Set Apart: Every Nation Prayer & FastingSample

The Challenge of Holiness

Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. 1 Peter 2:10–11

What or where do you consider “home”? Maybe it’s the neighborhood you grew up in, the city you and your family relocated to, or a nation you had to leave behind unexpectedly.

Sojourners and exiles have a unique relationship to “home.” Sojourners are travelers who pass through a place for a short time until they reach a specific destination. Exiles are those who have been sent away or even banished from their homelands.

By calling his readers “sojourners” and “exiles” in 1 Peter 2:11, Peter challenges their sense of home. He’s being clear—they’re temporary residents in this world, living in a place that’s not really their home. Until Christ returns, they must live as redeemed and holy people in a fallen world.

Peter instructs them “to abstain from the passions of the flesh,” sinful desires that are rebellious and even hostile to God. We must hold tight to God’s call to holiness as these passions wage war against our souls.

God gives us mercy and grace to abstain from these desires. He’s given us his Word to renew our minds. He puts us in spiritual community to strengthen and encourage us. Even in moments when we feel weak or have failed, the gift of repentance allows us to turn back to God in grace and without shame.

As we read this passage centuries after it was written, we can identify with feelings of spiritual alienation, dissatisfaction, and longing that Peter’s original readers may have felt. This is the challenge. As exiles, we live in a temporary home, but it can be tempting to live as if this is where we belong. We must decide, day in and day out, to deny self and obey God’s calling to be holy.

Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.

Reflection

• Does the idea of being a “sojourner” or “exile” change your perspective of the world around you?
• Are there practical things you can do today to abstain from the passions of the flesh?

Faith Step

Talk to a prayer partner about what “passions of the flesh” you both may be dealing with. Spend time in prayer, repenting and asking the Holy Spirit to renew and strengthen you.

Pray

Jesus, thank you that you’ve made a way for me to be holy, even when I struggle with unholy desires. You’ve placed me as a sojourner and exile in this world, but I pray that you would reign over my heart and renew my inner self day by day.

Help me to accept the challenge of holiness and choose righteousness daily, even when I’m tempted to follow my flesh.

Change me from the inside out so that I may be a light in this world. In your name I pray, amen.