, the word “soul” refers to the entire person, or people in a very physical sense.

This word can have a broad variety of meanings, and it is probably wise not to draw any dogmatic conclusions from any one use of the word OTHER that to recognize that it is talking about the person’s LIFE. That which gives life or that which is alive, such as: eight lives were saved on the ark.

Airlines and air traffic controllers have historically referred to passengers as “souls on board,” particularly in emergency situations. The term is used to account for every living person on an aircraft, including crew members, rather than just passengers.

Apparently, the phrase has roots in maritime tradition, where it was used to distinguish between the living and the deceased on ships, especially since ships would often transport cadavers in the bottom part of the ship.

https://copilot.microsoft.com/shares/9GH5nXfqVL1kYMqzEzj4D

There is a battle, a war for our lives, for our very existence. Yet that battle is NOT with those that slander us, nor with those that persecute us. The battle Peter is talking about is not the one against Rome that may cost the church their earthly bodies, or their souls in that sense of the word.

The battle Peter is concerned with is the battle that is waged within us. Inside you and me.

SINFUL DESIRES that wage war against our lives – against that which gives life. The battle for the soul is very much a battle for the center of our lives – out thoughts, actions, our words.

Avoid, abstain from anything that would cause you to live a life that is less than holy. You ARE a holy nation. You ARE the possession of your God. You ARE a priesthood ministering to God and others. DO NOT allow the enemy to cheapen that. DO NOT allow your attitudes, actions, and words to tarnish your name or God’s – whom you have taken on.

It is not just a battle for your soul, but also for the souls of others. Because if you and I do not live up to our calling, our message is dead. We cannot be light if we are still walking in darkness. We cannot declare God’s praises if we are living in a way that dishonors him and expect that people will want to know about the God who paid the price to redeem them.

Abstain from sinful desires.

Peter continues:

Conduct yourselves honorably.

1 Peter 2:12 “12 Conduct yourselves honorably among the ἔθνος, so that when they slander you as evildoers, they will observe your good works and will glorify God on the day he visits.”

We are to conduct ourselves honorably among the nations – those that are not part of God’s family yet.

So that when they “slander” you…

Apparently, slander was a problem back in Peter’s day? In 2:1 the church is told not to slander each other, and now they are told that they will be slandered. I am glad that is a problem we got figured out since then! 😏

Slander is to speak falsely about.

WEBSTER: the utterance of false charges or misrepresentations which defame and damage another’s reputation; a false and defamatory oral statement about a person

Have you ever been falsely accused? Have you ever had someone say bad things about you that were NOT true? (the NOT TRUE part is important!)

You will be slandered.

I think the number of hands raised is a demonstration that we will all face slander at some point. The believers in the church that Peter is writing to may have even lost their lives for their faith, and on account of being falsely accused.

Peter didn’t say IF you are slandered, but when. And because the church knew very well what that looked like in their society, Peter wanted them to understand that the way they respond to slander, the way they respond to people who falsely accuse them and hate them has very high stakes… there is a battle going on.

When someone does falsely accuse you, or tell lies about you, what is your initial reaction? I would venture to say that our first reaction is most times probably not the godly reaction, am I right?

The Christian life is about living each day for the glory of God. It is not just a pardon FROM sin and death; it is a passage TO service and life. We are commanded to live this new life honorably among the nations.

But to have an honorable lifestyle you have to make the decision each day, and perhaps even multiple times per day, to live a certain way. It is not a one-time event, or sprint, or something you can microwave. It is a long, intentional, slow growth marathon. Living honorably means being honorable in business dealings, in relationships, in our speech. It means reflecting the nature and character of God in all aspects of your life – living as the holy people of God.

IF YOU live honorably, no one will be able to slander you, right? WRONG. It never says that! It says… “when you are slandered”.

Did you notice what else it does NOT say? It does NOT say that God will vindicate you on that day. It does NOT say that God will make them apologize. It does NOT say that you will even be around to see what happens when they stand accountable before God. This is important!

1. You may never see vindication in this life. That is not the goal. We want that. We want justice. We want them to get what “they deserve” while we watch on the sidelines and cheer. We call this “closure”. But is it? Vindication is not the goal – and we need to check our hearts to make sure it is not one of our evil desires.
2. The goal is not vindication by exultation. You can see God glorified through your life. That is the real goal. If we have to suffer by being falsely being accused, simply so that God can get the glory, isn’t that worth it?

[NOTE: that is what Jesus did! We will talk about that soon when we look at 1 Peter 2:21-25]

Peter, once again, reminds us to live with the end in mind:

1 Peter 2:12 CSB
12 Conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, so that when they slander you as evildoers, they will observe your good works and will glorify God on the day he visits.

There will be a day that God visits? YES! The Day of the Lord… there a day where all men and women will stand before God.

Hebrews 9:27 “27 And just as it is appointed for people to die once—and after this, judgment”

And when we do, not only will God judge each man and woman according to their works, but apparently, he will even call to question our accusers and IF we have been living faithfully for God, their only response will be to give praise to God for our lives. Jesus taught Peter this in the sermon on the mount that we read for our scripture reading earlier:

Matthew 5:16 “16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”

Because of who we are in Christ, and because of our mission from God, it is important how we live because our lives are meant to point other people to God. Our goal is redemption and reconciliation, not retribution.

To do that we need to live honorably among our neighbors.

Let me ask as we close:

1. Are there sinful desires that you need to repent of today and abstain from going forward?
2. Are there areas of your life that are less than honorable in God’s eyes?

1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Start with confessing. Ask God to forgive you. No matter your past, no matter what you have done, God can forgive you and you can still live an honorable life and win the battle of the soul.

You and I live for an audience of 1 – we live for the ONE who redeemed us. Keep your hope fixed upon HIM when you are being falsely accused, slandered, hated. You do not need to prove anything to them – you live the way you live for God. What happens in this world is secondary. It is what we look forward to, our living hope, that motivates our living now.

We abstain from sinful desires and live honorably not so that we can avoid suffering or get restitution, but so we can be found faithful when we stand before the one who has always been faithful to us:

1 Peter 4:19 “So then, let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust themselves [ their souls ψυχή ] to a faithful Creator while doing what is good.”