Commentary - 1 Peter 2:11-12

Bird's-eye view

Having established the new identity of believers as a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, and a holy nation (1 Pet. 2:9-10), Peter now turns to the practical outworking of this new identity in a hostile world. These two verses serve as a crucial pivot point, introducing the ethical section that runs for the next several chapters. He addresses his readers with great affection, "Beloved," and then immediately defines their relationship to the surrounding culture: they are "sojourners and exiles." This is not their home.

From this foundational reality, he issues two commands. The first is internal: abstain from the desires of the flesh that are in active rebellion against the soul. This is a call to mortification, recognizing that the unbelieving world still has a beachhead within us. The second command is external: maintain an excellent and honorable conduct among the pagans. The purpose of this public righteousness is explicitly evangelistic and doxological. Though Christians will be slandered as evildoers, their observable good works are intended to be God's instrument to bring their accusers to repentance and to the worship of God on the day He visits them in mercy.

Outline

Clause-by-Clause Commentary

v. 11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles... Peter begins with a term of endearment, "Beloved." This is pastoral. He is not an arm's length drill sergeant barking orders; he is a shepherd pleading with the flock he loves. And what he urges upon them flows directly from their fundamental identity. You are "sojourners and exiles." This is not your home. You are resident aliens. You have been born again into a new kingdom, a new country, and you are living out your days as ambassadors and expatriates in the country of your old father, the devil. Regeneration makes you a pilgrim. You are a stranger here now, but this was not always so. You used to be a native of this place, but the supernatural miracle of the new birth has changed your citizenship. This reality must govern everything else.

...to abstain from fleshly lusts... Because you are exiles, you must fight. The old country, this alien land, still has a foothold in you, and you experience that foothold as "fleshly lusts" or desires. The command is to "abstain," to hold yourself back from them. This is not a suggestion to moderate your sinning, but a command to starve it. This is the doctrine of mortification. We are to kill the sins that remain in our mortal bodies. These are not neutral desires that just need to be managed; they are hostile combatants.

...which wage war against the soul, Here is the reason for such radical abstention. These desires are not your friends. They are not a harmless part of your personality. They are an army, and they are laying siege to your soul. The great spiritual war that is happening in the culture all around us has a direct counterpart within us. Every time you entertain a lustful thought, a bitter attitude, or a covetous desire, you are giving aid and comfort to an enemy army that wants to see your soul ruined. This is not a game. It is war, and your soul is the territory being contested. You cannot be a double agent; you must pick a side.

v. 12 by keeping your conduct excellent among the Gentiles... The second command moves from the internal battle to our external, public life. The word for "conduct" refers to your entire way of life, your behavior. And it is to be "excellent," or beautiful, honorable, and good. This is not a call to be weird for the sake of being weird. It is a call to a winsome righteousness, a compelling godliness. And this conduct is to be lived out "among the Gentiles," that is, in the public square, before the watching eyes of the unbelieving world. Our faith is not a private hobby; it is a public testimony. We are to live in such a way that our very lives are an argument for the truth of the gospel.

...so that in the thing which they slander you as evildoers... Peter is a realist. He knows that this excellent conduct will not result in universal applause. In fact, it will result in slander. They will call you "evildoers." They will lie about you. They will twist your good into evil. Christians who are living faithfully should expect to be misrepresented. When you refuse to go along with the sexual insanity of the age, they will call you hateful. When you teach your children the fear of the Lord, they will call you a child abuser. The slander is a given. The question is how we respond.

...they may because of your good works, as they observe them, glorify God... Here is the glorious paradox. The very conduct that attracts their slander is the instrument God intends to use for their salvation. Your good works are observable facts. They can lie about your motives, but they cannot ultimately deny the reality of your righteous deeds. The strategy is to live in such a way that their slanders appear ridiculous. You are to be so obviously good that their accusations of evil become manifestly absurd. And the ultimate goal is not your own vindication, but that they, your accusers, would come to "glorify God." This is evangelism through shoe leather. Our good works are meant to be apologetic signposts pointing to the goodness of our God.

...in the DAY OF VISITATION. When will this happen? "In the day of visitation." This phrase can refer to a time of judgment, but here the context makes it plain that it is a visitation of grace. This is the day when God draws near to them in mercy, opening their eyes to see the truth they had been slandering. Our consistent, faithful, excellent conduct among them is like piling up dry kindling. We do this for years, while they mock us for it. But we are doing it in faith, waiting for the day of visitation when God Himself will send the fire of His Spirit from heaven. On that day, they will see our good works for what they truly are, and they will glorify our Father in heaven. This is a profoundly optimistic, postmillennial strategy. We live faithfully in the here and now, planting and watering, knowing that God will bring the increase in His time. Our good works are not a waste; they are the raw material for future revival.