REMINDERS FOR PILGRIMS AND STRANGERS

1 Peter 2:9-12

Intro: Peter tells us, that as believers, we are "pilgrims and strangers" in this earth.
The word "stranger" has the idea of a person who lives for an extended time in a land
that is not his own. He is there long enough to need a house to live in, but he is not a
permanent resident. He has no legal rights, he has no social standing. He is a stranger,
an exile who lives in a foreign land. This word "pilgrim" refers to one who is merely
passing through on place on the way to another place.

Both of those words describe who we are as children of the Lord. We are living in this
world, but this world is not our home, Phil. 3:20. We are here, God willing, long enough
to need a house to live in, and a job to feed us. But, we are not permanent residents.
We are merely strangers living in the midst of an alien culture. We are pilgrims passing
through earth on our way to Heaven.

If you have ever has the opportunity to meet someone from another culture, you soon
recognize the fact that they think and act differently than you do. Well, as believers, we
are supposed to think and act differently than the natives of this planet.

Our new birth and our new nature are all products of heaven. As a result, we are to be
heavenly minded. Our legal status is in heaven. We are not to live by man's laws and
man's ways! Man's laws and ways are lower than the standards heavenly citizens are to
live by. We should obey the laws of the land, but the law and will of God is far superior
to that of this world.

In other words, if we are truly heaven born people, then we are to live like heaven born
people! This is what Paul had in mind in Col. 3:1-3.

Since we are pilgrims and strangers in this world, we need to know how to conduct
ourselves in an alien culture. This passage has something to say about that. In these
verses Peter shares some Reminders For Pilgrims that we need to heed tonight.

I. A REMINDER OF OUR PAST SITUATION

A. V. 9 We Have A Dark Past - We are reminded that Jesus found us in the darkness
of sin. He found us when we lived as we pleased and were unaware that our freedom
and fun was nothing more than the worst kind of bondage, Pro. 16:25.

B. V. 10 We Have A Despised Past - We are reminded that when He came to us, we

were not even part of a people. We were outcasts! Part of a fallen race of people. We
were the enemies of God, Rom. 8:7.

C. V. 10 We Have A Deadly Past - When the Lord came for us, we were totally
unworthy of the mercy and grace He extended to us! May I remind you that God owes
us nothing! We everyone deserves to be in Hell! It was grace that reached down into the
hell of our darkness and delivered us from such a wretched existence! It was grace and
grace alone that made the difference in your life and mine, Eph. 2:8-9; 1 Cor. 15:10.

II. A REMINDER OF OUR PRESENT STANDING

A. We Are A New Creation - The term "chosen generation" has to do with the glorious
truth that God reached into the teeming masses of lost humanity and chose a people for
Himself. He did this according to His own will and He took these people He chose and
created a brand new race of men.

(Note: When the Lord called Abraham, the Hebrew race of people was born. A race that
had never existed came into being. The same thing is true about believers. We are a
distinct race of men! We may be the same as others physically, but we are vastly
different on a spiritual level, 1 Cor. 10:32; 1 Cor. 12:13.)

That is the reason why the world does not understand us. It is why they do not accept
us and our beliefs. This is the reason why we are aliens in this world!

B. We Have A New Communion - We are called a "royal priesthood". When we were

lost, we were totally separated from God. Now, in Jesus, we have been brought "nigh"
to God by the blood of Christ, Eph. 2:13. In this new relationship we have unrestricted,
unhindered access into the presence of the Lord. We do not need another mediator for
our Mediator, the Lord Jesus, 1 Tim. 2:5, has broken down all the barriers that once
stood between us and God, Eph. 2:14-19. Since all of this is true, we can come into the
presence of the Lord and we now have instant access to the Lord of glory, Heb. 4:16.

C. We Have A New Character - We are also called a "holy nation". That is, God,
through Jesus, has produced a change in us that now allows us to be what we never
could have been before: holy! You see, lost men can do good! They have no spiritual
good in them, Rom. 3:12. They can produce some things that are good from a human
perspective, but they can never produce anything that is spiritually good in the sight of
God, Isa. 64:6. However, when a person is saved, they are given a new nature, 2 Pet.
1:4. This new, spiritual nature has the capacity, through the work of the Holy Spirit, to
produce works of true holiness, pleasing to the Lord!

(Note: Things like prayer, witnessing, acts of faith, acts of love, kindness and
forgiveness are proof that God can take a sinner, save him by His grace and then He
can make that person holy!)

A believer can and should be holy! This is the will of God, 1 Pet. 1:16, and it is possible
as we live as new creatures, 2 Cor. 5:17! It is possible because we have been delivered
from the darkness and have been placed into the light! (Note: The flesh can produce a
lot of things that look good externally, but only the Holy Spirit of God can produce
genuine holiness in a person's life. The lost man may clean up his life, but the saved
man finds his life cleaned up for him!)
D. We Have A New Classification - We are called a "peculiar people". Now that has
been misquoted and taken out of context for many years. The real meaning of the word
"peculiar" is of "a purchased possession, a unique possession, some of rare
beauty and of a priceless nature."

(Note: This means that we are a precious people. He paid a high price for us, 1 Cor.
6:19-20, and now He possesses us and we are precious to Him. Of course, this means
that He keeps a close watch on us. He looks after us with the greatest of care. He
protects us and shelters us. Once we were a despised, worthless people, now, through
the blood, we are God's prized possessions!)

III. A REMINDER OF OUR PRESENT SERVICE

(Ill. Well, that's who we were and who we are. Here is what we are supposed to do with
those truths. You see, instead of being partakers of the culture and mind set of this
world, we are to attempt to share the culture and mind set of Heaven with this culture.
Remember, we are from another world, John 15:19. We are literally "ambassadors"
from heaven to this world, 2 Cor. 5:20. We are to do all we can to share the culture of
our homeland with the earth bound people living around us. We are to show and tell
them how the citizens of Heaven live their lives!)

A. V. 9 We Are To Declare The Truth About Our Savior - The phrase "shew forth the
praises" means to vocally declare what the Lord has done for us. The word "praises"
refers to "those qualities that make Him excellent." We are to declare to a lost and
dying world the excellency of the Lamb of God! We should be quick to declare what He
has done for us. We should be a vocal people in our willingness and our desire to share
Him with the world!

B. V. 11-12 We Are To Demonstrate The Truth Of Our Salvation - There is a vocal

side to our witness and there is also a visible side to it. These two verses speak about
that aspect of our walk with the Lord.

1. V. 11 By A Pure Walk - Since we are citizens of Heaven, we are to avoid living like
the citizens of the earth. When we live to an earthly level, we find our witness ruined
and our lives enslaved by the power of the lusts of the flesh.

2. V. 12 By A Powerful Witness - Peter says that believers are to live right in front of a
lost world. They may criticize us for the standards we have or for the things we oppose,
but if we are consistent and holy in our walk and dealings with them, they will be
touched by our good works. He even indicates that some will be saved as a result as
the phrase "day of visitation" indicates.

Conc: Until Jesus comes, we will be "pilgrims and stranger" in this world. Let us
remember that we are surrounded by an alien culture that needs to hear about Jesus
and that needs to see His truth lives out by those who claim to know Him.