Today's SS lesson, "Living As Strangers". We Christians are to be in the world, looking to love and point people to God's grace by our examples and our genuine good deeds. We first must reject falseness (the old life) in our own lives, then we will be free to be Jesus servants by others

3. Living as Strangers
• Lesson Passages:
• 1 Peter 2: 11 – 17
• Background:
• 1 Peter 2: 11 - 17

4. • 1. Remember What You
Are: Abstain (1 Pet. 2:11)
• 2. Remember Who You
Are: Excel (1 Pet. 2:12)
• 3. Remember Where You
Are: Submit (1 Pet. 2:13-
14)
• 4. Remember Whose You
Are: Honor (1 Pet. 2:15-17)

5. Review of 1 Pet. 2:3-10
• You’ve been Born Again – with a New Nature!
• Be done with the old life of sinful “stuff”.
• You’ve tasted God’s goodness and kindness – now feast on
His Words (the bible)! This will help you Learn to think, act
and speak like Him. As Jesus promised the “Little Rock” Peter,
you Believers will be built up as little stones into a Big Temple,
built on the CORNERSTONE, Jesus the Christ! This is a place
where God will rule and He will be worshipped with great
appreciation in our lives!
• Jesus is our GREAT Master Teacher Mentor and Savior
• He has saved you! But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a war still
going on (1 Pet. 2:10)

6. 1. Remember What You Are: Abstain (1 Pet. 2:11)
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Dear friends, I urge you as foreigners and temporary residents to
abstain from fleshly desires which wage war against your soul,
How / why are we foreigners and temporary residents?
What are fleshly desires?
•Those from your old nature – your former way of looking at things
“Egyptian”. This totally led you (blindly),yet promised you everything!
•Sensual urges oppose the Spirit (Gal. 5:17), bind us (Rom. 7:23)
•They still battle against you!
•Jam. 4:1 says all your External strife comes from this Internal war
•2 Cor. 6:17 says to depart from unclean things of ‘Babylon’, with its
total domination by ‘secular’ forces (1 Jn. 2:16). You must get away
from it ALL, TOTALLY, with God’s help. Look at the picture of Lot’s
wife.
•“Flee.. youthful lusts” (2 Timothy 2:22, 1 Tim. 6:11)
•Jesus’ parable of a king’s poor planning: to win the war, beware of not
TOTALLY preparing to demolish the old strongholds !
•Jesus parable of 7 demons said you must have the Holy Spirit’s help

7. As a Christian, heading back toward sin is the reverse
of the old Monster Plantation™ theme. You won’t find
an amusing adventure, but will get caught up in thick of
entrapments, NOT a fun world at all. Paul warned of
people making a real wreck of their faith by rejecting
their conscience, and he allowed them to wander back
toward Satan and endure grievous punishment from
God (1 Tim. 1:19)

8. 1. Remember What You Are: Abstain (1 Pet. 2:11)
11
Beloved, I implore you as aliens and strangers and exiles [in this
world] to abstain from the sensual urges (the evil desires, the
passions of the flesh, your lower nature) that wage war against
the soul.
WAR! How secure is our salvation?
•There are testing periods, trials, battles that must be won, by
SECURING (asking & receiving) God’s grace (Strength) – 1 Pet. 5:10
God WILL confirm you
•Christ warned Peter of being sifted, but Jesus would pray
•MANY verses warn us to cling tightly to Jesus (eg: 1 Cor. 5:2)
•Heb. 12:15 – encourage each other so that no one ignores Grace!
•Timothy was warned - Teach carefully to save hearers & yourself
How do you know when you have “arrived”, are “safe enough”?
•Php. 3:10 -12 says “When you arrive, you’ll have arrived!” It’s wrong
(DANGERous) to spiritually unwatchfully lie down to sleep.
•It’s easy to come to Grace, BUT we’re called to die to self DAILY!

