The War for Our Souls - Pt 5

Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. (1 Peter 2:11-12 ESV).

This painting depicts the choice Colonel William B. Travis gave to the men defending the Alamo on March 5, 1836. It is reported he called his troops together and informed them that they were unlikely to survive the upcoming battle and that the Mexican Army would not take any prisoners. It is also said that he drew a line in the sand and asked his troops to join him in opposing the enemy and fighting to the last man. All but one soldier crossed the line. Jim Bowie had to be carried across. Only a few women and children were spared. In our war we must see the first battle as one of choice. Our behavior will follow our desire. It is first at the level of what we feel, and then at the level of what we do (v. 11). Then Peter says we should keep our "behavior" excellent so that people will see and give glory to God (v. 12). So first he focuses on desires and then on behavior. This is the same pattern we saw earlier (cf. 1:14–15). We must remember that our fight is first with our desires and then at the level of conduct. The reason for this is that conduct is not excellent, it is not beautiful; it is not going to point people to the glory of God, unless it flows from right desires. Jesus said, "Woe to you scribes and Pharisees! Hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of extortion and rapacity" (Matthew 23:25). In other words, it doesn't do any good to try to shine up the conduct on the outside without changing the desires on the inside. There is a different sound to a barrel full of leaves and a barrel full of oil. When we direct our desires to God and find hope and contentment in his mercy and power and promises, then our outward life starts to show what Peter calls "excellent behavior." These behavior points to God's glory because they point to a stable, sure, satisfying object of desire and hope that is not of this world. So if you want to fight for the soul that it not be destroyed, and if you want to magnify the glory of God so that it not be belittled, and if you want to say yes to the weight and importance of God in this God-neglecting modern world, then see yourself as an exile from heaven and focus your desires on God so that your hope is in him and not in this world, and the result will be an emerging beauty of behavior that conquers all slander and finally brings praise to God.