1 Peter 2:11-17
11 “Beloved, I urge you as foreigners and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts, which wage war against the soul. 12 Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God on the day of visitation.13 Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, 14 or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. 15 For such is the will of God, that by doing right you silence the ignorance of foolish people.16 Act as free people, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bond-servants of God. 17 Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king.”
Abstain from fleshly lusts: Peter is encouraging believers to avoid sin, not in order to become more holy, but because they are holy. Believers are foreigners and strangers to sin now that they have been redeemed in Christ. These fleshly lusts wage war against our souls which are designed for righteousness. Believers have the mind of Christ and therefore are no longer designed for sin.
On the day of visitation: God will return and show off His precious children. Because we are precious and excellent, we are to keep our behavior excellent. The world will see this behavior and, hopefully, glorify God upon His return.
Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution: Submission to earthly rulers is for the Lord’s sake, or for the advancement of the Gospel. The world is to see our living in peace with one another, and loving those in authority, and believe in Jesus as a result. Peter is not saying that earthly leaders are correct about every opinion they hold. He is saying that they are in a position in which they punish evil doers. This is the position we are to respect even if we have disdain for their beliefs.
Do not use your freedom as a covering: There is a spiritual freedom underlying Peter’s word. There is nothing that can shake the salvation of the Christian because we are completely free in Christ. This is the true source of freedom for the Christian. To be sure, this freedom can be used in a negative way, but this is unfitting for believers. We are to use our freedom as bondslaves of God. Bondslaves have a choice. We are slaves to freedom and righteousness in Christ, and we have a choice to express this new propensity or not.
Honor all people: Nothing good has come from mistreating people. Therefore, Peter is trying to save the Christian time and energy. Loving people is always the right decision. We have nothing to lose from honoring one another.
