1 PETER 2:11–12
STRANGERS AND PILGRIMS
11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;
12 Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.
— 1 Peter 2:11–12, KJV
These two verses mark an important transition in Peter's letter.
In 1:13–2:10, Peter has concentrated heavily on who Christians are.
They have been:
born again,
redeemed by Christ's blood,
made living stones,
built into a spiritual house,
made a holy and royal priesthood,
called a chosen generation,
made a holy nation,
and made the people of God.
Now Peter begins asking:
How should people with that identity live in a world that does not share it?
His answer will occupy much of the rest of the letter.
And he begins:
“Dearly beloved…”
“DEARLY BELOVED”
This is easy to skip because it sounds like the introduction to what Peter really wants to say.
But it tells us something about Peter's manner of teaching.
He is about to give serious commands.
Yet he begins:
“Dearly beloved…”
These are people he loves.
Peter does not speak to them as problems to be corrected but as brothers and sisters to be encouraged.
Then:
“I beseech you…”
The Greek verb carries the idea of urging, appealing, exhorting, or encouraging.
Peter certainly has apostolic authority.
Yet here he appeals to them.
“AS STRANGERS AND PILGRIMS”
We have heard this language before.
Peter opened the letter:
“to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.”
— 1 Peter 1:1, KJV
Now:
“as strangers and pilgrims…”
The two Greek words emphasize slightly different aspects of living somewhere without finally belonging there.
paroikos can describe a resident alien or someone living away from his homeland.
parepidēmos describes a sojourner or temporary resident.
Peter is reminding his readers:
This world around you does not determine your deepest identity.
But we need to be careful about what that does—and does not—mean.
DOES “PILGRIMS” MEAN EARTH IS ONLY A WAITING ROOM FOR HEAVEN?
That idea can easily be read into Peter's words.
But Peter's immediate point is not:
Physical earth is bad, and Christians are waiting to escape it.
His emphasis is that God's people live as outsiders within a society whose values often conflict with their allegiance to God.
Their citizenship, values, and identity come from somewhere deeper than the culture around them.
And Peter certainly does not tell them to withdraw from ordinary life.
In the verses that follow he will talk about:
government,
work,
marriage,
neighbors,
and relationships with unbelievers.
His pilgrims remain deeply engaged with the people around them.
ABRAHAM WAS A SOJOURNER
This language has deep Old Testament roots.
Abraham described himself as:
“a stranger and a sojourner…”
— Genesis 23:4, KJV
Israel's story repeatedly involved living as strangers.
God even told Israel:
“the land is mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with me.”
— Leviticus 25:23, KJV
So Peter's language fits the biblical story of God's people living in the world while recognizing that their ultimate security and identity rest with God.
“ABSTAIN”
Peter now gives his first command in this section:
“abstain from fleshly lusts…”
The Greek verb means to keep away from, refrain from, or hold oneself back from something.
Peter does not say:
You have been born again, so improper desires will never trouble you again.
Quite the opposite.
He tells born-again Christians:
Abstain from them.
That means the desires are still present enough to require resistance.
Conversion does not eliminate temptation.
It changes our relationship to temptation.
WHAT ARE “FLESHLY LUSTS”?
Modern readers may hear “lusts” and immediately think only of sexual desire.
That is too narrow.
As we saw in 1:14, the Greek word epithymia means strong desire or craving.
And fleshly desires are desires belonging to fallen human life when it is operating contrary to God's will.
Sexual immorality can certainly be included.
But so can:
greed,
envy,
revenge,
selfish ambition,
drunkenness,
uncontrolled anger,
pride,
and other desires that pull us away from God.
Peter himself has already named:
malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and evil speaking.
Those too belong to the battle.
CHRISTIANITY IS NOT AGAINST THE HUMAN BODY
This distinction matters.
When Peter says “fleshly lusts,” he is not saying the physical body is evil.
The Bible does not teach that food, marriage, physical affection, rest, work, or bodily life are inherently sinful.
The problem is not that we possess bodies.
The problem is desire operating outside God's will.
This is important because some later religious movements treated physical existence itself as spiritually inferior.
That is not what Peter says.
“WHICH WAR”
Peter gives these desires a frightening description:
“which war against the soul.”
The Greek verb strateuō belongs to the language of warfare.
These desires do not merely inconvenience us.
They wage war.
Peter wants Christians to understand that the struggle inside them is serious.
The enemy is not always outside.
Some of the most dangerous battles take place within our own desires.
“WAR AGAINST THE SOUL”
Again we encounter the Greek word psychē.
The KJV translates it:
“soul.”
As we have already seen, psychē can refer to the person, life, self, or soul depending upon context.
Peter is not necessarily giving us a philosophical description of an invisible soul being attacked by a physical body.
His point is more practical:
Sinful desires wage war against the person you are becoming in Christ.
They are spiritually destructive.
That is why Peter says:
Do not make peace with them.
TWO BATTLEFIELDS
These two verses reveal two different battles.
VERSE 11 — THE BATTLE INSIDE
“fleshly lusts, which war against the soul.”
