Thursday Devo
Scripture:
1 Peter 2
11 Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls. 12 Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world.
11 Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls. 12 Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world.
Commentary:
2:11–12 The Christian Life as a Battle and a Witness. These verses introduce 2:11–4:11, emphasizing that those who have trusted in Christ bear witness to the gospel by their conduct.
2:11 Beloved signals a major new section in the letter (cf. 4:12). Believers are sojourners and exiles (cf. 1:1, 17), awaiting their end-time inheritance. The pleasures of the world are tempting and enticing nonetheless, hence there is a great struggle and warfare against such desires. Believers are to abstain from sinful passions, for they wage war against your soul: holding on to sinful desires brings spiritual harm.
2:12 Peter refers to unbelievers as Gentiles, which is in keeping with his understanding of believers being a new Israel (see note on 1:1). Believers are to live godly lives even though they will often be criticized by unbelievers. When believers do good deeds, some unbelievers will repent and believe and thus glorify God. Peter clearly alludes to Matt. 5:16 here (“let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven”). On the day of visitation may refer to the initial conversion of the believer through the regenerating work (“visitation”) of the Holy Spirit, or it may refer to the way in which those who become believers will glorify God on the last day, the day of judgment. To “glorify God” should probably be understood in the broad sense that the believer will glorify God in many ways—e.g., by believing (cf. Acts 13:48; Rom. 15:7, 9), through the doing of “good deeds” (cf. Matt. 5:16), and at the end of the age (cf. Rev. 14:7; 19:7).
Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 2408.
2:11 Beloved signals a major new section in the letter (cf. 4:12). Believers are sojourners and exiles (cf. 1:1, 17), awaiting their end-time inheritance. The pleasures of the world are tempting and enticing nonetheless, hence there is a great struggle and warfare against such desires. Believers are to abstain from sinful passions, for they wage war against your soul: holding on to sinful desires brings spiritual harm.
2:12 Peter refers to unbelievers as Gentiles, which is in keeping with his understanding of believers being a new Israel (see note on 1:1). Believers are to live godly lives even though they will often be criticized by unbelievers. When believers do good deeds, some unbelievers will repent and believe and thus glorify God. Peter clearly alludes to Matt. 5:16 here (“let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven”). On the day of visitation may refer to the initial conversion of the believer through the regenerating work (“visitation”) of the Holy Spirit, or it may refer to the way in which those who become believers will glorify God on the last day, the day of judgment. To “glorify God” should probably be understood in the broad sense that the believer will glorify God in many ways—e.g., by believing (cf. Acts 13:48; Rom. 15:7, 9), through the doing of “good deeds” (cf. Matt. 5:16), and at the end of the age (cf. Rev. 14:7; 19:7).
Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 2408.
Questions:
- Once again, in verse 11, Peter refers to us as "temporary residents and foreigners," and he commands us to stay away from worldly desires that wage war against our souls. We are to live for eternity, not for the things of the world. Starve the TEMPORAL and feed the ETERNAL. We must remember who we are (temporal residents) and where we are headed (the day of judgement when Jesus returns). We have to wage war for the eternal destination of our souls! What does the way you spend your time, energy and money say about who or what you are living for? Are you living a life that makes sense in light of eternity?
- What has God been speaking to you this week? What are some things in your life you need to STARVE? What do you need to FEED?
Pray:
- That you would live a life that makes sense in light of eternity.
- That you would feed your spirit daily and starve all the distractions.
This Week's City 7:
Try to commit to memory!
3. Why did Jesus have to die on the cross? Since “all have sinned” and the “wages of sin is death,” Jesus had to die on the cross to pay the fine for my sin so I could be right with God.
(Romans 3:23, 5:8, 6:21-23, 2 Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 2:1-6; Colossians 1:13-14, 21-22)
(Romans 3:23, 5:8, 6:21-23, 2 Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 2:1-6; Colossians 1:13-14, 21-22)
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