We Don't Belong

Introduction

There have been lots of times that I felt out of place. The first time I went to a family reunion and I got there early and didn’t know anyone. Going to a new school. Coming to Park Avenue the first time. Starting a new job at FHU. I suspect I’m not the only one to have such experiences. We feel quite unsettled in such situations. There is an increase in nervousness. We may want to escape. We long for more familiar surroundings. If we know that we are going to have to be in that situation for a while, we may try to work hard to feel more comfortable. I remember going to that family reunion. I met a couple of people and it dawned on me that as I uncomfortable as I was, those folks were uncomfortable too. They didn’t know me. They didn’t know what to say. So it was the typical questions — So you live in Memphis? How are things in Memphis?

If you have ever been to a foreign country then you know how awkward things can be at times. That sense of not belonging finds its way into our minds often. We long to get back to the familiar. In our text, Peter once again reminds his readers that they are in unfamiliar territory. He reminds them that their identity is not found in where they live or their comfort. Their true identity is found in relationship with God. Their new birth has given them a new hope and with that new hope comes a new kingdom in which to dwell. Peter’s words still resonate today. Let’s celebrate our relationship with God.

Text

Last week Frank turned out attention to verses preceding our text. Look again at verses 9-10 in 1 Peter 2. This language reflects the experience of Israel at the base of Mount Sinai. This is covenant language. God is not only identifying who his people are but he is using language that will remind them of a previous covenant as well. Turn to Exodus 19:1-6. Here at Mount Sinai the same language is used as God calls Israel into relationship with him. They had been set free from slavery. They had been shown mercy. God pronounces to them who they are. Peter picks up this same language using it here for those who had come to faith in the resurrection of Jesus. Their new birth resulting in a new hope meant that they were part of a new kingdom.

These readers had been dispersed. Life was not easy. Some had lost family. Some had lost financial security. Some had lost social standing. But all had been brought into a new relationship with God through Jesus. But it is hard to feel awkward and then any added pressure from financial and family loss would only deepen the discomfort. People in such situations might be looking for ways to ease the discomfort by negating parts of the new relationship. It might be easier to alter one’s values so that the discomfort would ease.

So in verse 11, Peter uses two words that were previously used to describe his readers. This is not mere description. These are identity words. Foreigners and exiles. The first word is found in 1:17 and the second word is found in 1:1. Both words are designed to reflect a spiritual if not actual reality. Peter says this is who we are. This is how we are to identify ourselves. Peter again is using an image from history. In Genesis 23:4, Abraham uses this same language when wanting to buy land from the Hittites to bury Sarah after her death. He had lived in the land for almost 50 years but he still viewed himself and understood that he didn’t belong.

To be foreigners and exiles suggests two things. First, it suggests that we belong in another place. In my brief time in Japan, I enjoyed many experiences but I was aware that there were many things that meant I didn’t belong. I belonged somewhere else. As Christians we belong somewhere else. Sometimes we have the feeling more acutely. But the reality is that we do not belong here. The second thing that these words suggest is that if we do not belong here then there are things that happen here that we are not allowed to participate in or rightly choose not to participate in. In other words, there are customs and practices that are outside our experience.

Peter says some of those things is summarized in phrase sinful desires (NIV) which while accurate doesn’t capture the depth of what Peter is writing. Peter uses words which describe carnal, fleshly, depraved lusts. In other words, as foreigners and exiles do not take on the depraved lusts of the earthly kingdom. This would include all kinds of lusts that pull us away from who we really are — sexual lusts, financial lusts, lusts of status, lust about acceptance, the lust to fit in at all costs — these we are to abstain from because we are God’s holy people.

Then in verse 12, Peter writes that we are to live good lives in contrast to the empty lives (1:18) that we lived before Jesus. Peter writes that the quality of their lives was to impress even those who are not believers. The integrity of the Christian is to be so pronounced that even those who are not part of God’s kingdom will know that their accusations are unjustified. This quality of life has an evangelistic effect in that even those who are not part of God’s kingdom may become persuaded by the values that reflect God’s nature.

So What?

In the next several sections, Peter will write about how this quality of life matters in terms of politics, slavery, and the home. But for today, what does this mean for us? Two things based upon verses 9-12.

First, our new identity results in absolute praise. Knowing that we are God’s holy people; knowing that we are God’s treasured possession; knowing that we belong to God’s kingdom; knowing that we have received mercy and moved from darkness into light; then our lives are filled with praise.

Praise is the language of God’s people. We praise him all day and our lives reflect that we are blessed people. Praise and complaining do not go together. Praise and contentiousness do not go together. Praise and negative statements do not go together. Praise comes when we are absolutely in love with God. When God occupies our thoughts, we praise. When struggles come and they will come, our love for God is such that we understand these struggles are opportunities to praise him. Praise isn’t real until it is expressed.

Paul and Silas riddled with fresh wounds found that praise still existed. Job surrounded by those who condemned him and with no understanding about what was happening to him still praised God. Jesus on the cross praised as he gave his life to the Father.

These all suffered. These felt physical pain and emotional hurt. But they praised because their life was found new and full in God.

Second, our life of praise affects others. We are under observation. Even Peter recognizes that the integrity of our life will not release us from being accused. But it is living our life in faithful connection to who we are that allows for us to influence others. The life of the believer through the conduct of his life convinces the unbeliever that God is real. When the pressure is on; when we are uncomfortable and long to fit in; when we are told to give up our hope because Jesus is not real; it is then that under that pressure and coercision from the values of this world that we commit to hold on to the hand of God. It is when the pressure is great that we remember who we are — God’s holy people; those who belong to him. And with our conviction clear, even those who do not know God will know that our faith is real. Invitation.

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