VERSE 12 — THE BATTLE OUTSIDE
“they speak against you as evildoers…”
Christians face pressure from:
desires within
and
accusations without.
Peter addresses both.
Inside:
Abstain.
Outside:
Live honorably.
“HAVING YOUR CONVERSATION HONEST”
Again, the KJV's “conversation” means manner of life or conduct.
And “honest” carries the sense of honorable, good, or morally beautiful.
Peter is saying:
Live such good lives among unbelievers that your conduct itself becomes evidence.
That is a major theme in the letter.
Peter does not tell Christians to answer every criticism with an argument.
Sometimes the answer is a life.
“AMONG THE GENTILES”
Now we come to a fascinating expression.
Peter says:
“Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles…”
But who are his readers?
As we have already seen, there are strong indications that many of them were themselves Gentiles by birth.
Peter will later say:
“For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles…”
— 1 Peter 4:3, KJV
If these people were ethnically Gentile, how can Peter now speak about their behavior:
“among the Gentiles”?
THEIR IDENTITY HAS CHANGED
The most natural explanation is that Peter is using “Gentiles” here in a religious rather than merely ethnic sense.
These believers may have been born among the nations.
But now Peter has just called them:
“a chosen generation”
“a royal priesthood”
“an holy nation”
and:
“the people of God.”
Their deepest identity is no longer determined by their pagan past.
They belong to God's covenant people.
So Peter can speak of their conduct “among the Gentiles” even when some of them had once been Gentiles in precisely that cultural sense.
That is a remarkable change of identity.
DOES THAT MEAN THEY BECAME JEWS?
Peter does not say that.
He does not tell Gentile believers to become ethnic Jews.
He does not tell them they must adopt circumcision or the entire Mosaic covenant.
Instead, they belong to God's people through Christ.
This is important.
Peter's categories are being reorganized around Jesus.
The decisive identity is not:
Jew or Greek?
It is:
Do you belong to God's chosen Stone?
“THEY SPEAK AGAINST YOU AS EVILDOERS”
Peter assumes Christians will be accused:
“whereas they speak against you as evildoers…”
What were the accusations?
Peter does not specify them here.
Later historical sources tell us that Christians were sometimes accused of various immoral, antisocial, or irreligious practices. But we should be careful not to read later accusations automatically into Peter's particular setting.
Peter's own letter tells us enough.
His readers were being:
spoken against,
reviled,
maligned,
and insulted for Christ's name.
We do not need to invent a more specific charge than the text provides.
WHY WOULD GOOD PEOPLE BE CALLED EVIL?
This is one of the realities Peter wants Christians to understand.
Doing good does not guarantee that everyone will call it good.
Jesus experienced that.
Peter experienced that.
The early Christians experienced that.
People can misunderstand motives.
They can repeat false accusations.
They can regard refusal to participate in accepted cultural practices as antisocial or offensive.
Peter's solution is not:
Make sure everyone likes you.
That may be impossible.
His solution is:
Make sure the accusation is not true.
THAT DISTINCTION IS CRITICAL
Peter never promises:
If Christians behave properly, nobody will criticize them.
Instead he says:
Live so honorably that the criticism is contradicted by your life.
That is very different.
Our goal is not universal approval.
Our goal is faithfulness.
“BY YOUR GOOD WORKS”
Peter says unbelievers should:
“behold”
their:
“good works.”
The Greek idea behind behold is stronger than a casual glance. It can mean observing carefully.
Peter imagines outsiders watching Christians over time.
That means Christian witness is not confined to what we say about Jesus.
People also watch:
how we treat our families,
how we conduct business,
whether we tell the truth,
how we respond when insulted,
how we treat people who cannot benefit us,
how we use money,
how we speak about others,
and what we do when suffering.
Our lives become part of the evidence.
DOES THIS MEAN PREACHING IS UNNECESSARY?
No.
Peter has just said:
“this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.”
And later he will tell Christians to be:
“ready always to give an answer…”
— 1 Peter 3:15, KJV
Peter believes in both:
proclamation
and
conduct.
A godly life without the gospel may leave people wondering why we behave differently.
A spoken gospel contradicted by an ungodly life may make our words difficult to believe.
Peter wants words and life together.
“GLORIFY GOD”
Peter hopes their observers will eventually:
“glorify God…”
That is striking.
People who presently call Christians evildoers may eventually glorify the God those Christians serve.
Peter does not explain exactly how that change occurs in every case.
But he believes faithful Christian conduct can play a part in changing the way outsiders see God.
That is an enormous responsibility.
Our behavior can either make the gospel more credible—or give people an excuse to dismiss it.
“IN THE DAY OF VISITATION”
This is one of the more debated expressions in these verses.
Peter says:
“glorify God in the day of visitation.”
What does he mean?
The Greek word episkopē can refer to visitation or inspection.
In Scripture, divine visitation can be associated with either:
God coming in salvation
or
God coming in judgment.
So there are several reasonable interpretations.
POSSIBILITY ONE: THE DAY OF FINAL JUDGMENT
Peter may be referring to God's final visitation.
On this reading, people who once accused Christians will ultimately recognize God's truth and glorify Him when He judges.
