Foreigners and exiles. A foreigner or exile never really feels at home in the land they are in. We are foreigners and exiles in the world. Ie we will not feel at home in this world, there will be features of its ways which are alien and abhorrent to us. In particular it is essential that we abstain from sinful desires, for these will war against our soul. Evil desires are not just something that we feel and that some obscure religious book has forbidden, it is much more serious than that. The desires themselves war against our soul, they seek to destroy our innermost being.
Instead we are to live good lives, we are to be living examples of Christlikeness in the world. In Peter's day the Christians were accused of doing all sorts of things, much the accusations deriving from the Lord's Supper. There can be a place for protext, but our primary response to false accusations is to live even more excellent lives. Then one day they will have to glorify God, they will have to admit that they were wrong.
We are to submit to earthly authorities. When we read this we must remember that Peter (and Paul, who wrote similar things) was not well treated by the authorities, but the NT writers were adamant that earthly authorities had been placed there by God. That is not to say that all that they do is right, nor that we should never challenge it, but God has placed authority there to make the world run better.
Instead we are to live good lives, we are to be living examples of Christlikeness in the world. In Peter's day the Christians were accused of doing all sorts of things, much the accusations deriving from the Lord's Supper. There can be a place for protext, but our primary response to false accusations is to live even more excellent lives. Then one day they will have to glorify God, they will have to admit that they were wrong.
We are to submit to earthly authorities. When we read this we must remember that Peter (and Paul, who wrote similar things) was not well treated by the authorities, but the NT writers were adamant that earthly authorities had been placed there by God. That is not to say that all that they do is right, nor that we should never challenge it, but God has placed authority there to make the world run better.
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