9. 2. Remember Who You Are: Excel - 1 Peter 2:12 (LEB)
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maintaining your good conduct among the Gentiles, so that in
the things in which they slander you as evildoers, by seeing your
good deeds they may glorify God on the day of visitation.
What is “the Day of Visitation”?
God’s ultimate Judgment Day-We are Sent to Rescue people!
Why does good conduct require “maintaining”? Gal. 6:9
•We put to death the sins of our flesh, because they defeat us and
abuse people, giving the enemy a foothold / target of ‘hypocrisy’
Are we leading others to Christ, if we just eliminate our wrong
behaviors and point out theirs? What else was required by Jesus
of the rich young ruler (Matt. 19:16-22)?
•Cleansing ourselves from filth, removing the splinter, we will be
able to see (discern) with God’s vision how to Love others into the
kingdom – including reproving them. Otherwise, we are just blind
hypocrites (1 Pet. 4:8)

10. 2. Remember Who You Are: Excel - 1 Peter 2:12 (LEB)
Recommend song by Casting Crowns: Jesus, Friend of Sinners
In John 4, Jesus could have said to the worldly woman at the well,
who said Jews don’t deal with Samaritans, “You’re right. I
shouldn’t be talking to you. Bye!”
What did He do instead?
What would the religious majority (Pharisees, or even his
disciples) have done? What did He point them to do, instead?
What should Chik-Fil-A do?
A. Announce God’s condemnation of gay marriage.
B. Mention the positiveness of true marriage.
C. Point out victims of the sins.
D. Support a ministry for victims of homosexuality, irrespective
of their repenting or not
E. Support a ministry for homosexuals who have repented
How do you best announce God’s grace to that “pet peeve”
segment of society you “hate” (as they might pretend) “the most”?

11. 3. Remember Where You Are: Submit (1 Pet. 2:13-14)(LEB)
13
Subject yourselves to every human authority for the sake of the
Lord, whether to a king as having supreme authority, 14 or to
governors as those sent out by him for the punishment of those
who do evil and the praise of those who do good.
•Rom. 13:1-7 – Governments are ordained by God – even bad ones
(Egypt). Why would God allow or even sanction a bad government?
Where do you ‘draw the line’, to disobey a corrupt law?
As a supreme example, knowing how sin nature is rebellious against
all God’s institutions -- How are we doing with the world’s authority
figures in our lives?
Did Jesus flee from Pilate? Did Paul flee from Caesar Nero?
•Paul: Honor the emperor & pray for the peace to share Christ (1 Tim.
2:1-4)
Can disobeying authorities ever honor (serve) God?
•Be sure what God’s will is. BEWARE of following ideas / history (the
elemental things, Col. 2:8-9) and not following God.
•We should love authorities who abuse us, with Jesus’ Love

12. Romans 13:1–7 (LEB)
1
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities, for there
is no authority except by God, and those that exist are put in place
by God. 2 So then, the one who resists authority resists the
ordinance which is from God, and those who resist will receive
condemnation on themselves. 3 For rulers are not a cause of terror
for a good deed, but for bad conduct. So do you want not to be
afraid of authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise
from it, 4 for it is God’s servant to you for what is good. But if
you do what is bad, be afraid, because it does not bear the
sword to no purpose. For it is God’s servant, the one who
avenges for punishment on the one who does what is bad. 5
Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of
wrath but also because of conscience. 6 For because of this you
also pay taxes, for the authorities are servants of God, busily
engaged in this very thing. 7 Pay to everyone what is owed: pay
taxes to whom taxes are due; pay customs duties to whom
customs duties are due; pay respect to whom respect is due; pay
honor to whom honor is due.

13. 4. Remember Whose You Are: Honor (1 Pet. 2:15-17) [LEB]
For the will of God is as follows: Doing good to silence the ignorance
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of foolish people. 16 Live as free persons, and not using your freedom as
a covering for evil, but as slaves of God. 17 Honor all people, love the
community of believers, fear God, honor the king.
Why must we do good to point people to God? Why not just talk?
What is a definition of ‘good’ – in one word?
•‘For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by
God's power’ – 1 Cor. 4:20
•Jesus did all for us, words (His Word) and works, both from the Father,
to bring us to faith (Jn. 14:11), through His Church (1 Pet.2:9)
How does doing good silence ‘ignorance’? Ignorant of what?
•To go beyond (turn your cheek): Not only Christ, but also Paul (and
here Peter) obeyed Jesus’ example, honoring ALL
•Study Jesus using persecutions to show people LOVE while teaching
about / enduring their hurtful SIN (see His talk to Pilate, 1 Tim. 6:13)
•Love secular people & government (God’s provisions in this sinful
world) just as we do Believers & God (Matt. 5:46)

14. (Backups)