Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. ~ 1 Peter 1:1
In 1 Peter 1:1-2 the Apostle Peter identifies the follower of the Lord Jesus Christ with three descriptors: Exiles, Elect, and Chosen. Today, we will consider just the first of these three descriptors.
The Greek word translated "pilgrims” can also be translated “exiles” living in a foreign place. It is accurate to say that all believers in the Lord Christ are exiles in this world. By using this particular Greek word here, which is used only three times in the New Testament, the Apostle Peter is noting that believers do not really belong anywhere on planet earth. We belong to the Lord, and as a result we are now being increasingly defined by Him. This is what creates our uneasiness with living on earth, the Lord's definitions are quite different and smarter than the definitions of this fallen world.
Before we trusted Christ as our Savior, we felt at home in this world. After we trusted the Lord Jesus as our Savior and we were "born again" we were given a whole new take on this world. You see, until we were baptized in God's Spirit, we were under the domain of Satan himself, and, we did not even know it. And, when we were born again, it was the presence of the Holy Spirit who gradually, day by day, began to change our understanding of all things including our understanding of this world.
Before we trusted Christ as our Savior, we felt at home in this world. After we trusted the Lord Jesus as our Savior and we were "born again" we were given a whole new take on this world. You see, until we were baptized in God's Spirit, we were under the domain of Satan himself, and, we did not even know it. And, when we were born again, it was the presence of the Holy Spirit who gradually, day by day, began to change our understanding of all things including our understanding of this world.
Being an exile is sometimes very frustrating, causing us to feel rootless and anxious. Being Christian exiles in American culture does not end our influence. No, the Lord is quite clear that He wants us to influence those around us with His truth. We don’t get cranky that our country has been taken away. We don’t whine about the triumphs of evil. We are not hardened with bitterness. No, we understand that none of this is new. We also understand that our allegiance is not for anything this temporal world has to offer us. No, our allegiance is for the coming kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I remember the first time that I really came face to face with the idea that I was an exile on the earth. It was the summer of 1986 and I had traveled to Italy with a group of students from Columbia Bible College in Columbia, South Carolina. I remember the thought that I noticed as soon as I departed the plane that had flown us over the Atlantic Ocean; It was a thought of "I do not belong here." It was mostly due to my inability to communicate and read the road signs and other signs that were all written in Italian. I felt like a fish out of water. Although I felt many insecure feelings that were in my soul due to being out of the comforts of America, I felt that summer many things that have become immensely instructive to me over time. That summer in Italy, the Lord taught me more than anything else that I am an exile in this fallen world more so than at any other time of my life.
In AD 60, the Apostle Peter wrote this letter to Christians who were being persecuted by the Romans who ruled the world at that time. The Romans were known for strapping Christians to stakes, doused them in oil, and light them as lamps. Christians all over the known world were in great danger, and they did not feel at home here on earth. Persecution has a way of causing us to feel out of sorts, insecure and quite alone. Billy Graham once spoke of a conversation that he had with a leader of a foreign country. He said, "In a country where Christians were looked upon with suspicion and disfavor, a government leader said to me with a twinkle in his eye, 'Christians seem to thrive under persecution. Perhaps we should prosper them, and then they would disappear.'"
Today, we live in a culture undergoing a major cultural shift in how we, as Christians, are viewed. There once was a day in America that Christianity was far more accepted than it is today. When persecution, which is growing, comes upon us, we can take courage that we are citizens of another kingdom, the kingdom of the God of the Bible. And, as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we have a very different value system than that of this fallen world. Having been born again, we now operate out of a much different value system. Our default mode is now different than it was before we met Christ. This explains the trouble we experience with the world's value system. And, this should give us a greater sense of anticipation for the day when Christ shall return and take us to be with Him in heaven for eternity.
Meanwhile, God has given us the task of sharing the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ with all who will listen in hopes that they, like us, will be awakened to a personal relationship with God. As Jude tells us in Jude 22-23: "22 Be merciful to those who doubt; 23 save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh."
In AD 60, the Apostle Peter wrote this letter to Christians who were being persecuted by the Romans who ruled the world at that time. The Romans were known for strapping Christians to stakes, doused them in oil, and light them as lamps. Christians all over the known world were in great danger, and they did not feel at home here on earth. Persecution has a way of causing us to feel out of sorts, insecure and quite alone. Billy Graham once spoke of a conversation that he had with a leader of a foreign country. He said, "In a country where Christians were looked upon with suspicion and disfavor, a government leader said to me with a twinkle in his eye, 'Christians seem to thrive under persecution. Perhaps we should prosper them, and then they would disappear.'"
Today, we live in a culture undergoing a major cultural shift in how we, as Christians, are viewed. There once was a day in America that Christianity was far more accepted than it is today. When persecution, which is growing, comes upon us, we can take courage that we are citizens of another kingdom, the kingdom of the God of the Bible. And, as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we have a very different value system than that of this fallen world. Having been born again, we now operate out of a much different value system. Our default mode is now different than it was before we met Christ. This explains the trouble we experience with the world's value system. And, this should give us a greater sense of anticipation for the day when Christ shall return and take us to be with Him in heaven for eternity.
Meanwhile, God has given us the task of sharing the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ with all who will listen in hopes that they, like us, will be awakened to a personal relationship with God. As Jude tells us in Jude 22-23: "22 Be merciful to those who doubt; 23 save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh."
"Save others by snatching them from the fire" is a reference to hell. These who need to be saved are already in the fire of false belief. They are not just confused, they have bought the lie that the Lord Jesus is not God. They are already being singed by the fires of hell, which will engulf them in the future if they do not come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The word "snatching" means "to take by force." This is the same word the Apostle Paul uses to describe the rapture in 1 Thessalonians 4. When we meet somebody who is not saved, we must patiently share the truth with them, praying the Lord opens their eyes as He did ours. It may take years but we must never give up on them. The greatness of Christian exiles is not success but service. Whether we win or lose, we witness to the way of truth. And, the best way to win people to the Lord Jesus is by serving them with a heart that is broken for their everlasting souls.