This fits the judgment theme that appears elsewhere in the letter.
POSSIBILITY TWO: A TIME WHEN GOD BRINGS THEM TO FAITH
Some understand “day of visitation” as the time when God graciously visits these unbelievers and they respond to the gospel.
On that reading, their observation of Christian conduct helps prepare them to recognize the truth.
People who once slandered Christians eventually become believers themselves and glorify God.
That is certainly possible.
CAN WE DECIDE WITH CERTAINTY?
Probably not from this verse alone.
Peter's central point does not depend upon settling the question.
Whatever the precise meaning of “the day of visitation,” Christians should live so honorably that those who presently accuse them have reason eventually to glorify God.
That is what the text clearly says.
We should be confident where Peter is clear and cautious where he is not.
PETER IS NOT TEACHING WITHDRAWAL FROM SOCIETY
This deserves emphasis.
Peter calls Christians:
“strangers and pilgrims.”
But what does he immediately tell them to do?
Live:
“among the Gentiles.”
That means Christian distinctiveness is not isolation.
They are different while living among others.
Peter does not tell them:
Build a separate society where you never interact with unbelievers.
He says, in effect:
Live among them—but live differently.
That is a much harder calling.
THE WORLD MUST BE ABLE TO SEE THE DIFFERENCE
Peter's Christianity is visible.
Not theatrical.
Not self-righteous.
Not deliberately strange.
But visible.
The Christian does not need to announce constantly:
Look how holy I am.
Peter says people will:
“behold your good works.”
A life consistently shaped by Christ eventually becomes noticeable.
WHAT ABOUT CHRISTIAN SPEECH?
Peter is going to return repeatedly to this subject.
He has already told Christians to put away:
“all evil speakings.”
Soon he will describe Jesus:
“Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again…”
Later:
“Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing…”
And:
“let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile.”
Peter apparently considered the way Christians talk when mistreated an important part of their witness.
That is especially challenging because it is easy to justify ugly speech when we believe the other person deserves it.
Peter does not give that exemption.
STRANGERS—BUT NOT STRANGE FOR THE SAKE OF BEING STRANGE
There is an important distinction.
Peter says Christians are strangers.
He does not say they should deliberately behave strangely.
Their difference should come from allegiance to God.
If Christians are criticized because they are:
dishonest,
arrogant,
cruel,
meddlesome,
unreliable,
or hypocritical,
Peter offers no comfort for that.
He will later say explicitly:
“But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody…”
— 1 Peter 4:15, KJV
Not all opposition proves faithfulness.
Sometimes criticism is deserved.
Peter wants Christians to make sure that if they suffer, it is for doing good.
THE BATTLE IS FIRST WITH OURSELVES
This may be one of the most important lessons in these two verses.
When Christians feel surrounded by a culture that does not share their beliefs, it is easy to spend all our energy identifying what is wrong with them.
Peter begins somewhere else:
“abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul.”
Before Peter tells Christians how to deal with the world, he tells them to deal with themselves.
The first enemy he mentions is not Rome.
Not pagan society.
Not hostile neighbors.
It is the sinful desire within.
That is worth remembering.
TEXT BEFORE TRADITION
Christians have sometimes interpreted being “strangers and pilgrims” to mean that we should withdraw as far as possible from people who do not share our faith.
Peter does not do that.
His readers are strangers and pilgrims among the Gentiles.
Their lives are to be close enough to unbelievers that those unbelievers can:
“behold your good works.”
So Peter's pattern is neither:
blend into the culture
nor:
run away from the culture.
It is:
Live faithfully within it.
Be different where faithfulness to Christ requires difference.
Do good.
Control your desires.
Let people watch.
And when they accuse you falsely, make sure your life tells a different story.
That is much harder than either conformity or isolation.
But it is what Peter actually describes.
QUESTIONS WORTH THINKING ABOUT
What does Peter mean when he calls Christians “strangers and pilgrims”?
Does that language mean the physical world is evil and Christians are merely waiting to escape it?
Why does Peter describe sinful desires as something that “war against the soul”?
Which fleshly desires besides sexual temptation might Peter's words include?
If many of Peter's readers were Gentiles by birth, why can he now speak of their conduct “among the Gentiles”?
What does that tell us about their new identity as “the people of God”?
Does Peter promise that good Christian behavior will stop people from criticizing us?
When criticism comes, how can we determine whether we are suffering for faithfulness—or simply receiving the consequences of our own poor behavior?
Are people close enough to our lives to “behold” the good works produced by our faith?
When we are concerned about what is wrong with the world around us, do we begin—as Peter does—by examining the battle within ourselves?
NEXT DEEPER STUDY
1 PETER 2:13–17 — “SUBMIT YOURSELVES TO EVERY ORDINANCE OF MAN”
This passage needs especially careful reading.
Peter will tell Christians to submit to the king and governors—and then end with four short commands:
“Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king.”
The wording matters enormously.
Peter says honor the king.
He says fear God.
Those are not the same command.
And that distinction will help us ask the larger question:
What does Christian submission to government require—and where are its limits?
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